TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Sorry I haven’t been able to post in awhile, internet is hard to come by in the places we visit. This blog is loooooooooooong.

Allens Cay & Normans Cay

We left the Nassau Yacht Haven the 14^th and sailed 6 hours to the first of the Exumas, Allens Cay. There are no houses, industry, or any kind of civilization that lives on these islands. Iguanas and some bird live there and that is it. Coral surrounds everything, sharp pointy, holey, and fragile in places; sturdy in others, it is the base of the islands here. There on conch shells everywhere, most of them have been broken and eaten though. The iguanas are creepy thier almost like a snake except they have legs. You will be casually walking around and one of these huge lizards will scurry about run in a bush rustle a tree and scare the living bee jees out of you. I do not like iguanas they look like they will turn on you in a second and not only that but I am outnumbered by them at least 10 to one. There is some fine snorkeling around the island lots of coral heads, sponges, and all kinds of fish. The water is a bit cold though. We climbed up this solid piece of coral 40 ft high and looked out on the ocean it was amazing. It went on forever, and to watch the wave’s crash up onto and sometimes over the lower portions of the coral was magical. The sound the waves make it unlike anything I’ve ever heard peaceful yet powerful.

Feb 17^th

Today we left Allens Cay and headed for Normans Cay, it took us about 2 hours the wind was out of the northwest and howling at 20-25 kts. It gave the boat a good boost we made 6 to 7 knots the whole way; A bit uncomfortable with the waves at 3-5 ft but manageable. There are lots of boats anchored here, this is where a drug lord used to have his headquarters, some of the houses here have bullets strewn about their sides to prove it. There are a few rental cottages here, and a beach club, and that’s pretty much it. There are miles of unadulterated beach, wind surfers, coral, and lots of little islands to explore. We haven’t done any exploring yet because the wind has been blowing all day and it’s suppose to calm down tomorrow.

Normans Cay

Feb 18-21

We are now in Normans Cay, very cool place, there are around ten people that live here on the island, there is one place to go and that is MacDuff’s it’s a beach club that has food and very nice stiff drinks. Since it’s the only place to go we’ve been there a few times. This island used to be run by a big drug lord, there are houses scattered along the beach with lots of bullet holes in them, there is even a house boat on the highest point on the island and it did not float up there. One of the locals here told us that the drug lord didn’t like the people on the houseboat staying so close to his business, so one day when the couple left on a plane for a day the drug lord took his crane attached their boat to it and put it on the top of the hill and then asked them “now will you leave?” Other than that there’s lots of fabulous snorkeling here tons of reefs, we dove this airplane wreck out here, turns out there’s a nice shark who lives under one of the wings. One day we fished off one of the isolated coral islands and caught lots of snapper and triggerfish. I caught a grouper but he was too small to keep. As we were cleaning and filleting the fish on the boat we noticed a small group of sharks we were entertaining with the carcasses. I told Matt to dive in and have a free shark dive. . . but he wasn’t into it. I have a officially speared a fish a barracuda and the fish freaked out, but what was worse is that all of this barracudas friends started following me after I shot him. So I decided screw the fish and dropped him and I got my ass back to the dinghy asap no need to be fish food.

On the 21^st we left Normans and went to Shroud Cay for a night. We would have stayed longer but the weather was souring. We went up and down a couple of creeks in the dinghy saw some cool fish more plentiful in this area because it is protected, aka no fishing, spearing, killing, or taking anything dead or alive. So everything here was pristine. We found a cool well on one of the islands but you had to climb through a bunch of pointy jagged high coral to get to it. Not worth saving on laundry here. So we’ve all decided to wear one shirt and pair of shorts per week until we get to more civilized areas.

Feb 22^nd

We went back to Norman’s Cay today there is some wind and rain coming our way and there wasn’t really anywhere south with good protection we could go. So we are back here and it is much more crowded with about 20 sailboats all anchored on the lee side of the island. On days like this we stay on the boat and do little boat projects/cleaning/napping.  

Feb 23-March 3^rd

We are still at Norman’s Cay, this little place is so cool and laid back we just cannot leave. The staff at the beach club have now become good friends. I’ve become quite a fisherman, I have figured out how to get the big ones around here. First I go dive for some conch shells, then the fun comes with getting the conch out of the shell. This act probably looks somewhat similar to a cave man banging on a rock to make fire. Anyways, I get the conch out of the shell, skin it, get the pretty white part cut, and put it on the hook. Then I snorkel around for where some hungry bait fish might be and once I find my spot I cast the line out and wait for a nibble. Usually a grunt or a jack hits the line and I get a few of them, cut them up, then I’m off to find a nice reef where the yummy fish hang out. And again, I cast out the hook with the bait fish on it and wait. I usually get a hit in no less than 3 minutes. I’ve caught a bunch of different kind red snapper, gray snapper, queen trigger, black grouper, needle fish, jack crevelle, and a few others. It’s just amazing how they keep hitting the line even after they have seen their buddy get jerked out of the water!

Around the inside of the northern tip of the island are some amazing sand bars at low tide. This is probably where they take the pictures to advertise Bahamas vacations. However, the pictures do not cultivate what this sand feels like or how it reacts. First you have to wear some kind of water shoe or you will step on a pointy rock and be in some real trouble. Second, the pictures do not show you how mushy this sand can be, it’s like quick sand in some places you will be up to your knees in it if you do not keep moving. It does hold some neat treasures though like pure white sandollars, and exotic shells. We had to time our treasure finding just right with the tide because we wanted it to be low enough so we could walk it but we also wanted to be out of there well before the high hit.

We were invited to a house party this past weekend with some of the people who work at the beach club. All the houses here on the island run on generators and they all have names no numbers or addresses. The house we went to was called “bonefish,” it had bonefish plates on the entrance to the house. The house was really neat made of pressure washed cedar. The view from the house over looks the sound and it was spectacular, it had its own beach, instead of windows they just use screen, they never lock their doors. The car we had to take to get to the house was an Isuzu SUV with a diesel engine in it, right hand drive, and the road was virtually like a day of 4 wheeling through the forest. The road here is slightly paved but has been beat up from the conditions and heavy machinery that has been driven on it. This island is deceiving as well, everyone thinks oh it’s the Bahamas nice sand and water, no its high pointy sharp coral that you constantly have to maneuver through and be on the look out for pot holes in. The party was fun, we listened to music and talked, hung out and just had a good time. The next day we went out on a power boat that belonged to one of the people at the beach club. We went to ship channel’s cay and allen’s cay. Ship channel cay is an island where the locals teach tourists how to feed the sting rays, and how to arouse a shark with a dead fish head on a rope. It was crazy, the sting rays where huge, and the sharks were plentiful in number. Kinda scary I made sure I stood back a little. The local of the island gave me and the other girls the zoo tour that included a 2 hogs, a bunny, some snakes, and some other animals that you wouldn’t think lived there. Then we went to Allen’s Cay and fed the iguanas some grapes. I counted 45 of them, crawling around waiting for the next hand out. It was a little creepy. After that we hopped back in the boat and hauled ass for the beach club, here we had a hamburger and a blood mary then we were off in the boat again head for a sandbar for some shelling. This sandbar was also quite mushy but it was fun, found lots of sand dollars and even a sea biscuit. We headed back to the house after this, the people at the beach club have been so nice they have let me and Matt stay in one of the rooms in the house so that we don’t have to drive all the way back down to the boat. Its also been real nice because the wind has been relentless lately blowing like hell all day and night and some times its like living in a blender on frappe in the boat. So needless to say the house has been great to stay in. The room we got to stay in was very serene in the morning you can hear the waves gently crash on the shore and the sun just barely peeks through the screens. Me and Matt both got to indulge in a real shower too, I think a pound of salt came out of my hair. We came back to the boat the next day, it was still in the same spot, always a good sign. Last night, however, there were a few boats that did not stay in their spots. One thing down here in the Bahamas that you don’t know about is the influx of Canadians that rent sailboats for few weeks to months out of the year and to say the least most of them know nothing about anchoring in coral sand. We’ve been here almost 2 weeks and had to play charades with some of them because they speak French, about how to anchor and how much rhode to put out. A lot of them make the common mistake that you just throw the anchor out with a little bit of chain and if it bites your good. That does not work here, the anchors here are constantly resetting with the tides, wind, and swells. There were two Canadian boats that drug anchor last night, one dangerously close to the rocks and the other dangerously close to other boats. And of course when their anchors drag is right when the wind and rain start, so the Canadians are always trying to re-anchor in the dark in the brunt of the storm. Not smart, extremely difficult, and very risky. So now me and Matt have Canadian patrol time we wake up in the morning and check the Canadian boats that have already anchored, and keep a lookout on the rest of the day for new Canadian boats that might not have anchored correctly. It’s not just enough to watch your boat you also have to watch everyone else’s dumbass at times.

March 4^th

We have finally made the decision to leave tomorrow. Our destination is Staniel Cay, famous for the Thunderball Cave in the James Bond movie. There will also be fancy things there like a grocery store, fuel, and water, things we have been unable to get since we left Nassau almost a month ago. We are down to our last bit of water; today we didn’t even rinse the dishes in fresh water we used salt to wash and rinse, and then just dried them off with a towel. Each of us is on duty for signs and symptoms of dehydration/hypernatremia. I also did a load of salt water laundry, the clothes are clean they’re just a little stiffer than usual, which is fine with me because down here there are not any Laundromats until you hit a major city. You can have a wash, fold, and fluff for $10 dollars a load but I’m such a cheap ass that I would prefer not to. Ashore today we met a nice lady who told us about a rain cistern we could get water from, we went and checked it out, and it was clean but a bit of a hike. To get to it you had to climb steps, seep through some shrubbery, and basically visit this old abandoned house on a hill. Now take into consideration fresh water is great but not when you have 6 gallon jugs of it to get back town to a dinghy on a beach. 6 gallons weighs a little more than 30 pounds. None of the terrain around here is paved, there is no such thing as a sidewalk, or an attendant it’s all on you and what you’re willing to do. There is also no waste disposal system here on Norman’s Cay, so again your trash is all on you. So try not taking out the garbage for a month and see how much piles up in your house. We don’t do that thankfully, we’ve been very mindful of the trash, throwing the food scraps out to sea, breaking down the bags, cardboard, cans, foil, etc and separating it. We burn what can be burned and save the recyclables for shore. Found a nice trash burning place today on a sharp pointy airy coral rock, it was quite easy just set it up, light it, and watch until it’s gone. Give it a splash of water, because there is no fire station here on the island either, would hate to burn the place down it’s so nice here! We also said goodbye to all of our good friends at the beach club which has basically been like our second home since we got here. Stefan, Beth, Roxy, Celest, Chris, John, Molly, and JP are all great people, very friendly and welcoming. I will especially miss the bloody marys and conch fritters they are the best. The wind finally settled a bit today, it’s been raging out of the north, northwest now for four days straight at least 20 knots, today I think it got down to 10 knots. This was nice because I finally got to put on a bathing suit and soak up some rays. Tomorrow is suppose to be out of the north again too but this is not bad because this way we can use it to sail south.

March 5^th

What do you know the wind is too strong to leave today?!!! It gets very annoying when your ready to go and it’s still blowing like hell outside. So we stayed at Normans another day today, didn’t leave the boat though the swells really build up in the cut and neither me nor matt feels like a wet cold dinghy ride.

March 6^th

The wind has calmed down enough finally to leave. We left Normans around 7:30 in the morning and started on the outside for Staniel Cay. Bad idea, the wind was calm enough however it had been blowing from the N-NE for the last 4 days so the swells were quite large and throwing the boat every which way. The first cut we could get through we took, no need in beating the crap out of yourself on the ocean, and besides the inside route is much prettier. We motored/sailed at a good 5-7kts the whole way and made it to Staniel at 2 pm.

March 7^th

Today we went to shore and explored around. There is lots of construction on staniel, so you see lots of dump trucks, people hauling stuff in golf carts, and lots of miscellaneous building supplies everywhere. This place is not nearly as pretty as Normans Cay, its more touristy, and these huge snot yachts everywhere. We walked the entire island nothing too interesting, we met the bread lady and bought a loaf from her. Tried to go to the general store to see if we could buy some real food the sign said open, there were people outside but no one was home. So it’s rice again for dinner.

March 8^th

The thunderball grotto cave is here on this Cay. Its from the old James Bond movie. We snorkeled that today which was amazing. Thousands of tropical fish swarming around us hoping we had some food to give them but we didn’t even have food for ourselves so we had to make the fish starve. The cave was brilliant the sunlight just barely shines through it and illuminates the water beneath. We got lots of pictures and a video. The water was a bit cold and the current was extremely strong, this was our exercise for the day. After that we dinked around in the dinghy and went to a few odd islands that were obviously uninhabited, walked the beach, found some sea glass, climbed some coral and called it a day.  

March 9^th

Back to Norman’s Cay today, very nice day, smooth water, 10 knots of wind and best of all we get to use the auto pilot. No one is constantly having to fight the wheel, or worry about the navigation.

March 10^th

Okay so I walked the entire west side of Norman’s Cay today, and I am exhausted. Up, down, climb, crawl, hold on, and most importantly look and make sure of where you are landing. It was a great work out. On the other side of things we are thinking of heading back to the states soon, time for a new goal.

March 11^th

There was a huge party at the beach club this night that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I’d say about 80 people came, there was a French band, and a very talented air guitarist. We helped the restaurant out making food, serving drinks, cleaning dishes, and most important socializing! A very good time, we stayed in a cute little cottage on the beach, and got to avoid the slosh sleep we would have had on the boat.

March 12^th

Today we all feel like crap, too much music my ears are ringing, everyone smokes but me and I can feel the toxins in my throat. Sleeping was interesting, the cottage faces the beach so when the sun comes up its like a big white light shining in your eyes. Imagine trying to sleep in the dentists chair with that light in your eyes. It was a roof and a bed and that’s all I care about. Had a nice greasy breakfast a fried egg, slice of cheese, buttery bread and grilled. Tasted good going down but a couple of hours later it felt like blah ugh oh no I need to lay down. Very lazy day today, haven’t accomplished anything, nor do I need to. All I’ve done is lay around and read some magazines. I’ve contemplated a route home: Norman’s Cay to Nassau, from there to Andros, next Bimini, then a landing somewhere off the east coast of Florida.