25. January 18, 2019: The Marina at Emerald Bay to Great Guana Cay

January 18, 2019:

I thought I'd get up early and capture those big Southern Stingrays with my GoPro, but it dawned gray and cool: didn't feel like jumping in. We left Lee Stocking Island, following Chaos out a narrow cut. We did a lot of hobby horsing getting into the ocean. Once our sail was up, it steadied us so it wasn't too bad. Winds were about 14 knots. We made it down to Great Exuma Island and into The Marina at Emerald Bay. This place has free WiFi and laundry. Plus, if you're here for three days, it's only $1/foot/day, so I'm a fan! I got several loads of laundry done, and the shark video posted to Facebook before having Dean and Wendy over for supper and dominoes.

January 19-23, 2019:

Many cruisers are coming in here for protection from the upcoming winds. We rented a car with Dean and Wendy, then went into Georgetown. We got groceries, jerk BBQ chicken and ribs for supper, and I got a doll for our granddaughter-to-be at the local art market. It's a Bahamian doll with lots of braids and colorful hair ribbons.

Bahamian doll for my future granddaughter!

Katria said baby is about the size of an ear of corn, so baby and doll are about the same size right now! Tonight was a "super moon", so here it is over the marina:

A green turtle cleaning the hull of Chaos

Kris and Jodi (on her way back from laundry)

There is a nice bay for snorkeling near the marina if it isn't too windy. I've gone snorkeling with Jodi, and also Kent and Betty. There are thousands of golf balls on the sea floor, as the golf course is nearby.

John and I went to dinner at the nearby Sandal's restaurant with Kent and Betty. John ordered a spicy Island Goat Curry with rice and plantains, and I had a Caesar's salad. Then we split a coconut ice cream. Everything was very good!

The waves are really big off the jetty, and the wind is gusting at 35 knots.

We shared a rental car with Mark and Terry from Canada. They're on Spar Trek. We stopped at The Three Sisters Restaurant. It's named for the three large rocks just offshore. John and I had shared a chicken meal ($5), and a dessert called Guava Duff ($5) that was so yummy!

I cleaned the kitchen and made some art for the first time in months. I used oil pastels on a sea grape leaf to show As You Wish in a tropical bay. John's dad said he can no longer take our calls on his business phone. He got charged $81 for incoming international calls! I've never heard of such a thing! We've never called collect either.

January 24, 2019:

We sailed to Rudder Cut Cay where the magician David Copperfield placed a sculpture of a mermaid seated on the bench of a baby grand piano (Jason Decaires Taylor created it). Mr. Copperfield also lives nearby. The water is still pretty stirred up, so it was hard to find the sculpture. We did, but pictures didn't turn out very well. We'll have to come back on a nicer day. Then we found a little beach grotto, like a mini Thunderball.

January 25, 2019:

It's very calm today! It's a nice change, but the No-See-Ems are out in force. They sure have a nasty bite for such little suckers.

John sunbathing while drifting over to Chaos

The seas have calmed, so we went back to the mermaid sculpture. Much better!

Bluehead Wrasse adult and one in juvenile form

I'm pretty sure I saw a black-tipped shark from a distance, but it swam away before I could snap a picture. I saw some broken coral, so I picked up a piece. Something stung my finger! I thought a tiny jellyfish had been on it, because that's what it felt like. I brought both pieces back to the boat. I always smell things before storing them away, and I happened to touch the end of my nose on the coral: I got stung again! Ahhh, this must be Fire Coral! Nice to know. I'm really glad that I didn't have a bad reaction to the sting on the end of my nose. Or worse, sometimes it leaves a permanent brown discoloration. I'm glad I didn't become a permanent brown-noser!

Then our three boats sailed to Big Galliet Cay.

Two Flamingo Tongue Snails on some soft coral of the gorgonian group.

Tonight after dark, there was a commotion up on deck, and Penelope appears in the companionway with something hanging out of both sides of her mouth! What could she have caught while we're at anchor? A bird? No, it was a big moth, and she didn't leave much!

January 26, 2019:

We all sailed to Black Point on Big Guana Cay. On the way there, we passed a big house that looked like a castle. (Sorry, I haven’t been able to find the originals to replace these next few fuzzy pictures.)

The wind has picked up again, and we got soaked on our dinghy ride into town. On AquaMaps, we checked the Black Point anchorage icon to see other cruisers' comments. One said "Go to the house behind Lorraine's restaurant and ask for Mama. She makes the best bread around!" We did, feeling kind of silly knocking on a stranger's door and asking for Mama, but she met us with a big smile and the best coconut bread around!

We bought a few items at the small--and I mean small!--grocery store here in Black Point. But it had toothpaste and something to drink, so we didn't complain.

We went to Lorraine's Restaurant with Dean, Wendy, and their daughter Brittany who was joining them for a week (We stopped near Oven Rock and visited the cave again so Brittany could see it. This time I swam in it!). We were joined by another couple from South Africa, Owen and Miranda. They're on Sarabi, a Leopard 48 catamaran. Owen and Miranda ordered the lobster ($28), and that sounded good but we ordered a pizza instead. The pizza was good, but we should have ordered the lobster: they were huge! Miranda's written and illustrated a children's book called Moyo's Journey: how cool! Some children were just getting out of school, and they were fascinated with Nikki. All of the schools that I've seen in the Bahamas are yellow with green trim.

School children near Lorraine’s Restaurant

January 27, 2019:

John made coconut French bread for breakfast: very yummy! Then we sailed just a few miles to Bitter Guana Cay as there are more Pink Iguanas here.

Then we sailed back to Staniel Cay, as we're hanging with Dean and Wendy while they show Brittany all the local sights. It was really rolly though, so after lunch we moved to the east side of two unnamed cays off the NW tip of Little Majors Spot.

We've worn bathing suits as our main attire for more than a week. Not bad for January! There are numerous sand dollar shells and crabs under the boat.

Oh, and this Brain Coral must be at least six feet across!

Our dinghy motor has decided to act up. I'm glad we're buddy boating with Chaos, as Dean has been helping us out with our dogs' potty breaks to shore.

January 28, 2019:

Today was gray and windy, so I just worked on photo editing while John fixed the dinghy motor. There had been water in the gas due to condensation.

I think today is the first day of second semester at my old school. I can hardly believe that with all our traveling that I've only been gone one semester. It seems so long ago!

We moved to between Sampson and South Sampson Cay to get better protection from the winds since they shifted again.

January 29, 2019:

We pulled up anchor and motored to a small bay behind Black Point on Great Guana Cay near the Castle House. The sea was calm when we dinghied around the point and into town. A fisherman was cleaning his catch on the dock, and the offal was really attracting the nurse sharks and rays!

We had one of Lorraine's wonderful lobsters for lunch, and we got two more delicious coconut breads from Mama.

While we were in town, school was let out. Children walked back to their homes for lunch. I walked over to the school, and talked to Mrs. Scott, a first through third grade teacher. She has 15 students, about 5 in each grade. There are 37 students in the whole school, grades 1-6(?). There is another school where students go until 9th grade, and then they all go to high school in Nassau, New Providence! The students started to return, all of them in uniform, and some of the boys even wore ties. They all looked very sharp!

The wind and waves picked up, and it was pretty crazy getting back to the boat. We stopped to get Penelope and took all the pets to shore for an early poop walk in case it got worse. They had fun exploring the beach, and then it was time to go. Just as we were about ten yards from shore, our motor died. John was trying to row us back to our boat against the waves, and wasn't making much progress. Thankfully Matt and Joyce (and their cute dog Loki) rescued us by towing us back to our boat. They're on Duchess.

John replaced the gas in the motor, and it seems to be fine. We should be protected from swells here, but we are really hobby-horsing right now. About 19 other boats have anchored here for protection as well. Several of us went to the beach to avoid bouncing, including Matt, Joyce and Loki. Phil and Michelle on Mariposa were also there, and they have a shepherd named Chica. Our dogs all played together on the beach; Chica loves going after frisbees! We stayed there until the sun set. It was a miserable night for John, as he only slept a few hours.

Join us next at "January 30, 2019: Lee Stocking Island and George Town"!

25. January 18, 2019: The Marina at Emerald Bay to Great Guana Cay

26. January 30, 2019: Lee Stocking Island, George Town, and Long Island!

24. January 13, 2019: O'Brien's Cay, Thunderball Grotto, Swimming Pigs, and Lee Stocking Island