Big Majors
The anchorage at Big Majors was practically empty when we arrived and there were hardly any sail boats. There was a big regatta going on in Georgetown and I think most of the sailors were down there enjoying the festivities. It seemed strange to see almost all power boats in the anchorage, and a lot of very big (charter) boats at that.
The anchorage at Big Majors was practically empty when we arrived and there were hardly any sail boats. There was a big regatta going on in Georgetown and I think most of the sailors were down there enjoying the festivities. It seemed strange to see almost all power boats in the anchorage, and a lot of very big (charter) boats at that.
The anchorage, full
of power boats
It was as calm as it’s ever been while we there so
we took advantage and brought the toys down. We went SUPing, kayaking and
snorkeling.
Martin on Pirate
Beach
Big Majors Anchorage, 2 photos because I love them both
Martin escaping a pig who wanted his water bottle
We went into to Staniel one afternoon to get some groceries
and saw a Kady Krogen 58 at the docks named Fat Bottom Girl. Luckily, my
faulty memory was in good shape that day and the name rang a bell. We
walked over to take a look and sure enough, we had met Dave & Jackie in Ft.
Pierce with our friends Chris & Alyse. They
now run charters on their gorgeous boat. We enjoyed happy hour with them at Staniel one evening and have plans to meet up next weekend in
Nassau.
Sharks at Staniel
A huge ray
One morning, while the guys were cleaning the keel cooler
using the hooka, I went on 2-hour kayak adventure to the cays NE of the
anchorage (yes, I recognize that I got the better end of the that deal!) The
cays are small, low and uninhabited except by a lot of birds. I even saw
several tropic birds soaring around out on the farthest cay.
Calm day
Heron fishing
One-legged gull
That afternoon, Martin and I took off to go snorkeling in an
area where Jim had found lionfish in previous years. Not only was it some of
the best snorkeling we’ve done so far (I kept exclaiming, “This is where are
the fish are!!"), but we also saw 2 lionfish. Martin speared one but the other watched it go down and hid in a rock..
Snorkel site
We were so psyched about catching a lionfish that we decided
to stay an extra day to go fishing in the morning at slack low tide (the site is fairly deep, around 15-18 feet). We headed out with Jim, weight belts and a
second spear. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with us on the first dive
because I was in charge of the Zoo Keeper. We went to the coral
head with the hiding lionfish and found him, but he's savvy now and hid again. So we swam towards
some dark patches we’d not been to the day before and found a gorgeous coral head teaming with life including: a small turtle, a large puffer
and 3 gigantic great barracuda, eek. I saw one and thought, he’s big. Then I
saw the second and thought, wow, bigger yet. And then I saw “Scar”, a 5-foot
guy with a bite mark on his back. I got a little freaked out, this was no "Fern" (from Cat Island). Surprisingly, I remained calm enough and snorkeled on.
We didn’t see any lionfish so Martin and I swam back to the previous place coral head. On the way, Scar followed me, watching me, as they do. He began to circle about 10 feet away. And though I’m sure he had no ill intentions (they're very curious fish), I lost it - nope - getting out of the water! I’m sure these guys knew what the spears meant (free dinner?). Maybe he was trying to figure out what the zoo keeper was. So yes, I was done snorkeling for the day though the guys went in 3 more times along the chain of cays. They didn’t find any other lionfish but the barracudas followed them to 2 of the sites.
We didn’t see any lionfish so Martin and I swam back to the previous place coral head. On the way, Scar followed me, watching me, as they do. He began to circle about 10 feet away. And though I’m sure he had no ill intentions (they're very curious fish), I lost it - nope - getting out of the water! I’m sure these guys knew what the spears meant (free dinner?). Maybe he was trying to figure out what the zoo keeper was. So yes, I was done snorkeling for the day though the guys went in 3 more times along the chain of cays. They didn’t find any other lionfish but the barracudas followed them to 2 of the sites.
Barracuda (pic from http://laura-nile.blogspot.com/2013/12/belize-navidad.html)
And that was our time in Big Majors. Lots of playing around
on the water, a bit of socializing with lovely folks and swimming with some
very big toothy fish. (We did grill the lionfish we caught, all 2 bites, and he
was very tasty).
That evening we enjoyed the view - Fat Bottom Girl basking in a beautiful sunset.
Warderick Wells
On Wednesday we left for Warderick Wells, the headquarters
of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. The island is a natural treasure, home to the only mammal in the Bahamas (rodents called hutias), and to some of the oldest living creatures on the planet (stromotolites). It's only inhabitants are the park
warden(s) and perhaps a few other volunteers. There’s no cell tower, fresh water
or provisioning available to cruisers. There’s a headquarters/office and store
where you can check in and buy a few items in support of the park. This also
serves as a gathering ground for cruisers as there’s a dinghy dock and a
covered porch and it’s located right in front of the north mooring field.
We had decided not to take a mooring in the main mooring
field but to inch up and anchor as close to shore as we could in Emerald Bay,
the anchorage and mooring field just south of the headquarters. We went as far
as the water would allow, leaving about a foot under the keep at low tide but
we were still a ways out. It was a fairly windy couple of days and with so much
fetch it’s a lumpy anchorage for us.
Not a lot under the
keel. This was an hour after low tide
Martin decided to go swimming in the afternoon and was soon
joined by some locals. This nurse shark had 5 remoras with him!
Martin going for a swim...but not alone...
Shark and friends
coming to check Martin out
One of the remoras must have felt a bit crowded, that or
he developed a slight crush on Blossom. The relationship paid off a bit for the lovestruck remora, we had chicken that night and he got the "wobbly bits".
Remora on Blossom
That evening the gang was back:
Shark & friends
at night (note the tiny baby remora on his back)
I’ve held a bit of a grudge against these guys ever since
one clocked me on the head during the dive in Georgetown last year. I think he
was trying to eat my hair or stick to my head, not sure which, but I eye them
suspiciously now.
Heading to headquarters
North mooring field
Our first full day at Warderick was windy so we decided it
would be a perfect day to walk around the island. We had done this walk back in
09’ and we were thinking it would be about a “3-hour tour”. Oops. We went to headquarters and checked in, got our walking and snorkeling maps and headed
out. We brought 3 water bottles and a milk jug of water and a few breakfast
bars.
The island is comparatively larger than a lot of the
cays throughout the central Exuma's and it’s very rugged. The land is rocky (limestone) and,
especially on the south side of the island, it is pocked and jagged with deep holes and
wells (hence the name?) containing brackish water.
We started off towards Boo Boo Hill, where cruisers leave driftwood painted with their boat names. Then we walked clockwise around the island.
North mooring field
as seen from Boo Boo Hill
Headquarters and mooring field
Martin on the hill
Boo Boo Hill
Boo Boo Beach
Hog Cay
We came up south of the headquarters and could see it in the distance but couldn’t
find the path - so we ended up crossing back to the east side to Boo Boo Beach
and back around north to the office.
Martin, hour 4, we’re almost
back!
Lizard on a cairn
By the time we made it back we were exhausted, thirsty and
moving very, very slowly. We were stunned to learn that we’d been walking for
over 5 hours! There were several cruisers hanging out there including Tom, from
Stardust who moored in the north field. I wish I
could have chatted more but I was feeling done in. I knew I was a lost cause when I “lost” my
sunglasses (there were on my head, under my hat(?)).
Our last day in Warderick we were still a bit wiped out but we decided to go snorkeling at slack low tide. We went to the Ranger’s Garden in the mooring field and it
was absolutely beautiful. It looks as you'd think it should when an area is not
over-fished. There were (big) fish everywhere, on the coral heads and roaming about on the flats. We saw some huge
groupers and lobsters. We were sad to find 2 lionfish and hear that the park
does not clear them. I don’t understand or agree with this decision as the
lionfish are invasive, have no natural predators and do nothing but harm the reef.
First fish I saw
jumping in – a barracuda! Nope, a large flat needlefish
French Angelfish
Flat needlefish
As we came up from snorkeling we saw Fat Bottom Girl
entering the mooring field. We stayed to take pictures and helped them snag the
mooring line.
Fat Bottom Girl in
the mooring field
Heading to their
mooring ball
Afterwards, we thought we might do some more snorkeling but
ended up running through the south mooring field taking soundings (no more than
5.5-7 feet at low tide, not enough water for us) and heading back to Blossom.
We were all so tired!
Knowing that we’d be in Palm Cay Marina for the next 5 days,
we washed, rinsed and put away all our toys, did 3 loads of laundry and made
water.
In the afternoon we had a wonderful surprise when the Dave and Susan from another Nordy, Dragonfly, came by on their dinghy. They had just moored on
the east side and were touring the cay. We’ve seen them several times en route
and chatted on the radio but never met in person. It was great to finally meet
them and their very sweet dog!
We had an early morning, leaving at 7am for Palm Cay Marina.
A storm was due to come in Wednesday night/Thursday with winds out of the S/SW so we were happy to be able to tuck away. It was a longish day, 8 hours of
travel time, with bouncy seas. As it was, we had perfect timing and just made it in time before the first squall blew through. This weekend Jim will head home and our guests will arrive...
April was a good month. We covered a lot of ground, visited
new cays and anchorages, tried some new activities and pushed ourselves a bit
past a few comfort zones. May will have a very different focus. We’ll be
covering familiar ground with folks for whom it’s all new. We feel
exceptionally fortunate to be able to be here and we're looking forward to sharing the experience with family and friends in the
upcoming weeks.
Boat Business. There's little new to report. We're spending Thursday giving her a good clean, inside and out.
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