2/11/20

From one cold front to another!  We left Buena Vista Cay, stopped at Man-O-War for a night and anchored at Double Breasted Cay.  Before the front arrives calm weather for snorkeling and kayaking……….

One of Jerry’s many catches (not catch really – speared) – this time another tasty snapper!

Nice beach on Margaret Cay about a mile from our anchorage.  Susan & Ken – I found a conch for you!

Around Margaret Cay heading west.

Love the shades of blue here in the Bahamian waters!

Heading back to the boat – the Coast Guard helicopter passes by overhead.

Hiking on Double Breasted Cay - the ocean is calm (left).  The banks are calm as usual (right).

Sunrise over our neighbor (C Language) at Double Breasted.

 

The water was so calm one morning, we boarded Bluejacket, had Jerry Luh hoist us up to his spreaders where we could see the bottom all around the boat. 

 

Flat calm - good visibility!

 Jerry Luh had lost a fishing spear.  What better way to look for it?   

Here we are!  Up in the spreaders.

Blue sky and flat water.

We enjoyed the morning up in the spreaders while Jerry Luh drove Bluejacket around looking for the spear until the wind picked up.  We didn’t find the spear.  The BEST part of this morning (wish I had thought to bring my camera) was when the dolphins came!  Donna Luh was standing on the bow of Bluejacket and we watched dolphin come and swim right in front of her along with the boat as we drove around.  They stayed with us a for a while, moved off to another area, and came back a number of times.  What a spectacular sight!

 Another cold front was coming so we tried another anchorage - Johnson Cay with good protection from the southwest. 

A view of Persephone at anchor at Johnson Cay.

Many of the islands here are so vulnerable to the wind and seas.  Johnson Cay, along with others, had the sand and rocks picked up and moved across the island from recent hurricanes.  A small swath of sand with rock underneath is all that keeps Johnson Cay from being two separate islands.

Huge rocks (pieces of the island) and other debris like this huge tree were tossed up toward the top of the island 25 feet from the water.

The winds usually pick up from the north and east after a cold front so we hauled anchor and sailed to Southside anchorage, at the southern end of Ragged Island.  Super Bowl Sunday.  One of the cruisers had asked if any of the "establishments" at Duncan Town had the ability to broadcast the Super Bowl.  Latoya thought she might be able to accommodate us.  We joined 4 other couples in the back of a local pick up truck that came to pick us up from the beach at the anchorage.  It's quite a walk into town and the steepest hill I can think of here in the Bahamas.  Latoya made conch fritters and wings while we watched the game on the flat screen tv and chatted with some of the Bahamians.  There are a number of crews here working on building a community center, school, solar panel array to power the town and more.  Seems as the newly elected government decided to put some money into rebuilding Duncan Town!  

Watching the game was memorable - it started with the video about 30 seconds delayed from the action.  Jerry had fun with that and announced what was going to happen before it happened on the screen.    (That was fixed after 10 minutes or so.)  The screen would freeze about 10 times per hour and Latoya would have to reset the station.  Nice moonlit ride back to the beach.  Late for us!

Back to Hog Cay where we resumed our snorkeling activities briefly.  Jerry had no hearing in his left ear after a dive.  We assumed a build up of ear wax as he had no pain or drainage or anything.  But after a week with no change we decided to sail to Georgetown to find a doctor.  Donna and Jerry had decided to sail to Georgetown as well.  Donna had a severe tooth ache and ended up flying home from Georgetown for a root canal.  She should be back in a week we hope!  We had a much faster turn around - Jerry's problem was diagnosed as an infection.  With antibiotics, a top up of our water tanks, and bags of fresh produce we sailed back south.  We were only gone for 5 days.

On the way north we had stopped at Water Cay.  

Water Cay - another example where the wind and water are dividing the cay into two cays.

Which side would you rather sail on - ocean (left/east) or banks (right/west)?

Jerry finds some shade in the artistically sculpted cave with an ocean view.

I can't help myself - every bag I find washed up on the beach must be thoroughly examined.  Maybe someday I will find some gold dubloons or a million dollars inside.  Back at Double Breasted our friend Susan found some paper rolled up in a tube on the beach.  It appeared to be an address for someone in Miami with $10.  It probably belonged to one of the Haitians recently rescued from the area.

Good visibility 8 feet down to see the nurse shark on the bottom.

See the fish on the shark?

And on our way south back to Hog Cay, on the ocean side sailing, we caught a mahi!

Dinner, lunch, dinner, lunch..........

 Sailing back to Hog Cay there was plenty of wind and squalls as well.  And Jerry's baking bread too.

 We will stay here at Hog Cay for a while.  Maxine, who has always lived in Duncan Town, is hosting her annual Valentines Day party here at Hog Cay on 2/15.  There are already 13 boats right here at Hog Cay!