Passage to Nassua then to Norman's Cay

Wednesday, Feb 22

Little jelly fish wishing us bon voyage

Departed from Bimini Sands Marina in South Bimini at 7:55am heading to Nassau.  We are accompanied by 2 sailboats, Calypso Poet and Miss Alice, who are experienced sailors in the Bahamas.  The passage to Nassau is a long one.  We will cross over the shallow Bahama Bank and anchor for a couple hours sleep before continuing over the very deep section called Tongue of the Ocean. Then on to Nassau. 

'Pacifica' at anchor.  A mega yacht we passed along the way

After an uneventful 12 hours we reached an anchorage north of Chub Cay. We traveled 68.1 

nautical miles in 12 hours. Dropped anchor and enjoyed the sunset before chow and bedtime.

Sunset on the Bahama Bank

Thursday, February 23

Woke at 3:35am, hoisted anchor and left the anchorage after a fitful sleep. At 6:17am we entered the Tongue of the Ocean,which is very deep and famous for deep sea fishing.  Our depth meter went bonkers because it was so deep.  Calypso Poet reported that they were hooked up with some fish that turned out to be a nice mahi mahi.  They actually caught two nice keepers.  We tried trolling with our Cuban Reel but had no luck.

At 2:25pm we cleared the Nassau Harbor Light

Nassau Harbor Light

Cruise Liners in Nassau Harbor

They are really huge

At 3:03 we docked at Nassau Harbor Club Marina, after traveling 62.1 nautical miles.  We were happy to have made the crossing in good weather and good company.

Good night from Nassau

Friday, February 25

We rested today, did laundry and tried to complete our provisioning for the Exumas, which have limited grocery and liquor stores.  Kerm bought a nice deep sea fishing rod which we hope will supplement our boat 'stores'.

Linda and Warren looking to the southwest...to the Exuma Islands

Warren eyeing birdie friends in the pool at the Nassau Harbor Club Marina

Our first chance to see the boat name on the bottom of the dinghy...looking good

Saturday, February 25

Left Nassau Harbor Club Marina at 8:28am after fueling up.  We are heading for Norman's Cay in the company of Miss Alice and Calypso Poet.  The crossing to Norman's entails negotiating coral heads in an area called Yellow Bank.  Coral heads are outcroppings of coral that are so close to the surface that they can cause damage.  From the boat they look like very dark circles or ovals against the light blue of the surrounding ocean.

We had an extremely smooth crossing and didn't have any trouble.   

Beautiful patterns in the water

We dropped anchor at Norman's Cay at 3:25 after traveling 42.5 nautical miles.  Anchor is in 7 feet of water and holding steady...wind is supposed to pick up tonight.

Sunday, February 26-Wednesday February 29

Windy weather is forecast so we are staying put for a couple days.  Exploring is on the docket...

At the little landing strip on the Cay

This island used to be the domain of a drug lord and we went looking for evidence in the abandoned ruins...

Bullet holes

Hanger

McDuff's Bar and Grill

Linda and I wanted to have our 'cheeseburger in Paradise' so we went to McDuff's.

Bartender-sure we have hamburgers...

What?? no beer??  Captain very sad.

 

Have no Fear

Chris' first Snorkel effort and Linda, her coach 

Linda caught a fish...we thought it was a little shark.  Captain Kerm's reaction...'I don't want a SHARK on my boat!!".  We eventually identified it as a remora, also know as a shark sucker...not good for eating.   But it was a fighter and it ended up breaking our flimsy rod (not the new one )

Linda-angler extraordinaire

Remora

 We had day after day of windy weather but the sun was shining so no complaints on board.  Plus our sail boat friends were kind to us and shared their conch, fish and companionship.  Very generous and fun people!!!

Choppy weather

Lone Palm Island

Dedication plaque on the bench..".For Ron and Aleda who loved these islands"

The Belle from Lone Palm Island with Norman's Cay in the background

Kerm caught a little Blue Runner -we took a snap and let him go

Sting Ray swimming right by Southern Belle

We all saw rays leap into the air.  I swear one was 8 feet out of the water and 8 feet across.   AWESOME.

We went snorkeling in the current by a coral head and hung on to the dinghy...called drift diving.  Saw fish, corals, sea anemones and lots of tiny jelly fish.  It was very cool and a bit intimidating since the current was pretty strong.

Next stop is to be Sampson Cay and we are glad to be on our way again.