Fun and Friendship (Finally)!

If you have been reading our blogs this year, you know we got off to a rough start with bad weather and boat problems. It seems like this is often the way of cruising. No matter how much you prepare and think you have everything ready, the first month is just hard for one reason or another. Last year we didn’t have any equipment problems, but we got a very late start (mid January) because we had to make repairs after Hurricane Florence came to visit. It was a miserable cold first few weeks slowly slogging down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). I think we always ask ourselves at some point in the first few weeks, if this is really worth it because it takes a lot of work to get ready to go.

But then, the sun comes out, everything starts clicking, we meet new and old friends, have some fabulous sails, see beautiful places, have interesting experiences and we say, “wow, what a blessed life we have”! We are in that phase now, thank goodness!

When the sun is shining, which is most of the time, you cannot believe how gorgeous this place is. The water is a turquoise/teal/emerald color with so many variations depending on what the bottom looks like. There are usually multiple picture perfect beaches in view from your anchorage and more just a short dinghy ride away. We have enjoyed taking Riggs onshore and throwing a small football shaped coconut that we found. He is quite adept at swimming out and grabbing it with his mouth now. Even if the island is private, the public are allowed to use the beaches up to the high tide line.

Many of the islands have hiking trails along cliffs or to 360 degree viewpoints and the scenery is spectacular, especially if it is a blustery day and the Atlantic is crashing onto the shore. The islands are made of limestone (ancient coral) and there are often blow holes in odd places. These are near the shoreline and as waves crash onto shore, the water pushes through an underground tunnel and then sprays out of holes in the ground periodically. If it’s high tide and windy, the water can sound like a canon shot as the spray bursts through the hole in the ground and flies 15-20 feet in the air! We had some wonderful hikes at Cambridge Cay.

There was just one other boat anchored near us at Cambridge Cay. We are the boat on the right.

So much plastic washes up on the beaches on the east coasts (Atlantic ocean side) of the islands. People often collect it and either take it back to their boats to dispose of later or pile it in a central location to be removed by Exuma Land and Sea Park employees later. It's enough to make you swear off using plastic.

Snorkeling is something both David and I enjoy, but having Riggs has changed the way we have to do it, at least for now. Riggs has terrible separation anxiety when we leave him on the boat so we bring him everywhere. If we are going snorkeling, he comes in the dinghy and we take turns staying with him while the other person snorkels. If we were both in the water, he would definitely figure out how to jump in and could get in trouble swimming in the current and waves. It’s not as much fun to snorkel on your own, but it’s better than not doing it. There are a lot of sharks in the Bahamas, although most of the ones we see are non-aggressive nurse sharks. It just feels eerie snorkeling by yourself when you spot a shark!

The sailing is much more relaxing in this phase. We are doing short 15-25 mile sails generally in calmer wind instead of the overnight long ocean passages with nowhere to tuck in out of the weather. We prefer to sail over motoring and are happy to sail along even at 3 to 4 knots if the seas are calm, just listening to the gurgle of the water as it slips by the hull. Soon we will begin making some longer passages as we head to the very southern part of the Bahamas and then over to the Dominican Republic so we are reveling in our relaxing days now.

Meeting new people and catching up with old friends is always a major part of the cruising experience. Sometimes we choose to just be alone and look for deserted anchorages where we can savor the quiet nights and the amazing stars. A good mix of alone time and socializing makes the life more interesting and enjoyable. We have been cruising with some friends on two other boats for a few weeks now. Each boat moves at its own pace and there is no pressure to stick together all of the time, but we keep in touch and figure out where we might meet up again.

David has really enjoyed playing music with other people (we have a cruiser jam night planned at a restaurant/bar here on Little Farmers Cay tonight). Last night we had a pot luck happy hour on our boat with 7 people and Riggs (who tried to get into the M&Ms). We watched the sunset together as we munched and chatted. At sunset, David played his conch horn, a Bahamas tradition, and played taps on his trumpet (a David tradition).

Little Farmers Cay Yacht Club (inside above with group shot and outside)

You never know when you will be able to find fresh produce or restock your provisions. The mail boat (it brings provisions for the island in addition to the mail) did come into this island two nights ago (we got to watch it unload since it anchored right behind us), but it brought very little produce. I bought one tomato, one onion and shared a package of celery with a friend. That was it for available produce. But somehow at cruiser’s pot lucks you end up with a bountiful variety of delicious food and last night was no exception! Today is one of the women’s birthdays and I have baked a cake to help celebrate the occasion.

We have enjoyed exploring the Little Farmers Cay settlement and getting to know some of the 58 island residents. We visited the elementary school one day and the kids loved petting and picking Riggs up and showing us their classroom. Luckily Riggs is great with kids and didn’t mind all of the attention a bit.

The two room classroom has 13 students ranging in age from kindergarten to Grade 7 (14 years old) with a teacher and an assistant. We were very impressed with the flexibility that this teacher exhibited while at the same time she had complete control of the group and the respect of the students. She was warm and loving with the kids and they clearly adored her also. They had sports day planned for the next day so the three women in our group came back the next day and cheered the teams on complete with handmade pop-poms that one of the women made. It was a sweet day!

Riggs has so enjoyed his daily romps on the beach with his Whippet friend Torin. Torin is older, but he still can run faster than Riggs in a straight line. Riggs realizes this and runs in circles and makes sharp cuts which then makes Torin pull up gimpy. Youth is not fair! They both enjoy chasing coconuts!

So we will stay one more day, possibly hiking to an inland fresh water cave that you can snorkel in during the day and going to watch the Super Bowl at a local restaurant in the evening. Then we will head south again. Our son and daughter in law are hoping to join us next weekend so we need to get moving so we can meet them.

Life is good!