February 5 - 11, 2023
This week has a decent amount of helm time for me, and we made stops along the way with Big Major Cay, Staniel Cay, Rudder Cut Cay, and Lee Stocking Island. There were swimming pigs, iguanas and more spectacular views, as well as reunions with friends from our time in Ft. Pierce.
The sun, sea & sand haven’t gotten old yet. ☀️🏝🌊🐚
Sunday, February 5th
In the morning, we anchored a short distance away from Big Major Cay, the location of Pig Beach and the Exuma Pigs.
Swimming with the Exuma Pigs is lauded as a ‘can’t miss’ experience (and people pay hundreds of dollars to do it), so we definitely needed to check it off our Bahamas Bucket List.
While the piglets were cute and it was mildly entertaining, I’m glad we didn’t pay the hundreds of dollars that other tourists pay. We hung out on the island for about a half an hour (maybe less), then went back to the boat to decide what the next adventure would be.
The rest of the day included more lessons and time at the helm for me! We pulled anchor, leaving Pig Beach/Big Major Cay and headed towards Rudder Cut Cay and Musha Cay (both owned by David Copperfield), and I was at the helm for just about all of the trip today. We had motors and the genoa (sail) out, running consistently between 5-7 knots, dependent on the wind, waves and current. Though we tracked a route on Navionics, Paul said it was just as easy for me to follow behind the S/V Strathcona (Bry & Stu), so that’s what I did. When we got to the cut, I was really starting to feel nervous about the water depth, but Paul and Scott told me to just follow right behind Stu all the way in and we would be ok. Around that same time, while Stu & I were talking on channel 68 on the hand-held, I heard him being hailed by a different vessel on 16. He leap-frogged over to 16 and invited his hailer (from the S/V Seas the Moment) to join our discussion on 68. They asked if it was ok to follow us through the cut, and our three sailboats smoothly navigated the waters. It was frighteningly shallow, so I’m proud of myself, though I know I could not have done it on my own.
Monday, February 6th
Today’s adventure was all about exploring the reefs and waters around us. Though it was raining a fair amount in the morning, the skies cleared, the sun came out and a beautiful rainbow graced the skies.
We, along with Bry & Stu, dropped dinghies and took them over to the underwater piano and mermaid, which had been commissioned by David Copperfield. While it was interesting to see, I found it a bit underwhelming. Once we had dropped over the backs of the dinghies into the water and snorkeled around it for a few minutes, there was not much else to do in that area. The current was a bit aggressive and there were no reefs in the immediate area for snorkeling, so we moved away from there and just slowly motored around, checking out the area. There was a slight outcropping that formed a tiny cave and beach area. Bry pulled her dinghy into that area while Stu spearfished in those nearby reefs. Paul dropped the three of us (Scott, Teri and myself) off at the beach cave and motored slowly around Stu. (If Stu spearfished something, it would be important to get him and his catch into the boat quickly since blood in the water could bring sharks.)
Fishing was a bust, but it was another beautiful day on the water, so we wrapped up our adventures with dinner and a movie, Guardians of the Galaxy I, before retiring.
Tuesday, February 7th
When I woke, Paul and the dinghy were gone, and Teri & Scott were still sleeping. Paul had joined Stu & Bry for morning coffee and discussed our plans for the day. He returned, announcing that the group would be doing some snorkeling and spearfishing later in the afternoon along some nearby reefs. When the time came to leave, I suddenly balked, desperate for some time along to write and think without interruption.
Even though the Wi-Fi signal here is weak, constantly drops my WhatsApp calls and I can’t reliably connect to the internet, I decided it was still a good day to stay behind. Consequently, I spent the day napping, reading, and writing. I tried listening to an audiobook on marketing, but fell asleep on the trampoline in the warm sunshine and gentle breeze, waking up around chapter five. So, I gave up the audiobook, made myself a lemonade and started reading Talk to Me Like I’m Someone You Love (by Nancy Dreyfus, PsyD) and writing notes about it. I find the book intriguing—enough so that I might start putting my observation and thoughts about it in Therapy Thursday posts in the future.
As I was writing at the table outside, I saw a dinghy zooming up to the Kya Anne. I yelled out a “Hiya!”, thinking it was Bry and Stu checking in on me. As they got closer, the couple yelled from their dinghy, “You’re from Alaska, right?”
The couple, Craig and Roxanne, were from the S/V Seas the Moment, and had radioed Stu the day prior to ask if it was ok to follow the two of us as we began to navigate the narrow cut coming into the Cay yesterday. They had stopped over to say “Thank you” for the assistance, noting that they had come in this way in previous years, but that their Navionics had lost the previous track and they appreciated the ability to follow us all in.
I pointed out that all the glory and thanks would go to Stu, as I had just followed him in and that I was new to boating/sailing.
The three of us talked for a short while, and Roxanne tied up her dinghy to the cleat on the side of Kya Anne. Craig is retired, and Roxanne is a semi-retired attorney, who hadn’t yet stopped working. Formerly from Bend, Oregon, they had been living on their boat full-time since 2018 after buying it in 2016. They indicated that they would be heading the same direction as us- towards Georgetown (once the blow ended) and we talked briefly about life on the water, previous marinas and where each of us had departed from. When I said we had left Fort Pierce, they said that had been in Harbortown (FL), the neighboring marina. (Fort Pierce could not accommodate a boat of their size due to the height of their mast (69’). Once they finish the cruising season here, they’ll be heading back to Grenada, which is their current home base.
As we were chatting, the rest of the gang returned, and we all chatted together for a short while before Roxanne and Craig departed.
The snorkeling and fishing were a success, of sorts- Stu and Paul both being successful in their spearfishing. Scott joked that he would have been successful in spearfishing if Paul hadn’t given him a left-handed spear. When I asked Paul if he caught anything, he said he had gotten two fish in one throw! I was quite impressed, until he sheepishly added that he had been aiming at a completely *different* fish and missed it, accidentally hitting those two instead. 😂
All the fish went home with Stu and Bry, who joined us later for dinner. All the fish that were caught were really too small to make much of a meal for the group, so they brought over a (delicious!) lobster dip instead, and Teri made a delicious Mushroom and Cheese Risotto for dinner.
We all enjoyed another lovely evening of conversation and laughter.
We also celebrated Scott going a whole 13 hours without injury. 🤣
Before departing, Paul, Stu and Scott discussed weather for tomorrow.
It is breezy yet comfortable here in the cove, but the open water outside the cove is much rougher. The wind and weather reports predict 4–5-foot seas with 13-14 seconds troughs on Thursday, so it was decide that we would spend another two nights here in Rudder Cut Cay, waiting for the blow the end, then try to head out late morning on Thursday, heading towards Lee Stocking Island.
Another wonderful day came to an end, and we retired just after 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 8th
With plans to stay put today, we were a little uncertain what to do with ourselves. It ended up being a leisurely day, complete with a mid-morning nap. In the early afternoon, Bry & Stu invited our group to join them on an exploratory hike on a private island. (The island is owned by David Copperfield, who apparently owns 3-4 small islands in the area). Paul and I declined, but Scott & Teri joined them. The four of them ignored the ‘Private Property – No Trespassing’ signs (because they are a bunch of thug criminals! 😂🤣) and disappeared over a small ridge. While they were out exploring, Paul and I puttered around the boat; Paul working on various boat projects while I did some reading and writing.
After a few hours passed, Paul started to worry about them and talked about going to search for them, but I insisted they were all fine. Sure enough, within the next hour, we saw them exiting from the brush and walking along the beach.
No harm, no foul, and no arrests. We win!
Thursday, February 9th
Today’s source of morning humor came from them making fun of me… Paul was searching for his smart balance ‘butter’ and couldn’t find it. He gave up looking and Teri knelt down and started searching the fridge.
I just said, ‘It’s in the top left’ and then Paul responds sardonically ‘She says that about everything.’
Scott adds, “If she keeps saying it, eventually, she’ll be right”, and then they ALL start laughing.
All in all, it was a low-key day; there was lots of napping and down time.
Friday, February 10th
Yay for having internet again… (somewhat intermittently, but I’ll take what I can get).
Once again at the helm, it took me about two hours to run the boat from Rudder Cut Cay to Lee Stocking Island.
I do better with a 40′ vessel than I do with a dinghy… I had another dinghy driving lesson, and… it did not go well. Suffice it to say that I am a terrible dinghy driver. Paul says I will improve with practice and not to get discouraged, and Scott said…. nothing. 😬 Fortunately, there are no photos– they were too busy hanging on for dear life.
Later in the day, we went over to Bitter Guana Cay for a bit to see the endangered Bahamian iguanas. It was quiet, peace and beautiful there.
Later, Paul and I hopped in the dinghy and went over to reconnect with Jason & Monica (friends and neighbors from our time at Ft. Pierce City Marina) for a beach walk & talk, and while we were there, Paul looked down and found this huge conch shell with the conch still inside. He’s currently in the freezer- the conch 🐚 not Paul- and I’m trying to figure out what to make since conch salad isn’t really my thing…
Later, we enjoyed cocktails on the S/V Strathcona with Bry, Stu. Paul, Teri, Scott.
Another day that was unremarkable, except for its awesomeness.
Saturday, February 11th
Today, Bry, Stu, Scott, Teri & I explored a portion of an island with an old abandoned airstrip and beautiful beaches while Paul stayed behind to replaced filters on the water-maker.
While there, Stu shows us how to get all the good stuff in a coconut….
