Pushing to the Exumas
When your life is 100% dependent on the weather, mother nature sure does keep you on your toes. Unfortunately, the forecasts are only right about half the time.
Morgan’s Bluff was a perfect spot to recharge for a few days. We hiked up to the top of the bluff and met up with some fellow cruisers at the local restaurant.
Below Deck is exactly the kind of spot we love. It has about 10 chairs at the bar and a small generator-powered kitchen cooking up conch, fish, wings and burgers. The owners, Jay and Kizzie, are Andros Island natives who make you feel like you’re a guest in their home.
We would have liked to stay longer at Morgan’s Bluff to explore the caves, but a strong northerly was forecast to head our way for the weekend. The anchorage is well protected on three sides but completely exposed to the north. With gusts anticipated over 30 knots, we decided to make the next move.
To our surprise and delight, one of the locals delivered a box of fresh veggies to the cruisers in the anchorage on our final night. We will never turn down fresh lettuce and a few tomatoes, as they are hard to come by and usually pretty expensive.
On Thursday morning, we made an early morning run from Andros to New Providence before work. In an effort to avoid Nassau, which is one of the busiest cruise ship ports in the world, we landed in a sheltered bay on the far western corner of the island. Clifton Bay is a beautiful spot but the mega mansions were a sharp contrast to Jay and Kizzie’s front porch.
We had quite a blow come through Friday and Saturday, with every bit of the >30 kts that were forecast. Sunday was expected to start breezy (~20 kts) and decrease throughout the day.
With only about 45 more miles to reach the Exumas, we decided to roll the dice, taking our chances with the confused seas and banking on the winds dying down. After all, it’s hard to do a longer trip during the work week.
The sail from New Providence to the Exumas is over a series of shallow banks plagued with rocks and coral heads, also known as bommies. We successfully avoided all the bommies but took a real beating. The winds only increased throughout the day and the seas were churned up from three days of strong winds. It felt like 10 hours inside a washing machine.
The only bright side was that we finally caught fish! We trolled through the deep water, onto the bank and through the rocky areas. Within the first two hours, we had a mutton snapper and a cero mackerel in the fridge.
The trip took much longer than expected but we arrived at Highbourne Cay right before dark.
We’ve seen our fair share of crystal-clear water and white sand beaches but the Exumas are on an entirely different level. There are no words to describe the blue color of this water. It’s no surprise why these are considered some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world.
Now that we made it to the Exumas, we fully intend to slow down and enjoy the fruits of our labor (and fish tacos). In these two weeks, we traveled further into the Bahamas than we did in two months last year. It’s hard to notice growth in the day-to-day but comparisons like that are hard to ignore. It’s certainly not easier but we’re more capable and confident.
Check out all the trip details with the SeaPeople links below:
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