Blogs from Exuma, Bahamas, Central America Caribbean - page 14

Our next stop in the Exumas was Big Majors, a small island just a couple of miles away from Sampson. It is a great anchorage but very crowded. Actually we have found that all the islands in the Exumas are quite popular, and thus crowded. That night we counted 44 boats anchored out- crazy! It feels more like a floating city than a deserted island. One of the main reasons why we decided to anchor out at Big Majors for the night was to see the wild pigs on the island. Actually, they aren’t really wild pigs. The residents of nearby Staniel Cay put them there years ago, built a small shelter for them, and bring them food and water. Over the years cruisers have gone to visit the pigs and they have become quite an ... read more

It has been a very windy winter here in the Bahamas, with winds blowing 20-30 knots almost everyday in the last month. So we have had to plan our travel wisely, especially if we have to sail in the Exuma Sound where the water drops off to 100 fathoms (about 6000 feet) about one mile offshore. The waves in the deep water build up to 10-12 feet with this wind, making travel risky. Luckily we were able to cross back into the banks about a week ago and have been able to sail in these much safer waters. The banks are special in that the water is very shallow, not more than 10-12 feet deep in most places, and thus the waves can only build up to 2-3 feet. The result is that we can ... read more

Our next stop was Warderick Wells, the head quarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The Exuma Land and Sea Park is a 176 square mile protected park which consists of 15 major cays (including Shroud and Little Bell) and numerous smaller ones. It was set aside by an act of Parliament in 1959 to protect the diversity of marine life for future generations. Unfortunately the populations of fish, conch, and lobster have greatly diminished from over-fishing in the Bahamas over the years. We have talked to many locals in our travels and they share stories about how conch used to litter the beach and that you had to be careful walking barefoot for fear of cutting your foot (as opposed to today where you have to search out for conch, often unsuccessfully). So this ... read more

We left Allan’s Cay and continued sailing down the Exuma island chain to Norman’s Cay, which has a sordid history since the time of pirates (where it derives it’s namesake), to the bootleggers of prohibition, and then the drug smugglers of the 70’s and 80’s. Currently it is a sailor haven; with a protected anchorage, several small islands with wonderful beaches, and even Mc’Duffs restaurant which was just about to open when we were there. We learned Normans past from the book "Turning the Tide: One Man Against the Medellin Cartel" by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick and Peter Abrahams. It tells the story of Richard Novak, a diver who wanted to make Normans his new home, and of Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas (leader of the Medellin Cartel) who wanted to make Normans his own personal nation. Lehder ... read more

Here we are. Anchored close to Chat & Chill, beach, resort. Resort has no wifi this year. Will have to go into town for internet. We stopped on the way from Nassau at Norman's. Still traveling with Sea Dancer. Then stopped at Big Majors, to find the island full of pigs. They actually go in the water, Boats come from Staniel Cay to feed them. Wonder who owns them? Then we went another 5 miles to Black Point, had dinner at Lorraines. There is 3 of the original boats, Scott Free with Lois and George and Sea Dancer with Karen and Ron, and of course us. Then Stocking Island. ... read more