Travels with Wildcat

We quickly went through the Berry Islands and Nassau and started our Exuma journey in Norman's Cay. We anchored just north of the cay and found ourselves the only sailboat there. However there were 2 large high speed power boats which ferry visitors from Nassau to this beautiful spot every day. They have a little tiki bar and thatched umbrellas on the beach and it is a lovely place. We dinghied around the area and just started relaxing. We kept heading south and enjoyed the snorkeling. We met a fellow boater who had been at the Salt Pond Marina all summer as we were. We had a magnificent sail down to Georgetown with 20 knots of wind on a close reach. We turned the corner into Georgetown and what a shock to see several hundred boats. We knew they'd be there, but it's still quite a sight. A big blow was coming and we settled into what we thought would be a good spot. It was pretty rough there for the next 3 days and we got drenched in our dinghy trying to get into town. The last time we had been here was 13 years ago with a young Justin aboard. We found our boat name etched into the cement from those days and it brought back a lot of great memories.

As soon as the blow was over, cruisers who had been to Georgetown for months were anxious to get away. We could have stayed and rested but we decided to go on a circumnavigation of the Exuma islands. This was a 3 day trip in shallow water and we had a lovely time with our friends on a catamaran called Xanadu. We even took a side trip to Long Island and that was an island we hadn't been to in 25 years! In many ways, it's still the old Bahamas.

Back to Georgetown, we participated in the 53rd annual National Bahamas Regatta. The island boats race for trophies and bragging rights. It is as far from an official US sailing race as you can get. They do have a race committee and several race committee boats who try in vain to keep the dinghies and boats out of the way of the racers. They wave off one crowd of boats, who move, and then come right back. Chris and I had a blast following the boats around the course. The buoys are set out sometimes as the race is going on and the race committee boats yell out the changes. We took lots and lots of pictures. Our web site is broken right now but we hope to fix it soon and get those pictures up.

In town a transformation takes place one or two days prior to the races. All of a sudden there is a flurry of painting and little shack stalls are set up to serve food and lots and lots of liquor. There are multiple huge amplifiers set up to broadcast music over about 100 miles we think. When you walk by them your whole body feels it. It is very festive and fun. We actually had the best steamed grouper cooked in a little shanty. The famous marching band from Nassau was brought in for the finale. What is interesting is that the results were never announced. Someone must know but the crowd just didn't care. This is when you feel the strong difference between the cultures.

We left Georgetown to go to the Jumentos next. We have never been to these islands. The first cay we went to was Flamingo Cay. We anchored there with a Maine Cat 30 (my cousins have this same boat). They had bought the boat from a charter company in the Abacos and sailed it down to the Jumentos. They only draw 2 feet so they can really take advantage of all the little anchorages here. We only saw that boat and 3 Bahamian fishing boats that day. One fact of life in this cruising ground is that surge is a likely part of your anchorage. For the landlubbers, when waves from the ocean wrap around an island they often come at an angle different than the prevailing wind. Monohulls will roll side to side. Multihulls, like us, also roll side to side but with a quicker motion. It's not comfortable and you just have to get used to it. Sometimes we use a breast anchor to pull the boat into the direction of the surge, which we did there.

We headed further down the chain to Raccoon Cay. This cay is deserted except for several herds of sheep. You can hear them "baaing" from the boat. We were alone at this anchorage and went exploring ashore. There is an old salt pond and we were able to carry back salt crystals to the boat. The going ashore is rough and it's the first time we wished we had a machete. Maybe next time.

We then moved on to the Hog Cay/Ragged Island area. This anchorage is magnificent. We are anchored here with one other boat. That other boat is so far away we can barely see it. We dinghied in to Ragged Island and were greeted by every person we saw. They welcomed us to the island and were so helpful in every way. Our water maker broke just as we entered the Jumentos, so we asked to buy water from them. The RO water man was out fishing but they told us to come again the next day. Sure enough, the next day every person in town knew we were the boaters who needed water and Myron was looking for us. The day before we had taken pictures of the islanders. We printed them and brought them back for them the next day. They were delighted. Myron would take no money for the water so we made a donation to the island school. The school is one building grades 1 through 8. They have trouble getting teachers there because none of the Bahamian teachers want to be in such a remote place. The current teachers are a married couple from Guyana, South America. Several computers have been donated to the school over the years and they currently have a slow internet connection. They are expecting to get DSL any time now. I need to mention that they are also expecting their roads repaired, their channel redredged, and water lines put in to the houses. It's very difficult because the mail/supply boat must anchor out in the harbor and small boats ferry the goods into the shore.

It is truly a unique and beautiful village. Right now they have trouble keeping the young people there because of the lack of work. They have a small salt producing pond and that brings a little money in. They have lots of chickens, roosters, goats and sheep scurrying about. We just love being here. The fishing is great and we've had good luck finding conch. Chris speared lots of fish and even somehow got a flailing 5 pound gray snapper into the dinghy. I have learned to weave with the silver palm and am just in the process of finishing my first basket. With the steady ESE winds it is hard to leave here. However the weather is always changing and we'll be heading north again by the weekend.

Fair winds and following seas to all. Pam and Chris aboard Wildcat