Wildcat-February 24, 2005

Ferbruary 24, 2005

We got ourselves well provisioned in Marsh Harbour and decided to head north for a while. We left in very light winds. We motorsailed and decided to try what is known as the inside passage around Whale Cay. This passage is fairly shallow and at mid tide we saw 5 1/2 feet. Our vessel draws 4 feet so we faired just fine. The winds had died down to a bare whisper. It was early afternoon so we decided to take a side trip to the reefs off of No Name Cay and Pelican Cay. There were buoys out at the reef. We were later to learn that an organization called Reef Relief is responsible for them. They are based at the settlement of New Plymouth at Green Turtle Cay. They are the sister city to Key West where the organization originated. They have bought one of the houses on the Cay and have filled it with information about preserving the reefs of the world and why this is important. We received so much information at the Reef Relief house and we are still processing it. The Bahamas biggest danger at this time is the loss of their turtle population. I think they're doing a fine job. We saw many turtles in our trip north.

The other interesting feature of Reef Relief here is that they are located in what is known as a Conch House. A Conch House is a two-story structure. The front and back are designed exactly the same with an upstairs and downstairs porch. The two sides are exactly the same also. Straight and with exactly the same number of windows. Inside we found that this design allows for a wonderful flow of air. Very good in tropical areas.

To continue my story, we snorkeled on the reef off the cays. It was a fairly deep reef with lots of life. We saw beautiful coral there. Our anchorage was not a good one for the night so we set off to White Sound at Green Turtle Cay. The next day we went out looking for fish, conch and lobster. We found a very good conch spot and took three. We left some there for future meals. Chris caught his first grouper of the year and we were mighty excited. We had to revisit our conch opening and cleaning abilities. What a nice seafood meal we had.

The next day after getting just a few more supplies we set off for parts farther north. We went to the next cay known as Manjack Cay. Two people live on this cay, One year round and the other occasionally. It was a fun place to explore by dinghy. We went through an extensive mangrove creek. It had lots of shallow water and nothing but mangroves. About 1/2 mile into the creek we rounded a bend and found someone living on a powerboat tied off to the mangroves. Someone going to all that trouble must really enjoy their solitude so we quietly left. It's so like the Bahamas to never know what's around the next corner.

Moving on the next day we found a lovely anchorage in a spot off of Crab Cay. There are many Crab Cays in the Bahamas. This one is near to the break between Little Abaco and Great Abaco. We were completely alone in this anchorage. The upper Abacos are not as well visited at this time of year. It was time for us to find out where the fish were hiding. Nearby the anchorage Chris caught 2 nice sized lobsters. Here in the Bahamas they are called crawfish. They don't have claws like their northern Maine cousins. The flavor of the tail is exactly the same though. Maybe it's a little better since we caught and cleaned it ourselves! In our minds catching fish makes us feel as if we've finally arrived here in the Bahamas.

Our next stop was Moraine Cay. It contained only a day anchorage so we set out to spend time there in the middle of the day. There is one house on this cay. The owner was absent and we saw caretakers working around the grounds. It is a lovely picturesque cay with a beautiful beach on the Sea side and the Ocean side. We first checked out the reefs on the Sea side. Immediately a 3 foot barracuda let us know that we were in his or her territory. They like to check out the competition. The reef here was shallow, beautiful, and filled with fish. Chris caught a 5 lb. hogfish here and a Nassau grouper. Thanks to a fish scale present given to Chris by my parents I am able to accurately give you the weight of the fish. Let me tell you though, it was big. We had a dinner and 2 large lunches thanks to this tasty fish. And this was one of the small fish Chris saw. We had plenty, so the rest of the time we spent looking at all the beautiful fish and coral.

We couldn't leave this spot without checking the outside Ocean reef. This reef might have had less fish but it was no less spectacular. The reef was 10 to 15 foot deep with underwater caves, lots of coral, and probably the biggest Angel fish I ever saw. It was hard to leave this spot but the anchorage was untenable. We spent a little bit of time checking out a hurricane hole off of Allan's Pensacola Cay and then went back to our favorite spot off Crab Cay.

Unfortunately we discovered our brand new refrigerator thermostat was not working properly anymore, so we had to get ourselves back to a phone to order the part we needed. The entire morning we had absolutely no wind. We could see the bottom as if there was no water between us and it. I can't even begin to explain what that is like. We had the boat on autopilot and just stood at the bow watching the grasses, starfish, sea cucumbers, scallop shells, small fish, even debris. It is so unbelievable and you just want it to go on and on. But we are a sailboat, and it was nice to set the sails once the winds came up.

So now we're back at Green Turtle getting all of our parts ordered. We're running into lots of new friends now as we travel and we're enjoying sharing new experiences.

I know this is a lengthy letter but it was really fun to have gone to some new places and share them with you. As always, we wish you fair winds and smooth seas.

Pam and Chris