Staniel Cay is one of the most popular spots in the Exuma Islands and Bahamas, it's famous for its swimming pigs and as the location of the grotto scenes used in James Bond’s Thunderball. We arrived mid-tide and had to carefully pick our way through the shallows to be able to anchor safely, between the islands and the channel out into Exuma Sound, in the deepest spot we could find, 3.4metres.
We waited onboard for an hour or so to ensure the anchor had set and to watch the boat traffic of other cruisers, sports fishing boats and tourist trip boats all whizzing by. It was very busy. We also took the opportunity to google the mega yacht “Man of Steel'' which we passed as we entered the Cay. It was a massive boat with the Superman logo emblazoned on the side. Google informed us that the owners were in reality “Man of Steel '', quite literally the owner was one as they’d made their money as one if not the biggest steel manufacturer in the USA. Not sure how much they had to pay to use the trademarked Superman logo, but considering the size of the yacht I doubt it made too much of a dent in the budget!!
Happy that the anchor had set, we made the dinghy ride to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, paying a whopping $8US to drop off our rubbish before taking a short walk to find the supermarket. Supermarket would appear to be a strong word for the small shop we found and although super friendly as we looked, the $9US for a red pepper stung the wallet. Back at the yacht club, the prices didn’t get any better as a glass of house wine was $20US and a local bottle of beer a pricey $9US. We knew that the Bahamas were expensive but it still took our breath away every time we got a bill.
The next day we got up early to visit the pigs before the tourist boats arrived and hoped to get into Thunderball grotto as well. The beach where the pigs live was very quiet, not another boat or dinghy was around and to start with we couldn’t see any of these famous beasts. But as soon as they heard the approaching outboard motor, they roused themselves from their slumbers and we were soon greeted on the waters edge by several large mummy pigs with accompanying litters.
It was a little daunting as they are big and overly eager to get to the carrots and apples, we’d saved as treats. Not keen on beaching the dinghy we dropped the anchor about 3 meters out and watched with fascination as the larger pigs swam out to us. I stayed well inside the dinghy as the official camerawoman letting Ross brave the approaching hoard. They are super cute, but Ross almost lost a few toes as they swiftly gobbled up everything we’d brought and continued to search for anything remotely carrot or apple looking, like toes and feet.
As a few more dinghies started to arrive, we picked up the anchor, and moved away heading for Thunderball Grotto. When we arrived, it looked like we were ahead of the crowd, dropping the anchor we got into the water and looked for the entrance into the cave. It was pretty simple to find once we got close to the rocks, and a line had been attached to help you follow the path inside. It was magical once inside and we were blessed to have the place to ourselves. Only the fishes and a gorgeous turtle swimming elegantly about. Exploring all the corners of the cave and even swimming out the other side to see the large field of fan corals waving back and forth in the tide. It was still early morning and a wonderful way to start the day.
Back at the boat, we showered off and had breakfast, before heading into the yacht club to meet some friends. This was an excellent day all round, but by the end of it, possibly one of the most expensive as the rum punches flowed liberally and the bar bill increased exponentially. How we made it safely back to the boat was luck rather than judgment and both of us had hangovers which required the use of a bucket for one of us!!
A quiet day followed after the excesses of the day before and we decided to pack up and move to our next destination, Black Point. This would be our last stop before George Town and our last sail on the inside of the Exuma island before we had to head out into the Exuma Sound.
We’d also heard from our friends on Earendil, who would be coming up from George Town to Black Point as they headed north and we arranged to meet for coffee once we’d arrived. Black Point was a lovely bay, clear sand to anchor in and a small village with a few shops, bars and bakeries. We took the dinghy into shore for a short walk to the store and stopped to find the bakery. Which is in fact, a local ladies house who makes the most devine coconut and chocolate loaf. It was delicious, but a little hard to find, unless like me you ask the ladies sitting in some shade shelling coconuts only to find out you’re speaking directly with the baker herself and get welcomed in her home to check out all the delicious treats.
Back onboard Blue Mist, we gathered a few drinks and nibbles and headed over to Earendil for sundowners with our friends Patty and Gary. It was a lovely, relaxing evening, we had lots to catch up on from our various adventures, since we had last seen them in Grand Cayman. We’d been to Cuba and they’d sailed all the way to Belize and back via Florida to the Bahamas.
The trip to George Town would be one of our longest sails in some time, as we’d be heading out into Exuma Sound and hopefully some great fishing and sailing for the day. Getting up early the next day we aimed for slack tide to exit through the cut into the sound safely. It was a pretty tight cut and definitely one I wouldn’t want to try with any significant wind over tide or current. Once out in the deep water we set the sails (as always the wind was almost directly on our nose), threw both the lines out the back hoping for Mahi Mahi or Tuna.
The headsail didn’t last long as we simply didn’t have any angle on the wind, but the fishing was awesome. As fish after fish chased the lure, we landed three Mahi Mahi, lost two lures to something big enough to bite straight through the line and a couple of Barracuda which went straight back. The freezer was packed full and we had to stop fishing about two thirds of the way through the day as it would be a waste to catch anymore.
The entry into George Town is straight forward but a little daunting as you have to wind your way through the sand banks and with our 7ft keel we’d ideally need high water to make sure we didn’t get grounded in some of the shallower parts. This was one of occasions where our tidal planning was a little off, as when we arrived we were definitely closer to low water than high. As the depth got shallower, we both crossed our fingers. A yacht in front of us, obviously much more confident than us with the entry channel, had decided to sail into harbour as far as possible, however this caused us some issues as we had very limited ability to move around them and they decided to cross our path and drop sails at the most inopportune time.
Ross made a break for it at one point and hoping that Navionics was accurate made a dash for it to get around them and ahead of their erratic path. We made our way through the various anchorages to pick a spot near the famous "Chat n Chill cruisers beach and bar. It was a long day, but we enjoyed a lovely sunset beer and Mahi dinner, looking forward to exploring George Town.
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