Staniel Cay

2/9/12

Food Scrap Fish

The other day, I emptied some food scraps overboard and these little guys (about three feet long) darted out from under the boat to snatch them up.  Gave me quite a surprise.  And, yes, the water really is this color.

On Tuesday, we had a calm 4-hour motor to Staniel Cay.  Though the wind was right on the nose, it was light and the waves were only 1-2 feet so did not slow us down.  Though we would have preferred to sail, motoring was pleasant enough.  The winds lately have not been conducive to sailing in our direction.  It’s OK because we are only going short distances in order to enjoy many of the cays that dot the Exumas.  Our next stop, Black Point, is only about 8 miles, so it’s hardly worth uncovering then covering the sails, which takes almost an hour.  Actually we are passing by many cays that either are private or do not offer a calm anchorage.

Staniel Cay has a small village, the first of any type of town we’ve seen since we left Nassau a week ago.  It’s fun to be in “civilization” again.  As we pulled into the marina dinghy dock, a woman holding a camera said, “Oh, you’re scaring away the nurse sharks.”  From the dock, sure enough, three nurse sharks swished by, right next to our dinghy.  A woman in a passing dinghy shouted, “Don’t worry!  They’re so docile you could kiss them on the head.”  I’ll just take her word for it.  Two sting rays swam by, too.  What were they doing so close to the dock in such shallow water?  Ah, just beyond the dock, a man was cleaning his fish on a table and throwing the waste into the water providing a yummy snack for these critters. 



Nurse shark below the dock at Staniel Cay

A friendly ray cruises past the dock



We got the lowdown on how to find the grocery stores – the Blue Store and the Pink Pearl – but still we got a little mixed up.  As we walked, an elderly American man drove by in a golf cart, so we asked him for directions.  He chatted a bit and told us that he and his wife own a home here on the island where they have spent the past 17 summers.  He used to own a small plane so would fly back and forth from the East Coast, but now they fly commercially.  Dave can always peg a Rhode Island accent, and sure enough, the man was from Rhode Island and did, in fact, sound just like Dave’s dad.  We eventually found both stores which were vividly painted as their names suggest.  We visited both but just bought cold canned pineapple juice and fresh banana bread.  We found out the weekly mail boat would bring fresh produce the next day and to come back around noon. 

We had a nice walk seeing the small boldly colored homes, hens and chickens scurrying across the lanes, and the old dogs lounging in the shade.  We stopped by the marina bar/restaurant which claims that it is on Jimmy Buffet’s top ten list.  It is a sweet, low-key place (though the prices aren’t low-key) and enjoyed the view from one of their outdoor tables while we relaxed before dinghying back to our boats.   That night, Dave and I could see someone doing a fire dance onshore probably in celebration of the full moon, which had risen and was smiling down at us.

Yesterday was a technology day.  I was able to get on the internet briefly so sent a quick note to our families, as did Jan.  I also helped her set up her wireless booster antenna.  Imagine me helping someone else with technology!  But we got her done!  

We are enjoying a low pressure system, so it's quite calm and in the 80s.  We're anticipating a strong cold front on Saturday and Sunday that is predicted to bring 20-25 knot winds from the north.  Since we're in such a well-protected anchorage, we'll make sure our anchor is set well and stay here.  Early next week we plan to head to Black Point, the second largest population center of the Exumas, where we'll do such exciting things as laundry and real showers.  After that, it's on to George Town, the largest town of the Exumas and "cruising Mecca."  It's nice to stay in one place for a few days to explore it further and take care of small maintenance on the boat. 

Visiting native