Happy New Year in the Exumas

The last few days of Brad’s visit were cold and windy so we didn’t get much snorkeling done.  A front had come through and we were lucky to be on a mooring ball in Exuma Land and Sea Park in Warderick Wells as the winds peaked at about 40 knots.

Once the front passed we were able to sail and motor sail down to Big Majors Spot, just off Staniel Cay where Brad could catch the plane for Nassau.  Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as he left, the weather turned beautiful and we vegged for 6 days, enjoying the sun and beautiful water.  Each day we watched the progression of boats that came into our beach with their table scraps to feed the swimming pigs.

Bye Brad! Have fun in Mexico.

When pigs can swim...

Our days were filled with reading, dingying into town to buy bread from the lady in the yellow house, eating fritters at the Yacht Club and napping on the boat.

Our friend, Sid, from Anacortes on Quest, an IP 40 caught up to us the day Brad left and we were all disappointed that they weren’t able to meet.

Bo - Quest's ship's dog

We were there for the New Years celebrations and it was great to watch the races – especially the local Class A boats where the locals hike out on pryboards to keep the boats upright as they haul into the wind.

Tida Wave - from Staniel's Cay

All of the local boaters were invited into Staniel Cay Yacht Club for a regatta dinner – great conch salad, chowder, fish, the delicious macaroni they make from scratch, and endless rum punches with a punch.  Thanks so much to the Staniel Cay community for their warmth – it is a very nice place to visit.

Sandy Cay

Our private island!

We brought in the New Year – at least on Greenwich time (7 PM local time) with Roger and Bonnie from Kokomo, Sid from Quest on Conrad and Sally’s “It’s About Time, “ another IP 38 like ours.

We are on a mission now to get down to George Town for Jen and Jackson.   We stopped in at Little Farmers Cay to drop off the schoolbooks we’ve ferried from Florida.

Farmer's Cay schoolbooks

Also, the internet is pretty good there and we’ve been able to chat with our family and friends.  We’ve got another couple of favorite spots to see including Musha Cay (you really should google Musha Cay) and the castle on Darby Island before we sled down to George Town on Thursday to avoid the next cold front.

All the best for 2011 to everyone!  Talk to you from George Town.