Nassau and beyond . . .

After 6 days of enduring powerboat wakes in Nassau Harbour (we tried both East & West ends), it was time to get away from the big city. We departed late in the morning on Tues 03 MAR 2009 for the Porgee Rocks – Allan’s Key run. Winds were NE-E at a steady 22 kts, gusting higher, so it was a nice quick run down to Allan’s Key. We never saw a single coral head crossing the Yellow Bank and Middle Ground, so either we weren’t paying enough attention, or drawing 3’ gives you piece of mind in shallow water. All in all, it was a good day of sailing with less than 30mins of outboard usage.

Arriving at Allan’s Key, we found that about a dozen boats had beaten us to the anchorage. After touring the entire harbour, we settled on SW Allan’s Key, which had room for only one boat; ours. Unfortunately, while the wind clocked from NE to E as predicted, the swell rolled through the anchorage from NW, which made for an uncomfortable night. In the morning we dinghied ashore to Iguana Beach to see the unique creatures that inhabit only these Cays.

Bonnie brought some raw broccoli and yellow bell peppers ashore, and as we landed the dinghy on the beach, the Iguanas started coming out of the bushes and literally running down the beach. They have become habituated to cruisers (and Powerboat Adventures clientele from Nassau) feeding them, so whenever they hear a boat approaching, they run for the surf line.

The Iguanas ranged from 6” to about 3’ in size, and most stayed a few feet away. There was an oldtimer who actually ate right out of Bonnie’s hand, but the rest of them were a little skittish, at least on the beach side. We walked over to the S side of SW Allan’s Cay to see the “lone Palm” that we’d used as an anchor watch bearing all night, and found two more Iguanas…. one that was normal, and one that was highly aggressive; he didn’t even want the food offered to him, he just wanted to chase Bonnie’s tasty ankles! Took a large stick to convince him otherwise.

After the mostly sleepless night anchored in SW Allan’s, we decided to get some rest. We had a nice short sail under main alone (25knts wind, up to 7.7kts boatspeed) down to Highborne Cay, where we tied up at the exceptional marina for the night. Highborne Cay Marina charges about the same as Nassau rates, yet the facility is really clean, friendly and well run. After getting settled, we took Nyla for a walk on the E shore of the Cay, which has one of the most spectacular beaches; the sand was incredibly soft with minute grains, and the folks that live their pick all the litter off the beach to keep it clean. We had a good time teaching Nyla to do her part, so she picked up the remains of a milk crate and carried it all the way back to the trash pile! (She also had a bit of a fit trying to get Morgan out of the water!) Highborne Cay is really a well managed, extremely protected marina and is highly recommended. Sharks regularly gather at the fish cleaning station where they expect to be fed.

The following day we enjoyed a beam reach from Highborne down to Norman’s Cay. Again, wind was 20-25 and we were coasting along at 6.5-7.7 under main alone. Since it was such a short little hop, I didn’t feel like reefing the mail just to put the Genoa up and generate more salt spray… and its not like we’re in a hurry to get anywhere! We went inside Norman’s to check out the harbour, billed in the guides as an “all-weather refuge.” Well, the recommended inside anchorage was full of whitecaps on a lee shore with 25 knots… so we quickly retreated N through the reef to anchor off the western shore just S of Skipjack Point in about 6’ of water.

We’ve spend the last few nights in the same spot, about 150’ feet off the beach (and 400’ closer than anyone else). There are about a dozen boats anchored S and W of us, but the Cay breaks up most of the prevailing E wind, and Skipjack Point breaks up the wave action, except for some swells that roll in around the corner. Lots of Catamarans here, a St. Francis 44 (Orca), Lagoon 410 (LunaSea), Kelsall Custom (Salu), and we also saw a Prout off in the distance this morning.

Yesterday we spent a few hours in the dinghy exploring the inside of Norman’s Cay, trying to work our way N to the Pond. Pretty tough going unless you are willing to pull up the outboard and tow the dinghy across the sand banks that make up much of the inner reaches. We made it about halfway then called it quits, beached the dinghy near the old drug-running pier, and walked over to the outstanding Norman’s Cay Beach Club.

The Norman’s Cay Beach Club offers fantastic service, beautiful surroundings, great burgers, and they’re open 6 days a week from 1200-1500, dinner by reservations only. They have plug-in ethernet for access (hopefully where we’re uploading this from) and reasonable prices; highly recommended! They also have an interesting open-air bathroom (remember to switch the sign, or suffer the indignity). Connection to slow for pics on this entry, probably when we hit Stanley's Cay in a few days.

Next stop will probably be Shroud Cay inside the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, to check out the mangrove creeks and Camp Driftwood.