Staniel Cay

We are currently in Staniel Cay where Sean Connery filmed part of "Thunderball." The Staniel Cay Yacht Club displays numerous photos and other memorabilia from the movie. When we pulled into the anchorage we saw our French friends from Shroud Cay. As we later passed their boat in the dinghy, my back was to the boat but Morgan was facing it. Apparently one of them stood up and offered Morgan a visual he would sooner forget!

This is a beautiful island with the friendliest people. The stores are not well stocked, but (as some of you have seen) I brought more than enough to feed a small army for a long time. We normally just stock up on beer, bread, eggs, etc. Carl, at the Yacht Club, directed us to a phone card vendor - third left (one main road through village), look for the yellow house that has a sign (handpainted) advertising bread. We found it and spent nearly the last of our cash (no ATMs here) on the phone cards. The homemade bread was $5 and we only had $4 on us. The sweet lady said that would work, just tell our friends to come see her. We then went to the "Pink Store," one of three little groceries on the island. Morgan noticed they had Guiness. The store owner, Miss Flo Smith said, "I can see you like Guiness. It makes you strong!" Miss Flo said she didn't take credit cards, but spent about 20 minutes with us chatting about Alaska, fishing and her 11 children. She called Morgan a pretty boy and informed me I should give him a baby. When I told her I thought I was getting a little old for that to happen, she told me that was nonsense and that she'd given birth to her youngest at 50!

The Yacht Club is open for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is by reservations only. When you make the reservations you also place your order. They ring the dinner bell promptly at 7:30 and seat you at designated tables. Dinner is a four course meal, with your choice of entree and side. We had conch chowder, then a type of coleslaw. Morgan had rack of lamb with a baked potato and I had steak. We were all served apple pie for dessert. The dinner was phenomenal and reasonably priced considering the courses and where we are. Not too many livestock around these parts!

At the marina there is a fish cleaning station where sharks and rays gather to be fed. (I'm beginning to think all animals in the Bahamas are hand fed!) While waiting for dinner last night, Morgan talked me into walking down the steps and petting the sharks with him. Like Highborne, these are nurse sharks and (mostly) harmless. We saw an amazing sight when one shark with a remora eel furiously going after one of its eyes, was rolled over by another shark in an attempt to dislodge the sucker fish. Didn't work for long, but was very cool to see. Kind of surprising, but we're getting used to seeing sharks from our dinghy.

We met one of our anchorage neighbors yesterday because they have a border collie on board. Ron and Jocelyn, Canadians, have a 3 year old border collie who loves boating. While we were alongside in our dinghy, Ally (the dog) kept trying to jump in. Finally she jumped in her own dinghy and sat there waiting for a ride. They told us she loves to jump in the water and was chasing a barracuda on Shroud Cay. We don't have to worry about that (yet). Koki may end up getting promoted to Sea Cat 2nd class after all. She now goes to her hiding spot as soon as we pull the anchor, but now also comes out as soon as we set it. That's progress.

We'll be leaving here in the morning and plan to visit Blackpoint on Great Guana Cay and then Little Farmer's Cay before Georgetown, putting us there in a few days. The swimming pigs will have to wait for another trip. Our plans are up in the air after that. The water has been pretty cold thus far and we've not been brave enough to don our wet suits and take the plunge. However, if we're able to stay in the Exumas for awhile, we are anxious to try out our fishing and Hawaiian spear techniques. I'm sure the first few attempts will definitely be blog material! So, stay tuned . . .