June 8-15
Lyford Cay, Warderick Wells, Staniel Cay, Thunderball Grotto, Big Major, Lyford Cay, Cat Cay, Miami
John & Kathy MacDonald

6/8 John & Kathy MacDonald arrived at the Lyford Cay Club Marina which is a short 20 minute cab ride from the Nassau airport.  We had dinner the first night at the new Greek Cafe which is but a short golf cart ride from the Marina.  The family that opened the restaurant was in the catering business for 12 years and this was their first restaurant endeavor.  The menu featured a number of Greek style appetizers, shrimp dumplings, etc. All very good. 

6/9 Warderick Wells The famous Exumas Land and Sea one of the most popular destinations in the Exumas for cruising yachtsmen.  The park has a mooring bay and park office at Warderick Wells which provides moorings for visitors for a maximum of 3 nights. 

After picking up a mooring we hiked to the top of Boo Boo Hill, renowned by yachtsmen as a repository for various memorabilia, aka "I was here" mementos left by many.  Artifacts included boat name boards, t-shirts, carved driftwood, etc. This was my third or fourth visit and I have yet to leave anything.

We got a nasty surprise the next morning just after 7 AM when I heard a tell-tale "bump" that I initially thought might have been the mooring ball hitting the side of the boat.  Upon investigation however I found that the mooring line shackle had come loose from the ballast during the night and we were aground - and at high tide no less!  Hoping for a miracle I called the park office on the radio and received an immediate reply.  After telling her of the problem she immediately called the park ranger and alerted a cutter from the Bahamian Defense Force which, by chance had docked for the night at the park dock.  Within 20 minutes both were on the scene.  I took a line from the cutter and they were able to pull us free stern first.  We were truly fortunate as in another 30-60 minutes it would have probably been too late.  The tides in the area are 3 feet so we would have been seriously aground and dug in by the next high.

Fortunately we got free with no damage, we were lucky.  From the reaction of the staff I gathered that is not the first time that one of their moorings as failed.  

From Warderick we made the easy run to anchorage at Big Major, dining at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club that evening.  The YC is a busy place in season and this was no exception.  Reservations are needed and the food ordered by 4 PM daily and we got in just under the wire.  The following day we moved the boat over closer to the Thunderball Grotto for snorkeling.  Had a bit of difficulty setting the anchor, finally used the Danforth which held much better in this area.  Water surrounding the cave is shallow and anchoring space is limited.  Snorkeling was great as usual, we took a can of aerosol cheese which the fish go bananas for.  They recognize the can and start nibbling at the spout before the first spray.  The only problem is that there is such a mob it is difficult to get good pictures as they are too close.

We also made the obligatory trip to the beach at Big Major to feed the pigs, per photos below.  These pigs apparently survive solely due to the largesse of visiting yachtsmen as the island is uninhabited and there is no discernable food source.  There were a number of cats here last year, but we saw none this time so they may have gotten snuffed out by the pigs, those that were here last year looked to be near starvation; obviously the pigs were in no immediate danger in that regard.

The first tropical storm of the year was brewing in the Gulf during our cruise and it managed to stir up some brisk winds on our way back.  We decided to stop for fuel at Lyford Cay and spend the night rather than the anchorage in the Berry Islands as we had previously planned.  The winds were much lighter the following day for the trip to Cat Cay where we spent the night and had dinner at the Club restaurant.

Crossing the Gulf Stream was an easy run the next day.  We stayed at the Miami Beach Marina.  Unfortunately the seafood restaurant that was formerly located adjacent to the marina has closed, although they still have a bar that serves casual fare.  We decided to take a taxi to Smith Wollensky, which is a 10 minute cab ride and which had very good food.

Nora and the MacDonald's left the following day for home.  I stayed aboard for the next two days with the delivery crew to make sure all was well for the trip to Norfolk.  I left the boat in Stuart and drove a rental car home to Longboat.