BACK TO FLORIDA

On Thursday, April 5, we got up before 6:30 am, and navigating by 7:30. It was a gorgeous day, although the wind was not blowing enough. It took us 11 hours to sail from Warderick Wells to Lyford Cay on New Providence. We had called this morning to reserve a spot in the marina, where we spent 2 weeks before setting off for the Exumas.
As we entered the port, the Harbor Master was waiting to help us tie our boat. It felt good to be back in a familiar place. Libia and I borrowed the golf cart and went to the supermarket to get a few things. On the way out, we saw one of the fishermen we had met here before with a truck full of the fish he had just caught. He filleted a couple of red snappers for us. We were hoping someone would have fish or lobster to sell us, and here this guy appeared out of the blue.

After the market, we met Bill and Pablo at the local Captain’s Table, the marina restaurant where we had a few beers and some great crab. We had had a long day of navigation and were very tired.

On Good Friday, around 11:30 am, we left Lyford Cay. The wind was just right, so we had the sails most of the way. It was a beautiful day for navigation spent on deck soaking up the sunrays. Around 4:00 pm, as we were entering the port, we called the marina and got instructions as where to tie. The place is enormous, with more than 300 spots. The facility is a place called Chub Cay Club, a new resort which is still being built and whose marina was inaugurated in August of list year. It is a pristine and modern facility with restaurant, stores etc. We planned to stay only night, so we tied the boat up and off to explore we went. The development has over 100 houses in the island style, wooden facades and pastel colors. Outside the club, there are ocean front houses with private beaches, a small airport, and mangroves in the center of the island. The Cay belongs to the Berry Islands, and Chub is some 30 miles from New Providence.

Saturday we set our alarms for 430 am, but as we set to go, the wind started to blow so hard, that we could leave the dock without being pushed into it. We waited until 7:00 am, but no luck. Since we were to sail some 70 miles to Cat Cay and wanted to be there before dark, we decided to stay. We took out the bicycles and went off to see the island, which has basically only one road along the length of it and one across. At the end of one of them we found a path to a lovely beach of warm and shallow waters, where we sat for a while to cool ourselves off.

At exactly 6:40 pm, we left Chub Cay, had an absolutely gorgeous night for navigation. The sunset, breathtaking, and a starry night like we have never seen before. We were able to set the sails for at least 6 hours of the 13 that it took to get here. The moon came out like a ball of fire soon after midnight, lighting the way for us the rest of the night.

This was our 31st day away on the boat and our third of night sailing. We took turns watching the radar while others napped. The sun came out shortly after 6:00 am on this Easter Sunday, and around 8:00, we anchored at the same place we were before, this time making sure the anchor is in the sand. It was here that the anchor alert went off on our way down south.

We had breakfast, some of us slept some more, and we are now waiting until noon or so to do the Gulf Stream crossing. If all goes well, we will be back in Miami this evening full of wonderful memories of the new places we have seen and anxious to come back to see more of it. On Friday, our son, Ian is coming from California, so we are very excited to be able to see him and spend a few days with him.

“Once you are flat, you never go back” This is a reference to a ride in a catamaran. The flat stable right and the comfort of it make it a great vehicle to sail long distances in all kinds of weather. We love El Mico and only hope to be able to do some more sailing on it.


Samson Cay


Taking a break


Samson Cay




Laggon at high tide


Lagoon at low tide


Bill at Samson Cay Lagoon


Sharks!


Exumas sunset




Cat Cay


Bill working the anchor


Arriving at Warderick Wells


A lovely spot


Sunset in Miami


Miami skyline


Warderick Wells


Our Dingy


Pablo, Libia and El Mico


Moorings at Warderick Wells


Our own aquarium


Sailboat at sunset


Reading at night

SAMSON CAY

The next day we set off North to go to Samson Cay, place we had been told not to miss. We anchored at the entrance to the Marina, which is beautiful. It is definitely a place for the rich and famous. The boats there are beautiful, and the cay itself, the prettiest we have seen so far. There is a lagoon with the most incredible colors, where the sand becomes exposed at low tides, so one can walk from one side to the other. At the docks, there were dozens of nurse sharks waiting for the fishing boats to come and feed them. It is a magnificent sight. The water being so clear, the fish are very easily seen. We took the dingy, tied it up and set off to see the place. There is a lovely restaurant, a beautiful grocery store-boutique, and a few lovely houses with their own private beaches facing the lagoon. They belong to the yacht club. This island in our opinion, was the most pristine we have seen. In the afternoon, we hopped a few miles to the next island, Compass Cay that unfortunately we never did get to see. It was very tricky getting in, and the current a bit treacherous. We anchored outside of the marina along with two other boats, and when we woke up, the tide had gone out and the depth was barely 4 feet, which is the draft of El Mico. We had called Warderick Wells Park, a protected Zone in the Bahamas, to reserve a mooring spot for one night. We got on the radio around nine to see if they had a spot for us. They called us and assigned #18, so we left around ten in the direction of the Island. It was Libia’s birthday and we wanted to celebrate it in a very special spot.

When one sees so many beautiful spots on earth it is very hard to say what is the prettiest because every place has its unique charm and attraction, but to me, this place topped it all off. As you go into the island with the boat, there are about 20 mooring spots in the darker color water. They are all on the north side of the island placed in a crescent shape at equal intervals. The width of the canal is no more than 30 feet, so everything on both sides of it is of lighter colors, very pale towards the center of the lagoon, which just like Sampson Cay exposes its sand at low tide.

We took our snorkeling gear on the dingy and went into the shallower areas for Libia to give it a try. She had never snorkeled before, but with Pablo as an instructor, she soon felt comfortable and did not want to get away. The water was warm and clear, and as we got into the deeper areas there were a wide variety of fish and beautiful corals varying from yellow to orange, red and purple. I got so relaxed doing it, that I did not realize the current was pulling me away far from the dingy. It took some effort to get back to the dingy, but it was well worth it. After our snorkeling adventure, we left the dingy on the beach and went to the Park office to pay for our mooring and buy a few things at the park boutique, The building, a wooden island house is set up high on a rock overlooking the whole lagoon. As we stood there, I was truly out of breath. What a magnificent spot! The park warden gave us a map of the trails to follow to go to the caves and to the
Mangrove creeks. Unfortunately, it was getting close to sunset, so we could not do any more exploring on the island. The next day, we had a long way to go back to New Providence, Lyford Cay, where we had been before, so we could be in Miami by Easter Sunday.

When we got back to the boat, we witnessed an incredible sunset. When it got dark, we turned on the underwater floodlights on the boat and we had an instant private aquarium. There were yellowtails, jacks, snappers, needlefish, and even 3 nurse sharks swimming around. To top it all off, around 9:30 pm, the moon came out from behind the island to complete the most beautiful picture one could possibly imagine. As we were witnessing all this beauty, I could not help but think how very lucky we have been. This has been an incredible few weeks for us, and we know we definitely want to see these islands again.

PIG BEACH

We continued south towards Staniel Cay. There were a few boats anchored in front of a lovely white beach, so we joined the group. There were about 15 of them. The spot was breathtaking, and as I looked onto the beach, I saw what I thought were pigs, or very big dogs. I chose to believe they were dogs, because who has ever heard of pigs on a beach?. After checking with the binoculars I realized they were pigs! There were 4 adults and 5 piglets. There were people on the beach playing with them and feeding them. Needless to say, Libia and I could not wait to go see them.

The next day after breakfast, we took the dingy with all of the food scraps from the day before to feed the pigs. They ran towards the boat, tried to get in, and one of them thought the oar was something he should eat. They were so adorable! People feed them everything, even beer from a bottle. The island is called Big Majors Spot, and the beach, of course, Pig Beach. We continued onto Staniel Cay to explore and to see as much as we could. The island is truly primitive. There is a funky Yacht Club with a restaurant and a few houses with rooms to rent. The village is tiny, but it has 3 grocery stores and a big church. It was Sunday; everyone was in church, so most businesses were closed.

We found out there would be a public party on the island at Club Thunderball, the local club that overlooks Thunderball Grotto, a very popular snorkeling spot. We were invited to it, but we had a Nascar race to watch, so the invitation was declined. We spent two nights anchored at Pig Beach, and on our second day, we took a better look at the island, did some food shopping, had a beer at the Yacht club, and had a great time with the dingy.


Gorgeous water


Pig Beach


Sunset at Big Majors Spot


Feeding the pigs


Beer drinking and swimming pigs

THE EXUMAS

Pablo returned on Monday, we waited another two days, and Thursday, we left Lyford Cay at 5:00 am, bound for the Exumas. We sailed without engines about 3 of the eight hours it took to get to Norman Cay, where we are now. The wind was in front of us most of the time, reason for which we did a lot of motoring. We had a couple of hours of rough seas, but as we approached the islands, the water was light blue and aquamarine, for miles. The bottom of the ocean is so clear; you can see every rock and every fish. As we were getting close to our anchoring spot, we saw a nurse shark swim by, a brown spot amidst the beautifully blue clear waters. There were about five boats anchored in a sort of cove, close to the beach, so we decided to join them there.

It truly feels like paradise here. The beaches are so white, and the sand so soft! We took the dingy out this morning to explore the other side of the island. We found an old abandoned dock, restaurant and all and a gorgeous beach in front of which there was a tiny cay with a solitary palm tree, just like the ones you see in the movies about castaways. There is an airport from where planes can be chartered to other islands. A drug lord, who was the owner of the island in the 1970’s, built it. According to history, 70% of the drugs that went into the U.S.A. went in through The Bahamas.

We decided to stay one more night here and continue south tomorrow, perhaps as far as Staniel Cay.

TWO GLORIOUS WEEKS ON NEW PROVIDENCE

Our stay on New Providence Island has been absolutely wonderful. The Yacht Club where we stayed was a class act, and truly gorgeous spot to be waiting for the “good weather”. In sailing terms, good weather refers to good sailing conditions. The entire time we were there, the weather was gorgeous, but the winds out at sea exceeded 25 knots. We knew we had to wait it out, so we decided to rent a car in order to see the whole island.

Pablo went to Bristol to see Juancho race, and Bill Libia and I stayed behind doing something different every day. We went to see the Bacardi Plant, which was quite interesting. Besides the one in Puerto Rico, they have one in Mexico, this one and one in Florida. They give you a short tour and they also do a tasting where you can try everything they produce. It was quite good. They have a store where you can buy their rum at factory prices.

The island has many different areas, and a lot of development is going on. Interestingly, we saw an incredible amount of churches, all of different denominations. One day I counted 22 between 2 neighborhoods. The area where we stayed, Lyford Cay, is by far the prettiest on the island. The houses and their gardens are unbelievably beautiful. Every time we went out walking or biking we saw gardeners at every house giving them maintenance. At the marina, the boats were huge yachts with large uniformed crews, who worked on cleaning them all day long. The Club had a private beach, restaurants, and of course golf and tennis courts.

On a Sunday, Libia and I took the car to downtown Nassau, parked it, and took a walking tour of the old city. We went to the fort, which overlooks the island, and where the large cruising boats can be seen very clearly. We went to Columbus House, the governor’s house, the old library, the hospital and many other old colonial buildings.

The most popular and well known attraction here is Atlantis on Paradise Island, a very large resort Casino, much like the ones in Las Vegas. We went to see the aquarium, which was truly impressive, the rest we could do without. Too many people, too crowded, and so much like all other tourist infested places in the world.


Lyford Cay Marina


El Mico at LCM


Coming back to El Mico


Quite a show


Lyford Cay house


Along road in Lyford Cay


Another lovely house

FROM GREAT HARBOUR CAY TO WHITE CAY TO NEW PROVIDENCE

After breakfast, we went to the store in the marina to buy a few things we needed, and to the Harbor Master’s to pay for our mooring. It was a beautiful day, a bit windy, and our navigation time was not supposed to be longer than 3 hours. We were told about an ideal spot for an overnight stay at a secluded spot between Hoffman’s Cay and Devil’s Cay. We planned to go there to do some snorkeling and some beachcombing, as well.

When we left, the wind was very good, but soon it started to shift, so we wound up doing some zigzagging, which prolonged our trip about 2 hours. The wind kicked up as we found our anchoring place, and it was rather late to do a dingy trip to the shore. We made some drinks and appetizers and sat to watch the beautiful sunset. A cold front was to arrive along with rain and high winds, but we felt secure in our spot.

Pablo was worried about the winds, and kept reading the weather report, which was not good. Because of the fact that the anchor had moved with 20 knot winds, and being that we were literally between two coral reefs, we decided at 11:30 pm to leave for New Providence island and stay in Nassau. We called several marinas, but none had space for our boat. We found one on the western side of the island, called, and made a reservation. We had to stay at least 3 nights to be able to have a spot. It is a Private Yacht club called Lyford Cay.

The first two hours of navigation were easy, winds of 12-18 knots. On the screen, we could see the storm coming from the east, looking bad. If all went well, we would arrive around 7:00 am. Around 2:00 am, the rain arrived along with winds up to 32 Knots. There was a lot of rock and rolling, but we were never scared. The boat is so incredibly stable. Catamarans give you a flat ride. They do not keel like sailboats.

The rain passed, but the winds stayed and the waves started to get beat us from the side. The last hour was the worst, but we could clearly see the island a few miles ahead as the sun was rising. We called the Marina to announce our arrival, but it was not open. As we entered, we could not believe our eyes. The boats there were gorgeous, and the setting, breathtaking. We saw a big enough slip, figured that that was ours and tied up our boat. It was such a relief after such a rough night. Bill and Pablo went to sleep, and Libia and I went to see the Harbor Master after having prepared a breakfast for all of us. The people at the office were very welcoming and polite, as we have found all Bahamians to be. They told us about all the facilities and services the Club has for its guests. As a transient boat, we can only stay 4 nights, but we can use all the facilities we want. The marina is inside the most gorgeous neighborhood on the island, as we later found out.

The harbor Master gave us a golf cart to use for grocery shopping, or just to go see the area. Libia and I took advantage of it, and went to the supermarket. We found everything we needed, even the Digestives, cookies from England that Bill loves. Next to the market, there is a lovely shopping center with nice boutiques, bank, post office, etc.

When we got back, we prepared a lovely lunch, which was much welcome by the guys who had slept the whole morning. We then watched the Busch race, a good one for Juan Pablo. He finished in eight place. Late in the afternoon, we took a taxi to go to Nassau and Paradise Island to see Atlantis. The trip took about 35 minutes, and it was very interesting. We found that the prettier side is where we are. Nassau reminds me so much of San Andres, the island where we spent our vacations when I was young. It has a very Caribbean flavor, and a lot of character.

Pablo and Libia wanted to show us Atlantis, especially the gigantic fish tank behind the casino. It was definitely worth seeing. There are so many species of fish! We spent a lot of time there, got hungry and decided to eat at a Deli called Murray’s right at the Marina.
It was like Monaco during the Formula 1 race. So many yachts, and such a show! We walked around and did a bit of shopping around the lovely boutiques. We were tired, so we found a taxi and came back.

Next day, Libia and woke up early for a bike ride around the area. We were so impressed by the beauty of the houses and gardens in this neighborhood. Most of the houses are mansions painted in pastel colors, in exquisite island designs. We rode for almost 2 hours, and did not see it all. Since we are going to be here at least until Friday to wait for the weather to sail, we shall be seeing the rest of Lyford Cay,

In the afternoon, we watched the Nextel Cup race, in which J P finished fourth. It was a very exciting 500 mile race. It is great to see Juan Pablo gaining confidence and learning so much each time he races. I have no doubt that he will win an oval or two this year.


Captain at rest


Entering Great Harbor Cay


Buying fish, conch and lobster


Anchored at White Cay

THURSDAY ON GREAT HARBOUR CAY

Another beautiful day with perfect weather! After breakfast, we hired a taxi to go around the island. Although, the island is not big, for Pablo, walking is still difficult. David, the driver, took us around the island, which took about 30 minutes. There is no true village, and the businesses are scattered about the island. There is a Credit Union, a Post Office, a beauty salon, liquor store and a few grocery stores. In its hay day, the island was harbor to great big ships, and a few years back they sold a portion of the island to some developers who built a golf course, a hotel, club and a few beautiful beachfront houses. On that side of the island there is The Beach Club to where we were invited to a party given by the Homeowners association. The whole port, and the rest of the island was invited, so we decided to attend

After a fabulous grilled lobster lunch and a nice siesta in the sun, we got ready and walked to the club. The location is an ideal beachfront property overlooking a couple of small cays and gorgeous turquoise waters. There were speeches and gifts for all who attended, and the bar was selling everything one could want. There was a spread of island food from entrees to salads and desserts, all in great quantity and quality. We met a few other boaters from the port, and a after a couple of drinks, we stood in line for the food. There were peas and rice, dumpling soup, shepherd’s pie, fried chicken, meatballs in hot sauce, fresh baked ham, cabbage salad, potato salad, and the best lobster salad I have ever had. For dessert there was quite the array of cakes of all sort, pineapple, pumpkin squares and more. There was a disk jockey, so the music, mostly reggae, added quite a magic touch to the whole evening.

David, our taxi driver in the morning, was in his Sunday best greeting all the guests, so we figured he might be a minister as well. Around 8:30 pm, we started back to the boat, only to be picked up by David, who offered to bring us to the boat. This was an experience we had to live. Everyone is so nice and welcoming, and when we got back, all the natives wanted to know if we had enjoyed the party.

Right now, Pablo and Bill are reading the weather report, so we can plan what to do tomorrow.

AN UNEXPECTED EVENT

At 12:00 am, the ANCHOR ALERT, signaling that our anchor had moved, awakened us. The winds had picked up to 21 knots, so we had to go out in the rain to lift the anchor and drop it again, but it didn’t hold after two more tries, so we decided to take off at that time of the night, in choppy waters. Happily with the aide of the AUTOMAATIC PILOT and GPS, we had no problems. We took turns watching the screen and checking the radar, in case there were other vessels close to us. El MICO has every gadget known to man, and back-ups for just about every one of them.

It was a long night of rough waters and strong winds, but the stability of a catamaran is remarkable. Although we were banged around a few times, we never felt scared. Once the sun came up, we were able to set the Genoa (main sail) and we continued to our destination with both sail and engines. We arrived at Great Harbor Cay at 3:30 pm.

The island is all coral, with few sandy beaches and very clear waters. We had heard that the weather was going to get bad, so we wanted to moor the boat in a secluded place. We found a lovely harbor, at Harbor Cay Marina, where the captain was very friendly and helpful. The place has all the facilities of the marinas we know in Europe, such as showers, laundry, electricity and water.

After a good night sleep, Libia and I did a couple of loads of heavy laundry, and after lunch, we washed down the boat completely. It is incredible how bad salt water is, and how it gets into everything. It took us all afternoon to do it, but the boat is so immaculate now, that it was worth the effort. While we were out washing the boat, a couple of fishermen came by to offer us some lobster tails. We bought ten for $ 10.00, quite a good deal, since yesterday they had offered us some for $ 5.00 a tail.

Tomorrow we plan to go into the village in the morning with our bikes, and then take the boat south to a place between Hoffman’s and Devil’s Cays. It is supposed to be a fabulous place to fish, snorkel, walk the beaches, and plain relax. The winds will be subsiding, so it should be good sailing for us.

FROM BIMINI TO CAT CAY

On Sunday, March 11 we left North Bimini Island around noon with perfect sailing conditions. The weather, about 76F, winds of 12 knots, sunny blue skies and beautiful waters. It took us only about two hours to Cat Cay, which we approached by coming in between Gun and Cat Cays. El Mico was anchored about 150 meters from the beach, close to the Yacht Club. The beaches are pristine white, and unlike Bimini, this island, which is a private island, is full of palm trees, and gorgeous houses and mansions.

The Nascar race from Las Vegas was to start at 4:00 pm, so Libia and I prepared a lovely lunch, which we accompanied with champagne to celebrate our arrival. After having read for a while out on the bow of the boat, we sat down to watch the race. Juan Pablo finished 23, after many mishaps, although he managed not to get into any accidents of which they were many. After a light dinner, Bill and Libia played a few rounds of backgammon, and I read some more. The night was beautiful, and the sky replete with stars. We had our hatches and windows open, so we had a great night sleep with the rocking of the boat.

On Monday morning after our breakfast and daily chores, we took the dingy ashore to explore the island. We tied the boat at the port and inquired about what we could see. We were allowed in the Yacht Club, a very large and beautiful area with golf course and gorgeous mansions, covering a long a narrow stretch of land. Most homes have lovely manicured gardens, swimming pools, and of course, beach fronts. It took us two hours to walk around, and on the way back, we found a lovely restaurant by the Marina, where we had a great lunch. They had a computer with Internet access, so I was able to read my messages and send a few of my own, since I don’t know when I will be able to do it again.

We returned to the boat around 4:00 pm to rest for a while. Pablo hurt his back getting on the boat, so he lay down with some ice to alleviate his pain. He hopes to be well enough tomorrow, so we can sail again. The plan is to get up at 4:00 am and sail to the Berry Islands, a 12 Hr. stretch, or so. We want to get there in daylight, so hopefully the wind will help us out.


Pablo Libia en Bimini


Biking on Bimini


Resort on Bimini


sunset on Bimini


Cat Cay

FROM MIAMI TO BIMINI

On Wednesday, March 7 we left Miami’s Crandon Park Marina at 7:45 am under very windy conditions, sailing into the wind at a speed of between 7 and 9 Knots. The waters of the Gulf Stream were choppy, so at times, we had a rough going, although all in all, it was pretty good. At 2:15 pm we saw land, and arrived at North Bimini Island at 3: 30 pm. As you get close to land, the colors of the water are incredibly beautiful from dark blue to turquoise to aquamarine. The port were we moored is located between North and South islands in a very beautiful spot. Unfortunately the people who helped us with the ropes had no idea what they were doing, so it took us a while to secure the boat safely to the dock.

After we tied El Mico, we went off to explore the nearby beaches, and found a beautiful rusty wreck that might have been pushed into the reefs by one of the more recent hurricanes. The beaches are of very white fine sand, and the vegetation is unlike the other Caribbean islands farther south. There are two main areas on this island: Alice Town and Bailey Town. The architecture is quite eclectic and unattractive and there are very few palms. There are, however, lots of trees belonging to the acacia and pine families. We sat on top of a fallen palm to watch an unbelievably beautiful sunset and returned to the boat to have an early meal preceded by fabulous tequila with sangritas, a recipe that Libia brought from Mexico. They had been there for the weekend to see their son win a most exciting Busch race. There is a bar near the port, so we could hear the beautiful island music playing in the background. The evening was cool, so we had a great night sleep.

It is hard to believe how primitive the islands are when the distance from Miami is only 45 miles. As with all the Caribbean islands, the pace of their inhabitants is quite slow, all of them having the “Don’t worry be happy” attitude. No wonder people like Hemingway fell in love with these islands. We went to the bank this morning, and to change a $100.00 bill, it took the girl 20 minutes. Then again, who’s in a hurry?

Pablo and I washed the boat down the next day and then we all went for a bike ride to look for some charts we needed, as well as some of the famous Bimini bread and Kalik beer, both made in The Bahamas. On the north side of the island they are finishing a Resort called Bimini Bay, and what we saw of it is beautiful. They have beachfront houses, condos and studio apartments all in Caribbean architecture and gorgeous pastel colors. They will start the golf course soon. Although this project has generated lots of jobs for the islanders, many of the construction workers we saw came are mostly Central and South Americans.

We spent 4 nights at the Weech’s Dock Marina, where we so enjoyed ourselves. On Saturday, we took a water taxi to South Bimini and explored the island a bit after having left Pablo at the airport for an emergency trip back to Miami. The island is not as inviting or as charming as North Bimini, but it was interesting to see it.

On Sunday morning we went for another bike ride before the sun got too hot. Pablo returned at 11:00 am. and after having read for a while, Libia and I prepared a lovely
Lunch. Bill taught Pablo and Libia how to play backgammon, and I am afraid there is going to be a lot of playing on this trip. We then went for a swim in the beautifully clear waters of Weech’s dock and went inside to watch the Busch race from Las Vegas. It was a hard race for all the drivers due to the tire compound they were using, as well as to the new finish on the track. They had 10 yellow flags and only about 30 of the 43 cars finished the race. Juan Pablo finished 20, which was not bad considering the car had not been set up for the Las Vegas track.

As I write now, the band at the bar across from the boat is playing some fabulous Bahamian music, which will probably go on for a long time. Tomorrow, Sunday we will be sailing for a couple of hours to Cat Cay, where we plan to anchor, so we can see the Nextel Cup race where Juan Pablo will be starting fourth in the grid. We hope the weather continues to be as great as it has been all of this week.


First Breakfast in Bimini


Miami skyline


Old wreck


Our mooring on North Bimini


Lowering dingy


Catching grapes in the air


Warm and clear Bahamian waters