Little Farmers Cay and South



Renegade at anchor Little Farmers Cay

We stayed in Little Farmers for two days doing a bit of exploring of the beaches and Dirk did a bit of hunting with not so much luck.

Found all these illegal conchs that were harvested on the beach. What a shame...



Several Chitons were spotted on the rocks. I'm surprised Dirk hasn't pried one off and eaten it yet as they are edible





A tree managing to find a way to grow in the rock



Renegade from the shoreline

On the 17^th we pulled out and headed down to Lee Stocking which would be the first for us. We had never stopped there in the past. As we pulled out of the cut it didn’t look so bad in the Atlantic. It wasn’t much of a sailing day as the wind was just about off the nose and we tacked back and forth for quite a while. We finally decided to motor sail the rest of the way as the wind and the waves were beginning to build and the ride was getting very uncomfortable.  There were a few times that our bowsprit actually touched the water and it sits about 6 feet above the waterline so you know if it touched we were bouncing pretty well. After many hours of rough riding we finally arrived at our way point and being first in we navigated and reported back the best way to enter the cut which turned out to be no big deal. As we were heading into the channel that took us to the anchorage we noticed that the mooring balls for the research center were all available. We got on the radio and asked about them as they are suppose to be first come first serve. Another cruiser came back and said the research center had been closed down but the balls were still available. We had another blow coming and it was in a protected area so we elected to pick up a mooring ball which turned out to be a pretty difficult feat with the winds blowing as they were. We finally got hooked up along with s/v Hiatus, s/v At Last, and s/v Indian Summer who had all been travelling together. The following day Dirk went hunting returning with a beautiful 6 pound Nassau Grouper and a 4 pound Dog Snapper along with 1 lobster.

Brian on Indian Summer managed to snag a huge Mutton Snapper and it was decided we would all get together that evening for a potluck with fish head soup that Chris on At Last was making. Later that afternoon a 50 foot Catamaran came in and after everyone talking it turned out that the party was moved to their boat as they had the most room. About 6pm we all piled aboard and the preparation for the soup began. I had never had fish head soup so I was a little apprehensive when I saw that what normally goes overboard after cleaning a fish was going into the pot. Hummmmmm, I would give it a shot to be polite. As it was being served up everyone was asking who got the eyes, apparently it’s like the hidden baby in a king cake (Louisiana Mardi Gras tradition) and I guess its good luck. Well Dirk was double lucky and found both eyes. I too was lucky when I found the lens in mine. Hummm somehow I would feel luckier winning a scratch off then finding a fish’s eye lens in my soup. I offered it up and Chris eagerly scooped it up and ate it. After several bites and pulling more scales out of my mouth I decided the thing the soup could have used the most was a strainer. Don’t get me wrong, it had a great flavor but the mystery parts that I was biting upon didn’t do anything for me as I am a texture person. Anyone else who is, knows exactly what I’m talking about. It turned out to be a wonderful evening and after dark everyone returned home. The following day our plan was to head to Emerald Bay so that we could get laundry done and a day on a dock. When we called them we found out that one must stay a minimum of 3 nights to qualify for the $1.00 foot per day deal. After tossing it about we decided what the heck and made reservations. I ended up doing 5 loads of laundry which would have cost me $50.00 elsewhere to do and since they have free laundry it made it work out a little better for us. s/v Indian Summer decided to join us and everyone else headed on down to George Town. After getting the boats settled in we decided to go to the Grand Isles Resort and have lunch overlooking the beautiful pool and ocean.



Brian & Teddy Sue from s/v Indian Summer and us enjoying a meal out

Hamburgers, fires and one drink apiece shortened our wallets of $50.00 per couple. Not the cheapest place to eat but it did have a beautiful view. The next day as I did laundry, Dirk hit the reefs several Cays up and returned with 3 lobsters with about 9 inch tails. We headed to Brian and Teddy Sue’s boat for dinner that evening cooking lobster and mutton snapper on the grill. The following day was a repeat and Dirk returned with 4 lobsters the same size as the previous day.

I have to say, my freezers were getting full and he was starting to be called lobster man around the marina. At about 5 that evening all the cruisers got together for appetizers and sun downers in front of the marina office.

We met some very nice folks and at one point someone came up to me and asked if I was lobster man’s wife. I guess he does well with hunting. I know I won’t go hungry anytime soon.  At about 10 the next morning we all started making tracks to the fuel dock and this would be the first time to take on fuel since leaving the Cape Marina boat yard in December. We didn’t have to have any but we figured if we got some here it would last us till we returned to the states. As we are sitting on the fuel docks our friends on s/v Triumph hails us on the radio and is just outside the marina coming in for fuel. We all fueled up and headed back out for the seven mile trip down to George Town. Being the hunters and gatherers that they are they decided since the winds and waves were calm we would find a spot to pull over, throw the hook out and find some reefs. Dirk dropped me off at Triumph and Elaine and I caught up as the boys hunted. After 3 lobsters and one beautiful Queen Trigger fish were gotten they were happy and we continued on. As we pulled into the harbor I was surprised to see so many boats still left over from the cruising regatta. Usually afterwards they swarm out of there heading back north after spending several months there without ever moving the boat. I suppose it was probably all the fronts we had coming through and people were just staying put until the weather settled some. We found a spot in front of Volley Ball Beach and put the hook out, sat back and relaxed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we would go into town and get some fresh veggies and fruits to replenish my empty baskets. After talking to s/v Triumph we decided to make the trip over to Long Island and planned on leaving on Monday.  Dirk and Bill had a few days to hunt and hunt they did. Three more lobsters were bagged by Dirk and by this time we are eating them almost daily as the freezer is full. Now that’s a problem, said no one ever……..So Monday morning the weather guru was heard and we were on our way. It was a beautiful sail but I will fill you in on that next go round. Till then…….