To Blackpoint and Back to Pick up Our Friends

We made the short hop down to Blackpoint on the 25^th so that I could do some laundry before our friends Mike and Denise came in. We knew the winds would still be coming in from the north east for a couple days so we found a spot on the north side of the harbor and dropped the hook. We look over and see that we have anchored next to a boat that we traveled with about four seasons ago. After the anchor was down Dirk took the dinghy over to catch up and I piddled getting laundry sorted and ready for a trip the following day. Next morning we loaded up the laundry and headed over before anyone else got there. I actually had to wait until the girl showed up to give me tokens for the machines. After a few hours of wash, dry, and fold time I radioed Dirk to come retrieve me. After getting all items stowed we sat around relaxing and later that evening had Jim and Ellie, our old buddy boaters on board for sun downers and snacks. On Sunday we called over to Lorraine’s Restaurant and made reservations to have her Sunday buffet. As usual the food was delicious and later we returned to our boat to relax. On Tuesday we were to head back to Staniel Cay so on Monday we took some time to walk the northern beach and see if we couldn’t scrounge up some sea beans and bay beans. Our first stop was across the harbor and out to the blow hole we located last year.

Dirk close to the blow hole

Once we both got soaked enough we padded on down the road until we found the beach. Not much was on the beach other than the usual bits of plastic garbage and flip flops and shoes that manage to fall over board.

Guess someone was bored and decided to line all the flip flops up. Perhaps they were looking for matches



Pretty rock formations

On the way back we got off the beaten path and found the vine that the bay beans grow on. We found several pods, enough to make several necklaces with so we headed back to the boat stopping by the graveyard on the way. After wandering the beach at the bay we headed back to Renegade.

Bay beans in the pod

 

Bay bean necklace with a hamburger sea bean that Dirk made and now wears

Blackpoint Bay with the grave yard. Talk about waterfront property

Tuesday morning came and we picked up the anchor and made the short trip back up to Staniel Cay. When picking up guest we like to anchor close to town so we found a spot by the Grotto and dropped the hook. Mike and Denise were due to arrive the following afternoon so we did last minute clean up and prepped the boat for their arrival. They arrived on time the following day. We picked them up at the air field with 4 nice cold Kalik Golds in hand, headed to Isles General to pick up some groceries and headed to Renegade.

They made it

Once on board that donned their new snorkel gear and tested it out. The next morning we moved the boat over to Big Majors and anchored by Pirate Beach. The girls stayed back at the boat and the boys took the dinghy out to fish for some Mahi. Several hours later they returned with 2 of them.

Mike beaming from ear to ear, a happy man

Dirk cleaning Mahi with Denise looking on

Mike doesn’t get a chance to fish often so when he does get the chance we try and let him get as many as possible. I knew we would be eating lots of fish while they visited but they didn’t mind at all. Mike and Denise are both great cooks so I turned my galley over to them on several occasions.  That evening we decided to pack up the games and head over to pirate beach to relax. We had it all to ourselves and stayed till the no see ums ran us back to the boat.

Setting up games at Pirate Beach

Denise happy to be playing Bocce ball

On Saturday the 4^th we decided to head up to Compass Cay as the winds were returning and we needed to find a spot to hide. We selected a nice spot and after setting the hook took off to explore the nearby beach.

Renegade from the beach at Compass Cay

The next morning we did more exploring and since the winds were coming from the west we were able to take the dinghy out into the Atlantic side and pull it up on the beach there. Since this beach doesn’t get walked often we found several beautiful shells in the various tidal pools. I found 3 empty queen helmets and several bonnets along with several nice urchin shells. I also picked up a couple sea fans that had washed up on the beach and have a couple crafts in mind for them. Like I have spare time to do crafts…… Perhaps one day. 

Mike, Denise, and Dirk ready to snorkel Pipe Creek



Piling back in the dinghy after beach combing and snorkeling

The beautiful waters of Pipe Creek area

On Monday the winds let up some and we made the long trip up to Normans Cay going outside the park boundaries in order to fish. One must be 4 miles off shore in order to be out of the Park boundaries as the park is a no take zone. At one point we hooked 2 skip jack tunas and had fun reeling them in. Mike got to fight one in and I had the other. At one point it felt like mine was hooked up on something behind the boat and all of a sudden my line went loose and it and my lure were gone. As soon as Mike has his landed him and Dirk are trying to get it off the hook in order to release it and we spot a huge 7 foot white tip shark circling the boat. Whoa, guess that’s what happened to mine. We were all so excited that we forgot to take photos and when we did they weren’t that great.

White tip shark

We both took video but that too was blurry. Trust me there really was a big shark and we watched him circle for a while. The boys even threw out a lure in order to tease him closer to the boat. My only thought was what are they gonna do if they hook this thing? Finally the boys got board as did the shark and we both went our own ways. As we got closer to Normans we finally hooked a Mahi, got it in and proceeded to get into Normans Cay so we could get an anchor spot and clean this bad boy up. Both Dirk and Mike decided to collect some conch to go along with the fish for dinner.

3 person operation, Mike reels it in, Dirk gaffs it, and I stand at the ready with the black garbage bag.

Posing with the catch

We ended up spending 3 days at Normans beach combing the various beaches, snorkeling through the shallows picking up pretty shells and hunting sea beans. Denise was excited as she found her first sea bean by herself. She actually found a few while she was there.


A nice Nassau Grouper that was a joint effort of the man hunt



Renegade from Palm Tree Island

Palm Tree Island from the boat



Mike cleaning conch



Pretty Pretty

On the 9^th we decided to start making tracks south and the weather didn’t look too promising so we elected to stay on the inside. We got as far as Shroud Cay before the skies opened up so we pulled into the anchorage to wait it out. Once it was passed we continued on anchoring by the south mooring field of Warderick Wells. We made some dinner and called it a day. The next morning we wanted to make one more stop by the Aquarium for a snorkel and Rocky Dundas. Last time they were here I think we made the Aquarium but Rocky Dundas was far too rough as it is open to the ocean side and can get pretty nasty with a East wind. Today however the weather cooperated and we took the boat down to Cambridge Cay anchoring outside the mooring field, piled the dinghy up with gear and made the short trip back north for the sights. I have to say Rocky Dundas is probably my favorite place so far to snorkel. It is just a huge rock that sticks out of the water and if you didn’t know where to enter the caves you would miss them. There are two caves to enter, one being beautiful and the other being awesome.


The entrance into the cave

 

Denise checking it out

You can climb about on land inside and on both there are holes in the ceiling that allow light to enter. Thunderball Grotto cant even hold a candle close to these guys, they are truly amazing. Even Mike and Denise said that we saved the best for last. After an afternoon of snorkeling we headed back to Renegade and made tracks from Cambridge south back to Staniel Cay anchoring in front of pirate beach again.  That evening we headed back to Pirate beach and saw that our friends from M/Y Forever Young had returned from Georgetown. We played games on the beach, chatted and had some sun downers watching while crew from Usher began setting the beach up for some sort of party. Pretty soon the bugs got so bad we were chased back to the boat where Mike made some wonderful fish on the grill. Later that evening us and the entire anchorage had front row seats to a private fireworks display that the crew from Usher set off. Now these were not your run of the mill side of the road fire works, these were the ones you see when cities put on displays. It went on for some time and was a beautiful sight. The entire anchorage clapped and blew horns to say thanks when it was over.The following day Dirk and Mike decided to give fishing another try and took the dinghy out returning with 2 Mahi. Looks like its fish again tonight. Mike and Denise were due to leave the following day so they spent the evening packing up and getting ready, the mood on the boat was somber as we really enjoy our time together. They are boaters themselves and we know they really enjoy the time here in the Bahamas. The next morning we picked up anchor and took the boat closer to town near the Grotto. It would be a shorter ride in the dinghy back to the air field. Around 1ish we piled in the dinghy and made our way down the canal and parked at the new dinghy dock. Its about time they built one here as most times people just drag the dinghy to shore or park at Isles General and walk. We made our way to the air field and waited as people slowly started showing up. We know the plane is getting close to arriving when the ticket girl shows up in her golf cart. Sure enough she showed up and then the air craft. Saying goodbye was hard for all four of us but all good things must come to an end. We gave our final hugs and they climbed on board. Mike was lucky enough to get the co pilot seat and Denise sat right behind them. After we watched their flight depart we were gonna head to get some groceries before realizing that today was a Sunday and nothing was open. Darn it, so we opted for a late lunch at the yacht club before heading back to the boat where we lazed around and started making plans for our return trip back to the states.

Butters in his favorite spot resting his head on Mecky, Dirks childhood toy.

Killing Time In Staniel Cay

We had dropped off our guest Steve and Terry early in the morning for their flight back to civilization and long hot showers, air conditioning, and easy access to anything one needs right around the corner. We were however very content on where we were, short showers that weren’t always warm, and finding it sort of a game to buy what you can and be creative. The winds had calmed down a bit and Dirk decided since we had not caught anything the day before that perhaps he would stick his nose out into the Atlantic and see if it was calm enough to take the dinghy out and troll. A few hours later he had returned with a nice Mahi and ideas on how to rig two rod holders into the transom of the dinghy so he could be more effective.The following day we moved back over to Big Majors and anchored close to m/v Pirate, a couple we met several years ago. There is a small beach called Pirate Beach that they started building things on years ago. First year or so it only had a bar type table so one could have a table to lay out food for get togethers.  The following year they added a wooden picnic table that they brought over from the states. This year it seems like other cruisers have gotten in the swing and brought lots of other things. There are now 2 wooden picnic tables, several very comfy chairs, a fire pit with seating around it, two grills, one propane, the other for charcoal. There is also several tiki torches and all sorts of yard tools so you can help out and rake the beach. Plus they have installed a great tie off for the larger dinghies. Anyway, you get the idea, it’s a great little beach to hang out on and we would haul our ladder ball or botchy ball game over to play in the evenings till the bugs got so bad that even the hardiest of bug sprays couldn’t keep them at bay.

Nice fire pit



The rest of the beach

Dirk and I plus Jim and Janie on Pirate and Laurie and Richard from M/Y Forever Young all decided to take the dinghies out the day we got there to do a little more fishing. Both Pirate and we caught Mahi but Laurie and Richard didn’t have any luck. It was quiet exciting bringing a big fish into a small dinghy. Especially using a gaff in an inflatable one. As I held my breath Dirk managed to get him in and still managed to keep us afloat in the 400 to 600 feet of water we were floating in.

After returning to the boat Dirk took some fish over to m/v Forever Young. We had such a big one and felt bad that they didn’t get one. Laurie returned later to the boat with some incredible banana bread she had baked as a thank you. The next three days the winds were howling so the Mahi had a break from all the fisherman and we were left to sit on our boats all day while the winds whipped up the chop just enough to make it uncomfortable to go anywhere. We tried going to the beach between the majors one day but by the time we got there a storm cloud decided to open up on us and since we left all our hatches open back on the boat we had to turn right back around and make a bee line for the boat. One evening  Laurie and Richard invited Dirk and I over for sundowners and we got the tour of their 78 foot Hatteras boat. All I know Is that I fell in love with the kitchen which was bigger than some of the kitchens I have had in my homes. Oh, and the master bedroom with the king size walk around bed and a huge Jacuzzi tub and shower enclosure. Okay, this isn’t cruising, this is luxury. We had a great visit and ended up staying for dinner. On the21st, the weather settled enough so that everyone could once again use the dinghies to go out fishing. Not exactly my idea of settled, but when you have men that have been cooped up on a boat for 3 days it was settled enough. Dirk took off first thing in the morning before anyone else and returned a couple hours later with two nice Mahi.

Jim from Pirate still thought it was a bit rough so he sat out another day. While Dirk was gone I heard s/v Dea Latis call us on the radio. We knew they would be up this was soon but wasn’t sure when. They pulled in right behind us and set the hook. Dave had been wanting to go out with Dirk to do some fishing so of course once Dirk returned  Dave came over they cleaned the fish and got all the stuff together to head back out so Dave could get some of his own.

Dave learning the basics of filleting a fish

 A couple hours later they returned and Dave got two and Dirk had gotten another one.

We really didn’t need another one and Dirk had wanted to release it but the way it was hooked it wouldn’t have fared well. Dirk saw a German flag in the anchorage and decided to take it over to them if they wanted it. They asked how much Dirk wanted for it and he said nothing, I’m giving it to you. They were happy and in return gave Dirk a nice hot loaf of bread fresh out of the oven. Yum, now I’m happy.  While Dirk and Dave were cleaning the fish we had several large nurse sharks feeding under our boat and so Dave got his underwater video camera  and decided to hold on to a fish carcass and hand feed the shark so he could video it. It was a nice few seconds of video before the shark ripped the carcass out of Dave’s hand so fast. I kept telling him he needed to be in the water so he could get better pics. He wasn’t going for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRZkBRaI1nc&feature=player_embedded

Above is a link to the video he took if your interested.

One of the sharks swimming around the boat looking for handouts

Laurie from m/y Forever Young also got a nice size one and Dirk told her to bring it over and he would teach her how to clean it. They were taking them over to the yacht club and paying someone to do it for them. She wanted to learn and so Dirk took her through the steps of cleaning and cutting filets. I believe now a cleaning station is on her wish list. The next evening they had us, Dave & Tanya from Dea Latis, Jim & Janie from Pirate and Laura & her husband whose name escapes me now from m/y Laura Lee over for cocktails and dinner. They would provide the fish on the grill and we would all bring the sides. A great time was had by all with wonderful stories to be shared as we watched the sun go down.

M/Y Forever Young with Dirk and I arriving



Power boaters dinghies on the left, sail boaters on the right, hummmmmm



Dave with Laurie in her kitchen and Dirk in the background searing up some Mahi



Dirk, Janie, and Richard on the top deck

The next day they left for George Town to pick up guest and Pirate along with Dea Latis left the day after to head over to Nassau before heading back to the states. We however needed to head south to Blackpoint in order to get some laundry done in anticipation of our friends Denise and Mike’s arrival. I will end here with a couple photos of Capt. Butters. Lately he has found a new place to hide in when we travel and I guess he feels safe here because he can really stuff himself in there.

Any body watching?



Find me if you can