Tuesday 7th January 2020

We left Nassau with only a light breeze (for a change) Big Red was the choice of sails we love when we can put this sail up, the sound it makes when it fills with the wind is so good, we were cruising along averaging 4knots not bad in the soft breeze.

It was glorious sailing along in the blue water and sunshine 

It was only a short 35 nm sail.  We had to cross what's called the Yellow Bank a shallow area that has huge coral heads that sit just below the surface of the water, my job was to stand on the bow watching that we didn't hit any of them !!   Suddenly there was a loud bang OMG we have hit a coral head !!! we just looked at each other in panic, but no it was a shackle that attached the kite to the deck of the boat, that had burst open with a bang,  it took a while for our hearts to stop racing I can tell you.

The red dots are coral heads, quite a minefield

Our arrival was quite late in the day and we had missed seeing a coral head close to our stern so early the next morning we upped the anchor and moved a little bit forward to avoid backing on to the coral head when the winds increased and Adriana would be riding on an extended anchor chain, we actually moved again as Craig was still not happy where we were sitting but eventually we were set.

We anchored in the lee of the land to give us some protection from the next front that is passing through, Craig was saying at home our fronts come through weeks apart but here they seem to turn around and come within a few days.

We don't spend much time up front of Adriana not when we are moving anyway 

Our first day was still  quite calm so we dinghied over to the white sand beach just off to our left, we caught up with Kyra and Jack on Yellowbird and met Leanne and Kevin on Seamlessly a 60ft Catamaran.  We walked to stretch our legs and had a swim in the warm water (28c) and sat and chatted with our new friends sitting on the sand in the sunshine was just glorious.

The dingy is our car it gets us to land and over to visit other boats 

Stunning deserted beaches 

The water is the most amazing colour I cant stop taking photographs of it

Leanne and Kevin invited us all back for sundowners Craig always says "you should never go on a boat bigger than your own" and he is right, the catamaran is beautiful with so much living space two separate hulls with 2 bedrooms in each and so much usable deck space out front, its huge !! But they need the space they are a family of 5,  Leanne and Kevin have 3 dogs onboard with them, Pebbles and Lexie the old dames and Coconut a young Doberman, and Dobermans need plenty of room to run, she doesn't stop.

Coconut and Lexie 

I think Craig would love to take Coconut home with him 

Leanne, Kevin and Coconut, Craig getting lots of attention

Thursday 9th January 2020

The six of us jumped in Leanne and Kevin's Dingy and headed the 3 nautical miles over to Allen's Cay where we were met by these amazing prehistoric creatures, there were so many and they came running out to greet us we didn't take any food for them but they seemed quite happy to hang around while we had a swim and a quick walk through the scrub.

Our trip back was memorable in that we all got absolutely soaked !! drenched, the winds had started to pick up and the swell was big, short and sharp, I even spent the last half of the ride home bailing the water out of the dingy with the dogs drinking bowl the waves were huge and kept breaking into the boat, but we survived and really we dried very quickly the only downside is once the saltwater gets in your clothes they never seem to dry properly and always seem damp.

Bahamian Rock Iguana they were thought to be extinct in the early 1900's

They literally came running to meet us 

The Iguanas were happy to just hang, tourist boats do visit and feed them grapes

Each Iguana was different in its own way

They were quite relaxed around us and came very close

I think they change colour slightly to blend into the rocks this one had been on the beach 

The winds came but the fetch was ok and we were quite comfortable, we have My Island Wi-Fi that gives us unlimited internet, so we sat and watched movies for the afternoon, keeping the anchor alarm on all day. The winds were a consistent 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots, we then spent the next two days onboard the rough dingy ride to the beach did not look worth the trip, but our new friends Kyra and Jack, Leanne and Kevin braved the elements and came over to Adriana for drinks and nibbles.

By the Sunday afternoon things were starting to calm down again, so on Monday we took the dingy over the Highbourne Cay Marina where there is a shop and a restaurant, The Marina is so pretty, a real island paradise, we only had a quick walk around as there is a $25 charge to tie up and walk around the Island, we didn't want to pay as we are going to see lots of beautiful Islands.  The shop was super expensive, we had been warned, we picked up a 2 pack head of broccoli and a dozen eggs for $13.00, the broccoli is beautiful and fresh and worth every cent.  At the marina we spotted an Australian flag on a catamaran, as we were talking to the dockmaster the owners walked past and we were introduced it is so nice to hear another Australian accent, we spent a lovely hour sitting onboard with Stephen and Toni (Albacora) from Sydney.  They had bought their boat in the US and are now living onboard and cruising indefinatly.

After a quick look around and a few postcard worthy photographs we happened to meet up with Kyra and Jack who wanted to check out the restaurant, we wandered over, it was in a stunning location with a good interesting menu but super expensive, we decided we will all wait until we meet sitting on a beach with a tiki bar selling cheap rum punch and local beers.

Highbourne Cay Marina

Picture Postcard Perfect

There were lots of pretty areas all around the marina 

I just like this shot :)

Add a parot to make the place feel even more tropical

Off the end of the dingy dock was a fish cleaning station with resident nurse sharks waiting on scraps

Tuesday 14th January 2020

Travelling with Seamlessly and Yellowbird we left Highbourne Cay headed for Normans Cay, Adriana managed to sail the whole way, the winds were on the nose but comfortable, we sat on 5-6 knots with the mainsail and foresail up.

The actual anchorage in front of Normans is too shallow for both Adriana and Seamlessly.
Seamessly anchored way out and we went around the south end of the island and anchored in a deep channel, as we were veering off the set route another 2 yachts following behind us hailed us on the radio and asked where we were headed and did we have enough depth, they said they would follow us in.  We were like yeah follow The Australians, let them hit the reef first.  I was truly surprised they followed us in and anchored close by, but no one came over to say hello and they left early the next morning without a word.

Normans Cay has a colourful history mainly because it was purchased in the 80's by  Carlos Lehner a famous drug cartel, who used the island as a middle stop between Mexico and Cuba and the USA, for his drug running,  They filmed the movie blow here and also scenes from Narcos.  There is a sunken aeroplane that was only a short dingy ride away from where we were anchored, there are a few stories about how it got there but it was defiantly to do with the drug running.

We dinghied over a shallow area that years ago would have been full of Conch but we did not see any in the water only thousands of shells on the beaches, we waded over a sandbar and made it to the Exuma Sound side of the Cay. sort of like the ocean side.

It is all so blue and turquoise simply stunning.  

We were invited over to Seamlessly for breakfast we love spending time with their fur babies.  Leanne follows the Keto lifestyle and has actually written 3 books on the subject and has a health vlog "Healthypursuits"  we were treated to caffeine free tea, a delicious homemade almond meal cake, pan fried mejoil dates, fruit salad and bacon what a feast !!!

Yellowbird, Seamlessly and Adriana were all anchored quite far apart but we kept in touch via Instagram messenger and agreed on our next location, Shroud Cay.