(see http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?KG4EYP for latest position)

The wind was howling as we pulled up our anchors. We sailed out of the protection of Musha Cay and looked out Cave Cay Cut; the narrow channel where we'd gently slid in under jib the previous day had turned into a disordered maelstrom of breaking waves. Good thing we'd positioned ourselves where we could sail up to Staniel Cay on the banks side, without going out into the deep water of Exuma Sound.

Even with the protection of the island chain, it was a lumpy, bumpy ride. Big rollers snuck in through the cuts, lifting our stern and slewing us around, and the chop was, well, choppy. Except for one short downwind stretch, the wind was mostly on our beam or slightly forward, and every so often a big splash of seawater made it into the cockpit. I think each of us got a faceful at least once!

With a tiny bit of mainsail and even tinier bit of jib, we made 6.8-7.4 knots. Asolare, which is a more performance-oriented boat, zoomed on by even faster. (On the other hand, even though they got their anchor down well before we did, we were heading off for a quick snorkel before they'd even finished putting their mainsail away. Yay rolling mainsails and dinghy davits!)

The next morning we woke to the familiar noise of 20-25 knots of wind in the rigging, as well as the unfamiliar sight of blue sky and this big bright hot thing that I hear people call "sun." Anne on Asolare suggested a hike on a beach trail on the windward side of Staniel Cay, so we dinghied over...which was a bit of an adventure. We were anchored on the east side of Big Major's Cay, an island to the north of Staniel, which meant a two mile dinghy ride to town. In order to avoid a mile-long stretch
into the wind, we all opted for a somewhat convoluted route that took us by Big Rock Cut, the way out into Exuma Sound.

The route was nominally protected by several islands, but it felt kind of like being in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Sliding up and across huge waves (well, huge from a dinghy's perspective!) and then getting creamed by the spray as they broke, bouncing and jouncing from crest to trough, trying to peer through the spatter of salt water on our sunglasses...maybe it would have been fun for a few minutes, but ugh, I was just trying to hold on and not fly out into the water. Like a Grand Canyon
rapid, we all agreed. In fact, Big Rock Cut looked a lot like the tongue of a rapid, as the wind and tide were both easterly; I guess you could just surf in on that tongue, but I wouldn't want to do it!

When we got to the dinghy dock at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, we probably looked as though we had swum there. Fortunately we'd dressed for the ride, in swim suits and nylon fast-dry shorts. In the lovely sunshine we all dried out as we hiked across the island and to the windward side. The waves looked even more impressive from the cliff, looking down on them, particularly since the spray was reaching all the way up to our height!

We stopped to see an under-construction house on a ridge with a great view of the crashing surf, then hiked along the road back to the yacht club where we gratefully ordered cold beer and the men ogled the Hooters girls, who were (we learned later) on the island (and on a fancy motor yacht, the Hooter Patrol IV) for a photo shoot. About a dozen of them were in the bar, and the total square footage of all the bikinis they were wearing added up to about the same as the American flag on our backstay.
(No, I am NOT posting photos.)

Yesterday morning we dragged Sue and Steve out of bed early so we could make low slack tide at Thunderball Cave. It was a fabulous dive, even with the overcast (again, alas) skies and the crashing waves inside the cave that were rougher than we'd ever seen them, and we all agreed it had been worth the miserable dinghy ride.

Then in the afternoon we moved the boat to our favorite in-town anchorage, just off the yacht club inside the reef, so it will be a short and dry dink ride to get Steve and Sue to the airstrip. Since we're close by, we decided to have a final celebratory dinner at the yacht club together. I suspect the men were just hoping the Hooters girls would be there, but hey, we haven't caught fish lately, so I was up for a restaurant meal, and it was very tasty despite the absence of Hooters girls.

After Steve and Sue catch their plane, I think we will hang out for the day on the yacht club's wifi and get our other email and load up some pictures. We haven't actually taken a lot of them with these crummy conditions, but I suppose I owe it to you all to show you what paradise really looks like when the travel brochure photographers go home.
- posted by S/V Windom @ 5/26/2007 [link]