The Berry's

When we departed Nassau to sail north to the Berry’s we knew we were going to have some wind to sail (yea) but we just didn’t know the dreaded squalls were coming as well. But Captain King always keeps us safe and upright so when we arrived at the Little Harbor Cay cut 8 hrs later the seas were building, the wind was steadily picking up we puckered up and pointed our nose into the cut surfing our way in. Nothing like riding a 45’, 30,000lb surfboard in 8’ foot following seas. The secret is to give it full throttle and try to match your boat speed to the wave speed. The tick is you have about a 1/10 chance in getting it wrong. Fortunately we got it just right and we got through the cut with no issues. By the time we got safely in the rain was pouring down and the wind was gusting to 38 knots. Thankfully it was blowing from the east so we were well protected.

Sunrise on the Bahama Banks

 A majority of the islands in the Bahamas give you good protection in an easterly wind. Michael said we’ll anchor as close to shore as possible without hitting bottom to get as much protection from the wind as possible. So Cherie puts on her foul weather outfit, climbs on deck in a driving rain, prepares the anchor, picks our spot and drops the anchor. She IS amazing and I think she likes it when it gets exciting. It was about 7 feet deep (yikes) when we finally dropped anchor behind Bonds Cay. The Beaches there are beautiful and with only three boats in the anchorage with us it was very quite. The day started out as a picture perfect sail across the NE Providence Channel and ended up 8 hrs later as a hair-raising event entering the Berry’s. But that is our lives when Mother Nature controls the conditions we live in now.

Anchorage off Marketfish

Blue Hole of Hoffman's Cay

After three days of exploring, fishing and snorkeling on Bond Cay we sailed on further north up the chain and anchored between Market Fish Cay and Soldier Cay.  This became our home base for a while and we took the dingy all through Hoffman’s Cay (Where we had a great hike to the blue hole.), White Cay and Devils Cay.  While snorkeling in some of the most beautiful waters we have seen yet we found a lot of conch in shallow water and enjoyed Cherie’s famous conch salads.   We liked that you could dingy all over from here in the Berry’s since it was shallow and well protected from the east winds.  Plus we only had one other boat in our anchorage. Everyday they would go off in their dingy and Bone fish then in the afternoon they’d kite board up and down the beach. They put on quite a show.  

Next we thought we’d checkout Great Stirrup Cay and Little Stirrup Cay.  These are two small Cays on the northern tip of the Berry’s. We heard from other boaters that they had been taken over by cruise ships and upon getting closer to the islands we found that the cruisers were correct.  Two huge cruise ships where anchored of shore of the island and the beaches are lined with chairs, umbrellas and mountains of people with an endless supply of toys for them to enjoy during their short stopover.  There were shuttle boats constantly going back and forth to the mother ship. So needless to say we sailed right on by leaving behind the thousands of cruise ship patrons to enjoy themselves.

People galore

Entrance in to Great Harbor

Fortunately one of our wish list destinations was just around the corner. Great Harbor Marina and it did not disappoint us.  We really loved this place.  The marina was only $1.50 a foot and the local people were fantastic.  We had a grill and chill at the dock the first night we got in. We rented a golf cart to explore this island with so much history. Once frequented by the Hollywood crowd like Sinatra, Garbo and Bing Crosby it has fallen on hard times. Although Jack Nicholas was there in his 130’ yacht SeaBear for some weekend bone fishing.  Along the way we picked up a lifetime resident to give him a lift into town. This was no short distance to town and he told us he has walked it every morning for as long as he can remember. He was at least in his 70’s. and he wasn’t going to church either. He had us drop him off at the local watering hole. We met so many great people plus on our last night there was a pot-luck and dance party that went long into the night.  You all know how much we love that. We will return to Great Harbor next season for an extended stay.

Sunset Great Harbor

Friends in Great Harbor

Caves in Great Harbor

Caves off Great Harbor

It was time to begin the long push west back to Florida. It involves an overnight passage across the Little Bahama Banks so we weighed anchor at 3am headed for Bimini.   When we arrived at Bimini who should we meet up with but “Lost Puppy” (Ian and Jen) and “Nauti Nell” (Mike and Twyla).  We enjoyed our short visit with everyone but onto Florida.

We had a great trip crossing the Gulf Stream and arrived in Miami where our car was waiting for us.  And for a departure gift we landed a nice Black Fin tuna on the way. So we started in on those lists boaters make while out cruising for months.  We also got to check back in and see my cousin Megan, her husband Scott, daughters Jayden and Teagan.  They spent the day on the boat with us.  Hanging with Megan’s girls on the boat always brings back memories of California when our two daughters were little.

We are now in Marathon with many old friends waiting for a weather window to go up the west coast of Florida to Harborage Marine in St. Petersburg that will be home for the hurricane season.  It might take us awhile since the spring squalls have started up but who cares when we leave.  Alex and Darren are putting on solar panels for us.  Rick and Terese on “Capt’n & Hook” hosted a fabulous BBQ on derby day with hats and all.  Karen and RL left today but not before Karen and I had ladies champagne afternoon (That reminded me of  the champagne girls in California.).  Candy and Fred hosted us one morning for coffee on their houseboat parked a Dockside.  Plus we were glad to see Nancy and Jay again especially with the keys to the Van-der-van so we could take a trip to see Michael’s nephew Peter.  Sorry we missed you Pon but your daughter Madeline kept us all busy for hours.  She is a real cutie.

Sunset at Miami

From hook to plate! Yum

Party Cove with the girls

Sunset No Name Harbor

We are now in Marathon with many old friends waiting for a weather window to go up the west coast of Florida to Harborage Marine in St. Petersburg that will be home for the hurricane season.  It might take us awhile since the spring squalls have started up but who cares when we leave.  Alex and Darren are putting on solar panels for us.  Rick and Terese on “Capt’n & Hook” hosted a fabulous BBQ on derby day with hats and all.  Karen and RL left today but not before Karen and I had ladies champagne afternoon (That reminded me of  the champagne girls in California.).  Candy and Fred hosted us one morning for coffee on their houseboat parked a Dockside.  Plus we were glad to see Nancy and Jay again especially with the keys to the Van-der-van so we could take a trip to see Michael’s nephew Peter.  Sorry we missed you Pon but your daughter Maddy kept us all busy for hours.  She is a real cutie.

Who wants champagne?

More golf in Marathon

Derby Day

Smokin Hot

Rick's Smokehouse

Pete and Maddy