After posting (while we still had internet) we went for another walk at Warderick Wells. This time we took the Causway Trail, which wanders around the east side of the island. It’s a rocky trail that leads across a small bridge and to a couple of our favorite beaches.
Cute bridge…
We watched a southern stingray follow the incoming water from the sound, under the bridge, and to a nice shallow sandy spot in the low waters leading to the banks.
The shallow water is filled with mangrove babies. The ray is actually in this picture, hidden in the top right quarter, near the rock in the water.
On Feb. 3, we planned our 9 a.m. departure to take the best advantage of the tides leaving Warderick Wells and entering Cambridge Cay, another part of the Exuma Land and Seas Park, about 9 miles further south. Well, you know all about the best laid plans…Luke had the motor going and I threw the mooring line. Just then, Luke shrieked that we had no ability to turn to the right! Not good! Narrow channel, all the boats to the left, sand bank to the right, current from the stern! Luke did an excellent job of missing the line of boats in the mooring field and getting Latitudes positioned so I could snag the last mooring ball going out of the park. After some searching, he localized the problem to the chain that connects our autopilot motor to the steering. A connecting link "keeper clip" had come loose because the chain was rubbing against a fitting, and was causing the chain to jam. With a little radio help from fellow boater Dan, Luke quickly fixed the problem. Dan and Maryann came over to check our progress and lend a hand. So, the nasty problem was solved, and we left an 1 ½ hrs after our plan. We reflect on our luck for this failure to have happened in a relatively benign situation.
Only 9 miles, we sailed nicely in the sound, arriving by 1 at Cambridge. Our favorite “postcard” of Cambridge, Bell Rock.
We did a little snorkeling --- well, Luke did. That water is still too cold for me. I got in, decided it was too cold, and by the time I managed to climb back into the dinghy (water was 10 ft deep), I was certainly no longer cold. BUT I looked great in my new snazzy “skin”. Bobbie’s Skin of Many Colors! Luke said the snorkeling was great – we went two places. I used the lookie-bucket and saw a lot of fishes, too. No pictures this time.
A beautiful Cambridge sunset.
On Friday morning we hiked across the island, on the beach where Bell Rock is located. The shore itself is rocky and filled with Mosquito Bush. More about that later down…
We left Cambridge early morning to arrive at Staniel (10 miles away) at the appropriate high tide. The wind was against us (but light) so we just motored the whole 2 hours. En route we noticed that there is new construction going on at one formerly deserted island. A huge house is underway, with 8 wind generators to supply energy. Can you imagine this undertaking??
Staniel cay, home of the famous (locally....) swimming pigs. These rascals live on a deserted island (no one dares land there). They swim out to the nearby boats and dinghies to beg. It must pay, they are really large.
We watched one swim out at least 100 yards to a trawler to get fed. It's intimidating ---- this huge pig head - eyes, snout, and big ears out of the water, snorting at it approaches you with determination.
They try to hang onto your dinghy (not ours, thank you).
Here they are, begging at our friends Cathy & Howie.
Tomorrow we plan get diesel and water here at Staniel on our way out to Black Point. A few groceries, LAUNDRY, and some nice beach glass combing there. Probably no internet again until we reach Georgetown in about 5-7 days.That catches us up. A little more on land today, then Super Bowl tonight at one of the 2 bars. We actually have network TV on the boat, so we'll probably watch the last of there.
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