Staniel Cay

We left Black Point, drawers full of clean clothes, northward for abut 10 miles to Staniel Cay.  Staniel is a bustling settlement, always busy with cruisers, resort folks, and an economy good enough to attract new residents.  Now, to put that all into prospective - here is Staniel.  8 cottages are the "resort" (they do have 4 new ones just built on the other side) and there is a bar/restaurant.

The marina can handle about 12 boats, plus the many dinghies of the cruisers.  It IS a clean, bright, friendly settlement with 3 grocery stores, a bread lady, and a newly opened laundry.   Staniel is also the proud home of this winning C-Class Sloop used in inter-island regattas.  She is without her mast and sail now, but add them and about 20 Bahamian sailors and a few cruisers aboard, and it is quite the race!

The James Bond movie, Thunderball, was shot here.  Here is an excellent link about the island  - I really recommend that you click on this one (my blog should be so good!)  http://theplanetd.com/jame-bond-was-here-bahamas-underwater-fun/  check out the photo of the grotto- that was taken from the spot where we always anchor..."our spot".. Luke has snorkeled in the grotto.  I'm sort of out of that sort of thing - I should probably have done it.

Sharks and big rays - that is what you see when you come into the marina.  They hover everywhere in the shallow water.  Fishermen toss fish scraps and the boats give them shade from the hot sun.  I would NOT like to fall in here, but folks do swim with the sharks.  I am definitely sort of out of that sort of thing!  Three sharks and most of a ray.

Love the street signs.

Old rambling cotton bushes are everywhere.  These are actually the ancestors of the cotton plants that the Loyalists planted when they were given land in the Bahamas after the Revolutionary War.

Last, but a must on every cruiser's list, the anchorage at Big Majors.  This is just a 10 minute dinghy ride around a point of land but it is home to the most unusual piggies.  They look harmless, don't they, peering at you in your very small dinghy boat, from the shore...

But, what's this!!!??  Hungry piggies that know cruisers have food scraps??  Wading out into the salty water??

TWO of them?? Oh, yes, the big things swim!  And they swim very well.

It is a scary sight, actually.

These piggies can be very aggressive, trying to climb into your dinghy.  We have seen evidence of torn and shredded dinghies - don't let them get too close.

This morning, very early, we left for a wonderful 35 mile sail from the Exuma chain of islands to the eastward island of Eleuthera.  We sailed most of the way, never heeled over like the last trip, and had a good trip.  It was so calm that Smokey even slept en route.

We are anchored with 15 other boats at the settlement of Rock Sound.  Tomorrow we'll go to a real grocery store and wander around the small town.

Our use of my cell phone as a hot spot has been working far better here than we dreamed.  A SIM card from the national phone company and $30 worth of data per month has proven to be perfect.  So far...