Exumas, finally!

Well we arrived in the Exumas Tuesday afternoon.  We are at Highbourne Cay Marina.  This is a link to its web site: http://www.highbournecaybahamas.com/.  It has been a long trek here; we have traveled 202 nautical miles from Miami (1.15 NM equals one statue mile).  Most of that was in open water with depths ranging from 12’ to 8000’.  The trek from Bimini to the Berry Islands was the longest.  Most of it was over the Great Bahama Banks, a large area of shallow water.  We saw many boats on that leg, as there is one passage from the banks to the deeper waters of the Atlantic to access Nassau, the Berrys and other destinations.  Some were small sailboats, and others huge mega yachts.  We overnighted in the Berrys next to the now defunct Berry Island Club.  The Berrys are desolate, and noted for miles of uninhabited beaches.  We went shelling on one, and I found the mother lode, so Alexis determined we would leave the next day.  Our trip to Nassau was short but in the open Atlantic.  A side sea made it uncomfortable.  We anchored in a bay on the Northwest side of Nassau for the night so we would have an early departure to the Exumas.  The crossing to the Exumas is over the infamous Yellow Banks.  The guide books describe the Yellow Banks as an uncharted shallow region with a coral head with your name on it!  We took the suggested path, and were passed by the Bullish, a 100’ yacht, so I felt better about things.  It was another choppy day, but this should be our last open water passage for a while, as we intend to cruise the Exumas the next few months.  Highbourne Cay is an upscale resort, and the marina isn't cheap, but the Admiral has declared that we are staying here to Sunday.  They cater dinner on board, and have take out laundry (for a fee).  On a sour note, Alexis’ dad has been hospitalized, and we are following those events. 

Believe it or not the owners of the boat next to us are originally from Thibodaux.  We will share boat cards tomorrow.  We have dinner reservations tonight, and then will crash.  Thanks for all the comments!  Pictures to follow.