Little Farmers Cay

Little Farmers Cay reminds me of the Cocodrie or Four Point of my youth.  There is a nice anchorage, several beaches, and a quaint very small community that depends on boaters stopping by to stay afloat.  The entrance to the harbor is shallow, so no mega yachts here, which in my view is a good thing.  Not to be too stereotypical, but some owners or charters of the mega yachts seem to fit the profile of the ugly American. The crew are universally nice and helpful, although.  No underground utilities here and you can hear the town generator running at night.  No provisions, but two restaurants, and very nice people, and solitude not found at other Cays. 

Alexis, Stanwood and Janet arrive tomorrow, and I will be glad to see Alexis and Janet!  Due to the extremely slow wi fi here, each picture takes about 10 minutes to load, so I have to cut back on the pics.  

This restaurant sign says it all about the "don't worry be happy" attitude in the islands!

Local wood carvings.

This chap is a local artist who spent time with me explaining his wood carvings.  This is a rare conch he has glossed, and I knew Alexis would want to see it. 

Downtown.

Garbage is a big deal here, and most places charge to take it off your hands.  Some boaters have taken to burning it on the beach, which is about as bad as dumping it.  My Bayou Sale garbage days haunt me!

The town does have a great view!

Black Point, taunting Frenchmen and a whale of a story.

The town of Black Point bills itself as the largest settlement on the Exumas north of Georgetown.  It supplies the labor force to Staniel Cay and some other island resorts.  It has no marina, but a good anchorage that is protected from all but (you guessed it) a west wind.  It caters to boaters and boasts the largest Laundromat with a dinghy dock and free Wi-Fi!  It has two restaurants, a health clinic, produce market (only bell peppers and tomatoes when I checked) and Scorpio’s bar. The locals travel to the other cays by boat, and fly through the anchorage at night with no running lights.  It is best that you have a bright anchor light!

I discovered the laundry while walking through town.  There were a bunch of French people sitting in the place, and I polity inquired why and was rather acerbically told about the free Wi-Fi.  Why do you think we sit in here with no machines running!  It was like the scene of the taunting Frenchmen from Spamalot!  In my best Cajun French I called them coullions and left.  I will go back later and act superior when I face time the grandkids….

I have put is some hard work.  A Canadian couple on the Retired Sailor, a beautiful custom cruiser, needed a notary for a real estate transaction back home.  After conferring with their Canadian attorney, I did the deed, and was treated to a lobster dinner!

There are several guys single handling their boats (mostly sailors).  I have been adopted by the group while Alexis is away, but have been type cast, so maybe the French didn’t know I am really a normal guy….

Sunrise at anchor.

Trolling in the dink.

Self portrait.  

Click on this pic and see if you can spot the whale that surfaced in front of me!  Made the dink feel real small...

Dinghy dock and anchorage.

Lorraine's Cafe.  She has one of the few TVs and is double booked for the Super Bowl.

What do James Bond and swimming pigs have in common?

Staniel Cay that’s what!  Staniel is home to Thunderball Grotto, where the movie was filmed, and to  swimming pigs.  I will let the pics do the talking.  

This Lionfish stands guard to the grotto.  Lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean and Atlantic.  They eat grouper and lobster eggs, and are considered a nuisance.  

A queen angelfish.

Inside the Grotto looking up.  Remember the movie?

The underwater entrance. 

Staniel (population 250) is a cruising hub.  It is about half way down the Exumas.  Georgetown is the main Exuma town, and it is at the southern end, so boats of all stripes stop here en route to provision. 

Most boats (several hundred) anchor out so the dingy dock is always crowded. This small beach is an alternative to the dinghy dock. 

The marina and rental cabins. 

The airport.

Serious sign.

For this bridge?

There are two grocery stores, the blue and pink one.  Guess which one this is!  No milk or bread, but staples and some fruit.  The milk and bread comes on the mail boat, which arrives soon Mon...

At a nearby Cay, several feral pigs claim the beach as their own.  When you approach in a dinghy, they come out for payment to use their beach!

Compass Cay the place to meet your favorite shark!

Compass Cay Marina is located, logically, on Compass Cay.  It is a small marina located on a cay with no population.  The owner, Tucker, is quite friendly and has tried his best to turn the cay into a naturalist’s delight.  While not as highbrow as Highbourne Cay, it is a delight.  The beaches are magnificent, and the marina is quite protected, albeit hard to find.  The channel is marked, but not on my GPS.  The local maps (paper charts by Explorer) have the channel so we had to navigate old school.  We made it, with just a little consternation and some back seat driving!  We met a couple from Connecticut on a 59’ Grand Banks who had us over for dinner.  They have a stand up engine room to die for.  A local fisherman sold me a grouper for $100, and we had fresh grilled grouper for dinner!  Since I can’t catch anything, I swallowed my pride for a great meal, and fish in the freezer.  My friend, Bill, is now as old as me.  Happy birthday Bill!  For my friend, Andre, who has been complaining about the frequency of my posts, this one is for you.  

On a trek to a shelling beach.

Hester's house is atop this hill.  Not sure what the story is, but the house is a goner.

Alexis shelled on this beach all day.  I went back to the boat. This pic was taken from Hester's house. 

Compass Cay Marina.

The shells!

The admiral.  As we say down the bayou, a flat calm day.

These sharks are sociable!  At high tide they come onto the dock to be petted!

Petting the sharks!!!

For Michael-a Nordhaven motorsailer.  

Compass Cay has many trails, and this one lead to a great reef to snorkel.

I am posting this from Staniel Cay, about midway down the Exuma chain.  Alexis flew out today to be with her father, Bobby, who has pancreatic cancer.  Bobby is a first rate father in law, and my thoughts are with him.   While I already miss Alexis who will be gone a week, I am pleased we were able to get her home so easily from this remote outpost.  The marina here at Staniel Cay is exposed to the west, and if the winds switch to that direction, all boats have to leave to a nearby protected anchorage, which can be quite crowded.  Fortunately, we have made new boater friends who have offered to help me out if need be.  The James Bond movie, Thunderball,  was filmed here, and Thunderball Cave is a major attraction.  I will snorkel it tomorrow and see if I remember the movie scenes.  

Warderick Wells-the trek to Boo Boo Hill.

The Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park is a national park system in the Exuma Islands.  It encompasses many cays (pronounced keys) in the Exumas, and there is no fishing, shelling or taking of any kind permitted.  The park office is located on Warderick Wells Cay, and there are several mooring balls available for overnight stays.  One has to contact the park on channel  9 to be placed on a waiting list, and at 9:00 AM each day, the warden announces if one has a ball, and if so, where.  We were lucky and received a ball in the north mooring field, which is protected from all directions.  We spent two nights there, and explored the walking paths, and snorkeled the reefs.  The locals are really trying to maintain the park, and prevent private development, but some of the cays have been sold by the government to private individuals, much to the dismay of the locals, and boaters alike.  The park is a special place, and we enjoyed our stay there.  We have met different boaters, and run across them at different times.  Most all boaters are helpful, and lend a hand when needed.  Below are pics of our stay at Warderick Wells, but we had to leave to get to Staniel Cay for Alexis’ flight out on Thursday.  There is another front approaching, and the winds are predicted to be from the west.  West winds cause havoc here as most anchorages are exposed to the west.  We were scheduled to stay at the marina on Staniel Cay, but it closes with a west wind.  We were fortunate to score a slip in Compass Cay Marina; which is protected from all winds.  From there, a local will take Alexis to Staniel via a back route in an outboard, to catch her flight.  One of the benefits of no land to the west is the breathtaking sunsets.  On clear days, when the sun sets on the Bahama Banks, there is a green flash right as the sun goes down, similar to the aurora borealis.  The water colors here are simply indescribable!  These are pics from the park.  

The park office.

Boo Boo hill is the highest point in the park, and haunted.  The story is that there was a terrible shipwreck and all souls perished off the hill.  On moonlit nights, one can hear the wailing of the dead!

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Boo Boo hill.

Our anchorage from atop the hill.

Exuma Bank on the left, Atlantic to right.

It is custom for boaters to leave a marker atop Boo Boo hill, as it is a journey few make.

Diving from the dinghy. The park has dinghy moorings on reefs to snorkel and dive.  No taking, even for Cajuns! 

The sunsets are fantastic.