Who's a Good Shark?!?

What a fun few weeks we had in the Exumas.

We rented a small powerboat the day after our last post and had an absolute blast racing around at 20 knots. There were a number of snorkeling sites in the 10ish miles north of Staniel and we hit most of them. We went to “the Aquarium” whose water was crystal clear and whose fish were looking for hand fed snacks. Then we snorkeled over a sunken plane– many of them in the Bahamian waters following the 1980s. Then we – well Cameron (the most) and Alison – snorkeled with the sharks at Compass Cay. Cameron even “patted” a few! We then headed to the Rocky Dundas and snorkeled into caves! Finally we had a scenic ride back to Staniel and grabbed the opportunity to snorkel in Thunderball Grotto. The current was really swift around Thunderball and the anchor didn’t set all that well so Austin went on a reconnaissance mission and followed a very large shark tail into the grotto – he was less than thrilled – but we all ended up getting a chance to explore the cave!

Then, being cruisers, we took advantage of the larger “dinghy” and used it to jerry jug 26 gallons of water and 3 of gasoline back to Pegasus before returning our rental. Austin said that when he got back in our dinghy it felt like a pool toy. Anyway, we had an amazing and exhausting day.

While in Staniel, where we were for 11 days, we had some wonderful days and great afternoons at “Cruisers Beach”. We met some really fun cruisers – two couples who had done something similar with their own kids years ago. The afternoons turned into evenings and we had many late night dinners! We also went through the “cut” two more times on the front and back end of a frontal passage. This time one of our friends managed to get a picture of us. We also “befriended” a local nurse shark who often came by the boat. Then one day while on Pegasus we heard a familiar voice on the VHF hailing us….it was our friends, Jeff and Margaret. They had been working their way north and just thought they might be able to connect with us! It was a really great surprise and we had a great time catching up. We had them over for a pizza dinner and finished our game of Mexican Train and then played some poker (lots of fun had by all). One night they invited Cameron and Alison over for game night so that Austin and Kathleen could have a few hours alone (what a treat) and, while there, the kids taught them multiple solitaire. They were hooked! Kathleen and Alison were happy to be velcroed to Staniel but it was time to leave so, based on recommendations from other cruisers, we headed to Warderick Wells (an island in a Bahamian ecological preserve).

Wardewick Wells was incredible. Great snorkeling right off of the boat – although lots of current to consider.

Also, the beach appeared every low tide just next to the boat (it did take a bit of time getting used to that) and we could swim to the beach from Pegasus. Jeff and Margaret arrived on our second night and we hiked and snorkeled with them the next day (great to have someone take a family picture). The snorkeling was pretty good and the hike challenging. During the hike we explored some of the ruins of the settlements left by “loyalists” who moved to the Bahamas to escape the revolutionary movement. Talk about living history and social studies!!

The next day the six of us went snorkeling near one of the passes and we had one of our best snorkels of the entire trip.

An incredible variety of coral and fish, a very large nurse shark and the biggest spotted eagle ray. It was hard to pull ourselves away even after over an hour in the water. On our way back to Pegasus it was low tide so we spent some time back at the “beach”. Then on our swim back to Pegasus we got to spend time snorkeling with our first “non” nurse shark. Late that afternoon was a cruisers happy hour on the beach…lots of new friends to talk to! Only one problem, we were only given a 30 day visa when we arrived in the Bahamas and we had to go to either Eleuthera or Nassau to request an extension. Our plan was to go to Eleuthera and Bear’s to Nassua…how were we going to say goodbye! Well, we had a delightful surprise to hear that Bear wanted to spend some more time in the Exumas so they were going to Eleuthera with us!

It’s been two weeks since we headed to Eleuthera and there is lots to cover so we will post again soon!