Back to the Chesapeake Bay

Oh what a fantastic adventure we had the opportunity to experience. But, the reality of our lives means we have to go back to work. We will continue to enjoy our sailboat on the waters of the Chespeake Bay this summer. The price of diesel is outrageous. We're glad to have a sailboat. Okay, so it takes us longer to get there than the power boats. But, we can eat Lobster when we get there. We plan to get down to Solomons to see a a few friends that are at a marina there and others that actually live there. And we have hopes of meeting up with a couple of new friends that live aboard and will be visiting the Annapolis area during the summer. We have been so fortunate to meet some of the most warm and generous boaters. We have made great friends and we hope the friendships continue for many years. Happy Travels this summer!

A LONG RIDE HOME

After travelling back to the Abacos, we left Great Sale Cay and arrived in St. Augustine, Florida 44 hours later. We took some time out to recoup and stayed in St. Augustine for a couple of days. It's a fantastic city.
We began to travel north at a greater speed than we did coming south. The days were longer and we took advantage of it. We arrived in Cambridge, Maryland, in our slip on Thursday, May1st, 2008 at 5:00am. It has been a wonderful adverture and we're glad you came along through our blog. Check in again, soon. We will continue to travel with the Deborah Lee and keep up the blog.

NASSAU and ELEUTHERA

This may sound strange, but, we decided to take a mini vacation. We went to Nassau and over to Paradise to experience a day at Atlantis Resort. From our view you notice the huge hotel buildings and the fountains when you approach the entrance to the place. We went through the aquarium portion of Atlantis and saw some of the most wonderful array of fish you can imagine. We walked through a glass tunnel (the picture of our friend John) and you see the underbellies of fish as they swim right over top of you. I got a couple of shots through the glass of a couple of the displays underwater. The picture of the large grouper is real. These fish are HUGE. And notice the fish above Bill's head. It looks like it's trying to kiss him through the glass.
What a cool place. It was worth the time taken out to experience it.

We made our way back up to Eleuthera. This is the upper central Bahamas. The first set of pics is the cave we found. Luckily there was a rail and steps to get down into it. Many have gone before us as you can see writing on the walls. The next set is a small strip of land that was the thinnest part of Eleuthera. The water washed away most of the land over time and a bridge was built to re-connect the island. The water on the east side is very tumultuous. The waves from the sea crash up onto the limestone sides. The other side is the west side. It is much calmer and protected by the lee side of the island. You can see they are very different. And the last two are a picture of an old church dated back to the 1800's and a picturesque shot of our boat.

LONG ISLAND

We sailed east of Exuma Island and went to Long Island. This is a real long island with friendly people living on it. The best thing to do is rent a car to see some delightful places. And that is exactly what we did. With our friends, Sanday and Alan, from Discvery II, we rented a car and came upon the Dunsmore caves. Of course we had to venture inside to see the formations and some bats.

There was a "blue hole" on the island just inside a lagoon. The water is dark blue in the middle because it is extremely deep. You could see the fish swimming along the perimeter of the hole along the shoreline. Serene, picturesque, and wonderful are only a couple of words I could think of to describe this small lagoon. It's spectacular!

If you're on this island, the really important spot to see is the Columbus Monument on Cape Santa Maria. It is on the north part of the island. There is a plaque that dedicates this monument to the Aboriginese and Lucayan people of the island. Notice the steep incline to reach the top. But, the view is worth it.

GEORGE TOWN on Great Exuma Island

We made it to Georgetown. We had planned to end here and begin our trek north. But, there are a couple of cays we would like to take the opportunity to see. On our way to George Town (which is on the Great Exuma Island), we saw a few of these very large beacon markers made out of stone. They were enormous and in the first picture you can see by the waves against the rocks just how large these things are. They actually are navigational aids to mariners to let them know where a particular cay is located and to be able to cut in between cays for protection during a storm.

We have been anchored near a beach called Sand Dollar Beach. But,we did dinghy over to another beach called Volley Ball Beach to enjoy a great little beach bar and to see all of the people. This place is called "Cruisers Day Camp". There is always something to do. You can go to a Yoga class, Bible study, basket making. All kinds of things. This picture shows only a small part of this fun place. They have volleyball courts here and the cruisers play all of the time to keep in shape.

We took this picture of the miles signs. England, Quebec, Australia, Halifax. Boats come here from many places.

And another beautiful sunrise in paradise.

Considering a new summer home? Check out these digs. It's truly amazing how some folks live!

EXUMA ISLANDS

We made it to the Exumas. After leaving Eleuthera, we sailed down to Warderick Wells Cay. This Cay is part of the Land and Sea Park of the Exumas. There are several small cays that are protected under the Land and Sea Park. What you bring to these cays, you must also take out with you. And no fishing.
The first of these three pictures shows the small finches that can be fed sugar from your hand. They also like toast crumbs. Second, is a sign we saw during our hiking tour up to see BooBoo Hill. There are a couple of blowholes in the limestone at the top. It’s really neat to feel the air push up through the hole by the water rushing into the cave below. And the third shot is one of many beautiful views we continue to see during our trip. Notice the tender in the middle taking guests back to a cruise ship.

After snorkeling and enjoying the Exuma Park, we sailed down to Staniel Cay. Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a great spot for a week getaway for vacationers. They have cottages you can rent that are wildly painted. Staniel Cay is also home of Thunderball. Remember the James Bond movie? We snorkeled inside the cave that was used during the film. If your memory is good, (only in Hollywood), the Coast Guard dropped a life raft to Bond through the opening in the cave to help him get out. There were some young people in there with us and they were climbing up outside and jumping into this hole, down into the water. It was so awesome; we went in the next morning for a second look. Unfortunately, the only pics we have are in an underwater camera and they need to be developed the "normal" way. We were boarded (along with all of the other Americans anchored in the cove) by the Bahamian Defense. They were just checking passports, papers, and a few safety items on board. They were actually very nice young guys doing their job. Had to get their picture. Bill says, "Now we have really had the full Bahaman experience".

Out next stop is Great Guana Cay, the Black Point Settlement. This is a quiet little community on a good size cay. This community makes it’s own RO (reverse osmosis) water from seawater. And they are gracious enough to offer it to boaters free of charge. Most places down here sell water for approximately 50cent to a dollar a gallon because of the RO situation. But, they do accept donations to the churches or school. The pictures here are of beautiful spots we found as we walked along a road to locate where everything was when we first arrived. We will stay here for a day or two to do some clothes washing and take it easy before we head further south. Washing clothes is another issue to be dealt with. $7.00 per load to wash your belongings makes you appreciate having a washer and dryer at home at your disposal at all times. We have one or two more stops before reaching our final destination during this trip, George Town, on Great Exuma Island. From there we will turn north and make our way back up to the Abacos, and then back to the US.

SPANISH WELLS CAY (ELEUTHERA)

We arrived in Spanish Well Cay on January 17 after a 10 hour sail from Little Harbour, Abacos, down to Royal Island before mooring in Spanish Cay. This Cay is a small fishing community just west of the island of Eleuthera. Their dialect is English with a touch of British. Although there are quite a few cars on this small island, the common means of transportation is golf carts. We find golf carts all over the Bahamas. The only way on or off the island is a boat. You can take a water taxi to the main island of Eleuthera or the big fast ferry around Eleuthera to Harbour Island, on the east side of Eleuthera. It's a sight to see a car being taken on a boat to the main island. Perhaps they have an appointment that is some distance away. We have met Americans that have purchased a house here and live here during the winter months. They spend their summers in New England. That's the way to do it!

GREAT GUANA CAY

We are now in Marsh Harbour. But, before we travelled to Marsh Harbour, we spent a couple of days on Great Guana Cay. This Cay is lovely. A walk along the beach along the Atlantic side of the island is fabulous. You will notice a picture of a resort(notice the lounge chairs). We were anchored in Fisher's Bay just off this resort. You can go in and sit and watch the sunset here. Great Guana is not a large cay. It is known for snorkeling and a couple of great beach bars. We did not get in any snorkeling time. Yet. we did manage to squeak in some bar time. Do you know what the difference is between an island and a cay? An island has fresh water available and a cay does not. We're still enjoying our trip. So many wonderful places to see.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

JUNKANOO: A Bahamian Celebration with wonderful colorful costumes, dancing down the street to a rythym of Drums and Cow bells. What a wonderful sight!