Breeze On

Yesterday we went snorkeling again, this time at Malabar Cays. This morning we dropped the mooring lines and motored 4 1/2 miles south in the very lumpy Exuma Sound to pick up a mooring ball at OBrien Cay. It was a short dinghy ride from there to snorkel at the Sea Aquarium. Our timing couldn’t have been better—we caught the last of the sun before clouds rolled in for the day. After returning to Breeze On, we decided the mooring field was too rolly so we dropped the mooring lines again and sailed 6 1/2 miles south on the calmer banks side to anchor at Sampson Cay.  Jacks, Sargent Majors, and Blue Tangs.  Jacks and Sargent Major.  Brain coral.   Squirrelfish peeking out.  Bank Sea Bass.  Triggerfish.  Queen Angelfish.  Queen Angelfish.  Large school of jacks.  Queen Angelfish.  Queen Angelfish.  Last night’s full moon.  Queen Angelfish, Yellowtail Snappers,and Sargent Majors.  Yellowtail Snappers and Sargent Majors.  Gray Angelfish.  Gray Angelfish, Sargent Majors, and Jacks.  Ballyhoo

As we crossed over from Eleuthera to the Exumas yesterday we decided to visit a location that was new to us, Pirate’s Lair, within the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. It is a relatively small area and surprisingly protected. There are currently just two mooring balls in the area and we are on one of them. The other one is empty. The current is strong through here and even when the wind is blowing over 15 knots, Breeze On points into the current and not the wind. Right now the wind is blowing from behind.  The water is clear and beautiful here but the most exciting thing about this location are the nearby stromatolites, among the oldest living things on earth. Fossilized stromatolites are the oldest fossils on earth but it is extremely rare to find living stromatolites. We have them right here. If you would like to know more about them here is a link to a brief excerpt from a PBS Nova show.  Stromatolites  George and I snorkeled over them today and would have thought they were just lar

Since we arrived at Rock Sound we shared the harbor with just one other boat (and very briefly a third boat.) The couple in the other boat were away a lot so it took a few days for us to meet them. Yesterday, as we were coming back from a trip to the store, we saw someone on the back deck of their boat so we decided to stop and say hello. We had a nice chat with Craig and Nancy and they gave us some excellent tips for staying at a private dock near Lucaya, Grand Bahama. This morning, as we were sailing from Rock Sound to Warderick Wells, Exuma, Nancy shared a photo she took of Breeze On at sunset last night.  A visitor came to our boat as we were cutting each other’s hair yesterday afternoon—a large barracuda. It eventually decided to hang out under the dinghy, usually with its tail hanging out. It reminded us of a game of hide and seek, where it wasn’t very well hidden, as in “you can’t see me!” Breeze On at sunset. Photo by Nancy Meyer.  It was another calm morning in the harbor yest

A few days ago we had a glorious sail from Ten Bay 20 miles south to Rock Sound, traveling 7 knots in 20 knots of wind with a jib a double-reefed mainsail. Our first item of business was to dinghy over to Wild Orchids and make our reservation for a Thanksgiving Turkey dinner. This is our third year of celebrating Thanksgiving at Wild Orchids.  Yesterday we spent three hours at 3T’s doing laundry and having nice chats with the owner, Showboat, and his other customers. When we returned to Breeze On I set my seed crackers out to bake in our new solar oven. I have a recipe for the crackers that I really enjoy but they bake at 340 degrees for 50 minutes. I don’t like using the oven in the galley, especially when it is warm, so I thought the solar oven might do the job. The crackers didn’t start baking until afternoon so I had already lost some hours of good sun. The oven reached a maximum temperature of 225° and the crackers were baked—but not browned—after four hours. I am hoping that they

After leaving Hatchet Bay yesterday morning we stopped for the night at Governor’s Harbour. Today we sailed a few hours to South Palmetto Point for a short shopping stop and then on to Ten Bay for the night. We had hoped to eat dinner at the Buccaneer Club in Governor’s Harbour but they were closed for renovations until today. Instead we walked to 1648-An Island Restaurant in the swanky French Leave Resort. Our friends, Dawn and Ray, had recommended their pizza and it was indeed delicious. Today we anchored outside a defunct marina at South Palmetto Point so that we could dinghy ashore and walk to Eleuthera Island Farm for some locally grown greens. We had to trudge through a few large puddles in the road to get there but it was worth it. We’ve had a lot of rain lately.  After returning to Breeze On we motored south another few miles to Ten Bay where we were greeted with a rainbow. At sunset we heard the call of a limpkin, sometimes used as an eerie jungle sound effect in films.  Outsi

Hatchet Bay is just two miles from a large saltwater pond (technically a blue hole connected to seawater) called Sweetings Pond. We had heard from other cruisers two years ago that Sweetings Pond has seahorses. I have always loved seahorses and have never seen them in the wild. Yesterday morning George and I put our bathing suits on, loaded our snorkel gear into the dinghy, and went ashore. After tying up at the dock we talked to a nice young man (JoGo) and asked if there was anyone who could take us to Sweetings Pond. JoGo said ,” You mean like Uber?”  We said yes and he went to talk to a friend (Keno) who agreed to drive us for $30.  While Keno drove us to the pond, he and JoGo pointed out the sights. We never would have found the unmarked, overgrown road to the pond by ourselves. They dropped us off and gave us a number to call when we were ready to be picked up.  George and I put our snorkel gear and went in. Near shore it was so murky I wasn’t sure we would be able to see anything