Blackpoint anchorage is well protected from the north, east and south although in a south wind swells may come around the point and make the anchorage rockey. The water is relatively shallow with good holding so anchoring is usually fairly easy.
Sunset from Scorpios for happy hour with 4 other boat friends.
We motored the 2 miles from Bitter Guana Cay to Blackpoint and dropped the anchor with about 20 other boats already in the anchorage. We were excited to see several of our friends there and knew some more were coming. Although we missed the Cruiser's Happy Hour at Scorpios on Friday we agreed to meet at Scorpios for a happy hour and we made dinner reservations at Deshamons. In one night we were going to hit 2 of the 3 restaurants in town. The other one Lorraine's Cafe is popular but we decided not to go there this time.
Even though we weren't going to Lorraine's, behind the restaurant is Lorraine's mom's house and bakery. She makes the best coconut raisin bread ever. We love to eat it plain but it is great for French Toast. We bought 1 loaf the first day and had to go back before we left to get another. We probably should have bought 2!
So about 1700 along with our friends from Bonavista, Cabana, Island Spirit and Sea Lyon we met and talked about where we had been and where we were going. Cabana and Sea Lyon will e heading back to the States in the next months; Bonavista is heading to the BVI, Island Spirit is heading to Grenada and we are of course heading to Guatemala. Great to catch up with folks as paths cross.
A wreck on the shore in the creek.
Little Creek view looking toward the north end of the island.
On Sunday we walked to the north end of the island where there is a small creek. Hoping to do some swimming in a protected area but the shores were all rocky and there actually was a sailboat anchored in there. Would probably make a good shelter in a westerly blow.
Monday we left Blackpoint for what we hoped would be a private anchorage. With a nice wind we were able to sail to White Point which is about 5 miles south of Blackpoint and found several boats there and went to the next little cove, Hetty's Land and found a large cat there who after we anchored hauled up and left. So we had the anchorage to ourselves. We went into the beach and snorkeled along the rocks and a huge ray swam by us and swam along for a while. Very exciting to get so close to one swimming.
View of Amekaya from the beach at Blackpoint.
Another blow was forecasted for later in the week so we decided we should get into a place and settled before the anchorage got crowded with everyone else doing the same thing. We opted to go to the channel between Little Farmer's Cay, Guana Cay and Farmer's Cay. The preferred approach was from the south but after studying the charts it appeared that we could get through an intricate channel from the north that would be just a few inches above mean low water (MLW) so we decided to go for it. We were able using visual piloting to find our way through the channel and back into deeper water. Taking the cut save about an hour of motoring.
View from our anchorage at Little Farmer's Cay.
The sunset from Ty's.
An old wreck on the shore.
Farmers Cay Yacht Club.
Ocean Cabin.
Rain squalls during the big blow.
Overlooking the bay at Farmers Cay.
There were already several other boats in the anchorage but we scouted around and found a shallower location out of the main channel and away from the moorings in the deeper water. When I swam out to check the anchor I saw sand waves on the bottom that were as much as 2 feet above the contour of the bottom and often fairly wide. Looking at them in relations to our keel it seemed like we should be ok since it was not long after low tide.I also noticed our anchor chain had sunk in to several of them between the boat and the anchor so I was confident that if we bumped into one it would probably brush away. As it turned out the heavy winds and current caused them to dissipate and they were never an issue. Our anchor was well-set and by the second morning it was buried to the top half-inch of the roll bar.
Little Farmer's Cay is very Bahamian with friendly people and a few nice eateries. In past visits we enjoyed ribs and lobster at Ty's so we went there to make reservations and found they had neither. But it's a beautiful little place right on the beach so we made reservations and left. We also made reservations for the next night at Ocean Cabin because they had lobsters. While walking about we met the couple from the power boat anchored next to us. Paul and Jackie were a great couple and it turns out Paul is a retired navy pilot so we arranged a happy hour for the next evening.
Amekaya at anchor off Farmers Cay.
We walked back to the Farmers Cay Yacht Club and met the owner Mr. Roosevelt Nixon and sat down at the bar to enjoy a cold beer. Shortly after that Paul and Jackie came in and we enjoyed a happy hour at the bar.
The wind blew for 3 days but it was very pleasant on the boat. Besides going ashore we did go over to the beach and walk along it shelling and diving for conch. We had times with the wind and current opposed but I had put our barbell on the chain that kept it down so when we turned we didn't rub on the chain.
Emerald Bay Marina.
Friday came and the weather had moved out. So after the passage of a squall line we hauled anchor and went out the cut headed for George Town, Emerald Bay. At first there was little wind but the wind finally came up on the beam and we had a great sail all the way to the channel at Emerald Bay.
We stopped for fuel since we couldn't get any in Nassau and want to leave here with a full tank before we head to Jamaica. We were able to get a slip on the discount dock where only water is available for $1/ft. The question was how long would we be here. When we had gotten into Farmer's Cay we were contacted by our credit card company wanting to know if we were buying gas in South Carolina. Obviously we weren't so they had to cancel our credit cards and issue new ones. So we would be stuck in Emerald Bay at least until our new credit cards arrived.
Barbecue and bonfire on the beach with Junkanoo dancers at the Villas.
Emerald Bay is not a bad place to be stuck if you have to be stuck someplace. There are nice heads, free laundry, marina services, beaches, good restaurants and the opportunity to get off the boat and exercise. So we will stay here until the weather gives us a window to continue on toward our final destination in the Bahamas, Great Inagua before going on to Jamaica. We are really ready to get to Jamaica.
A nice sunset before the next front comes through.
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