Spring Break, Part II

Daryl and Sue, our second set of spring break guests, breezed through customs at the Nassau airport and arrived at the public dock just after Steve returned from his trip to the laundromat.  We had just enough time to pick Steve up, get the laundry back to the boat, and for Steve to get back to the dock as their taxi dropped them off.

This time around we were able to leave without delay the next morning, although we were still traveling upwind and unable to sail.  We motor-sailed to Highbourne Cay using the jib for the additional knot and a half boost and anchored at one of favorite spots on the north side of Highbourne Cay. One of the "attractions" there is the resident nurse shark who greets boats as they arrive at the anchorage.

Our Nurse Shark Buddy at the Northern Highbourne Cay Anchorage


We arrived fairly early in the afternoon and were able to get a snorkeling trip in before dinner.

Daryl and Sue are two of our friends who love to catch lobster and though it was still lobster season, we had warned them that we've rarely seen lobster in the Exumas - and never in the northern part of the island chain where we were located.

The next morning the four of us loaded into the dinghy and headed to a pretty snorkeling spot in the cut between Highbourne and Allen Cays.  Suzanne swam over to a beautiful coral head and immediately spied a large lobster. This guy was not sitting in a hidey-hole with only antennae visible, as usual, but was sitting right on top of the coral head! We quickly called Daryl over and pointed him in the right direction.  The coral head was pretty deep, but Daryl persevered, even after the lobster scooted into a more protected spot within the coral. And, oh my, what a monster it was!!

Suzanne at Cut North of Highbourne Cay

Daryl Catching Dinner

It's In the Bag!

Our Biggest Catch Yet!


We spent the next couple of days exploring other snorkeling spots in the general vicinity - on the east side of Leaf Cay, and on the northeast side of Highbourne Cay.  

We saw some really cool stuff including a pufferfish, a nurse shark, a turtle and - you guessed it! - more lobster! The next catch was a joint effort between Steve and Daryl, with Steve tickling the lobster out of the hole and Daryl nabbing it. Unfortunately, I was too far away to get a photograph of the two of them in action.




Gray Angelfish

Blue Hamlets



Spotfin Butterflyfish

Sea Anemone


Green Turtle



Squirrel Fish
       
Unidentified Cool Thing
(Will??)



Nurse Shark at Leaf Cay




Yellow Tube Sponge

Steve Looking for Lobster in All the Right Places


Southern Stingray


Our Exuma adventure this week was cut short by a day on the tail-end due to weather and we decided to sail back to Nassau a day early. It was perfect sailing though, averaging 7 knots the entire way. 

We were expecting fairly sporty winds from the east and northeast the next day (and for the following week), so we chose a new anchorage in Nassau within Nassau Harbour that looked like it would offer the best protection for the forecast. It's my least favorite anchorage from a scenery-perspective, but it turned out to be quite convenient, as it's quite close to a marina with a dinghy dock where we can leave the dinghy for the day. All of the other places in Nassau require one of us to drop the other on shore, take the dinghy back to Starry Night and then go back for pickup later.  

Daryl and Sue took the opportunity to sight-see in Nassau on their last day with us, and we spent our last evening together marveling at the view of the mega-yachts passing through and the six cruise ships docked at the cruise terminal, just to the west of our anchorage. Oh yeah....and trying to figure out how someone could live on a vessel as small as the trimaran next to us and if he was, in fact, wearing pants. Shirt, yes. Pants, unclear. Sue had her doubts 🤣



Nassau Harbour West Anchorage

Six Cruise Ships at Nassau 

Steve and I checked the weather forecast for the coming week again, shortly after Daryl and Sue's departure the next morning. We had a week until our next set of compadres arrived and had hoped to do a bit of exploring on our own. The wind was still projected to be high all week, though, and coming from the wrong direction, so we opted for Plan B and stayed in Nassau, taking advantage of the convenient shore access to take walks, go out for dinner, do laundry, and go shopping. 

Bahamian Specialty: Jerk Chicken with Plantains
and Baked Macaroni and Cheese

View from the Sideny Portier Bridge Connecting Nassau to Paradise Island


And as our seventh week in the Bahamas drew to a close, we were ready to welcome my bestie, Miss Darlyn and her husband, Brad for more fun in the sun.  

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