After an unusual-for-the-Bahamas stint of westerly winds with northerly components (I hate to say this, knowing what our northern brethren is dealing with, but dang, it was cold), the trade winds seem to be back in service, and anchorages here make sense again.
We sailed into Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay yesterday afternoon, and from here, we haven’t decided on what to do or where to go. (And as an aside while I sit and write, the large open skiffs full of workers tucked into their hoodies zip away out of the harbor to the north, likely bound for Staniel; basically I’m watching the Bahamian version of the Ellsworth to MDI commute. They know where they’re going, at least.)
Touching a great deal of wood here, we’ve had minor boat issues and decent timing for weather for hops to and fro, so we’re further south earlier than we’ve ever been on a Chickadee trip. Since our plan on the other end is to be able to take a bit more time on the northbound trip, and not be rushing as we so often are, we’re still factoring that in when we’ve realized that we have a bit of time to revisit this section of islands.
In years past, we’ve made swift work of getting to Georgetown, and had simple stops en route without a whole lot of exploring. Since Georgetown isn’t a goal this time around (although from the lack of kid boats we’ve seen, we’re assuming they’re all there, so maybe it should be?), we’ll poke around a bit and see what we see. We snorkeled Staniel’s famous Thunderball grotto (see James Bond for detail), and it reminded Violet of her love for snorkeling. Put one down for the goal sheet!
Black Point, from a cruiser’s standpoint, is known for its easy laundry access, Lorraine’s Cafe, Lorraine’s mother’s bread, and for our family, a crazy good sea glassing beach on the ocean side. (Also probably other services that Lorraine and her family provide that we’ve yet to learn about.) Our plan today after V finishes her schooling is to hit the bread and the beach; Bahamian bread fresh out of the oven is not to be missed, and lord knows those many, many jars of sea glass won’t fill themselves. (We’ll never DO anything with the sea glass, of course, but the collecting part is certainly therapeutic.)
Until the rest of the family is up and at ’em, I suppose looking at the charts and spinning the wheel is also part of the day. Until next time, wherever we are!
