Latitude:24 36N - Longitude: 76 49.5W
We finally got to depart Nassau after four days at the Nassau Harbour Club Marina. The wind let up to 15-20 knots from the east and we were off for the 30 mile trip across Yellow Bank to Highbourne Cay. Everything went fine until in the middle of nowhere (again) the bottom shallowed and we were dodging black coral heads in seven feet of water, arriving at anchor by 1330. The next morning a Bahamas Defense Force vessel anchored nearby and we were boarded by three very mean looking guys with machine guns on what they called a "routine inspection".
The guy on the right from what we could gather was given this machine gun and told to look mean. The other two came inside the boat, soaking wet and carried on with their inspection which consisted of filling out a lot of paperwork and a quick look around. They were happy when we asked if we could take their pics .... except for the guy on the right .... who just wanted to look mean.
It's funny that in our anchorage we had 12 Canadian boats, 1 USA boat and two multi million dollar mega yachts.
Later in the day we took a dingy ride with Peter and France to the Highbourne Marina. What a beautiful beach. This privately owned Cay has a grand total population of 34. Twenty four of them work at the marina and 10 are constructing roads for a new subdivision. We walked the beach then visited the local bar for a couple drinks and a sunset before returning to the boat.
While there we saw varied sea life like a stingray, conch, and of course NEMO
Not the real Nemo but as close as we could get for now.
Today, Saturday, the crews of five boats were invited by Peter and France to join them on their trawler for a run up to Allen Cay to see the wild iguanas on the beach. We towed three dinghies along so we could all get ashore.
There is a stern warning in the cruise books that thesse things WILL BITE YOU if provoked or teased. Sooooo, as we approached the beach, the initial scouts were quickly followed by many more of the critters all looking for handouts of grapes. This was so cool !!!!
Lat. 24 45N - Long 76 50W
Before we knew it the place was overrun with them.
They looked a lot fiercer than they really were. Like all wild animals they just wanted to be fed and would come right up to you.
They were really kind of cute in the end and didn't threaten any of us. After all, we were on their beach.
Here's a quote form a magazine I read this morning: "Prejudice is one off the most stupid things on Earth because there are so many perfectly good reasons to dislike people on an individual basis". This has absolutely nothing to do with iguanas ... I just had to fill the previous page.
Before we left Allen Cay, George and Ron went diving for conch but all they found was a shipwreck. Great snorkeling in this secluded anchorage.
Back on Highbourne Cay we took in other sights around the marina, and what place wouldn't have their own "house of ill repute" .... or so we thought.
Actually this was just a storage room for boat stuff.
The sunset view from the bar was great.
A good day was had by Ron & Jan
and our new friends from Anticosti Island, Peter and France.
Peter used to be an executive chef on cruise ships. Now you know who cooked the lobsters.
For those of you who complain about garbage collection and those poor guys who work hard on the trucks at Waste Management in all kinds of bad weather (hehehe), take a good look at this .... and you have to deliver it yourself.
On Highbourne Cay garbage disposal fees are as follows:
$5.00 PER BAG for the first two bags
$25.00 PER BAG for every bag after that.
Keep up the good work guys.
Tomorrow, Superbowl Sunday, we deopart Highbourne for Normans Cay.
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