There was a general exodus of boats from Nassau on Sunday. The Nassau Harbour Club Marina had filled up over the previous couple of days with boats seeking shelter from the strong cold front which hit yesterday with 30-40 knot winds and squalls. But by Sunday, miraculously, things had settled down, and Chris Parker, our radio weather guru, gave out the 'all clear' for a couple of days at least! So,together with buddy boat 'Knot-A-Gain' we headed south-east from Nassau for a 29 mile run to Allan's Cay, a group of islands in the northern Exuma island chain. The water was fairly flat, and we had a comfortable passage. We had heard from other friends that the anchorage could be very busy...and it was. By the end of the day there were 18 boats anchored between the three main cays which make up this anchorage. Allan's Cay's claim to fame, apart from being a good spot to snorkel and fish in pristine clear turquoise waters, is that two of the islands are home to a large colony of rock iguanas. There are large numbers of these prehistoric-looking creatures scuttling along the sands, particularly when food of any sort is on offer. Although there are signs requesting visitors not to feed the iguanas, they expect to be fed! They also have poor eyesight and may nip your ankle if you are not paying attention!
We spent two nights at this anchorage. The first night was calm, and the day that followed was a perfect, sunny warm day - for once! We swam, dinghied around the islands, and fished. Bill caught a mutton snapper, and we ate it for lunch! At sunset we invited Marianne and Paul (Knot-A-Gain) and Frank and Mary-Pat (Yolo) on board to celebrate the end of a perfect day. Well, the day may have been perfect, but the night at anchor was not. A large motor yacht had slipped in late in the day and anchored near us - we were nervous as this anchorage is fairly restricted, surrounded by sharp coral heads, and the holding is not that good. By the middle of the night the wind had come up, and all the boats were rocking and rolling on their anchors. We learned later that one boat's owners sat up most of the night watching with angst as the catamaran next to them crept ever closer as the boats all swung with the tide and strong gusts. At first light the large motor yacht slid out of the anchorage....and we followed shortly after. The seas were very choppy and the wind was howling as we headed just around the corner to Highborne Cay Marina. We had already made our two night reservation, as I had just finished a book by a previous manager of the Cay (it is a privately owned island) called "Life on a Rock", and I wanted to see some of the things she had written about. This is a lovely little marina, and has been upgraded since the book was written. It is fairly tricky to figure out the entrance in rough weather, and we were relieved to get tied up. There is a well-stocked shop (for the islands, that is!) and there are some lovely beaches. Yesterday we followed some of the walking trails mentioned in the book and just enjoyed our calm haven as the cold front churned up the water on the shallow banks to the west of the island. Today the cold front is lingering and so are we. We plan to spend $4 each on a shower (for 4 minutes of water use!), and also go on another walk south from the marina. We are also planning the next part of our trip as we have been promised three days of good weather, starting from Friday! It's all subject to change, of course!
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