As we waited for our weather window to head back across the Exuma Sound toward Staniel Cay, we had one last night with our buddy boats at the honor bar—a full-on tiki bar where you create your own tab, mix your own drinks, and settle up at the end. It was a fantastic night. The next morning, it was still difficult to see them sail off around the corner to the north while we waited another day for our window to sail west.
It was a rather uneventful passage; gentle three-foot waves on the stern pushed us along. Pamela and the boys started to feel a little green, but as the passage progressed, the waves began to lay down. We approached the cut at Black Point during what was forecasted to be slack tide, but as we entered, we accelerated from 7 knots to 12 very quickly as the current pulled us through and into the protection of the western shores of the Exumas. We pointed the bows south toward Little Bay at Great Guana Cay for the night.
Bright and early the next morning, we picked up the hook and headed north to Staniel Cay to fuel up Jubilee. The last time the boat was at a fuel dock was right here on February 23rd, just over fifty days prior. In the interim, we’d been doing the “less sexy” part of sailing: hauling fuel in jerry cans. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience holding the boat steady in the channel while waiting for the dock to clear, but we prevailed. Docking took a little longer than I would have liked, but I was just thankful I didn’t crash into the pier!
After fueling up, we pushed off and continued north to Sampson Cay. There, we met up with Oliluki and Captain Andy, who helped us bring the boat across from Florida. We had shipped some necessary parts to him and were relieved to finally get them so we could continue our boat work. It was wonderful to catch up. We took a quick trip to see a massive sandbar rising out of the falling tide—a beautiful sight. Then, after a quick and sad goodbye, it was back to the boat to continue northward.
We pointed the bows toward Warderick Wells. We had stopped here on our passage south into the Bahamas, but it had been a rough day and we didn’t go ashore. This time, it was nice and calm, so we launched the dinghy to explore. On the beach, there is a whale skeleton—a sobering reminder of a creature that died from consuming plastic. After checking out the bones, we did some exploring and spent a lot of time playing on the beach.
The following morning brought another day of travel. We left Warderick Wells around 8:00 AM and headed back across the Exuma Sound, this time toward Eleuthera. The sea state was nearly flat, and everyone was excited to have a calm eight hours ahead of us until we reached Rock Sound. I was so thankful to arrive; over the past three days, we had traveled nearly 140 nautical miles, and it was starting to wear on me—not to mention the late nights spent in the engine compartment working on the generator. Definitely the less sexy part of this lifestyle!
We are enjoying keeping up with your updates! Memphis’ says Hi to Declan! Can’t wait to read about more adventures.…
Hi Jason and Pamela, I’m just catching up on your adventures. Yes, we had an unusual amount of cold weather…
Jason- Great to follow you and your wonderful family!! Be safe and enjoy
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