Hi from Allens Cay

06 January

After a few days in the big city of Nassau, it was time to leave the marina and head for the Exumas. We filled up with biodeisel at the Texaco pier taking on 28.7 gallons so we burned a little less than a gallon an hour on the 30 hour crossing from Miami. Had trouble raising Nassau Harbor Control to clear out of this busy port, but it turned out that the radio just needed to be turned off and on again. If you have a VHF with a remote head, don't plug the remote in while the radio is on. It may seem to function, but won't work quite right.

1054 Cleared out with harbor control. Can see shallow water on both sides, but we're in 28 ft of light blue water.

1300 Approaching the "Yellow Banks." This is where there are scattered coral heads. Today is our first day of trying to "read" the water and we are a bit nervous. Noah and Beth are at the bow with an FRS radio so they can tell me to change course if necessary.

1330 Dark patches and we are a little concerned. We motor slowly over them and the depth is 14 feet. In the Neuse we wouldn't be nervous as we couldn't see anything anyway. The dark spots appear to be rocks. Need to check the autopilot wiring as it is cutting out every once in a while.

1400 Spotted five coral heads since 1330. They are obvious, large black patches in the water that you can see from a good distance away. Depth is 19 ft and our speed is 7 kts.

Noah and Beth are great spotters. We've passed through the area of the banks with the most coral heads.

1500 Exumas in sight! Depth is 20 ft. The freighter "Island Trader" is passing by our stern on the way to Eluthera.

1545 We originally planned to go to Highborne Cay, but talked to Contented Turtle on the radio and they encouraged us to anchor with them at Allens Cay. Changed course.

1632 Anchored just Wast of Allens Cay in 19 feet of water. 38.7 nm from Nassau. The shore is coral with small caves. Wind is out of the East at 15 kts, keeping us in the lee of the island.

07 January

Good nights sleep. I fell asleep on the setee after finishing Noah's bedtime story (Mr. Chickees Funny Money) and didn't wake up until 5 am. It was one of those looong days of school where we didn't know if Noah was going to finish. About 1330 we called school off and decided to go exploring with the crews from Contented Turtle and Ministry. Leaf Cay is the place to go and see the Rock Iguanas. We beached the dinghies and were greeted by twenty or more iguanas looking for a handout. This is as close to a dinosaur as I've ever been. Quite an interesting first step ashore in the Exumas. From their we took the dinghies over to Flat Rock Reef to go snorkeling and the reef was alive with all kinds of fish. The other crews did some spear fishing and caught a lobster and a crab. We were just happy to be in the clear water viewing the fish. This is the first time on the cruise we've really been snorkeling! Noah's friend David speared a fish and that was really exciting. By the time we returned to the boat we were all famished. I grilled turkey burgers and Beth made fresh cole slaw that was delicious. Sunset was beautiful in a clear sky over the banks. After sunset a large dive boat anchored behind us and lit up the water as they took a group on a night dive. The stars were out in plenty with the nearest lights being one house on Highborne Cay to our south and a slight glow from Nassau to our west.  The wind turned a bit more southeast and waves started curling around the island into our anchorage, catching us on the beam. It made for a rolly, noisy night in which only Noah really got sleep. The positive side was getting up several times to see the stars. We will move to another anchorage before tomorrow night.