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Wednesday, May 10th - The Berry Islands, Bahamas
The Berry Islands are a little visited group of small
Cays on a very shallow bank between Florida and
Eleuthera. We didn't hear much about them from
other cruisers but read a little about them in our guide
books. They sounded just isolated and close enough
(65 miles) in favorable winds for us to make the
day-long sail over to check them out. I put
together an overview of our recent cruising grounds to
help you place us in our travels.
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Let me know if these maps help, and I can make them a
regular feature. I'm sure I can get better at it
with a little practice!
We
left Harbour Island for the infamous Devil's Backbone
passage on Monday. We called for a pilot on VHF
Channel 16 in the morning, hoping to hook up for a noon
departure time. "Little Woody" responded promptly.
He tied up his motorboat to our stern as soon as we
pulled up the anchor, climbed aboard and took control.
Joe was a little reluctant to let him steer the boat,
but Woody said it was easier, and we had heard good
things about him, so Captain Joe relented and turned
over the wheel. He also turned over his ear for
the next hour as Little Woody shared stories of his wife
of 25 years and their two grown children, his travels to
Baltimore, which is one of his favorite spots on the
East Coast, his way to solve the problems in the Middle
East, and the best places to find boat parts in Spanish
Wells. A native of Spanish Wells, he gave up his
job as a boat captain which took him away from home for
long stretches at a time to enter the lucrative business
of piloting boats through the Devil's Backbone to and
from Spanish Wells and Harbour Island. He makes
four or five trips a day at $75 a pop. Not a bad
living no matter what way you cut it!
Spanish Wells is a cute little town on the small island
of St. George's Cay. It was founded in 1648 by
Dutch pilgrims who wanted to get farther away from the
oppressive British sovereignty they suffered under in
Bermuda. Most natives are blonde haired and blue
eyed and speak with a very distinct accent. We
walked around the entire town and stopped in a few of
the shops, which reminded me of the typical variety
store you would find on Main Street in any small
Midwestern town. They sold everything from fabric
and sewing notions to bathing suits, books, toys,
souvenirs, clothing and candy. It was a hot day,
and even though we didn't bring our bathing suits, the
girls managed to cool off on the beach. "Don't get
your shorts wet," Joe entreated.
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We
took off the next morning for The Berry Islands.
The day started out with a very promising 12 knots of
breeze off our beam, but half way through our sail it
clocked around in front of us and died. We stuck
it out until 3:30, then wound up motoring for the
remaining three hours. It was a beautiful day
regardless and every day on the water is another
opportunity to catch fish. We must have caught
something big because he tore our lure and the whole
leader line right out of the shackle. I'll spare
you the whining, but needless to say, our fishing luck
did not turn around.
We
wound up in Hoffmans Cay in the Northern part of the
Berrys. Our cruising guide promised a blue hole
and "one of the most attractive anchorages in the Berrys,"
so we set our course for the White Cay anchorage, just
off Hoffmans Cay. We were thrilled.
The anchorage was nestled between three little island to
the east, west and south, with the southern end of
Hoffmans protecting its northern side. The water
was clear as glass, the bottom decorated with patches of
thick, dark grass interspersed with clear blue sandy
patches that are perfect for setting the hook. We
arrived in time to eat a nice mellow dinner and marvel
in a spectacular sunset. The girls were happy, we
had a good day of school along the way, and our nightly
game of Rummikub was the perfect ending to the day.
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Our only complaint was the bugs. We had to retreat
indoors and close up the hatches against the mosquitoes.
With light wind, they easily find their way out to their
nearest and juiciest prey and are merciless.
Luckily we caught it before we were too inundated and a
few minutes of targeted slapping once the boat was
closed up tight freed us of the pests.
We
decided to make the trek to the blue hole in the
morning, before the day got too hot. Joe asked one
of our neighbors for directions and we set out in the
dinghy. It was a short ride to the nearest beach
where we found a well cleared trail through the thick
shrubbery. In only five minutes, you emerge onto
the rocky ledge overlooking a twenty foot drop
into the blue hole.
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Our neighbors had boasted that they jumped off the ledge
into the water, and Joe just had to try it.
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To
our great surprise, by announcing our presence so
loudly, Joe attracted a large grouper to the surface.
Our cruising guide had noted that someone had supposedly
stocked the hole with one grouper some time ago, but
weren't certain if it had survived, multiplied, or died
out. The two foot grouper that we named "Mick"
sure looked healthy to us. He just sat there
staring at us, waiting for us to feed him. He
wasn't afraid in the least.
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Always eager to please, Joe came up with the idea of
breaking off some mussels from the rocky edges of the
pool. He and the kids smashed them with rocks to
break them open and threw the meat to Mick. He
gobbled the morsels up like a child devouring jelly
beans on Easter. We could have hung with Mick for
hours, but again it was the bugs that drove us away.
Back on the boat, after dinner, as I watched the intense
heat and blinding light of the day mellow into a
kaleidoscope of soft gold, pale pink and a million
shades of blue, I thought how very lucky we are to be
living this life. More significant for me at that
moment, was the realization of how lucky I was to be
able to share it with all of you. In thinking
about how best to convey our experiences, I am inspired
to look for all the wonder and beauty in the world
around us. Joe once complained that all of my
updates sound so idyllic. Of course there are bad
times and drawbacks to this life, but I choose, with
your help, to seek out and share the very best of it.
In doing so, I gain a different, and overwhelmingly
positive perspective of our adventure. Thank you
for that.
Love,
Christy, Joe, Cassie and Juliana
Next entry
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Many thanks to our
friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up
the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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