Voyage 2002-2003: Chapter 6

Around 0330, we noticed a some pitching of the Jule III. The anchor alarm had not gone off but Bob went to the cockpit to see what was up. The wind had shifted from the southeast to the south. We lost the protection of Norman's Cay and the wind had quite a fetch on the Exuma Bank. Wind was blowing 15-20 kts -- our first anchoring experience on the banks. By daybreak, we were up and ready to head for Warderick Wells. Wind was still out of the south but that is wher were headed. Yet another day with wind on our nose.

We arrived at Warderick Wells at 1215 at dead low tide! We were assigned a mooring by Martha, (an Exuma Park volunteer) we struggled to get the mooring. The mooring area around ball #6 was less than 4 boat lengths wide and we had difficulty lining up to the ball. The wind caught us we could not get the pendant on the boat. Ann could not hold on to the pendant. Fortunately, a good Samaritan came by and gave us a hand. A painful but successful mooring!

2 Mar 2003, Time at Exuma Park, 24 24.002 N/ 076 23.810 W

Exuma Park is a National Park that covers several of the nearby islands as well as Warderick Wells. It is staffed by a park warden, two Defence Force personnel (to protect the Warden and to ward off poachers), and several cruiser volunteers. Most of the structures, trails, monuments, and signs were made by the volunteers over the years.

An interesting attraction to Warderick Wells is Boo Boo Hill which has one of the highest elevations on the island. Cruisers leave 'stuff' on the Hill to record their passage into the Park. We had to add our contribution also. We used some bottom paint to scrawl the name 'Jule III 2003' on a piece of wood. Not pretty but at least we made our mark. We saw some striking vistas of the Exuma Bank and the Exuma Sound from this vantage point.

Saturday is Happy Hour at the Park Office where the cruisers congregate with food, drink and talk. We had a pretty good crowd on March 1st. We met many nice folks but unfortunately they were heading North as they had already been to George Town. We got some good pointers on where to anchor when we got to George Town. This place reminded us a little of Dry Tortugas (Voyage 2000).

The park has several famous celebrities. Among them are Bubba the Baracuda, Harbourmaster the 5 foot shark and Boo Boo his smaller cousin. Since Ann heard about these guys, she was determined that her feet would not go in the water. No snorkeling for us. However, we used our 'look bucket' (glass bottom bucket) and trolled the reefs with the dinghy. It worked rather well ..except for the leaky dinghy. Yep, we developed a split seam on the dinghy floor.which allowed some water into the boat. Duct tape saved the day, at least temporarily. Hopefull it will hold until we get back to the States.

3 Mar 2003, On to Little Farmers Cay, 23 57.802 N/ 076 19.301 W

We checked out of Exuma Park at 0850 headed for Little Farmers Cay. We hoped to meet up with S/V Celena and S/V Legend there. Again we had an uneventful motorsail with mostly head winds at 10-15 kts. The islands appeared to be mostly uninhabited with the occasional settlement in the distance. Celena and Legend recommended the north entrance to Little Farmers harbor and indicated that there was 'plenty of water'. Yeah, at high tide maybe. We came scraping into the harbor with inches to spare. Of course we came in at low tide. Don't we always.

Little Farmers Cay has a small settlement of 55 people. The population is extremely friendly and helpful. We found places to leave our trash, we landed in a nice dinghy dock, and Bob got some excellent cigars at the Ocean Cabins. Life is good! It was rather late in the evening so most folks were about ready to have dinner.

Terry from Ocean Cabins gave us a tour of his establishment after we bought the cigars. He had a fully stocked bar and a very clean restaurant area. Terry is quite famous with the cruising community and his hospitality is reported in many of the cruising guides.Terry sees many cruisers during the season as Little Farmers harbor is pretty well protected.

We then searched out JR the wood sculptor. Terry told us to follow the dirt road which we did. Sure enough, there was JR ready to show us his talent. Ann could not resist a little wooden owl while Bob was interested in three polished conch shells. It didn't take JR long to sell us this 'stuff'. JR indicated that his art work is sold in George Town and Nassau. It is not hard to believe that his products sell well.