Exuma by any other name...

The beach at Highbourne Cay Marina

Eric & Fred hangin' at Highbourne Marina (notice cold Coronas in hand)

Eagle Ray swimming out from under Sea Glass


We slipped our mooring and bid farewell to Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera at 6:30am. Our route plan for today included a 40-mile run down along the west coast of Eleuthera - and then punching out into the deep waters of Exuma Sound for the 35-mile crossing to Staniel Cay, Exumas. Once again, you gotta be sure to have a backup plan in case your primary one doesn't work out!

The first part of the trip went pretty much as we expected - 2' wavelets on the bow and gorgeous turquoise waters. Michael even put the fishing line out - but all he caught in the shallow bank waters was a small Barracuda. The excitement started as we passed Cape Eleuthera and started our crossing for Staniel.

At first, the 3-4' waves quartering on the bow were just a minor annoyance, but by now it was midday and the winds and seas were starting to pipe up. We were registering consistent 30-35mph winds and the waves quickly built to 5-6'   Michael and Fred were looking at me to come up with a Plan B pretty quickly, since none of us were really fans of the idea of "toughing" it out for the next 6 hours.

So, I glanced at the charts and suggested we make a 90-degree turn to starboard and head for Highbourne Cay Cut. If this point of sail was still untenable, we would give up for the day and run back to Cape Eleuthera to wait for better weather. Fortunately, this turn put the seas almost on our stern, just slightly quartering. Anyone who knows Great Harbour Trawlers knows that this is the kind of sea they like best.

Our 4-hour ride in to Highbourne Cay was very comfortable and uneventful until a large Mahi took the lure we were dragging and headed back towards Eleuthera with it. Fred and Michael did a yeoman's job horsing the big fish up to the cockpit so we could attempt to land him. Unfortunately, we don't have a gaff on the boat, so I had to wire him in by grabbing the leader in my gloved hand and flipping him up over the doorsill and into the boat. Man, I was already tasting those fresh, sweet filets that we would cook on the grill tonight.

If you scroll back to the top of the page, you will notice that of the pictures I chose to illustrate this entry into the blog, there is no picture of a large Mahi ready to filet. That's because he managed to rip the hook off the crimped wire leader just as I had him on the coaming of the boat. Damn. No fish tonight. Oh well, we just had to "make do" with a chicken that Michael roasted up perfectly in his Nuwave magic cooker.

But back to the crossing: We came through Highbourne Cay Cut uneventfully and as we entered the harbor at Highbourne Marina, we were all immediately struck by the beauty of the place. It is one of the nicest marinas I have ever seen - with crystal turquoise waters, a cute little office/store and lots of cool critters cruising around the harbor waters. I didn't get any pics of the nurse sharks that were greedily gobbling up thrown fish scraps at the fish cleaning station. However, I got some pictures of a pair of Eagle Rays that glided back and forth around Sea Glass for about ten minutes.

So, as so often happens, a change of plans ends up working for the best. We plan another dawn departure tomorrow and we should tie up at Staniel Cay around lunch time. That will give us a chance to do some exploring and maybe even snorkel Thunderball Grotto. But right now it's time for Mrs. Kraft's favorite little boy to get some shut-eye. I'll report back tomorrow.