| N 24 10.8 W 76 28.5
We left the Warderick Wells mooring ball motoring east into the Exuma Sound and then motor-sailed southeast to Cambridge Cay on the southern boundary of the Exuma Park. There we met Rick and Patty on the catamaran Movin' On - the local volunteer caretakers of that island. We paid our fee, and after a bit of rest, we lowered the dinghy and went ashore. Our goal was to cross the island and climb the path up to Bell Rock. We wandered around the eastern beach gathering driftwood and trash to be deposited in the provided receptacle. Then we climbed the hill and got a great view of the island and the mooring field. There was a blow hole up there and on the way back we checked out a salt pond (pretty dreary) and some musical rocks. You could strike them with another rock and each would have a separate, bell-like tone - pretty cool - kind of like a rock xylophone.
After we got back to the boat we watched a Kiwi boat come in and grab a mooring ball. When they had tied off the boat, they raised the bow thruster and the mooring line got jammed inside. I got into the dinghy and offered help. Soon several folks were there diving and looking and opinionating on the best course of action. Peter, the skipper, tried to work to lower the thruster while Robin, the first mate, chatted with us and brought towels for the divers.
After quite a while we tied a line through the mooring eye and wrapped it around a winch and got it free - teamwork! The next day we snorkled around a bit on the reefs and then went to a sundowner beach party and met a ton of folks. Most were Canadians heading north.
The following morning we spoke with Southern Spirit and decided to head for Sampson Cay. We motored out around Cambridge Cay and then came back into the Exuma Bank flying only the jib at max flood - we were doing over 8 knots! After clearing the sand dunes off Fowl Cay, we turned south and had to motor on to Sampson. There's a very nice resort there owned by John Malone. We had a great buffet dinner there and met the manager and his wife and got all the skinny on the place. The next morning we dinghied in and filled our dinghy gas tanks and then headed south for Big Majors Spot.
Big Majors is sort of famous for two things - wild pigs roam the island and will swim to you dinghy as you approach looking for a handout. We went over and fed them some old crusty bread - see Karen in the picture on the left. They are bigger than you think! Later we got the snorkels and went around the corner to Thunderball Grotto - a small island that you can swim under at low tide into a fish-filled grotto with an opening to the sky. They have made many films here - James Bond swam here in the movie with the same name. According to Karen (and I agree), it is the coolest snorkling we have ever seen. We were all alone there with tons of tropical fish, stalagtites, and a sandy bottom - perfectly clear - amazing!
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