Unexcused Absences

After the big wedding we took advantage of a period of calm wind and headed east across the Exuma Sound to Cat Island. Not to be confused with Cat Cay, an exclusive resort island near Bimini, Cat Island is the Bahamas as they used to be, relatively unmolested by modern tourism. Half the reason to visit was to see a new place, and half was to get our cruising permit renewed (the Exumas only have one customs office, and it’s as far to the south as Cat Island is to the east). Kill two birds, etc. More on the cruising permit later.

Our arsenal of trolling lures

Our first stop was Little San Salvador, a small island on the “bridge” (a shallow strip known for good fishing) between the northern tip of Cat and the southern tip of Eleuthera. On the way we decided to put a single trolling line in the water. We had a 6-hour cruise ahead and didn’t want to risk catching a bunch of fish, so I ran a lure out to 150 yards in hopes of catching a tuna. A Mahi, however, had other ideas, and hit our line before I was even done setting the drag for trolling. It wasn’t so much “fishing” as “grocery shopping”.

Our “crossing to Little San Salvador” fish

Little San Salvador between 7am and 5pm is a cruise ship stop for Holland America and Carnival, but at 5:01pm, the cruise ship heads off to its next destination and visiting boaters have the bay to themselves. We swam in the clearest water yet, and walked on the beach, and had a terrific sunset. Early the next morning we took the dinghy to a small sunken barge and snorkeled with some very friendly Jacks that seemed to lead us around. “Hi, we’ll be your guide Jacks today”. After lunch we set out to fish the bridge before turning towards our anchorage at Orange Creek at the north side of Cat Island. We followed a flock of sea birds around in circles and eventually caught a bigeye tuna for dinner (and lunch the next day, and another dinner, and yet another dinner).

Seared sesame tuna with avocado and raw tuna salad

At Orange Creek we took a short dinghy tour up the creek inlet, then motored down to Arthur’s Town. We had heard about a good local restaurant (Da Smoke Pot), so we dropped anchor and came ashore. The restaurant owner was relaxing on his porch with some friends, and he explained that it was election day, which is a national holiday in the Bahamas, so not much would be open. But he said he would be open for dinner, and in the meantime we walked around town and chatted with some friendly locals.

A former sailboat in Orange Creek

A second reason for us to stop in Arthur’s Town was to re-up our cruising permit. The cruising permit says clearly that it is good for six months from the date of entry, and that six month period ends tomorrow. All the guide books, as well as the Bahamian government website, say that there is a customs office at the Arthur’s Town airport. As Reagan himself said, “trust but verify,” so we asked a local if the customs office was open. “Not sure, mon, should be. Check wit de police.”

“De police station” in Arthur’s Town

We found the Arthur’s Town police station (an old, small cinderblock building) a couple blocks to the north and walked in. A woman, not necessarily a police officer, was sitting at a tiny desk directly in front of a window air conditioner. A man, also not necessarily a police officer, was sitting in a tiny space next to the desk. It’s not clear that the Arthur’s Town police even had a car, or weapons of any kind. There certainly wasn’t room for a 5th person in the police “station” after the two of us walked in. We inquired about the customs office that may or not be at the Arthur’s Town airport, and that may or may not be open.

“Oh yes, de customs. I tink dey closed.”

“For the day, or permanently?” I asked.

“Not sure… you should check.”

Me, thinking “that’s kind of why we’re here.” Side question; how is it possible that the police station does not know whether the only other government office for miles around has been permanently closed or not?

So we called a few numbers listed under “Arthur’s Town Customs Office” and eventually reached a person. “Yes, we open until 5. Come on by.”

But as we started our mile-long walk, I realized a flaw. “Call him back, Heather, and ask if his office is at Arthur’s Town airport.”

Ring… click… “Good afternoon, it’s me again; is this the Arthur’s Town customs office?”

“No mon, dat office closed. We de Smith Bay office.” Smith Bay is a half-day’s cruise to the south end of the island.

The next day, the day of expiration for our cruising permit, we anchored in Smith Bay and walked into “de customs office.” We showed the nice man our paperwork and he said, “everyting fine, whachoo need?” I replied that the permit says clearly that it’s good for 6 months from the date of entry, which not by coincidence was exactly 6 months ago.

“Oh, no, you don need dat. Everyting fine.”

“Well, I don’t want to get in trouble with the government by overstaying our cruising permit, perhaps there’s something you can sign or stamp that says we came by to renew our permit?” I asked hopefully.

“No,” laughing, “no stamp for dat. You can stay 12 munt on de permit.” Me, thinking yes, the permit that says 6 months is actually valid for 12. Crystal clear clarity.

“Ok, well thank you very much.”

We were still a bit wary about the status of our permit, but on the other hand it is the Bahamas, and the rural Bahamas at that, so we figured we’d just hope for the best.

“Miss A” all alone in Arthur’s Town

From Smith Bay, warily clutching our soon-to-expire cruising permit, we continued south to an anchorage at Fernandez Bay. Because ocean doesn’t circulate much in the bay, the water temperature was in the mid 80’s (pure heaven!) and we spent over an hour slowly snorkeling around the bay and the small rock islands. The next morning we took an interesting dinghy cruise through a large mangrove swamp adjacent to the bay, then moved Miss A a short distance to New Bight town.

New Bight, with Mt. Alvernia and Father Jerome’s Hermitage

The anchorage at New Bight sits under the highest “mountain” in the Bahamas, Mount Alvernia (summit altitude either 206 or 207 feet, clearly a point of contention between the Bahamian government and Wikipedia). On top of the “mountain” is a most interesting structure; an Anglican priest from Australia, Father Jerome, built a 2/3 scale replica of a famous hermitage in Tuscany and lived there as a hermit back in the mid 20th century. The structure is a 15-20 minute walk from the beach, so we hiked up the short hill late in the afternoon.

The approach to the Hermitage

Father Jerome’s hand-carved stones depicting the Stations of the Cross line the walkway, and the hermitage itself is very well designed and constructed, especially considering that it’s been abandoned for 60 years. It is certainly out of the way, but if you ever manage to get to Cat Island you should seek out this amazingly preserved hermitage.

At the Mt. Alvernia summit

That evening, the food shacks along the beach came to life, and we and a bunch of locals all showed up for dinner. We had conch salad and conch fritters at Duke’s Conch Shack, then went across the street to Hidden Treasure for “dessert” in the form of a Pink Flamingo Daquiri, the invention of Denise, the owner. The drink is a heavenly mix of strawberry, mango, rum, and ice, all blended up and served like a giant adult slurpee.

Duke’s conch salad

Denise’s mango-strawberry daiquiri

Kalik, the “Budweiser of the Bahamas”

The next morning we took Miss A a short distance to Hawk’s Nest Point, normally an exposed anchorage, but with the south-east wind it was comfy and calm. The area just offshore to the south is famous for deep sea fishing, so the next day we tried our luck. We caught a Mahi soon after hitting the ocean water (~2000 feet deep), and then we took a lap around a seamount that comes to within 40 feet of the surface. We didn’t catch anything right at the seamount, but as we were heading back towards shore we caught something VERY big.

Our neighbors at Hawks Nest Point; the big boat, the smaller big boat, and the bigger small boat

The line started peeling off our reel and it looked like the fish might spool our entire 1500 feet of line when it snapped. I looked up to see a marlin the size of a volkswagen jump out of the water with our lure in its mouth. The insane part of me was sad we didn’t get a closer look at the fish, and the sane part of me was thrilled that the line snapped before he knocked a hole in our boat, or broke my femur, or something. At least we had a Mahi onboard.

Our consolation Mahi

Since stronger winds were forecast to arrive, we abandoned our planned trip to Conception Island and motored straight back to the Exumas, a 6 hour cruise we highlighted by catching two more Mahi. We anchored off Rat Cay (Mahi for dinner!) and had a fun snorkel and dinghy cruise the following morning. From there we worked our way very slowly back north through the Exumas towards the Staniel Cay Metropolitan Area, visiting Children’s Bay Cay, the Darby Islands (Great and Little), Rudder Cut Cay, and Great Guana Island.

At Little Darby Island

A final anecdote I’ll share; for the most part, there are very few boats relative to the enormous surface area of the ocean, even in popular boating spots like the Bahamas. The route from Rat Cay north to the Darbys can either be done “outside”, in the Exuma Sound, or “inside”, on the Exuma Banks. The Banks route usually only sees a boat or two every couple days; most boats are too deep a draft to make the shallow water passage in this part of the Banks. The route through the Banks is mostly wide open, except for a quarter-mile section near Tea Table Rock, where the channel is only about 30 feet wide. So that’s the setting; wide open water except for a short narrow channel, and averaging one boat per day passing through.

Some float-toy lounging

But as we approached Tea Table Rock, I could see another boat coming the other way across the Banks. And the closer we got, the more obvious it was that we were going to meet exactly in that narrow channel. Sure enough, we arrived at the south entrance to the narrow channel just after the other boat arrived at the north entrance. So we carved a lazy circle while the other boat navigated the channel. What are the odds? And to make it funnier, as the boat got near we saw it was a motor yacht captained by our friend Hank, who manages a housing compound and fleet of boats (including this 60’ motor yacht) on Staniel Cay for a wealthy family. We both stepped out from our flybridges and waved and shrugged at the irony of the two boats meeting in the only narrow channel during a multi-hour cruise.

Bahamas 2017 Cruise – Cat Island

A good day fishing

Approaching the Hermitage

“Miss A” and our dinghy

An above-water view of “Miss A” and the dinghy

A 4-inch breaking wave

The church at Arthur’s Town

Sunset at Little San Salvador

A jack checks out our hull

A Mahi about to become dinner

Anchored at Children’s Bay Cay

Anchored at Orange Creek

“Miss A” under a full moon

The beach-side food shacks at New Bight