Copperfield Bay & George Town

 

We managed to tear ourselves out of George Town, Great Exuma (at least for now). Lots of cruisers make this their one and only destination. There must have been 300+ boats anchored in Elizabeth Harbour when we left this morning. Now we are on a 50 nautical mile run ENE to the unassuming Cat Island. It seems like a good time to fill you in on the past two weeks, so here we go...

One of many caves to explore on Rudder Cut Cay and the surrounding islands

At 8:00AM on April 2, we departed Black Point and motored 19 nautical miles into light southerly winds. This was our final run of the season with SV Island Spirit. At 11:30AM, we anchored on the west side of Rudder Cut Cay. This is one of eleven islands that comprise the luxury resort called “Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay.” The most commercially successful magician in history, David Copperfield, purchased the island chain for $50 million in 2006. He then spent $40 million on renovations and improvements. The cost to rent a guest house on Musha Cay starts at $57,000/night, with a five-night minimum stay. Meanwhile, it did not cost us a cent to spend three nights anchored in “Copperfield Bay.”

Diving down to the piano and mermaid planted by David Copperfield

The first thing we did was check out the baby grand piano and life-size mermaid statue that quirky Mr. Copperfield sank in about 15 ft of water. Then we zipped the dinghy around several hidden beaches and caves, passing an astounding number of sea turtles. We anchored the dinghy at a remote little island and snorkeled around it. An angry barracuda scowled at Mike as he pole-speared grunts. Having no interest in a standoff with a barracuda, I followed a lovely queen triggerfish to another cluster of reefs. When we got back to Traveller, Mike filleted the grunts and harvested two massive conchs he spotted over the bow. While grabbing the conchs, Mike exchanged glances with a fat Nassau grouper wedged under a rock. He swam back down and attempted to lure the grouper out of hiding with grunt scraps, but the grouper was too smart to budge. Upon smelling the scraps, a nurse shark darted over to the rock and violently thrashed against it until the grouper swam out. Not wasting a moment, Mike pole-speared the grouper and jumped aboard before the bewildered nurse shark could process what happened. Thanks to Mike’s harrowing efforts, we enjoyed our best dinner on Traveller to-date: Thai rice noodles and grouper simmered in a coconut-curry sauce with sauteed onion and minced conch.

Queen triggerfish in Copperfield Bay

On April 3, the night before my birthday, Radeen and Hayden invited us on Island Spirit to celebrate before we parted ways. Radeen made a decadent chocolate birthday cake with peanut butter frosting, the majority of which they insisted we take home along with a loaf of bread baked by Hayden (a rare delicacy since our oven does not work and bread is hard to find in the Exumas). The next morning, Island Spirit headed north to Little Farmer’s Cay and beyond. We remained at Rudder Cut Cay for one more day, marked by a memorable birthday stroll across sandbars connecting islands in Copperfield Bay at low tide. 

Walking across sandbars in Copperfield Bay at low tide

Our trek down the Exumas until Rudder Cut Cay was primarily on a SSE trajectory. You can count on the easterly trade winds 90% of the time between December and June in the Exumas, which means the wind direction is typically conducive to sailing north or south. We would have to head closer into the easterly trade winds to reach our next destination, George Town, which is 30 nautical miles ESE of Rudder Cut Cay. When you point too close to the wind (for Traveller, the angle between her heading and the wind should be at least 45°), the sails cannot generate lift and you must run the engine to continue on that heading. Motoring directly into moderate or heavy winds can be uncomfortably turbulent. For these reasons, we waited for a day when the wind had a steady northerly component. We set out at 8:00AM on April 5, making sure we passed through Rudder Cut to the Exuma Sound when the wind and current were in sync. Although it was not the most comfortable trip, 4-5 ft waves and 15 knot winds 45° off the bow were tolerable. We motor-sailed with the main and staysail trimmed in for a close-haul, which added speed and stability. At 2:30PM, we anchored on the west side of Stocking Island in Elizabeth Harbour, just across from George Town.

Elizabeth Harbour, as seen from Monument Hill on Stocking Island

If you’re ever boating in the George Town area, be sure to tune into the Cruisers’ Net on Channel 72 at 8:00AM. The daily broadcast begins with a roll-call of newly arrived vessels and those preparing to depart. Then the moderator provides the weather forecast, invites local business announcements, and opens the floor to listeners seeking to buy, borrow, or trade parts. Finally, listeners have the opportunity to share information about upcoming events and points of interest. We learned a lot from the Cruisers’ Net, such as: where to dispose of trash, which day the grocery store receives its weekly shipment of inventory, and recommended snorkeling and cliff jumping sites. 

A sign at Chat N Chill indicates that we're a long way from home (Severna Park, MD)

We spent our first few nights at Stocking Island anchored by Chat N Chill, a popular 9-acre beachfront hangout with an open-air bar, casual fare from the grill, shaded picnic tables, and a volleyball court. Chat N Chill also has a waterfront stand where visitors line up to watch “Conch Man” crack open conch shells and prepare traditional Bahamian conch salad with onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, goat peppers, sea salt, and a few drops of fresh-squeezed lime and orange juice. Patrons have the opportunity to swallow the piston of male conchs, a folk remedy for ED that islanders refer to as “Bahamian Viagra” or “booster for the rooster.” Cuddly stingrays congregate near a pile of discarded conch shells, waiting for people to shower them with pets and food scraps. Chat N Chill does a fine job catering to the plethora of live-aboard cruisers who spend winter and spring here. It even hosts a non-denominational Christian prayer service on the volleyball court every Sunday during cruising season. People who fly into Exuma International Airport and stay at nearby resorts flock to Chat N Chill by water taxi and seaplane. We witnessed a parade of six seaplanes take off from there one afternoon.

The resident sting rays looking for food and loving at Chat N Chill

Seaplane taking off from Chat N Chill

Once we'd memorized Chat N Chill’s island song playlist, it was time to relocate to a quieter spot. We moved Traveller a short distance north along the west side of Stocking Island and anchored off Monument Beach. The main attraction at Monument Beach is a hiking trail that leads up and over Monument Hill. A quick but steep scramble to the summit earns you stunning views of Elizabeth Harbour to the west and the Exuma Sound to the east. The trail continues down the opposite side of Monument Hill to a sprawling beach on the Exuma Sound.

Exuma Sound, as seen from Monument Hill

Beach on Exuma Sound at base of Monument Hill

Another worthwhile hike on Stocking Island is the “Art Trail,” which starts at Sand Dollar Beach on Elizabeth Harbour and proceeds up a hill to a rocky ledge overlooking the Exuma Sound. Cruisers have decorated the trail with unique pieces of art crafted from rocks, driftwood, buoys, shells, and tree stumps. Wilson the Volleyball from “Cast Away” would find good company on the Art Trail. We found a ton of snails and chiton (a type of marine mollusk) clinging to pitted rock at the end of the trail. Near the trail head on Sand Dollar Beach, we stumbled upon a makeshift cruiser clubhouse called “Ship Shack.”

Scenes from the Art Trail

Ship Shack on Sand Dollar Beach

On a calm day, we took the dinghy just past the southern tip of Stocking Island to check out a snorkeling spot in Moriah Harbour Cay National Park. We tied up to a yellow mooring ball near the channel markers southwest of Elizabeth Island and jumped in. As we swam around a remarkable diversity of coral reefs in 5-20 ft of water, we had our first ever run in with a school of Caribbean reef squid.

Caribbean reef squid

After snorkeling, we took the dinghy to Crab Cay. This secluded island, which is just south of George Town and connected to the mainland by a bridge, is the site of an abandoned 180-acre planned luxury development. The planned development on Crab Cay was to include a marina, clubhouse, and hotel. Construction was well underway before the project was halted - the clubhouse was built, a 32 acre marina basin was dredged, and a winding channel was chiseled through limestone. During our brief and exhilarating visit to the deserted island, we ripped through the channel and jumped off steep limestone walls into the water. 

Mike jumping from a limestone ledge into the channel at Crab Cay

Before leaving for Cat Island, we made a run to George Town (the largest and most populated island in the Exumas) for fuel, water, and provisions. Although one nautical mile across Elizabeth Harbour to George Town on the dinghy wouldn't be bad, we weren't keen on getting soaked coming back. Therefore, we moved Traveller to Kidd Cove, which is the anchorage closest to the George Town dinghy dock. A trash disposal truck parks behind a restaurant at the end of the dinghy dock. You throw your trash bag(s) in the truck bed and slip the appropriate payment, as specified on a piece of paper taped to the windshield, through the cracked passenger's side window. We witnessed an overnight price surge for trash disposal - from $2 for small bags and $3 for large bags to $4 for small bags and $6 for large bags. A grocery store, liquor store, gas station, and Aliv store are in close proximity to the dinghy dock. The grocery store, Exuma Market, carries far more inventory than all of the other places we've shopped in the Bahamas combined. Golly, we even scored yogurt and cheese! Mike was happy to buy a bottle of Ricardo coconut rum. I was relieved to get my MiFi fixed at the Aliv store (a MiFi is a portable hotspot device that uses a cellular network).

Heading into George Town by dinghy

We are stocked up, socialized, and ready for some peace and solitude at Cat Island. It has yet to be determined where we go from there, but we do not plan to trek further south. In any event, we'll continue to keep you updated on Sailing Traveller!