Hey y’all!

Here we sit in Chub Cay.    Well, we’re not “in it”, we’re on the outside.  Which, if you follow the link, you’ll understand why we’re on the “outside”, squatting in the harbor like the hippies we are.  It’s weird here.  It’s supposed to be super-fancy but it’s deserted: the victim of the economic collapse.  Supposedly Shakira has some property here which she wanted to turn into a mega-sports complex and highfalutin concert venue but, alas, that too is on hold.

We don’t care, though!  The 40 or so workers who live here full-time have been happy enough to accommodate me squatting on our anchor in their bay (their boardroom, too) as I use the ‘ole internet to update this lil blog.  So, “thanks a ton, Chub Cay Club!” – or should I say, “Thanks a ton, Chub Cay Club Staff”.

One more note about Chub Cay and it’s crazyness:  it’s $4.25 per foot here to tie up in the marina!!!  For those who don’t compare prices on marinas (I know, I know), that’s a lot!  And, considering at least a couple of these yachts are 100 feet, that’s over $400 per night – wow!  I guess if you have a 100 foot yacht, $400 per night doesn’t scratch the surface of money concerns – or maybe that’s how we got in this financial mess in the first place, hmmmmm . . .

Anywho, I digress.

The last post left us triumphantly checked into our little marina in Bimini ($1 per foot, I might add) after having successfully crossing the Gulf Stream.  What a breeze, we thought!  Now, onto cross the Great Bahama Bank – no sweat.

Well, apparently, sweating would be required.  And, I’ll get to that in a minute.  But, before I allude further to our tenuous crossing, let me tell you about our beautiful anchorage just south of Bimini where we spent a couple of days: Honeymoon Harbor.

Honeymoon Harbor is a picturesque little bay sandwiched in between an island and a spit of land just south of Bimini.  Along the way, there is a huge wreck you can dive or snorkel.  It’s a great reminder to check your depths in these shallow waters.

Shipwreck off Bimini

We pulled into Honeymoon Harbor and spent a couple of days chilling on the beach, running Kemah and D even made a lobster catch(ing device) in an attempt to score some dinner (not this time! but D is getting his technique down so watch out you tasty little sea-roaches!).

Here’s a handy little tour of our anchorage in Honeymoon Harbor:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGSt6MfAW-o&list=HL1329852584&feature=mh_lolz]

While we waited for a crossing of the Great Bahama Bank, we were surprised to find our little secluded anchorage fill up with party boats on the weekend.  I guess being the closest picturesque bay from Miami has it’s draw.  It was the first time I saw a huge yacht with an eerie blue aft light shining in the water after dark.  I tried to take a picture of it but found out quickly that taking a night-time still on a rocking boat doesn’t quite work.

This is what happens when you try to take a night-time "still" on a boat 🙁

Here is what it, basically, looked like:

This photographer was standing on solid ground - no fair!

After a couple of days of R&R, we were ready to leave our little harbor for the Berry Islands, across the Bank.

We’re not quite ready to discuss all of the details of our Bahama Bank crossing but let’s just say it was long, it was overnight, involved a close encounter with a ghost-tanker and anchoring in the rolling “shoals” at 2am.   Rightly so, we were left seriously considering how we could side-step some of our mis-steps in the future.  Fortunately, it was another day on the water where we were ultimately safe, made some good decisions but were definitely uncomfortable.    Give me a few beers and I might tell you the story but for now, we’re going to let the past lie and the lessons live on.  Moving on . . .

Needless to say, we’ve been really enjoying sleeping in a calm bay in front of Chub Cay and are looking forward to shoving off to explore more of the Berries in a few days.  As a former cliff-jumper at Paleface and numerous other spots, I’m really looking forward to trying this out at Hoffman’s Cay:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfW8yKC0ttE]

And, in case you’re keeping track, it’s almost Damon’s birthday!  I’ll let you know what we end up doing, but it’s safe to say, it’ll involve some beers, coconut, mac&cheese and beaches.

all the best to you and yours,

Laurie, Damon and Mr. K