Varuna's Travels

Staniel Cay;

Home of the “Thunderbal Cave” where the James Bond film “Tunderball” shot the underwater cave scene. The grotto is attainable at low tide. Once inside there is an opening in the roof and sun rays shine down to illuminate the cavern. Quite a remarkable scene. We bring in bread in a zip-lock and get surrounded by tons of fish trying to get a piece.

At the docks there is a fish cleaning station where the locals clean their catch. At cleaning time, the sharks show up for their daily meal.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 2:49 PM

Pipe Creek is our favorite anchorage in the Exumas. It requires careful navigation to wind your way through reefs, and sand bars to get into this spot, but once in, you are protected from weather, no matter which direction it comes from. Since it is hard to get into this place, very few boats come here. It is a great place to hunt for lobsters and fish. Wildlife abounds. On one of the beaches, a ramshackle hut has been constructed from beach junk and we call it “PCYC (Pipe Creek Yacht Club)” This is where we assemble to blow our conch horns at the setting of the sun. Naturally, blowing is performed better if the concher is slightly lubricated.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 2:34 PM

Boo-Boo Hil, located on the highest point of Wardwrick Wells. Cruisers leave their boat names carved on stuff (driftwood, etc.) In the background you can see a ribbon of deeper water where the boats stay.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 2:28 PM

Here is an example of weather charts (grib files) that we can download through our ham radio. Our location is where the “hourglass” is. This gives us a good idea of wind strengths and direction so that we know when to hide and when it would be good to travel in the direction we want to go.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 2:13 PM

Leaving Nassau, we sailed to the chain of islands called, Exumas. Stopping first at Norman’s Cay, made famous by a Columbian drug lord that used the area for years to stage shipments of drugs into the USA. It was only brought to light when Walter Cronkite sailed into the bay and was confronted by gun-toting thugs who prevented him from anchoring there. When Walter returned to the States, he made a lot of noise about this and eventually, the Military went in and evicted the drug runners. The remains of the little drug resort (headquarters) remain, and a few residents that live in the northern tip. It is a beautiful protected anchorage. The morning we left, there were 35 boats at anchor. A little crowded.
One more pic below.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 2:06 PM

Varuna dwarfed by the huge cruise ships in Nassau Harbor. Notice how one cruise ship is pulling into the dock and an other one is entering the harbor.

# posted by Varuna's Travels : 1:44 PM