A Day and Night spent at Gun Cay, Bahamas

The Crew at Gun Cay, Bahamas

Yesterday we set sail for Gun Cay.  Its a small island about 10 miles south of Bimini.  The winds looked good and so did the weather.  We were also tired of getting slammed into the dock at Weech's Boat dock by the waves caused by the passing water taxi service that runs to South Bimini and back.  They have no problem coming within about 20 feet of our boat while at cruising speed on their way to shore to pick up and drop off passengers - and that happens about 100 times per day.  So it was time to settle up with the dockmaster and untie the lines and head south.

The biggest excitement early on was just getting out of the channel and into open ocean.  For some reason there were Hawaii 5-0 type waves crashing right through the marked channel - and I mean these waves were big, about 10 feet or so with a big enough pipe for a small surfer to fit.  It was the weirdest thing.  Justin had the helm and Brandon and I were sitting next to the mast to keep a watch.  And although the boat handled them well, it was the most she'd been sloshed around since we've put her in the water.

The trip down to Gun Cay was pretty uneventful and we decided to keep the motors running to charge up our batteries, but we also put the jib out to help with speed.  We went right by the Sapona - which is the shipwreck that Brandon, Tami, and I snorkeled for a bit while en route to Nassau aboard s/v Stray Cat back in 2011.  

When we got to Gun Cay, there were two other sailboats anchored down the coast, so we picked our spot and set the hook.  The wind was a little higher than I would have like it, and it was coming out of the East - the same side we have to anchor on because the West side is too deep.  We went ashore, did some snorkeling and met our neighbors.  

We also got a chance to feed the sting-rays that prowl the shoreline - at least Justin did anyway.  We're told that they're pretty tame and must be used to people feeding them because they come right up to you and expect food.  This little guy was about 2 foot across.

Mr. Stingray was looking for lunch

A couple of dolphins came over to check us out, but just for a second

Today, with the winds increasing, and the waves pounding, we decided to head back to Bimini and try and find a free anchorage that we had previously done reconnaissance on before we left.  But we decided to sail back against the wind since the breezes were blowing about 15 - 18 knots on our nose.  We'd turn out of the wind until it was about 60 degrees off our stern and we'd actually be making pretty good speed, sometimes as fast as 7 knots.  We tacked a couple of times before we got close to South Bimini.  But now, we sit here at anchor and are getting nice, fast, and free internet off our little wifi hotspot we installed many months ago.  And while the anchorage seems ok for now, it is a little too small of an area to be too relaxed.  But we'll see how it goes - Justin is nervous and doesn't think he'll sleep too much tonight.  But right now, we're trying to figure out when will be a good time to head towards Chub Cay and then on to Nassau.