The Payoff

West End-Mangrove Cay-Great Sale Cay-Fox Town-Spanish Cay-Great Turtle Cay  

We've finally taken a step away from solid land to a remote branch of islands off of the west end of the Bahamas.  The passage from Florida was pretty much what we expected as far as it being wavy and windy.  We got to do some sailing but the ocean became extremely rocky when we got out.  Luckily, we had Captain Uncle Rick on board to help us trim the sails and offer some other sailing tips while we were underway.  Aside from a slight bought of seasickness, Kate and I both faired pretty well.  After twelve hours at sea, we sailing into the night which was a very new experience for us.  Our navigation became incredibly reliant on our GPS system as we were heading towards what we were hoping were the lights of the West End.

Anchoring the boat just off the west end was somewhat concerning because we had no idea what was around us.  When set up shop and hoped for the best.  The following morning, we woke up to a rock break on one side, and nothing for miles except the ocean on the other.  The water was only six feet deep and crystal clear.  

The next step was to pull into the west end bay area and check into customs (which was finally a breeze).   After getting our passports stamped yet again, we pushed off onto our next leg of the journey.   On the way, we navigated through very shallow waters - just over a foot beyond the bottom of our boat.  Once arriving at the deserted island Mangrove Cay, we got to see a beautiful sunset and enjoy a very quiet night in calm waters.  The stars were magnificent.  The next day, we sailed to yet another deserted island, Great Sale Cay.  We checked it out, decided that the beach was too rocky and left.  Off to Fox Town.

Fox town had a small grocery store, a police office, a health center and a primary school with approximately thirty brightly painted houses on it.  I hate to say it, but Fox town was dirty.  As Kate and I wandered the streets we came across some very kind locals who were entertaining when understood.  By noon we took off for Spanish Cay where there was a beautiful resort and marina awaiting our arrival.  We emailed our family members and went for a nice long walk in the evening under the brilliant stars.  Besides two other sailboats, we had the entire resort and island to ourselves.  

Our next destination is Great Turtle Cay for a few nights, and then we plan on meeting Kate's mother and father Laurie and Don Hoyda, in Treasure Cay for a two week holiday.