Perhaps it was a different tidal shift or more favorable weather – or it could have been the company, but the beach we found off Norman’s Cay was as picturesque as the finest postcard on the revolving rack at the best gift shop in Nassau. If it wasn’t for Paul’s penchant for routine, tracing the same pattern step-for-step, I may not have realized we had visited this beach before, only last time it was littered with garbage washed by the prevailing Eastern wind off Exuma sound and an excessively low tide had rendered the sand with an unpleasant odor.
The ocean has a way of constantly changing, both itself on the surface and the shores it touches. Paul’s two top company employees had joined us with their wives and we spent several days back on the northern Exumas, first anchoring between Allen Cay and Highbourne. We picked that spot because the winds were predicted to shift from the south and it provided better protection. That evening everyone decided they wanted to try Xuma, the restaurant on Highbourne, though as we made the crossing I worried they regretted the decision.
The only reservation available was 8:30 which meant a pitch-dark ride with a cross wind and a potentially treacherous run, part-way through the cut to reach the marina, or at the very least, a very wet ride. Donna was quick to realize that her seat, on the front, left of the rigid-inflatable tender, was the wettest and Lisa did her best to stay low in the bow of the boat. While we had the Garmin GPS to find our way, we found that the iPad with Navionics was better suited to work our way between the rocks and shoals that provided protection at the popular anchorage and before long we were winding our way between mega-yachts to the docks.
Dinner at Xuma’s was quality as expected but we were disappointed our friends couldn’t get the full experience of the view in the dark. The tender ride back was equally wet but everyone enjoyed the sense of adventure you get from successfully charting across a dark expanse, until we could find the lone, incandescent anchor light in a web of LEDs, then clamor off the dinghy back into the security of the Wanderbird at anchor.
The next morning the winds had indeed shifted and we made our way along the sound where we tried our hand at anchoring south of Norman’s, between it, Wax Cay and Boot Cay. We weren’t sure just how the Bird would shift in what we expected to be fairly strong tidal currents given the deep and narrow channel so we anchored slightly out from the crowd.
Luke and I dropped our friends at the beach and headed back down to Highbourne with the tender to fuel up. Along the way, as we cruised at top speed, two globs of dark, black ink shot up from the shallow water, nearly hitting us in the face! We circled around to see if we could tell what sea creature had fired a shot across our bow, but found nothing and speculated it was an octopus startled by our passing.
At the marina our tender continued to give us grievance and the fuel line broke. The helpful dock attendant gave us a rag to allow us to run the fuel line directly into the can, which worked surprisingly well and we made a quick stop at the boat for repairs before picking everyone up.
The sea floor in the area looked less than ideal with some rocks so the next morning I donned the free-diving kit and jumped in to have a look around. The current was indeed significant and it was a struggle to swim forward where the chain was along some rocks but the anchor appeared well seated. As I drifted swiftly past the boat, admiring the fish and terrain below, I saw two enormous antenna leering from a small cave. Our friend Dustin had instructed us to watch for this tell-tale sign of a lobster and this one looked to be large enough to collect free-diving, albeit about 25 feet or more below the boat in a strong current.
The next 30 minutes are a saga best illustrated by photo and followed up with generous application of butter and garlic. Lisa and Donna took care of preparing an excellent lobster appetizer while I worked on dinner and I think we all enjoyed being provided for, at least the first course, by the surrounding sea.
The next day we explored the aforementioned pristine beach and snorkeled the nearby drug-runner plane wreck which was quite a treat – alive with a plethora of aquatic inhabitants. A popular but highly recommended stop if ever in the area.
As evening approached we put forth the idea of trying the nearby MacDuff’s restaurant. The guidebook suggested either a walk around the airport to the west-facing beach or a short ride around the point where we could beach the tender. We opted for the latter and encountered small waves hiding a consistent smattering of rocks.
Once we had everyone wet, but onto shore, we were presented with the task of securing the tender for a couple of hours for dinner. Beaching it was out of the question and anchoring past the waves and swimming in would prove for a wet and uncomfortable dinner in the cool evening air.
Luke and I headed back around the point where a marina was under construction and we found a quiet corner to stash the boat and walk along the runway back to the restaurant.
After a pleasant meal we all proceeded back in the dark along the air-strip, myself now bare-foot having donated my flip-flops to Paul whose shoes had been left behind. Unsure about the sea conditions rounding the point, we tried to find a route to the beach on the leeward side and while searching, we stumbled upon a Doosan trackhoe which delighted Pat and Todd who insisted on getting a photo for their heavy equipment dealer, even while in the dark, wind-swept shores of Norman’s Cay.
As he posed for the photo, the ground gave way under Pat and he fell some eight-feed into a hole, thankfully filled with soft dirt. Once Pat had been pulled from the ditch we found our way back to the tender, loaded everyone up and skirted the shore, barely dodging the break along the rocks.
We wrapped up the trip by motoring back to Nassau where everyone wanted to make generous donations to the Atlantis casino, ride the not-so-lazy river and engage in the comforts of the massive Nassau resort.
