The Lower Berry's

The Berry Islands

I’m writing this post Sunday February 27^th but since we have not internet here, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post it.

So on Monday morning we went into Bimini for some last minute supplies: top up our drinking water (40 cents a gallon), get some last minute groceries, a couple bottles of Bahamian rum, some freshly baked cookies and we were ready to go. We set sail towards Cat Cay about 10 miles to the south. Our last sail in this direction was great, this time the wind was on our nose, the current was against us and the waves were pushing us back. It took us almost 4 hours to do the 10 miles. Once we got to the other side of Cat Cay we were on the bank (which meant we went from about 500 feet to about 6 feet of water). The banks are very shallow (from about 1 to 15 feet). We would start our 62 mile crossing of the bank at 10pm. Once at Cat Cay we anchored and relaxed for a bit before having dinner, and getting any last minute preparations done before we left.

(Sun coming up after a long night of travel)

At 10 pm we cast off from Chautauqua and headed out into the dark. There was a light 5-10 knot south wind and waves under 1 foot. Sal and I raised the main, jib and mizzen, killed the engine and enjoyed the peacefulness of sailing at night. An almost full moon rose just after we left, lighting a trail in the water for us. It was a sail that makes all the more uncomfortable sails worth it. We were talking and listening to some music, just enjoying the peacefulness when my dad’s voice blares over the VHF “hey, going this speed we won’t get there until tomorrow night. Start your engine” BAHHHHH, so we killed the serene atmosphere and started the ole’ engine. We motor sailed until morning. We hit a couple very rough patches where the waves were large and coming from every which way, which makes sleeping below when its your turn almost impossible. But that lasted for only an hour or so and then things became smoother. At dawn we were making good time and the wind had picked up a tad so we shut off the motor and sailed almost the rest of the way. Once we crossed the banks we had to make a quick jump out into deeper water (called the “Tongue of the Ocean”) and then into our anchorage. Once the water dropped down to over 100 feet, the colour of the water was stunning. It was the richest navy blue I have ever seen. I kept staring at it, which wasn’t good because I was supposed to be steering. We were anchored by 2pm off of Frazier Hog Cay. The water there was so clear we could see every blade of grass under us 12 feet down. We cleaned up quickly and had a much needed afternoon nap. We got up for a quick dinner of Kraft Dinner and then fell back asleep. Before falling asleep we took a moment to appreciate what a beautiful evening it was a rare night with not a breath of wind or ripple on the water and the stars above shining brightly.

(Baracuda visible in 11 feet - the water is so clear here)

We have had no luck with the fishing. Sal had his yoyo out for most of the crossing and dad had his fishing line out but alas not even a bit. So I figured we might have better luck getting conch, since that would just require us to find one and pick it off the bottom. So the next day we took a snorkel around. There were starfishes everywhere, lots of sand dollars and even some sea slugs, but not a single conch, only the leftover shells. We did see a ray lying peacefully by the beach, but nothing good to eat. The only time we saw some conch was stacked high on a fishing boat going to some be sold somewhere.

We spent 4 nights at Frazier Hog Cay before heading out. Our 3^rd night the wind piped up and caused it to become very rocky and roll-y. Both Sal and I weren’t sleeping so well as we were getting jostled a little, but when I looked out was startled to see the rocky shore quite a lot closer than when I last checked. We quickly got up and moved back further away, triple checking that our anchor was holding. I guess it is a good thing we weren’t sleeping so well or we might not have noticed it until too late!

(crossing the banks to get to Bonds Cay - we are in about 3 1/2 feet of water)

Yesterday we moved about 7 miles to Bonds Cay. It is said to be owned by the singer Shakira. It’s completely uninhabited at the moment though. My parents took the outside route going into the ocean, while Sal and I on our shallow draft boat took the inside route. We snuck safely over a depth of 2 ½ feet, cutting the distance needed to travel in half. Once anchored the first thing we wanted to do was swim around. We got our masks, snorkel and fins and started exploring. Sal had his spear in the hopes of catching dinner. We had only been swimming for about 5 or so minutes when a small school of yellow/amber jacks (we think) came by and got a little curious coming right up close to Sal. He took this opportunity to take a shot and lo and behold he had hit one! I was yelling commentary to my parents who were nearby on the boat. “He sees a fish” “He shot a fish” “He’s got a fish, He’s got a fish!”. He quickly got it out of the water as fast as possible not to attract attention from any unwanted inhabitants (ie sharks or barracudas). He got it onto the dinghy and into a bucket. After admiring it for a bit longer, mom joined us and we went looking for more. One more and we would have a meal for four. We didn’t see many fish, but then came upon a few lone coral heads. There were a few little fish around them including 3 small lionfish (an invasive and poisonous species). We came across a few more small schools of fish and Sal took another few shots, but didn’t make contact. I wanted a turn so got the spear and tried aiming a few times. Mom suddenly turned around and yelled SHARK! I turned my head in the water and got a glimpse of two huge black creatures 20 feet away swimming in our direction!!!!!!!!!! We all jumped into the dinghy as fast as possible, relieved that dad had it close by. All were a little surprised and freaked out! We are not sure what kind they were as none of us was brave enough to stick our heads in for a second look. That killed the idea of swimming any longer for the day. We did have one good sized fish, about 1 foot long. We took it to shore, gutted it and then put on the BBQ for dinner. We were a little concerned that it might have ciguatera but after reading a few fish books thought it might be ok since it was so small and there were no large reefs around. It was absolutely delicious, soft, tender and a light fish flavour.

(Pictures are on parents camera - will post them once I borrow it)

We hope to do some more snorkeling and hopefully get dinner again tonight but I know for sure that we will all be a little more cautious and be on the lookout.

(The Berry Islands are Gorgeous!)