April 14 and 15 Lee Stocking Island

By
April 14
Yesterday we moved around the corner to anchor in a well sheltered cove at the north end of Lee Stocking Island.  The prior night we rocked peacefully in the more exposed waters near Leaf Cay, but here the boat sits still on the anchor.  We can, however, hear the surf pounding onto the beach just a short distance over land from this cove.

The day's adventure will be to walk the rough track that starts in the anchorage at an abandoned marine research station then follows an abandoned airstrip before heading through the jungle to a pristine beach, then to a small peak. 
Shown on the chart at 39 meters Perrys Peak is the tallest point we have found in the Exuma Island chain.





This track is partly visible in Google Earth.  The not visible parts are mostly under the jungle canopy. 



The rocky parts of the shoreline are very hard, sharp & jagged, but erosion from the waves have left a lacy skeleton standing that looks deceptively fragile.  Actually it's hard as iron.

Along the path  Lois of course  waded in to check out the marine life near an area of mangroves.


As we have seen in other places like this, the water around the trees' roots are  teeming with small fish.

We're still amazed at how completely clear the water is. The term used here is "gin clear".  We can watch things swim by as we stand on the deck.  When we drop our anchor we can watch to see it bite into the sand.  The anchor always comes up clean.

But we still love our muddy, stinky Chesapeake mud, too.

Comments

Lynn and Ed said…
We were lucky enough to get an official tour of the research facility before it was abandoned. Guess there isn’t enough research money to keep people working in paradise.
April 19, 2021 at 1:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April 2-4, 2023 Myrtle Beach to Cape Lookout

By
Image
 We slipped away from our place on the dock after three nights at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club and turned into the ICW heading north. An hour later we turned into Little River Inlet to pass into the open Atlantic Ocean.   We sailed north about 30 miles before returning to the ICW via Cape Fear River.  The Cape Fear River was in flood tide, which was very helpful making 15 miles north to Carolina Beach.  We took a mooring provided by the city of Carolina Beach after talking on the phone with Larry the Dockmaster who is just about the friendliest guy you ever met. He was very welcoming.  Sam was anxious for some shore time, so we dinghy-ed to the town dock and walked 1 block to the ocean beach. She seemed happy to ve back near the surf. On our last visit Larry told us the best burger in town could be found at the gas station next to the dinghy dock. We enjoyed it last time & it seemed like a good way to shortcut dinner while also filling our fuel jugs. ...
Read more

Fri Sept 11 Patuxtent River to Little Choptank

By
Image
We woke up to a ruckus.  These two were being quite chatty and apparently we were anchored near their tree.  They would jabber to each other, fly off to do some fishing, then come back to the tree to brag about their catch and, undoubtedly, the one that got away. We had some nice sailing leaving the Patuxent River, light rain with the sun peaking through now & then.  The skies began to darken and the wind picked up about 3 hours into the sail.  We ended up skating though 4-6 foot seas with 17-20 kt windsfor the rest of the day.  Lots of waves over the bow, a few crashing up over the cockpit windows.  We received a text message from friends Ed & Lynn that they were anchored in the Little Choptank River.  We were not far (as the crow flies) from there, and decided to join them. A few more hours of navigating the rough water and we dropped our anchor 100 feet away from them just at dusk.  They kindly invited us over for snacks ...
Read more

March 8-14 Back in the Berrys- Hoffmans Cay, Ambergris Cay and Devil's Cay

By
Image
Despite the mishap with our mainsail we made it safely to the Berry's well before sundown. We're back at Hoffmans Cay, Lois's favorite, a place we have enjoyed so much time and never tired of it.   The mainsail will have to go to the sailmaker when we get home (or sooner if we can find quick service).  Luckily we are able to sail with the reduced sail area of reef #1, and from experience we know that typically only slows us down by 1/2 kt. We are both ready to go home to Virginia after a wonderful time in the Bahamas. The delight at finding a new beautiful deserted beach to explore is dimished, and we aren't stopping to savor magnificent sunsets as often.  Conversations are more about things we want to do when we get back, or, very often, what we want from a well stocked American grocery store. We are by no means running out of provisions.  The Eleuthera purchase of fresh broccoli, carrots and plantains was very welcome, but we are still cooking well from our origina...
Read more