Family Visit to The Bahamas

It’s been a long time since I’ve written on SailingWithHope. Two of our laptops died and I had to go for months without any convenient way to work on the blog. Thus, I have a lot of catching up to do.

We’ve been all over the place since my last post from the island of Saba. Since then, we’ve traveled to Saint Martin, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and then to The Bahamas to meet my parents. Then we made a grueling 4-1/2 day passage from The Bahamas back to Puerto Rico, then a 3-day passage to Martinique, where we stayed for over month. We then made day-trips down the Eastern Caribbean Island chain to Grenada where we’ve be waiting out the five-month hurricane season.

One of the highlights of the past six months was our time with my mom (Kathy) and step-dad (John) in the Exumas. Neither of them had ever been to The Bahamas, and it was a dream of theirs to experience the crystal clear waters and white sand beaches, with the added bonus of staying on a catamaran for nine days. It was a memorable time with family! Here are some pictures highlighting their visit and our excursions:

The first couple of days of Mom’s and John’s visit were pretty windy, but we braved our way in the dinghy to have lunch at The Snappy Turtle restaurant by St. Francis Resort on Stocking Island. After this, we took a short stroll along a boardwalk to look at the Atlantic Ocean. We didn’t go down to the beach on this occasion since the waters were rough on this blustery day, but it was a beautiful view. Our dinghy ride back to the boat after lunch was a choppy one as we pounded directly into the wind and the waves. We all got soaked, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

When the winds calmed down, we rode in the dinghy to Exuma Island’s capital city, Georgetown. We bought souvenirs at The Straw Market and The Sandpiper Boutique. Then we enjoyed a nice lunch with cool air conditioning at The Sandpiper Cafe. It was so hot and sticky that none of us really wanted to walk around town. I made a quick stop into Exuma Markets, then we enjoyed the rest of the day back on the boat. Mom and John enjoyed sitting in the forward cockpit reading books and getting some sun!

Once the heavy winds died down, we decided to pick up anchor and sail to Man-O-War Cay for the day to show mom and John the beautiful sandbars. The sandbars are covered at high tide, so we had to plan our visit for low tide. It was a fun time strolling along the soft sand, picking up sand dollars, letting Gracie run wild, and wading in the warm water.

After spending an hour or so on the sandbars, we went back to the boat and motored to Crab Cay for a quick stop. We dropped anchor, got in the dinghy, and took mom and John for a ride down the unfinished lazy river. Developers originally began cutting through the rocks to create a lazy river for the planned resort, but funds dried up and the developers backed out of the project. We still enjoy taking guests through this impressive craftsmanship that has now become home to turtles, coral, and a variety of healthy marine life.

After our day of excursions, we sailed to Stocking Island North and dropped anchor in only four-feet of clear, aquamarine water. This is a beautiful, secluded anchorage with Powder Beach only a short dinghy ride away. We spent several days here, walking along the soft beach, laying on air mattresses behind our boat, barbecuing, and enjoying good company.

On one occasion, we tied up our dinghy on Powder Beach and took a 20-minute walk across the north side of Stocking Island to the Atlantic Ocean. Our outing involved taking lots of pictures, wading in tide pools, looking for conch shells, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

We decided to take mom and John sailing on their last full day with us, and then spend the night on the dock at Emerald Bay Marina. It was about a 12-nautical-mile trip north and took us just under two hours, sailing at a nice leisurely pace.

To my mom and John: “Kory and I love you! We are so grateful that you were able to visit us in The Bahamas. Thank you for flying all the way from Oregon to spend this special time with us. We will cherish these memories always!”