Highborne Cay to Nassau Harbour Club

     We had a good sail from Emerald Rock to Highborne on Tuesday and anchored just NW of the entrance to the marina.  We dinghied in to go the the store and got a few things (including a dozen eggs for $6.85 and a lb. of hamburger for $11.70!)   Wednesday we sat at anchor as the wind blew like crazy over the hill.  Dan changed the raw water pump impeller and Martha got out the sewing machine to make a riding sail (and a lined tote.)  The riding sail actually seemed to work, we didn't seem to be swinging as much as usual.   We left early Thursday morning with all the other boats that had been waiting out the strong winds and headed for Nassau. 
     We pulled into Nassau Harbour Club right next to Runaway, the C-400 we had met up with in Big Majors.   We also connected with Rob, Carol, Will and Willy.   They had visited Potter's Cay (the local fish market) and had 6 little snappers which we cooked up aboard Brunelle.  Willy was the life of the party even tho he had been on the go (napless) since 6 am!   We spent Friday morning shopping and taking care of things aboard (laundry, water, garbage, etc.) and took a taxi to the Ardastra Garden and Zoo.  We wanted to get there in time for the two big attractions.  Feeding parrots at 3:30 and the march of the flamingoes at 4:10.  The flamingo show, which has been going on for 50 years was a sketch.  The whole garden/zoo was really a lot of fun and well worthwhile.  We walked from there to "The Fish Fry" - Nassau's version of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf!
      For some reason we have been unable to get wifi to work on the dock, so we are having a leisurely breakfast at Starbuck's across the street from the marina.  Our hour is almost up, so we'll sign off for now.  We hope to head to the Abacos (after the weekend)  on our way back to FL.   ~~~(\_~~~D&M
Google Earth track file for 3/24
Google Earth track file for 3/26

Brunelle at Highborne with her new riding sail.

We all took turns feeding the parrots, even Dan.

Martha gets a kiss from a cockatoo while Dan and a parrot watch.

Will and Willy take part in the "March of the Flamingos" show.

Willy hams it up with Robby. My silicone bowls are very popular with the "boys"

And a little bit late, but well worth the wait: here are a few shots Ray took of the pigs at Big Majors Spot:
These guys have their eyes on the prize...

And Liz is holding it!

Moving On

Today we plan to sail North to Highborne Cay and then head on to Nassau on Thursday.  Today is supposed to be a little quieter than tomorrow so we moved up our departure by a day.

Yesterday Dan spent working for the Park again.  I finished up my "railing" around the houseboat with some of the old halyard I keep squirreled away in the boat.  Later (10ish) the park brought 5 guys from a neighboring cay to help build a dock.  They had just finished building a dock on their rocky shore.  Had a great time working with these 5 and about 8 from the park and volunteers.  I spent the first hour and a half in waist deep water holding and nailing the cross members into place.  Others worked from the boat between the pilings which was being bounced around and banged up pretty badly.  Eventually there was enough of a deck for work to go on from there.  Quite a day and it would have been finished if we hadn't run out of deck lumber.  The 5 guys were from (of all places) Fargo, ND.  They all knew our cousin's "grinder" place, the Red Pepper in Fargo.  They really busted butt all day and I was exhausted by the time we wrapped things up.~~~(\_~~~D&M

Dan started his work day putting an old halyard of ours to good use as a railing on the houseboat.

The dock that Dan built - - - with a little help from his friends (5 of whom were from Fargo, ND!)

Still relaxing at Emerald Rock Anchorage, Warderick Wells

      I say relaxing, but Dan spent Friday volunteering for the Park and worked on installing railings on a houseboat the Park uses as overflow housing for Park volunteers.  It garnered us a free night, so not a bad afternoons work!   When Dan returned we took adavantage of slack current and snorkeled on the reefs in the main harbor again.  We were surprised to see how many Bahamian lobsters were crawling all over one large coral head. 
      We continue to socialize with the Appleton, WS crowd.  The people we met at first are travelling with another Appleton couple.  We dinghied around the south end of Warderick Wells with them and explored the southern anchorage and Hog Cay.  We didn't find any good snorkeling spots, but did hike on Hog Cay and visited the Pirate's Lair again on Warderick Wells.  We hurried back because there was another Happy Hour Party on the beach. This one was much bigger than the St. Patty's Day one because the anchorages are full.  Made new friends and swapped more stories!  The wind is pretty strong for the next couple of days, so we may just hang out for a while longer.  We want to be in Nassau on Thursday when Rob and Carol's son Will arrives with 2 yr. old Willy (Erika is staying home and is 7 months pregnant!) ~~~(\_~~~D&M

This was the first gray angelfish I had seen.

The word has gotten out to all Bahamian lobsters that the Park is a no take zone. We saw 8 of them on one coral head in the harbor at Warderick Wells! They didn't even feel the need to hide themselves way under rocks.

Wonderful landscapes above and below water!

A hike to the windward side of Hog Cay had some neat blow holes, this was the best we could do at timing the picture with the spray! Warderick Wells is seen to the north.