2/19/2013 to 2/25/2013
Dick and Cheryl
arrived on time and without a hitch or glitch.
Since Quest was still docked at Compass Cay, Dan and I took the tender
the scant 7 mile jaunt to Staniel Cay
to fetch our arriving guests. We fueled up
the tender, grabbed a few things from the local store and were ready and waiting
as their Flamingo Air touched down. We
scurried them off to the tender by the Isles General Store then meandered our
way back to Quest.
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| DAN WELCOMES DICK AND CHERYL TO THE EXUMAS AT THE STANIEL CAY AIRPORT |
We were all in
for a real treat as we neared the impressive Overyonder Cay. Their private plane, Dan had met the pilot at
the Staniel Cay bar on a previous visit, was readying to take off. We all had front row seats as the float plane
slid off the she solid ground onto the water, maneuvered to the proper
position, gave it the juice then gracefully lifted off. We got a big wave from the cockpit for being
such a diligent audience.
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| THE OVERYONDER PLANE TAKES OFF AND PUTS ON A SHOW FOR US |
Back at Compass Cay Dick and Cheryl quickly unpacked and
were soon on ‘Island Time’, ready for a tropical cocktail and a stunning
Bahamian sunset. You know us on the Quest, we aim to please. For
those of you that know conservative dresser, Dick Hanson, you just wouldn't believe how he shed his usual Brooks Brother shirts and khaki pants. Let me present the “new Dick Hanson”!
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| DICK RELAXING ON QUEST WITH A FLORAL PRINT SHIRT |
High priority on our list at Compass was to
hand our little tribute to Tucker’s coconut tree. The Hansons had brought a laminated copy of
Alexis’ little ditty (set to the tune of They
Put The Lime In The Coconut)
which we attached to a scavenged life preserver.
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| 'DE PUT 'DE FINE ON 'DE COCONUT ON COMPASS CAY |
Wednesday found
us ready to loosen our ties to land and enjoy a night on a mooring ball. This departure was not my finest hour. While Dan expertly maneuvered Quest out of
the tight dockage, I took the tender out of the cut. Then I began to second guess myself and our
sketchy plans. Was I supposed to tie up
to the Quest in the bay area our once through the cut? Maybe I should go back in? No problem there but when my mind began to
wander from my job as I watched Dan flawlessly bring Quest out of his spot, I soon
found the tender in the seriously shallow shallows. A little gentle shove by one of our fellow
boaters soon had me off and back on course to attach to the Quest. “Sometimes you’re the show!”
The 23 NM to
Hawksbill proved a lovely cruise for the Hanson’s first day back on the seas. We basked in the sun and enjoyed the cooling
breezes. Once the mooring tasks were
completed we spent the late afternoon lazing on the lovely beach, taking dips
in the warm water and snorkeling a bit.
Couldn’t be better!
Thursday we moved
on the 18 NM north to Highborne for a night of pampering at their enchanting
marina. Our dinners were superb and we
were even able to get a tour of two rental cottages and one rental cabana. I think I may run away to one of the cabanas one
day. Quite lovely!
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| OUR WHEELS ON HIGHBORNE |
Friday found us
mooring again at Cambridge and enjoying the nearby Aquarium, a fabulous site to
snorkel. This time we saw many
Parrotfish, yellow and black Rock Beauties, brilliant blue Hamlets, Wrasse, the
ever present Sargent Majors, a large Ray skimming the sea bed, a seldom seen
Scrawled Filefish and the beautiful but venomous Lion Fish out in the open with
his elongated fins feathering out like ribbons in the breeze. Another fine day!
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| English: Scrawled Filefish (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
LIONFISH: wikipedia
Saturday proved
to be another fine day for traveling and enjoying the beautiful islands on
the calm Bank side. South past Compass ,
Pipe, Sampson, Staniel, and Black Point on Great Guana Cay then slipping
through the pass between Little and Big Farmers Cays. We idled past David Copperfield’s Musha Cay, drooling
at the ideal setting. We spent a little
time out on the Sound side after slipping out Rudder Cut but were soon entering
back into the Bank at Bock Cut then entering the path to the moorings at Lee
Stocking Island, home of the now defunct Caribbean Marine Research Center of
the Perry Institute. An afternoon filled
with swimming and sunning on the beach completed our day.
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| THE SUNSET'S REFLECTION WAS MOST SPECTACULAR |
By Sunday morning
our heads were turning towards George Town as we tried to put aside thoughts of
Dick and Cheryl’s Monday morning departure.
Approaching the Rat Cay Cut we watched as the blowhole on Boysie Cay
spouted and sprayed. The amount of boats
anchored off popular Stocking Island has grown considerably since we left George
Town with the Porters, kind of like being in a sardine tin. The beautiful M/Y Chantel sat aloof and apart
from the crowd.
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| BLOW HOLE AT BOYSIE CAY |
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| THE BOATS ARE ALL HERE FOR THE UPCOMING 33 ANNUAL GEORGE TOWN CRUISING REGATTA |
Cleavon greeted us
at the dock, welcomed us back and assisted in the tie-up chores. We were happy to see Garth and Kathy on
Algonquin and Zeke jumped right on Quest, barking for a drink and maybe a treat
while I was at it. Our dinner at the
yacht club was quite tasty but the Hanson’s impending 5:00 AM wake-up call sent
us all to bed early.
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| THE HANSONS AND THE QUERREYS DECKED OUT FOR OUR LAST DINNER PLEASE NOTE DICK'S FLORAL SHIRT NOT, REPEAT NOT, TUCKED IN |
We were all up
bright and early as Dick and Cheryl met Clifford in his shiny Suburban taxi for
their ride to the airport and the start of a long day. We really enjoyed our guests and may find it
a little quiet on the Quest now.
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