Great Guana Cay

  As much as we liked the activity around Big Majors Spot, the fact that some people found the anchorage to be appealing to them for water skiing and wake boarding made us begin to consider moving on.
  On Friday, Rosie finally went snorkeling. We took the dinghy over to The Grotto and tied to the mooring there just outside of the easiest cave entrance for access. Rosie was impressed with all the fish that she saw and only bumped her head once, and we went on a rising tide, not the best time to go.
  Although we had been to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for dinner, what we really wanted to do was go one last time and have beers and appetizers at the bar, so after our snorkeling trip and a brief nap, we got cleaned up, left Holly in charge of the boat, and headed over to the Yacht Club at around 5 P.M.
  The highlight of our evening was when the two girls we met traveling on their 27 foot sailboat came in and joined us at the bar. I had gotten my facts wrong last time when I said they were traveling with Nick and his girlfriend, Hillary, but in fact, Nick and Hillary have their own boat, and so do Katie and Jessie.
  Katie and Jessie came through our home port on the Mississippi, staying at Grafton Harbor and Harbor Point Yacht Clubs. They were really impressed with Grafton Harbor.
  We traded stories about some of the same places we had all been to, and were surprised to find that they both worked for four months at The Cottage, a favorite bar of ours in Fort Meyers Beach, where they built up their finances to continue their trip.
  You can find out all about Katie and Jessie on their website: katieandjessieonaboat.com
I also have a link to their site on this blog's home page.
  We had a good time talking to some other folks too, but by the time 8 P.M. rolled around, we were ready to go back to the boat, and of course, to Holly.
  I had been keeping tabs on the diesel fuel supply at Staniel Cay. They were getting low, and their price was reasonable at $5.35 per gallon, so I wanted to fill up before we continued on down the Exuma Island chain. I called them on the VHF and was told that they were out of gasoline, but they had some diesel. I told them we were on the way.
  We filled up with diesel, and also bought water for 50 cents per gallon, which came to $30. Our water maker was working, but some windless day were coming up, and running the generator just to make water is not cost effective. There was some modification that I wanted to make to the plumbing on the watermaker, so having a full tank on hand in case I ran into problems seemed like a good thing to do.
  We left the fuel dock and cruised by Tara, and Sweet Louise, the sailboats owned by Nick and Hillary, and Katie and Jessie. We let them know we were heading out. They said that they might see us on down the line and we don't doubt it. We've run into them at four different anchorages without planning it.
  There was no wind on Saturday, so we made a slow run down to Black Point Settlement, only eight or nine miles from Staniel Cay. We dropped the hook in a popular spot over there and I was able to make my modifications to the plumbing on the watermaker. We were getting air in the inlet of the filter housing because I had installed the bracket incorrectly when I put the unit in, so I wanted to correct it and make it right. In the sun, my tools became too hot to even pick up, and I had to jerry rig a hose coupling, but in no time I was able to complete my task and Rosie made us lunch.
  Just as we were setting down to eat, two local boys had paddled their beat up surf boards quite a long distance out to Swing Set. I wasn't going to say anything when they were just fooling around close to the boat, but when one of them grabbed onto the side of the dinghy, I went out to meet them.
  They were only two young boys of ten years old or so, and just wanted to relieve their boredom, but after answering a few of their questions, I told them that I had things to do. They asked my name, and I gave it to them and asked for theirs in return, and then "Gerard" and "George" paddled away and didn't bother us again.
  We hung out for a while, but we really didn't like the view. We were just off the government docks at Black Point, and there were plenty of apparently abandoned homes overlooking our anchorage too. We decided to pick up the anchor and head around the point to a private anchorage not too far away.
  In "Little Bay" we found solitude and beauty. Sky blue water and a pristine beach were all to ourselves. We took the dinghy to the beach after I did some snorkeling at some nearby short cliffs. Back on the boat we put on the stereo and took occasional dips in the water, as it was hot.
  We had a good dinner last night and we did some waxing this morning.
  I also called my dad for Father's Day and was able to get him for a short phone conversation. He didn't know it at the time, but I got choked up at one point and couldn't find the words. He probably thought I was still talking and just attributed the silence for a bad connection. We are glad we are living this life, but it does not come without a cost.
  Speaking of cost; we got our last bill from AT&T and our International data plan was exceeded and the bill was nearly $300 more than normal. Rosie called AT&T and asked them why, on our Domestic plan, we get notified if we are about to exceed our data transfer limit, but we don't get one when we do the same on our International plan.
  She was told that it "just was not an option", but they had pity on us dumb souls and gave us a credit for the overcharge. Then we were informed that since our last new service period that began five days ago, we were nearly at our limit of data transfer already.
  This is why this post is being published from our iPad, and there is no pictures. I figured out how to set up our bluetooth keyboard on the iPad so I can use a regular keyboard, but even though I'm able to load our pictures from the iPhone onto the iPad, there is no feature to post pictures on this blog from a file I can access on this iPad. But I'm working on it.
  I work at keeping our friends and family aware of where we are, but it amazes me how the thought process is of some folks. For example: People who are going on vacation to Florida, or to anywhere near the ocean, think that because we are traveling in the ocean that wherever they are traveling to must be close to where we are.
  The equation would look something like this:
  A=Mike and Rosie are in the ocean.
  B=We are going to be near the ocean.
  A+B=Then we must be going to be near Mike and Rosie.
  Anyone wanting to consider running into us anywhere in the near future, or anytime for that matter, consider this: We publish where we are most of the time via this blog, or on Facebook check ins. Facebook maps supply a map, otherwise Google Maps will show you where we are too. Calculate how far your intended destination will be away from where we are. (You do that, don't give the chore to me. My plate is full.) Then realize that it costs us at least $3 per mile to move this boat in any direction, and that is a low figure. Then take into account that we might not be able to go anywhere at a certain time due to weather, and they you will see that making plans to meet us anywhere out here is problematic.
  But don't get us wrong, we're glad people still want to meet us. I just want folks to understand that there is more to it.