Friday 13 March 2015

Long Island, Conception Redux

After our wonderful time in Conception we sailed back to Thompson Bay, Long Island. Once again we rented a car for a day to visit Dean's Blue Hole and a few other spots again. We explored the island with the crews from Sheila and Jaru - new friends we met in Conception. After a couple days in Thompson Bay, we sailed back to the north end of Long Island and spent a night at Hog Cay before jumping back across to Conception again. We continued our string of good luck catching fish, this time pulling in a 60" mahi that weighed 40 lbs! Having already eaten mahi for the previous 7 nights we gladly shared this fish with other boats at Conception.
Our second trip to Conception proved to be just as good as our first, cementing this place as our favorite thus far. We spent lots of time swimming in the crystal clear water, exploring the surrounding reefs, and even surfing a bit when a nice swell wrapped around into the bay one afternoon. On our last full day there we were invited by some scientists to help catch sea turtles for measurement and tagging. There is a mangrove lagoon on the island that attracts tons of turtles. The catching process consisted of us chasing a turtle around the lagoon in the dinghy for about 5 minutes until it became exhausted, and then leaping out of the dinghy and literally grabbing it. It was a lot of fun - all in the name of science! Afterward we assisted with the tagging and measurements.
Our departure from Conception a few days ago marked the turn-around point in our trip. Our bow is now pointed to the north as we begin to slowly make our way home. We will wind our way back through the Exumas, with visits from Jenny, Brian and Cassie, and then eventually make our way up to the Abacos for a month of exploration up there.








That little dark spot in the middle is a sea turtle as we are in hot pursuit.




Tuesday 3 March 2015

Conception Island

We got the gang back together - Sheila and Momo sailed out of Georgetown together to Conception Island, a small remote uninhabited island 15 miles north/east of Long Island.  It was remote, stunningly beautiful and hard to leave.  It offered pristine clear waters that begged you to drop anchor and jump in immediately, and long crescent beaches with abutting cliffs to hike along. It was with very little protection from any unsettled weather so we had to high-tail it out of there for yet another blow but we loved it so much we are already planning our return in a few days.

Unfortunately, the weather this season has been such that one cold front follows another and we keep getting blown out of these beautiful places in search of protected harbors.  Therefore, we find ourselves faced with having to give up on the Raggeds and Jamentos.  However, we are happily settling on a plan to island hop around Conception, Cat and maybe Rum Cays.  We shall see...

51 Inch Mahi-Mahi!!!
Conception - The gang is perched on the cliff in the middle!

Sail to Thompson Bay.  Clearly, I just discovered this pano feature on the phone and love it!

Scout's 3rd Bday


Happy Third Birthday Scout!!!
Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas
March 2nd, 2015

Scout, sporting a bruise on her cheek and her new can of play-doh. 

Birthday party on the beach with fellow cruiser families - not too shabby for impromptu!

Love seeing all these kids out here!