Update on the Black Point School supplies

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Hey All,
Came into Emerald Bay Marina yesterday, along with Bill and Margee on Tortuga, from Little Darby Island. A 5hr motor sail in some pretty choppy conditions, however we did catch a small Blackfin Tuna and a Mahi-Mahi. Nice being back here again. Our first time this year. It really spoils you with FREE washing machines/dryers, a well stocked supermarket(by Bahama standards) and a great liquor store nearby with free transportation. Of course the showers are phenomenal and there is a beautiful lounge complete with pool table, TV and sitting area. All this for $1/ft per night.
After leaving Lee Stocking Island we went to Black Point and visited the school which we delivered all the supplies to from home. They were very happy to see us and could not thank us enough. We had dropped them off during the Christmas break so we did not get to see them in action. Needless to say Robin was "summoned" to teach the following day. Corbett took some pictures of the teachers and kids. We were invited to Rev Kevin Rolle's, also the Police Chief, surprise birthday party. A real feast! This is still one of our very favorite places. The next day Robin went over showing the Math teacher, Mr Musgrove, how to make copies of the overhead tranparencies and a few more teaching tips.
We also met up with Solitare, another Morgan Classic, and had a happy hour. The next evenings happy hour was on First Edition, they are from Roseland,NJ, along with Wind Dust and Solitare.
Finally we moved on down to Musha Cay. We anchored behind this very private island. Google it. After some exploring the surrounding cays we moved down to Little Darby Island to meet up with Totuga who was already anchored there. This was only two miles away but, a whole different place. This island and Big Darby are also private but you can go onshore with permission. It also houses a small marine research center for the Univ. of Miami. The islands are separated by a 100ft wide cut. Big Darby was, so the stories go, once the home of a WW2 Nazi sympathizer. He built this fortress like mansion on the top of the hill and supposedly sent secret messages from there. In the 70's and early 80's it was taken over by drug smugglers and the two islands had three airstrips between them. Now only the remnants and stories remain, save for the research center, and a few private homes on Little Darby.
The following day SunCat and Two Of A Kind showed up and we had a great happy hour catching up. We have not seen them since Margee's sister and boyfriend,Jan and Larry left some 10 days prior.There was some really nice snorkeling and beach combing to be had.
That evening we were all invited to a reception on the research vessel Coral Reef, which was at the dock. They were on a two week cruise of the Exumas along with grad students and professors. What a great bunch of "way underpaid people". The amounts of work they do in the name of science and humanity is nothing short of exhausting.
The next day Two Of A Kind headed north and we stayed a couple more days before leaving SunCat there as we needed some serious restocking of fresh produce.
All for now,

Different Takes

 03/03/11

Hey All,
Sitting at anchor on the western shore of Lee Stocking Island, Exuma, Bahamas. This island houses a research center, Perry Institute for Marine Science, and has hiking trails, great snorkeling and even a few “top ten” beaches! A cold front came through late yesterday along with some heavy rains and temps dropping to the low 70’s. Today it is clear and blowing 25-30kts out of the ENE. This is a protected anchorage for any winds from N-SE and has good holding for our Delta anchor in 7.5ft at low water. There are 3 other boats within about 200yds of us.
Cruising has been a lot easier this year as we now enter anchorages and settlements that are very familiar to us. Also on a weather note, there has been about 1/5th the number of cold fronts. This allowed us to stay in places longer without having to leave and find a hidey-hole! Some long time cruisers are claiming that it has been the best winter in 6+ yrs! 
One interesting new find was to rent a car on Long Island(no not that Long Island!!) with some other cruisers. It is 70mi long and it is the home of Deans Blue Hole, the deepest in the world. The day we were there snorkeling we met the wife of the current free-dive record holder as she was practicing. Brittany was routinely going down to 120ft! Her husband , Will Truebridge, broke the record in Dec. 2010 at 101 meters, 331+ ft! We heard that just two weeks ago he went, unofficially, another 20 meters, 65+!! This is with just a gulp of air, goggles and a soft weight that he wears around his neck!
We also got to see the Santa Maria Monument on the northern tip of the island. Apparently Columbus visited here, some say his first stop, …and also ran aground!
Stopped at the “Beach Bar” on Harvey Bay. A new place which is right out of a Jimmy Buffet song and just opened a few weeks before. This was right before the Super Bowl and we were looking for a bar to view it. The owner and locals were really friendly and we ended up taking our boat along with 3 others to anchor off the bar. Well this bay cruisers pass right by because at first glance on the chart there isn’t much water unless you are on a Hobie Cat. We looked a little harder and found a decent anchorage for our 5ft draft up in the corner. The other boats were catamarans and got in much closer. We dinghied to the Super Bowl party, met more locals and they said we were the first sailboats to anchor there in 30 yrs!! Ended up staying there for 5 days and even took a local lobster fisherman with his family out for a sail! Yeah you guessed it, their first time on a sailboat.
Well there are plenty more tales but we will save them for the summer. Looks like we will be returning to NJ in early June “boatless” as the Cookie Monster will be summering in the S. Georgia/N Fla area. The ICW is really nice but after two round-trips it takes a toll. 250 hrs on the engine one way and 3-4 weeks really adds up. Also next year we are planning on going to the San Blas Islands in Panama so this will give us a head start to get there by mid-Dec.

All for now,
Corbett & Robin
S/V Cookie Monster