Radar's day at the beach

The winds have picked back up so no fishing but we can take the dink out and run along the lee side of the island to play on the beach. As you can see Radar loves the beach. The hot weather has been keeping him in the boat for a few days and we knew this would cheer him up.


He usually does some crazy stuff when he plays in the water. Always a funny pic or two will come out of a walk on the shore. This time was no different


Then we all walked over to Rachel's bubble bath where we were treated to a -rare- but nice little rain squall. Fresh Water... ahhhhh

Bahamian boat wash!

More about Rachel's later.

Adios,


Istaboa

Want to own an island?

Leaf Cay's harbor

Yesterday we and some friends took a runabout over to Sampson Cay for lunch. After lunch, Don from Bold Pursuit, said, "lets go look at some real estate". So we plotted a course for Leaf Cay.

Aerial view

It turns out our friend Don was seriously considering purchasing the island (for business reasons) and has had a tour before. We hailed the caretaker and he was kind enough to give us another walk through.
Leaf Cay is, at first glance, a beautiful little island but after further inspection it's much more.
The owner has spent millions of dollars to make this island a survivalist's dream.
I have copied an excerpt from an article that ABC news did in 2007.

Jack Halcomb bought the island in 1986 for $650,000 and said he has made $25 million worth of improvements to the property since he first moved in and ran his business sometimes from the Bahamas.

He sold electronic surveillance equipment to the military and law enforcement agencies, and initially ran the company in Florida before moving the business to his island. In 1992 he sold the company, Audio Intelligence Devices, to Westinghouse. Halcomb now lives on a Kentucky ranch and has a Florida business financing aircraft, and said it is now time to sell his piece of paradise.

"I'm 79 and I had trouble with skin cancer," Halcomb said. "The doctors ordered me to get out of the sun. … They said: get rid of the island or make funeral arrangements."

The owner has stocked the island with enough food to last a couple of years and the island's cisterns will hold 175,000 gallons of water. But there is so much more. It's worth your time to read the ABC article... Click here>>Leaf Cay

Here is another article out of the LA Times>>Leaf Cay 2

This island compound reminded me of the TV series, Lost... I kept looking around for the Dharma Project logo.

The internet has been spotty so we will be back when we can.

Till then...

Adios,

Istaboa

Lilly's view

A few days ago we walked up to Lilly's Villa. A great view of the marina and Pipe Creek.

Looking South to Pipe Creek

Looking west at the Marina

Internet is working very well right now, I am happy to say. Friends are bringing in some more wireless gear Sunday so maybe we can make the Wifi situation a bit better.

We are still not sure of future plans but sadly we realize we must be leaving soon. The rest is still an adventure though... and it will be nice to see friends in the states.

But for now...

Adios,

Istaboa

Walkabout again on Compass

Man the fish have been going crazy so we haven't done any blogging lately. We went early this morning and caught more than 20 fish in less than 2 hours; all between 20 to 30 lbs. I have never seen so many fish so frantic to bite bait.
The above pic is Mel and Gail. Gail is an old friend of Karen; she's from Taos, New Mexico and has flown in to visit for a few days. She, Mel, and I hiked the south end of the island.

Refrigerator Rock

Today as we were trolling for Mahi Mahi and the excitement had slowed a bit, Tucker said, "steer toward that calm stream". I didn't know what the hell he was talking about but he motioned to starboard so I went that way. Soon I saw what he meant. In the choppy seas was a calm spot. As we passed through this calm stream the fish started hitting like crazy. We had at least 2 at a time on and sometimes 3. There were 20 or so under the boat and they would hit if we were trolling or not.
Sometimes we would just jig the bait under the boat and they would strike it and run. Truly the wildest fishing trip yet.
Tucker explained that the calm spot was caused by current and held bait fish and that's what the Mahi Mahi were looking for.

Weathered rock

Years of wind and waves have eroded the terrain on the south side of the island in a peculiar way.
The fishing has been too frenzied to take any fishing pictures.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring but the weather is perfect which gives us plenty of options.

Till later.

Adios,

Istaboa

Fishing with the King

Tucker wanted to go fishing and asked if I wanted to go along. He didn't have to bend my arm.
We went out in front of Compass Cay where the depths go from 100' to 600' like falling off a cliff. We only fished for about an hour and half but caught 5 nice sized Mahi Mahi.



I think Melonie was surprised when we returned so quickly; then she saw what we had in the box.



What a great day it was. I really enjoyed fishing with Tucker and getting to know him better. He's an interesting man.
He told me the story of how he named Refrigerator Rock. (a big rock offshore of crescent beach)
He said that when he was a kid there was a restaurant on the island and his job was to supply it with fresh fish everyday. He laughed as he told me he never had to go further than that rock. That was his refrigerator. Tucker says the rock still holds plenty of fish and lobster today.
So while I cleaned the boat, Tucker cleaned the fish and we gave everyone on the docks some. Made a lot of folks happy. Fresh fish for all

Another memorable day amongst many.

Adios,

Istaboa

Compass Cay Characters

The evening drink and think.

Happy hour discussions are always interesting here on Compass. This day's group included our German friend Torsten and Giles from Corsica. Giles and his wife Martinique have been here for a few days. Giles doesn't speak English as well as Martinique so she translates. Our dry American humor does not always translates as we expect. Often we get odd looks until we explain; then we get big laughs at the absurdity. This day's pow wow was all about alcohol. Torsten likes Haitian rum and broke some out. Barbancourt is good stuff. Giles shared his Anisette which is similar to Absinthe; also good stuff.
Happy hours around here are never boring.

Crew of the Bahama Star

Our German Friends on Sandpiper

Captain Bruce of the Bahama Star

All very colorful characters we have had the good fortune of meeting and getting to know.
Bahama Star is a charter sailing boat. Bruce and Eric have crossed our path several times during our stay in the Exumas. Fun Guys.

More pics later when we find more net

Adios,


Istaboa

PS... Thanks to Mike from Panama City for the Smoked Chicken quarters. They were very much enjoyed and totally consumed here on Compass.

What is, is...

No restaurants... No problem.

Tonight we will have Whole Roasted Yellowtail snapper with herbs. Tucker pointed out an area I could go and catch fish without being blown away by the 30kt wind. I went out in the dink and a little while later we have just what we wanted. One 2lb Yellowtail... Just what the recipe called for.

The sharks love it when you clean fish.
They are like puppies.

If you spend time here on Compass Cay you soon learn that Paradise comes at a price. No, not money but the loss of things we take for granted back home instead . Restaurants, grocery stores, unlimited internet, and cell phones are not always available. Right now the wind is blowing and the seas are rough so we just hang out and exist. Which is not bad at all. You soon come to understand... What is, is. Before you know it, you prefer it that way.

Our favorite bar is the overhang next to the dock office. You couldn't find a more interesting bunch of characters if you tried. They come from all over the world. Everyone gathers there around 4:30 or 5 and we stick around until 6 or 7. Low key to say the least.
Sometimes it's our favorite restaurant too; if we decide to do some cooking and sharing. Tonight our favorite restaurant will be on Istaboa.
Our grocery store? about a quarter of a mile behind us on Exuma Bank.
Cheap too. A wad of conch guts on a hook and now we have dinner.

Cell phones come and go as does the internet.

Tucker finally allowed me to take a look at the wireless internet network and I managed to get it back up again. The Taycom techs back home in Memphis would be proud.
All the folks here on the island are ecstatic.

We walked around the eastern side's crescent beach yesterday and we saw a few things to come back and take pictures of when the light grows warm just before sunset.

So until later...

Adios,

Istaboa

Not much net

The Blue Hole on Long Island
This is world famous for free divers. It is 650 feet deep.

Staniel Cay Harbor from the the Thunderball side.

Our Friend Andy, on Maggie May, passed by as we were having lunch at Thunderball

Then later we were strafed by this guy. He and 5 other planes like this were terrorizing Pipe Creek.
They are Chinese training planes.

Rode over to Staniel and dropped Russ off to fly back to the states for biz.
We are at Compass again and ducking the wind which is blowin like hell. No internet in Paradise so we will be dark for a while.

Life is good.

Adios,

Istaboa

Sub-Tropical again

Another cold Kalik
Max's World Famous Conch bar at Deadman's Cay, Long Island

We left Long Island today and made way for Cave Cay. Long Island turned out to be a really cool place. We became good friends with the all the folks at Long Island Breeze. Mike, one of the owners, was still around even though they are closed. He still made us Rum drinks, shared a few with us, and also allowed us to use his internet. Nice chap from Brighton, England.
Our friends from Germany pulled into Thompson Bay yesterday. We always seem to pass each other on the way in or out.
We will return to Long Island next year.
When passing Georgetown on the way back our friends Dick and Patra, the owners of our former boat, hailed us on the radio. They are going to hang around there for the Family Island Regatta.
The National Family Island Regatta is a really big deal here. All the folks at Salt Pond were spun up about it. We would have gone but it was a bit crowded and loud. All of this peace and quiet has really spoiled us.

We are now back at Cave Cay in the Exumas. It was a pretty good run today even though the seas were a bit large. At least they were on our tail which made for a dry run.
Mel met the owner of Cave Cay Marina today and said he was a very nice guy... He just stopped by to see if we needed anything. We really hope he hurries and completes this marina. It will be a jewel.
The above pic was taken by Molly while she and Mel were hiking on our last stay here. If you enlarge the pic you can see the dingy where Russ and I were snorkeling. An absolutely beautiful spot that I mentioned in an earlier post.

So now we are working our way back north. Next we will anchor at Big Major's Spot where the wild pigs are tame and swim out to greet the boaters in hopes of a handout. Wonder what Radar will think?

Soon back to our Exuma home... Compass Cay.

Adios,


Istaboa

A do-nothing day

Total Return at Anchor

This is a pic of another 57 Nordhavn we are traveling with. We have known Russ and Molly for a few years. Actually met them in Tennessee at Pickwick. They were doing the Great Loop and stopped at Grand Harbor.
It's nice to have a another boat to travel with.

Huh?

The Entrance to St Paul's Church

Sunrise this morning

We didn't go on the island tour with Russ and Molly yesterday. The winds were howling so we just hunkered down and had a down day. Nice to do sometimes...

Today the winds are still howling and it looks like our weather window on Monday just got smashed. The real problem is Long Island Breeze, which is the Center of the Universe here on Salt Pond, is closing. Oh No...No Net...No Pizza... No Chicken Souse...No Rum.
Oh well we will survive somehow.

Until next time... whenever that may be.

Adios,


istaboa