January 26, 2008.

We left Cambridge Cay about a half hour before high tide and headed for a place called Big Majors Spot.

When we had entered Cambridge we had chosen the northern deep water entrance. This route had us hugging the coast of Bell Island. We had to hug the shore for 2 miles before heading out into the ocean for about 200 yards. Then after a hard turn to starboard we had to read the waters surface to find our way into the anchorage. The water we traversed was deep but it was pretty intense as the ocean cut was rough and some of the deep water was very narrow.

The anchorage was very picturesque and a wonderful place to spend the night, but then it was time to leave. The entrance had been a little harrowing so we weren’t eager to tempt the fates again so we decided on the more direct, shallow but slightly dicey southern route.

Since it was about high tide we were hoping the 3 foot addition to the routes marked depth would be enough to let us pass without any problems. We had about three quarters of a mile of serious water reading to do but we were able to sneak safely out of the anchorage and into deep water. We did however see only 4 inches of water under our keel at one point.

After a day of only 14 miles we were safely anchored in Big Majors Spot. There were about 25 boats in the area. The big attractions here are the Thunderball Grotto (from the James Bond
movie Thunderball), and Staniel Cay which has a settlement of 150 people which means a few groceries are available. There’s also a wonderful sand bottom here for anchoring in relative protection from the north, east and south.

The “stores” here are in reality a room in someone’s home where they sell their wares. Each home is painted a different vivid color.

Today we bought fresh baked bread from the “yellow house” as its known. The coconut bread is very famous here and we also picked up some cinnamon raisin. You knock, she yells “come in” and the next thing you know, you’re standing in her kitchen. Five dollars for a fairly hefty loaf and you’re on your way.

We also trekked to the top of the hill and checked out the “blue house”. This is the big grocery on the island; it’s about the size of a one car garage. We thought we’d grab some vegetables but we’ll wait and come back the day before we leave. All the vegetables were packed into a regular refrigerator and you had to dig through to find what you are after…….this could take some getting used too.

We also walked out to the airport. It’s not like walking to Newark Airport or anything, it was just another block past the grocery store and you’re there.
There were 3 planes and a tiny hanger and the outdoor “terminal”.

We went on a little freelance snorkeling expedition. We dinghied out to one of the cuts from the banks to the ocean. The tide was ripping out at a pretty good clip so we had to be careful and watch where each other were at all times. The water is a little deeper here with more varieties of coral and we saw a lot of interesting sea creatures. We also took our first conch, now we just have to figure out how to get it out of its shell and prepare it. We have visions of conch fritters, conch salad, conch chowder and hopefully not conch poisoning but we’ll see how it goes before we take any more.

Then we went out to the Thunderball Grotto and did some snorkeling. The place was spectacular. The entrance was easy as the water was very calm. You swim through a narrow gap with a low roof into a huge cavern. The place is mobbed with fish milling about. There were other submerged entrances into the cave which allowed sunshine in to provide a beautiful underwater light show. There was also what I would call a long blind hallway. After entering the hallway we found ourselves in the company of 3 very poisonous Lion Fish. We watched them for a while before making a dignified retreat back to the main room.

While we were surrounded by hundreds of tiny fish in the main room one of the little bastards actually bit Christy on the thigh. They’re all so close to you all the time but you never expect a tiny tropical fish to bite you. The little shit actually drew blood, but Christy is fine although we were both a little astonished by the whole thing.

After that it was back to the boat to clean up before heading over to another boat for a quick happy hour and then on to a second boat for a screening of the original movie Thunderball with James Bond.

Here’s a side note that I thought was interesting. The waiters and bartenders here do not ask if you’d like another drink when yours is empty. It’s considered rude and overly fard. They’ll walk past your empty glass a dozen times but if you flag them down they’re on it in a heartbeat. They just don’t want to be pushy.


Cruisers Dictionary update. The word is fard and must be spoken with your best Bahamanian accent. An example of its use….We’re looking fard to seeing you.