The Exumas have been some of the most beautiful islands we have ever experienced. But the time is ripe to move along out to one of the most anticipated places yet; Long Island. Here’s a video for your enjoyment:

February 22, 2016
The journey out of Emerald Bay was an adventure in itself. We recruited Dave from Bel Canto to help us pull Bosco out of her slip and flip around. Once free, I motored VERY slowly so that Jake could stow lines, fenders AND raise the main before departing the channel. It was a narrow space so it took a lot of clever maneuvering. After about 30 minutes we were on our way.

The channel is tiny and I could see the waves breaking just outside of it. They were HUGE. We knew they would be big but not THIS big. We tried our best to time our departure with slack tide AND with the wave sets. It seemed every couple of minutes a big set would blow through. Once we cleared the last of our break wall, I put us in full-throttle mode and tried to bolt out of there. I wasn’t fast enough because a huge set came in. There were 4 waves in the set, the third one being the biggest of the bunch. The first few were huge in themselves, but the 3rd one was as tall as our bimini cover. Maybe 9 or 10 feet. It crashed OVER us and drenched the cockpit and decks. Thankfully nothing was damaged and we were totally safe but it was still crazy. In a weird way it was also exhilarating.

Once we cleared the breakers we just had to deal with big swell. Everything was stronger than forecasted – both wind and waves. What else is new? Wind was at 24 knots steady and waves were 6-8 feet with only 5 or 6 seconds between them. Not the best conditions but we were only moving 6 miles until entering a protected cut and get out of these monstrosities. We put out a tiny bit of jib to help balance the boat – its amazing how well this works. The wind was almost dead ahead so it was still a battle. The 6 miles went by very slowly.

After clearing the cut the waves simmered a lot! Winds were still howling but now the waves were much easier to deal with, making the rest of our journey way more comfortable. We went as far south as we could, mostly to get out of the craziness of George Town. There were around 200 boats here – that’s way too many for our liking. After passing the main anchorages things opened up again and thankfully our desired anchorage was almost deserted. We dropped the hook right next to Elizabeth island, a tiny island with 2 or 3 homes on it. There were only 2 other boats anchored nearby with room for 20 more.

We stopped around 11AM. It felt like a full day already. With all the excitement of our travel we were ready for a relaxing afternoon. So we enjoyed snacking on treats like beef jerky the last of our cheese and tortilla chips. We also decided to bake Jake’s birthday cake, about a month late. It turned out SO good – devils food with chocolate icing and topped with fresh coconut.

After eating our fill, and the last of our fresh goods, we were ready for bed. But it was a bit early for that so we sat outside, reading books and soaking in the gorgeous sites. The water here was spectacular. Prettiest we have seen. When night eventually came, we enjoyed the fresh air of the cockpit and the beautiful full moon that lit up the anchorage. What a great end to a great day.

February 23, 2016
Morning came far too soon. It was still dark when the alarm went off. We wanted to enjoy a peaceful morning drinking coffee and wiping the fog from our brains before heading out. We had about 35 miles to get to Long Island today, so we wanted to be ready to go at first light.

We were underway by 730AM. Jake raised our main but we opted to motor sail the first bit since we had to go through several coral heads. Our path would take us back out in the sound for a bit before entering the shallows at the bottom of the “tongue of ocean.” I was slightly nervous that the waves would be as nutty as yesterday. Thankfully the waves were only 2-3 feet.

Our trip took about 9 hours. We were slow going especially when the wind dropped off to single digits. But it was the most spectacular of passages. The water was glowing something fierce. We passed several tiny little blips of cays and then saw nothing but the brightest blue all around us.

At some point a little squall came through, but it wasn’t anything scary. The rain felt great and gave Bosco a much needed bath. The coolest part was how the clouds would change the color of the water, lighting it up between patches of dark.

We tried our hand at fishing and caught yet another barracuda. He was bigger than the others we’ve caught so far but we can’t eat it so we threw it back. I also got to see a dolphin. First one seen in a very long time – since the berry islands! Jake also cracked open a fresh coconut we got with Beans back in the Darbys.

It was 3PM when we pulled into Thompson Bay. There were 15 other boats but room for hundreds. So it definitely felt huge and spread out and wonderful. We made really good time, because in a matter of minutes after setting anchor a much larger storm was looming ahead. It passed us in a torrent of rain and wind. But we were perfectly protected in our anchorage. Even this larger squall was beautiful. Probably because there was no lightening, which is just terrifying. After the storm was the most gorgeous sunset.

We feasted on tuna salad and homemade flat bread for dinner and more chocolate cake for dessert. It was so tasty and felt great to be full. It also made us super sleepy and we promptly passed out!

February 24, 2016
Today was the first day in a long time where we really didn’t do anything outside of our island bubble. Normally when we go to a new place, we rush to go see and do as much as we can. But we planned to stay here for at least a week so we weren’t in any hurry. Sometimes you need to take days off in cruising life.

It wasn’t all fun and games though. We actually accomplished a ton of menial boat chores. You know, the ones that go left undone or forgotten because there’s always more important things to do. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I washed a load of laundry, in hopes that it wouldn’t pile up out of control (like the last time). Meanwhile, Jake cleaned and aired out all of the cockpit cushions and then oiled down all of the teak inside the boat. Seriously what a difference this makes. It looked so shiny and pretty. We also fixed / patched some miscellaneous items and tools. It felt good to knock off smaller tasks.

Between chores, we spent a lot of time just lounging. Jake set up the boat hammock FINALLY. Its been months since we’ve enjoyed it – and what better time than the present. We sat out to watch the gorgeous sunset and though it was chilly, couldn’t have been more perfect.

I can’t wait to go explore this amazing place.