......................MacGregor Index Page.......... 2015 Bahama Trip Index Page

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............ ..........................--- South Sampson Cay --- ...........................................................--- to --- .....................................--- Black Point --- ...........

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..........................................................(April 6th to 9th) Anchorage --- N 24º 06.078´ ==== Trip Mileage = 658 miles ..................W 76º 23.973´ ==== Day's Mileage = 15 miles

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After listening to the weather report while I was still at South Sampson Cay I heard a couple guys talking about 'local knowledge' stuff on the VHF so when they were about done asked if they knew anything about wifi at Staniels. I found out that I should be able to get on either with my long distance wifi from the boat if I was anchored close enough or ashore with the laptop but that there was a fee to get on. Then the nice fellow went on to say that if I went in at Black Point about 5 miles south of Staniels I could get on the Internet free as there were some sources there for it. I looked up Black Point in THE 2015 YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE TO THE BAHAMAS and read “Black Point settlement is one of the friendliest and largest in the Exuma Cays, with about 300 people”. That sounded good so ...

... in went the waypoints to Black Point in the computer/chartplotter and into the Garmin 76S handheld. OpenCPN told me that it was going to be a little over 11 miles to Black Point from my anchorage at South Sampson Cay. It ended up being about 15 as I was sailing and once again the wind just wasn't enough east and I would have to tack a couple times or one long time if I was going to sail the whole way. I ended up making about 11 miles of it under sail and then more squalls were building somewhat ahead of me and I felt I'd better get in and anchored. As it ended up they missed me by a few miles to the south. Still it was a nice sail for most of this leg.

The bay there is huge and ...

..... well protected from most directions except W and SW. When I threw the anchor overboard I was the boat furtherest to shore and still in 6 feet of water which is plenty considering the Mac has a draft under 2'.

There were a number of boats in the anchorage with the ones shown above being just part of them.

I was anchored just ahead and a little off to the side of the cat above and once I let the rode out I felt that I was really crowding them and planned on moving later but was just too tired to go through that at this time. I did put the second anchor down as it would of been pretty embarrassing to of dragged on anchor into them or anyone else behind me. I really like anchoring off by myself as it avoids all such worry. When they hadn't said anything to me the next day I just stayed put and they left the next day. After that no one was near me, nor me near them.

During the next couple days I rested up, worked on this trip report and went ashore. On the 10^th (Friday) listening to the weather it sounded like if I worked south inside, that Sunday I might be able to jump outside and get to Georgetown so I quickly put in waypoints for further south and left. I had planned on going ashore that day and filling a couple of the 4 gallon water containers I had used but at this point still had over 40 gallons of water left from filling back at the yard at the start of the trip so water wasn't a problem and I could top off in Georgetown.

There are three easy places to go ashore with your dinghy in Rocky Point which is nice.

Above is a view of a newer development on the north side of the bay. There were also two mooring fields that locals use for jet-skis and smaller boats, not for us. The one above was just off of where I was anchored a ways and another off the other side of me a ways over.

Nice dinghy dock. By the time I got back though there were a number more dinghy's tied up and mine had been shoved under the dock. Wasn't too happy about that but a couple of the kids hanging out there asked me if it was mine and jumped in the water and pulled it out for me. That was nice. The PVC fenders that go along the length of the cover have done a good job of protecting the dinghy from pilings in situations like this.

I really liked this settlement and would recommend it to anyone that likes a more laid-back 'real' place vs., well you know what.

Of course I wasn't alone in liking it here and some boats had been here awhile.

Most of the town as far as the business part where you will find the restaurants and such is located between the town dock and down about where the laundromat is located.

Just up from the town pier you will find directions to most of the places you are likely going to want to go to. I'd asked a couple about eating and they recommended any of the restaurants, saying they were all good.

A view towards the more residential part of town but just a ways up there on the right is a second store. I'd stopped by Adderly's after eating but it was closed so headed to the second store and it was also closed but a guy in the yard nearby said come back in a few minutes. I did after a short walk and it was still closed so decided I'd go back when I was back ashore getting water but that didn't happen. A store here is another building besides a house in most cases so don't expect to find 'a store' as you probably have one pictured in your mind. Still looking in the window at Adderly's it looked like they had the basics and maybe more. That's all I need.

The beach where you can also land is to the right above, just behind the tree there. As I mentioned above if you are going for water it is the best place to go as there are some steps there that lead light up to the water spigot located right on the side of the street.

I decided that my first restaurant experience would be at Scorpio's. I didn't need the wifi as I had been able to connect from the boat with my Bullet 2HP radio.

You have your choice of eating outside or inside. I chose inside as I had been outside plenty and ....

... ordered a fish sandwich and fries and got a coke. The bar there is well stocked if you want something stronger.

I talked to the owner Zhivago Rolle some. A nice guy and it was a nice place to eat and they had a wide-screen TV with ESPN on it that was right in front of me. Seemed a little strange to be sitting there watching the talking heads on ESPN. I live in the third largest county in the U.S., land wise (larger than some states) with a population of less than 20,000 and only one traffic light in the whole county (San Juan County, UT) and feel I live in a remote area as the nearest Walmart is over 80 miles away, but being on these islands pretty much cut off from the rest of the world except for boats and planes gives remote a whole new meaning to me.

I don't let my mind dwell too long on the consequences of getting sick or hurt here and being alone and having to get back to the states and what would happen with the boat if I had to abandon it. There are a number of scenarios that might not play out too well. One should consider this if they want to come here on about any boat, not just a small one like I have. You get 200-400 miles into the Bahamas and you aren't going to just get back to the states in a day or two if you decide you need to or want to.

Back on the walk I ventured away from the business district, that is also far more residential than business, and head kind of north.

I wasn't feeling great and I just can't figure that out. I think it is 'anti-seasickness' as I'm so use to the boat moving all the time, and at 26 feet and under 4,000 lbs it is always moving. When I'm on land it just feels weird to my body and I start getting a nauseous and light-headed feeling. On the boat I'm not conscious of the moving most of the time but standing still on land and the land moving under me results in me being very aware of it. I'm trying to make myself drink a lot of water and just plugging ahead as I don't want to develop any phobias as I've never had that kind of problem and don't want to start now.

A short way down the road another road head off towards what I assumed was the other side of the island so I turned and went down it. The whole time I was ashore the only vehicles I saw moving were the car in the picture, a couple other cars, a police car and one pickup so no major traffic jams around here to worry about.

the road started to climb some and ...

.... when I got to about the high point I turned and started back to town, the dinghy and the boat. I'll be back here on the way north most likely.

Now for the 'tip' of the day.

I hear people talk about problems dealing with trash and sometimes don't understand the problem. Once you empty cans and cartons and such and flatten them they take up far less room than before and if you can find a place for them when they are full then once emptied and compacted surely there is now plenty of room for them.

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