Warderick Wells to Staniel Cay, Exuma, The Bahamas (via Big Major Cay, aka Pig's Beach) //
Once there was a break in the weather, we continued on toward Staniel Cay area. The winds were still pretty strong and directly from the Southeast. With only a four hour sail ahead of us, we decided to head in a more southerly direction for a little close-hauled sail. It worked for a couple of hours, but once we started getting to far away from the island chain, we turned the engine on and motored straight onto the wind towards Big Major Cay. We could have tacked, but still recovering from some sleepless nights at Warderick Wells we were taking it easy.
We reached Big Major Cay around 4pm eager to get a glimpse of the famous pigs hanging out on the beach. Once we got settled, we hopped on the dinghy and motored about. As soon we swung by, the pigs started coming out of the bushes directly to us. Big Mama Pig, as I decided to name her, was a scary sight so I begged Tom to not get near them. Once I decided they looked aggressive, I did not want anything to do with them. Tom, on the other hand, was excited to get as uncomfortably close as possible. No surprise there. But we did take some fun pictures and wondered why would there ever be pigs on a beach... Poor little things, they are now trained to just feed off the scraps that people bring. Not knowing what to expect, we had nothing to offer. Even if we did, we are not sure we could just give up our finite provisions to... well, these piggies.
On our way back to Sparidae, we noticed our friends on S/V Tyee were anchored out. We dropped by hoping to say hi for a minute, but ended up staying the whole evening for dinner and PLENTY of drinks. To say that we had a blast would be the understatement of the year. We talked all things, sailing, maintenance, weather, rum, jobs, etc... We have stayed connected to this day and are hoping to meet again soon in the East Caribbean (hurry on up!). Way after hours (we normally go to bed around 8pm-9pm, it was now 11pm) Tom and I hopped back on our dinghy, stumbling, laughing, and somehow made it back safely and ready for a very good night's sleep.
The next day, Friday, January 25, we said 'until next time' to S/V Tyee as they were headed back north to Warderick Wells. We continued on to Staniel Cay where we were looking to do a bit provisioning, fill up on water, and do some laundry. We had heard there was a laundromat in the island and were so looking forward to a major cleaning sesh.
Staniel Cay had plenty of things to offer other than an awesome laundry/bar getup (yes, we had a an alcoholic drink served while doing laundry -- business plan anyone?!). We were able to explore the Thunderball Grotto from there, which has been featured in two James Bond movies and enjoyed a fun little lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. The scenery along at the anchorage across the yacht club was perfect enough. If anything, there was a little too much activity with the fast tourist boats zooming by carrying loads of snorkeling enthusiasts eager to see the underwater caves. Nevertheless, we were able to get some much needed rest, so some cleaning and swimming/snorkel time during our stay -- perfect enough for this duo!