Nassau to Soldier Cay, Berry Islands
We cast off
at 0730 and headed directly to the fuel dock which was located between the two
bridges to Paradise Island. We were the
first boat of the day on the dock and took on 23 gallons of diesel. We also needed some gasoline for the dinghy
and generator. We ended up waiting 15
minutes for our gasoline as another boat was filling up with gas while we were
taking on diesel. It took 15 minutes
because the boat taking on gas needed 225 gallons and chatted with the dock
hand while pumping. His fuel bill was
over $1,000. You have to catch a lot of
fish to cover that kind of tab. Our fuel
bill was a tenth of his. We like our 40
HP Yanmar diesel engine and gas sipping generator.
 |
| Turtle Grass in 20 Feet of Crystal Clear Water |
We motored from Nassau to Soldier Cay since there was little to no wind. We made good time in the very smooth water and were surprised by the speed of the current flowing through the Flemming Channel. Two other sailboats were already anchored when we arrived at Soldier Cay. We were amazed at how clear the water was in the anchorage. We could clearly see the grass blades on the sand bottom 20 feet below us and could make out larger objects even in 30 feet of water. There was just enough breeze to keep us cool for the night.
 |
| Soldier Cay - A Low Lying Berry Island |
 |
| Sundown in the Berry Islands |
The Berry
Islands are seldom visited by cruisers with the exception of those laying over
for a night enroute to some other destination such as Nassau or the Grand
Bahama. Cruise ships use the northern
Berry Islands of Great and Little Stirrup as private islands for a day on the
beach for their guests. Sport fishermen
use the marinas at Great Harbour Cay and Chub Cay located in the south Berrys
as bases for deep sea fishing. The rest
of the islands are mostly uninhabited or visited by seasonal residents. In general, the islands are very small and
very low lying. The waters to the west
of the islands is very shallow in contrast to the eastern shores which have
deep water a short distance out into the Northwest Providence Channel. As a result, traveling in the Berrys with a
deep draft boat is very challenging and there are few anchorages which offer
good protection during storms. The Berry
Islands are beautiful but challenging cruising grounds. We really enjoyed our brief stay and wished we
had more time to learn more about these less often visited islands.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Leave A Comment...