TEXAS RANGER: George Town to Staniel Cay to Norman’s Cay Exumas to Davis Harbour, Eleuthera May 11

We left George Town and traveled up the Exuma Sound in several thousand feet of water, fishing along the way and entering Dotham Cut at Black Point Settlement before proceeding up the Exuma Bank to anchor behind Big Majors Spot at Staniel Cay. Friends and fellow-Texans on K-K 58 Casablanca and their daughter and son-in-law were there, and we had a good visit. They formerly owned K-K 44 Santa Clara. We cleaned (and ate some of) the mahi-mahi pictured below, and then sent the remains to the live vacuum cleaner who had been circling below awaiting the scraps! The pigs and roosters were still at the beach, and their cacophony awoke us before 0600.

The next morning we traveled north on the Exuma Bank to stop at Norman’s Cay, a spot we had deferred on our way south with the intention of visiting it while returning. It offers a number of islands, beaches, and places to snorkel—including a mostly-submerged C-46 airplane that crashed with its load of drugs a number of years ago. Beach fans, please note that on one small island shown, all you need is a cooler! The shade and a bench upon which to sit are already present! The captions are with apologies to Milton and Strait...

The following morning at slack tide we snuck out the small Norman’s Cay Cut into Exuma Sound, left the Exuma Islands, and crossed over to the island of Eleuthera. We are probably fewer than 100 miles from where Cristobal Colon landed in the New World (San Salvador Island) in 1492, but this is likely as close as we will travel to that historic spot. I’m not sure there is much more there today than when he arrived over 500 years ago. We are actually in a marina for the first time in three weeks! With actual Wi-Fi and electricity! Tomorrow I will actually rinse the boat with fresh water, also for the first time in 3 weeks...