Invasion of the Iguanas

We set sail from Nassau early in the morning knowing we had a 20 mile sail ahead of  us, over the Yellow Banks.  This bank is littered with coral heads, which meant we needed to maintain a lookout the entire time.  The sail was great and we made Allens Cay by 4:00 pm, which was a little late as the small anchorage already had a number of boats there.  We were able to squeeze in a spot, anchor up and take a rest from the day of sailing.

"Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!"

 "Where's Jim?"

 "I see tourists!"

"Dude, don't interrupt a man on his throne!"

 "You told me there would be food here!"

The islands are covered with indigenous and endangered Bahamian iguanas.  These are actually the most endangered iguanas in the world.  We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise and decided to go exploring with our friends, David and Pat.  The odd thing is the guide books state the iguanas exist on Allens Cay and yet there are no iguanas on Allens Cay, but rather they all live on Leaf Cay (just a little trivia information).  This turned out to be a beautiful set of islands that gave us our first taste of true turquoise water. It is a place where you can sit and relax and get into the cruising mode.

 Coffee, a good book and a beautiful view

 

"Honey, look what I found!"

Another Beautiful Secluded Beach

Our New Car Parked in Front of our New House

 

The view seems to always get better

We decided to do some snorkeling along one of the island's edges and discovered a truck chassis submerged in about ten feet of water.  This ended up being a great snorkeling spot as it created an artificial reef.  This was our first chance to see some tropical fish and an amazing display of coral color.

On our last night at Allens Cay, a cold front came through and blew some 25 knots.  Being that this is a protected area, there were a great number of boats that made anchor there; however, at about 11:00 pm we heard the VHF go crazy about one of the boats dragging anchor.  This sent mayhem throughout the anchorage.  All foredeck lights were on trying to provide the most visibility for this boat in distress.  A trawler was frantically trying to reset anchor, but no one could let them know where was best for them to anchor as they would not respond to VHF calls.  This goes as a testament to always monitor your VHF radio.  After several attempts, the trawler was able to set anchor amongst the many yachts.  By 6:00 am, he was on his way.  We can understand his frustration in his hours of combating the wind.   As  people always think this is a piece of cake, there are moments of sheer terror when you are battling mother nature.  If she sees a weakness, she will take advantage of it.