Staniel Cay/Big Majors

Our arrival at Staniel Cay Yacht Marina met us with quite a docking challenge of parallel parking between two closely positioned sailboats.  Jim pulled a really cool maneuver to get us to the dock, followed by our friends on s/v Sanctuary being ready to grab the dock lines.  Then, it was time for a few drinks with the locals.  Although hailed as a yacht club, it is not what we, in the states, would call a yacht club.  There was room for no more than 6 boats (3 of which turned out to be mega yachts) along with a fuel dock.  The bar was quaint with good eats and, after a few Kalik’s, we decided to explore the town.

Staniel Cay Marina Dinghy Dock

 Marina Restaurant & Bar

 Six Friends enjoying Happy Hour

We understood we would be able to provision in town and that laundry facilities were available.  We had also heard it was the place to get some great Bahamian bread.  Well, at least the bread part panned out.  The cinnamon and coconut breads were outstanding!  Upon exploring the local grocery store, we found we would have to wait 3 days for the mail boat, which also carries groceries to the island, to arrive.  The grocery store is actually the back portion of someone’s home and the local bakery is in the kitchen of the “little yellow house on the hill.”  This all made for some interesting moments.  Upon our arrival at the bakery, the lady’s children were all seated at the kitchen table busy doing their homework.  The laundry facilities did not pan out as the charge was $10 per load to wash and dry.  The dryer was a clothes line so getting your laundry returned depended on how many days it took them to dry on the line.  But, I do love the smell of clothes dried in the fresh air.

We slept with a large school of sharks under the boat, but as they were nurse sharks, there was no need for concern.  The underwater lighting provided a great view of our visitors.

Nurse Shark under our Boat

A closer look

Day two, we opted to forgo the high end dock fees and moved to the anchorage located at Big Majors, which provided some of the best anchoring we have experienced so far in the Bahamas and was located just off the beach where the swimming pigs live.

Sightseeing Tour coming to feed the Swimming Pigs

Pigs and Roosters...Oh My! 

Not a Swimming Pig, but he was there looking for a handout too

Pat and David, watch out for hitchhikers!!!

Three Little Pigs (okay, maybe not so little)

We checked out the swimming pigs, but had to be careful as they wanted to join us in the dinghy.  Having a soft sided dinghy, we waited further back and let other overly eager spectators have the front row opportunity.   After watching the pigs for a few minutes, we made our way to Thunderball Grotto for some snorkeling adventure.  Adventure it was!  So grand, we grabbed the GoPro and made another skin dive the next day.  Snorkeling the Grotto was fabulous and snorkeling the backside of the Grotto was even better.  An unforgettable experience!  The Grotto remains a great tourist attraction as the James Bond movies, "Thunderball" and "Never Say Never Again," were filmed there.  As few venture to the backside of the Grotto, the undisturbed and abundant coral and sea life made for an incredible dive for those adventurous enough to take the dive through the swim through.  And, we are glad we did!

It's a seal!  No, it's Sherry surfacing from a swim through

Swimming with the Fishes

If we hadn't had enough excitement, we went to a bonfire on the beach with approximately 40-50 other boaters.  The night was complete with tiki torches, rum punch, wine, a blazing fire and lots of fun hanging out with people who share our love of sailing.

Not expecting to see our friends, Max and Tracey on m/v SandiBeach, until we reached Georgetown, we were pleasantly surprised when they unexpectedly returned to Big Major one evening.  This was followed by a few more fun nights of dinners and drinks with them and our friends from s/v Sanctuary, David and Pat aboard the beautiful m/v SandiBeach.  We were then off to Black Point Settlement, as Max and Tracey had just returned from there and highly recommended it as our next “don’t miss” anchorage.

Tracey and Max Arrive

 These two are always smiling, let the fun begin!