Anchored behind Rolle Cay- the dark shade rolling over us

As I mentioned in the prior post, Elizabeth Harbour contains oodles of anchoring space; however our view is often from the more protected (read “out of the way”) spots but at least we move around unlike some boats whose anchor has become one with the sandy bottom.

Years ago, as in 20 or more, before the Chat ‘n Chill arrived on the part of Stocking Island now called Volleyball Beach, boats didn’t anchor in the harbor as we do now. They anchored in the more protected areas such as behind Crab Cay and the Red Shanks Cays. The Red Shanks Yacht and Tennis Club was the thing, with regular beach parties and the placing of conch shells up on the rocks.

–But ever since Chat ‘n Chill opened- I mean who doesn’t love a beach bar with T-shirts dangling from the rafters, warm beer and lousy food that you order yelling over someone’s shoulder because the TV is blaring music vids- oh and house music too. Trust me, it’s vacationers who keep the place going, not the cruisers.

When we arrived on Jan 24th the boat count was roughly 170; pretty empty for end of January. By mid- Feb the count had swelled to 230; less than average. By March 4 the count was 256; 40 less than the recent average. Hard to say why. Could be due to Regatta a week later, or not a single miserable cold front the entire month of February. Much of the time it seemed like boats were leaving for points south faster than ones arrived to take their place.

Anchored at Monument near Cort’s Place- looking toward Great Exuma and George Town

During all of February, not a single cold front got pushed down here so the Easterlies- no, not Easter Lilies!-  reigned supreme. That meant the wind would blow 10-20 most days out of the East with some days northeast- ish and some southeast- ish.  On one hand consistency is good and on the other, variety would be preferred. With no L&V winds that often precede a front, sometimes lingering for days, we had precious few days calm enough to anchor in the main anchorages, let alone dinghy anywhere we wished.

Looking at Stocking Island from Rolle Cay. We did this a lot!

Disappearing land as rain and dark clouds arrive- Stocking Island

Underway from Monument to Rolle Cay. Higgins Landing light-colored bldgs- (For Sale), Lumina Point taller one and brown ones to the right

First Exuma rainbow this winter

Bouncy trip down Elizabeth Harbour heading to Elizabeth Island (sits next to and south of Stocking Island)

Today, so calm, even a houseboat can do it

The anchoring hole behind Chat N Chill is called the Fruit Bowl; all the house boats (rented/owned by French Canadians) have names such as Mango and Papaya but you need to say them with the proper accent like- Pa Pie Ya, Man Go 🙂  On calm days they venture out; kin folk.

Moon rise over Crab Cay from the Litter Box (get it? cats go there) at Feb Point, George Town

The Litter Box isn’t as glamorously named as The Fruit Bowl, but then again, we didn’t name it.

Bahamian small boat racing off Feb Pt during John Bull racing weekend

The calm before the windy in the Litter Box- a few fruits tossed in for fun

Looking at Chat n Chill and the popular sign totem. Behind the trees are the beach volley ball courts

Honeymoon Beach- lies in between Monument Beach and VolleyBall Beach- are you lost yet?

Meanwhile, back in the Litter Box…

Feb Point- choppers always checking- they know when you are sleeping, they know when you are … oh they know too much!

Behind Crab Cay- ruins on the highest hill in center of photo

Crab Cay faces the southern part of Stocking Island and Elizabeth Island,with the harbour in between. At the southern end of Crab Cay are the teeny Red Shanks Cays that line the entrance into the Red Shanks anchorages which are basically behind (in the lee of) Crab Cay.  Very close behind Crab Cay is Great Exuma. When the wind blows out of the south or south-west boats often seek shelter in the more shallow, protected anchorages behind Crab Cay.

Elizabeth Harbour- here’s the lay of the land. Elizabeth Island is next in line to the south (right) of Stocking Island- only a tiny piece shows on this chart view

Basics: Big bucks ECO development on Crab Cay- now connected to Great Exuma by a lovely bridge that keeps boats like us from going there via the short route.  $800 Million project budget. Several corporations involved- to be built to the highest standards.

Phase 1- stopped 2009. A marina for yachts to 300 ft and a Harbor Village with Resort and Spa was in process.. and that’s as far as it went. The marina basin dredged and pilings stacked on shore ready to use.

Sir William Walker Ruins: very little info on-line, but here’s what we found. S/v Little Sister had told us about the ruins years ago, but we never walked up.

So in one easy trip ashore we toured ruins- old and recent. The developers of Crab Cay planned to destroy the Walker Ruins- no surprise there but the one good thing the Bahamian govt did was to demand that the ruins be preserved, and access allowed to anyone. We saw obvious signs of shoring up walls and windows and of clearing the land of the main house area, as well as the short rocky path from the development’s road to the ruins.

Walker was a Loyalist who came here in the late 1700s and built a stone house and botanical garden atop Crab Cay. The trees and exotic plants were started from cuttings brought back to this area by Her Majesty’s Ships that traveled throughout the Atlantic and Pacific- think HMS Bounty. The house was impressive, considering the effort involved in building a stone structure on an island off an island in the 1700s!  The site contained high stone walls, peaked entrance pillars surrounding a botanical garden, and circular platforms held cannons used to ward off……. Guess…. Pirates… of the Caribbean- right?

Abandoned Crab Cay Marina & Resort- guess they wanted visible proof of proper workmanship

Cement plant on Crab Cay. Put to good use for a short time…

Motor yachts anchored in dredged marina basin which opens to Elizabeth Harbour. Dredge pipe still in place

Kitchen room of Walker ruins on Crab Cay. Overlooks the backside of Crab (facing west- not the harbour)

Oven lined with bricks

Walker ruins- another structure across from the kitchen area

A separate dwelling from the main house- looking out toward Elizabeth Harbor

I think you might agree, after reading this and looking at the photos, that Sir William was far more successful than the ambitious developers of Crab Cay.