We love Staniel Cay!

Staniel Cay is one of those places that you fall in love with in the Exumas. What fun times we have here, with our cruising friends, new found cruising friends, locals from past years, and new friendships with some of the locals we met this year. We love this place!
I'm not going to write about all the fun we have had these last few days since my last blog. I will let the pictures and comments do that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN!!! (Wish you and Jack were here!)

September Song (love this place) out
Bob



It's always fun to get together with cruising friends at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. It's one of those places that just give you that feel of the Islands, and a great place to meet new and interesting people, with lots of cruising stories to tell. As the song says, "we love this bar".

Lots of our cruising history here at the Yacht Club. The burgees hanging from the ceiling remind us of past years. This DeFever burgee was hung here, with twenty some of our cruising friends names and boat names on it four years ago. What a party that was!

Life's2Short's burgee from the first trip we made to the Islands. We followed them to the Islands for our first trip, and it was so great to have a guide that first year, and to share the start of our love affair with the Islands.

Serendipity's  (Jay and Nancy) burgee, from their 2007 trip.

Our September Song burgee. Tilt head to left.

Sunset, with some cruising friends at Pirates cove beach.

Another beautiful, fun night on the beach.

Yes, the pigs are still here on Pig Beach, to take care of all our scrap food. How lucky are these pigs, to live in the Islands on a beach, with all the cruisers feeding them yummy stuff. But they still can't fly!

Most days we make a trip to the beach with Cassie and Godiva. They love the Islands and their play time at the beach. This is one of their favorite ("Dog gone good beach Mom and Dad") beaches, where they can run forever and play.

Can't beat the view!

 

Mom, in the water, for a little play time with her girls. We love our family time at the beach.

We (16 of us) went in to the Yacht Club for dinner Wednesday night. Some of our beautiful Bahama Bums, (one of the few times we get dress up in the Islands) at happy hour before dinner.

A rose between two thorns!

 

What a fun night! And they do such a great job here. Now, if we can just find our way back to our boats in the anchorage. When the sun goes down in the Islands, with no moon, it gets real dark, but the stars are gorgeous.

A little place on the water here at Staniel, called Taste and Sea, serves up some delicious food, but, like most places in the Islands, they are on "Island time Mon". That's OK with us, because we are on Island time too.

Not many vehicles here, so when the locals need a ride, they just hop on.

Lunch on the front porch, overlooking the beautiful blue water, at Taste and Sea.

 

Our view from Taste and Sea, at no extra charge.

Joan, our favorite bartender here at the Yacht Club, got married last year, and moved to Andros. Everyone misses her, but, we have a new face behind the bar. Shantira has taken Joan's position. She's a great gal, and loves to show everyone a picture of her beautiful two year old. 

Nice hat Steve!

 

Steve, taking advantage of the Wi-Fi at the Yacht Club. Our Island Time Wi-Fi that we installed while in Marathon has been great. We can now get a connection on the boat. It's so nice to be able to sit in the pilot house in the morning, get weather reports daily, check and send e-mails, blog, and check in on Facebook.

Staniel Cay

We left the Land and Sea Park and headed to Staniel Cay, another favorite stop. Protected anchorage, beaches, snorkeling, the Yacht Club, swimming pigs, beach bonfires, Pipe Creek, Rachel's bubble bath, and, well, what's not to love about Staniel Cay and Big Major anchorage.
The weather has been great most of our time in the Islands so far, but the winds have picked up the last few  days, and are supposed to die down later today. The great thing about Big Major anchorage is that the beaches are protected from the wind.
We will be here until the 20th, when our adopted children, Jay and Nancy's son and daughter-in-law, Jesse, and Brittany, arrive, then we will all put the pointy ends South, and play our way farther down the Exumas Island chain.

September Song (Paradise "Mon") out
Bob


Blue water. Pictures can't do justice  to the color of the water here. 

Cruising friends, William and Judy's boat, at sunset from the beach.

Beach bonfire. What a great way to end another beautiful, fun day in the Islands.

We had a total of twelve in our salon for movie night. The movie was Captain Ron. What a hoot!

Hard to see, but there are six tenders (family cars) tied to September Song.

Jay, showing us the proper way to eat one of Stephanie's Fireball jello shots at the after movie party on the fly bridge. 

Godiva, playing with her new little friends.

He is so cute. Mom, Dad, and the two boys are cruisers for three months on their sailboat, the Southern Cross. They are working on making it a full time thing. Good luck!

Queen Nancy of the Islands.

Life's a beach. Cassie and Godiva, loving the Islands with Mom.

Horse shoes on the beach.

A little Captain Nancy?

Our September Song burgee that we hung here at the Yacht Club four years ago.

One of the first things we do, when we get to Staniel Cay, is to go to the yacht club, and order cracked conch. It is soooo good!

Empty plate. Happy cruisers!

Our group, at the bar, at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. 

When you need bread, you don't go to a grocery store, like in the States, you go to the bread lady's house for fresh, home made.

Rhonda, AKA the bread lady.

Vary little to choose from in the grocery store. If you don't get there soon after the supply boat comes in, you don't get it.

Stephanie's great find, made by one of the locals.