Allen's Cay to Norman's Cay

Our dinghy on the beach at Normans Cay - East shore of the island

We sailed to Norman's Cay from Allen's Cay where we caught up with Odysseus.  Carol and Paul sail a beautiful gray Valiant 40.  They encouraged us to consider anchoring on the beach on the west side of the Cay.  We were able to pick our way through the route marked on our charts.  The depths were about 9 feet  and a little less but we were able to pick our way around the coral heads to anchor off the beach.  The water color was spectacular.  We had met Carol and Paul in Bimini before our long sail to Nassau.  She was excited to see we were from Glen Cove since both she and Paul grew up in nearby Glen Head.  We had a very enjoyable little get-together with them and another couple on the beach at Norman's.  

The next day I was able to get ashore for a run.  I loved the sign for McDuff's restaurant and for the Norman's Cay Airport.  (Pictures to follow when we get adequate internet!)  Airport might be a little bit of an exaggeration - the airport is just a runway bought by a big name drug smuggler in the 70's.  Carlos Lehder, the dealer, was caught by 260 Bahamian police officers with American help but somehow after $250,000 changed hands he was let go.  In 1987 he was extradited from Medellin, Columbia and ultimately sentenced to life without parole plus 135 years.  That extra 135 years must have really hurt!

We did dinghy into the beach to sample McDuff's famous hamburgers - and Maryanne tried the grilled cheese.  The food was great and the McDuff's was something special - out of a 1940's movie in the Bahamas.

We motored a few miles inside Norman's Cay to prepare for a cold front passage that turned out to be much milder than originally forecast.  Maryanne got her first taste of snorkeling off the boat and loved it.  We also took a little ride to a nearby small - one palm tree island.  I managed to destroy my polar pacer watch by wearing it when I dove down to untangle my anchor chain.  The anchor had to be pulled up and untangled anyway so the dive was completely wasted!  

We had a great time with the crews from Orion, Wind Dancer, and Emerald Sea in a renaming ceremony aboard Wind Dancer.  We first became aware of this group after nightfall on the Bahama Banks when we heard their lively repartee on the VHF.  They seemed to be having a great time and we had fun with them when we finally met in person at the Nassau Harbor Club Marina. 

Next stop:  Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park