December in the Bahamas

Sun, sand, water and wildlife make for a brilliant December! Our average highs were 80 and average lows were 72 and very few rain showers. No, I didn’t miss the cold and snow one little bit but it did feel a little strange seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus visit Unforgettable via dinghy!

On our way from Chub Cay to our anchorage at West Bay, New Providence I didn’t have high hopes of catching a fish as it was much deeper water than we usually fish in and there were some good size swells. When we catch a fish we have to slow down the boat in order to pull it in. Our stabilizers shut off when going under 5 knots so it can be difficult to function on the aft deck while rocking and bouncing. Scott put out our 2 lines anyway and in about 10 minutes were heard the high pitched scream of the line being pulled and the excitement began! He started reeling it in and ten minutes later the other line took off! He pulled in a nice size female with a shark trying to catch her from behind. I worked and worked until I couldn’t lift my arms any more and Scott had to take. This one had been leaping and fighting like none other we had seen. Finally Scott gaffed him and plopped him onto the aft deck floor exhausted and so was I. Wow, this was one big boy! I admire the beauty of the fish that we catch and am mindful of their sacrifice as we dine on excellent grilled fish dinners!

We caught up with Privateer at Sampson Cay and played for 3 days. Our Sandy Cay adventure was awesome. Here were were joined by folks on a seaplane prior to low tide. After they left the waters receded and we could walk on the sand bar across to the next island. Lisa and I noticed that Greg and Scott talked non-stop about boats the entire 3 days we were together and never seemed to run out of things to say…typical captains!

Our granddaughters Juniper and Sylvia, ages 9 and 3 entertained us for 11 days. We thank their parents, Ryan and Lindsey, for schlepping all the way from Seattle to George Town to spend Christmas with us. It was an absolute delight having the girls on board and we loved sharing the wildlife experiences with them. They saw several sea stars, petted a sting ray, swam with the turtles, saw many types of fish and were on the SUPs (stand up paddleboards) amongst a pod of dolphins.

Although our fishing experiences were unsuccessful we did take a hike to the windward side of Stocking Island to find shells and see the big waves. There were rides on the towable and kayaks, and dinghy excursions to several beaches to build sand castles and swim. We had sand in every crack and the saloon carpet was full as well!

The girls left a nice spread for Santa and his reindeer and he rewarded us with awesome gifts. Of course we had Mahi Mahi for Christmas dinner!

These are the “island clouds” that form over Great Exuma in the afternoons.

Now we are enjoying yoga on the beach in the mornings, hikes, and meeting other boaters in this wonderful boating community. I think Scott has found his happy place!