STANIEL CAY - PIG BEACH

After two nights anchored off Sampsons, we left for the short one hour passage to Staniels Cay. Halfway there we received a message over channel 16. “Fortnight, is that you off our port side?” Sure enough, it was “Salty Goose” heading in the same direction! We followed them in and dropped a hook just off Big Majors—part of the Staniel Cay complex of islands. Soon thirty knots of wind were blowing in from the NE and although we were comfortable in our anchorage, it was impossible to launch the dinghy without getting completely soaked. After a blustery night everyone left to seek shelter the next morning after learning that even stronger winds clocking to the west were expected to arrive within the next two days. Even the boats tied up at Staniel Cay Marina were ordered out by the owner as the choppy swells that accompany westerlies here causes boats in slips to bash up against the docks damaging both marina and vessels. And so we joined a small convoy of sailboats and headed back to Sampsons—this time tying up at a slip in the beautiful marina where we spent another two wonderful days.

Monday morning all was calm and so, after enjoying a delicious lobster lunch at Sampsons, we headed off with Salty Goose to Big Majors once again, stopping this time just off “pig beach”. This stretch of sand derives its name from the little colony of “wild” pigs that inhabit the island. As soon as we were safely anchored, we set off in our dinghy eager to check this out. We launched the boat and headed towards the beach but were distracted by a couple frantically waving to us from their dinghy and desperately trying to make contact. So we altered course and headed in their direction. Once there we realized that they had run out of gas and were slowly drifting away. After throwing us a line, we tied them on to our boat and towed them in to the beach. I kept thinking that they looked vaguely familiar but it was only when we were safely ashore that we recognized them as Vic and Marilyn from “Whisper”—two fun-loving Canadians from Newfoundland who we had met back at Key Biscayne in December. But there was no time for talk. The pigs had seen us coming and within minutes of beaching our dinghies, three sows and a big black boar with floppy ears trotted over in search of food.

We had brought a plastic bag full of bread with us, but in the excitement of rescuing Whisper, had foolishly left it behind in the dinghy. And the pigs could smell it. As Vince climbed back into the boat to retrieve the bread the big brown boar was right on his heels, and I watched in amazement as he waded out into the water, stood on his hind legs and, throwing his front legs and hooves over the side of our dinghy actually attempted to hoist himself in! Vince began beating him off as I frantically tried to lure him away with the bread. This worked, but the downside was that now he was charging towards me! I dropped the bread and ran, while he greadily gobbled it up. The three pink sows were oblivious to this drama and content simply to wallow in the sand hoping to have their ears and bellies scratched. When other dinghies arrived, thankfully diverting attention from US, we made sure that Whisper was OK and then quietly slipped away, motoring on toward the yacht club at Staniel Cay.

What a funky place THIS is! More of a “dive” than a marina, but definitely the centre for all things “fun” on the island. The colourful restaurant/bar was crowded with sailors knocking back drinks and schmoozing with friends. Island music blared from a stereo and good times were had by all. We ran into Vivien and Chris from “Second Chance” here and caught a glimpse of Cathy—the retired FBI agent from Highbourne, holed up with her laptop at a corner table, still working on the last chapter of “Flamingo Eyes”, the detective novel that she’s writing. After catching up on everyone’s news we headed out to explore the village which was not much bigger than downtown Troy.

A jumble of brightly painted stucco houses clustered together along the slope of a small hill makes up the main part of “town.” There was a twisting concrete sidewalk winding its way through this conglomeration of dwellings within which one could find a post office of sorts and two grocery stores. The “post office” was simply an old woman sitting at a rickety table behind a green house where she was alternately shelling peas and eating from a bowl of grits. Two island dogs lying at her feet raised their sleepy heads and sniffed in our direction and we approached and asked where we could leave our mail. “Yes ‘m,” she said. “I the post office. I take it fo’ you.” It will be interesting to see if the cards we mailed to Lilly and Matthew ever reach their Michigan destination! Around the corner from the post office we discovered the “pink house” and “blue house” where we found a small selection of groceries and a large selection of booze. We passed on both. The weekly “mail boat” supposedly laden with fresh produce is due to arrive tomorrow. We’ll purchase supplies then. The mail boat also acts as an island ferry service and it’s possible to hitch a ride from Staniel Cay back to Nassau—food and berth included—for a mere $40. There is also daily air service to Fort Lauderdale aboard a small twin engine aircraft for $240. Good to know.