We spend four months cruising The Bahamas last winter (2022) and Cat Island was one of our favorites! Cat runs north/south and is 50 miles long and only a mile or so wide. On the west side is the protected Exuma Sound and on the east side, the big blue Atlantic Ocean. As one of the "out islands," Cat is less populated and has a wonderful vibe. The locals are genuine, super friendly and proud of their island home.
From George Town, Great Exuma, we sailed 40 miles across the Exuma Sound and anchored at the settlement of Old Bight. The next morning, we swam to shore and walked the breath-taking beach. Old Bight is home to Rollezz Resort where Evonne and Karl have created a little slice of beach resort heaven with colorful accomodations and excellent meals. We met Evonne and Karl last winter when they hosted a cruisers potluck and bonfire for about 20 sailboats anchored in front of their resort. This time, we were the only boat in the anchorage. We caught up with Evonne and made plans to join them for dinner.
That evening, we paddled our SUPs to shore for dinner at Rollezz. The dining room is decorated in vibrant island colors, comfortable pillows and beautiful local art. The ambiance is “pinch me” perfect. We had fun chatting with the only other dinner guests, two interesting German women on holiday. We enjoyed a wonderful meal of local fish, rice, fresh salad from their garden and yummy desert. After dinner, Evonne joined us and shared stories of growing up in the Bahamas, going to college in Canada and eventually moving to Cat island where Karl was raised. She and Karl met when they were both on the Bahamian National volleyball team. How cool is that!
The next day, we sailed a few miles north to the settlement of New Bight. We were excited to tackle some needed chores ashore with laundry topping the list. We held out doing it in George Town because New Bight has the nicest laundromat in the Bahamas. When you live aboard without a washing machine, you gain an appreciation for clean laundromats with functioning machines. On our visit to New Bight last winter, Jasmine and her husband had just opened the laundromat in a brand new building about a mile from the anchorage.
We took the dinghy to shore and walked about 10 steps down the road when a woman stopped to offer us a ride. She said, “Get in, it's too hot to walk!” Mrs. Russell was right - it was hot, especially carrying our big waterproof backpacks full of laundry. Ends up Mrs. Russel is Jasmine’s mom and was going to the laundromat for a visit. How perfect. Jasmine is as beautiful as her name and remembered us from last year. When our laundry was done, Mrs. Russell offered us a ride to the grocery store. We accepted and restocked on produce. We walked back to the laundromat to pick up our clothes and my phone. I had left my phone with Jasmine to complete a software update, using her wifi. One of the many reasons we love Cat island - the warm trustworthy people.
A visit to New Bight isn’t complete with a stop at Olive’s Bakery. The bright green house welcomes you in and the aroma makes you want to buy one of everything. Olive is a gregarious woman who makes delicious bread, sweets and jams. Coconut bread is a Bahamian specialty and oh so good!
The next day was windy and squally so it turned into project day on Freya. Keeping Freya and her many systems maintained means there is always a to-do list. Luckily my captain is a great problem solver and not much stumps him. Todd is Freya's resident mechanic, plumber, electrician...the list goes on. We couldn't live on Freya in these remote places without him. There is no one to call...self-sufficiency is a must.
The next day, we woke up to a beautiful morning and decided to sail up to Fernandez Bay. Todd hoisted the anchor and raised the sail. Minutes later we were joined by a family of dolphins who escorted us out of the harbor. They played with Freya's bow for at least 30 minutes. What a treat!
We sailed into Fernandez Bay and again were the only boat in the harbor. Our November arrival in The Bahamas was early, as most cruisers arrive in January or February. We snorkeled a rocky point right from Freya and saw cool coral and reef fish. So great to snorkel again! Fernandez also has a cool mangrove creek so we paddled up the creek to a blue hole. The water depth throughout the creek is 1-3 feet and then there is a small area of dark blue water…so cool! We tied up our boards to the mangroves and snorkeled the hole. We saw a small nurse shark and a big turtle. I dove down 20-30 feet but couldn’t see the bottom. I’m guessing it was a couple hundred feet deep. Crazy! We paddled out the other end of the creek and back along the rocky coastline. The rocks, water color, cays ahead of us - just gorgeous!
Overnight the wind kicked up out of the SE which caused the swells to come into the anchorage. We had a “rolly” night and didn’t get much sleep. We were bummed to leave Fernandez and Cat island so soon but rolling around at anchor is no fun. We hoped to sail to Conception island or Long island but once we rounded the southern point of Cat island, the wind was too much on the nose. Luckily the wind direction was perfect for a nice long sail back to George Town. Freya logged 55 nautical miles to George Town and Freya was anchored at Sand Dollar before dusk. Another lovely visit to Cat island in the books! Go Freya!
Such fun. I would have loved a winter cruising that area but life got in the way. Sail on. Ken K