The Berry Islands

Sunday we sailed from Lucaya to Bullocks Harbor in the Berry Islands. We left at first light, and watched the sun rise over the ocean.

It was a long day, about 60 miles, but the seas were fairly calm, and the wind was light. We motorsailed the whole way. We trolled for some fish, and we caught three barracuda, but we had to throw them back, because they aren't good for eating. Everyone was excited to take part in the fishing until it became time to take the barracuda off the hook. Dad was the only was brave enough to get his fingers so close to their sharp teeth. Our friends caught a small mahi-mahi, and shared a piece with us, and whetted our appetites to catch some more.
Since we got in to Bullocks Harbor so late, we only had time to take Tazzie to shore; we didn't really get to walk around. There was a really pretty sunset over the ocean.  

After a leisurely breakfast of Michael's breakfast burritos, we left Bullocks Harbor. From Bullocks Harbor to our next anchorage was only nine miles, so we motorsailed slowly while we did some more fishing. Well, maybe we should just say we fed some more barracuda. We're still looking for that elusive mahi-mahi (or tuna or wahoo or anything else we could put on the dinner table). We arrived at Slaughter Harbor around 1 pm and had plenty of time to swim and explore the beaches. It was a little chilly, so Erin, Mom and I put on our wetsuits, which was quite a fiasco. Michael and Mom went snorkeling, and she got to try out her new underwater camera. Slaughter Harbor is bordered by an island that belongs to a cruise line. They renamed it Cocoa Cay, for obvious reasons. That night, us kids went over to Ruahk for 'gennie time' and enjoyed watching a movie with them. Gennie time is the one hour each evening when they turn on their generator, so the kids are allowed to plug in laptops and play games and watch movies. During that time, the adults visited on our boat.
The next day we had about a 20 miles trip, which we lengthened to 25, so that we could stay in deep water and do some more fishing (feeding more barracuda). Even though we aren't catching edible fish, it's still a lot of fun. The first person who hears the whiz of the line paying out of the rod, yells "Fish on!" Dad and Michael run for the rod, Mom grabs the helm and put the boat in neutral, Erin grabs Tazzie, who wants to be friends with everything we catch, and I grab the bottle of whiskey, the pliers, the gloves, and the camera. We learned that barracuda with a few drops of whiskey in them, don't seem to snap at Dad's fingers quite so rigorously.

Michael casting out the fishing line with the ballyhoo bait.

When we ran out of bait, we anchored in Little Harbor, and set the anchor well. Another front is coming through and we'll have a lot of wind for a few days. Michael, Erin and Mom went to shore to enjoy the beach. It was our warmest day so far, and we were all ready for a swim.  Today the front came through and it's been windy all day. Mom and Dad went to explore a  place called Flo's in a nearby cove. It's a restaurant, but you have to call early in the day to tell them what you would like to order. They serve conch, fish, lobster and burgers. Apparently, the man who runs the restaurant is the only person on the whole island, and he cooks meals for passing cruisers. His property is filled with piles of beautiful harvested queen conch shells. We're running low on produce, and the man at Flo's was willing to sell us some tomatoes. We bought two for a dollar a piece.
The wind isn't going to let up for several days, so we'll be in the Berrys for a few more days. We might explore some different anchorages, but we're not making the trip to Nassau till the weather calms down.