Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Port Antonio, Jamaica

After 395 nautical miles and 43 hours at sea, we arrived at Port Antonio, Jamaica, at 9:30 am where a beautiful paradise of palm trees, sand beaches, clear blue waters, the Blue Mountains in the background and colorful buildings greeted us. We had hoped to stay at the Errol Flynn Marina; however, the marina was full of large, beautiful sailboats that were taking part in a year-long “Round the World” race. Port Antonio was the port for the sixth leg of the race where the sailors were resting up and enjoying the Jamaican sun before the seventh and final leg to New York. No worries, Mon - we simply dropped the anchor right outside the marina where we had a great view of the harbor.

Errol Flynn used to own the island across the harbor from where we were anchored and had a home there; in fact, his widow still lives in Port Antonio! The town is home to about 10,000 residents and is a very busy little village. The jobs are scarce so it seemed that everyone was out hustling in any way they could to try to make a dollar. As soon as we were anchored, we were approached by some of the local entrepreneurs who motored or paddled over to sell their services or their wares.

We could not leave the boat until we were cleared in by the official from the Department of Health and Agriculture. It wasn’t long before he arrived by boat to check our paperwork, look through a few cupboards and peek inside the refrigerators. When he gave us the OK, we loaded up in our dinghies and headed to the marina office where we cleared Customs. The Immigration people weren’t around, so we were told we had to see them tomorrow.


After Customs, we walked over to one of the restaurants in the marina and enjoyed a wonderful Jamaican “salad” as we sat next to the beach and watched a few of the locals swimming and playing. The “salad” was actually seasoned and grilled chicken garnished with a few curly carrots – not what we expected, but good, all the same.

Following lunch, we went back to the boat and Gale and Maureen changed into their swimsuits and dinghied back to the beach for a little dip before supper. While at the beach, the sky clouded up and we received a small rain shower. Instead of seeking shelter, we stayed in the water and enjoyed the warm rain and respite from the sun.

Tues & Wed, May 18-19, 2010 - Crossing from Bahamas to Jamaica

The reason for stopping in Clarence Town was to officially clear out of the Bahamas as we had been instructed to do by someone at the marina we were headed for in Jamaica. As it turned out, the Bahamian officials told us it was an unnecessary step but accommodated our request, just in case. We waited most of the day for the customs guy to arrive and in the meantime we walked around town, bought some fresh fruit and had breakfast at one of the marinas.

At 2:30 pm, we untied from the dock and began our long journey to Jamaica. The three captains had agreed to shifts of 3 hours on and 6 hours off. Captain Jim took the first shift, Gale went on at 6 pm and Mark took the 9 pm rotation. The passage was rather rough averaging 4 to 5 foot seas with occasional waves of 6 to 7 to 8 feet high. There was a period of a few hours on Wednesday afternoon and evening when the seas were nearly calm; however, later in the evening, they churned up again.

Monday, May 17, 2010 - Clarence Town, Long Island, Exumas

The anchor was pulled up at 6 am and we were on our way to Clarence Town where we could clear out of customs and be ready for the passage to Jamaica. Mark and Gale put out a couple of lines to troll behind the boat and try to catch some big fish. About mid morning we snagged a large mahi mahi but just as they were bringing it into the boat it jumped up, shook the hook out of its mouth and swam away. That was the last bite of the day.

The passage was long and lumpy. We traveled 106 nautical miles in 3-1/2 to 4 foot seas with occasional waves topping 5 to 6 feet. At 4:50 pm, we crossed the Tropic of Cancer (23-1/2° north latitude) and officially entered the tropics. Finally, at 8 pm, we tied up to the city dock at Clarence Town in the dark.

Sunday, May 16, 2010 - Staniel Cay, Exumas

Today was declared a “play day” and by 10 am we had both dinghys loaded down with our snorkeling gear, coolers, beach towels, sunscreen, books and snacks. We brought the dogs along to stay with Diane and Maureen on the beach while the men motored over to another island to try their hand with the new spearfishing gear they had purchased in Nassau. The girls had the beach to themselves and enjoyed relaxing in the beach chairs with their “toes in the water, ass in the sand.”


Around 1 pm, the guys were back at the beach where they had left Diane and Maureen earlier in the day. We had a little beach picnic and then gathered everything up before we headed back to Adventure where the dogs were dropped off and the coolers replenished. We were on our way again – this time all five of us back to the spot where the men had been all morning. Diane and Maureen enjoyed the small, secluded beach while the guys did some more fishing and snorkeling.

While fishing, Gale speared four or five small fish and a small stingray. Jim and Mark didn’t have quite the catch as Gale did, but they all enjoyed the practice. They agreed that the snorkeling around this small island was even better than what we had seen at Thunderball Cave on Friday.

For dinner, Gale prepared the last of the mahi mahi while Diane put some rice and some broccoli on the stove. After dinner, we were all pretty worn out from being in the sun over seven hours so we retired to our respective staterooms to get the rest we needed. The plan was to pull out of our anchorage at daybreak tomorrow.

Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Staniel Cay, Exumas

This was an “internet day.” We took four laptops and two dinghys to shore and bought some wireless time at the marina. It doesn’t get much better when you can sit outside the restaurant on the deck, sipping on cool drinks, visiting with people that stop by the bar and getting your business done online. Valentino, a veterinary surgeon raised in Jamaica, was at the next table and he shared some great information with us about places to visit and things to do in Jamaica. We also met “Wireless Steve” who does all of the communication setup work at Johnny Depp’s island home.

There were a couple of rain showers during the day which cooled things off for awhile. Mark, Diane and Jim went back to the boat about 2 pm while Gale and Maureen stayed a bit longer to get some blog posting done. When they returned to the boat about 4 pm, they loaded up the two Lucys and took them to the beach for a short run.

Friday, May 14, 2010 – Staniel Cay, Exumas

Mark, Diane and Jim headed into shore to pick up the dive bottles and the bread we had ordered as well as spend some time using the wireless signal. Gale and Maureen remained behind so Gale could get his workout done. At 1:30 pm, Maureen and Gale headed out in the small dinghy to find Thunderball Cave as the tide was beginning to go out. As we motored away from Adventure we met up with the rest of the crew. They said they were going to grab their snorkeling gear and meet us back at the cave.


What a beautiful, magical snorkeling experience! The cave was delightful with the overhead dome and the shafts of light shining down through the holes in the ceiling and into the water. The underwater life was the most diverse, abundant and prettiest we had seen. Several boats came and went as we enjoyed our time there. We had fun visiting with people from around the globe.

Back aboard
Adventure at 4 pm, we gathered up the dogs and made our way to Sampson Cay Marina to find the most beautiful beach yet.

The dogs ran for what seemed like forever without hearing ‘No!’ or ‘Come Back!’ or ‘Stay!’ We found several intact sand dollars, unusual shells and a few live crabs. We had thought we would eat at the Sampson Cay Club but the dinner they were serving was $35 per person for BBQ chicken and ribs which none of us wanted to pay that much per plate. We opted to drop the dogs off at the boat and eat at the Staniel Cay Marina where Gale and Maureen shared a wonderful sirloin steak sandwich. Back on the boat, we watched the “The Best of Johnny Carson” which was a hoot!!

Thursday, May 13, 2010 – Staniel Cay, Exumas

Jim and Mark fetched the dinghy from the park dock early this morning and we were ready to pull up the anchor and head out at 8 am. After two hours and about 20 miles over the water, we dropped the anchor west of Big Majors Spot with several other boats. Staniel Cay was an easy dinghy ride away where the snorkeling and diving are spectacular, especially with Thunderball Cave just around the corner; the beach is clean, white and wide; and, of course, there are the pigs! Staniel Cay is a good sized community with a couple of small markets, a bread maker, artisans selling their wares, a marina, a restaurant, a church and even an airport.

The guys were able to repair the dinghy’s loose connection so we lowered both dinghys into the water and set out for shore. Our first stop was to see the pigs and they turned out to be much larger than we had anticipated. When they saw us approaching, two spotted pigs and two white pigs ventured out of the brush, walked across the beach and swam out to us looking for handouts. We had brought some bread and were able to get a few good photos. Jim pointed out Thunderball Cave on our way to shore which is where portions of the James Bond movie, Thunderball, were filmed in 1964. Thunderball Cave has two entrances – one on the western side and one on the east. Once inside, there is an overhead dome that we hope to explore tomorrow at slack tide.

When we tied up to the dinghy dock, we could see several nurse sharks and a few stingrays cruising the fish cleaning area. We were very glad we didn’t bring the dogs with us – if the pigs weren’t enough to make them crazy, the rays and sharks would have!! We walked up to the dive shop to drop off Mark’s two scuba tanks and ask to have them filled. The shop was closed at the moment since the crew was out


on a dive, but we called them on the VHF radio and were told that they would be in soon. We checked out the restaurant/bar and its gift shop and then took a walk into town to find the markets and see what we could see. We found the “pink store” and the “blue store” where some basic grocery items were on offer. The “yellow store” was a bread store and we ordered a few loaves that would be ready for us in the morning. We took a walk through a small cemetery, found the Baptist Church and walked through the residential area.

Late in the afternoon, we headed back to the boat and picked up the dogs for a run on the beach. Mark grilled up some of the mahi mahi for dinner using his special sauce which added a real taste treat.