After nearly a year and many postponements, we finally made our Adventure Learning trip to the Bahamas in January. And what a trip it was!
We had 13 people on two 45 foot catamarans with all the conveniences – air conditioning, generator and inverter, water maker, and lots of space. The waters were so clear, and we got to see lots of sea life including myriads of fish, stingrays, and nurse sharks.
Navigating the Exuma Bank is difficult due to the shallow waters and the many reefs and coral heads. When you find depths of 15 feet or more you feel like you have all the room in the world. On the east side of the Exuma chain (the Exuma Sound) the water is thousands of feet deep.
The water in January was about 72 degrees, a bit chilly for some, but we had no shortage of volunteers to go overboard for our Man Overboard at sea exercises. We did lots of navigation and piloting, maneuvering under power, planning for tides and currents, and even anchoring and weighing anchor under sail. Just another amazing Adventure Learning Course in paradise!
Fan Sea – our home for 8 days
Planning the next day’s passage
Relaxing in the salon
Approaching Warderick Wells Cay
Taking some spray as we head into the swell
Uh oh! Swimming pigs at Big Major’s Spot
Who’s the dinghy captain here?
Crashed drug plane at Norman’s Cay
Sharp eyes on the lookout for coral heads
Incredible snorkeling all over the Exumas
Approaching Norman’s Cay
Stingray by the downed drug plane at Norman’s Cay
One of the many (mostly harmless) Nurse sharks we saw