REPORTS FROM THE RIP: Kidnapped piglets and much warmer weather

Wahoo

We Departed last Sunday morning From St Pete and Ran to Marathon the first day of our trip. The day was uneventful. We got some well needed rest that night, but woke up the next morning to find that the main cabin air conditioner was down. I made some calls and found a guy in Miami that could come figure it out. We pulled into Miami at 11 am and the A/C guy found that a Start Capacitor and the Triac had failed on the A/C. No matter how much maintenance you do there always seems to be something breaking on one of these rigs.
My old mate Tyler is trying to get his center console to San Salvador. We offered to help by towing him there. After fixing the A/C we made the crossing to Bimini Monday afternoon. We then ran from Bimini to Highborn in the Exumas. We did a short pitstop in Nassau to top off on Fuel. After leaving Nassau, We only had 28 miles to go to get to Highbourn in the Exumas. So we made the obligatory stop at the Yellow bank and got some lobsters for dinner.
Highbourn Cay Marina is at the northern end of the Exuma chain of islands. It has really turned into a top notch marina. They pride themselves in the fact that the Marina and the grounds around it are kept impeccably clean. The waters in the Exuma island chain boast some of the clearest waters one will find in a marina anywhere.
We had intended to run to San Salvador the next day, but the upon waking up the winds were gusting over 20 knots . If we were not towing Tylers little boat we could have made the run. But Safety is key. SOOOO We slid 50 miles south in the Lee of the islands at slow speed down the Exuma islands.
Upon arriving at Stanial cay, we were met with super clear waters again in then marina. Its truly a delight for the eyes. Here is where the little boat came in handy. There are many places to explore and see on the area. One place is Thunder ball Rock. Thunder ball is a naturally formed island about 100 yards across that is completely hollow. You can swim inside it. Thunder ball rock was made famous when the 007 James bond classic was shot there. In fact the bad guys hid the nuclear bombs inside Thunder ball rock. another place just around the corner is Big Majors. This small uninhabited island boasts a beautiful protected beach and a large sounder of Feral pigs. These pigs are quite the attraction. After all where else in the world can you pull your boat up to a tropical palm lined beach and feed swimming pigs.
Of course Just feeding swimming pigs was not enough for my mate Dan. He had to jump off the boat and run up on the beach and kidnap ( pignap) one. Note- no piglets were harmed
The next day was a rough one. we only had to make 100 miles but towing the little boat made for a long slow ride with the seas right on our nose. We pulled into San Sal and were met with one hell of a dinner delivered to the boat. Michelle from Riding Rock and Miss Peaches delivered to the boat a big tray of Miss peached bahamian Mac and cheese, fried and bbq chicken, said and a big bowl of peas and rice. Dam what a good meal it was. The next morning we rode around for thirty minutes and surveyed the damages still left from Hurricane Joaquin. The airport has all kinds of new renovations and a bit of expansion. But there are many homes on the island still with roof damage. The bar and restaurant at Rididng Rock has a big renovation happening. The Drift wood Bar and restaurant were heavily images during the storm. Kevin completely tore the driftwood bar down and is rebuilding it.
He hopes to have it reopened for marlin season. I hope island time does not hinder.
The next morning We left Tyler and Randy on San Salvador and headed south. We fished a bit along the way but caught nothing but Barracudas alnong the way. That is until we got to Mayaguana island. We got some 70- 80 lb wahoos there. Around 5 we anchored up in Abrahams harbor at Mayaguana. This is still one of my favorite places to anchor out for the evening in the Bahamas.
Yesterday morning we left out of Abrahams harbor at first light and trolled up the island. The Cudas were brutal. The north swell that the weather man had been predicting did indeed catch up to us but we had it on the port quarter so the 7-9 and occasionally 10 foot swells were not to bad.
We are now tied up in Blue Haven Marina on Provodenciales Island in the Turks and Caicos. The weather looks better for tomorrow so were are taking a day off. Tomorrow were will head to the Dominican Republic There is an even larger swell coming on Tuesday, so we need to get out of here first thing tomorrow.