Yesterday was a day of land exploration. In the lat
1700’s Waderick Wells had a settlement with a hemp plantation. After school we
headed down to the other end of the island in the dinghy and anchored on a sand
flat. The trails are well marked and we climbed the hill next to an old stone
wall to find the remains of two buildings. All that remained were stone
foundations and several cisterns in the rock. It is hard to imagine living on
this island with limited water supplies that long ago. The settlement was
reputed to be wiped out by pirates, so the next stop was to visit the Pirates
Lair. Zooming down to the south end of the island, we slowed down for some
shallow water and watched rays floating around the sand banks, their wings occasionally
flipping out of the water. Rounding the end of the island we met the incoming
current as Exuma sound squeezes between Waderick Wells and Hog Cay. This is
where Blackbeard would hide his ships and maintain a lookout on the hills to
spot likely prizes. Thirty feet of water and we could clearly see the bottom
through the look down window. Hog Cay has a tunnel that cuts through to the
sound, but the currents were too strong to explore in the water. The navigation
aids here are stacks of stone on the island. From here we went back to Powerful
Beach to meet the boys from See U Manana so Noah could get some play time in.
Three hours of swimming, riding the big water tricycle and a skimboard wore the
boys out. We secured the dinghy on the davits in expectation of leaving
tomorrow. While doing that we spotted a couple more rays and our first shark
swimming past the boat. Grilled chicken on the BBQ and watched the sunset illuminate
the incoming rain clouds. Opened the water inlet hoping we might get some fresh
water from above, but the storm only lasted fifteen minutes. After dinner we
tried to contact Earl & Jim back in NC via the SSB, but as they say on the
radio, no joy. Will try again tonight. Stayed up way too late finishing
“Deception Point” by Dan Brown. That is a fiction thriller to read if
you want a face paced novel of political intrigue. We plan to leave here
Thursday and go to Sampson or Staniel Cay in search of fresh water and a place
to deposit trash.
1700’s Waderick Wells had a settlement with a hemp plantation. After school we
headed down to the other end of the island in the dinghy and anchored on a sand
flat. The trails are well marked and we climbed the hill next to an old stone
wall to find the remains of two buildings. All that remained were stone
foundations and several cisterns in the rock. It is hard to imagine living on
this island with limited water supplies that long ago. The settlement was
reputed to be wiped out by pirates, so the next stop was to visit the Pirates
Lair. Zooming down to the south end of the island, we slowed down for some
shallow water and watched rays floating around the sand banks, their wings occasionally
flipping out of the water. Rounding the end of the island we met the incoming
current as Exuma sound squeezes between Waderick Wells and Hog Cay. This is
where Blackbeard would hide his ships and maintain a lookout on the hills to
spot likely prizes. Thirty feet of water and we could clearly see the bottom
through the look down window. Hog Cay has a tunnel that cuts through to the
sound, but the currents were too strong to explore in the water. The navigation
aids here are stacks of stone on the island. From here we went back to Powerful
Beach to meet the boys from See U Manana so Noah could get some play time in.
Three hours of swimming, riding the big water tricycle and a skimboard wore the
boys out. We secured the dinghy on the davits in expectation of leaving
tomorrow. While doing that we spotted a couple more rays and our first shark
swimming past the boat. Grilled chicken on the BBQ and watched the sunset illuminate
the incoming rain clouds. Opened the water inlet hoping we might get some fresh
water from above, but the storm only lasted fifteen minutes. After dinner we
tried to contact Earl & Jim back in NC via the SSB, but as they say on the
radio, no joy. Will try again tonight. Stayed up way too late finishing
“Deception Point” by Dan Brown. That is a fiction thriller to read if
you want a face paced novel of political intrigue. We plan to leave here
Thursday and go to Sampson or Staniel Cay in search of fresh water and a place
to deposit trash.
