We departed Staniel Cay Monday the 19th at 1045 and headed south for an anchorage we had made note of last year. Hettie’s Land is a point of land south of Black Point Settlement, where the Cay is uninhabited, and not very wide. It’s a beautiful beach, and just a short hike to the ocean side. The ocean shoreline in this area is rugged, mostly rock with a reef a few hundred yards offshore. Since the shore line faces east toward the prevailing winds, it is constantly battered by the ocean, and littered with tons of whatever floats. This is the only landfall for hundreds of miles eastward, so all the poly trash that blows across the ocean from the east finds a home on the eastern shore of the Exuma Cays! Some of it finds its way hundreds of yards inland, transported during high seas and stormy weather. Poly- as in polyethylene plastic- which floats, of course. Nets, polyethylene hawsers, floats, buckets, soda crates, plastic of every shape and purpose. It’s sort of a train wreck thing; ugly, but y’ gotta look at it. Besides, you just never know what treasures might lurk among that trash!
Our stay at Hettie’s Land became uncomfortable the second night as the unrelenting wind clocked around a bit to the south, treating us to some rolling- the prevailing wind keeps our bow pointed to the wind, but the waves come on our beam because of the shoreline, setting us up for a rock & roll evening! Friends Chris & Joyce joined us for dinner aboard, and more than once a quick grab was needed to keep a wine glass or bottle upright! The girls took their leave the following day and headed to Black Point a few miles north where they found considerably calmer conditions. We headed a bit north to the leeward side of White Point, but were not as successful in finding calm conditions. We “enjoyed” three nights of rolling before the winds finally relented. Still, the beaches along this stretch are beautiful, and the snorkeling is good as well. As long as the winds stay below 15 kts and out of E to NE, rolling is minimal. Our stay saw winds consistently above 17 kts gusting to 25, and around 100 degrees, not the best for comfort at this particular location.
We departed Thursday morning of the 22nd and headed a few miles south to Oven Rock, a point on the same Cay just a bit north of Little Farmer’s Cay.