Bock Cay, Exumas to Joe's Sound, Long Island

Today was a long travel day, departing Bock Cay, Exumas about 6:30 a.m., bound for our first visit to Long Island. As expected, this was not a smooth crossing, but the seasoned travelers that we are, we found conditions quite doable. Had we had guests aboard, they might not have been comfortable.

Having no specific destination in mind, once across Exuma Sound, we opted to shorten our travel day, and heading into Joe’s Sound, south of Cape Santa Maria and Calabash Bay. We knew that the entrance to the Joe’s Sound was narrow and not to be negotiated in rough conditions, especially on a rising tide and a SW wind. Luckily, we were at slack low tide with an East wind at about 10 knots.

Susann manned the bow as lookout and with Alan’s skillful captaining, we made it safely inside, to find a huge sound, mostly dry at low tide, but with streams plenty deep enough for us and numerous other boats to anchor. Joe’s Sound offers good holding, great protection from most directions, but be wary of strong tidal currents. The entrance was not as ominous as anticipated, but still requires favorable conditions and caution for entry and departure. 

Once again, we had discovered another bit of paradise.

Once anchored, we were greeted by Pat, self-professed “Mayor” of Joe’s Sound. Pat was on his way out to dive for dinner, and returned shortly with a nice grouper and two lobsters. He was ready for a change from lobster, so graciously offered up his lobsters to Kaos and another sail boat at anchor.

Always happy to have lobster for dinner, we graciously accepted and invited Pat to join us for Happy Hour. A winter resident from New York, Pat lives aboard his houseboat and enjoys meeting the myriad of visiting cruisers. He is a generous, charming and knowledgeable man, willing to share his wealth of local knowledge.

Inside, looking towards entrance at high tide



Joe's Sound at low tide