First Time in the Exumas! Sailing Through Paradise 🇧🇸✨

Awaiting a favorable weather window in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, for an open-water crossing to the Exumas, the cruising family aboard Sailing Big Lost stepped ashore to explore the local limestone terrain before undertaking critical repairs on their catamaran.

With unsettled wind delaying their offshore departure, Connor, his family, and their children used the layover to examine the settlement’s interior natural landmarks and organize maintenance projects that had accumulated during their recent passages.

Inland Caverns and Blue Holes at Rock Sound

A short walk inland from the shoreline brought the family to two distinctive geological formations: the Boiling Hole and Cathedral Caves. The Boiling Hole functions as an inland blue hole connected to the sea via subterranean conduits. Subsurface natural gas pockets periodically discharge through the water column, creating an agitation pattern on the surface resembling a boiling cauldron.

Just past the sinkhole, the trail leads into Cathedral Caves, a karst limestone network comprising three large caverns. Openings in the collapsed cavern ceilings allow daylight to illuminate stalactites and layered limestone shelves, while extensive aerial root networks from trees growing above cascade down through the rock ceiling toward the damp cavern floor.

Diagnosing and Stitching the Torn Head Sail with SV Atlas

While sailing toward Rock Sound on their previous leg, the crew had unfurled their head sail and discovered a tear opening along the structural seam. With brisk winds blowing across the anchorage, bringing the large sail down onto the foredeck required careful coordination to avoid creasing or losing control of the cloth.

Assistance arrived from cruising neighbor Matt aboard the Canadian vessel SV Atlas, anchored nearby in the harbor. Drawing on previous professional upholstery experience, Matt came aboard to inspect the damage along the luff and leech. Matt acknowledged the impromptu nature of the repair work: “I’m not actually a sailmaker here but I know I know the things to look for.”

A close inspection of the head sail revealed two separate areas of concern along the blue sun cover, an external layer designed to shield the underlying sailcloth from ultraviolet degradation. While portions of the primary thread showed signs of sun rot, the main opening appeared to have caught against hardware during handling. Reviewing the torn UV cloth, Matt laid out the plan: “I think on this other one I think the best case scenario we should do all three rows of the whole section and plus like a few inches past where it’s actually let go already.”

The repair required manual sewing using a heavy-duty speedy stitcher rather than attempting single continuous runs of thread across several yards of fabric. Matt laid down an initial straight stitch along the torn seam, followed by a wide zigzag reinforcement pattern extending 2 inches past the damaged section. Evaluating the sail fabric, the crew reflected on the lifespan of the inventory: “I wouldn’t say it’s like emergency new sails last week but it’s definitely not like we were told like you know two years.”

Once the three seam rows were locked down, the crew hauled the head sail back out on deck to hoist the luff tape through the furling foil extrusion. Guiding the luff tape into the extrusion during re-hoisting, Connor coordinated the lift: “as long as I keep this lined up we should be all right.” The sail rolled back smoothly onto the furler without binding.

Anchorage Provisioning, Deliveries, and Boat Life Routines

Routine shipboard maintenance and domestic tasks filled the remainder of the wait in Rock Sound. Down below, son Ben finished up his daily home-school assignments, logging 20 minutes of quiet reading. In the galley, the family harvested from their ongoing sourdough starter, nicknamed Peter Parker, to bake their first crusty sourdough loaf aboard.

Logistical relief arrived following an 8-day wait for parcel deliveries sent through the freight forwarder Island Bargains. Local representative Brandon brought the boxes directly out to the anchorage. Among the arrivals was a replacement Sea Frost compressor, sourced to restore refrigeration to the cockpit drink chest, alongside a compact, low-draw countertop toaster oven unpacked by daughter Maddie to reduce galley electrical consumption.

Under Sail from Eleuthera to Allan Cay

With favorable wind settling into the forecast, Big Lost weighed anchor in Rock Sound and steered westbound across the Exuma Sound toward Allan Cay. Setting the mainsail required clearing the boom stack pack, where Maddie climbed up along the gooseneck to unzip the protective canvas cover.

Underway on the crossing, another cruising vessel that had previously anchored near them in Kemp’s Bay overtook their course. The daggerboard catamaran, displaying a Swiss flag, passed alongside under full canvas while capturing footage of Big Lost under sail. Approaching the narrow cut into Allan Cay, Swedish cruiser Sula hailed to guide the family toward an open sand spot amidst the coral heads and prevailing tidal currents.

Close Encounters with Bahamian Rock Iguanas

Shortly after setting their anchor in the shallows off Allan Cay, where small songbirds briefly landed in the cockpit, the crew launched the tender to visit the nearby beach. The shoreline serves as a protected sanctuary for Northern Bahamian rock iguanas, a rare reptilian species restricted to Andros and the Exuma archipelago with a wild population estimated at 5,000 or fewer animals.

The iguanas emerged rapidly from the coastal scrub, moving toward the landing party across the sand. Walking the limestone bluffs of Allan Cay, one of the children observed: “Mom this is not a different planet feels like it compared to Idaho.”

After resting off watch while the children made their initial late-afternoon exploration ashore, Connor joined the family on the sand the following morning, offering bits of lettuce to the gathering reptiles while watching their territorial displays. The visit marked the crew’s introduction to the Exumas as they continued preparing their vessel for extended passages through the island chain.

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