Our time in the Jumentos was cut short after a four foot swell had Tideye rocking so hard at anchor that we had to secure the galley like we were underway. If this was any sign of what was to come with a north component wind, we didn’t want any part of it! So anchor up baby, with a route to Long Island on the chart plotter. We had only been walking down the main road for two minutes before a car pulled over to ask if we needed a ride – Logan and I looked at each other, we were going to love this place.

Long Island is a new to us island (and a huge one at 80 miles long by 4 miles wide), so we had a lot of exploring to do. We rented a car for a few days to get around:

Dean’s Blue Hole – FINALLY! I have wanted to check this place out for…12 years. With a depth of 663 feet, it was thought to be the deepest salt water blue hole in the world. Now it ranks number three, but the beauty and accessibility are incredible. Bonus is that we got to watch a couple of professional free divers do some training – impressive isn’t a big enough word. Logan made his deepest dive yet at 75 feet, which is plenty deep enough in my opinion!

The Hamilton Caves were also on our must see list. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but ho-ly cow! Leonard’s family has owned this land for generations and he gave us a spectacular private tour through some of the grooviest caves we’ve seen. Charlie was on fire. Leonard could hardly keep up with his questions as we used flashlights to spot bats and an underground tidal pool with crabs and frogs.

Easter is one of the kids’ favorite holidays…though each holiday is a favorite as it approaches (especially with a mom that likes candy as much as they do). So we had our annual traditions planned out, all things eggs and bunnies, but as we were saying our goodbyes to our new friends at Tiny’s Hurricane Hole, we were invited to the Harbor Club for a Long Island Easter celebration. And what?! An appearance from the Easter Bunny, brunch followed by egg hunts for kids AND adults – it was yet another case of “we couldn’t have planned this better if we had tried.”

After the winds chilled out a bit, we sailed 30 miles north to Calabash Bay. This place is a dream for our family (minus the gentle swell wrapping into the harbor from the north – hopefully it STAYS gentle…) We are anchored in 10 feet of jello blue water (blue raspberry flavor to be specific) in front of a stellar beach resort that shares amenities with cruisers. Our planned two night stay quickly turned into a week before we make the jump across the Exuma Sound to our next spot.

I really am the worst cruiser. Every time I find a place I like, it’s oddly difficult for me to want to move. Even though I know the next port will most likely be another place that I don’t want to leave. But the winds and swell look reasonable and we need to sail to another island to check an item of Tucker’s Bahama bucket list. Hoist the main!