Rounding Cape Verde to Little Harbour

Captain with a Mahi, caught while trolling on passage to Little Harbour on Long Island. 

After provisioning and fueling at Thompson Bay on the west coast of Long Island, we left at sunrise one morning, sailing west through Comer Channel and then making our way southeast along the Deadman's Cays.

Bahamian racing sloop at Thompson Bay on Long Island. These boats are raced by local crews in annual regattas.

Our first anchorage was off Dollar Cay, where we had the wide expanse of the sand flats and surrounding tidal creeks to ourselves. A few squalls swept by, but Pandion stayed securely anchored in 12 feet of clear water.

We decided to stay for an extra day to let the weather settle down, and it gave us a chance to explore the shallows by kayak. We spotted several hogs near the tidal pass by Wells Point, most likely a recent introduction by local Bahamians trying to establish another "swim with the pigs" tourist adventure. Not our idea of Bahamian wildlife, so we ventured on.

Brenda's first catch of the day,
a Cero mackerel that was sliced in half by a bigger fish. 

Brenda tried trolling a lure behind Pandion as we sailed southeast towards Gordon's Beach on the south tip of Long Island. She caught several barracuda, and then half of a Cero mackerel. The surgical precision of the predator that took the other half gave us something to think about. The bite of a shark or barracuda typically leave tell tale marks of sharp teeth and torn flesh. It may have been a billfish.

Brenda did not give up, however, and within a half hour, she landed a beautiful (whole) Cero.

Brenda with her second Cero, this one for the grill. 

Not to be outdone (there is occasionally a competitive fishing tournament onboard Pandion), I was able to land a Mahi a little later in the day as we rounded the stark white cliffs of Cape Verde. Plenty of fresh fish for the two us, and we put our gear away. About this time, a U.S Coast Guard helicopter did a close flyby of our vessel, circling 360 degrees around Pandion. We had seen several of these helicopters in the Bahamas, and have read that they are conducting joint operations with the Bahamian government to help with border protection.

U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flying by S/V Pandion. 

With the winds shifting to the west, we sailed Pandion up the southeast coast of Long Island to Little Harbour. A beautiful secluded harbour that, according to the chart descriptions, can be tricky to enter if tide and winds are opposed, Little Harbour proved to be a perfect spot for us to rest up and get ourselves ready for the next adventure: Crooked and Acklins Islands, located another 30 miles to the east.

Brenda inspects the wreckage of an old Haitian refugee boat
that sank in the shallows of Little Harbour.