Blue Hole at Hoffman's Cay

Hoffman's Cay is a small island in the Berry Islands, Bahamas. In this small island is a magical experience, a blue hole! 

To get to the blue hole, you first land your dinghy on the beach and then follow the trail through the jungle. The vegetation here is very dense, so you will need to follow the cleared trail. 

Suddenly, you will made a turn and arrive at the splendor of the blue hole! Blue holes are nothing more than sink holes that are filled with water. They can be hundreds of feet deep, and the intensity of their color is astounding. It was very epic to encounter this after having walked through the jungle of vegetation on this island. 

As you approach the cliffs edge, the blue hole becomes even more breath taking! There must be some form of communication to the ocean because we saw a few sea turtles swimming around in the water!

The Bahamas are actually just limestone flats that have been pushed up from the ocean floor. Limestone is what caves are made out of, as it can easily be dissolved and washed away. The sides of this sink hole are lined with caves, stalagmites, stalagtites, and columns.  

This splendid vista was just a short dinghy ride away from where Maddie and I experienced our lovely sunset picnic the night before!

Paradise

Our next anchorage after Johnny jumped ship was pure and perfect paradise. Once again, it was just Maddie and I. We could walk along the beach holding hands as we listened to the waves as all of our cares and worries washed away with the outgoing tide.

Maddie and I explored the tiny island and watched the waves crash in from the Atlantic side onto the steep cliff faces where powerful waves turned into mighty spray. We then returned to the calm beach overlooking our boat Wisdom.  

We had a nice picnic dinner on the beach as we watched the sunset. Everything was perfect! 

Tourist Tree

The tourist tree gets its name from the fact that it looks like it's sunburned and peeling, like a tourist. 

The red bark naturally peels off this tree, resembling a nasty sun burn. These trees are found in the tropics, so when you are cruising and come across one of these trees, you know you have made it to a nice tropical destination!

Finding Land

With modern navigation software, GPS, and chart plotters, finding land may seem really simple. While all of these electronic devices are convenient, there is still a very easy way to spot land in the Bahamas from far away without the aid of technology. All you need to do is look up at the clouds in the sky!

Clouds over deep water will look darker because they are reflecting the deep blue of the water beneath them. Clouds over shallow waters will look turquoise as they are reflecting the light colored water beneath them. 

The coulda over the deep water on the left look like regular clouds, but the clouds in the middle have a turquoise hue to them, and these are over the shallow waters where land can be found.

The Bahamas are truely amazing because the flats will be 20 feet deep or less, and then you will sail off a cliff and be in water that is 8,000+ feet deep. Yes, water that is over a mile deep, right off the islands! Thanks to the clouds, you will be able to find your next island chain to explore long before you see the flat islands on the horizon. 

The Most Valuable Item Onboard

If you had to point to the most valuable item on your cruising yacht right now, what would you point to? Would it be your new chart plotter? Your radar? Maybe where you keep your cruising cash? Or your jewelry? 

The truth is, the most valuable item on your cruising yacht is your dinghy. Any dinghy, and all dinghies, have the same value to a cruiser. It can be a cheap pool toy looking inflatable, or a fancy center console Boston Whaler. This little boat gets you from boat to shore, and into places where your yachts draft will preclude you. Without your dinghy, you would be stranded on your boat with no way of getting to shore, or on shore with no way of getting to your boat.  

When you are anchored in a remote location, there is no amount of money or other objects that can get you back and forth from boat to shore. The only thing that can do it is a dinghy, and if you don't have one, you are stranded. 

You might be wondering what kind of dinghy is best, and this is certainly a topic of much debate. Some swear by hard dinghies, others tout the stability and carrying capacity of inflatables. The truth is the best dinghy is the one you have on board, because when you need to get somewhere, any dinghy will do and any dinghy will serve the purpose of transporting you and your crew to shore and back.