10 May 2013
We left Rocky Point at 8 am in good weather but better than that -the storm hadn’t blown a hole through the boat while we slept! We had a great sail hoofing along at 8- 9 knots most of the way with Main and Genoa up but both feeling very tired after last night getting very little sleep until 4am when the storm abated but then awakened at 6 by a wonderful dawn chorus.
At 3pm we arrived at Flamingo Cay, we could see three other masts along the island but all appeared to be in a bay of their own. There was also a fishing boat called Double M at anchor.

Flamingo Cay, Two Palms Bay, where we found only one palm!

Fishing boat Double M
We had chosen a spot in Two Palms Bay and headed in finding ourselves in the same bay as a yacht called Gillean as there was plenty of space though we could only spot one palm not two, this was something of a mystery to us!

Gillean, our companion Doug’s boat.
We were just setting the bridle up when we heard a voice calling to us, it was the guy from the other yacht who introduced himself as Doug from Gillean. We chatted for a while and he invited us to join him for a bonfire on the beach later at dusk.
So now with time to relax and enjoy so we wasted no time in getting into the water where we were delighted to find a marvellous reef just off our stern with a wide variety of fish in huge numbers but one solitary fish stole the show and captured our attention with its fascination of fancy fins so hypnotic and enticing yet screaming at us to keep away ….. yes, a Lion Fish. Our attention was captivated by this graceful mover but we kept far enough away to take no risks. Pretty much everything about the Lionfish is venomous , with its tan and white zebra stripes, long, showy pectoral fins, and generally cantankerous demeanor everything about it says, “Don’t touch!”

The Lion of Flamingo Cay
Back at Suliere we launched Splish and Splash and paddled ashore with our snorkel gear at to explore the rocky undercut of the island and the shoreline. As mentioned Lesley is not a great swimmer but found some confidence to take off her float aid and dive to pick up Sand Dollars from the bottom which felt like great progress. In such a beautiful bay we couldn’t help but play around and explore.

We Kayak ashore to explore
We wonder along the shore and find some amazing fossilised conch shells perfectly preserved and wonder how old they might be.

On the beach we find fossilised Conch shells
Mystery solved! We find the second palm of Two Palms Bay but sadly it was no longer standing.

Mystery solved! We find the second palm of Two Palms Bay but sadly it was no longer standing.
Around 7 we joined Doug on the beach for the bonfire taking a few drinks with us. We soon got the bonfire going, Lesley got busy collecting sticks and tending the fire, said it bought out her Girl Guiding instincts, unfortunately we had no marshmallows to toast! We sat around chatting and sharing our travels stories until late. 3 shooting stars dazzled us with their brilliance and made the day complete. Sigh!

The sun goes down on Flamingo Cay

Bonfire with Doug
11th May 2013
We head off in Slurpy to explore a little more of this stunningly beautiful, unspoilt uninhabited island. We saw a huge turtle who came quite close but then d0ve down and we lost sight of him as we headed towards a rusty ship wreck that probably had a tale to tell. Beautiful beaches in every cove and pristine snorkelling everywhere.

Sunken ships to intrigue us.
The cruising guide had mentioned a cave, so we set off to find it.

As we head along the rocky coast line we find the Cave we had been hoping to explore.

Light filters into the cave through rocky windows
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