Staniel Cay part II

S/V Goldcrest
David & Lindsay Inwood
Tue 29 Apr 2014 19:00

We had a pleasant two days anchored off “Big Major’s Spot” near Staniel Cay, the beach famous for its swimming pigs.  Somehow we were expecting little piggies, boring and pink, but we were greeted by big spotty monsters, looking like Gloucester Old Spots.  It’s hard to imagine what they are rooting around in the sand for…

The other famous attraction here is the grotto used to film scenes from “Thunderball” – we think the one where a fight takes place between speargun wielding baddies and the good old James Bond with a knife.  It’s under a tiny island – more of a big rock really, and formed by a very strong current that roars around, and now through, the limestone.  We didn’t quite hit slack water so had quite a hard swim in against the current, which caused L to graze herself on some sharp rocks.  Inside it was OK; much smaller than you would have thought, but the life around the entrance was spectacular!  We saw amazing deep purple fan coral, violet tinged tube-shaped coral and a profusion of fish, including the most handsome iridescent blue parrot fish.

We had a little walk around Staniel Cay itself, a very picturesque village with a few shops and a good bar at the “yacht club”.  You see plenty of these around, but really they are no more than a few rickety wooden pontoons with a bar/restaurant.

Staniel Cay:

And this is the boat that was the overall winner of the Georgetown regatta: