December and we have finally made it across the stream…………

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS –>>  December

The wind was continually from the north or north east and there we were stuck in Marathon. We were feeling quite frustrated and we’re running out of ways of entertaining ourselves in Marathon. I had made covers for just about everything, the outboard engine, the spare water and fuel tanks and John had been fashioning a security doorway. Finally a weather window looked to be opening up on Saturday the 8th so plans were made to leave.

When it came to leaving we found out that we had to travel to Key West to the airport to check out. The day before we left we caught a bus and went to the Key West airport the whole process took 4 hours by the time we got their and back. The best part was a huge iguana that was waiting at the bus stop for any food that had been dropped.

When we left Florida we started our Spot. This enables everyone to keep a watch on the map link of our passage. Here is the link: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0M0aI4lERZJfV4Xdu1PlEDvtScif8dddF                                                              We think it is very cool and insidentally so does Gavin who apparently watched our crossing from Florida to the Bahamas. So please watch our progress.

We had made friends with Cil and Cecile a French couple on Carpe Diem, through our friends Al and Sue and then were also introduced to Roland and Lettie on Kokomo who are 74 and probably fitter than most 30 year olds. We all planned to travel together. Roland and Lettie have been traveling to the Bahamas for the last 15 years and have a vast amount of knowledge about the area.

6:30 Saturday we let go of the mooring ball that had been our home for just over 3 weeks and headed in the early morning light out the channel. The wind was from the east due to go south east which would made for perfect sailing from Marathon straight to south of Riding rock and then over the Bahamas Banks to the to the Northwest channel followed by a south easterly route across the Tongue of the Ocean to Morgan’s Bluff, Andros Island. Well sometimes the weather doesn’t comply with the forecaster and this was one of those times.

The beginning of the passage was with seas of about 5 foot with winds of 20 knots and up.

The wind was from the east so the angle was not good for sailing as we were headed east. However the weather guru had said the wind was to come around to southeast. Everyone had their main up trying to sail close to the wind if possible.

By midmorning we had caught the stream and had an extra knot or two from the current but the main power was from the engine, not what was planned.

The boats were all hobby horsing, pounding into the seas, it was like riding on the stationary bucking bulls. Non-stop up and down, up and down, up and down. However the wind was supposed to come around so on we all travelled.

John and I were normally at the back of the Armadillo fleet as it had been named, he was very unhappy about punishing the engine, as that was not the plan. However we were committed as heading back was not an option. After some hours of waves over the bow John noticed that the forward cabin was drenched, really bad news, the forward hatch had not been properly secured. He had to then open it halfway to take out the screen in able to secure it and of course in doing so we caught several waves right down the hatch thus making sure every part of the forward cabin was well soaked in salt water.

This heavy pounding into the wind continued through the rest of the day with the seas with waves of over 7 feet at times and winds dropping but still from east. I was not very comfortable in the evening as my stomach ached and rejected and ejected all the days’ food into a bucket.

John meanwhile had to pour containers of diesel in the tank as we were ploughing through the fuel too. Around 8 pm he had to change an oil filter as the oil filters were getting the dirt from the bottom of the fuel tank as the seas shook us up and down so the fuel tank was shaken disrupting all or any dirt.

We stuck to our watches; I took the 8 – midnight, then John till 4am and then back to me.

The stream was like a highway of ships one after the other. Cil and Roland would use the AIS to identify the ships and then contact them to make them aware of our presence. The largest on was the Ocean of the Seas one of the biggest cruise ships. It looked like a massive wall of lights moving along. The most dangerous one was a barge towing another barge.

When I awoke at 4 we were on the banks and the seas had calmed down completely, guess that is why I slept so well, however the wind was still not favorable. The sunrise at 6:30 ish was lovely and it was very peaceful gliding along the banks. The water there is only 10 – 15 feet and very clear so you can easily see the bottom. We were a number of hours behind our expected time and so had to make as much time as possible to reach our destination before dark.

However everybody had problems, Kokomo had salt water leak from the shaft, his bilge pump was barely keeping up, Carpe Diem had transmission box problems and was worried it would pack up, Sue and Al on Wind Dancer had water pouring up the sewage out pipe that brought with it all that had gone down it previously and flooded the head and shower plus they had a filter problem too.

By 1:30 we had made the Tongue of the Ocean with 20 odd miles to go which at our speed represented 4 hours. Of course the wind continued on our nose and as we were back in deep water the wave height rose, oh and we had the tide against us too. Then the weather started to close in, more wind, dark clouds and to top it off heavy rain, but on we slogged.

Wind Dancer gunned it and went ahead we continued together with the others as with the engine problems it would not have been worth risking going over 2000rpms.

Morgan’s Bluff, Andros Island

Finally the entrance was in our sights just as dark was dropping we limped into the anchorage, dropped the hook and finally relaxed. It was a difficult trip even for our experienced companions, we were very glad we had their company as it certainly lightened the way. Everyone just crashed out before 9pm and nobody was up before 7, usually we are up at daybreak around 6:30.

Andros is the largest Bahamian Island but only has a population of a 6000 odd. It is a port of entry, which is easy to check into. The bay where we had anchored at Morgan’s Bluff is just that a bay, with a very small dock space hidden in a canal that the pirate Captain Morgan used to hide away. There is a bar that pumps music from the 90s and a few other buildings. Around 9am the captains from each of our boats had to go ashore and check in. Apparently the checking in process took place outside the bar at a picnic table. The officials were charming ladies who spent a good bit of the time chatting and joking, a very painless experience not at all like Bermuda can be. However everyone was asked for $50 extra to cover the lovely ladies travel time. (apparently not the norm)

We all met at the bar for conch salad lunch. Wow it was so good. The salad maker Captain Hardass, (yes that is his name) was right there chopping and making. He used many different ingredients zucchini, peppers, sour orange, onion to name but a few. Then when he ran out of conch to the dock he went, get more and continued.

After lunch John and I needed a walk so we took the dinghy to a beach and explored. I totally enjoyed the day.

Our second day started by John attempting to fix our filter problem. He was unable to so had to afix a squeeze ball of some type to that section so if necessary I will spend time squeezing the fuel to the engine as we go along, hopefully it won’t come to that.

I managed to rinse out more salt water from clothing, clean the head where we had a small leak during the passage and prepare the news for the blog. Amazingly here in the remote island of Andros at the bar there is wifi. You do have to sit a the bar with music pumping and the locals partying it up.

We then headed towards civilization to get to a bank and a phone company. After walking for a while without seeing anyone a taxi unbelievingly came along. It was just as well as we were headed in the wrong direction and there had only been a choice of 2 ways to go. So in we get and then just down the lane the car stopped running. Carlos the driver tried and tried and finally it started we then set off again and arrived at the bank.

Following that we went to the BTC for the phone card, this took quite some time and finally we went back and it was already 1pm. The afternoon was spent in the bar working on the Internet and then at the beach with the other cruisers for cocktails and snacks. Andros is a charming place the locals are very friendly and welcoming. It is a lovely place.

Our final day in Andros I had really wanted to go to the batik makers or the sponge divers, but it was not to be at $80 for a car per day.

So we set off in our new wet suits to snorkel and hunt for lobsters and shells. The bay across from us looked promising and had a Great barrier reef which we anchored the dingy on the outside. The water was very clear, there were many fish but there was evidence that the recent hurricane had damaged some of the coral and grass banks. No lobsters or shells but a great snorkel.

We then anchored and basically walked ashore across the grass banks, explored the exposed sand bars as it was low tide a good bit of the neighboring bay was exposed. There were locals fishing from the rocks and spear fishing off the beach nobody else in sight, no houses, not a sound but the waves lapping on the shore, a very peaceful wander around.

Birthday party for Roland

In the afternoon there was a birthday party for Roland above the beach in the locals regatta area. Most of the other cruisers start cocktails at 3pm and had supplied snacks to go with them. Lettie made a cake, we all sang Happy Birthday to Roland’s 76.

All eight of the boats that were in Morgan’s Bluff left either just before us or just after us. We sailed with Wind Dancer, Sue and Al’s boat. Our passage to Nassau was painless we did have to use the engine but we weren’t slamming into rough seas.

Nassau Harbour

 

We trawled and even caught a very nice Dolphin/Mai Mai, which John gave a drink of gin to knock him out then cleaned him right up. Arriving at Nassau Harbour were at least 20 other sailboats that we counted, arriving at more or less the same time as us. Many of the names we recognized from Marathon. All would no doubt be heading to the Exumas, as we are, in a day or two.

Nassau is like Hamilton at places from a distance. Once in the Harbour there is very little similarity. The cruise ship dock holds up to 8 huge cruise ships, (there were 4 in). On one side is Atlantis the enormous pleasure palace that can be seen from miles out. Two large bridges lead to and from Atlantis and of course the area is very manicured, clean, fresh, brightly painted and wealthy. The other side is the regular city of Nassau.

Nassau Harbour Club

The vessels along the dock were numerous and quite varied from the Haitian fully loaded boat to the fishing vessels and the commercial. Our marina the Nassau Harbour Club Is very nice. We are next to Wind Dancer and opposite Charlie, who unbelievably arrived the day before and was waving from the dock as we arrived.

On checking in we met the grand daughter to Fernance Perry from Bermuda, again a small world.

The afternoon, from 3pm on, was spent having the most divine lunch at the Poop Deck. Wow the food was great or maybe the fact that someone else cooked it was the best. Blackened Mai Mai with pineapple salsa, fried plantain and coleslaw, it was just the best. Sue and I then went and checked out the city market which is actually a shop that specializes in whole foods and organic. Again I was really impressed. It was similar to Lindos but better as there was much more organic selection.

As we were only spending the Friday in Nassau it was a very busy day. We quickly did all the necessary chores and then set out to explore. We walked along the Harbour front to the two bridges.

The shoreline is quite fascinating with boats of all description, fancy motor yachts to very rough fishing vessels. The Front Street is quite narrow, the traffic heavy with cars and trucks of all description racing along at high speeds. Crossing the street is challenging, even crossing entrances requires your wits to be sharp.

We climbed the first bridge which traffic uses to exit the Atlantis area. From the bridge we could see all of the stalls and bars set up under the bridge where the locals play dominoes and checkers, sell their wares and meet socially. Zooming under the bridge on the water were all manner of water craft, huge mega yachts, the tourist carriers, the conch men, even a boat loaded with starfish drying in the sun. The view was great, we were kept quite entertained. Once we reached the other side we returned across the other bridge, which carries the traffic to Atlantis.

Of course we had to explore under the bridge, I was just fascinated, the dominoes men just slam those dominoes down and are way into the game.

Each of the little shacks were bars that specialized in food, most of them conch. The conch would be at the back a shirtless guy would hook the conch out of its shell through a crack, toss the shell out the back into the water then the “chef” would prepare the conch into salad that was 100 percent fresh. When they run out the fellow hooking the shells climbs out the back and uses a long hook to hook another batch of conches right out of the harbour water, good thing its an amazingly clean harbour.

We stopped and looked at one of the venders was selling, she had the usual avocados, fruits, chilies, and veggies but there were also crabs in a cage, also land crabs with their legs cut off and dried fish such as hogfish that was salted and hanging up.

John was not impressed with the salt fish as the flies were all over it, but that is how soul/salt fish has been made for hundreds of years.

We did attempt to walk along some of the interior streets but found there was very little room for pedestrians and with little margin for error from the traffic we decided to go back to the front street. Another lunch at the Poop Deck and we were fueled and ready to start again.

We had arranged to meet GG a friend John’s mate Chris Famous from home. We had a chat outside the Poop Deck. GG runs a renewable energy business that specializes in Bermuda roofs for water catchment and solar panels for energy. He was telling us how successful the renewable energy is in the Bahamas and now Jamaica.

By that time it was getting later so we went to the grocery store and returned to do more chores. Later in the evening we met Charlie and had a drink with him on board his boat, walked around under the bridge to check the local flavour where the bars were, (it seemed), competing for who could play the loudest sound system, the cars were chock a block with no room to move let alone walk and an organized chaos seemed to be the order of the night. We had refreshment at the Green Parrot and walked back home to crash out.

Allen’s Cay

Saturday was the day we set off for the Exumas. We had to leave at 10 in order to be at the Yellow Banks in good light. Charlie came to say goodbye, cast us off and we motored out of Nassau.

The houses on the west of Providence were for the very wealthy while across the Harbour was just like the North shore of Bermuda where the normal/average people live.

The passage to Allen’s Cay where we were headed was quite fast as the wind was between 15 knots to 21 knots we averaged 6.1 knots the boat was heeled at about 20 degrees most of the way. The clouds moved in and we had a few rain showers which made spotting the coral heads on the Yellow Bank quite challenging. On the yellow bank the depth is about 30 feet but there are coral heads that come close to the surface.

We arrived at Allen’s Cay around 4:30 and anchored for the night. It really was NOT a good secure anchorage, there was a wicked current, very shallow bay with sandbars and we were off a windward shore. John was up a good bit during the night. Plus the anchor alarm went of 4 times, at one stage I thought I was at school during a fire drill.

In the morning it really looked miserable but we got the dingy set up and in to go ashore and meet the iguanas, the residents of Allen’s. They were delightful and well worth spending a day to get to.

Hawksbill and Warderick Wells 

By 9:30 we had set off intending to reach Warderick Wells as it has a secure mooring field.

The whole area is a huge National Park for land and sea. However after challenging sailing for 4 hours with winds up to 24 knots we pulled into Hawksbill, which is also part of the park and grabbed a mourning ball.

We were the only boat around in this amazing spot. After a late lunch off we set to explore. The shoreline was beach and bays divided by bluffs. We hiked from this lovely beach over the dune and found that the next bay had formed a huge inlet or salt flat with mangroves and rivers of water between. There were cairns to follow over this flat to the hillside on the other side then up and we were at the other coast and WOW what a shoreline it was the most beautiful beach. However as it was getting late we had to head back to the dingy then the boat.

The following day it was necessary, due to wind direction, to move on to Warderick Wells, which is, where the Exumas Park headquarters is located. It also offers great protection from all wind directions and as we are due to get a blow in a couple of days John wanted to be safe ahead of time

Warderick Wells turned out to be an Eden an actual paradise. This whole area is an astoundingly beautiful group of islands. We had a 2-hour sail and arrived in time for lunch. It is part of the National Park and is protected both the sea and land. The headquarters are based at Warderick Wells. There are mooring buoys available which is an attraction as not worrying about anchors dragging in high winds means a good nights sleep.

We were moored in the north-mooring field, which is in one of the natural channels the currents have formed. During low tide the sand bars around us are out of water, the colours of the water created by the different depths are just amazing ranging from azure, turquoise, deep blue, emerald green, sky blue, just every hue of blue and green. It has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth we both agreed.

 

Our days at Warderick have been spent snorkeling and hiking. We both love going to the reefs that are at the ends of the islands and where the currents rage through the gaps as the tide either rises or falls. We wear our wet suits and with our snorkeling gear hold on to a rope attached to the dingy and ride the rage. It is like flying through the water as you go with the current at several knots.

Each time we have seen beautiful reefs just alive with fish, corals and sponges. At the southern end of the main island we saw 5 manta rays swimming in the current with their remoras attached and 2 sharks “resting” on the bottom. At Kelly’s reef off of a northern cay about a mile from the main anchorage the number of schools of Gray Snappers, Yellow Tail Snappers and Silk Snappers was astounding. We have also seen some Lion Fish, which is the bad news as they are capable of killing off entire reef populations:(  Overall the snorkeling has been excellent.

Our hikes have been equally entertaining we hiked to Boo Boo Hill and left our boats name attached to the driftwood we had found, I wonder how long it will be there. There were some from as far back as 2004 but none that we could find from earlier.

We hiked to both ends of the island and to nearly every bay, beach, blowhole and the ruins of a plantation. This was a bit of a disappointment as I’d expected more than what we found. It definitely was no plantation, with hardly room to turn around in it was more of a prison. The hiking is quite rough in places as the early settlers felled all the trees they deforested and all the topsoil was washed away resulting in the rocky limestone hillsides that are quite tricky to walk over. There is hardly and smooth surfaces to the pathways and whoever said the Exumas were flat have never been here to hike, there are steep hills. I really enjoyed hiking the:

Exuma Sound trail it is wild, very rugged and goes along the rugged shoreline from bay to bay. Today the weather that we have been avoiding arrived. Of course we were out hiking, raced it back but got caught just before our dingy ride back. The Bahamas Defense Forces guys offered us shelter but we knew we would be waiting it out for a while so we roughed it out and got soaking getting back.

 

 

The weather was the Northerly/deep cold front that we had been expecting for a week, with it came a cold northerly wind. Thus it was too cold to snorkel even with wet suits on our last day at Warderwick, so after a morning of necessary chores we hiked the Exuma Sound Trail. It was beautiful with the waves pounding ashore, the sun on the crashing waves and the wind blowing the spray. We both loved our days at Warderwick.

Staniel Cay for Christmas

Off we went to Staniel Cay to spend Christmas. It was a 3-hour sail, averaging 6 knots, a comfortable sail.

Big Majors Pigs

Arriving there we anchored behind Big Majors, which is also the island where the swimming pigs live. We had a visit or two with the pigs. There are 4 of them; they are quite large and very friendly especially if you have carrots for them. They run out of the trees and down the beach when dinghies arrive with food for them and will swim out to the dingy to get what is on offer. We fed them a few of our carrots.

John and I had a really good laugh at:  

some of the escapades that took place, pigs chasing ladies in the water around their dinghy’s when trying to get the food and trying to nip their bums to get further attention while the ladies were shrieking for their husbands to save them. I made sure we were very careful when we fed the pigs as we had also heard how the pigs would attempt to climb on to the dingy to get food that is with held from them.

We walked around Staniel Cay, which has a very small settlement. The centre of the activity takes place at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. It is an establishment that offers everything from sharks, scuba diving, and cabanas to stay in, boat rentals, golf cart rentals and even flights in and out of the Cay. The “airport” was quite something consisting of a small wooden shelter and a runway with a sign to stay off incase of planes. The planes (private jets), land, drop off the few passengers and turn around and leave. (I would highly recommend it for a Bahamas holiday.) There were a few grocery stores in the settlement, the blue house and the pink house and then the yellow house for bread. In our anchorage mega yachts and their toys surrounded us. However as it was the best shelter from the winds there was little choice but to stay there. John did enjoy checking them out and ridiculing their passengers and owners for their massive waste of energy and resources.

Christmas Day, Thunder-ball Cave

We enjoyed exploring with the dingy and hiking around the cay. On Christmas Day we were happy to be able to call home, after which we opened our stockings that we gave to each other and then set off snorkeling. We snorkeled Thunder-ball Cave which is where the James Bond movie was set. We also snorkeled a few other locations returned to the boat for a relaxing afternoon. That evening we had a Christmas dinner at the Yacht Club along with many other cruisers. The menu was a set menu but was excellent, the main course being lobster and fillet minion.

Musha Cay

Boxing Day was spent traveling to find a safe anchorage near the cut we intended to use to exit to the Exuma Sound. We anchored up at Musha Cay, which is the island that David Copperfield owns. There we had a lovely swim and enjoyed the end of the day. Two fishermen flew past in their boat and held a lobster, John signaled them to come to us and we were able to buy 3 good-sized lobsters for $30 and Anthony one of the fishermen gave me some great shells. The lobster made a divine dinner, plus we were able to freeze one for next time.

Georgetown

The morning was a 6:30 start and we were through the cut by 7am. The conditions were great and the surge was minimal. The eastern shore was quite calm with a southeasterly wind we sailed to Georgetown. That passage can be tricky but we lucked out and had no problems at all. Even the notorious entrance to Georgetown went well.

Once there we anchored in Monument Bay and low and behold who was right there but our previous buddy boats, Carpe Diem and Kokomo. Then just an hour later Ted pulled in on his boat. Roland and Leta invited everyone to their 4pm Happy hour reunion where we all exchanged stories from the previous 10 days or so.

Georgetown is the main base for cruisers in the Bahamas. By mid season there can be hundreds of sailboats in the anchorages, at present there are around 80 or so. It is an enormous, safe anchorage, about a mile wide between two islands, Great Exuma and Stocking Island. There are numerous places to anchor, beach bars and such. Georgetown itself is reached by taking the dingy through a passageway into a lagoon called Lake Victoria. The town lies around Lake Victoria. There are 2 grocery stores and the other regular general stores. The people are very friendly and the atmosphere is very relaxed.

The usual weekly northerly front moved in just before the New Year bringing the highest gusts we have had 30 knots. John and I have walked up to the monument and just about the entire coast of Stocking island where we are anchored.

The beaches along the east coast are wild and fabulous the west coast beaches are calm and tranquil. The last few days of December were spent catching up on chores, getting the boat cleaned up and exploring Stocking Island.

New Year’s Eve was spent at D’s Place, which is a small beach hut/bar on the beach at Hamburger/Monument Bay where we are anchored. There we enjoyed a burger, our time with friends and sitting around the fire that Big D had made for the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s rather nice to think of oneself as a sailor bending over the map of one’s mind and deciding where to go and how to go. The great thing to remember is we can do whatever we wish to do provided our wish is strong enough.”  – Katherine Mansfield

“Wherever we want to go, we’ll go. That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is, what it really is, is freedom.”  unknown author