Time to leave the Bahamas

Tuesday, April 17

Who would have thought we’d manage to pull ourselves out of Black Point on a Tuesday … what will the crowd at Scorpio’s Bar at Happy Hour think of us???

Black Point Anchorage ... dinghy dock in foreground

s/v Maja at anchor

I’m sure we would have found many reasons to linger longer, but since meeting up with Gregg and Luba (s/v Rhapsody), friends from Brunswick, our daily talks have inevitably turned to exit plans. Since we are both headed back to Brunswick, it was also inevitable that we entertain ideas of travelling back together. Their route is to go thru Nassau and then make an overnight run into Lake Worth. From there, it’s another overnight hop into Brunswick. Hop, skip and jump and we’re back. They showed up with weather charts and maps on Monday, and once you start doing that sort of thing, there’s usually no turning back. We even went so far as to commit to a reservation at a marina in Nassau since there is a strong front coming in over the weekend. Hop, ship and jump back to Florida.

Spent my last day in the laundromat ... not the beach ... WTF?????

However, today’s weather report was not encouraging. The front that we thought would keep us in Nassau for 2 days looks like it could easily lock us in there for at least 4+ days. Since the marina is $80/night, we did the math and started to second guess the wisdom of investing $400+ in a trip thru Nassau. Our back up plan is to head to the Abacos and make our jump there. Knowing the Abacos as well as we do, there are a number of spots where we could wait out the weather, at considerably less expense. We spent the morning on the favorite boater’s pastime – the weather and how/if we should change plans. In the end, we figured that we’d be more comfortable going to the Abacos, which unfortunately meant that we’d be parting company with Gregg and Luba, as they were committed to Nassau.

We dragged our feet on leaving Black Point, one of our favorite places in the Exumas, finally hauling the anchor up at noon. We made a short hop over to Staniel Cay to do some food shopping … now we are provisioned to get us back to the states. We raised the sails for the 20mile run up to Warderick Wells. It was a fabulous day to be under sail – 15-20knots of wind – and we were made the trip in under 3 hours, anchoring just as the sun set.  (I so love daylight savings time!).

 Leaving Staniel Cay ... sigh ....

Dan hard at work ... watching the autopilot steer!

 

While Dan is at the helm, this is what I'm doing ... NO, not drinking!  I learned to weave while in the Jumentos, and after making several baskets, I'm into functional things, like wine bottle holders!

 

A great day to be a cruiser!

Wednesday, April 18

Now that we’re committed to moving north, we’ve got a strict schedule to follow to get to the Abacos by Saturday. No time to stop and explore the Exuma Land and Sea Park like we did last year.  Now, it's move, move, move every day, putting as many miles under our keel as we can before the next front hits us.

Our plan now is to go to the Hopetown Marina (taking advantage of our great discount as member of the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club) and wait out the squalls and 50 knot winds predicted to hit the Abacos on Saturday.  We'll be snugly tied to a dock in the marina until Wednesday, as the winds are supposed to continue to be above 25 knots.

We left Warderick Wells at 9:00am after listening to the weather and once again debating the pros/cons of our options … first between us, and then on the radio with Greg and Luba. As we left Warderick Wells, we got a call from our friends, John and Cindy on s/v Hawk who we met last year and spent about two weeks sailing together. They were in Black Point! Bah! Had we only known, we’d still be sitting there at anchor!

Today was one of our best sailing days … EVER!  All 4 sails up, no motor, 15 knots of wind in just the right direction for a truly beautiful day on the water. We travelled about 35 miles to Roberts Cay … we always stop here just to toast to our buddy, Robert Look!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Anchor up at 7:00am for the long, 45mile haul up to Royal Island. We are officially leaving the Exumas after 3 months and entering Eleuthera. This route takes us through the only passage we’ll make that is full of coral heads. Fortunately, we done this route a number of times, so we had a track saved on our GPS that showed us how to weave through the coral.

The wind was not nearly as pleasant today … it was coming directly behind us so the sails had a hard time keeping the wind. Add to that a 3-5 ft swell, and it was pretty much a rolly and slow passage; we ended up turning on the motor, something we haven’t had to do in a while. No luck fishing when we entered the deep water of North Providence Channel except for the barracuda that Dan landed and decided to keep for bait (yuck!  and he's keeping it in the freezer ... double yuck!).  But we have another deep water passage tomorrow into Little Harbor, and he really wants to catch at least one fish this trip!

Whew! After the slow going we’ve had for the past two months (except for the week with Jim when we travelled short hops every day), we’ll have 5, 10-hr days under our belt before we pull into Hopetown Harbor and rest our weary bones! Yes, you do get weary doing daily long passages with no time off for play along the way. Everything is just much harder to do when the boat is rocking and rolling and swishing.

Fingers crossed that the Gulf Stream will be settled by next Thursday so we can continue with our original plan to get back to Brunswick by the end of April. That’s when the countdown to Michelle and Craig’s wedding will begin in earnest! We are so homesick for family and friends … that celebration will be good for the soul!

Friday, April 20

Another early day.  Up at 6:30 for the weather report and underway by 7:00.  Today, we'll have a 50mile run out into the Atlantic Ocean to cross from Eleuthera into the Abacos.  We'll be sailing in deep blue water over 15,000 feet deep ... which always sends a shiver up our spines to contemplate!

Two boats sailing about 2 miles ahead of us reported seeing several whales ... which can be ultra exciting until you think about being in the path of a breaching whale!  Still, we would have loved to see one, but such was not our luck.  We did have two dolphins swimming in our bow wake for awhile though ...



 

Hope springs eternal for Capt Dan! 
 

Dan keep three lines in the water with his barracuda bait.  And he did catch two fish which promptly snapped the lines. One was a huge Mahi that we could see leaping thru the water behind us.  That one took off with over 300 ft of line ... the other fish almost took our other fishing pole along for a ride.  . 

 

Since we don't have the luxury of time on our side, we have to take whatever wind we get. Today was another SE 15-20 knots, which gave us about 3 hours of great sailing (saw 7-8 knots on our knotmeter!). until we turned north towards the Abacos. Then the wind was coming from our stern, and even with the sails poled out, the wind made more noise thrashing the sails back and forth than they did to power us forward. As our speed dropped to 3.5 knots (giving us an ETA of midnight!), we turned on the motor and only left up a small head sail and our mizzen sail (#4 sail in the back). The ocean swells were also pushing us from behind ... which usually is a good thing, when there is a predictable swell you can ride. But today, we had was is called "confused seas" ... meaning that they came from the left, then the right, and then directly behind.

Look into your washing machine the next time you are doing laundry and you'll get a general idea of what life was like for us the last 30 miles of the trip (roughly 7 hours). This had to be the worst day on the water we've had all year. Nasty Nasty Nasty. 

Dan was hand steering for the last 5 hours, as he could do a better job than the autopilot to time the swells.  But as the swells climbed to 10 feet, we were mostly just getting pushed from side to side, seemingly with very little control over how the boat moved thru the water.  Not much you can do at times like this ... just suck it up, watch the mileage tick down, and promise yourself that "next time", you'll make an ocean crossing under better conditions.

Seeing the entrance to Little Harbor, Abacos, on the horizon was the best thing we saw all day!

We crossed into the harbor at 5pm. with every intention of doing some serious drinking and going to bed.  However, with the dire weather forecast for Saturday wearing heavily on our minds, and 25 miles to go before reaching the safety of Hopetown Marina, we decided to continue on.  At least now we were out of the ocean and into calm water which definitely gave us a new lease on life.  We were able to sail another 15 miles, before anchoring at Tilloo Cay at sunset.  Then we did some drinking, ate cold leftovers for dinner, and crawled gratefully into bed.  65 miles today ... a long, long day under nasty conditions (just so you know not everyday is paradise on a sailing boat in the Bahamas!)

 

 

Saturday, April 21

No luxury yet of sleeping in as we needed to make the shallow entrance into Hopetown Harbor on a rising tide.  So, up again at 6:30 to listen to the weather forecast that repeatedly advised all boaters listening to expect UGLY weather for the next two days.

 

Thunderheads ... signs of what's blowing our way.

 

Fortunately, we had a short two-hour run into Hopetown Harbor and were snugged up to the dock by 10:00 a.m.  Hopetown is picture-perfect-cute, so we decided to enjoy this last day of good weather and spent the day in town where all the luxuries of civilization abound ... like ice cream!!

 

Entrance to Hopetown ... marked by their classic lighthouse.

You can see the ripples from the wind in the channel entrance....which is normally glass-calm.

 

At 7pm the rain started to fall.  Sometime after 10pm, squalls hit with gusts up to 50 knots!  That could be a new high for us!  But, we've got 8 docks lines out and double bumpers on each dock piling.  So we can hear the howling but don't feel much movement from our secure dockage ... which is just fine with us! 

No problem spending 4-5 days here.  Our next likely window for crossing over to Florida is Wednesday.

More Pictures at Black Point - we love it here!

OK .... so we've been anchored at Black Point long enough that the locals think we should register to vote .... here's some pictures to validate that this is a damn fine place to a hang out for weeks on end ...

at anchor with s/v Meant to Be ... note that we are anchored in the same depth as 2 catamarans!

Sometimes, when we feel that we should be cruising, we up anchor and go around the corner from Black Point Settlement to the next bay!  These exquisite little bays are lined up for our convenience, one right after another in a 10-mile stretch. Little Harbor, then Jacks Bay Cove, White Point, Heady's Landing .... each has a beach that feels like you are stepping into vanilla pudding (no rocks, no shells, no nothing but fine sand) ... each one has a trail over the ocean where we go in search of sea beans and sea glass ... and each one we have to ourselves.  This is the real reason we are having such a hard time pointing our bow north (not the Tue/Thurs/Fri Happy Hours at Scorpios!)

The Sand Castle....our friends, Jean and Doug built this beautiful home and invited us for dinner

(their other home = Aurora, CA!)

Nice place!  They did all their shopping at the Home Depot in Ft Lauderdale. They rented a tanker to haul everything over in over trip ... including windows, ladders, nails, light switches, cement, tool chests, jack hammer, solar panels, furniture, I mean 'everything' they would need to build the house.

This dinner was a highlight of our trip this year!

They chose a round design to ward off hurricanes. Each turret is a bedroom or den.

 

Lovely, lovely views from EVERY window.

Peg and Frank O'Brien also built a beautiful home around the corner from Black Point, which they were gracious enough to let us tour.  Another amazing feat of planning and perseverance!

Peg and Frank OBrien

OBriens Landing

 

Gotta love a home with an outside dining room!

that's us!

 

The nicest sand we've ever buried our feet in!

 

 

It's Tuesday, so we must be back at Scorpios for Happy Hour (even the bartender is asking "weren't you supposed to be heading north by now???".  BEST rum drinks in Bahamas.We met up with Greg and Lubba from s/v Rhapsody here; haven't seen  them in two years since we left Brunswick Landing Marina.  What a treat!

Despite the best happy hours in the Bahamas at Scorpios (did I mention the conch fritters?), we only planned to stay here one night before starting our slow journey north.  However, the winds and squalls have not cooperated, so we've been at anchor here for 5 days waiting for the weather to moderate (two days were bad enough to keep us boat-bound as we watched two-foot breakers move through the anchorage!!!!).

Tuesday, April 17th, tax day is our current goal to start moving again.  We are tentatively planning to travel with s/v Rhapsody from Shroud Cay to Nassau to Lake Worth to Brunswick.  With a good weather window, we could complete our trip in 5 days.  Plan B is to continue up thru the Abacos and make our crossing there ....

As with all things cruising, it will depend on the weather ... so we shall see....

Travels with Jim - Mar 30 - Apr 7

Friday, March 30

Finally, the wait is over!  After nearly 3 weeks at Black Point (where we decided to wait out the windy March weather), it was time to up anchor and head north 10 miles to get Jim at the Staniel Cay airport.

Our stash of sea beans has grown!

And Nancy learned how to weave baskets from palms!

Our time in Black Point was productive as we got 8 coats of varnish on the teak, waxed the hull, and polished all the stainless steel (I know, not as exciting as it sounds!) … plus we got the know the owner of the grocery store by name, Ida, as well as the bartender, Zhivago, at our favorite bar!  A few trips in the big boat out of the anchorage, but mostly, we were saving ourselves for Jim!

As promised, the weather and high winds moderated the closer we got to April.  It was down to 10 knots when we anchored off of Staniel Cay at noon.  We had time to get a jug of gasoline at the marina fuel dock and a bag of groceries at the store as we walked up to the airport (just gotta love an island where you can walk from the boat to the airport!).  Jim’s plane landed on time and we were there with camera ready!  Such a great site to see a good friend get off a plane!  And considering that Jim had spent the night in the Chicago airport, he looked great indeed!
 

Because the weather was so nice, we decided to leave Staniel Cay right away and get this vacation started!  We headed south about 15 miles to Hetty’s Land, a  lovely anchorage we’d yet to visit ... and one that we had all to ourselves (only the 2^nd time that’s happened this year).  Along with a rum drink, this was definitely a nice way to introduce Jim to the Exumas!  Oh yes, and fresh Grouper for dinner …



Saturday, March 31

There is a lot to do at Hetty’s Land, so we are staying here for the day.  For starters, we had our favorite Bahamian breakfast – Coconut bread French toast, bacon, champagne (OK, the champagne is probably not a Bahamian staple, but we had Jim’s impending retirement in June to celebrate).

 

Our first outing was a hike over to the ocean.  This is our routine at every anchorage … go to shore and find a trail that takes you from the banks side to the ocean side. You never know what the trail will be like or what you’ll find on the other side.  This trail took us through a long stretch of palm trees (useful, since I’ve learned to weave down here), across a barren salt pond, then over some rocks to the shore.  Not much of a sandy beach but we found a small inlet that offered a few surprises. 

For starters, we showed Jim how to sift thru the muck that the high tide brings in looking for sea beans, and he found his first sea bean!  After that, we ventured over a large mass of sea weed to take a peek at an interesting rock structure and found a sea cave that opened on the other side.  Very cool!

 

After the long, hot hike back to the boat, it was time for our next daily routine (no, not rum drinks!) … snorkeling!  There is a nice shelf along the anchorage that we’d heard was worth checking out, so Dan brought along his spear gun.  Jim and I saw a HUGE Grouper, an assortment of weird looking things, some small reefs, but the real excitement came when Dan shot a Lionfish, an invasive, nasty fish that is the bane of the Bahamas because it is quickly spreading and decimating the reefs as it spreads.

Now, it was time for rum!

Sunday, April 1

We left Hetty’s Land at 7:30 a.m. for the 50 mile run down to Georgetown.  We hadn’t planned on taking Jim to Georgetown since bad weather on either side of the passage can ruin a great vacation … but we needed to extend our Visitors Permit and Georgetown was the only accessible Immigration Office.  Fortunately, Jim’s arrival brought in a week of mild, settled weather, so we had a great trip down.  Light winds, but we still managed to turn off the motor and just sail for about 4 hours.  Getting to Georgetown involves crossing from the shallow banks to the deep water of the Exuma Sound, where we would have our best chance at catching fish in over 1000 feet of water.  Unfortunately, not today, despite Jim’s best efforts.

After an 11-hr day on the water, we anchored at 6:30pm at Sand Dollar Beach in GTW, next to our friends Ed and Karin, s/v Passages (who were also in GT to renew their visitor’s permit).  Karin is a fabulous cook, and should you have the good fortune to anchor by them after a long passage, she always invites you over for dinner!  We were dead tired, so it was a great offer – lasagna, salad, bread and cheesecake (honestly, who makes cheesecake for dessert on a boat!). 

Monday, April 2

Today was all about getting business done in Georgetown.  Elizabeth Harbor was as still as a pond so the dinghy ride into town was the most pleasant I’ve had all season.  Our stop as Immigration was quick and easy, and then we went to our favorite restaurant, the Peace & Plenty for lunch (where we decided they have the BEST Pina Coladas in the Bahamas, made by “Doc” the mixologist). 

After some shopping, we were back on the boat and off to The Marina at Emerald Bay for the night.  This place is bar-none the nicest marina we have ever been in (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous nice), and we definitely wanted Jim to experience the wonderful showers that they have (along with free laundry!).  Ed and Karin were also there so they could watch the NCAA final basketball game, so we had time to visit with them while Dan and Jim played pool in the billiard room (yes, this marina does have a billiard room!!). 

There is a Sandals resort nearby, along with Grand Isles Resort, and Jim took us out to dinner there (giving us a perfect record of delicious dinners every night since he arrived!).  After which we watched the game on the big-screen TV at the bar and walked the beach at the Sandals resort.  There should be a full-moon by the end of the week.

Tuesday, April 3

On the move again by 10am to cover the 50 miles north on the Exuma Sound.  The winds were very light so we had to motor-sail.  Still no luck fishing, even though Jim was able to try a few new things that we bought in Georgetown.   So what do you do on an 8-hr passage when the fish aren’t biting?  Read books, polish sea beans, weave baskets (my latest craze) … and oh yes, rum drinks!

Today we anchored at Black Point about 5:30pm, which is one of our favorite spots in the Bahamas b/c it’s truly a ‘real’ Bahamian community.  We barbecued dinner on the boat and played domino's until late in the evening.

The weather has been perfect.  Clear days, mild winds and a sky-full of stars every night.

Wednesday, April 4

Hump day, which means that Jim’s vacation is half over, and we are trying not to panic!  We spent the morning exploring Black Point – the small stores, the walk over to the ocean to search for sea beans (Jim found bean #2) and sea glass, and walking back to town thru the shallow water at the end of the anchorage, which has sand as soft as silk. 

We definitely could have stayed longer, but we are trying to show Jim all the highlights of the central Exumas so we raised anchored at 12:30 and headed north to the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  We arrived at Cambridge Cay at 4:30 (our favorite part of the park) where we were able to get one of the last mooring balls in the anchorage.  Lots to do here tomorrow, but still we managed to stay up late and have Jim kick our butts at Scrabble.

Thursday, April 5

Today Jim got a taste of what cruising life is really like … the morning weather forecast brought a change in the weather, which generally means a change in cruising plans.   A cold front was headed our way with high winds and squalls (predictions going as high as 50-60 knots!!).  The front was coming from Florida which meant that we’d have West winds, which are the worst because the Exuma Banks and anchorages face west, meaning there is virtually no protection from westerly winds.  So now we have to balance our nice travel agenda with the realities of weather. 

On the plus side, our anchorage at Cambridge Cay provides one of the few spots in the Bahamas with protection to the west, as we are nestled in a large bay with land on 3 sides.  We are also on a secure mooring which means we can rest easy as the wild winds blow, not worrying about our anchor dragging (or anyone else’s!).  So we are actually in a great place to handle a blow; the only negative is that we had places yet to go and see before Jim left.  

So this was a typical morning for us – debating the weather and alternative cruising plans over coffee!  In the end, we decided to stay put, hoping that the front moved thru according to plan, and we’d have no problems getting Jim back to Staniel Cay on Saturday for his return flight (e.g. if the storm stalls, it could hit us hard on Saturday morning instead of Friday night….)

 

Jim and Dan braved the high winds and current to go snorkeling at the “Sea Aquarium”, one of the best snorkeling reefs in the Exumas.  It was a tough swim against a strong current, but they got some great underwater pictures.

Next, we went to shore and hiked over to the ocean (I know this routine might sound repetitious, but ask Jim, it’s not!  Each trail is different, and somehow, each view of the ocean is new and different).

 

 

 Squalls started to move in during the afternoon, so we buttoned up the boat, cooked spaghetti for dinner, made brownies and played dominoes.

Friday, April 6

Today was kinda bittersweet because it was the last full day with Jim … yet for a day that was supposed to be full of squalls, it turned out to be a beautiful one.  After some rain in the morning, the skies cleared and we decided to do a traditional beach day, loading up the dinghy with towels and chairs and books and beer.  There’s just something so relaxing about sitting on the sand with a good book; I’m not sure why this is the first time we’ve done it this year.  What a day!  Go swimming when you get hot; sit in the shade to get away from the sun; find a trail over to the ocean and explore what the shore looks like on that side.

 

 

 

Tonight the squalls came thru and we were indeed protected behind our spit of land at Cambridge Cay.  Good decision to stay here.

Saturday, April 7

We left Cambridge Cay at 8:30, riding the high tide out thru the cut onto the banks.  Today definitely affirmed that we were glad we didn’t go back to Staniel Cay early because we had a fabulous sail back to Staniel with 20-25 knots of wind under clear blue skies.

We anchored at Big Majors Spot at 11:30am, and by noon were on our way into shore.  The dinghy ride from Big Majors to Staniel Cay is about 2miles, and those high winds that were so lovely to sail now drove us into a choppy sea, so that we were soaked by the time we reached shore …. and Jim wearing his last clean clothes!  We had lunch at a fund-raiser for the local school, a final rum punch at the Staniel Cay Marina bar, and then it was time to head off to the airport. 

 

Alas, all good things must end.  And such it was as we waved goodbye to Jim, from the seat he got up front, right next to the pilot!  How’s that for travelling first class!!!!

Hasta la vista

 

 

For us, it was a lonely walk back to the boat, with thoughts that it’s now time to start considering the route for our return to the northern Bahamas, the Abacos, and our crossing back to the U.S.

To make matters worse, we arrived back at our dinghy after Jim left to find it high and dry at low tide!  We were a good 15ft from the water, and fortunately, another boater took pity and helped us drag her to the waterline!