Back to the Cold Hard North

Spring was over in Inagua—hot, sweaty, and we actually snorkeled without wetsuits a couple of times, however we reluctantly made one last dive and headed back north to the Acklins.  This time we did not stop at Hogsty Reef and it was a long but good sail to Datum Bay in 6-12 foot seas.  Our boat does the big waves much better than 2-4 footers.  It just rolls up and down with little slamming but you still can’t do much but sit and read a book.  The first thing I noticed was that it was COLD—well… colder.

From Datum Bay it was a short hop to Fish Cay where we found some great beachcombing.  Heart urchin shells were everywhere—I was amazed that so many were intact since they are quite fragile.  The beach was criss-crossed with crab and lizard tracks.  Bill finally spotted a small green iguana hiding under a bush—very unlike the large pink and grey ones in the Exumas, these iguanas were shy—not conditioned to people feeding them.  The curly-tailed lizards were another story, though.  I stooped to take a picture of one and 2 more approached me and continued to run around my feet until I moved on.  On the way back to the boat we snorkeled on some patch reefs. 

Another short trip and we arrived back at Long Cay.  Our stay there before was cut off because we needed to find a more sheltered area across Acklin Bight so that we could change the dingy motor’s water pump.  I took more than 100 pictures (I do love digital) of the flamingos using the longer lens that I had not brought with me last time.  After taking pictures we went ashore and hiked the road to the village of Albert Town on the other side of the island.  The camera ran out of battery just as we landed, but we saw several goats as we hiked the dirt road up hills and down into swamps and salt pans.  The town was supposed to have some very friendly people but it was completely deserted.  No one was there—kind of eerie.  Later on we figured that since it was Wednesday, everyone may have taken the government ferry to Crooked Island to get groceries.  When we got back a couple of fishermen were just coming in—the first people we had seen all day.

Some windy weather was approaching so our next destination was the protected harbor at Clarence Town, Long Island.  We had been to the north end of Long Island in previous years but not the southeastern side.  We anchored next to an inviting island that I kayaked over to early the next morning.  I watched the storm coming as I took pictures of critters exposed and in the tide pools.  Rounded weathered coral was piled among the iron shore and similar piles from another time were embedded in the rock.  I got back to the boat just as the storm hit. 

Clarence Town is famous for its 2 churches built by Father Jerome in the late 1800s, who was first an architect (among several other things including both an Anglican and Catholic priest) sent to rebuild churches after a hurricane.  His churches feature sturdy block roofs.  The Anglican Church there had a partial shingle roof that had been removed by the hurricane last year.  The Catholic Church had a completely block roof and was unharmed.  We picked up some good fresh bread from the bakery and some very reasonably priced produce and did laundry—clean clothes are nice!  We do have a washing machine on board but we have found that our watermaker makes water at a slow rate so we have chosen not to use the washing machine—something to upgrade for next trip. 

We were eager to get to good snorkeling and diving at Conception Island and sailed out of Clarence Town right after the bad weather was over and got there just in time to do some snorkeling at a shallow elkhorn reef we had visited 3 years ago.  Much of the coral was shattered but still live lying on the bottom and some of it scoured and replaced by algae.  Shallow water corals are subject to battering by waves and shifting sand—the facts of life in that habitat—it was a bit depressing but there were signs of regrowth.   On the other side of the island were massive coral heads riddled with large caves and swim- throughs.  Surprisingly few fish were on these reefs where there were many fish on the inside reefs.

A large creek leads into the interior of Conception Island and we were able to take the dingy quite a ways up it through the mangroves.  It was strange to see sparkling blue water in the mangroves where I am used to seeing more greenish water. Small Green Turtles, stingrays and sharks darted out of the way as we motored through.  A trip around the rest of the island was hampered by waves but the sculptured stone sand dunes were spectacular. Tropic birds soared above us, appearing blue from the reflection of the blue water on their pure white feathers. In fact white boats and even the clouds are often that beautiful-water blue. 

When there is no internet access (which is most of the time), we have to depend on weather information at 6am (after the reading of the constitution preamble and morning devotion) from the Bahamas AM Radio Station in Nassau which is inconsistent at best.  Another upgrade for next time will be an SSB radio that will be able to access more reliable weather information.   We had gathered enough information from the outdated internet weather download and the radio though to know that a cold front and low pressure system were approaching and the next legs of the trip would have to be planned around suitable harbors of which there were going to be very few of in our path.    So we decided to head for the southeastern side of Cat Island where we would get shelter from the first impacts of the approaching weather system. 

Indeed the barometer dipped as the thunderstorms rumbled by and the wind kicked up into the 30s.  All day was overcast and raining—the first time we have had this type of weather all trip.  We thought we might leave Monday but, instead decided to ride it out a little north at New Bight.  After a day cooped up in the boat we were ready to get off and we braved the waves and spray to go to town.  We were able to pick up a few items that we had to get back to the boat.  I had hoped that we could hike up Mt. Alverina, the highest hill in the Bahamas where Father Jerome built his retirement home however, it was too rough to return. 

The next day promised to be better—the wind had laid down and we headed out for Eleuthera Island right after sunup.  We knew this to be a long trip but the wind came back up with pounding 2-4 foot waves and unfavorable wind and current direction which made it a pretty miserable passage.  We finally gave up on the sails—tacking only changed the direction of the wind (funny how that happens)—and made the trip longer.  We usually leave one sail up to stabilize the boat but it made no difference when we took them down.  A crack in the deck had been discovered in Clarence Town a few days ago where one of the shrouds (these are the wires on the side that hold up the mast) was attached.  This may have happened during a hard unexpected jibe (when the sail switches sides due to a switch in boat direction or wind).  The manufacturer of the boat said it should be ok but to be careful with it until we can get it checked out. 

We dared hope that Rock Sound would be as quiet and protected as described in our cruising guide.  We were exhausted when we anchored about 10pm and shut off the engines—there was complete and utter quiet and NO boat motion or water noise.  It was very weird and we had the first good night’s sleep in a long time.  In the morning I picked up books, papers, tools, etc that had been thrown around, we moved the boat closer to the town and dingyed in. The restaurant on the beach offered free wifi but it was not working—however there was a beautiful view while we ate lunch.  There is a real grocery store here—something I have not seen in several weeks—all in all a very pleasant place to stay.  Except for one thing—it is cold—62 F yesterday morning. 

Filling In

We found good internet here in Matthew Town on Inagua. This is the only town on this relatively large island at the most southern tip of the Bahamas. For the past few days we have been anchored in Man O War Bay (about 10 miles north of the town) which is probably the closest place to Heaven on earth. There is reef just off the stern and it goes on and on--any water depth you wish to dive. The water is clear and blue because the oceanic water is less than 1/4 mile away.

When we left Georgetown I was pretty good about recording what was happening day by day but it didn't last. Here it is--I will try to fill in the holes later.

George Town to Acklin Islands

3-17-12-Saturday

Kitty gave me that “oh no—not this again” look and headed off to the back bunk when Bill started the engines. We pulled up the anchor just before 8am. There was an organized cruisers rally to Long Island and we passed a few early starters as we left Elizabeth Harbor. The channel is lined with rocks and reefs and the 4-5 foot swell coming from Exuma Sound crashed on the rocks. About 10:00 am we crossed the Tropic of Cancer and officially entered the tropics. There is a cut through the Little Exumas that would give us a straight shot to the southern tip of Long Island; however the tide was not favorable for that passage so we rounded Sand Cay at the very end of the Exumas and met up with our course on the other side. As we rounded Sand Cay the Long Island Rally sailboats made a beautiful sight.

The swell decreased on the banks and the fishing lines were set up in hopes of catching dinner. Not too long and a barracuda hit one of the lines but cut the lure off as Bill reeled it in. We didn’t want a barracuda anyway. I reeled in another one and we gave up fishing until we got into the deeper water. Then we got lucky and Bill brought in a beautiful Cero Mackerel.

Due to having to go around, we realized we weren’t going to make it to our planned destination so we came in closer to shore and anchored in anticipation of a fresh fish dinner. Just after we anchored, a fishing boat approached and asked about where they could get fuel. This made us a bit nervous since we were out in the middle of nowhere and it seemed odd that people would be out here with not knowledge of the area. We directed them best we could to a town about 12 miles south. It was getting dark and I hope they made it. In any case we didn’t see them again.

3-18-12 Sunday

Another long day of traveling—so we got up at sunrise and made way through a morning of small squalls and rainbows. When we passed the tip of Long Island we were “out at sea” with 4-6 foot seas and some 7-8 footers. The boat rides up and down the big waves well--it’s the 2 footers that make for a rough ride. We made good time across the Crooked Island Passage and rounded the tip of Long Cay about 3:00. The water in the bight was an amazing emerald green color. I made up some salsa and baked the fish in it.

3-19-12-monday

We are now in the Acklins, a remote set of Islands grouped around a shallow bight. There are a few small settlements and at one time ships stopped to refuel with coal here. The radio is silent and we have not seen any other boats other than a couple of fishermen in skiffs. We are now truly on our own. After 2 days of sailing all day we took it easy but by early afternoon my gills were getting dry and I was ready to see what was in the water. Unfortunately, the tidal current was swift and I ended up hanging onto a line taking a look at the grassy bottom where I saw starfish, sand divers, and watched several tiny flounder chase each other around. What I wanted to do was take a look at the dark spots where I expected to find patches of coral or rock. Finally the current calmed down and I swam out about 100 yards to the nearest patch. I was surprised to find a very thick grass patch with potholes in the middle. Several large squirrelfish, grunts, tangs and Nassau grouper were squirming in and out of the holes pushing each other out of the way. I have no idea what they were doing. Also I saw 4 lobsters! I yelled for Bill to bring me the gloves and tickler and I found 2 of legal size. We visited several more of these dark patches and found them to be similar. It doesn’t look like we will go hungry here.

3-20-12-Tuesday

Happy Spring! The Acklin Bight is shallow but large and not particularly sheltered from the east wind which happened to go with the outgoing tide. However when the tide changed, the forces of the wind and current worked to position the boat broadside to the waves which tends to roll you out of bed. This happened early in the morning when I wasn’t really ready to wake up but going back to sleep was impossible.

Long Cay has a population of flamingos that we were eager to find so we repositioned the boat closer to the shore we expected to find them. In fact we could see them as a pink smudge just off the beach. We launched the dingy and took pictures but discovered the engine was overheating and barely made it back to the boat. This is not a good place to have boat trouble—no one to help but we were ok. Now we need to find a more sheltered place so that we can remove the motor to replace the water pump—at least we have one. Tomorrow the plan is to travel across the bight to Ackland Island where there is anchorage sheltered from the east wind. We were planning to be there Thursday anyway because the weather forecast was for the wind to pick up.

3-21-12-Wednesday

Strong squalls the night before allowed for little sleep—there was no lightning but the rain came down horizontally in 40mph winds. Anchor held well. In order to have the deepest water possible across the bight, we started at sunrise and crossed to Delectible Bay at Acklin Island with no problem. The wind is still blowing hard but we are better sheltered from the waves and currents. Another boat came in the afternoon.

3-22-12-Thursday

Got out the kayak today and headed for shore. I first visited the ruins of the government dock. A supply ship was waiting to unload at a landing place a little ways up the island closer to the village. The interior of the island has a lake and I set out to find the inlet. The inlet was barely deep enough for the kayak and the lake was very shallow. I was hoping that there might be flamingos there but there were no birds. I am puzzled by the lack of waterfowl and seabirds in the Bahamas. I saw a few terns on the dock and a heron in flying in the distance—no seagulls—very strange but typical.

While I was gone, Bill rigged up the dingy motor so we can lift it onto the boat for repairs. We will wait for the wind to calm down a bit before we do that. We did put a new water pump on the dingy motor and got it working--Hurray!!!

The next day we headed for Datum Bay at the southern tip of Acklin Island. We found some good snorkeling there but were eager to get on to Hogsty Reef. The crossing to Hogsty was a motorsail crossing because the wind was right out of the direction we were going. Hogsty Reef is an Atoll (a circular reef created from a sunken island)--the only one in the Atlantic--and if you want to be out there in the middle of the ocean, this is the place. I have a picture from the air that I took on the way to Barbados last year. To our surprise, there was another boat anchored there and we soon met Alex and Maria from Austria. They went snorkeling with us and helped us eat the huge lobsters Bill and I caught. It seems that Hogsty Reef had been an exciting place a couple of days before we arrived. A fishing boat came in with a crew that did not really know what they were doing anchored on the wrong side of the reef then they lost their anchor. The coast guard came and picked them up--the boat was abandoned. As we were talking about this we asked what the name of the boat was--Fish Master--This was the same boat that approached us asking for where to get fuel at Long Island. I don't know what the deal was with them. They appeared to not know what they were doing and told the coast guard that they had no food or water.

The anchorage at Hogsty Reef afforded little protection and we had bouncy nights with little sleep. So we think it was Thursday that we crossed to Inagua. We had great wind and sailed at about 8 kts with a reef in the sail. NO MOTORS!!!--Love it! Bill wanted to go into Alfred Sound but it was too choppy so we ended up at Man O War Bay--calm waters and a good night's sleep were welcome. And, as I said--Beautiful!!

Snail Mail and Stormy Weather--But there is hope!

The original “plan” was to take a week or 2 here in George Town, reprovision, have mail sent to us then continue on with the truly adventurous part of our trip-south to Inagua. However, 5 weeks later, we are still here by a combination of our mail naivete and some typical spring weather--wind and squalls. We had a couple of really wild days of near 40mph winds where we had to stay in all day, but most of the time we have dealt with it. We've read alot of books--I'm pretty tired of reading about psychopaths and smart detectives but that seems to be what is available at the book exchange. We did discover Carl Hiassen books which are of that genre but delightfully twisted. I have taken up Yoga on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and that has given me a reason to keep track of what day it is. I have made some friends and one day we decided to take a girls lunch out. So I drove the dingy across the harbor to town and we had a good lunch at the Peace and Plenty. The wind picked up during the day and by the time we were ready to go back there were nearly 2 foot seas in the harbor. Needless to say we got wet and my friends did a valiant job of bilge-pumping so we did not sink. The guys just shook their heads. For me it was like sampling at Crab Hole.

Snorkeling has been good here. Bill and I got one good day on the Exuma Sound side and found some nice coral reef but there are many shallow patch reefs in the Harbor that can be snorkeled in just about any weather. Last week someone asked if the ban on spearfishing in the harbor included lionfish. The harbormaster cleared spearfishing for lionfish so one night we had lionfish sandwiches for dinner. I have not seen too many here compared to other places though. We have seen some nice big lobsters but they all have good dens and we come back with only fire coral stings.

There are many hiking trails all over Stocking Island and I have hiked about all of them. The Sound-side beaches are beautiful and a nice mixture of rocks and sand. I have so many pictures of the beaches--they are different every day.

Many people get to Georgetown and stay the whole season or longer. There is a huge cruising community here (right now about 250 boats) and the town is happy to have our economic input. Every morning there is the Cruisers Net where activities are be announced and people can get together.

NEWS FLASH--THE MAIL HAS ARRIVED!!! We will be leaving tomorrow going south. We were going anyway and coming back here but now we can go on!!! So check the SPOT tomorrow we will be moving!

Waiting!!

So here we are stuck in George Town waiting for our mail to come. It was sent priority over a week ago and it took 4 days to get from Jacksonville to Miami. Now it is in Miami getting "sorted?" Bad mistake--someone told us it took 2 weeks to get his mail. Live and learn!

In the meantime, we are enjoying beautiful water and weather and caught a slipper lobster the other day for dinner. We saw 2 huge lobsters yesterday but we were not able to get them-they had good holes.

A note on Pictures

Slowly but surely I am getting pictures uploaded. What I have done today is create new slideshows but the pictures will not be available all at once. Keep checking any slideshows from Highborne Cay on for new pictures.

Sailing the Exumas

Hello from George Town!! Burrrrr!!!!! It was 66o this morning when I woke up and the wind is still blowing although it has now clocked around to the east which is more protected. We got here Saturday afternoon.

The Exumas are the island chain on the eastern side of the Tongue of the Ocean.
When we left Fresh Creek we headed due east about 54 miles to Highborne Cay at the northern end of the chain. The wind sped us along and a lone dolphin joined us for a few minutes. We anchored at Highborne Cay just before sunset while we watched 2 seaplanes deliver guests to the live-aboard next to us. The next day we took the dingy to Allen’s Cay where there are Exumas iguanas. Boats from Nassau bring people there to see them and feed them grapes and the iguanas emerge from the bushes when they hear boat motors. We went over to a neighboring island which was ruled by a huge iguana. The water was crystal clear and the shallow reefs we snorkeled were beautiful.

Sailing is leisurely once in the Exumas. The islands are close together and for most of the way you usually have a choice of sailing on protected water either on the inside banks or the outside Exuma Sound. Over the next few days (they are all running together now) we Island hopped and snorkeled accompanied by Marion, Boyd and their dog, Zola on s/v Chinook Winds. From Highborn, the next stop was Norman’s Cay on Jan. 30. There is a harbor with beautiful water, a perfect little island, and the wreck of a cargo plane that was being delivered to the drug lord that used to live here during the ‘70s and 80’s. It is said that pilot ran out of gas and didn’t make it to the runway. Shortly after we anchored there was a rainstorm and the wind picked up but we still got a good snorkel at the airplane. It was windy and stormy all night but we were well sheltered in the harbor.

Next stop was the Exuma Land and Sea Park where we took a mooring ball for the night at Emerald Rock. We hiked up Boo Boo Hill and to the blow holes—and, of course did more snorkeling. Then on to Compass Cay where we spent a VERY rocky night causing us to move the boat the next day to a more sheltered part of the island. Marion wanted to see the Bubble Bath, which is a walk up a creek to a basin where the waves crash in and make a bunch of foam. While walking back we surprised an octopus who squirted a big bunch of ink.

Once we got out of the park we could fish again and look for lobster but all we have done is fish and not catch and the only lobsters we have seen were there because they had good holes. It used to be when looking for lobster you had to be wary of long-spined sea urchins and moray eels. The sea urchins disappeared for a while—a disease killed most of them but they are back now. A new impediment to lobstering is lionfish. They are everywhere and hang around holes in the reef where lobsters might live. They are not the least bit shy and do not move when you approach. I have come close to hitting one with an arm or leg before I knew it was there. Bill and I will come up, at some point, with the best way to spear and bring some lionfish up for dinner. They are good eating and my blackened seasoning would be great.

Staniel Cay was our next stop. This has become a very popular spot and many people were there for the Super Bowl Party at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Thunderball Grotto is a spectacular snorkel during low slack tide. This large cave, open at spots at the top, was a scene in the James Bond movie Thunderball. It is surrounded by coral and sponges and friendly fish inside and out. Inside sponges rule but it takes a camera flash to see the bright colors. We also found an interesting drift dive that I later discovered was called Blue Valley by the local dive shop. We just got out of our dingys and held onto the ropes as we drifted by soft coral, Nassau groupers and a large eagle ray. The dive ended at a shallow coral reef where we picked up a couple of conchs. The next snorkel was at a small reef near Fowl Cay where I found an octopus that posed for a picture. It suddenly disappeared and when I asked Bill if he knew where it went he replied that the octopus was hiding from the shark. Sure enough—I looked up to see a 6 foot reef shark—he was not very interested in us though, and just swam by. We did not tell Marion and Boyd until we were back at the boat eating conch salad.

Staniel Cay was the end of the road for Marion and Boyd since they have to be back in Sasketchtuan in April so they headed back to the park and we proceeded south stopping at Black Point to do laundry at one of the nicest Laundromats I’ve been to. Then it was on to Little Farmer’s Cay. The number of lionfish on the small scattered patch reefs there was quite remarkable. Often a dozen would be packed in and around one hole. The one lobster I saw there was not an option because it was surrounded by lionfish.

The winds had been light and from the south so there was not much sailing to be done. We motored between islands charging our batteries and didn’t even bother raising the sails for the trip from Farmers to Lee Stocking Island. It was a good opportunity, though, for making water with our R/O unit since we were now on the Exuma Sound side in deep blue clear ocean water. Still no fish! At Lee Stocking Island we got out the SCUBA gear and dove a beautiful reef just south of Adderly Cut then came on into the mooring balls field just off the CMRC research station. I was lucky to have spent a week working there about this time in 2003. Since then I have always had a piece of me there. The water colors are just incredibly beautiful. Bill wearies of me staring out and wistfully saying “beautiful water”.

I wanted to stay a couple of days at Lee Stocking Island but the wind was so favorable for the sail to George Town and the weather was predicted to be rather poor for the next few days. We glided down Exuma Sound at 8 kts. with no motors. So here we are anchored in front of the Chat n Chill bar, the gathering point for cruisers here. There are about 300 boats in the harbor right now and at night the anchor lights look like a city. Yesterday Bill and I played volleyball—haven’t done that in probably 30 years—we managed not to hurt ourselves. Thank goodness the sand is soft.

There are several things we will do while in George Town in preparation for the next part of our trip that will take us “off the beaten path” to the most southern part of the Bahamas. Internet is somewhat reasonable here so I will try to update everything before we continue.

Fresh Creek

We headed south to Fresh Creek with Chinook Winds following and anchored out just behind the barrier islands. We had good sailing and , on the way, a Mahi accepted our invitation to dinner. I reeled it in--my first. Yesterday we came into the creek and docked at the Lighthouse Marina so that we could do some laundry and get a few supplies and introduce Marion and Boyd to the "hogfish" at Hanks Bar. Today it was pretty wavy but we dingied out and snorkeled on the Porites coral reef. No sharks--that's good.

Tomorrow we will head for Highbourne Cay and the Exumas.