Abacos to Florida

4/29/16    To26 49.033N,    77 21.916W    Manjack Cay    16.2NM

Friday morning we awoke to another sunny day in paradise with the only downside being a lack of wind.  Light winds translate into an easy passage around the Whale (about 3NM from exit to entrance over a 12' shoal N of the cay), but the lack of wind means motoring opposed to sailing.  Guess we can't have everything.  And it's better than getting stuck like we did the first trip, waiting for the seas to abate enough for a safe passage.

We'd carefully spent all our Bahamian money before we took on fuel in Marsh Harbor where we didn't make the minimum of $50 to use a credit card.  Paying cash wasn't a big deal, but getting $9 Bahamian as change was irritating.  We considered using it as part of the payment for the mooring at Great Guana Cay or sharing a drink at Nipper's, but moved to anchor and skipped the drink.  Leonard decided we'd check out New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay where we'd have no problem spending it somewhere.

Interesting sign pointing to the beach at Green Turtle Cay

New Plymouth is another of the Loyalist founded towns in the Abacos, dating back to 1775, with narrow streets and small, well kept homes.  We packed a lunch to eat on the beach (one last beach walk) and went exploring.  The beach walk was a bit short thanks to high tide along an eroding shore - the sea wall by a small vacation development at Gilliam Bay was completed (had been under construction 2 years ago), and it appeared some of the beach sand had moved to form a shoal a bit further out.

Old Gaol in New Plymouth

Tom Sawyer might have painted this picket fence

We spent our $9 on ice cream on our way back through town.  The grocery store didn't place a  minimum on credit card charges, so we also picked up some local Mahi Mahi and a loaf of bread.  We listened to a conversation between some locals but had problems understanding much of it thanks to dialect and accent.  After a quick tour of town we headed back to the boat to move a bit further N where holding is better.  Much of the bottom off Green Turtle is a thin layer of sand over rock or grass making it difficult go set the anchor.

We'd left the outboard on the dinghy thinking we do a bit of exploring up by Manjack Cay.  We'd also noticed our speed has been slowly dropping, usually a sign of unwanted stuff colonizing the hull, so before we explored, Leonard worked at removing  some of the fuzzy stuff that had started to grow.  It's difficult to do with a mask and brush, but hopefully we'll get a small improvement for the time he spent scrubbing (I held a line for him to hang on to as he moved around the hull).

We did go for a short exploration.  The tide was low and falling, making it difficult to keep enough water under the dinghy to use the outboard.  What we didn't want to do was go ashore and come back to find even less water to float the boat, so we settled for a short walk along a beach on Crab Cay, closer the boat.  With more water, it's possible to explore several nearby small cays and beaches.  In preparation for  the next leg of the trip, we put the dinghy on the deck - no sense in losing any more speed by towing the dinghy.  It was a beautiful, star lit night.

Promise of another sunny day at Manjack Cay

As forecast, a bit of E wind arrived overnight, enough for sailing the next leg to Great Sale Cay where we plan to spend out last night in the Bahamas.  Listening to Chris Parker in the morning and getting a fresh GRIB file confirmed the arrival of a stronger cold front coming off the E coast in the Monday/Tuesday time frame.  Not great news, since it's apt to have enough squalls and convection for us to tuck in at Cape Canaveral rather than continuing up to the St. Mary's River.  While there are other inlets along the coast, not all are entry ports into the states, and some, like Daytona may require a trip to the airport.

After listening to several other boats on the VHF, we briefly considered running offshore with them Saturday which might allow us to get further N, but some blue (rain) was in the GRIB file north of Cap Canaveral on Monday afternoon and night night with shifting winds.  Rain wouldn't be bad (the boat needs a fresh water rinse), but we can't differentiate between showers and thunderstorms in the pre-frontal precipitation.  It is easier to tell when it's a dark blue line - that means nasty conditions, and will show up as the front approaches the coast.  Leonard decided to stick with the plan to stop at Cape Canaveral.

Off to the Abacos

4/26/16    To  26 21.457N,   76 39.144W    Lynyard Cay    58.1NM   

Predawn Departure from Royal Harbor

The weather forecast hadn't changed, so we were up before dawn and underway by 0630 to tick off another ocean segment on our way N.  Once through the Eggs, a couple of small cays with a short channel through the reef, we raised full sail and were on our way, the first boat out of the harbor.  We saw several more sails behind us once we were clear of the reefs on N side of the cays, taking advantage of good weather and wind angle too.

Sunrise over Spanish Wells as we head N

If you ever wondered if we get exercise on board (beside walking when we're ashore), we do.  Leonard has been weighing anchor by hand with some assistance from the manual feature of our windlass since the gears broke at Allens Cays the first morning we were in the Exumas.  Fortunately it's come up relatively easily, but it is work retrieving 60' of chain and 35# of anchor.  Then there's reefing the main, which happens when conditions are less than ideal.  With more weather helm than we wanted, we put in a single reef right after the 0700 log entry.  Then a 2nd reef after the 0800 log reading, providing chance to stretch and use core muscles.  The wind is rarely consistent, so it wasn't long before we shook out the 2nd reef, got things settled, and decided to undo the 1st reef  5 minutes later, working more muscle groups.  With a 6' swell we worked on balance for the rest of the trip.  Maybe not quite the same as a workout in the gym, but not couch potatoes either.

It was a beautiful day, no squalls or thunderstorms around to spoil the day.  Other than about 5 minutes of motoring when our speed  dropped below 2 kts around 1300, we sailed with our speed varying between 3.1 - 5.8.  We entered the Sea of Abaco by Little Harbor at 1720, having rolled in the jib and motor sailing through the cut and up to the anchorage off Lynyard Cay where we joined a fleet of boats for the night.  Other than a Bahamian freighter in the distance and a few boats behind us there was little to see once we were out of sight of land, and equally little chatter on the VHF.  After  an 11 hour day, we were happy to relax and have an early night.

Fleet off Lynyard Cay

4/27/16   To  26 32.325N,   76 57.585W    Hopetown    Mooring #186    12.7NM

Wednesday we took the back way to Hopetown.  With a rising tide and a watchful eye, going behind Lubber's Cay cuts 2/3's the distance than if you take the deeper (slightly) water around the shoal on the other side of Lubber's.  We arrived early and had a choice of moorings, which now fill the little harbor, and a gentleman came in a boat out to collect his $20 fee.  It's amazing how many moorings have been packed into the harbor, most holding much larger yachts than Antares.  We had a couple of 50' charter cats near us, with just enough room to swing clear (our mooring had a max of 45' posted on the ball).

Looking at the town from the mooring

The S half of the mooring field

The N half of the mooring field, including the iconic red and white stripped light house

We walked through the town after lunch, equally small and tightly packed with motorized vehicle restrictions (golf carts are the way to get around).  The town,  as well as other parts of the Abacos, was settled by Loyalists around the time of the Revolutionary War.  With grocery stores closed for the lunch hour, we walked the streets and looked at the beach until they opened at 1400.  Once again, we found fresh homemade bread at Vernon's, and I couldn't resist a loaf of coconut bread, a real steal for $4.50 since bread in the Exumas was $6.  There was an interesting sign in town by a breadfruit tree - the tree photo wasn't as interesting as the sign.

Historical sign by the breadfruit tree

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the goings on in the harbor.  Between the arriving boats, ferries and dinghies there was plenty to see.  A supply boat had arrived while we'd been ashore, and we were glad we hadn't met him when we arrived since the harbor entrance is both narrow and shallow.  It took him a while of backing and filling and dropping his boom before he headed out.

4/28/16    To  26 40.036N,   77 07.291W    Fisher's Bay, Great Guano Cay    15.2NM

What had looked to be a good weather window early next week (depart the Bahamas Sun/Mon) catching the gulf stream and heading to the St. Mary's River, had shrunk when Leonard pulled down the GRIB files Thursday morning and the forecast extended to Wednesday.  A front crossing the N part of Florida had appeared on the horizon, likely bringing squalls and N wind along our route.  Rather than spend another 'white knuckle' night offshore dodging thunderstorms and fighting head winds, we may head to Cape Canaveral and let the weather blow past.  We'd still get a significant boost from the gulf stream, and the winds should be favorable.

Rethinking our options, we motored over to Marsh Harbor to replenish the larder (I don't remember it ever being quite this empty in the past - a single port tenderloin in the freezer and a handful of veggies), pick up a supply of  'Fire in de Hole" rum, and top off the fuel tank (9.9 gallons and 294NM since Georgetown). We'd planned to spend a night in the harbor, but decided to get our errands done and continue N, and were underway by 1430, with everything accomplished.  We chatted briefly with a young Canadian couple at the fuel dock who're also heading N to Nova Scotia and thinking about tucking in at the Cape Canaveral as well, although he didn't think the storms would be bad.  We'll see - last trip we were past the Cape when the weather went south. 

We stopped at Settlement Point Harbor on Great Guana Cay, and when we couldn't get the anchor to set (grassy bottom, small harbor) we picked up a mooring.  The moorings are, once again, closely spaced and in shallow water. While there's enough water to float the boat at low tide, it's unclear if we'd clear the big cement mooring blocks, hopefully the light wind would keep us from passing over one.  It's an interesting little harbor with a marina in one corner, a ferry dock and a small community on the other side, and lots of turtles.  After trying unsuccessfully to locate and pay Dive Guana, who manages the moorings, we rowed ashore and walked over to Nipper's, an ocean front bar with expensive drinks and beach access.  We skipped the drinks and went for a short beach walk.

Walking the beach by Nipper's on Great Guana Cay

Rather  than use a mooring we hadn't paid for, we moved to the Fisher Bay anchorage, just to the N, joining a number of other boats.  While we could have just anchored here originally, we would have needed the outboard to get to shore, and we were too lazy to put it back on the dinghy.  We could hear the music from bar at Grabber's, the resort just S of us, but we were far enough out that it wouldn't be an issue if it continued until the wee hours.  Another long day. 

We'll do the Whale, the shortest ocean hop of the trip, in the morning and continue on our way.  It's always amazing how far it is to the edge of the Bahama Bank.  It will take us 2 days to reach the anchorage off Great Sale Cay, and the best part of another day to reach deep water and the gulf stream beyond that.  I'd hoped to have a few days to explore some of these more remote cays, but it doesn't look like the weather will cooperate.  We could wait, but there is no guarantee that if we do, there will be another weather window soon.  This spring, most windows have been for a few days at a time, with a week between them (we didn't get that many provisions).

Sundown from Fisher's Bay on Great Guano Cay

Lynnea

Current Cut and Royal Harbor

4/25/16    To 25 30.938N,    76 50.617W    Royal Harbor    38.6NM

We were underway shortly after 0700 and soon had the sails up, heading for Current Cut, the short, narrow passage out of the Bight of Eleuthera.  According to Active Captain, the best time to transit the cut is 1 1/2 hours after the Nassau tides times, with today's high at 1030.  Two boats were already sailing toward the cut a couple of miles ahead of us.  The wind was a bit more to the E than forecast, giving us an easy reach under full sail, heading to our way point a bit S of the cut. 

Sunrise at Governor's Harbor

We've been lucky this trip, getting better winds for sailing than in the past.  It's nice to record the fuel tank still hovering around the 'F' mark when I enter our daily statistics in the log.  We last took on diesel and water at the Exuma Yacht Club in Georgetown 2 weeks ago, and have traveled 215.6NM.  We've done well conserving water too, 2 weeks on one of the side tanks is the longest we've managed, which is impressive since we take daily 'Navy showers'.  True, we filled the solar shower and several 2 liter bottles when we took on water, but I keep expecting to hear the water pump announce that the tank is dry.  We should be good until we get back to the states with full port side and bow tanks.

Cupid's Cay at Governor's Harbor as we head for Current Cut

We listened as the boats head of us discussed 'the cut', the first one reporting an easy passage with a couple of kts of counter current when they went through around 1130.  The wind went light around noon, so, we motor sailed briefly to keep us more or less on schedule to arrive around 1400.  We watched the 2nd boat make the turn along the shore and then head into the cut as we approached.  Given how quickly they passed through the cut, Leonard had our arrival well timed.  When we went through, we were doing 8 kts over the ground, with the main up and drawing and the engine ticking over, just in case (knot meter was reading 5.3kts).  It's much shorter than Elliot's Cut S of Charleston, but the bight approach is full of sand banks with a few narrow channels, and the current rips through when the tide is running.  The deep draft channel approach is along a cay, with a 90 degree dogleg once you reach the channel.  It took less than 10 minutes to pop through, but it would be miserable fighting a 5 kts of current.

It's about 10NM to Royal Harbor once through the cut, so we ran the jib out and sailed.  I started a batch of bread after we cleared the cut and had lunch.  The wind piped up a few notches and blew a bit more NE just after I started, and I can attest to the fact that it's difficult to knead dough while heeled to port (galley up).  With only a few miles left to go, we dropped the main, making my task a bit easier and not slowing us significantly.

Dock remnants and ruins at Royal Island

By 1500, we'd joined 6 like minded sailors, already tucked into one of the nicest harbors in the Bahamas. Three more had arrived by dusk.  Over the years, there's been reports of a resort project  that would close the harbor for anchoring.  Like most projects in the Bahamas, it's a slow process, taking years (decades).  The original estate ruins are still visible, along with the crumbling dock on the N side of the harbor.  Another dock, for the work boats and supplies has been built in the SW corner of the harbor, and there is evidence of some construction underway, but not that much different than on our last 2 times here.  On our original trip, we went ashore and explored the ruins and part of the island while we waited for a weather window.  With the dinghy on the deck, we opted to spend a lazy afternoon on board, anticipating an early morning departure for the hop to the Abacos.

Back in Port Henry, NY there is what the locals call a 'Frankentree', a cell tower disguised as an over sized tree.  It's actually kind of interesting and even up close, resembles a tree.  In the Bahamas, I've been noticing Norfolk Island pines towering above trees, but they're just that, pine trees (and cell towers, while not as many as in the States, look like cell towers).  As we left Governor's Harbor I spotted a huge palm, towering head and shoulders over the ridge that sure looked like a 'Frankenpalm" and I couldn't resist taking a picture.  I should have taken pictures of the pines too!

Palm or 'Frankenpalm'?

Looks like a quiet night with the anchor well set and 12-15kts of E wind.  We'll do a last minute weather update to confirm what looks to be a good window with no recent storms to cause a significant swell for the 65NM run up to the Sea of  Abaco.

Lynnea

Across the Exuma Sound and Eluthera

 4/22-/23 /16   To  24 51.640N,  76 09.701W    Rock Harbor, Eleuthera    51NM

The forecast wasn't perfect for crossing to Eleuthera with the wind a bit more on the nose than we like, especially since were were a bit further up the Exuma chain.  But it was supposed to be light on Saturday, indicating a motor if we waited another day to cross.  We needed to get provisions which tends to be  more difficult in the islands with shortened (if open) hours on Sunday.  We got underway after listening to Chris Parker's forecast for SE winds, heading for Wax Cay Cut to enter the sound.

We knew it would be rough getting out, with the wind against the current and the sound still lumpy from yesterday's 20-25kt winds. It's a bit unnerving to see a line of breakers, making to difficult to see the narrow channel from the outlying reefs, and realize the way out is through the breakers.  We'd finally gotten a welcome, salt rinsing shower the just before leaving, which would be undone before we reached the calmer waters beyond the cut.  It was ugly since the current was running at 3 kts off the bank into the wind.  With the engine just above idle speed, we were doing 6+ kts  through the breakers and turbulent water which probably extended 3/4 of NM into the sound.  We'd battened the hatches - a good thing since the deck took a number of good sized breakers.  We saw another sailboat just inside the cut and couldn't tell if they'd just come in, or had looked and had second thoughts.  We'd have had a problem fighting the current to get back in if we'd aborted.

It was calmer offshore, and we sailed with a reef in the main and full jib, wishing the wind were 20 degrees more off the bow.  We'd checked the size of the waves during our afternoon walk, and knew the seas were closer to 4' than the predicted 6', and would be dropping throughout the day.  We were the only boat on the horizon, and we were glad to see Cape Eleuthera appear on the horizon as we approached the island.  We'd sailed the whole way, but dropped the sails to work our way into the channel past the shoals.  Unfortunately the last 20NM, over the shoals into Rock Sound was dead to windward, so we charged the batteries and made hot water (like making lemonade when given lemons).  Good thing, since it had been cloudy all day and the solar shower wasn't very warm.  While our daily rinses wouldn't necessarily qualify as a shower, they do remove the salt and grime.

There were only a couple of boats anchored off the town - in the past there's normally been a small fleet.  We dropped the hook just after 1900, ready to call it a day.  Since we were close to town, we were serenaded with music from a nearby bar which continued past 2300.  We were tired enough that it wasn't a major problem.

Leonard spent several  hours Saturday morning trying to get our Link 10 battery monitor to work.  Like us, it's getting old and has a mind of its own, giving huge false current draw readings and then flashing the single red light to indicate the batteries are fully discharged (while showing actual voltages readings of 12.35 or better).  Usually he does his magical passing of hands/wire wiggle and it works again for a while, but not this time, so out came the multi meter and off come the panels to expose the innards and wires.  Somehow it has always started working again - a good thing since the company hasn't been in business for years making getting service or parts difficult at best, and replacing with something  new would be expensive.  Once again it eventually fixed itself, even though he hadn't really done anything but take a closer look.  

We went to shore around 1100, opting to walk the mile to the store rather than have a wet dinghy ride back to the boat from a dock closer to the store.  Although there are a number of good sized foreign owned houses along the shore, the local economy doesn't appear to be thriving, so the selection at the store, while decent, wasn't as good as Georgetown where the cruisers add significantly to the local economy (and are catered to).  The biggest difference I saw was in the meat selection.  There was a local meat market which was closed when we walked past in the afternoon (I don't recall it ever being open when we've walked by in the past)..  The local bakery didn't survive, much to my disappointment since they'd carried more than just bread.  We picked up enough provisions to tide us over until we reach Marsh Harbor.

The Blue Hole at Rock Sound

Fish swimming at the edge of the blue hole waiting to be fed

Later in the afternoon we went back ashore for a walk.  The ocean hole in town is interesting - there is an underwater opening to the sea, so there are usually a number of fish in the hole.  After checking out the hole, we walked to the ocean, about 1.5 miles east, where we found a path to the beach.  A gathering of locals were enjoying an afternoon at the beach, but other than that, we were the only people on it.  The beach was a combination of rocky ledges interspersed with sections of sand with a reef offshore.

Atlantic beach at Rock Harbor

Casserina tree hanging on by the roots at the beach

We plan to head to the Abacos fairly quickly to take advantage of what appears to be a weather window to hop N Tuesday (4/26) before the NE trades fill in again.  A sagging trough and a cold front that didn't quite extend this far S, brought us lighter, southerly winds with numerous clouds Saturday, and predicted lighter winds into the middle of the week.  We were a surprised that the S wind on Saturday held through the day (it would have made for an easier crossing, but was forecast to die by noon), not clocking into the W until late in the day.  Six more boats arrived in Rock Harbor during the day, so we expect company en route to the Abacos.

Although the wind on Sunday was from the N, it was light enough to sail, albeit slowly, up the island, with numerous tacks, before going light around noon.  Leonard was undecided if we should go to Hatchet Bay, or stop at Governor's Harbor, notorious for poor holding, for the night.  After the wind went light, we decided to stop at Governor's Harbor, the capitol of Eleuthera, motoring the last segment. 

4/24/16    25 11.363N    76 14.503W    Anchorage by Laughing Bird Cay at Governor's Harbor

then   To  25 12.588N,   76 15.572W    Levi's Cay, Governor's Harbor    30.9NM 

View of Governor's Harbor from Cupid's Cay

Governor's Harbor has been around for a while

With the wind out of the N, we dropped anchor just S of town, behind Laughing Bird Cay.  The anchor didn't really catch (I watched the 'X' I placed as a way point on the plotter where the anchor was dropped, move slowly as we attempted to set it).  The winds were light, and we were the only boat in the anchorage.  If we dragged, we had a lot of bank to cross before we'd run aground, and the anchor would act  as a drogue if we dragged, so  we ventured ashore.  We had a similar problem anchoring here on our first trip to the Bahamas, there's a light layer of sand over a hard coral substrate, and getting the anchor to set is more happenstance than skill.  Like last time, we planned to relocate for the night a bit further N, by Levi Cay, where the holding is sightly better.

St. Patricks Anglican Church on Cupid's Cay

It appeared the economy in Governor's Harbor, the capitol of Eleuthera, was slightly better than Rock Harbor - there are more foreign owned vacation homes and a resort N of town as well as government positions giving the economy a boost.  Being a Sunday afternoon, the proverbial sidewalks had been rolled up for the day, with little happening in town.  We walked out to Cupid's Cay where the dock and government offices are located and saw 6 boats anchored or on moorings in he N harbor. 

Public library at Governor's Harbor located on Cupid's Cay

By the time we got back to the boat, we'd been joined by another sailboat in the anchorage.  Having decided beforehand that we'd move up to Levi Cay for the night, we stowed the dinghy on the deck and departed.  We didn't have any better luck getting the anchor to catch there than by town, but we were the only boat in the anchorage (and a long way to drag before we went aground), so we set the anchor alarm and crossed  our fingers that the forecast for light winds was correct.  A local fishing boat joined us while we were eating dinner, but wouldn't be a problem unless the forecast was drastically wrong.

An American Kestrel perched in a palm tree

Monday we'll cross the rest of  the bank  and exit at Current Cut, stopping  at Royal Island for the night.  Early Tuesday morning, we'll head for the Abacos, hopefully making use of the E wind currently in the forecast - it's a long day, and a bit of wind from a decent angle would give us a welcome boost.  Although Current Cut is relatively short, misjudging the current can make for a very slow passage - hopefully an early morning departure will have us passing through the cut at slack tide.  We'll see, tides and currents can be difficult to predict, especially when local data is scant .

Lynnea

The Waiting Game

4/18/ - 19/16    To  24 23.060N,  76 37.520W    Warderick Wells, Emerald Rock Mooring #10    16.7NM   

With the wind blowing out of the NE - E until Friday, we looked at the charts for a change of scenery, somewhere a bit further up the bank.  The plan was to head for Cambridge where we'd have protection and access to the beach, a few hiking trails and the possibility of taking the dinghy over to the Sea Aquarium which we'd skipped on the way S.  So after breakfast, we picked up the outboard - it wasn't far enough taking up the dinghy, but it does tow easier sans motor, fuel tank and anchor.

The wind had shifted enough to the NE for sailing, especially since we'd only be going abut 10NM, and we were moving nicely with reduced sails.  There were enough clouds to drop a few sprinkles from the darker, but not enough to rinse the decks.  The same clouds caused the wind to shift and gust as they passed.  I was below, working on lunch when one caused a shift with a stronger gust when it caught the sails, leaving me trying to hold everything on the counter.  This one blew a bit longer, so we rolled n the jib until it passed.

We dithered about our destination, and decided to up to Emerald Rock at Warderick Wells instead.  We inquired about mooring availability and were told to take what ever mooring looked good - there was only1 sail boat on a mooring, the rest of the fleet was anchored W of the mooring field.  While we prefer anchoring, we don't mind paying for the park moorings as the fees support the park, and we don't feel guilty about going ashore to hike.  We planned on taking the cell phone up Booboo Hill to check for messages.

By the time we had the dinghy ready, it was too late to get to the park office before it closed and got permission to pay in the morning.  We'd missed the last few beaches along the bank side on the way S, so we dinghied to Loyalist Beach, planning to take the trails down to several of the other beaches.  We found the trail and headed for the next beach.  The trails are anything but direct (we could see the next beach about 1/4 NM away) designed with lots of switch backs, and this one took us up the ridge on the center of the island.  They are fairly rough with lots of jagged coral rocks skirting sink holes, and better tackled with hiking shoes than crocs, but I don't want to get my good shoes salty and filled with sand getting ashore in the dinghy. 

Looking over to the Hog Cay moorings (little white dots, sans vessels)
 at Warderick Wells from the ridge on the way to the beach

Apparently we missed a turn in the trail which are marked with occasional cairns or arrows painted (and badly faded) on rocks.  We did get a great view of the sound and Hog Cay, but couldn't find the trail accessing the E shore and had to backtrack until Leonard saw where we should have turned.  All in all, we hiked a lot further than needed.  And it was a boring beach.  We chose to clamber over the ledge along the shore to get back to the dinghy, a much shorter hike.  Leonard dropped me off to walk Turtle Beach, picking me up at the other end.  We got enough exercise to make up for none Sunday!

Tuesday, after paying and swapping books, we headed for BooBoo Hill and the Exuma Sound trail. To our surprise, we didn't have to wade across Banshee Creek like we did in March.  We were able to connect and get email on top of the hill, including a message from Beth and Todd that they planned to be at Hawksbill Cay, wondering where we were.  Leonard texted them we'd be here tonight and at Hawksbill Wednesday night.

Natural bridge along the Exuma Sound trail

The Exuma Sound trail connects a number of beaches via the rock ledges overlooking the sound, eventually ending at Pirates Lair by the moorings at Hog Cay at the S end of the island.  These beaches are always interesting to walk, with tide pools and shells, and the ledges are easier walking than the interior trails.  We didn't go all the way to Pirates Lair, but Leonard discovered a blow hole when he heard a whooshing sound and we saw a natural bridge along way as well as stunning views of the sound and reefs off the island. 

Ledges slowly falling into the sound

Thanks to the hutias on Warderick Wells, much of the green we saw on the island on earlier trips, is now gray, dead trees.  They eat the bark, killing the trees, and evidence of the boom in their population is evident everywhere in the form of little pellets.  Sighting one on our earlier trips was a rarity, now they make an appearance whenever a gathering is held on the beach, looking to pick up food scraps.  Eventually, they'll eat themselves out of existence, and hopefully the trees will get reseeded by birds, although that will take decades.  Meanwhile, the island is looking barren - I wonder if they taste like chicken.  The park is a no take by land or sea and I don't believe the wardens have found a way to deal with the problem.

Looking at Booboo Hill from Banshee Creek - note the number of dead trees

We'd just gotten back on the boat when we heard VHF call from Beth on Southern Cross.  Unfortunately she couldn't hear us when we answered, so Leonard checked with the park office to see if they'd heard us - we were loud and clear - just not close enough to be in range.  My chore for the remainder of the afternoon was making bread, and since I'd have the oven hot, I baked my boat version of a German chocolate cake too.  Just as I put the bread in the oven, we got a call from Todd, inviting us to dinner.  We asked where they were, and saw them approaching from the W.  They dropped an anchor nearby, and we made plans to join them at 1830 for dinner. We were the first official 'boat guests' they'd entertained on their new boat.  Quite an honor for us!

Southern Cross anchored next to us at Warderick Wells

Southern Cross (they're changing the name) from the stern

Their new boat is interesting, and quite different from most cats.  With a hard dog house, it looks like an ocean cruiser, and the previous owner sailed it to the States from South Africa.  We got the deluxe tour, and had a good time hearing about their adventures - along with blowing out their main on the way to Nassau, they had a close call with one of the island freighters - the captain had been asleep, and no one was on watch.  Evasive maneuvers on their part avoided a collision - there is a reason why sailing at night in the Bahamas isn't recommended (along with a lack of buoys, which may be charted, but not exist).  There is no excuse for a freighter not to have someone on watch and to respond to multiple hails on the VHF.

Todd and Beth in the new Southern Cross

Dinner was great, and we discussed plans and places to visit.  Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of time before they need to be back to work.  They planned on exploring Warderick Wells in the morning before continuing down to Staniel Cay.  They were impressed with the Bahamas, and plan to spend more time on a return visit.  Current plans include storing the boat until sometime in June, getting the boat back to the States, and eventually bring it to the lake - and like most boating plans, are fluid and changing.  We're looking forward to seeing them on the lake.

Yacht Amphritrite anchored off Emerald Rock 

4/20-21/16    To 24 29.092N,    76 46.351W    Hawksbill Anchorage    13.2NM

Our plans are anything but firm - everything depending on the weather to actually be as forecast - clock into the the SE and ease by Friday, giving us a good window to sail over to Eleuthera (along with quite a few others).  We discussed sailing up to Hawksbill to see if we could find the trail to the Loyalist ruins and the beach on the NE side, then moving to Shroud Cay and departing from there.  Then the forecast indicated the SE winds might be more ESE Friday, turning the trip from a 26NM reach into a beat if we departed from Wax Cay cut.

The wind speed forecast for both Wednesday and Thursday nudged up a bit too.  Our decision was to sail to Hawksbill for a change of scenery and something new to explore, and return to Warderick Wells if a mooring was available in the N field Thursday to give us a better wind angle to sail the sound.  We had more than enough wind for a fast sail without the main or too much splashing when we crossed the Wide Opening - we could see a lot white caps on the sound - a good reason to stay in the bank!

110' Adler on the mooring at Hawksbill Cay

We'd heard a yacht captain negotiating the use of one of the 'small' boat moorings with the park office for his 110' vessel and arrived at Hawksbill to find both yacht and a larger tender (they have 2, and jet skis) on moorings, taking quite a bit of the anchorage.  We tucked in between an anchored boat and the 3rd mooring ball, and were joined by other boats during the afternoon since it's one of the prettier cays in the park with good protection from winds blowing from the E. 

Ruins at the Russell Plantation

More ruins from 1785 at the Russell Plantation

After lunch we set off to see if we could find the trail to the  ruins and beach.  We did, it was well marked with buoys and a variety of other trail markers.  We checked out the Loyalist ruins dating back to 1785 - 1830 when the Russell family built a plantation on the island.  Coming from VT, where top soil can be hard to find between the rocks, I'm amazed they managed to scratch a living with  even less soil here.  After winding up and down the hillside scattered with stone ruins, the trail took us over to the beach on the sound.  After climbing a small headland, the beach extended N over a mile.  I hiked it while Leonard found a place in the shade to read his book.  It was a good walking beach - relatively firm and flat - but with more trash than treasures washed up past the high tide mark.

A common sooty wing resting on a twig

Curly tail along the trail to the beach

A beautiful purple fan coral on the beach

We listened to the wind build from the E overnight, and by dawn Thursday it was blowing 20-25kts, with whitecaps and 1' waves in the anchorage.  Kind of interesting since the fetch is less than .5NM, well protected from surge, but still leaving us rocking and rolling.  We decided to stay put for the day rather than work our way back to the park headquarters.  While we're spared having the mooring ball bang on the hull, we'll pay the price of a closer course over to Eluethera Friday when the wind's forecast to lighten up and go to the SE.  We'll see.  Meanwhile we're keeping  options B-G open in case we change our minds or don't like the conditions. 

It was a good morning to tidy up the boat, and with the batteries well charged (wind generator off to prevent overcharging) Leonard spent time on the big chart plotter taking a closer look at the nearby cuts.  He came to the conclusion it would be easier to use Wax Cay Cut, N of us, than try to thread our way around sand bars and coral heads or to go 13NM S to the Wide Opening.  Since the tide will be up in the morning, we could leave early without any problems.

The only boat to leave the anchorage was the 50' trawler that had picked up the mooring next to us, who we heard them reserve a  mooring at park headquarters.  The big 110' yacht remained on the mooring, but did pick up the cabanas they'd erected on the beach yesterday.  I haven't see the jet skis out playing yet either.  The excitement for the day was listening to  the USCG hailing vessels on channel 16 requesting information while they're doing a joint venture with the Bahamian folks.  Last heard, they were at Warderick Wells, and may be headed up our way.  It didn't sound like they were boarding vessels - I'd prefer not given the windy conditions, but boaters have fewer rights than home owners.

The white caps aren't all the obvious in  the photo,
but the trees are bending with the wind along the beach at Hawksbill

We went ashore for a walk to check out the conditions on the sound after lunch.  It wasn't as windy as it had been earlier, but the sound was awash with white caps, the water was a bright aqua color and the surf was breaking on the beach.  I walked down to the end, but didn't find much but Sargasso weed washed up on the shore.  It was nice to get some exercise - if conditions are decent in the morning, it will be a couple of days before I get another walk. 

As we were preparing to put the dinghy on the deck, the folks from Liesel, one of the boats anchored next to us, came over to chat.  They'd been admiring Antares, and it turned out they store their boat at Tiger Point during the summer.  A small world - they'll tell Capt'n Bill that they saw us and the paint job looked as good as new.  They're also headed to Fernandina Beach, but thought they'd wait a day for the sound to calm down a bit.  We'll listen to Chris Parker and see how conditions look in the morning.  Currently it appears there might be a window to hop to the Abacos next Tuesday or Wednesday that it would be nice to take advantage of if we're at Royal Island.

Lynnea

Staniel Cay and Big Majors

4/15 - 4/17/16    24 10.411N    76 26.840W    Staniel Cay    8.7NM
                          24 11.350N    76 27.529W    Big Majors Spot    1.7NM

Note: We will be moving to the Exuma Park area and will not have cell phone and or internet coverage for a while.  Leonard 4/18/2016

We had enough wind to sail to Staniel Cay and found a spot to anchor off the Yacht Club to go ashore.  With a sand bar on one side and the channel on the other, it's not a great place to spend the night, but works fine in settled weather for spending a few hours ashore.  At $2.50/foot a night, it's been years since we stayed at the marina which is affiliated with the resort.  They've added a new fuel dock, separate from the slips.  Prior to smart phones, the bar was a convenient place to access the internet for the price of a couple of drinks. 

On our walk, we noticed more construction than elsewhere in the Exumas, with a number of new homes that look like winter retreats for snow birds.  It's possible to make connections to Nassau and the states from the airport, and cay still has the panache from the James Bond days, although Club Thunderball has been closed for years.  Other than a new laundromat/liquor store combo, not much had changed in town - which consists of a church, a couple of grocery stores, a bakery, some boutiques and eateries. 

We hadn't picked up a map before heading out, and after getting to the airport, we dug out the cell phone to find the road to the beach and headlands overlooking the sound and entrance.  By the time we got to the sound, it was high tide and not much beach to walk, so we headed back.  Several folks offered us  rides on their golf carts, which we declined since we wanted exercise.  Back at the marina, we watched the guides clean the catch of the day - a number of big mahi.  The cleaning station draws sharks and rays (and a crowd of onlookers) waiting for tidbits to be tossed into the water.  It was interesting to see 6 or 7 good sized sharks lined up side by side on the step just below the cleaning station, patiently waiting, and the resultant thrashing when the carcass was tossed.  A couple of girls were taking pictures, and warned to stand back, I think mostly to avoid getting splashed or hit by a thrashing tail.

Beach along the sound at Staniel Cay

Back on Antares, we motored over to the NE corner of the anchorage by Big Majors Spot and Fowl Cay, a good place to be when the wind switched to the N.  Just after we set the anchor, I noticed a large school of fingerling fish swimming just below the surface by the boat.  A few minutes later, there was a lot of splashing as a school of much larger yellow snappers arrived looking for dinner.  While there may be safety in numbers, the snappers did a good job of culling the little guys, making a number of passes by the boat.

Yellow snappers feeding on minnows

We had arranged to meet Doug White who has been helping Beth Kohler and Todd Toesing (LCYC friends) take their new (to them) catamaran to the Bahamas, and planned to head S from Nassau Saturday morning and join us at Big Majors.  Unfortunately they'd torn their main sail on the trip to the Bahamas, and were further delayed by depth gauge problems and fan belt failures as they motor sailed across the Yellow Bank.  A call from Doug Saturday evening said they'd stopped at  Highborne Cay, and were returning to Nassau Sunday to pick up their sail from the loft, so I doubt we'll connect.  Doug planned to fly out of Nassau Tuesday, and Todd and Beth are pushing to get to Georgetown where they'll store the boat - they have a schedule, but sailing and schedules rarely mesh, and their time is getting short.

Saturday turned out to be a much nicer day than forecast, so we took the dinghy around Big Majors, stopping at various beaches along the way and going past Thunderball Grotto.  It's a good sized island, and took a couple of hours with our beach stops.  The most famous beach, the 'pig beach', is where folks (including numerous tour boats guests) are greeted by the swimming pigs, looking for hand outs.  We anchored and watched as folks got into the water to feed the pigs and take selfies.  Getting up close and personal with 100# of pig wasn't very appealing to us, as they can be aggressive.  I'd seen 6 or 7of them waiting at the waters edge for dinghies to arrive during breakfast, but only a few were on the beach in the heat of the day.  Bette Reuter said they'd seen piglets when they were here, but they were smart enough to stay in the shade too.

Pink porkers on the beach - 

wonder if they ever appear on a menu as 'roast pig'

Selfies at the Pig Beach at Big Majors

One of the other beaches is the Pirate's Beach, complete with palm trees, a sunshade, chairs, games and a charcoal grill which gets crowded at cocktail time.  When we went ashore, a catamaran had anchored just off the beach, in waist deep water, to work on the hull and motors.  What the island doesn't have is any walking trails, and the beaches are all small. 

Captain resting in the shade a Pirates Beach

The anchorage filled by Saturday evening with everything from mega yachts to trawlers, and catamarans and monohulls of all sizes to sit out the weather.  The wind wasn't as strong as forecast (20-25 with gusts to 30) on Sunday, but the directions was correct - N - right on the nose for folks headed N.  We heard a warning on the VHF about transiting the cuts into the sound into the 6' seas on a falling tide.  In the past, Blue Yonder, one of the houses on a cay on the sound, used to give a daily weather and information broadcast for the boaters in the morning, but we haven't heard her the past couple of years.

Some of the fleet tucked in behind Big Majors

We'll see what the weather brings come morning.  At this point, we're considering all our options, waiting for a window to cross over to Eleuthera  later in the week and return back to the states through the Abacos (the northern route), or head for the Berries or Bimini on the NE winds (the southern route) and ride the gulf stream as far as conditions are favorable.  When we move, we will be out of cell range until we get to Eleuthera, or are near Highborne Cay.

Lynnea

Starting North

4/13/16    24 02.044N    76 22.244W    White Point, Great Guana Cay    49.0NM

Unfortunately, like the last few days, Chris Parker's Bahamas forecast was more static than voice.  We heard enough to learn that the weather would not be settled until sometime during the weekend, but couldn't decipher the details.  Leonard pulled down the latest GRIB and WindPredict files and saw no mention of the W winds he'd seen in the forecast Tuesday evening.  We could expect NE winds under 15, going lighter during the day, and the sea had had a day to settle after the stronger winds over the weekend.  We were good to go.

View of the Monument and anchorage as we passed on our way N

So we put the dinghy on deck and pulled the anchor right after the tide and weather information on the daily net.  Upward of a dozen of us departed, most heading N, up the Exuma chain.  The Swedish boat that had been anchored near us in Sand Dollar said they were heading back to Sweden.  Not sure I'd want to venture across the Atlantic just yet - we've seen a lot of 40+kt winds on the GRIB files as the fronts traveled up the coast to the Maritime Provinces.  We swung past Imanja to say good bye to Bette and Ernie who plan to head over to Cat Cay.

By 0830 our sails were up and the engine off.  We exited Conch Cut at 0900 and were on our way.  Conditions were good - we could have used a bit more wind around noon when our speed dropped enough to revert to motor sailing, but filled in again after 1330, giving us a pleasant sail to Galliot Cut.  As we passed Cave Cay Cut, I noticed a mess of white caps running well out into the sound, and realized they were caused by the current flowing out into the sound, fair warning for what to expect when we got to Galliot.  The current was running a good 3kts, making 3' seas.  Galliot is one of the easier cuts - no coral heads lurking just off the channel, and mercifully short.

Looking N at Galliot Cut

Looking back at the the current flowing into the wind -
 the sea was calm on either side of the cut

Once we got past the short down wind leg by Little Farmer's Cay, we had a smooth sail up along Great Guana Cay to an anchorage for the night off White Point.  All in all, a really nice day.  We'd considered stopping at Lee Stocking to go exploring, but passed the cut early in the day and didn't want to pass up the fair winds and smooth sailing.  With our luck, the morning would bring a N wind, and we'd regret our decision.

Sun down on the banks at White Point

4/14/16    24 05.861N    76 24.213W    Black Point    4.5NM

Since it wasn't far to Black Point where we planned to stop, we had time to explore the long sandy beach and spit by the anchorage before we departed in the morning.  With little underbrush, we climbed the sand dune and down to the beach on the other side of the point too.  Being bank side, the beaches were of the boring variety, nice walking, but not many shells.

Looking E from the top of the dune along the beach on the S side of White Point

Skimmer and land snail on a twig

After an hour's sail to Black Point, we joined the fleet of boats anchored off the settlement.  The supply boat was tied up at the government dock, busy unloading goods onto a variety of vehicles - golf carts to trucks - as the locals picked up their supplies.  It's interesting to watch all the activity on shore when the ship's in port - it has to be the highlight of the week.  It looked like the kids had a day off from school too, as the beach across from the dock was filled with kids swimming and sailing.  It looked like a holiday, and perhaps it was, since I heard the boat didn't arrive last week.

To our surprise, there weren't any dinghies at the laundromat dock, and the door to the store was closed, so we went in to see if it was open before stripping our bunk and taking the laundry to shore.  Miss Ida,  the proprietor of both the marine store and laundry wasn't around, but another cruiser said I could get tokens for the machines at Deshamon's, one of the restaurants in town.  Clean clothes and sheets!  The next chance to do laundry won't be until Marsh Harbor or possibly not until we get back to Florida.

With the weekend weather still a big question mark, but we'll get strong NE trade winds once it arrives.  So we'll take it easy, and putter up to Staniel Cay and Big Majors, both of which we skipped on the way S, to have protection from the wind until it passes.  If the weather is delayed, we might scoot up to Cambridge Cay to wait for the next window to cross over to Eleuthera.  Since we've been in the Bahamas, the weather has been stormier in the Abacos (northern Bahamas) than further S, so we've escaped the worst of the storms.  The weather tends to moderate during the spring, and hopefully we'll have better conditions as we continue on our way N.

This morning we shut off the wind generator and the inverter that charges the laptop, and had much better reception on our little SSB receiver.  Interesting that neither caused interference earlier, but we're glad to be getting decent reception again.  We've been listening to the 0830 Cruiserheimers Net to see if Zena checks in - we're hoping to cross paths with Todd, Beth and Doug as they head to Georgetown with their new boat.  Last email indicated they'd be in Nassau tonight.

Lynnea