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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment