3/12/2016 To 24 23.670N, 76 38.107W, Exuma Park Mooring #20,
Warderick Wells, 15.8NM
Saturday we headed toward the park headquarters at Warderick
Wells. This past week moorings in the N harbor had been at a
premium. with many sitting tight in the windy conditions. With
the winds abating just a bit, there were moorings to spare by the
park headquarters, and almost no one on the moorings by Emerald
Rock. What a difference a day makes. We were told at the 0900
broadcast that we'd get a mooring by the park office.
With 15 NM to go, we put up a reefed main and ran out some jib.
The first 10MN weren't too bad since we were reaching, although we
had choppy 1-2' seas that tended to bury the bow, effectively
halving our speed when we caught one wrong. The last 5 NM were
dead to windward, not fun for boat or crew. We rolled in the jib
and tried to use the main to stabilize the boat in a steady
15-20kt breeze, reaffirming, once again, we don't like going to
windward. We got our mooring assignment just before noon, mooring
20, near the far end of the mooring field. We managed to pick it
up looking like we knew what we were doing. Doesn't always work
that way when the wind and current don't cooperate.
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| Exuma Park headquarters |
After checking in, we hiked to the top of BooBoo Hill and found
just enough cell coverage to collect the 80 some messages awaiting
us in email. From all appearances we'll be lucky if we can send a
text, much less the log. Internet is available at the park, for a
hefty charge of $15/day, but knowing we should have a hot spot
available in a couple of days, we'll pass. It was interesting
that their phone line has been out since the hurricane last year.
We hiked one of the trail loops before heading back to the boat.
Since it was Saturday, there was a sundown gathering on the beach,
and another chance to meet some of our neighbors. The excitement
for the evening was a runaway dinghy (fortunately not ours). It
takes a minute to realize no one's aboard, before someone hops
into another dinghy to go fetch it. It was a fun evening.
Another topic of conversation was the low tides. According to our
guide book, the tidal swing should be a bit over 1 meter, about
45", a bit more during spring tides. What we've been consistently
seeing is closer to 5' and we're approaching the first quarter of
the moon phase, beyond spring tide. Don't know if all the wind
has been blowing the water westward or what, it was still blowing
15-20kts out of the ESE during the night. Leaving your dinghy on
the beach can be interesting, either it will be high and dry, a
long way from the water, or out in the water (we use an anchor to
keep it from floating away) when you return.
3/13/16 Mooring 20, North Harbor, Warderick Wells
Since I'm a sailor, I get the privilege of complaining about the
wind. We've had too much since we arrived in the Bahamas, and now
we don't have any. Most sailors I know would love to average the
wind over a period of time, enough for a nice sail (from the right
direction of course), consistent and steady. Doesn't work that
way, so we go from too much to flat calm, usually overnight. It
was blowing 20 when we went to bed, and in the morning there were
only a few cats paws on the water, and the mooring ball was
tapping on the new paint job as the current switched. Another
sunny day in paradise. With no wind, it got hot, like someone
turned off the fan.
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| From the top of BooBoo Hill showing Banshee Creek flowing cross the Cay |
So we took it easy. It was too hot to do a major hike around the
island. We hiked up BooBoo Hill at high tide, fording Banshee
Creek, calf high on me both ways. We found a connection at the
top, of sorts, a phone connection, but not enough to get or send
any messages.
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| The trail across Banshee Creek at high tide - you wade across |
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| A visitor joining us at the bench atop BooBoo Hill |
We waited until mid afternoon (low tide) to take a dinghy ride to
some beaches on the bank side of the island, planning to check out
a couple at the very southern tip of the island we haven't seen
over the years. It was a long ride, and we still didn't get to
the last 2 beaches. After walking at Cockle Beach, one of the
longer ones, we opted to check out some coral heads on the way
back to the boat. The water was calm enough to see from the
dinghy there weren't enough fish to warrant putting on our
snorkeling gear.
By the time we got back to the N harbor, it was flat calm and
slack current, so we drifted over the reef by the anchorage. It
was amazing, drifting and rowing over the coral heads looking at
the coral and fish - no need to get wet, like a glass bottom
boat. We actually had a better view from the dinghy since we
weren't restricted by goggles. There were a variety of fish,
including a small shark cruising the reef, a good sized lobster,
and a lion fish (non native and dangerous). True to its name, the
lion fish had its main extended, looking a lot like an anemone,
making it difficult to tell the difference until I saw it strike
at something. They are supposed to be tasty, and are featured on
menus, since they have no known predators to keep the numbers in
check and eat the indigenous species. Before long we were joined
by other dinghies, people snorkeling and even a paddle board. It
was great viewing, some of the best 'snorkeling' we've had.
With little wind, the temperature was 93 in the cabin when we got
back, one of those days I wish I'd insisted on a grill. The water
in the solar shower was too hot (over 130, as high as the gauge
reads) to use without adding water, and even then, still hot,
making it easy to cut back on the amount of water we used. The
good thing about the tropics is things cool down fairy quickly
after sunset, and a light zephyr from the E helped bring the
temperature down after dark.
3/14/16 To 24 18.481N, 76 32.934W Bell Island
16.7NM
With light winds, we departed Monday morning around 0900, heading
out on the sound toward Cambridge Cay. The
distance traveled via the sound is significantly less than over
the bank where the shoals extend for several miles and there is a
tricky, narrow passage on the NW end of Bell Island. We'll try to
stay ahead of the crowd that left the Florida Keys a week after we
crossed - rumor was the wait list for moorings in Marathon went
from 40+ boats, to empty moorings as boats headed for the
Bahamas.
Although the wind was more southerly than ideal, it was under 10
kts, making for an easy upwind sail. Once clear of the reefs at
Warderick Wells, we raised full sail and ambled along between
4-5kts, with the depth gauge reading 'deep' out on the sound. We
made 1 tack when Leonard realized his way point was Conch Cut, a
bit further S than intended, and didn't drop sails until we'd
started into Bell Cut. A good days sail!
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| Looking out Bell Cut |
Having checked Active Captain, we anchored off Bell Island, a
developed, private, no trespassing island, where we wouldn't have
to deal with moorings and current. Last time we picked up a
mooring at Cambridge, the current took the mooring under the boat
until it switched back, something we'd rather avoid this year. A
couple of good snorkeling places and the park beach were within
dinghy range. Meanwhile, we have jet skis and water skiers to
watch from the folks on Bell Island.
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Captain resting in a hammock made from 'found' netting
(he said the knots made it uncomfortable) |
After 1500 we dinghied over to Cambridge Cay. With little breeze,
it was a hot day, so we didn't hike up hill path, but walked the
beach after taking the path across the island. We discussed going
over to seaquarium, but the current would be running out strong
enough to make snorkeling difficult and the sun too low in the sky
to see much at slack water. Instead we checked out
another beach that was full of shells, so I had fun looking (it's
in the park which is a 'no take' zone). We don't seem to have the
tides timed very well - the current's running in when we head
out, and out when we head in. Thankfully the cuts from the sound
are fairly short.
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| Beach at Cambridge Cay |
3/15/16 To 24 05.924N, 76 24.226W Black Point
Anchorage 19.1NM
We've been listening to Chris Parker's weather at 0630 since we
haven't been able to get new weather info on line. This stretch
of beautiful, sunny days with light S winds will come to an end
over the weekend when a stronger cold front is forecast to reach
as far south as southern Bahamas (the last one only reached the
Abacos), returning the NE trade winds in its wake. We're juggling
logistics - things we'd like to do, provisions, laundry,
anchorages and where we want to be when the front arrives. If we
stop and play at all the interesting places (tempting to do in
light winds) we'll be north of Georgetown when the front arrives
Saturday night/Sunday. Not a great idea since the last 30NM are
out on the sound which can be nasty in a blow. Provisions depend
on when the supply boat arrives at a given community, however,
that schedule was radically changed recently when the supply boat
crane broke and there were no deliveries for 2 weeks. Laundry and
fresh bread from Lorraine's mom is at Black Point.
With these variables in mind, we skipped snorkeling at the
seaquarium in the morning, and continued S on the sound, running
up the sails once we were in deep water. Conditions were much
like the day before, smooth water and about 10kts of apparent wind
some 40 degrees off the bow, great sailing! The original plan was
to stop at Staniel to buy gas for the dinghy tank,
check for provisions and get a hot spot from the BATELCO tower to
get a weather update and send mail. Since we were sailing nicely,
doing between 4-5 kts, we just continued down to Dotham Cut,
heading for Black Point. Glad we didn't head in, as we heard on
the VHF that Staniel Cay Yacht Club was out of gas until a fresh
shipment arrived sometime later in the week.
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Rocks just S of Dotham Cut - the ripples in the water aren't wind,
but current flowing out at 2.4kts |
We really hit the current wrong at Dotham Cut as it was running
out at 2.4kts as we came in. We joined about 2 dozen boats
already anchored off Black Point. As we were gathering up our
dirty laundry to go ashore, a small tour boat packed with
passengers landed at the laundry dock, along with a
local runabout which was already packed with dinghies. By the
time we arrived, dock space was at a premium, so we dropped a
stern anchor to keep us off the rocks, and did some gymnastics to
get on the dock. Since the laundromat was so busy we didn't have
to hunt for the manager to buy the tokens for the machines. Like
many places in the Bahamas, the term business hours doesn't always
mean the same thing it does in the states. Whether a bank, post
office or store, open is when someone happens to be there, and
we've spent time in the past tracking the gal down to buy tokens.
The laundry is one of the nicest on the trip, with lots of
machines, a breeze blowing through, WiFi, a small trading library
and it gets a lot of usage from the cruisers.
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| The anchorage at Black Point from the town dock |
A quick check at the store yielded a package of 'biscuits' and
little else. The supply boat was due Thursday, and the shelves
and coolers would be restocked sometime after that - we'd make due
with the stores on board. We'd hoped to get some ice cream, but
didn't want to buy a pint - it was so hot it would have been soft
serve before we got back to the boat. I picked up fresh bread
from Lorraine's Mom - always a treat.
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Sharks feeding on a fish carcass by the town dock
|
The wind picked up from the N while we were ashore, just enough to
make it difficult to get us and the laundry into the dinghy
without getting everything salty again as the waves splashed on
the dock. We decided I'd walk the laundry to the town dock where
there were fewer boats, and Leonard would meet me there. To my
surprise, the post office was open when I past - it had been
closed earlier - so I mailed post cards to the grand kids (we may
arrive home before they get them).
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| Sunset at Black Point |
2/16/2016 To 23 55.629N, 76 17.541W, Big
Galliot Cay, 15 NM
The wind died during the night, and we could see
our anchor, sitting on the bottom, next to us as we ate
breakfast. Before leaving , we went ashore to
fill the solar shower (free water) and take a short walk.
With no breeze it was already hot, and with little wind in the
forecast, we could expect another hot day. Black Point looked
like a cross roads where boats stopped before heading
different directions. A bunch heading N, went out Dotham Cut,
while several others, like us, headed S on the bank, with
about half still at anchor when we left around 1100.
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| #40 - a racing boat being fine tuned for the spring regattas |
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| Another under construction |
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| An old, 1 room house - new construction uses cement blocks instead of stones |
It was a strictly motor day - not enough wind to fill a sail as we
headed S on the bank until just before we approached our anchorage
between Big Farmer's Cay and Big Galliot Cay. Just after our
anchor was down, a small cruise ship came in Galliot Cut and
anchored off Big Galliot Cay - guess we may not have the anchorage
to ourselves after all.
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| Grande Mariner anchoring just S of us |
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