Long Island

4/1/16 - 4/4/16   To  23 21.571N,  75 08.148W    Thompson's Bay, Long Island    46.7 NM
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Sunset at Conception Island

We were so busy looking at the sunset, we almost missed these clouds in the east
 lit up by the setting sun over Conception

We finished our game of Mexican dominoes aboard Imanja Thursday evening, and made plans to head for Long Island in the morning, taking advantage of the SE wind.  The first 20NM were perfect, a broad reach with a steady 15kts of wind and we averaged 7kts.  There was a 4-5' swell, just enough motion that Leonard wished he'd taken a pill before we left.  The swell disappeared once we reached Cape Santa Maria at the N end of Long Island, but so did our broad reach as our course became more to windward to head down the W side of the island, turning our reach into a beat..

White cliffs and the Columbus Monument at Cape Santa Maria at the N end of Long Island

We watched as a number of cumulus clouds developed and moved NW, thinking maybe we'd get a welcome fresh water rinse for the decks.  Once again, all we got were a few sprinkles, enough to raise the humidity.  Not so a bit to the W, where it looked like rain was moving ever so slowly away from us.  We thought about diverting, but knew we'd most likely chase after the rain much longer than we wanted. After we were anchored, we heard a boat report very heavy rain with limited visibility, even with radar as they approached from the SW.

To reach Thompson's Bay from Conception there is about a 4NM 'trough' between sand banks with charted sections of 2.1 meter depths, that we wanted to do on a rising tide.  Granted, our charts use low, low water depths, so you don't get any surprises with a spring tide, and usually have an extra 6" or more of water, but you still don't want to wander too far off course.  We weren't sure if the hurricane might have moved some of the shifting sand banks.  The chart gives a couple of positions  along the way, which are the way points we've used in the past.  Knowing other cruisers have taken this route this year helped lessen the stress level, and neither we, nor Imanja, with her 6'4" draft had a problem.

We tried sailing once we reached deeper water, but the wind switched direction around every cloud, involving numerous tacks since we were close hauled.  We'd have plenty of hot water for showers to rinse off the salt once we were anchored.  Vessels, some 18-20, were anchored in the various areas of the harbor depending on their draft.  Much of the bay is shallow, even for us.  Leonard figured we'd lose 2-2.5' of depth at low tide, so we nudged our way toward shore, dropping the hook in about 9' of water.  He said it was about 7' when he checked about 2330.  The tidal data on the chart plotter doesn't cover this side of the island, making it a best guess proposition for tidal times.

It was great to hear an 0815 morning net in the harbor with tides, weather, and local information.  Being a Saturday, there was a farmer's market at 0900 by the Batelco tower.  Ernie requested the hours, and was told although it started at 0900, it was frequently sold out by 1000, so we planned on arriving early.  When we left the market at 0930, there was very little produce or baked goods left in the stalls.  I'd hoped to buy some local bananas (they're small and much tastier than the Dole bananas at home), but was told no banana trees survived Joachim last October.  One farmer said he has a small tree started in his yard, and maybe next year it will bear fruit.

The 4 of us walked up to Hillside Grocery to see what they had in stock.  We heard it's the largest grocery store on the island, so we're lucky to have access to a good selection of fresh produce.  We also checked out the liquor store next door, and were surprised to find hardware and gift sections in other rooms.  Always good to know where you might find what you need! 

The water was down even further when we got back to the dinghy dock.  This sturdy dock is new since Island Breeze dock closed, built by the folks who own the adjacent property.  Unfortunately it is a fixed dock with a single ladder, and it was about 8' down to the water.  We spoke with another boater and confirmed the little harbor by the church, which is closer to the boat (but further from the store), is still available for landing too. For garbage, water or fuel, we'll need to dinghy even further, to Long Island Petroleum next to the government dock off Salt Pond.   The fuel dock is too shallow to access by Antares, unless we time it to arrive at high tide - we watched the other year, as a boat came up about 8' short of the fuel dock.

Leonard took this shot of the beach and waves while sitting in the shade along the bank

Bette joined us for a walk on the beach after lunch.  It's a bit of a hike, over the hill, to the beach, and we took the scenic route with a view of one of the salt ponds for which the town is named.  Other than the lack of palm trees (or any tall trees), we saw less hurricane damage than expected.  Sometimes it can be difficult to know if a house is under construction - a slow process down here, sometimes taking years - or being repaired.  We did see new shingles on a couple of roofs and other roof damage.

Doves - they were smaller (8"?) than mourning doves, possibly common ground doves,
but the closest image in my bird books was the Inca dove which have dark slender beaks,
but shouldn't be in the Bahamas. 

Sunday was a quiet day.  Other than the grocery store being open for a couple of hours, town was closed.  With light, shifting winds, it was hot.  Fortunately we had a little breeze, and we strung tarps from the boom and over the forward hatch to provide a bit more shade.  They really made a difference, but being plastic, they won't work in the wind.  It was a good day for cleaning the cabin.  The morning net mentioned a shore side gathering on the beach for cruisers at 1700, so we'll have a chance to met more of our neighbors.  With fewer boats, Long Island is a bit more laid back than Georgetown. The way we like it!

Some of the boaters attending the Sunday afternoon gathering

The Sunday shore party was well attended by both people and dogs - more boats had arrived during the afternoon, and a radio announcement was made to make sure they knew about the party too.  The variety and quality of the snacks is always interesting at these gatherings - we rarely come away hungry enough to eat dinner.  We met quite a few folks, some of whom we're likely to see again. 

Monday morning we joined the group a cruisers helping clean up the LI Regatta site in preparation for the June regatta, picking up shingles and other debris.   One of the cruising boats has been here most of the winter, helping to organize cruiser assisted clean up for some of the more damaged parts of the island.  It's a great way to interact with other cruisers while helping the locals.  The Bahamians are resilient folks - it make take time, but they manage to bounce back and continue to thrive.

We also managed to purchase another month's data time from BATELCO since ours expired yesterday.   It was relatively easy once Leonard figured out the 'little' details.  While there aren't many BATELCO offices, cards for time can be purchased a lot of places, in this case, the liquor store.

Note:  Thanks to Doug White, an LCYC friend, I learned one name (of several) for a bunch of butterflies - a kaleidoscope - which is a wonderful description of how they look as they flit from flower to flower. 

Also the creature I IDed as an iguana and was corrected that it was a monitor lizard at Bill Baggs State Park, actually has been  identified as a spinytailed iguana or Ctenosaura, that looks similar to a monitor, but isn't as nasty.  Glad it wasn't a monitor! - Thanks Jeanette (who also helps with bird IDs)

It's great having help and corrections with identification - we don't always have internet (and when I write, I don't necessarily have the time to do a detailed check) !

4/5/ - 4/7/16    Thompson's Bay, Long Island

Monday afternoon we all hiked down to the 'Pole 108 Beach'.  The utility poles along the Queen's Highway are numbered (a great help for locating problems for the utility folks), which also made it easier for us to find the trail to the beach.  I don't think we walked far enough 2 years ago when we failed to find the trail.  Unlike the long beach off Salt Pond, which got cleaned up when the rally from Georgetown came over to Long Island after the cruiser's race, this beach was littered with a lot of junk, much of it plastic.  Plastic has many uses, but takes forever to breakdown, and it would appear boats are losing (or tossing) tons of the stuff overboard given the amount that piles up on the beaches.

Bette, Leonard and I tried to find the trail over the headland to the next beach S - Ernie, not know how adventurous we are, had left his shoes at the start of the beach, and you don't clamber over the rough rocks and sand burrs sans shoes unless you have really tough feet!  After about 10 minutes of trying various leads, we gave up, and caught up with Ernie who had found a place to sit in the shade.

Tuesday Leonard and I explored the beaches to the S of Salt Pond.  I lost count, but think we walked at least 5 which are joined together by trails over rough headlands.  There were more, but we'd had enough of both sun and walking, and took the 'road' along the utility line back into town rather than walking the back along the beach. 

We made arrangements with the Reuters to rent a car Wednesday to the island.  We debated doing a noon - noon rental, doing S in the afternoon and N the next morning, but that would limit the options to leave, or help the cruisers do relief work if any was scheduled.  We agreed to keep our options open and just do one long day.

Beside the vagaries of wind and weather, Minnie, the Reuter's cat, developed a UTI problem over the weekend, and they made arrangements to pick up more meds (for possible future use since she's prone to UTI) and special food at the Humane Society in Georgetown, either Saturday or Sunday, depending on which day the vet would be in town.  Minnie's doing fine, and doesn't have to be seen by the vet who will be in town Sunday with the necessary supplies.  It's amazing how well  the net works in getting help when requested, be it health - people or pet, or boat issues.

Wednesday morning we headed S in the car.  We'd wanted to to schedule the Hamilton cave tour with Mr. Cartwright that we'd enjoyed previously, but he wasn't doing tours - things are not back to normal after Joaquin, and many folks are still busy doing repairs.  We saw evidence of a lot of new shingles and construction, an area of dead mangroves and swamp where salt water must have been deep enough over a prolonged time to kill the vegetation, many destroyed buildings.  One of the things we didn't consider, was the lack of signs - most had been blown away by Joaquin and not yet replaced, making it difficult to find places we planned to see.

We stopped at Dean's Blue Hole, one of the deepest at 202 meters (663'), and home of one of the world's free dive competitions.  We were surprised to see a number of cars in the parking area - we'd stumbled upon competitors training for the competition, April 22-May 2.  The divers use a double flipper that looks like a mermaid's or whale's tail.  As we approached the beach, a stunning young woman, Marianna Krupnitslaya, was coming ashore and we asked about the fancy flipper.  By serendipity, she was the winner of the women's competition 2 years ago with an 86 meter free dive, and more than willing to talk with us and answer questions along with her equally good looking male safety diver. The competition is limited to the top 30 qualifying divers.  We also spoke with Adam Stern, from Australia, (90 meters 2 years ago) who said the  $20,000 purse is divided between the top divers, though that's not the reason they dive.  Most have sponsors and travel the globe from one competition to another.  The US has 2 divers in this years competition, the others are from all over the world  Check out the websites -http://events.verticalblue.net/  http://2016.verticalblue.net/

Marianna with her 'mermaid' tail -dive platform behind Ernie

Marianna told us there are 2 'balconies' or overhangs at Deans Hole, the first about 20 meters down.  Most dives take about 3 minutes, and utilize the cable attached to the dive platform down into the hole, and a 1 meter tether.  After a certain depth, the divers reach a neutral buoyancy stage, after which the dive is like a free fall.  The real work is kicking yourself back to the surface with the big flipper.  The safety person has a line as well, and can feel a light tug when the diver reaches the bottom and starts to come up.  Fascinating stuff, but not for me!

Deans Blue Hole as viewed from above

View of Deans Blue Hole from the beach

We climbed the rocks above the hole - the water was remarkably clear and calm given the 20+kts of NE wind blowing out on the sound.  The hole is in a small cove, protected by reefs and a cliff.  Just plain folks can also swim or snorkel the hole, but we opted not to bring gear and spend the rest of the day, salty and damp, as we explored the island - there are no changing rooms or showers.  We walked out along the beach to watch the waves break on the reef.

A tiny hermit crab residing in a tiny colorful shell perched on a sea urchin -
he grabbed Leonard's finger and didn't want to let go!

We weren't as lucky exploring the interesting old churches.  Unlike 2 years ago, they were all locked, and we could only look through the windows.  We were surprised by the lack of old gravestones - most were relatively recent given Loyalists arrived here after the Revolutionary War.

A small church, no longer in use, with a much newer modern church next door

Another interesting church - note the thickness of the walls at the windows

We had some delicious, really fresh, grilled fish tacos at the Outer Edge Grill at the Flying Fish Marina in Clarencetown while we watched the supply ship arrive and tie up at the nearby government dock.  The marina docks which we walked after lunch appeared to be new since the hurricane and had fewer boats on them than 2 years ago.  Although there always tends to be surge in the harbor and the anchorage area with enough depth for most boats is small, it is along the 'Thorny Path' between the Caribbean and the east coast.

Clarencetown from St. Peter and Paul Church

St Peter's and Paul's Catholic Church with its iconic twin towers

Canal dug by slave labor to make salt farms

After lunch, we ventured a bit further S on the island.  It's 80 miles long, and 4 miles wide at the widest portion, with a population of 4000.  There's a lot of empty space.  Most settlements consist of a handful of houses and possibly a small store.  You're through the settlement before you realize it!  We drove E toward the beach at Morrisville to what turned out to be a small development.  There were several dead end 'roads' and a couple of houses, most in some stage of construction.  With nothing but brush and views of the ocean or bank, it was very isolated.  Guess, maybe if you're really into fishing it could be fun, but the nearest store was miles away.  We parked y one house overlooking the ocean, and climbed down for a short walk on the beach.

A wreck off the beach at Morrisville

On the way back, we were looking for the Loyalist ruins at Densmores, and turned up a track toward a small church.  Several men were putting in footings for a house, and pointed out a couple of walls of ruins close to a couple of houses.  We also talked to a couple of women, who were delighted to be visited and requested donations for groceries which we were happy to make.  One woman had a new house, but no income and a disabled husband.  We gave her our small bag of food I'd gathered from our on board stash that I'd planned to give to Bess, the cruiser who was organizing volunteer work parties and donations.

Loyalist ruins at Densmores - new house to the right

Densmores church

Church door and bell - door was broken, so we could peek inside

The men were working on a new house for the other family - 3 generations, living in a very small house.  It appeared the residents must have weathered the hurricane in the church.  It had sustained some damage, but had been built with thick, sturdy walls, that could withstand the winds.  The settlement had the good fortune to have been built on a hillside, so avoided flooding problems.

Wednesday evening was party night, with the cruisers gathering at Club Washington, about 2 miles N of the anchorage for drinks and dinner.  Most cruisers had signed up to attend at the morning net for the dinner, advertised as more than you can eat for $15.  Any dinner I don't cook is good.  With the car, we didn't need to hitch a ride to attend.  After dinner, we dropped the Reuters off close to their dinghy, returned the car and were back aboard just after sundown.  A long, interesting day.  Sometime we'll need to explore the N end of the island - it's a deal when you have folks to share the expenses, and a great way to see things not readily available by boat.

Remember my comment about no signs?  Thursday afternoon a sign painting party was organized for the cruisers to lend a hand making a number for local businesses.  In the morning, Leonard and I headed for a beach walk and a quick stop at the store, planning to get back in time to lend a hand with the signs.  Even the cruisers operate on 'island time' - it was past 1330 when we got back to the dinghy and saw the Reuters approaching in their dinghy wondering if there'd been a change in plans.  No one had been at the beach for the scheduled 1300 start.  Things had gotten delayed, and were just getting started when we arrived  after 1400.  We joined in and helped sand and paint - I was reminded of the old adage of  'use up, make do, or do without' - all signs were recycled, either wood or metal.  Hopefully the 'new' signs will help the local businesses - signage being necessary, but way down the totem pole on the work list.

Tanker as we depart Long Island in a flat calm - can't differentiate between sky and sea

According to Chris Parker (as well as the GRIB and WindPredict) the wind would collapse.  It did.  We woke up to absolute calm Friday morning.  Not even a cat's paw (maybe Minnie should have dipped a paw into the water).  We'd been dithering between departing Friday or Saturday for Georgetown, expecting to motor either day.  We needed to charge our batteries thanks to the lack of wind, and figured we might as well use the fuel for more than just charging, so pulled our anchor (chain clearly visible next to the boat) shortly after the morning net.  Imanja did likewise, giving them a day's grace before meeting with the vet.

We'll spend a few days in Georgetown - the NNE wind will fill in, blowing in the 20's Saturday night, and keep us in port until it eases during the week.  Plenty of time to restock the larder and walks before we start our long trek toward home.  The Reuters plan on leaving their boat either in the Carolinas or Florida, avoiding the long trip in either direction, and continuing cruising next fall.  We may connect with Todd and Beth Toesing (and Doug White), all LCYC, who have purchased a catamaran in Florida and are hoping to arrive in Georgetown sometime after April 10, weather permitting.