BAHAMA 2016 Expedition Leg 4
Wednesday 6/15/2016
A very quiet night, the sky was clear and there were lots of stars and the milky way was prominent. The alarm went off at 7:30 so we could turn on the VHF and get the Abaco Cruisers Net at 8:15. The weather is for some rain today, wind on Friday and lots of rain on Saturday. Several boats leave, headed north. After breakfast we decide to head for Lubbers Quarters and Elbow Cay. The wind is from the south and we sail slowly north with just the jib. There are clouds to the south west that turn into rain and it catches us at Sandy Cay. It rains hard for a while and we collect more rain water. More bands of rain follow so we anchor near Tilloo Cay, fill our water buckets, have lunch, play dominos and read until 3 when the last of the rain passes, there are still clouds but nothing looks like rain. We pull up the anchor and head for Elbow Cay and anchor just north of Tahiti Beach with several other sail and power boats. Although it is high tide, there are lots of power boats and swimmers on the sand bar at Tahiti beach.
Thursday 6/16/2016
Another
quiet night. Some of the other boats left in the morning. We listened to the
cruisers net, they almost apologised for the next week or 10 days of weather
which will be rain and wind from the north and west. I planned to go to Tahiti
beach near low tide and then to a restaurant on Lubbers Quarters, Cracker P’s
but at 11 the wind increased and a line of showers formed to the west. We
canceled our plans and headed for Hope Town, the showers were north west of us
and we made it to the harbor at just about low tide. There were lots of
runabouts ferrying people around, much more traffic than I remembered. There
were a selection of open moorings and we picked one from Captain Jack’s. We
called several times on the VHF but got no response, a while later we heard a
call from Capt Jack’s to the boat calling and responded. We would come to the
restaurant and pay the mooring fee. The rain started then and we waited about
an hour when there was just a little drizzle and headed in. Just as we got the
dock, the heavans opened up and we were soaked by the time we got under cover
of the restaurant. We ordered Kalicks, wings, conch fritters, fries and peas
and rice. The food was excellent and by the 
time
we were finished some blue had returned to the sky. We took a walk around town,
sat on the bench overlooking the entrance to the harbor, bought ice cream
cones, checked out the ocean beach access and several stores. We returned to
the boat to relax. Just before sunset, someone on a nearby sailboat started
playing the bagpipes. There was applause from all around the harbor. Still
stuffed from lunch, we had wine, crackers and cheese for dinner.
Friday 6/17/2016
We
listened to the Cruisers Net, more rain this weekend, had breakfast and took
the dingy to the lighthouse. There were workers on the upper part of the
lighthouse making repairs to the glass that the beacon shines through, this
part is not open to the public. We were the only ones other than the workers
for a bit but then several parties joined us on the walkway at the top of the
tower. There was quite a breeze and it felt good after the hot humidity at
ground level. After lots of pictures we motored over to the Hope Town Marina
and checked out the pool with swim up bar. We heard on the Cruisers Net that
they were having a special breakfast on 
the
weekend but at the office they told us it does not start until next weekend. We
motored over to the Edge and had fish and conch for lunch and also a couple of
their Goombay Smashes. We walked over to the grocery but it was closed until 2
PM. We walked to the other grocery store Vernon’s and it was closed until 2 PM
also so we returned to the Edge and had a beer, Cathy had a Mango Daquari. We
returned to the grocery store and picked up bratwurst, fresh vegitables,
breakfast muffins and even found a package of sandwich thins. The weather
looked a bit threatening but we made it back to the boat and it did not rain
until about 5 PM. It rained for an hour with some 25 Kt blasts of wind. We read
and played cards and the sky cleared up. The Edge was advertising a regge music
night with a DJ from Marsh Harbour so at 6 we dingied in and found a nice table
by the bar and dance floor. The DJ did not play much reagge but he did have a
lot of the young people dancing. We returned to the boat and realized we could
hear the music just as well.
Saturday 6/18/2016
We loaded snorkel gear into the dingy and went to the Hope
Town Lodge pier and walked across to their reef bar for breakfast. They have a
stairs leading down to the beach and several groups were snorkeling and playing
in the water. After breakfast (eggs benedict and sausage, onion and cheese
omlet) we collected our snorkeling gear and jumped in. The beach is nice with
pink sand and the water is clear. There are reefs just a few hundred feet off
shore but they are more alge than coral. We saw some nice fish and several
schools of fish over the sand but not as many reef fish. After that we took a
walk up the beach. We were attacked by horse flies after a while and turned
around. We returned to the boat and realized we had left the canvas bag with
our camaras, money and keys on the dock but it is only a few hundred feet away
so we quickly retrieved it. We rested and played games for the rest of the
afternoon as some showers swept over. At 4:30 it looked clear so we dingied
over to the Hope Town Marina and had some drinks and ordered dinner. We had our
bathing suits but did not get time to go in the pool which has a swim up bar
area. We found a table under their outdoor patio for dinner and watched a line
of dark clouds roll over and cover the sky while lightning flashed to the east,
around Marsh Harbour. The wind would sometimes whip up the table cloth but we made
it through dinner without rain. Things got calm but we could see rain to the
south so we headed back to the boat. There were a few rain showers and a
spectacular light show as the storm passed south and east of us. The Edge had a
live band and from the sound, the crowd was enjoying it but they played very
loud and kept it up until after midnight.
Sunday 6/19
A quiet night but lines of clouds are rolling in from the north and the cruisers net said we could expect storms this morning. We played cribbage for the first time, we had some instructions but not complete on how the scoring is done so we improvised.
Monday 6/20
The
winds were really strong from the north east and we (I) decided to stay in port
another day. We went in to get rid of our garbage at the drop of point near the
Hope Town Lodge and went to Capt Jacks to pay for the 2 extra days at the
mooring and while walking around, came across a coffee house, Cathy had to have
a good cup of coffee and I had a mango ice tea. They had breakfast stuff so we
said we would come back tomorrow for breakfast. We rented beach cruiser bikes
and with our swim suits and masks, started towards Tahiti Beach. The hills were
too steep to peddle up so we had to walk but the view of the ocean from above
was spectacular with the strong wind piling big waves up against the reefs and
beaches. We asked directions at one point where a sign said the road was
private but the guy said “go ahead, it’s not private” so a few hills later we
were at the beach near Bakers rock with several power and sailboats anchored
off the beach. We walked out and swam for a while before returning to White
Sound and having lunch at the Sea Spray resort. We had taken the paved road out
which ran across the center of the island. The map showed a more direct route
following the east coast of the island but when we got to it, it was rocks and
dirt. Cathy preferred the paved route so we retraced our steps. Back at the
boat we were tired and treated ourselves to dinner at the Harbor’s Edge
restaurant.
Tuesday 6/21/16
The wind blew quite hard during the night but moderated in
the morning. The cruisers net finally had a weather forecast that sounded hopeful
for normal summer conditions. A few showers went through and then we went in to
the coffee house for breakfast and a walk. We did not remember exactly where it
was so we walked all around and finally asked, it was north of Capt Jacks, we
had looked there but did not go far enough north. I had a banana and chocolate
chip muffin, warmed up which was delicious. Back at the boat we got everything
ready to depart and waited out a few dark clouds before leaving. It was just a
short hop up to Man of War and as we entered the south anchorage we passed
someone working underwater with a huka rig from a small runabout. He turned out
to be the person in charge of the moorings and was inspecting and replacing
them for the upcoming season. He came over and we paid the $20 mooring fee. We
took the dingy in to the north anchorage, there were a couple of big old wooden
schooners in the harbor. We found a dingy dock and walked around the town. We
bought a large canvas bag to replace some of the ones that were getting a bit
worn out. We stopped at several stores with nice locally produced cloth goods.
At one grocery we found Crystal Light in 19 oz. water bottle size and bought a
couple of boxes as well as a couple of cold drinks, it was a hot day and the
breeze did not reach in to town. We returned to the boat for dinner. There were
lots of boats in the harbor but they were all in storage, I think we were the
only boat with people aboard although there were people staying at cottages
around the harbor.
Wednesday 6/22/16
A quiet night although the wind whistled up occasionally and I could hear something like a drum being beaten on every few seconds. In the morning I saw the boat next to us, the floats for the mooring were milk jugs and one was bouncing off the side of boat and making the drumming sound. I had left the screecher on the foredeck for the last few days so the rain could rinse the salt off of it. Yesterday I bagged it up but it was still a little damp. I put it out on the foredeck to dry off in the sun and had just decided to put it below when a short drizzle started. Around 10 AM, conditions looked good and we dropped the mooring and headed out. It was blowing 15 Kt from the south east and we had a beam reach to Marsh Harbor, 4 miles away so we (I) just put up the jib and we were doing 4 kt. Lots of boats were out going every which way in the first decent weather in a long time. We heard a call from “Crown Royal” that they had lost their dingy. I was watching Crown Royal on AIS, they were following us. With the binoculars we could see something bobbing a way behind them so we called them but they did not seem interested in going after it and continued to broadcast requests for someone to retrieve their dingy. We entered the harbor and called Conch Inn Marina and got dock W06 which was an easy upwind dock. We had lunch and then went to the office to sign in. They have a laundry service if you bring your stuff in to the office by 8 AM, they will wash it and return it in the afternoon. Cathy colored her hair and went to the showers while I hooked up the water hose and washed off the top and front of the boat. While washing the boat, Will and Abby, whom we met at Hope Town came by to visit their friends in the boat next to us, they were anchored out in the harbor. When Cathy came back, I was exhausted and the rest of the boat will have to wait for later. I went in for a shower and meet Cathy at the pool which was very refreshing. We returned to the boat for happy hour, crackers and cheese and rum drinks.
Once the
boat was secured at the Marina I prepared lunch and off we went to the office.
I asked for laundry service and they said drop off as Richard has already
mentioned and they I ask for a salon to get a pedicure and they recommended
Shear Dynamics YEAH!!!! The receptionist immediately called for me and made me
an appointment for tomorrow at 2pm. YEAH!! Once back at the boat, I gathered up
my tools to do my hair. My plan was to color my hair in the head and then go to
the marina shower to rinse it out and to wash myself with a luffa hand gloves
with lavender salt. AHH!! Boy did that feel great!!! Matteo my hair dresser
recommended dark red brown hair color which I purchased and to my surprise it
did a good job of covering the gray. It is surprising the things we take for
granted in life.
Thursday
6/23/2016
A quiet night, a few things went bump in the night and I got up to investigate but could not find anything wrong. A cloud was hanging just north west of the harbor and remained there all day. We could see occasional rain as it built up but it never moved over us. The resort has a laundry service for all the charter yachts and if we bring our laundry in before 8, they will try to have it washed the same day so we set the alarm for 7:30 and took the huge backpack and a canvas bag filled with laundry to the office. After cruisers net we walked into town to Maxwell’s Grocery Store, as big as any in the states. At one point Cathy lost the list and we backtracked to find it in another isle. We filled 2 carts and spent $470. A taxi took us back to the marina and one of the dock boys brought a cart to take everything out to the boat. We had a bit more than would fit in the refrigerator so we put some in an insulated bag with ice and went to the Curly Tail bar for lunch. After lunch Cathy had an appointment for a manicure, I walked with her and then went to a bank to withdraw more cash, this vacation stuff is expensive! My sandals were getting old and slippery so I found a new pair of slip on loafers in a general store. On the way back I stopped at the beauty store and Cathy was almost finished. They did not accept plastic and Cathy did not have enough cash so it was a good thing I stopped by. My new shoes were giving me blisters on my heels, I am not used wearing shoes. Back at the boat, Cathy rearranged the refrigerator and got everything to fit. I cooled off at the pool and in the evening we went to Snappers for dinner. The laundry was not done but will be done by tomorrow.
So after
lunch, I walked to the salon which was air conditioned!!! Ahh! I grab a
magazine and make myself comfortable and notice a sign that says we do not
accept credit cards. I thought I would have to walk back today in the heat and
give her cash but the owner Andrea was so polite and sweet to me. She said she
trusted me and I could return the money whenever. She said in the 6 years of
her business only 1 person did not come back to pay her. My nail technician was
very pleasant she and her family just moved here from Nassau and have been in
Marsh for 9 months. She spoke of her family and one thing that I found
surprising is that neither she or her children know how to swim. Then just as
she was finishing up my hubby walks in and I said Richard you are just in time
for your pedicure. He said he was leaving and we all laughed. I had told Andrea
that I would come back in the morning but since Richard arrived I told him to
pay the lady. The pedicure cost $45.00 she did do a good job. So now, I had a
great shower, my hair color turned out well and my toes look pretty in pink.
Friday 6/24/2016
After
the cruisers net we started cleaning the rest of the boat, including the cushions
and below decks. I refilled the water tanks and topped up the fuel tanks
including the dingy. The same cloud hung just west of town all day again,
sometimes building and sometimes falling apart. It was a hot day and we went
for a dip in the pool and showers before walking to Boat Harbor for lunch at
their restaurant. I was wearing socks and band aids on my blisters. We passed
an art gallery for the Minnis family including Eddie whose songs I like but it
was closed. After lunch we found a few things at Iggy Biggy and I bought a pair
of flip flops, probably the only shoes that would be comfortable now. Back at
the marina, we jumped in the pool which was filled with students learning
scuba. We toted the laundry back to the boat, we were cooled off but it was a
very hot day without much breeze. We went to the bar Curly Tails for dinner and
then started walking to where we were told the Junkanoo Festival location. We
walked west to the stop signal, still the only one in town and then south. We
heard music, saw smoke rising and people congregating so we took the side road
and came to what we learned was the Haitian village. We talked to one young
lady who told us where we were and escorted us through the village and showed
us the way to the festival which was another dozen blocks up the road. The
festival area was a large asphalt area with a covered band stand, several
covered areas and a tent with seating. There was a bounce house for the kids,
vendors with food, drink and conch salad as well as local handicrafts. We got 3
Kalicks and a mug for $10. There did not seem to be many locals and about half
a dozen tourists but as the evening progressed the placed filled up. They soon
had a band playing. This was followed by the Limbo event, the performer Rodney
whom we saw 3 years ago at the Jib Room did his limbo act, first getting the
children involved and carrying one lady under the limbo poll as he did with
Holly 3 years ago. Then he did his routine with the burning limbo bar and this
time some of the lighter fluid was on the ground and caught fire and he limboed
through the fire, light his cigarette on the burning limbo bar as he went under
it. This was followed by a dance troupe from Grand Bahama Island which went
quickly through a dozen routines, very impressive. Then the local Junkanoo
troupe entertained us by marching around the park for a half hour with cow
bells, horns and drums and fancy costumes. A local ‘Star” singer then took the
stage and did a very professional job but it was too loud and we were tired by
then so started walking back. We went a few blocks when one of the locals we
saw at the festival stopped and offered us a ride, he was concerned that we
were walking alone at night and we accepted his ride as we were tired at that
point. He works at Bakers Bay in Guana Cay and takes the ferry there from Marsh
Harbor, getting up at 4 AM. We collapsed back at the boat and did not hear
anything until morning.
Saturday 6/25/2016
After breakfast and the cruisers net, I filled the water
jugs, topped up the water tank and filled up 3 empty gas jugs. After settling
up our bill at the office, we sailed away around 10 AM. The weather is expected
to be settled for the next few days and we had just a few clouds around. We had
a nice broad reach to Guana Cay and with the main and jib we did 3.5 – 5.5 Kt
and anchored behind Della’s Cay and had lunch. We were both still tired from
yesterday and rested and snoozed until 4 and then went swimming. Played Dominos
(Cathy won) and as the sun went down, the temperature became more livable. There
were half a dozen other boats in the anchorage, lots of room.
Sunday 6/26/2016
It just sprinkled a bit during the night. After breakfast
and cruisers net we set the main sail and sailed out of the anchorage. The wind
was light but on a broad reach we could do 3 Kt until we reached the end of
Guana Cay and the wind went light. We started one motor and continued through
the whale passage. We passed one ketch that had more perseverance than me, and
was just sailing and almost standing still but they said “What is the rush?”.
It was a hot day with not much breeze. There were some rain clouds around but
nothing close to cool us off. We saw a couple of sailboats anchored at No Name
Cay and a few power boats pulled up on the beach so we decided to stop there
rather than go on to Green Turtle Cay. We dropped the sails and before we could
get underway on the engines, Cathy saw a large turtle just a few feet in front
of us. He swam on the surface for 30 seconds while we watched. As we pulled in
to the island, there were signs on shore and pigs! After lunch and a snooze, we
went in with some water and celery. There were a dozen pigs with a bunch of babies.
They had set up a large water tank, 500 gallons with a trough and a water valve
the pigs could activate by sucking on it. We swam for a while and another power
boat showed up. We had the place to ourselves for an hour. Later another sailboat
arrived and a guy with a Hobie sail kayak came by and said friends of his were
racing a Seawind on race week.
Monday 6/27/16
A quiet night, the other sailboat left around 7 and we could
only hear the weather report from the Cruisers Net. We set the main and then
pulled up the anchor. The wind was light from the south and we had a broad
reach at 2.5 – 3 Kt. The sailboat we passed yesterday in the Whale passage was
even with us and headed north under sail. We left him behind and he turned in
to Green Turtle. The wind went light and there were rain clouds over the
mainland. I adjusted the sails and for a while we were going wing on wing. We
slowed down to 2 and then 1.5 Kt until we got into the influence of the clouds
and the wind suddenly picked up from the west and we were doing 7 Kt on a beam
reach. This lasted for an hour but slowly decreased until we were at a
standstill. The rain clouds dissipated, we never got even a sprinkle. We heard
other boaters saying they appreciated the cool breeze but missed the cooling
rain also. I started one engine and we motored for another hour to Powell Cay.
There was on small local fishing boat which left and then we had the whole Cay
to ourselves, a nice beach and a good anchorage. It was a hot day without much
breeze so we quickly jumped in. I scraped the hull which had started go get
some brown alge spots and a few soft corals but was mostly in good condition.
There was a lot of seaweed floating by and I noticed one length of sea grass
that had another little bit next to it. It seemed odd so I picked it up and the
other piece quickly swam to another length of sea grass, it was a very small
fish, about as wide as the sea grass and just the same green color. There were
several starfish and sand dollars but only a few small fish around the boat. I
was surprised that we had the whole harbor to ourselves, a few boats passed by
but nobody else came here. We cooked fish, onions, peppers and spinach on the
grill, yummy. We took the cushions and tried to sleep on the trampoline. There
were lots of stars and as we settled down, a satellite passed over. A bit later
the wind came up and blew our blankets around so we headed back to the saloon.
A bit later I was bothered by several mosquitos, the guide book said they were
viscious here so we put in the screens and had a quiet night.
Tuesday 6/28/16
After
breakfast we put up the main and sailed out of the anchorage for a short hop to
Crab Cay. We saw a few other boats, some heading north, some south. Just before
reaching Crab Cay, we saw a shark swimming past us on the surface. He stayed
with his fins above the surface for about a minute while we passed him. We had
the anchorage all to ourselves again and jumped in the water for a swim before
lunch. While we were having lunch, a trawler came in the narrow cut between
Crab and the mainland, motored around and anchored north of us. Another larger
power boat anchored way north of us. A local speedboat came in the cut and
stalled just in front of us, the driver took the cowl off the engine and worked
on it for a while. The passanger was in a wet suit with a mask. After 5 minutes
he got it started and roared off. We snoozed for a while and then watched rain
clouds around us until 5 PM when things cleared up and we took the dingy over
to some rocks and snorkeled around for a while. Toward the end of our
snorkeling I called out to Cathy “do you see the lobster.” In fact, there were
3 if you look closely to the photo you will see one.
There is
always entertainment in the morning and in late afternoon. Boats are leaving in
the morning or coming in to anchor between 5-7pm. So it is fun to watch boats
anchor or catch a mooring ball. We have seen 5 people on the bow anchoring the
boat and people on the bow catching the mooring ball with the boat hook and
another person is trying to put the line thru the eye of the mooring. Boats
going over mooring balls or they miss and keep trying. In Hopetown female crew
person got on a paddleboard to the front of the bow to get the mooring. Another
boat we saw he had his dinghy on the side and was going in reverse so the
mooring was between the dinghy and the boat and they got it. When leaving in
the morning and getting the anchor up the boat goes forward reverse and repeat
that process many times before the anchor is up and the boat is off to its next
destination. Watching all these maneuvers is entertaining.
Wednesday 6/29/2016
The other 2 power boats left early and we had the place to
ourselves until we raised the main and sailed out around 9 after waiting for a
rain cloud to pass us. The wind was brisk from the south, 12-15 Kt and a bit
gusty. With the full main and jib we did 5 Kt downwind out of the anchorage and
then turned south east and went hard on the wind. I thought we would be
spending the day tacking down to Manjack but as we went along the wind seemed
to veer more to the south and we were on a direct course and doing 6-7 Kt on a fairly
calm sea as we were running down the windward shore of Great Abaco Island, a
very glorious sail. On the radio, we heard Ryan’s Place call for Irish Rover
and The Grand. We did not hear a response but called Ryan’s Place. Last we
heard, they were not coming but they were here and would be at Manjack
tomorrow. We could see 3 other sailboats north of us, coming down. As we
approached Manjack Cay there was a rain cloud passing over the island so we
rolled up the jib and proceeded slowly while the cloud passed over and entered
the anchorage with only a few small power boats pulled up near the beach. We
anchored, had lunch and then a short siesta. Several more boats anchored around
us, there goes the neighborhood! Around 3 PM we watched a rain cloud pass over
the island, we had our buckets out but it missed us. The weather looked OK so
we got in the dingy and went to the beach with 2 other dingys and 5 small power
boats and lots of people swimming and hanging around the beach. We walked along
the beach but I could not find the trail to the ocean side that we used 3 years
ago. We swam for a while off the beach and watched the other boaters and small
fish swimming about. A tour boat came in and roamed around the anchorage,
occasionally pointing and shouting “sting ray”, “turtle”. The small power boats
started leaving and as we started getting out of the water, 2 nurse sharks swam
right by us! There were rain clouds all around but we only got a couple of
drops. We returned to the boat for happy hour, drinks, chips and salsa. Just as
we started to cook dinner, steak and corn on the cob on the grill, a rain cloud
passed over and as we scrambled to close all the ports, we noticed a paddle
board break free from a catamaran in front of us. We hollered, waved and called
on the VHF until they came out and went after it with their dingy.
Thursday 6/30/2016
A quiet night and we slept late. A few of the boats left in
the morning and around 9 we followed them down to the anchorage south of
Manjack. It was just a few miles so we motored and went just past Rat Cay to
get a look at Fiddle Cay where the party is tomorrow. There were just a couple
of small runabouts in the area. We returned to the anchorage between Rat and
Manjack where there were about a dozen boats and found a good place to anchor.
We spent a quiet day cleaning and getting ready for the party. We heard Ryan’s
Place call for repair services for their dingy motor, the water pump was not
working. They got ahold of Abaco Yacht Service and someone towed their dingy in.
They had crew on board that wanted to see the town and the motor would not be
ready until 2 PM. After the repair, they took the dingy back out to their boat
anchored outside but the motor died on the way out to their boat. Someone towed
them the rest of the way and they called the mechanic and got them to work on
it again and fix it. Just before sunset we sat on the bow in the cool breeze
and watched the clouds. It was raining just in front of us and we saw an
intense rainbow from in front of us up to the cloud. As the cloud moved past us
the rest of the rainbow filled in and we only got a little sprinkle. We put the
screens up just in case and were sitting outside watching the stars and saw a
very bright shooting star.
Friday 7/1/2016
Another quiet night, I heard a few mosquitos bit I think
they were on the outside. I put out a second anchor because we were going to be
away from the boat all day and also because I had not practiced this in a
while. We had the cruisers net weather report and also another weather report
from Buff House in Green Turtle. The cruisers net was 15-20 Kt and 50% rain,
the Bluff House had 5-10 Kt and 30% rain. We packed the dingy with beach
umbrella, water, cameras and cash. The wind was light, 10 Kt and at 10 AM we
had an easy dingy ride over. We heard Ryan’s Place and The Grand calling each
other and heading over to Fiddle Cay but they were still far south when we
passed. There were lots of boats already at Fiddle Cay and we anchored the
dingy at the north end of the beach. We found a sheltered area under the pine
trees with one fallen tree that made perfect seating so we set up our beach
umbrella and had a home base. The cruisers net had reported that the
merchandise would go fast so we quickly got in that line and got T-shirts and a
Cheeseburger Party Tervis tumbler. We sampled the Margaritas and then meet Stan
and Debbie from Ryan’s Place, they just arrived and their dingy split a seam
and one side collapsed. I offered to give them our repair kit when we meet at
Green Turtle tomorrow. We got in the food line and each got a hamburger and
hotdog with cheese, onions, lettuce and tomato. We walked around the shallow
water area, sat in the water for a while and watched all the revelers. There
were a few dogs and one kept trying to hump another dog, repeatedly, even after
they were separated several times. Several times a quad-copter flew over the
party, I hope we can get some of the video it took. Several planes flew over.
It rained a couple of times but not very hard and not for long. The cloud cover
kept it from being too hot and sunny. There was a bit of thunder but well to
the north, away from us. Around 1 PM they ran out of Margaritas and later they
ran out of mixers for the rum and were serving straight rum. Finally, they ran
out of beer. The food line was still going strong and we went for seconds on
the hamburgers. We offered to tow Stan and Debbie back to their boat so they
stayed in their dingy and bailed while we took their crew Kelly and Janet in
our dingy and towed them out to Ryan’s Place. The rain clouds had passed and
the wind was very light so we had an easy tow out. As we dropped them off,
Debbie got out but when Stan tried to get out of their dingy, it overturned and
the motor went under water. Stan had to struggle to get the motor up to their
hoist and pull it out of the water. Later we heard on the radio The Grand offer
their dingy and help with getting the motor running again.
Saturday 7/2/2016
After breakfast we were going to watch the first race but
Stan called and asked if we could drop the repair kit off first. They got the
engine running last night. We motored to the anchorage at Green Turtle while
listening to them try to get glue for their inflatable at several places in
town but nobody had any. We dropped our repair kit off and then raised the
sails and watched the start of the race. There was one other Seawind “Duet” in
the race. We returned to the anchorage for lunch and then at 4 the crews of
“The Grand” and “Ryan’s Place” came over for happy hour. I had to fetch Stan
and Debbie from Ryan’s Place because the glue on their dingy needs 24 hours to
set up. A few rain clouds passed over and another looked near when we decided
to dingy over to the Bluff House bar “Tipsy Turtle”. We joined a whole bunch of
other boats on their pier. We had a few drinks and their BBQ ribs. There was a
band playing and a truck dropped off a load of palm branches and trunks. I
thought this was a bit strange but when the sun went down, they lit a big
bonfire. It was quite dark by the time we returned but we had navigation lights
for the dingy and we found Ryan’s Place and our boat without any problem. A
long day, we put the bed together and fell asleep.
Sunday 7/3/2016
After breakfast “The Grand” departed north for snorkeling
and then back to Florida. We wished them a safe trip. Ryan’s Place left for
Guana Cay and we followed a little later. Quite a few of the boats took the
same path and it was like a stamped of boats. After the Whale Cay passage, some
turned off for the next party at Treasure Cay but we continued to Guana Cay
where the party will be tomorrow. It was pretty much into the wind and we
motored the whole way and anchored around 12:30. Ryan’s Place anchored near us
a while later and got their dingy in the water, the patch leaks a little but it
is good enough. After lunch and a snooze, we took the dingy in and walked to
Nippers where we met the crew of Irish Rose. The place was packed and there
were dozens of power boats off shore and lots of people swimming and playing on
the beach. We had a swim in the ocean, a few drinks and I took a dip in their
fresh water pool while Cathy checked out the gift shop. We walked back to the
Guana Cay Club and found everyone in the pool there. We joined them and ordered
seafood pizza and wings. The pizza was very good with lots of cheese and large
chunks of lobster and fish.
Monday 7/4/2016
Another quiet night, lots of the racers left in the morning.
We listened to the cruisers net and then took the dingy to Della’s Cay, just a
few hundred feet away to snorkel. There were a few nice corals and rocks with
fish around. We spotted 2 lobster hiding in holes. After lunch we rested and
went in to the party at 5:30. Stan and Debbie, Mark and Gabriel joined us a
little later and then Patrick and Janet. I ordered a couple of Grabber rum
drinks and then the free bar opened up and we alternated going for free rum
drinks. The line moved fairly fast, they had rum with coke, cranberry and
pineapple. They had the same singer as 3 years ago, he did a great job. Cathy
got a carrying bag and a T-shirt (Race week 2014) and bought me a Grabbers
shirt. We returned to the boat around sunset and had an all American dinner,
beans and franks. While we ate, we could hear fireworks going off just to the
south of us but mostly hidden behind Della’s Cay. A bit later a big display
started north of us, lots of fireworks for about 5 minutes and finally another
set of fireworks went off at Nippers and we had a good view from our anchorage.
Tuesday 7/5/2016
We listened to the cruisers net and had breakfast, Ryan’s
Place had already left for Hope Town. We both decided to skip the Marsh Harbor
party and get a mooring in Hope Town for 2 days so we could go to the Hope Town
Marina party on Wednesday. We watched Sympatico and Full Deck leave and
followed shortly after. Hope Town was directly to windward and the sound was a
bit choppy. We started motoring and never put up the sails. We heard Irish
Rover request a slip at the Hope Town Lodge. We entered Hope Town just before
noon and there were lots of empty moorings, I had never seen it so empty in
recent times. Shortly after picking up a mooring, Ryan’s Place came in and we
both went to Captain Jacks for lunch and to pay the mooring. After lunch we
picked up some groceries and returned to the boat. We had invited everyone over
at 4:30 for happy hour, wine, crackers and dip, nuts, apples and oranges. Irish
Rover sent a text, they were too tired and were taking a nap. Mark and Gabriel
were walking around town and texted Debbie and Stan went to pick them up. They
made a quick stop at the liquor store for another bottle of wine. More boats
came in later in the day but there is still a lot of room left. When it got
dark there were fireworks from the city pier, some seemed professional and then
a bunch of random fireworks. Lots of clapping from the boats
in the harbor.
Wednesday 7/6/2016
After breakfast and listening to the cruisers net, we
gathered up our garbage and a bag from Ryan’s place and went to the pier where
the garbage truck takes garbage from the boaters. There was quite a lineup and
it went slowly. When we got close we could see that the garbage truck was not
there and everyone was piling up their garbage on the dock. We threw ours on
the pile also which was enormous. We returned to the boat, got our snorkeling
gear and headed for Hope Town Lodge. The wind was light but there was enough
swell to fill the water with sand and the visibility was poor. We swam for a
while, Stan, Debbie and Mark joined us but after a while we went up to the
patio and cooled off in their pool. We returned to the boat and then went for
lunch at the Harbors Edge. While we were there, Debbie came in, they had rented
bikes but it was too hot to ride them very far. We returned to the boat and got
shower stuff and went to the Hope Town Marina where you could get a shower for
$5. This was just what we needed after a long period on the boat. I went to the
bar for a beer and Cathy went to the lobby for the air conditioning. We found
each other eventually and had a few drinks at the bar and talked to a couple
from Light House Point who were staying at cottage but had a power boat and had
gone all through the Bahamas. I went to check on the dingy and found Patrick
and Janet from Irish Rover in the pool. They joined us at the bar and the
Ryan’s Place crew soon followed. We got a few rounds of the free booze and then
had the buffet dinner, pork, fish, chicken or ribs with the standard mac and
cheese and peas and rice. After the award ceremony, a DJ started playing and we
got our pictures taken on a Bahama Selfie camera setup which printed pictures
and sent them to our email. The port tube on our dingy has developed a slow
leak, after pumping it up it is fairly firm for a few hours.
Thursday 7/7/16
A quiet but warm and humid night. After breakfast and the
cruisers net, we prepared to get under way and left the moorings at the same
time as Ryan’s Place. I lead the way down to Tahiti Beach because the route is
a bit shallow for Ryan’s Place 5’ 6” draft. There were very few boats around
Tahiti Beach so we got very good anchorages close to the beach. We dingied over
just before high tide and started in the shallows and swam towards the small
islands that line the cut to the ocean. There were a few fish in the grass on
the shallow areas. I saw Cathy go between 2 small islands to the cut and
followed a little later but did not see which way she went. She had turned
north and rounded the smaller island. I turned south and found a lot of coral
and big schools of fish, too bad I left my camera on the boat. I did not find
Cathy and turned around and had to swim hard to get back between the islands
because the tide was falling and the current was against me. We returned to the
boat, changed cloths and dingied over to “Cracker P’s” restaurant on Lubbers
Quarters. The name comes from a local character who shot a sheriff in Georgia
and fled to the Bahamas and farmed on Lubbers Quarters. We had grilled conch
(rather than fried as everyone else does it) and seafood spread. The conch and
rice and peas was very good; the seafood spread was good but a bit spicy for
me. I asked the waiter about Yahoo’s Sand Bar, a hangout from previous voyages,
and he said it used to be somewhere south of Cracker P’s but closed a long time
ago. We decided to go further south so we could try the Sandy Cay reef tomorrow
at high tide so we returned to the boats and pulled up anchor. A lot more boats
had anchored around us and even more small power boats were at the sand bar.
Ryan’s place started going out the wrong channel, the one to the cut to the
ocean and I tried to steer them back to the correct path but they ran aground.
I wanted to try pulling them off backward but Stan wanted to be pulled forward
so we hooked up a line and with both boats running we slowly pulled Ryan’s
Place into deeper water. They decided to try again and so they followed me on
the correct path and we made it even though the tide was just 6” above mean low
water. We went a couple miles South to Tilloo Bank and
anchored with several other boats.
Friday 7/8/16
Another quiet night. After breakfast and Cruisers Net we
followed Ryan’s Place down to Sandy Cay. They left a bit before us but they
took the long way around Tilloo Bank and we took the shortcut for shallow draft
boats and got there just ahead of them. I was surprised to see nobody there but
after we anchored, a couple of small power boats stopped at the moorings and a
large sailboat anchored near us. We waited a while for Ryan’s Place to get
their dingy ready and then we both went around to the small boat moorings near
the reef. By the time we were secured to one of the moorings, a number of other
boats came up and grabbed moorings. We just made it in time, it was about an
hour till high tide and there was still quite a current flowing but we could
swim up current and started exploring the reef. Shortly after jumping in I
spotted a nurse shark on the bottom, 20 feet down, I was more interested in it
than it was of me, it just swam away. We swam around for an hour and lots more
boats joined in with people on kayaks, dingys and small power boats. My GoPro
camera had recorded 350 photographs. A large catamaran anchored just off the
reef. As we pulled away from the mooring, another boat was already in line to
pick it up. We returned to the boat, raised the anchor and headed to Little
Harbor. We watched a flotilla of about 6 powerboats head towards Little Harbor
and hoped that there would be room. Ryan’s Place anchored outside because they
were worried about the shallow entrance. There were lots of boats in the harbor
but a few moorings left and we picked up our favorite on the west side, away
from the hubbub of Pete’s Pub. After relaxing for a while Cathy got a text from
Ryan’s Place asking where we were? And I was surprised to find the WIFI service
was excellent here. So despite WIFI, we launched the dingy and found the crew
of Ryan’s Place and Irish Rover at Pete’s Pub, where else would they be. We had
several rounds of Little Harbor Blasters, Stan bought us a round for pulling
them off the sand bar 2 days ago and then I bought him a round after he
accidentally knocked his drink over. Stan bought 2 deserts, Turtle Pie, for the
table and we all enjoyed a bit of ice-cream and chocolate. We said goodbye to
the crew of Ryan’s Place, they were leaving for home this evening, probably
directly without stopping like I did 3 years ago. We will stay, with Irish
Rover to watch the festivities of the final wrap party for Abaco Race Week. The
workers were putting up preparations including a large yellow and orange
spinnaker that acts like a wind sail to funnel the breeze down through the pub.
Saturday 7/9/16
Cathy spotted several turtles in the harbor. Irish Rover
left in the morning. We swam to cool off and went in to Pete’s Pub around 5. The
DJ had started before lunch and played some good Bahamian hits but in the
afternoon it was mostly pop records. We got blasters and ordered the Wild Boar
dinner which was very good. The spinnaker funneled a lot of air down into the
bar and we sat for a while at 2 chairs positioned directly under the sail. We
talked to several racers from Abaco Glow, a local traditional racing boat and
they told us there was an incident at yesterday’s party on Elbow Cay at the
Abaco Inn, a fist fight between some of the racers and the cops and a doctor
had to be called. We missed all the fun!
Sunday 7/10/16
The WIFI at Little harbor is the best I have found so far so
after breakfast and the Cruisers Net, I updated all the email and podcasts and
checked the bank. We heard on the Cruisers Net that Sea Spray Marina would have
fireworks tonight to celebrate the Bahamian Independence Day so we planned to
anchor near there tonight. We had a nice sail down wind and anchored for lunch
at a deserted spot on Tilloo Cay. After a nap we continued sailing north past
Lubbers Quarters. There were lots of boats anchored around Tahiti Beach. We
found an isolated spot with good visibility of Sea Spray and anchored. I bought
a can of orange/pineapple juice, perfect for a small batch of Goombay Smash. I
mixed it up and we drank it while playing a few games of dominos. It was OK,
not quite as tasty as with fresh orange juice but acceptable in the middle of
the Abacos. Another boat anchored somewhat south of us. At 9 PM, the fireworks
started and we had a good view of them from the front seats on the boat. We
decided to try sleeping on the trampoline, it was nice and cool with a good
breeze so we hauled up the cushions, pillows and sheets. It was a nice night
with a lot of stars out but after a while the wind became too much, blowing the
sheets around and we returned to the saloon for the rest of the night.
Monday 7/11/16
We had a short sprinkle during the night and I closed the
hatches but forgot the forward port hatch. In the morning I noticed it was
still open but whatever rain got in had already evaporated. There were rain
clouds around, mostly over the main land and some thunder. After breakfast and
listening to the cruisers net, we talked about what to do today. Many things
are closed as they celebrate their independence day. We decided to go to
Mermaid Reef and raised the main and sailed over, mostly downwind 5 miles.
There was one inflatable pulling up to a mooring ball as we anchored. Soon
other boats joined us and also people swimming from shore. We spent an hour
there and my camera ran out of power and Cathy’s did not work at all, it
appears to be dead. Large schools of fish followed us around as they expect
divers to feed them. There were lots of fish and some coral. We had lunch at
anchor and then motored a few miles to Marsh Harbor. The harbor is almost
empty, only a dozen boats anchored out. We relaxed and finished the Goombay
Smash from yesterday.
Tuesday 7/12/16
In the morning we went in for a walk around, made dinner
reservations at Wally’s and browsed a few gift shops before returning to the
boat for lunch. After a snooze we saw a fire in town, heard sirens and it was
put out shortly after. I hope it was not Wally’s that burned! We filled out the
departure forms and left them at the marina office and went online to fill out
the float plan for the customs office. We both took showers in the head and
felt much better. There were some rain and thunder around but all to the west,
over the main island. It cooled off a bit when we went in at 6:30 and got a
table in the air conditioned section of Wally’s. We had drinks, an appetizer of
spinach and artichoke dip, Cathy had lamb chops and I had the Hog Fish
Provincial and we topped it off with a cheesecake and ice cream desert. It was
an excellent meal to mark our 3 months’ cruise and our departure from the
Bahamas.
Wednesday 7/13/16
In the morning we removed the engine from the dingy, filled
the gas tanks and got out our EPIRB and other safety equipment. We had a nice
sail down to Cornish cay and anchored behind it for a final swim and to clean
the bottom. We pulled up the anchor around 5:30 and motored out North Bar
Passage. As the sun went down, we set the main and jib and were doing 6-7 Kt
towards Hole in the Wall. At 8 we started 3 hour watches, made up the bed and I
took the first watch. There were rain clouds over the mainland but they cleared
up and we had a clear night with lots of stars, the Milky Way clearly visible. Around
midnight we made the turn west to Great Isaac Light. There were a few
freighters and a couple of cruise ships around but nothing got close.
Thursday 7/14/16
We spent all day sailing west and at 10 PM made the turn
around Great Isaac Light and headed south west across the gulf stream. We were
going almost directly down wind and had a few accidental jibes as the wind
veered occasionally. The wind was a bit light and we were doing only about 4 Kt
down wind. We had 2-3’ following seas and were bouncing around just a bit.
There were a few rain and thunder clouds around but nothing came close.
Friday 7/15/16
We sailed between thunder clouds, one north of us and one to
the south east. The wind was light and we started motor sailing. A moderate
squall came up around 3 AM and we dropped the main. In the morning there were
clouds around but the lightning stopped. We motored in Port Everglades at 10 AM
and started hearing activity at 3d Ave bridge and seeing helicopters hovering
around and police boats speeding around. We did not know what was going on but
heard other boats making it through the bridge so we continued up the New
River. The Jungle Queen pulled up behind us at 3d Ave and we could see police
with vests and long guns walking on the Riverwalk and several police boats in
the area. We made it through Andrews Ave bridge and heard something about the
railroad bridge going down. The railroad bridge sign did not change, just
showing the time so we proceeded through, the Jungle Queen turned around and
the bridge started lowering after we passed through. Too much excitement for
our first day back!! At 11 Ave swing bridge we called several times and blew
the horn without getting a response. I had a phone number for the bridge but it
was out of service. We tried calling to Andrews bridge to ask them to call 11
Ave on the phone. This had worked once before. Someone answered that they would
call and a few minutes later we got a response from 11 Ave bridge. At the dock,
our friend Mike from Knot Sure and Sonny next door came over and took our lines
so it was an easy docking situation. Home at last.