Mark
06/24/2009, 18 34.5'N:75 03.7'W, en route to Jamaica

Tuesday, 23 June. Dottie has learned to tell time by the ships bells on the clock the folks at the ER gave me just in time as we are now on an official 4 hour watch system. Deb & I took the first watch last night, 2000 to 2400, Larry & Dottie 0000 to 0400, and Deb & me again 0400-0800. From 0800 to 2000 we have just informal watches with all crew sleeping or on watch as it fits their bodies. Wind remains out of the WSW so we sailed comfortably S until Haiti got in the way. Then we tacked and headed W over to Cuba until we were ~10 nm off the coast. Then we tacked again and headed S back towards Haiti - I never realized how far W the Southern cape of Haiti ran (look it up on a chart some day). The day was clear and sparkling, the night black with a billion stars. Happy Hour is a bit curtailed as we don't drink much while on passage, but we still had quite a spread - shrimp cocktail, tuna shashimi, clam dip and veggie dip with chips and veggies followed by dinner (which we hardly needed) of blackened tuna and coleslaw. We saw several freighters, all on radar and AIS, and only had to hail two to alter course to stay more than 0.5 nm from us. Both responded very politely and passed more than a mile off. When the "boat" is nearly 1000' long, a mile off seems very close. Unexpectedly, Deb & I saw the Southern Cross during the 2000-2400 watch. I did not realize it was up so early this time of year or this far N (we are at 19*N), but there it was holding forth in the night sky. By 2400 it was gone.

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Mark
06/23/2009, en route to Jamaica

Monday, 22 June. Awakened to absolutely flat water and no wind. Sun was hot by 0800 and we were getting mosquitoes - time to leave. Followed out 'bread crumbs' (tracks on GPS) back out of Alfred Sound and then found wind so we could sail the single tack out and back to get to Matthew town on the south end of the island. Great Inagua is the second largest of the Bahamian Islands so it was a sail of some 12 miles. We dropped sail to motor in to the Government Basin on a range from the GPS waypoint on the chart. Except the range wasn't there. The entrance was fairly obvious, however, if narrow (may 50-60' wide for our 23' beam). Inside, the basin was TINY! There were a couple of boats that appeared to be rather permanently tied up along this very rough and intimidating cement wall that served as the dock. We had hailed the "fuel dock" on our approach and got no answer. When we got in we realized why - there was no fuel dock, at least not in the sense we were used to. As we were contemplating whether I could put t\our nose close enough to the threatening cement for Larry to jump ashore without us kissing the concrete, a passing truck stopped and two guys came down to give us a hand. Even with their help, it was a challenge getting in as the wind, which had no picked up, was driving us off the dock. Once on the dock, we inquired about Immigration ("just down the road to the left"), groceries ("just down the road to the right") and fuel ("right here but we have to find a generator to power the pump as the hurricane - two years ago - took out electricity. I'll tell the fuel man to come down for you.") Deb & Dottie set off for the grocery, I headed for Customs & Immigration and we left Larry to talk with the fuel guy. At the first government looking building, I inquired if it was Immigration, and it was not. It was the home of the Royal Bahamian Defense Force whose patrol boat was one of the few in the basin. One of the men offered me a ride in his truck up to Customs which was good as it turned out to be about a mile. At Customs, the agent looked at my papers and then said the Customs officer was at the airport but had heard my call and would come down to the boat - just wait there and after he inspects the boat, he will bring up back here. OK, walk the mile back to the boat in sweltering heat. A government car stopped to inquire if I was clearing in. When I said, "No, clearing out." They said OK and left. About the time I got to the boat, I met the Customs man. He had spoken to Larry at the boat but had not got on the boat at all. He said we were all set to go - no paperwork at all. "Just mail the cruising permit back to us when you get home." I inquired about a Zarpe, that magical piece of paper that says you left the country in good standing and is required for arrival at your next port. At least the Latin Central American countries have an absolute cow if you don't have a proper Zarpe. He said, "No, problem. You don't need one. Just show your cruising permit to show that you were legally in the Bahamas." I seemed unable to convince him that I needed a Zarpe, so I thanked him and promised to mail back the cruising permit. At the boat, Larry said the fuel guy had gone to get a generator and would be back in a half hour. About then, the Dock Mistress showed up to collect her $6.00 for tying up to the dock. She also asked for (and got) some cuttings from Deb's plants to try propagating there. Her daughter wanted to come aboard and see the boat, which we of course did, but she seemed reluctant to get back off which was a bit awkward until Mom had to leave. Then, the Customs Agent shows up with a Zarpe! He explained that it really wasn't necessary, but since I seemed uncomfortable, he got one just for me. No charge. Fuel guy still missing (1 =BD hours later). Deb & Dottie return from market. Mailboat came yesterday so little was left by today. No produce at all. They got a loaf of bread, some Kallick beer, and rum. Still no fuel guy. I discovered that we had internet connection. The internet cafe had folded several months ago, but apparently the signal was still there. It gave us something to do while waiting for fuel guy. Fuel guy shows up (without generator) to apologize for the delay and tell us that someone else will be coming with a generator "in about =BD hour." Heard that before! More time on the internet. Second fuel guy arrives with generator. Plugs a couple bare wires that are hanging out of the old entrance box into the slots in the outlet on the generator and fires it up. We fill three jerry cans and the tank which had only fumes. Seventy-five point eight gallons. Two hundred and sixty-eight dollars. And now we can go. Fuel guy helps us cast off lines. I back up cautiously, spin a 180 in place and motor out of Government Basin bound for Jamaica. Wind is 5-10 out of the West, so we can sail SSE without running engines. We have enough fuel to motor to Jamaica, but it is so nice to finally be just sailing. We talk about watches and procedures for sailing in the dark. Everyone is comfortable with the plan. Just before supper, I see birds hitting the water and then circling overhead. Larry says they were probably on tuna which have gone down, but will be back soon. Zingggg. His reel starts spinning. For the next 35 minutes, Larry fought the tuna, gaining and then losing all progress as the fish takes off on another run. Finally he lands a nice yellow fin tuna - abut 30#. We immediately change dinner plans and have the freshest shashimi and seared tuna you can imagine - plus lots for future meals. By now the wind has built and we are sailing in 20 kts from the SW with 1 reef and moving along nicely. Not at all what was forecast and very unusual direction, but we'll take it.

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Mark
06/22/2009, Government Basin, Gr. Inagua

We are sitting tied up the the very formidable concrete dock in the Government basin waiting for someone to find a working generator to run the pump for us to get diesel before departing for Jamaica. We have cleared out of the Bahamas and to our delight find that we can piggy back the internet antenna even though the internet cafe is now defunct. As a result you can now see several of our pictures of the Bahamas as we have uploaded a new album to the photo section.

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Mark
06/21/2009, Great Inagua, Bahamas.

Friday, 19 June. Sailed and motor sailed from Mira por Vos to Hog Sty reef leaving early AM. En route, I caught a head fish - a black fin tuna that was attacked by a shark as I was reeling it in so I only ended up with a head! Actually there was enough of him that we got enough meet of cocktail apps, but not really enough for dinner. Hog Sty reef is a horse shoe shaped reef about 5 miles long and 2 miles wide. There is a tiny island on the NE corner which is where we anchored. Not great holding - mostly marl and very little sand over it, but we managed to wedge our Delta into a crevice of coral that should hold quite well. There are two wrecked freighters on the reef - one on the N and one on the S, but quite a ways away, so we did not get to see them closely. After we were tucked in safely for the night, we enjoyed the tuna which I seared as I usually do with ground coffee - fantastic! It really would have been nearly enough for dinner, but Deb had made a meatloaf as well and we nearly polished off that as well! We went to bed feeling very well fed. Saturday, 20, June. Today was a rest day between travels and a chance to enjoy Hog Sty. The little island off which we anchored is home to about a million gulls of a variety of species. They were not exactly thrilled with our exploring their island, but despite Deb's fears (remember Alfred Hitchcock?), they did not attack us, just flew in circles squawking loudly. Deb & Dottie found lots of nice shells and Larry & I both found flotsam floats, hard plastic balls that held nets - made in Spain. Out of deference to the gulls (or was it fear?) we did not go to the middle of their nesting area to explore the old lighthouse, but were satisfied with pictures. Larry & I snorkeled the entire circumference of the island dragging dink along behind. Reef was much healthier than at Mira, but still not really spectacular. Quite a few trigger fish and a couple barracuda, but not much for dinner fish. It was a great and relaxing day between long sailing days. Finally tomorrow we will have a chance to sail S instead of SE which given the prevailing sinds should mean a good sail, except that the forecast calls for the winds clocking to S/SW over the next couple days - our intended course exactly, again! Given that we are low on diesel, we cannot afford to run both engines all day if the wind is right on the nose, so we downgrade our expected speed and decide we need to leave @ 3:00 AM, so we had an early supper and went to bed early. Sunday, 21 June. We awakened @ 3:00 AM to a nice EASTERLY breeze of 10-12 kts. What a treat. We weighed anchor with only a little difficulty (remember how nicely it was wedged in the marl?) and after we cleared the reef, we hoisted sail and shut down the engines. Sailing at last. No race, making 3-5 kts up and down in the light breeze, but sailing and not burning dead dinosaurs. After a short while, Larry & Dottie went back to bed leaving me alone at the helm. (Deb had not slept well, so did not get up.) I love this watch. The stars are so brilliant. The milky way is a billion dots of light but each one separate and distinct. No moon yet, it is almost then end of the last quarter. We sailed smoothly and silently and I loved every minute. About 4:45 I saw a faint light on the E horizon - a freighter maybe? No, at 4:55 I experienced a beautiful moon rise as this tiny crescent with both horns pointed up rose above the horizon for just and instant before disappearing in some distant clouds. A special treat. Then I did see not one but two boats visible be their lights, AIS signature and radar echo at about the same time. One was clearly a freighter and would pass 6+ miles away so could be ignored. The other looked more like a military vessel, but its AIS signature just gave course and speed, nothing else. Its course would cross ours but exactly where depended on our varying speed. Need to keep a watch on him. I got Larry up at day break as requested and we put out fishing lures. The military looking boat now displays USCG 619 on AIS and has changed course and seems to be circling some distance off so no longer a worry for us. (The USCG has been keeping close tabs of us. We were approached by a cutter on the tongue of the ocean several days ago and although they did not board us, they questioned us extensively via VHF. Since then we have been visited with a fly over every day. Initially it was a harrier helicopter, but yesterday a falcon jet. Always a low close pass and gone.) The sun was up, the magic over for today and so I left Larry with the helm and went to bed. I was awakened by Otto complaining that he could not keep us on course (I recognized the beeps). I sprinted to the helm to find Dottie up as well and the wind having died, gennie was misbehaving and they were trying to take her in when Otto began wandering with an unbalanced sail plan - actually nothing to worry about except that our sailing was over for the day. There was still enough wind to make it worthwhile leaving the main up and motor sailing, but as the day wore on even that failed and I tucked the main away. The sea was a calm as a bathtub! We got to Great Inagua by 13:00 which was perfect for picking our way in. It was also dead low tide which was both the good news (if we make it in, there will be no problem leaving tomorrow) and the bad news (tricky getting in!). We posted watch on both bows and a person on the anchor windless as I motored slowly into Alfred Sound - this lovely lagoon surrounded by breaking coral reef. We anchored again on marl, but it seems secure. Beautiful place. Nice sandy beach to S, breaking surf on the reef N & E, and water like you only see in the Bahamas everywhere. Deb & Dottie walked the beach finding shells and Larry & I snorkeled the outer reef. Found remnants of an unmarked wreck - looked like and old wooden ship, big wood ribs and masts that still looked like trees. The reefs were mostly dead where breaking, but healthier inside. Not much for fish, but fairly plentiful conch (but Deb is still "conched out" after cleaning 50). Tomorrow we will get fuel, clear out and head for Jamiaca.

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Mark
06/18/2009, Mira por Vos., Bahamas.

Thursday, 18 June. I think we set a new record on conch. Before we left Nurse Cay, we did another dive and ended up with 50 conch, all of which I shucked and Deb cleaned. We should have conch all the way to Panama! Conch salad, conch fritters, cracked conch....... We left Nurse Cay about 3:00 PM and sailed overnight through the SW North Atlantic to this tiny group of rocks/islands on a reef that rises from 2000+ feet in the middle of nowhere. It is sort of in the Crooked Island Passage if you look on a chart. We figured that since it was not in any of the cruising guides and never got visited, it would have great reefs and fishing. Well, maybe it did - 20 years ago. The reef formations are fantastic - arches and caves lots of different kinds of reef, but it all looks like it died 20 years ago. Now there is just algae covered dead reef and very few fish. We did catch a couple barracuda trolling on the way (this seems to be the only thing we catch lately!) so we tied them to the stern of the boat at anchor and watched the sharks come and eat them at dusk. Cheap entertainment, but what can I say? We were so disappointed in the reef that I am glad we did not plan on spending tomorrow here. Instead we will sail to Hog Sty Reef, a coral and limestone atoll that is also well off the beaten path. Hopefully it will be more vibrant.

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