CURRENT LOCATION: White Sound anchorage, Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Northwestern Bahamas
26 46.689' N, 077 20.163' W (
CLICK HERE for Google Maps), or try to 'Copy > Paste' the numbers into Google Earth
Who needs fancy navigational equipment? All we need to do is determine which direction the wind is coming from and head that way. Yes, that is correct, dear Reader, today was
another day under engine power. Makes you wonder why we purchased a sailboat rather than a trawler.
The morning weather forecast indicated that west winds were being experienced at Settlement Point, Grand Bahama Island, which was about 90 miles west of our current location (as a cloud flies). We were still seeing southeast winds, but they were much diminished from yesterday.
I suppose that we could have waited around for the west winds to give us an opportunity to sail, considering that Green Turtle Cay was only about 14 nautical miles away. However, along with a wind shift there may be squalls and generally unsettled weather. Since it took better than 6 hours to go 20 nautical miles yesterday...motoring we shall go. Justification for that decision came in the form of some serious looking showers off our stern as we motored away from Powell Cay.
The two Canadian boats we had found at anchor as we crossed onto the Little Bahama Bank (
Back Roads and
Windswept) had shared our Powell Cay anchorage last night, and departed a few minutes before we did. As we approached Green Turtle Cay, we radioed them for some soon-to-be acquired local knowledge.
The anchorage we wanted to enter is reached by transiting a channel with only about 5 feet of water at low tide. Since Prudence draws 5 feet when she is not loaded down (and at present, we should add at least a few inches), and we were approaching at low tide, we asked them to report the depths they saw going through. Reports of minimum 6 foot depths gave us confidence in our ability to make it in. And, although we saw a few moments of 1.5 meters on the depth gauge (5 feet), we did in fact make it in.
Our recent practice anchoring in Bahamian bottoms paid off, and we set the anchor reasonably well in White Sound, just off of the
Bluff House Yacht Club. Menus for their restaurant can be heard on VHF channel 11.
Shortly after anchoring, I set to work inflating
Patience. As that chore approached completion, we were greeted by a pair of dinghies approaching
Prudence. Dave & Bev, from
Back Roads, whom we had met at Thanksgiving in Stuart, FL, and Val & Ed, from
Windswept, whom we were meeting for the first time. Dave & Bev have been coming to the Bahamas annually for a while now, and were serving as the experienced buddy boat for
Windswept.
After a brief exchange, Sheryl prepared to take
Patience over to the town of New Plymouth and clear us in with Customs & Immigration. We had decided that here she would be Captain of the sailing vessel
Prudence, while the crew would stay on board and make certain that the anchor stayed put (especially since we were still expecting the wind to shift to the west).
As I was working on posting some of the blogs we have written en route, Sheryl radioed to indicate that the Customs & Immigration lady was out of the office and would not return until around 3-4 PM. I guess I will have plenty of time to post and respond to e-mail this afternoon.
Sheryl returned from town around 5PM, and reported no success in getting us cleared-in. The official never returned from Marsh Harbor. Welcome to the Bahamas, laid back in all manner of things. Sheryl did, however, meet the people off of seven other boats, also waiting to clear-in. It looks like tomorrow is going to be a busy day at Customs & Immigration in Green Turtle Cay.
As for us, we have enjoyed a nice dinner and are settling-in for the evening. A strong cold front is supposed to move into the area tonight, and big winds are expected. How big is hard to say, since we are having difficulty with our internet connection right now, but last we heard, could be 25 knots or better. With all of the boats around us here in this anchorage, let's hope that White Sound is as protected as its reputation would have us believe. Otherwise, it could be a
very interesting night.