Conception Island
08 February 2008 | Anchored at Clarencetown, Long Island, Southern Bahamas
Rebecca Childress
Rebecca gets so nervous as Brick House slips into a new anchorage or bay area where the charts show numerous shoal and/or coral areas, or where the authors of a cruising guide write dire warnings about.
We had sailed all night in a 20 knot north wind, the Monitor self steering vane doing all the hard work. Our approach to Conception Island was timed perfectly so the sun was overhead as we rounded the southern tip of the island and continued east into the two mile white sand crescent formed on the south side of the island. Dark patches of coral heads and grass beds spotted the bay area we were traversing. The water visibility was frosted by the wind scratched waves making it difficult to tell if the dark patches were several feet or inches below the surface. The cruising guide made it sound like a mine field nearly impossible to traverse at times. We later found that nearly all the dark patches were coral heads extending from 20 feet of bottom to a depth that would easily nip chunks out of our keel but there were only a quarter as many as expected. With good light it was as easy as missing a pothole every two hundred feet in a dirt road. Even Rebecca was somewhat comfortable most of the time, anyways.
Although the strong wind was now coming from the north east two other yachts were rocking and rolling in the ocean surge swelling in from the south east. We continued on past those boats to anchor Brick House close to a rocky island on the eastern side of the bay. Everything to the south east around to the west of us was open to the huge bank of shoal water then the quick drop off going down over 4,000 feet. The surge was less pronounced tucked in behind the island but still uncomfortable. Rebecca and I were tired from the all night sail but this was the most settled weather we would have to explore this normally windward side of the island.
With flippers on our feet and mask on our faces, area after area we entered the water to drift with the wind and current. Huge coral heads with a labyrinth of holes and small caves were everywhere. What was missing was live coral and fish. The coral was silted over with sand and sediment. The coral for the greatest part was dead. There was the lack of bright or distinctive color a healthy reef would display. Only a few parrot fish and other smaller wrasses swam to hide in the holes as we drifted over. It was a huge disappointment.
The next day the wind shifted from the north east then south east making the south side of the island sending in short waves and a rolling swell. We retraced our chart plotter track out to deeper water to the west and headed north along the west coast for what would be a more protected anchorage along the long white beach on the north west side of Conception. The other boats headed to Rum Cay we presume. We settled into the anchorage amongst the dark spots of widely dispersed coral heads which rose to within a safe 15 feet of the surface. With the wind blowing from the east we figured we would have the entire island to ourselves as the wind would be on the nose for anyone coming from the Exumas or Long Island. By late in the day, 6 masts were on the horizon. By evening 6 new boats lay at anchor in a row off the beach.
In the morning Rebecca and I loaded the dinghy with snorkeling equipment and headed north to the prominent reef extending miles north from the island. Again, it was once a beautiful reef which now lacks live coral and the fish which would live there. The coral was covered with silt and algae and other barnacle types of sea life. I don't know of any documentation of just when the reef started to die off.
Off of southern Miami, south of Fowey Rocks lighthouse, there is a dead reef. North of Antigua and south of Barbuda, in the Caribbean, is an extensive beautiful reef which is bleached and dead. I have never seen any documentation of when these reefs started to die off. The death could very well have started in the 1700s when land was extensively cleared for farming. The runoff from such clearing would have choked the live corals. Hurricanes over the centuries have obviously impacted these reefs leaving broken stag horn and elk horn coral strewn on the bottom. There is little sign of new growth on these old reefs.
At Conception we did float over a coral head which had a bit more fish activity than the others. Diving down and looking in the holes there was one 15 pound grouper and in a nearby hole a dinner for two lobster. I don't spear groupers. There are not many around anymore and it is difficult to find grouper that are more than a couple pounds in size. The older fish are the breeders and the only hope of keeping something alive on the reef.
We have friends on a catamaran who SCUBA dived on a site which is a destination for advanced divers around the world. The site starts in 55 feet of water and is a cliff dropping thousands of feet. Our friends reported fantastic sea fans and other soft corals and some fish at depths around 80 feet the best they had seen in the Bahamas.
Rebecca and I sailed on to Rum Cay to our south. The wind was out of the SE which would make the NW area a protected anchorage. Oh, was Rebecca fretting and grinding her teeth as we motored into the calm water. But she didn't make me stop like many people would have - she trusted me to get us in to this questionable area. The outer reefs forming our entrance were breaking with waves and the calmer water just inside the narrow pass was strewn with coral heads rising just to the surface. It was a labyrinth of coral heads. "I've done this a thousand times" I kept telling her. I could not let her know that it was really not a task to be taken lightly. If the south side of Conception island was like dodging a pothole every 200 feet in a dirt road, here it was dodging a pothole every two car lengths. It was slow going and at times heavy on the throttle to throw a wash over the rudder to kick the boat hard in a new direction. We worked our way into a nice sand hole off the beach and near the ruins of a very old stone house. The anchor was eased out on a short leash for the lack of swinging room between the coral heads. We had to dive on the anchor and make sure it was well set as there would be no way to leave this anchorage at night if the wind shifted.
After inspecting the anchor, it quickly became obvious that the nearby coral heads suffered the same fate as those in Conception Island. It was a beautiful area at one time in history but for a couple grouper, snapper and one conch, not else lived here.
We will keep heading south and looking for good diving spots. Rebecca has big hesitations but I want to go to desolate Hogsty Reef. Hogsty is south of Acklins Island in the middle of nowhere. The closest land to Hogsty is at least 30 miles away. It is a coral atoll, which is rare in the Americas and the only one in the Bahamas. The reef has been a one way trip for many ships and yachts over the centuries. Many boats attempting to get in to the one opening of this ring of coral miss the entrance and end up on the coral. The highest bit of coral lies a mere 8 feet above high water. If the weather is settled enough, we have to give the diving there a try. I'm still working on Rebecca to get her to agree to it. The books all say it's not the place to go to unless its extremely settled weather, and if you are very confidant and skilled navigators. Keep your fingers crossed for me that is for getting Rebecca to agree to go there!
Tomorrow, the wind is predicted to change to the north east so we can leave Clarence Town, Long Island for Crooked Island 45 miles to our south east. We have had fun with the 2 boats that are anchored here with us. Dinner aboard one of the boats one night, a group trip to a blue hole, and magazine and computer file exchanges have filled the 5 days we have been here. We are eager though for a change of scenery. The fishing and conching is suppose to be great on Crooked Island, so we leave with our mouths watering, and our spears sharpened!