01/17/2008, Cambridge Cay, Exumas, Bahamas.
This morning we listened to Chris and heard the forecast for the week-end becoming more severe, but a little later. There is a low pressure system forecast to develop in the Gulf of Mexico and move up across Louisiana and across to the Carolinas. It will have a 'trailing cold front" that will sweep through the Bahamas some time on the weekend and bring with it strong north winds. But the question is one of timing. Originally the forecast for our area was for early Sunday morning. Now it is Sunday evening. So today we decided that the best spot to ride it out was here in the lee of Cambridge Cay. We chose it for a number of reasons; first, it has excellent protection from the north where the strongest winds will be from. Second it has large moorings installed by Exuma Parks, and third, it has some great hiking trails and snorkeling sites nearby. The unusual part of the forecast (from the perspective of Maritime weather) is the wind changes. The wind has swung from its usual north-east to the south-east, as it usually does when a front begins to approach. Then it will sit here until late Saturday when it will go south and lighten. Then it will nearly disappear as it goes west, then as the front reaches us, it will suddenly spring up from the north, going from almost non-existent to 30-35 knots in minutes, where it will stay for about 24 hours. So until it actually gets here, we can do lots of snorkeling in the light winds. Then while we're riding it out, with our protection, we can go ashore for some hiking. As far as we can see, its the best all-around anchorage in the area, yet there are only two other boats here. The reason for the few boats is probably the same as why its so protected... its surrounded by either cays or shallow coral reefs which will break the waves. So that means its tricky to get in to. To get in, you head out a cut until just about out into Exuma Sound, then head north into what looks like a solid field of coral. But there is a route through requiring "VPR"or Visual Pilot Rules navigation; i.e. get up on the bow and look! Then you approach Kiss Rock, so named because you have to come close enough that you can lean over and kiss it. But then you swing north and you're in! So we headed out of Hawksbill heading south-east, into the light south-east breeze, tacking 10 miles out on the banks until the cays disappeared, then back in to run out Conch Cut and into the anchorage. We'll be here for a few days. We will be running the food supply pretty well out, but we won't starve. Actually there is a small marina that has a few basic supplies just a few miles south, so in a pinch, we might be able to dinghy down before the front, if necessary. But we'll probably find enough to do to amuse ourselves as it is. And my to-do list has grown conveniently if I get too bored! Oh, yes. I couldn't get the BBQ to "go critical" last night, so we had to broil the pork loin in the oven. But tonight in the lighter winds, we were able to BBQ Salmon with Pesto and parmesian cheese.
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01/16/2008, Hawksbill Cay, Exumas, Bahamas.
The weather since we arrived in the Exumas on Sunday has been perfect, warm, sunny and just enough breeze for nice relaxed sailing and to keep us cool at night. But winter in the Bahamas means cold fronts come through periodically, and we're getting one later this week that is expected to bring 20-25 knot northerlies. But even today the easterlies have piped up over 20 knots for today, so we have been careful about our anchorages. This morning at Shroud, in the lee of the cay, we were still comfortable, and went for a dinghy ride through the mangroves that fill the middle of the cay. About 2 miles across, we had at times to get out and wade as it was low tide. The sight of a couple of (small) nurse sharks made Jeannie reluctant to get out, but I figured that if the water was too shallow for the dinghy to float, it was too shallow for a 5' shark. And I arrived with all toes intact. Across the cay, we hiked up to the site where the US DEA kept tabs on the drug planes landing on Normans Cay, a couple of miles to the north. There's nothing left but the view of Normans, about 8 miles to the north. Back at the boat for lunch, we headed down the banks to Hawksbill Cay, only 4 miles away. In the lee of the cays, the waters on the banks had just a short chop, so we flew down on a beam reach with just a reefed jib pulling us along. In here we found excellent protection in the lee of the cay and hiked across the cay to look at the huge waves crashing ashore from the Exuma Sound. And for supper, I will fight with the BBQ to try to BBQ pork loin in a garlic jerk marinade. In a breeze, starting our BBQ is a bit like starting a nuclear reactor. For a long time you have to keep coaxing it to warm up, but when it "goes critical", watch out! The flames can ruin a dinner in short order. Tomorrow we'll have a look at the weather and decide whether to stay or leave. We have an anchorage in mind for the week-end when the strong northerlies are forecast. It's about 20 miles further down (S-E) and the wind, although expected to lighten, is also forecast to clock into the S-E, so it will be a beat. But on the banks, the waves never get too big. The only problem is the salt that will accumulate on everything. It means nothing ever dries, and gets over everything. But we can wash it off if it gets too bad. I doubt that I will get much sympathy from people back in mid-winter!
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01/15/2008, Shroud Cay, Exumas, Bahamas.
About 2 lbs lobster, cooked and cut into chunks; 1 small onion, thinly sliced; 1 or 2 cloves garlic, well diced; 1 green pepper, thinly sliced; juice of 1 lime; 1 tsp (or to taste) curry powder; 2 small tomatoes seeded and diced; 2 tbsp oil. Throw it all in a wok and cook until all vegetables are tender, add cooked lobster and cook until lobster is heated. Quick, easy and delicious.
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01/15/2008, Shroud Cay, Exumas, Bahamas.
Today we, as usual, listened to Chris Parker on his 0630 hrs weather broadcast on the SSB and got a mixed forecast for our weather through the weekend. Fresh winds tomorrow, a few days of light winds, then a serious blow on the weekend. So we're looking at our plan. But this morning, we headed out of Allan's Cay heading south. In a light north-east breeze, we sailed south out of Allan, and watched Magic Carpet head out behind us. With all sails set (spinnaker, main, mizzen and mizzen staysail)they quickly passed us, but gave us an opportunity for some great pictures which I will post when we get a chance. Last evening, we enjoyed a great evening aboard with them and had a great tour below. They have been careful to maintain its original style. And it is really beautiful. Soon after Magic Carpet passed us, we rounded up and headed in for Norman's Cay. Our anchorage (a short stop only) on the west side of the cay was only partly protected from the freshening breeze, but the anchor quickly disappeared into the white sand, so we headed ashore. Norman's Cay is the former location of the infamous Carlos Lehder's drug smuggling organization in the 70's. Ashore we found (in addition to a neat restaurant in the middle of nowhere) the runway that he built for planes to ferry drugs from Columbia and then to the USA, and a significant infrastructure of buildings, most remaining (with bullet holes) including his high tech communications center, a large recreation (bar) center, laundromat and dormitories. Pretty impressive, not to mention the DC3 plane in the water that failed to make the runway. We had lunch in McDuffs, then set out to explore the cay. But as we were touring, we saw our friends, Vic and Marilyn Greely off Whisper (Newfoundland) coming ashore in their dinghy. So we had a great reunion, and laughed about the weather back home. Vic gave us a colorful tour of Carlos' former facilities. But it was now mid-afternoon, and we wanted to push on to our anchorage at Shroud Cay. Only 5 miles away, but giving us much better protection, we pulled out the jib and upped the anchor to set off. And just before sunset, we ghosted in to our anchorage. Anchor safely set, we prepared our Dingi's Curried Lobster dinner. Check back and I will post this great recipe when I have more time.
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01/14/2008, Allans Cay, Exumas, Bahamas.
On Saturday, we went ashore in Rock Sound for a walk, picked up a "take-away" lunch at Sammy's and headed back aboard and off. Ashore we chatted with the crew from Magic Carpet who came in and anchored beside us. A 56' Sparkman & Stevens design, built in Germany in 1960, it is a gorgeous boat to see. But I would not want the job of keeping it up (and it is in immaculate condition). We had a quiet sail the 12 miles to Cape Eleuthera marina, where we tied up in mid-afternoon. Project number one, and the main reason for going to the marina, was to do the laundry. With three bulging bags it turned into a 3 hour job. And we were able to catch up on the internet stuff. About 5:00 pm, Magic Carpet came in and tied up behind us. We knew they were planning to cross to the Exumas on Sunday, as we were, but thought they were staying in Rock Sound (about 12 miles further for the crossing) to watch the New England Patriots game at Sammy's on his 14" tv. They're from Boston and big football fans. But they heard there was a big screen tv at the marina, so came over. We passed up the game as it didn't start until 8:00 pm and we don't usually last much past that. So we had BBQ Salmon (bought in Rock Sound) with a green olive tapenade glaze, for dinner, and the last of the pineapple tart. One more piece of coconut to go! And we listened to the first part of the game on satellite radio. But we didn't hear the first quarter end... Sunday morning, we headed across Exuma Sound in light S-E winds on our beam. And we had just one rain squall to deal with, watching six others miss us to the south. Only 30 miles to the Highborne Cay Cut, we arrived off the cut just after noon, and with excellent light were able to navigate its narrow unmarked channel with no problem. Inside the bank, we sailed up the six miles to Allan Cay and found a great spot to anchor in the tiny harbour formed by the six surrounding cays. And just after anchoring, Magic Carpet came in and anchored behind us. With the dinghy in the water, we looked at the giant (3') iguanas on the beach of one of the cays, took some pictures and went off to find another beach for a swim. We got chased off another beach by more unfriendly iguanas, but finally found one where we were safe. This place seems to induce people to go naked, as we passed a man working in a dinghy stark naked (he smiled and waved ... his hand. Then we passed a trimaran with a group of 20ish's aboard, all wearing little but a smile! Pretty weird, and rarely as attractive as one might wish for in the circumstances. This morning we made an early start for some snorkeling while the wind was still light. I took my trusty spear, just in case something jumped out at me wanting to be caught, but the fish were all safe today. Back aboard, we had lunch, then I changed the engine oil, one of my least favorite jobs, and then got my underwater camera working. If I can't shoot them with a spear, maybe I can shoot them with a camera! Tonight we went over to Magic Carpet for drinks and nibbles and a tour. It makes Estelle's gear look tiny. For sheeting the jib or spinnaker, there is a 2-speed "Coffee Grinder" style winch on the stern. The wooden mast weighs 2800 lbs. Tomorrow, we'll take the northerly winds of a passing front and sail south, not far, probably 15 miles to another cay, this time in the Exuma Sound Sea Park. The snorkeling is much more spectacular there where fishing is not allowed.
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01/11/2008, Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Today we rented a car to tour the island. Car rentals in the Bahamas are not like those in Canada. No big names, just a local garage. So we called Dingles Garage on VHF 16 in the morning and were assured they had a car for us. Ashore, dingles was just across the road from the dinghy dock, so we showed up ready to go, and our car was ready for us too, at 9:00 am. Our plan was to go as far north as The Glass Window then work our way back to Rock Sound in time to do some grocery shopping before returning the car. One of my problems with posting these blogs remotely is that I can't check the posting. And I have a sense that I have written (maybe in an email) about the Glass Window before. So if I have, just fast forward... The Glass Window is about 80 km north of Rock Sound, at Eleuthera's narrowest point, about 100 yards. It was at one time a natural bridge, where the waters from the Atlantic surged through the tiny opening into Exuma Sound from 130' below. But in the early 20th century, the natural bridge collapsed, and was replaced with a man-made structure. And that one sat well until in the 1960's, during a storm well offshore, a rogue wave came ashore and lifted one end of the bridge about 15' westward. And there it stayed, so that today as you cross you see the way the bridge has been pushed aside. Creepy, but it has lasted, so across we went. Because it is mis-aligned, it is now a one-way bridge with barriers on the north side to prevent cars from driving off the edge where it once was. Working our way back down, we stopped at a beautiful resort, run by a couple from Whistler, where we plan to stop on our next passing. And further south in Gregory Town, we stopped to buy lunch. In the grocery store we found only bottled water and cheese. Then, after directions to the local bakery (in Lily's kitchen), we found a loaf of bread and... Pineapple tarts. Much better, we were assured, than those coconut tarts from Rock Town (the "big city" of Eleuthera). So we bought one and took it back to try. In fact, we also bought one of her coconut tarts also. And after some serious tasting, we are still confused. More testing required. Back on the road, we were heading back when the car just stopped. As it did I noticed the battery light on. Calling the rental agency, they assured us that they would be there shortly, and showed up with a new battery. I knew that that would only solve the problem for a short time, but Bobby was adamant, so off we went... for 20 miles, when it died again. This time, he gave us his car and of we went, only a little behind schedule. Back aboard with a full load of groceries, we again compared pineapple with coconut, this time with whipped cream to help, and again, a tie. Still more testing required!! Tomorrow, we'll head out to Cape Eleuthera Marina, about 12 miles away where we can do our laundry (becoming an emergency) and head off to the Exumas on Sunday.
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01/10/2008, Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
This morning we heard reports (from a usually reliable source) that Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta (?) Jones were sighted snorkeling at Warderick Wells! Big news around here, I guess, so I'll pass it on. Last night we were alone in Alabaster Bay, the first time ever in the Bahamas that we were alone in an anchorage. And all day yesterday we saw only one sail on he horizon. Then today we passed one catamaran heading the other way. This is definitely not on the beaten path! Yesterday (Wednesday) we took our time getting going. We're slipping easily back into cruising life. We went to bed at 8:30pm and were sound asleep at 6:30am next morning when the alarm went off. And if I hadn't needed to get up to listen to Chris, we would have slept on. But we were underway by 8:30 am, a later start, as we were timing our arrival at Current Cut, a narrow opening through which much of the tidal water for Eleuthera Bight flows. At peak it runs over six knots, meaning that if we were fighting it, we would go nowhere. But we timed it nicely, a not insignificant feat given that there is very limited tidal data available here. And it had the usual (none) Bahamas navigation marks, so that we used what the charts call "VPR" or Visual Pilot Rules, meaning just read the water! This one is particularly tricky as you have to take a 90 degree turn when you least think you should, aiming at some very jagged rocks until you are just about on them, when you veer away into what you hope is clear water. But we were able to follow our track from last spring when we came up north on this route heading home. So, safely through, we headed down Eleuthera's western shore. As the day wore on, we found ourselves more close-hauled (tight to the wind) so that we had to tack into our anchorage in Alabaster Bay. But just before sunset, we coasted in and dropped anchor in 10 feet of water, watching the anchor disappear into the sand through the gin-clear (where did that expression come from??) water. For dinner, Stone Crab with Bahamian Cole Slaw and Plantain. Ashore, the apparently abandoned Alabaster Bay Resort looked neatly maintained, but closed up, another sad Bahamian dream gone bad on a beautiful beach in the tropics. This morning (Thursday) we hoisted our main at anchor and sailed out of the anchorage at (again) 8:30 am, heading down the remaining 30 miles to Rock Sound at the southern end of Eleuthera. Starting out we romped down at 7.5-8.0 knots, but after a couple of squalls, the wind clocked and lightened, leaving us close hauled and pulling out reefs. Then back up it came, so the reef went back in. But in the beautiful turquoise waters with the warm breeze pushing us down the coast, it was difficult to complain! By early afternoon we were furling sails at the mouth of Rock Sound and motoring in to the anchorage off the town where we shared the harbor, about the size of Charlottetown Harbour, with 3 other boats. Ashore, we quickly found the bakery for fresh bread and Coconut Tart. A few more stops and the sunset warned us it was time to head back to the boat. And A nice evening with dinner under the stars closed another Bahamas night.
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01/07/2008, Lynard Cay,Abacos, Bahamas.
Our Christmas trip home was fun but we were also glad to be back. For the holidays we had our grand-son, Ben (and his parents) and Sarah at home, and lots of visits to and from friends, so we were busy. But we were glad to leave the weather... 4 storms in 10 days at home, leaving the snow waist-deep everywhere. We got back to the Bahamas on Friday and spent 2 nights at the marina. On Saturday, we spent the day cleaning up the boat, doing laundry and re-stocking with food. Then yesterday (Sunday) we headed out in light easterlies and a nice mid-70's and sunny weather. As we sailed down the Sea of Abacos, we passed North Bar Channel where the open ocean swell came straight through and sent us rolling merrily. But 1/2 mile past, the swell had nearly disappeared. Coasting down, we anchored in the lee of Lynard Cay in company with five other boats. After a short walk across the cay to the beach and looking at the swells breaking on the shore, we headed back to the boat and watched the sun set as we sat in the cockpit. After dark, we star-gazed in the clear sky and darkness of our isolated anchorage. We saw stars we have never before seen, including the Little Dipper! Down below, we had Crack Conch with a great cole slaw. For dessert, we were too full for our bread pudding, so had a bit of fruit and cheese. We also dug deep into our stores to locate a Greg Norman Chardonnay! This morning, we got up planning to run 60 miles across North Providence Channel, one of the deepest bodies of water in the world! Waters in the Bahamas are either really shallow or really deep, no in-between! But the wind was both higher than forecast and more southerly, meaning we would be beating into 20 knots of wind with 8'-10' swells, so we decided to stay put. Chris says tomorrow will have winds aft of the beam and smaller seas, so we'll wait. We watched two boats exit the cut, pitching in the swell coming through the cut with their bows disappearing into white water, and that confirmed our decision. So we'll have a walk on the beach, take the dinghy across to Little Harbour and see Pete's Pub, and read! Another tough day! And tomorrow, weather permitting, off to Eleuthera!
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