02/16/2008, Conception Island, Bahamas.
This morning we worked our way out of our anchorage at Hog Cay. We had worked our way in between the cay and a small reef just off it by 1/4 mile, but had to find the deepest point to pass through. But we made it with 6" to spare! Outside, we hoisted sail, shut down the engine and set off around Cape Santa Maria for Conception Island. In a south east breeze of 15 knots, we were pretty well close hauled (pointed as close as possible to the wind) and still bearing about 15 degrees off our course. But that's not too bad; we could just carry on and tack over once we were close (too complicated to explain), and make it in to Conception. There is a strong (2 knots) current flowing north-east between Long Island and Conception Island, and we could definitely feel it dragging us away from our objective. About noon, the wind rose to 18-20 k nots, and a merry sea set up (6'-8'), but we were making good progress to Conception, so were happy. We watched a small (40') motor boat in the Maritime lobster boat style pass us, and head off to Conception's anchorage, as our reel fired off its Zzzzzing! In the 6'-8' seas, we furled the jib, dropped the main and I began the fight. And 45 minutes later, with me exhausted and the largest mahi mahi I have ever seen alongside, I reached over with the gaff. One look at me was enough for him and he jumped clear of the water, snapped the 80 pound test line and was gone! We consoled ourselves by saying that we doubted we could have lifted him on deck anyway, and that there would have been too much food for our freezer and stuff like that as we just motored the last 3 miles to Conception. Once anchored in the lee of the island, we launched the dinghy for some exploring. Conception Island is a Land and Sea park, meaning no fishing allowed. But a lot of people seem to ignore the rules as there is no one to enforce them. There is a small creek that drains a large mangrove swamp that occupies most of the island's interior. This mangrove area has become a place where turtles (mostly Green Turtles, some leatherbacks) come to spend the years up to maturity. So in the dinghy you can see their heads poking up for air, or you can see their dark shapes scurrying out of your way beneath the surface. And they are really fast! But as a park, we were surprised when we entered the mangroves to see a 20' outboard with a woman with a net on the bow chasing the turtles! Even though we have seen people spearfishing for lobster, we never expected to see this! Not sure what to do, we cautiously approached them as we had to pass closely to get further in. And as we approached, the woman called over to tell us they were tagging turtles. We watched for a while, and it was not easy to catch them, but they did get three. With that they began to measure and tag them, and invited us aboard to watch. Working from the University of Florida, they have been studying them for over 30 years. We talked while they worked, measuring, weighing and photographing each one, and we learned a lot about the turtles strugle to survive. An endangered species, they are now extinct in the Bahamas except for this one area, where they no longer nest, but for some reason, come to spend their juvenile years. Finished measuring and tagging, we took them ashore in our dinghy and back into the mangroves where they fled quickly. A very interesting afternoon! For dinner, with no fresh fish, we roasted two cornish hens with sweet potatoes and salad. And with that we settled down to a rare calm evening on Conception. With the moon nearing full, the beach glowed bright in the dark of night
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02/15/2008, Hog Cay, Long Island, Bahamas.
This morning we hoisted anchor and sailed up the west shore of Long Island, heading north. In a perfect beam reach we arrived off Hog Cay (just 1/2 mile south of Joe's Sound entrance) in early afternoon. Picking our way in behind some coral, we dropped anchor off a wide empty beach on 8' of water. We watched the anchor set itself and settled in for a late lunch. After lunch, I got out my SCUBA gear and changed the anode on the propeller shaft. The anode is made of zinc and acts as a sacrificial piece of metal, as it will corrode brfore any metal to which it is connected electrically, including the engine. There is also an anode in the engine itself which is immersed in the raw water coolant. I replaced it last week. The one on the prop shaft was over 90% gone in just over 2 months. Anodes seem to deteriorate more quickly here in the warmer and more saline water. At home, I rarely needed to change one after 4 months. After the anode change, I cleaned the bottom, again just after 2 months. But it wasn't too bad, and I was able to get it done quite quickly. Then we dinghied ashore for a walk and a swim, and back to the boat for dinner. We didn't go into Joes Sound because of the tides. Had we gone in, we would not have been able to get out until noon at the earliest, and that would be too late to start out for Conception, our plan for tomorrow. As we were eating in the cockpit at sunset, we heard a pair of whistling ducks fly by with their clear distinctive whistles. And they always do it on exactly the same note! It is a haunting sound in the quiet of the dusk. Then an osprey flew by with its dinner of fish in its claws, then moon and stars. Tomorrow, Conception Island!
The photo is of sunset tonight across Exuma SOund, taken from our anchorage.
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02/12/2008, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas.
It has been blowing since Sunday night with winds a steady 25 knots and up to 35 knots in squalls. The squalls ended yesterday, and today we're down to 18-22. But the wind has clocked (moved in a clock-wise direction) from east where it was when we anchored, to south today, so that we are now not in the lee of Long Island. We have a couple of miles of fetch to windward, creating seas of 2'-3', which doesn't sound like much, and normally isn't, but after three days of wind, and these seas which started yesterday afternoon, it's getting tiresome. The main thing, however, is being well anchored. When we anchored, we took into account the wind direction and strength, so we tucked in close to shore to be in the lee of the island as long as it was in the east, and that worked. We knew the forecast was for it to clock into the south, so we also made sure we were in shallow water with good sand and no grass on the bottom for good holding. When anchoring, the bottom is important for obvious reasons. Last week in Calabash Bay, we set the anchor four times before we got it to hold. In about 12' of water, we could see sand and no grass, so dropped the anchor, thinking we were fine. But you don't just drop it. It must be properly "set", or dug in. To do that, the appropriate amount of chain is run out, and a "snubber" or short length of rope attached, to prevent the load of the boat coming on the windlass, and then we reverse at high power. That way the chain stretches out and the anchor digs in if the bottom is "good holding". In Calabash bay, when we backed down, the chain kept jumping and we kept moving back, indicating the anchor was just bouncing across the bottom. In many places here in the Bahamas, the bottom appears to be sand, but is really just a dusting of sand over rock, and that's what we found in Calabash Bay. Finally, on our fourth try, we located a spot with good deep sand, and the anchor set immediately. In addition to a good bottom, you need the correct depth, and shallow is better than deep. For a chain rode (anchor line), it takes 5' of chain for every 1' of water depth. So if we anchored in 5' of water, adding the distance from the surface to the bow, another 4', means 9X5=3D45' of chain. But since the boat draws 5' and tidal ranges are about 3', we need to anchor in a minimum of 10' at high tide to ensure we have 2' beneath the keel at low tide. So that means our minimum amount of chain is (14X5) 70'. But that is for normal anchoring. Here when we anchored, we ran out 100' due to the forecast (we carry 150' of chain on one rode and 75' of chain spliced to 150' of line as a second). And talking to other boats in the anchorage, that seems about average. But a couple of boats are using a combination of rope and chain, with 20' of chain attached to the anchor and then rope from there. While that makes easier lifting (if you have no windlass), it requires even more "scope", about 7 to 1. Once the anchor is set, we will check it. We do this a number of ways: in many areas the water is so clear that we can watch the anchor dig in and completely bury itself just watching from the deck. If not, we can go out in the "lookee bucket", a bucket with a clear plastic bottom. Or sometimes I put on snorkel gear and dive on it. From time to time I have actually had to dive on it and drag it over to a nearby patch of sand before we are finally anchored. And the final piece of the puzzle that assures a good sleep is our anchor alarm. On the GPS, we set an alarm that goes off if the boat moves outside a circle of 100' (just over 2 boat lengths). So we leave the GPS on all night and if we do move, we are immediately wakened. At 100', it will go off if the wind changes direction, but we'd rather be woken occasionally unnecessarily than wake up on the rocks! I won't bore you any further with anchoring, except to mention that we use a Bruce anchor, others use a plow (or CQR) while others use a Danforth style. We have a second anchor, a Fortress, and some times use both set out in a "V" ahead of the boat. And finally, we have a Storm anchor that weighs 80 pounds that is only intended for very serious weather, as I have no idea how would ever get it out of th bottom and back into the boat if I used it! So, all in all, among the 32 boats in the bay, no one was seen dragging, so we must be doing something right!
The photo is of Jeannie and Mary with the world champion free diver (225'), left, and a local diver.
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02/12/2008, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas.
That was the beginning of today's weather forecast by Chris Parker on the SSB. Based on the weather forecast, we left Joes Sound to come down here, about 25 miles, on Sunday morning. The timing of the tides in Joes Sound was perfect, with high water at 10:30 in the morning. We headed out, and just behind us, Seabird followed us out. We decided to try a bit of fishing, so motored north towards Cape Santa Maria for a few miles. We used the depth sounder to keep ourselves just on the drop-off, where the depth drops from less than 100' to over 1000' in a half mile. This is where the best fishing (usually) is, but we were blanked, so we turned around and hoisted the sails for the run down to Thompson. In a beam reach that slowly grew during the afternoon to around 20 knots by the time we anchored, we had a beautiful sail. Settled in with the anchor well set in Thompson Bay's excellent holding, we felt set for the upcoming blow. And it started blowing during the night, so that by morning, all 30 boats in the bay were tugging on their anchor chains. Winds are a steady 25 knots with gusts to 35 in squalls. But with the excellent holding, nobody seemed to have any problems. During the day we had a number of squalls that washed off the salt. Ashore we timed our walks between the squalls and hardly got wet at all! Aboard, we did some small jobs, and Jeannie made bread while I roasted a chicken for dinner. And then we spent another windy night at anchor. But when we anchored, we tucked in close to the shore where its high cliffs mean that we aren't exposed to the full force of the wind, and the seas are really quite small, so that getting ashore is not a problem. Chris said today that this is the strongest front in a number of years, and is expected to last until noon tomorrow when it will just collapse, leaving light winds for the balance of the week. So we'll just hang on for another day, then set out somewhere tomorrow afternoon or Thursday.For today, I have a few more boat projects, we'll head ashore to Max's Conch Bar, for wireless and lunch, then get together with Strathspey and Seabird for a Skippers meeting regarding plans and a sundowner. Another tough day!!
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02/09/2008, Joes Sound, Long Island, Bahamas.
Today dawned as another perfect winter's day... in the Bahamas, with a light breeze out of the south-east and a clear sky. After Chris' weather report, we chatted over the SSB with other boats, Seabird in Georgetow, Strathspey in Thompson Bay and Solitaire in Emerald Bay... like an old fashioned party phone! After breakfast in the cockpit, we headed out with the snorkel gear and set off south to an area called Dove Cay where we thought we might find something interesting, like lobster. We found some nice coral patches and I enjoyed chasing some of the larger fish, but they easily eluded me! Finally, when poking in a small hole in a piece of coral, I came face to face with a lion fish. Lion fish are native to south-ease Asia, and have begun showing up in the Bahamas in the last few years. They are named after their appearance, very colorful with lots of strands looking like a lion's mane. But they are voracious eaters, highly toxic, and have no predators here, so are multiplying rapidly. There are serious concerns about their impact on the marine environment here. It showed no fear of me, so I poked it with my spear, and it shot back into its hole, and I did a hasty retreat! By the time we were back at the boat, it was early afternoon. So a quick lunch and we went beach walking, and burned our garbage that was now becoming quite smelly! In late afternoon, we heard Seabird calling us on the VHF from just outside the entrance to our anchorage. As it was low tide, they were concerned about making it through the narrow entrance. We had just gone through in our dinghy and checked the depths with our hand-held depth sounder, so were able to report enough water for them to pass. I went out to guide them through, as well as "Margaret", another boat just outside the entrance. Safely through, Seabird anchored just up the narrow channel from us, and invited us aboard for "sundowners". Comfortably seated in Seabird's cockpit, we glanced westward to where the setting sun should have been and saw not the sun, but a very well formed waterspout, a kind of seagoing tornado. We watched it for a few minutes, then retreated to Estelle to batten things down. Boats anchored outside the sound hoisted anchor and set out for open water. There was lots of chatter on the VHF, and as we got things prepared, we watched it dissipate. So back to Seabird to finish our drinks and catch up on their news, then a quiet night.
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02/07/2008, Joes Sound, Long Island, Bahamas.
This morning we had breakfast and hoisted the anchor, motored 2 miles south and into Joe's Sound, a completely protected anchorage just south of Calabash Bay. Although the winds were light in the night, a swell always manages to get into Calabash from somewhere so, even though it was a mild swell, it was annoying. Joe's sound, with its tiny entrance, blocks all swell and creates a sheltered anchorage in all wind directions. But for the same reason that it is a protected anchorage, it is also difficult to get in to. To get in you have to pass through an area where you keep the rock ledge close to starboard, and off the sand bar to port. If you can see sand to starboard, you're not close enough to the rocks! Then when you think you're in, you have to turn hard to starboard, seemingly onto the rocks. If you don't, you'll hit the sand bar that pushes out from port. I know, because we hit it last year. So this year with high tide and Jeannie on the bow giving directions, we made it through fine, and anchored just next to the only other boat in the tiny anchorage. Settled in, we headed out exploring in the dinghy while the tide was high. And in the afternoon, we headed out snorkeling around some coral formations. I harassed some fish, but doubt I scared them. This evening, we headed ashore to a beach bonfire organized by Pat on the boats behind and ahead of us... he sailed down to the Bahamas in a Pearson 35 and bought a houseboat last month, anchoring both here in Joes Sound. In the summer, he runs a charter 58' ketch out of lower Manhattan for "drinks in New York Harbor". For our beach bonfire, he served a lobster salsa from fresh lobster he caught just off our anchorage. We'll have to be more diligent! And at sundown, as we tied up, the first squall of the day hit us. Not too bad, specially considering that there were water spouts reported in the area! But we're tucked in here in one of the Bahamas best protected anchorages, so we're fine! Tomorrow, depending on the wind, we'll try to find some of the lobster Pat left, or head down to Leaf Cay for some conch. The photo is of bonefisherman just off our stern.
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02/07/2008, Calabash Bay,Long Island, Bahamas.
Hmmm... weather forecasts can be wrong from time to time. This morning, we did the usual and listened to Chris who said we could expect 15 knots south-east, and only a 4' swell with a small (1'-2') wind chop. So we raised anchor just as a squall hit, with a deluge that very nicely cleaned the salt off the boat. As a precaution, I tied in a double reef in the main and we pulled out a partially furled jib. Two hours later, 8 miles off Cape Santa Maria, where Columbus' flagship is supposed to have run aground, we were crashing in to 6'-8' seas on the nose and still not laying our course to Rum Cay. We considered altering course to Conception Island, only 10 miles away, and an easier sailing angle, but we felt the anchorage would be too exposed to the swell, so that it would make sleeping impossible. All in all, There were a about 20 boats we saw heading out, all having listened to the same forecast! We turned around and by noon were back safely anchored, and ashore at the beautiful Calabash Bay Resort for lunch! The VHF traffic was amusing with reports of changes in destinations, seasickness and gear failures, so that by mid-afternoon, we had 14 other boats in the anchorage with us! Wandering into the bar at the resort in mid-afternoon (no drinks!!!) I spyed a hat from The Binnacle, a marine supply store in Halifax. So we met a couple from Halifax spending the winter cruising the Bahamas. The only name I can remember is Robertson and Risley. We had a great chat and lymed (gabbed) for a half hour so that we had to rush back to our dinghy before the tide meant we would be swimming for it (we stuck the anchor in the sand at the waters edge in a rising tide when we came ashore). But no problem, except that it needed its usual three times daily pump-up due to its manufacturing defect (the second!); its an Avon and their after market service stinks! At sunset, we dinghied over to Sam The Skull (what a name for a boat!), a catamaran with a Scottish couple, John and Barbara Cameron, board. With Blair and Mary, we enjoyed Sushi made from fresh tuna and wahoo they had caught this afternoon. Excellent!!! Tomorrow we'll listen to Chris, decide how much we believe, then decide on the day. If we go nowhere, its no big problem as this is a great spot to spend a few days. People ashore are paying $1,200 a day for it, so I guess we can enjoy it for free! The photo is of Jeannie guiding us in to an anchorage in Calabash Bay
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02/06/2008, Calabash Bay,Long Island, Bahamas.
Yesterday was a full day... we went to Max's Conch Bar for lunch, did a laundry in the afternoon, then the day was over!! But let me explain... First thing, as usual, I checked the weather with Chris at 0630 hrs. That done (and the forecast sounded... note the past tense... good), we had breakfast and discussed the plans for the rest of the week with Mary & Blair on Strathspey. Although the forecast sounds good, the good weather period is now one day shorter than previously, so the Jumentos looks out for this week. Too short a window. So we altered plans for Rum Cay and Conception, a shorter trip and easier to return in the coming norther. So plans set for the rest of the week, we discussed plans for the day. By now it was 10 am, and we suggested hitch-hiking down to Max's Conch Bar, about 20 miles south of our anchorage at Thompson Bay. So we agreed to meet on the beach at 11:30 am. From the beach we walked up the short path to the highway (the Island's only one), and I stuck out a thumb. First car, we all got in and got 8 miles down. Then, we had to split up, and by 12:10, we were all seated at Max's. FOr lunch we had conch salad, and souse chicken. I have no idea how its done, but it was excellent. Back on the road it took us 2 drives, the second in the back of a pick-up truck, and we were back at the beach! Back aboard, we packed up the laundry (about 2:30 pm) and headed to "Parrots of the Caribbean", a beach bar, where we lined up for the laundry. Back aboard at 5;30, laundry done, and the day was over! For dinner, we had the last of the fresh fish sauteed with an excellent tomato sauce. Some time I'll post it, but if you want to find it, look in "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" by Ann Vanderhoof, an excellent read. This morning we headed out of Thompson Bay in a south-east breeze of 15 knots, ideal for running up the shore to the tip of Long Island, to Calabash Bay, our anchorage for the night. We had a perfect sail up the shore, and were at anchor off the 2-mile pink sand beach by 4:30 pm, and just in time for a short walk on the beach, then back aboard for dinner, Butter Chicken! Plans for tomorrow are to head for either Conception Island or Rum Cay, whichever is the easiest route, and assuming the forecast holds. Time will tell. The photo is of Strathspey with their spinnaker, and the constellation Orion on it as we sailed up to Calabash Bay.
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