Berry Islands Storm Hangout
22 February 2020
by Elizabeth Mccord
Feb 18
Made a mad dash to Hibourne Cay for water, diesel, gas, produce (very expensive produce, but good!) and then on to the West Harbor of Nassau. This proved to be a very rolly surgey anchorage, so difficult to sleep.
Feb 19-23 Wed
Sailed in a beautiful following starboard quarter wind and waves about 7 hrs. Went in through Bond Adler’s Cut and then through a shallow section to the middle Bond anchorage, which is one of the safest places we know in the Berry’s for a storm. Originally storm was supposed to start Thursday night late, but the next morning the weather had changed – the storm starting Friday night late and lasting through Sunday afternoon. So we are here for 4 or 5 days with winds rotating completely around and gusting to 29-32 almost continuously. Attached is our anchor track, almost a complete circle. Also, storm fronts make beautiful sunsets. Went swimming on the south most beach Thursday and walking on the northmost beach and around the point to the beaches along the cut on Friday. Two other boats here Thursday, and a different two on Friday, so we stopped and said hello to the boats as we passed by in our dinghy. Crimson Kathryn with 5 ft draft went out the south entrance at about an hour after high tide about 8:15 and saw a low in the first shallow section of 6.1’ We think tide depth at that point was 2.1 and falling. So we will try to do that on Sunday morning. Betsy has been taking depth readings here at anchorage and Mark is putting them into xcel and we think the tide here at Bonds Cay is Nassau plus 20 min.
We hope to reach USA Ft Lauderdale Tuesday afternoon. Marina opens at 7 AM. Bridge across ICW before marina opens all night on request, starts up at 6:30 AM. We will have to get through the Gun Cut in Bimini near 6 AM or 4 PM… Monday, haven’t decided which yet. Very nice boat Pandion (Jekyll Island) in this harbor with us is sending us Chris Parker reports on weather. We chat on VHF every so often.
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