Conception Island, Bahamas
23.50.913N
75.07.214W
Our transit to Conception Island was uneventful. We took off at 7:00 am. Doc-No-More, a catamaran, pretty much took off over everything but the rest of us had to dodge a few coral heads on the way out. It was somewhat eyesight navigation; we'd just get out of sight of land behind us and see the top of the next island we'd have to pass appearing in front of us. The seas were flat; sort of. We had swells from the Atlantic. I'd liken it to driving in the midwest where you're on a long straight road that you can see for miles ahead but it is also made up of a series of little hills. The transit was like that. Pretty much flat except for the fact that every once in a while you realized that you were above everything else and at other times the seas seemed to be above you. Not by much. In fact, the intervals were spaced so far apart that I had to watch it for a while to see the undulating.
We had some wind early in the day to help us motor but once we realized that we were going to make the island in good light we tried to sail the rest of the way only to find that we could only do about 2.8 kts. with just the sails. Just enough to drive Dale crazy. So the engine came back on for the rest of the trip. We anchored in 15' of crystal clear water about 2 pm.
Conception Island is bigger than I had anticipated. It's an uninhabited island that is in the park system here. There are no protected coves or harbors here, so you just tuck into the island itself on the side that offers you the best protection. We might be protected from the wind but the swell coming around the island gets you. The catamaran seems to be riding better than the rest of us who are rolling pretty good. We tried something called a swell bridle. That's where you tie the stern of your boat to the anchor and then pull the line in to bring the bow into the swell. Unfortunately, you need the wind to keep you square on the anchor. We have none. The wind indicator is literally doing 360's. So we're rolling. The only time it really bothers me is when I try going to the bathroom. Try pulling a wet bathing suit down while standing on a board balanced on a ball to get the idea.
After giving up on the swell bridle idea. We took off for the nearest reef to do some snorkeling to look for dinner. Dale immediately found a Nassau grouper he wanted to shoot. I reminded him that they are "on their honeymoon," which means they are protected from 12/15 to 2/14. I found a fish that looked like a red snapper to me but since neither one of us was positive about it, we decided to leave it until we were sure it was edible (after hitting the books, we think it was some type of grouper as well - where's Bob or Jim when we need them?) We never did find any lobster (which is what we were looking for) but a rather large barracuda found me. You'd be so proud of me, Dale had wandered off (great buddy system) so I "went vertical" (I guess that's "fish" for 'I am human, leave me alone') and then slowly made a large circle away from it. It lost interest in me just I was losing interest in swimming. It was starting to get late anyway. Besides, I have to save my energy for tomorrow to look for a wreck Dale read about in one of the guide books.
As I mentioned earlier, this is an uninhabited island. The nearest islands to us are almost as remote. So you know that the stars look absolutely spectacular! Tonight, I can hear the surf crashing on the beach, as the boat gently rocks from gunnel to gunnel, looking up that those stars, my little Christmas tree glowing in the cockpit and Christmas carols playing softly in the background. What a wonderful experience.
