Baker’s Bay
Great Guana Cay
Bahamas
26.41.390N
77.09.611W

3.1NM
4.5 Kt Avg.
5.5 Kt Max
.40 Hrs.

Current Odom: 7935.8


While Annabelle II elected to check out Man-o-War Cay, we moved up the island to Baker’s Bay. It wasn’t far enough to even warrant taking down the sun awning. Things have certainly changed since the last time we were here. Back then, this end of the island was an overgrown ruin of a defunct cruise ship destination. Now there is construction (and a nicely groomed beach) the length of the bay. The new owners appear to be making a golf course for their new housing development and digging a marina to pay for it all. Gossip has it that the locals aren’t too keen on the idea of all of that fertilizer running off into their waters.

The crews from Toucan Dream and Aye Doc were already heading out to go fishing, by the time we had finished anchoring. We had come here due in large part to the cruising guides showing a snorkel destination located around one of the small off lying islands. We lowered the dink and headed out in that direction. We circled a couple of the little islands at the end of Great Guana but couldn’t find a reef or anything that looked worth jumping in for. We ended up scooting over to Spoil Cay and wandering the beaches in that head down, stooped over position that denoted serious shelling taking place. We found a few interesting shells but then decided that we needed a bag or something to carry our treasures in before taking on the entire island.

In the afternoon, Bob from Toucan Dream and Stacy from Aye Doc dropped off a couple of snapper fillets from their fishing trip. Bob loves to fish and has offered to take us fishing with him to teach us some of the finer points. He often catches more than he & Caron can eat or freeze, so they give the rest away. I’d call that a win-win situation. He gets to fish and we don’t have to sit in the sun all day.

Fishers Bay,
Great Guana Cay
Bahamas
26.40.182N
77.07.293W


Bob & Karen from Annabelle II showed us a really nice snorkeling spot at the southern end of Great Guana today. It was good to get back into the water after being cooped up on the boat for so long. The visibility was good too. They figure that one of the reasons for it being so nice is because its location half way down a long island. The spot where we cut over to it is too shallow for fishing boats or other types of power boats to get to it. As it was, we had to lift our dinghy engines to transit the area ourselves. We got a couple of good photos of a queen angelfish.

We heard from Gerry & Nicky on Orpailleur today, they’ve made the Galapagos.

I stayed up late this evening to see if I could get a good signal to the internet to upload some posts. Regrettably, it still was not strong enough to upload any photos. At some point, I’d like to go back and add the photos to all of the text.

Fishers Bay,
Great Guana Cay
Bahamas
26.40.182N
77.07.293W

9.1NM
5.6 Avg
6.5 Max
1.37 Hrs.

Current Odom: 7932.7 NM

What is that big star shining so brightly? Could it be the sun? We haven’t seen it in so long, we may be mistaken. Whatever it was, it did stay out the rest of the day.

As you may know, the Bahamas had been our annual vacation spot for several years leading up to our sabbatical. However, as a vacation spot, we had no need to search out the necessities of cruising, ie. Grocery stores, Laundromats, hardware, etc. So Bob & Karen on Annabelle II volunteered to show us around the cruising side of Marsh Harbor.

Dale was in search of a 2 cup coffee pot and I needed to stock up on a few fresh vegetables. We searched the various stores on our way to the supermarket but when we found a coffee pot that might have fit the bill, it cost more than twice the amount we thought it should, so we kept walking. The supermarket we found was well stocked and I was able to find everything I needed and a few things that I didn’t need but got anyway. Bob and I split the fare of a cab to take the bags of groceries back to the dinghy dock while Dale checked out one more store for a coffee pot and Karen went to another grocery store for the few items left on her list. Then it was back to our respective boats to quickly put away the groceries before lifting our anchors and making our way over to Fisher’s Bay on Great Guana Cay.

In years past, we have taken a mooring inside Orchid Bay on Great Guana but this year, we were surprised to see that they have added a new dock where the deeper moorings once sat. This new dock is for the very, very large power boats. Even though we have been relegated to the anchorage to the north of Orchid Bay, Bob assured us that the people-watching is just as amusing at Nippers when you dinghy in. So we made plans to meet at the dock closer to the dinner hour to get good seats for the free entertainment and weren’t disappointed when we climbed the hill to the colorful establishment at the top.

The view overlooking the beach and outlying reef is still just as breathtaking as it ever was and there were a good number of people enjoying the snorkeling and sunbathing that they offered. The two pools were packed with vacationers and the bar stereo was blaring Jimmy Buffet songs for the whole island to hear. We took a table on one of the upper decks with a roof and ordered some conch fingers and French fries to help in moderating the effects of the Nipper Trippers that found their way to our table. One thing about anchoring around the corner from here is that we had to leave before the “party” really took off, so that we could make our way back to our boats with plenty of light. Not a problem really as no one in our group is into the “mosh pit” type of gatherings.

We made our way back to the Palace in time to watch the sunset and Dale blew his conch horn to mark the time. Tomorrow we might actually get to go snorkeling.


Photos: Bob & Karen from Annabelle II
Dale & his conch horn

Marsh Harbor
Great Abaco Island
Bahamas
26.32.859N
77.03.453W

9.4 NM
1.56 Hrs.
4.8 Kt. Avg.
7.0 Kt. Max

Current Odom: 7923.7

Another rainy, gray day dawned but we hoped that since we were waiting for a high tide at 2 pm before leaving, that perhaps it would clear out by the time we had to move. No such luck came our way. We ended up lifting our anchor about 2 hours before high tide so that we would have a rising tide in case things didn’t go as planned. We hoisted our skirts, thought light thoughts and tippy toed through the shallow areas to the “deeper” water leading to Marsh Harbor. We found 10-12’ depths and thought we were in hog heaven and even let out our jib to look a little more sailorly on our transit. Toucan Dream was right behind us as Annabelle II had left a couple of hours before (they have a 5’ draft as opposed to Toucan Dream’s and our 5.5-6’ drafts.)

We were half way there when the skies really opened up and the visibility closed to about a half mile. We furled the jib, slowed our speed and once again hoped that the rain would clear away before we entered the channel. Although the rain did ease, it never let up completely. We rounded the point and followed the commercial channel in until we passed the small islets to the southeast before turning again out of the commercial channel and into the yacht channel leading to the anchorage.

We spotted Annabelle II anchored nearby. Toucan Dream peeled off to anchor in the general vicinity but we continued on until we spied the fuel dock in the mist. We radioed ahead to let them know we were approaching, then made our way in to line up to the dock and finally to secure ourselves to it. We took on 80+ gallons at 3.85/gallon. It’s a good thing our credit card is paid off.

It continued to rain for the rest of the afternoon at varying intensities. Toucan Dream’s mail hadn’t arrived and since Marsh Harbor isn’t one of their favorite spots, they lifted anchor and moved over to Fisher’s Bay. We called Annabelle II over the radio and suggested that we modify our plans of going to the Junkinoo parade. It’s a hike to get to the park where the parade was to be held and neither crews were interested in hiking in the mud and rain. We decided to go to Snappa’s instead, where they advertised free appetizers between 5-7pm.

Snappa’s is another seaside bar & grill overlooking Marsh Harbor. It’s well built and had a nice dinghy dock on the harbor side. The appetizers were plentiful and delicious. Bob & Karen and Dale & I spent the late afternoon enjoying the food, the people watching and the conversation.
The skies finally cleared and although we couldn’t see the space shuttle lift off or soar overhead, we were mesmerized by the resulting brilliant white vapor cloud that hung in the air for hours. The pictures don’t really show the detail of the intricate swirls and drifts that the cloud displayed.

We heard from Gerry & Nicky on Orpailleur today. They say that they are sailing at 7+ knots and should be in the Galapagos on Sunday. Thank heavens things are going well for them.

Tahiti Beach
Elbow Cay
Bahamas
26.30.420N
76.59.036W

Another gray day but at least the rain was limited to the occasional sprinkle. We tidied up the Palace a bit as we were hosting the evening social hour before making our way across the channel to an island called Lubbers Quarters and Cracker P’s for lunch. Cracker P’s is another in a long line of great little seaside bar and grills but the history behind the name is rather colorful.

Apparently the proprietors of Cracker P’s were looking for a name for their establishment when they came across the story of a old man who used to live on the island but originally hailed from Georgia. Back home in Georgia, he had a duck that terrorized the neighbors. Apparently, the local sheriff confronted the man about the terrorist duck; a disagreement ensued and the man shot and killed the sheriff. On the lam, he made his way to the Abacos where he quietly lived the remainder of his life hiding out and growing vegetables and sapodilla trees. As the man was of limited means, the islanders were introduced to their first nudist in the islands. However once they got used to the guy, they often traded meat and fish (and I’m sure the occasional pair of trousers) for his fresh vegetables. There was no mention of what became of the duck.

On the way back to the Palace, we dropped by Annabelle II and gobbled up the fresh crumb cake that Karen had baked then surveyed the improvements that they added to their Hunter. I liked a couple of their ideas in the galley and added them to my list of “Nice Things to Have” on the Palace when we get back home (thanks Karen!). We reciprocated the ‘show and tell’ later in the day when they came over for sundowners. Bob & Caron from Toucan Dream were also invited for the social hour and the guys, all of them handy with hammer and saw, compared ideas of problems they had encountered and what they had done with regard to improvements on our respective boats. We figure that by the time we’re all ready to give up sailing, we’ll have the perfect cruising boats.

Tomorrow we’ll make our way to Marsh Harbor but this time, we’ll wait for high tide before we leave.

Tahiti Beach
Elbow Cay
Bahamas
26.30.420N
76.59.036W

18.9 NM
3.28 Hrs.
5.4 Kt Avg.
6.6 Kt Max

Current Odom: 7914.1


When the tide changed direction, our anchor spot proved to be a bit more rolly than we first thought but we stuck it out and managed to sleep through the majority of the slaps and motion.

Once again, the day dawned gray and overcast but we were on a mission to visit Pete’s Pub and Art Gallery when it opened, so that we could still catch the high tide for our transit north to Tahiti Beach. We lowered the dink and worked our way into the horseshoe shaped harbor tucked behind patch reefs. When we rounded the entrance, we were surprised to find some good sized boats in the little marina. Obviously, they must have used a high tide to transit across the shallow areas we observed coming in.

There were two high docks that extended out into the harbor. One had a sign indicating Pete’s Pub and Art Gallery, so we tied the dink up to that one. Climbed the ladder and started down the dock. At the end, we found several life sized bronze statues of dolphins, turtles, sting rays and figurines. We followed the dirt road a bit to the gallery but found that it was still closed. Pete’s Pub was actually next door to this and it too wasn’t quite open.

Dale and I walked the boardwalk past huge bronze turtles & rays placed like garden art in the seaside vegetation on our way to the beach that faced the Northeast Providence Channel. I snapped a couple of photos and then caught up to Dale on his way back to the Pub.

Dale had spied a line of Adirondack chairs placed between the bar and several picnic tables scattered in ever expanding locations. They were along one side of the bar under the thatched roof covering the open establishment. Several other couples were making their way in and waiting patiently for the waitress to start taking orders. One couple told us that they had been here yesterday and watched as the lone waitress served 122 lunches.

The food was good (Dale had grouper; I had a blue cheese burger) but we were actually here to see the gallery. The bar was filling up quickly, so as soon as I was done, I left Dale to pay the bill to get a head start at the gallery and walk around a bit more leisurely. Dale soon joined me and we methodically circled the gallery to view everything on display. We really like the bronze statutes. Dale like the rays, I liked the turtles.

We headed back to the Palace and lifted our anchor to make our way to Tahati Beach on the south end of Elbow Cay. Dale suggested taking the longer, deeper route to make sure I didn’t have a nervous conniption on the way there. I have to admit, most of the trip north, I stayed in my seat, hopping up only when the depth sounder indicated 7’ of water (we draw 5.5’). But on the very last leg, Dale ended up hand steering very slowly; the theory being that if we touch earth going slow enough, we can back out without any damage being done. The depth sounder indicated 6’ and slightly less for an extended amount of time. I can’t remember ever being so happy to see a 7’ depth before. I’m obviously going to have to get used to being in the Bahamas again.

We made our approach to the Tahiti Beach anchorage and spotted Toucan Dream and Annabelle II right away. We selected a spot right between the two to anchor. We waved Bob & Karen on Annabelle II over as soon as we were anchored. They had been watching us through binoculars and were wondering whether we would make it or not. We spent the rest of the evening catching up and speculating about whether or not we’ll be able to buy a home in Florida at this time. Apparently the availability of (or rather the lack of) insurance is a determining factor these days. Bob & Caron dropped by as they returned to Toucan Dream from a day out fishing. They had caught 3 tuna and were handing out portions of it to those they knew. They gave us a couple fillets and Bob & Karen a couple.

Before heading below for the evening, we dropped the screens and buttoned up the Palace against invading mosquitoes. With all of this rain and humidity, the little blood suckers are thriving.

Little Harbor,
Great Abaco,
Bahamas
26.20.292N
77.00215W

55.6 NM
9.57 Hrs. Min.
5.6 Kt Avg.
7.3 Kt Max

Curent Odometer: 7895.4 NM


It was a blissfully quiet night during which we got some restful sleep. We got up about 5:45am, unfurled our mainsail and lifted our anchor at 6:15am. We were somewhat surprised to see that the little sailboat that had been inside of us was also a Hunter and left just ahead of us.

We exited the Royal Island harbor and rounded to the west before turning north and finally northeast toward the Abacos. It looked to be a fine day dawning. About this time, Escape with Tom & Babette (originally from Vermont) hailed us on the VHF to introduce themselves since we were clearly taking the same path. By this time, we had determined that our wind indicator had indeed quit working and since we were traveling in the same direction, we asked them to let us know when the wind picked up to over 15 kts as we were preparing to fly our spinnaker. Babette teased that she knew that at some point we would blow past them but with the spinnaker, it would be sooner rather than later. However, as in the past, Mother Nature had other ideas.

We were pleased that we were able to sail as long as we did but Escape was motor sailing and pulled far enough in front of us that we could no longer see them in the haze. Eventually the wind died to the point where we were having problems keeping the giant, however lightweight, chute open. Clouds were getting thicker to the west and when the first raindrops found their way to our position, we decided to bring it down and put it away for another day.

Each time we fly the spinnaker, we learn something new and its been getting easier and easier to bring out the monstrosity and put it away. This time, for some reason, we must have forgotten a step. We had already doused the chute into its sock and I had loosened the spinnaker halyard leaving several wraps on the winch before running down below to hold the big bag that it is stored in. Dale pulled the spinnaker down a little at a time and we were in the process of stuffing it into the bag when it suddenly collapsed half on the deck, half off and in the water. Dale was able to quickly pull it back on board but now we needed to dry the part that had fallen overboard. About this time, Escape radioed back that it was starting to rain where they were.

We decided the best place to dry the chute in the rain was snaked through the interior of the boat. You can’t truly appreciate how big this sail is, even in its sock, until you stretch it out. Thank goodness, the rain let up and we were able to hoist the wet half out of the forward hatch and up high enough to allow it to dry in the wind. We certainly didn’t look very Bristol but it was effective. We had just stuffed it back into its bag when the next rain shower came through. So much for the anticipated good weather.

With the engine in gear, we soon pulled close enough to see Escape on the horizon, caught up to them and eventually passed them before sighting land. A few more showers passed by but no nasty winds were associated with them. You really don’t need wind instruments but it makes it a lot easier to see a change in pattern. I put a couple of lengths of Christmas ribbon on the standing rigging to show direction and we have a mop standing next to the arch that starts blowing in about 20kts so we have secondary instruments until the other one can be repaired.

We arrived at the entrance of Little Harbor on Great Abaco at 3:00pm and were anchored by 3:30pm without any drama entering onto the bank. There is a little roll to the boat where we’re anchored but Dale wants to go to Pete’s Pub tomorrow and this is the closest anchorage to the famous watering hole. I’ll take pictures to prove he’s been there in case anyone has any doubt.

Royal Island
Bahamas
25.30.894N
76.50.768W

44.2 NM
5.6 Kt Avg.
7.6 Avg.
7.50 Hrs.

Current Odometer:
7840.5

What can I say. Last night was miserable. We did have a steady wind all night long as we had hoped for which definitely kept us into the waves but the seas never moderated to a reasonable level. Sleep was elusive to say the least.

We were both up early and actually had to wait for the 6:30am weather report. The forecast was for occasional showers in the Central Bahamas and since we were in the northern end of the Central Bahamas, we figured that we would have less than that. Once again, Mother Nature had other ideas and we played dodge and weave with the clouds dropping rain the entire day. However, the seas did eventually moderate and by noon, the winds died as well and we had to turn on the engine for the remainder of our trip.

At one point our wind indicator went from a couple of knots to 36; we both saw it but there was no accompanying dramatic list of the boat. Thinking that the next cloud might hold some unpredictable weather we quickly furled our sails and continued on expecting the worst. However, nothing materialized. We’re wondering now if there might be something wrong with our wind instrument.

We passed by several islands that we’ve never visited before but with the rain and haziness, we really couldn’t see very much. About 3pm, we approached Royal Island and entered into a well protected harbor. There was only one other boat when we arrived but by nightfall there were 4. There appears to be the ruins of at least two structures on the hillside overlooking the harbor and perhaps what may have been terraced gardens leading down to the water. I would have liked to have explored the area a little but didn’t want Dale to have to unsecure the dinghy for a little joyride. What I was surprised to see was a ferry running to the little harbor. We obviously picked the wrong place to anchor but will be gone before the sun comes up tomorrow and the ferry starts its daily runs.

The skies cleared just as the sun went down and Dale says there are loads of stars to be seen tonight. We’re hoping that this is the signal for the great weather the Bahamas is noted for has finally arrived. In any event, the seas are down and we’ll make a quick trip to the Abacos tomorrow while we can.

Ship Channel Cay
Bahamas
24.48.795N
76.49.749W

36.6 NM
5.4 Kt. Avg
7.6 Kt. Max

Current Odom:
7796.5NM

There’s no weather broadcast on Sunday, so we got up and looked out the hatches to calculate a go/no go decision. Factored into the equation was the abundance sunshine (something we haven’t seen in a while) and the fact that the wind wasn’t screaming. We also figured that since we’re hairy chested, salt encrusted sailors, we could handle whatever was beyond the protection of the mooring field.

By 9:30am we had secured the Palace well enough to release our mooring ball which was, in and of itself, a feat to behold as the current was going out (turning us opposite the way we needed to exit) and we had a cross wind through the harbor (any wind in tight quarters is always fun). Dale let loose one of our lines and held the second until the wind brought us around to the point that we were cross ways to the path that would lead us out. Once in that position, I had to first reverse the engine to start the remainder of our turn, then once the turn was begun, quickly put it in forward with opposite helm to complete the turn without running into anyone else moored nearby. We managed to look like we knew what we were doing and exited rather smartly. We pondered how our singled handed neighbor would do the same considering her less than tactful approach with the volunteers at the Park.

Our exit, of course, was right into the teeth of an outgoing tide from the bank to the Sound and the 3-5’ waves left over from the past few days slowed our progress even more to about 3 kts. Eventually, we made it to our waypoint, turned northwest to a reach (perpendicular to the wind) and sped away doing over 7 kts. Life is good. The remainder of the day was sailed further and further downwind as each successive waypoint turned us more north and east.

The wind and waves never did subside throughout the day as we had hoped they might but we did have a lively romp to our current stop at Ship Channel Cay and enjoyed our day on the water. We dropped the hook in sand in 12’ of water to the side of what appears to be the decaying hulk of a old stone house. We aren’t as protected as would normally be the case in easterly winds but with wind out of the south, the motion is a pitch to and fro instead of a roll side to side which is always the preferred motion if there has to be one.

Dale and I are hoping that the winds will stay steady for the long journey tomorrow so that we can sail the whole way. The price of fuel around here is enough to take your breath away.

Warderick Wells Cay
Bahamas
24.23.820N
76.37.958


Well, as luck would have it, TS Barry and his associated squalls moved in quicker than we first thought. We had one good day to travel but needed two to transit to another secure anchorage, so we ended up staying on our mooring ball this entire time.

I wish that I could say that we explored, swam, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit here but considering that the wind was howling and it rained the entire time, we did absolutely nothing except our normal, rainy weather routine: watched movies, read books and played on the computer. It was a good thing that when we checked in, we noticed a book swap in the corner and exchanged a bag of paperbacks for a handful of a few more.

Dale did take a walk over to Boo Hill on Thursday but then ended up getting caught in a little shower on his way back. Throughout the day, boats continued to come in. Our neighbor on mooring ball #9 was a female single handler; the first that we’ve seen. I wish that I could say that she did her gender proud but she dang near ran Dale over when he dinghied out to hand a line up to a Park guide who had gone out to give her assistance with coming into the tricky mooring field. She ended up making 3 passes at the ball and screaming at the Park guide before Dale threaded her line through the eye on the mooring ball and then made a hasty retreat back to the Palace. I noticed that as soon as the line was secure, the Park guide made as quick a retreat back to the station. By evening, most of the mooring balls in the north field were occupied and approaching boats were being directed to the southern field.

In any event, except for the trailing “comma” of storms associated with one of the outside rain bands from Barry, we anticipate being able to get underway to the north tomorrow. Once again we’ll try to make Ship Channel Cay on the first day and Spanish Wells on the second. Wish us luck.

Exuma Land & Sea Park
Warderick Wells Cay
Bahamas
24.23.820N
76.37.958W

41.3 NM
6.4 Avg. Kts
8.1 Max Kts.
5.54 Hrs.

Current Odometer:
7760.0


Another beautiful day of sailing! We listened (as usual) to the weather at 6:30 am and learned that there may be a low forming in the Caribbean that might cause some nasty weather in this area by the weekend. So instead of stopping and checking out the sights, we’ll be making our way to another secure anchorage as far north as we can get prior to Friday night. As you’re well aware, we can get stuck sometimes for weeks at a time waiting for weather, so we might as well make it interesting.

We hoisted anchor at 8 am and made our way further onto the bank to the deep (as in over 7’) water. Once there, we turned and unfurled both sails completely. Most of our transit was in depths of 10-20’ but the occasional 6-8’ would get us to jump up and confirm that we were still on course and not running into anything solid.

We flew. Most of the time we were sailing at 6-7 kts. Our original destination was Staniel Cay but since we made that by 11:00, we continued on to Warderick Wells Cay and took a mooring inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Good thing too. When we reached the waypoint to turn toward the mooring field by 1:20, I wanted to continue on to put some more mileage beneath our keel but Dale said it would take another hour to get into the anchorage and it was time to rest.

We came in on a rising tide so catching the mooring was a little tricky in the narrow area that has deep enough water for us. Picture a circular basin with an island surrounding about a 1/3 of the circle, and 2 more on the far sides of the circle The basin is shallow enough to dry at low tide in the middle and the outside edges of the circle. Only a ring about a 1/3 of the way into the circle is navigable. The mooring balls are centered along the ring so that the boats can swing regardless of wind direction. No normal mooring technique can be used here. We ended up letting the current carry us up to the mooring ball, then put the engine in reverse to slow us down and keep us in place long enough for Dale to grab the mooring line and secure our bridle to it. After that we let the current and wind position us.

The wind is blowing over 20 kts at the moment, so I’m glad we’re partially surrounded by islands. Tomorrow we’ll make our way to Ship Channel Cay where we hope to anchor in some deep sand. Friday we anticipate taking a mooring in Spanish Wells on the Island of Eleuthera. If a storm is coming, we’ll ride it out there.

We’re not sure if it been the constant progression of weather or what but ever since we left the Turks & Caicos Islands, we’ve noticed that its been getting progressively chillier. We’ve actually had to close hatches and pull up covers during the night. I keep reminding Dale that when we took our vacations to the Abacos in May, there were times when it was too chilly to snorkel without a wetsuit. It’s too late now but I think we’re too far north!

We’ll leave bright and early again tomorrow.

Cave Cay,
Bahamas
23.54.270N
76.16.572W

39.2 NM
6.0 Avg. Kts.
9.3 Max Kts.
6.34 Hrs.

Current Odometer: 7728.7


As is our custom, Dale was up and listening to the 6:30 weather report first thing this morning. Although I was still in the twilight of not being awake but not asleep either, I heard that conditions were moderating and knew that we would be moving today; he was too antsy not to. I got up and started securing the inside of the boat for getting underway even before the weather report was finished just to make sure I got as much done without rushing before the anchor was raised.

Dale knew that I wanted to pick up a few last minute items from the grocery store before leaving, and I knew that it opened up at 8 am. When we dinghied in, I was surprised that we weren’t the first shoppers there but then again, everyone had the same idea. Once again, there was a mass migration to the town side of the anchorage underway.

With our shopping completed, we were back on the boat, hoisted the outboard engine to its position on the back rail, and while Dale secured the dinghy for a transit, I put the groceries away. We lifted anchor and were underway by 8:50am.

It took another 30-40 minutes to work our way out of the harbor and through the cut to the Exuma Sound. Out in the Sound, the seas had moderated to 3-5’ and the wind was about 17-20 kts. It was a beautiful day for a sail. We unfurl our sails, cut the engine and took off.

We were really enjoying the day. Dale even threw in his fishing line, just to say that he did. We had just about forgotten it, when he had a couple of good strikes on it; still, there was nothing on the hook when he reeled it in. He had no sooner cast it back in, when once again, the spool took off. This time, it didn’t stop.

He fought it for a good 20 minutes and I ended up turning the boat into the wind to slow us down to the point where he could land his 3’ MahiMahi. For some crazy reason, we always seem to catch a fish just before we have to negotiate a cut or wiggle through some coral heads and today was no different. But we have been learning from our previous experiences, so Dale threaded a line through its gills, stabbed it in the head with his knife and cut the blood lines by the tail, then hung it low to the water from the back arch so that we could return our attention to piloting the Palace through Cave Cut.

We entered the cut on a rising tide which carried us through at our max speed for the day of 9.3 kts. What a sleigh ride! Dale was on the bow relaying directions to make sure we didn’t drift too far to one side or the other while I was on the wheel relaying back to him just how fast we were traveling and what our depths were. What a team!!

We rounded along the western side of Cave Cay and headed north to the little anchorage we stayed at on our way down. We turned off the route line suggested by the chart plotter and anchored about 3:30pm in deep sand.

Dale dove below and spun the wheel to the speed log on the hull that sometimes catches when we’ve been sitting for a while. Then he came back to fillet the fish.

It was considerably smaller than our first MahiMahi, ironically caught in the same stretch on our way down island, but it did provide us 8 nice steaks; 2 of which we had for dinner. The aftermath clean up was much easier this time too. The fish bled out while we transited to our anchorage and Dale was able to concentrate on cleaning the fish on the back end of the boat at anchor without bringing the fish on deck underway for fear of falling overboard. All in all, it was just an easier process this time. By the time we get home, we’ll have this all down pat.

Tomorrow we’ll head to Staniel Cay and maybe get some snorkeling in. Hopefully, no one has been cleaning fish in the area where we want to swim. I remember from our trip south that Staniel has loads of nurse sharks and sting rays in the marina area.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


Chris, our weather guru, says that it's going to be a good day to sail. Winds are supposed to be less than 20kts and the seas less than 6'. So, after getting a few groceries when the store opens at 8am, we'll be making our way north today.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


According to the weather forecast this morning, the winds and seas were supposed to moderate throughout the day so that tomorrow would be a good day for a transit. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell Mother Nature and if anything, the conditions have stayed the same or increased.

In spite of this, Dale and I made our way into town where we were in search of a laundry. The one we had originally gone to the first days we were here was closed. However, I remembered seeing one back in 2005 on our way down island and after cutting though a parking lot, across a gas station and looking through a few windows, we found it.

It was actually a good sized laundry with about 30 machines of which only half worked. They were all being used at the time but the sign on the wall stopped us dead in our tracks. They only accepted U.S. quarters and there was no change machine in the building. Go figure. We really don’t have American change at the moment. The Bahamas accept both currencies here but if you pay for purchases with U.S. dollars, you get Bahamian change. You can’t get coins from an ATM and being a holiday on the island, the gas station, supermarket and everything else was closed. Thus began our search for a fist full of U.S. quarters. We ended up walking about a half mile down the road to a hotel where we were able to get $2.50 in U.S. quarters. Good enough, I could hang the clothes up in the cockpit to dry.

The rest of the day was spent back on the boat. I ran the clothes line and hung the clothes, then took a nap while Dale worked on his CMEs. At least he was supposed to be doing his homework.

Tonight, the wind has continued to howl which leads me to wonder if we really will get away tomorrow. If you don’t see anything on the blog for a couple of days, you’ll know that we did. So wish us luck.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


Just when we thought the winds were dying down, they pipe back up and we have white caps in the harbor again. We weren’t going anywhere today in any event because we wanted to watch Orpailleur make their transit through the Panama Canal.

Dale and I took turns watching the webcams all day waiting for them to pass by. All we saw were the big boys, tankers and freighters. Then about 5 pm we got a call via Skype; Nicky is on the line wanting to know if we saw them waving as they passed through. They had completed their transit 2 hours before. We can’t figure out how we missed them. Except for the times when we had to reboot the computer when it seemed to lock up, we sat here the entire day watching the stupid thing. In hind sight, I kick myself for watching the bridge camera instead of the lock camera because they would have sat longer in the locks and we might have had a better chance of seeing them there instead of trying to catch them as they passed by the bridge.

Oh well, we had a nice chat with both of them. They said that the transit was painless and except for the fact that their line handlers ate them out of house and home, they were very professional and did and great job.

As for our journey, Dale and I figure that we’ll be able to start making some northward progress starting Tuesday when the seas in the Sound are supposed to drop below the 6’ height and the cuts from the Sound onto the Bank will be more navigable. Of course, we’ll listen to the weather tomorrow and before we take off to verify our observations just to be sure.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


Today we ventured over to Volleyball Beach and ordered a couple hamburgers at Chat & Chill. It was a wet side as the skies are still overcast, there are still white caps in the anchorage and it sprinkled off and on but the wind had died down to the point where we could get across without flipping the dinghy.

Boats are starting to venture back to this side of the anchorage out of necessity for either grocery shopping or their internet connections. The little boat across the harbor hoisted their sails and tacked back and forth to get a little sailing in. No one ventured out of the harbor.

I “chatted” with Nicky today to get a idea of when they would be transiting the canal so that I could watch them on the webcams. About 2 hours before they were to depart, the webcam on the Atlantic side stopped working. The Cooper Factor is alive and well. We’ll catch them tomorrow on the Pacific side; unless that camera quits too.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


Another gray day with winds gusting up to 30kts. The waves inside the anchorage are up to about 3’ and no one is going anywhere. Even the radio is quiet. Dale and I spend the day either reading, watching movies, or playing on the computer.

By evening though, the wind died down to less than 20 kts and the waves are starting to diminish.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


At least the day dawned brightly for a change. Although the sun was out, the wind continued to howl and the forecast isn’t changing for the foreseeable future. We had 20+ kts steadily with gusts up to 27/28 kts. The seas continue to increase inside the anchorage but are still about 2.5’.

Dale is starting to go stir crazy. He tries to read, play games on the computer and do CME classes. We even started watching movies in the middle of the day. Apparently other people are getting a bit boat-bound too. We watched a rather small sail boat hoist a full set of sails, then sail back and forth about 6 times along volley ball beach on the opposite side of us. After about an hour, listing dramatically in both directions, they dropped their sails and headed back to drop their anchor. Looks like a couple of vacationers decided they were going to sail regardless of the weather.

Since we have internet, I was able to “chat” with both Orpailleur and Annabelle 2 at the same time via Skype. Orpailleur is killing time in Panama waiting for the signal for them to join the convoy to cross the canal and Annabelle 2 is pinned down by the same weather conditions as us in Green Turtle, Abacos.

I also spent a couple of hours looking at real estate listings and played with mortgage calculators on the internet. Might as well do a little research while we’re sitting here waiting.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


At 6:15 this morning while waiting for the weather forecast to be broadcast, Toucan Dream hailed us on SSB from Big Major, an island to the north of here. Bob said that we made a good decision in choosing to wait here as there were standing waves across all of the entrances to the bank. In their approach to the bank yesterday, their 15’ Boston Whaler they tow behind them got broadside to the waves on 2 occasions while transiting the entrance; not good. He said that they also saw funnel clouds dipping out of the clouds though none touch down near them. To top it off, the anchorage had 30 boats in it. After those descriptions, I think we made the right decision too. The last time we were in Big Major, there were only about 6 boats. I think that it could hold twice that many without any problems and possibly as many as 20 but 30 would be leaving a few with their sterns hanging out.

The forecast detailed more of the same for this area with waves in the Sound up to 14’ with no hope of relief until possibly this weekend. Although the rain wasn’t as prevalent today, the winds were stronger at a steady 25 kts gusting to over 30 at times. Its odd that after the wind has been howling at such a high intensity, when it finally dies to around 20 kts, it seems rather quiet. We’re well dug in and certainly not going to drag without a fight.

Needless to say, we didn’t go anywhere today and watched as boats came in from both ends of the anchorage before trying to anchor in the nasty conditions. Even in a well protected harbor, the wind waves from the fetch worked their way up to about 2’. Most of the boats are willing to do the Georgetown shuffle, back and forth across the harbor to which ever side has the best protection, but we are sticking it out on the town side where we can connect to the internet. Dale was able to catch up on a couple of his continuing medical education classes during the day, then I tried to catch up on all of our e-mails.

At one point we got a call via Skype from Gerry & Nicky. They told us that they have been scheduled to transit the Panama Canal on May 29 about 5pm. They gave us an internet site where you can watch the boats go through the canal. It’s at: www.pancanal.com/eng/photp/camera-java.html . It’s amazing what you can find on the internet these days.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.409N
75.45.770W


The weather forecast wasn’t any better today so we moved in a little closer to town and ran in to get a WiFi connection code for the week.

Vagu and another boat decided to try to make Emerald Marina a little farther north before the bad weather took hold but then didn’t leave until about lunchtime. We hope they make it.

Dale and I dinghied across the harbor to Volleyball beach and dropped in at Chat & Chill for a couple of cheeseburgers. We spoke with the owner/proprietor about his plans on expansion and hope that his dreams come to fruition. Chat & Chill is a little wooden bar & grill but built solidly. He has huge barbeques on the back deck and a clean kitchen behind the bar. He hopes to add WiFi to his services but wants to do it right. Quality hardware in a separate, air conditioned and dry building. Sounds like he has the right ideas.

We came back to the Palace as the first of many raindrops started to fall. The wind picked up to 20 kts with gusts to 25 and doesn’t sound like its going to quit anytime soon. Dale and I have decided to pull out some of the DVDs we brought with us and start watching them.

If we're going to be stuck on the boat, we might as well enjoy it.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.605N
75.45.490W


Another day of liquid sunshine and the forecast doesn’t have anything different for at least another week. Toucan Dream, NoCall and Aye Doc, bit the bullet and headed north hoping to get as far north as they could before being pinned down again. Our laundry wasn’t due back until after 4pm today, so we didn’t have an option of whether to go or not.

We listen to the weather broadcast in the mornings but also subscribe to the service that sends us the detailed report in written form via satellite. We were surprised that it took almost the entire morning before the written forecast was sent to us. However, once received, it caused us to pause and think about it a bit. The winds are within tolerable levels but the seas in the Exuma Sound are very high. We’ve been caught in 10’ seas before and done fine but we haven’t voluntarily gone out in them. We’ll listen again tomorrow morning before making our final decision. At this point in time, I suspect that we’ll opt to wait here for a week instead of going to another island where we’ll find good protection but little else.

If we do stay longer, we’ll trek in and find an internet service.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.605N
75.45.490W


It was another day of rain, wind and reading.

Between raindrops, Bob came over and looked at some of the paper back books we had finished reading. We had planned on taking them to a book swap but it was rained out. We were having a nice little visit when dark clouds came over the island and the wind picked up to 30 kts. He made a hasty retreat back to his boat about 200’ behind us, barely making it before the skies opened up and let loose. Dale had let out an extra 10’ of chain yesterday when things picked up and we were glad of it today as the weather deteriorated quickly.

The squall had no sooner passed, when the radio livened up and we listened as people debated the age old “ to go or not to go”; most are waiting to hear what the weather report is tomorrow morning. The biggest factor is whether or not the bad weather over Jamaca and Cuba develops into a tropical low. If it does, it would be best to stay here, if not, most are willing to take the chance to run north a little each day dodging the squalls that are pouring out of the same area.

We have to wait around until we can get our laundry back tomorrow afternoon in any event but with weather in the Caribbean Sea exploding and no end in sight, we’ll probably head north as quickly as possible too.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.605N
75.45.490W

After a good night’s rest, we finally met Nigel, Pelu and Juliette on Vagu this morning. Nigel had already told us that he was British but we learned that Pelu is French and their daughter, Juliette, was born in Italy. They speak all 3 languages on board. We have a hard enough time with English. They told us that they were picking up some friends tomorrow from the airport but that they were trying to get to the northeast US before hurricane season.

On our way into town, we dropped by and said hello to Caren on Toucan Dream. She had invited us to join them and their guests for dessert later in the evening . We know that one of Bob’s favorite toys on board is an ice cream maker, so we needed a time to make sure we weren’t late.
In town, we dropped off our trash, searched for a laundry but decided that the laundry service would be a better use of time considering the darkening skies. We bumped into Nigel and the family on our way back to the dinghy dock and on our way to the grocery store. Most of our shopping today was for fresh produce since I’m trying to use up our canned provisions at this point. Dale made the observation that the last time we were in Georgetown we were surprised at how small everything was at the rather famous cruising spot. This time we were delighted with the selection that was available at the grocery store. Our perspective has changed considerably over the last 18 months.

We returned to the Palace and while I put groceries away, Dale ran the laundry back in. He got back just before the skies opened up and the rest of the day was liquid. As we’ve done over the past week or so when it rained, we read, played on the computer or took naps. In fact, we weren’t sure that the invitation was still open on Toucan Dream but after a quick call we grabbed our rain jackets and headed over with spoons in hand.

We met Tom & Barbara on their last night of a month long visit with Bob & Caren. We sat around telling sea stories and eating homemade ice cream with chocolate syrup and coconut rum topping. Yum!!!

We learned that a lot of the boats in Georgetown have been here for over a week, Toucan Dream among them. Most are anxious to get moving again. We, on the other hand, figure that although the weather may have us socked in here for awhile, at least we have a grocery store with fresh produce available. Its all perspective.

Georgetown
Great Exuma Island,
Bahamas
23.30.605N
75.45.490W

185.3 NM
32.4 Hrs.
5.8 Avg
7.9 Max

Current Odom: 7689.7 NM



The dawn finally crept up and erased the cloud to cloud lightening from our view. In spite of the storm, we were still on schedule for a 9-10am approach to Rum Cay. However, once again, as the sun rose higher in the sky, the clouds cleared out, the winds filled in and we debated our situation.

We knew that more bad weather was coming up from the south originating around the Jamaca/Cuba area and was supposed to cross the Bahamas with squalls containing high winds. If we stopped at Rum Cay to rest, we could leave on Saturday morning for Georgetown and make it in a day. The 6:30 am weather report indicated that squalls were still in the area but that the really bad weather would most likely occur on Saturday night. If the weather came in quicker than expected, we’d be stuck at Rum Cay; good holding but exposed to the south and west which is where the weather would be approaching from.

We radioed back to Vagu that we were going to keep on going to Georgetown and expected to arrive about 5pm if we maintained a 6 kt speed. Nigel, a Brit, told us that he had never been to the Bahamas before and was leery to approach the bank on his own. However, he also had guests that were flying into Georgetown on Monday and he had to get there by then. He decided to keep going with us.

We had fairly decent winds as we approached Long Island but as we rounded Santa Maria point (where Columbus lost his ship,) the winds died out and a long line of dark clouds could be seen coming in our direction. We took ourselves about 20 degress off course and scooted along the side of them and only had a light shower to contend with. Vagu opted for an even more conservative course and probably didn’t even get a sprinkle.

As hoped for, we reached our first way point to approach Great Exhuma at 4:30pm. We slowed and waited for Vagu to fall in behind us and then with Dale on the bow, we made our way onto the bank, entered the cut in the reef and transited between the islands. Our original intention was to anchor at one of the outlying islands until the morning, but since we still had good light, we continued on and made the main anchorage at Georgetown by 5:30pm.

Bob & Caren on Toucan Dream (friends and neighbors from our home port) had radioed us earlier in the day and told us where they were anchored, so when we approached, we spotted our sistership and headed for a spot in front of her. Bob had seen us coming in and came flying up in his “dinghy”, a 15’ Boston Whaler. He yelled across that he had 500’ foot of chain out and not to drop our anchor anywhere near his. Of course, this was a joke and we knew it. Unfortunately, Vagu didn’t and veered off at such an acute angle that half the anchorage was drawn to commotion and got quite a chuckle out of it.

Although we wanted to visit some of these islands we missed on our way south, staying safe has been more important to us on our way north. We’ll have to see them on another trip.

Right now, we’re safely anchored in deep sand, surrounded by islands with at least one grocery store and laundromat within dinghy distance. Our only casualty was a little bird (like our last hitch hiker) we found on our forward deck this morning. We’re not sure if he was trying to ride out the storm and drowned or if he flew into our mast mistaking the steaming light for something safe. He was unceremoniously buried at sea.


Photo: Toucan Dream (sistership to Gypsy Palace) at anchor in Georgetown, Great Exuma.

At sea
Atlantic Ocean
North of Plana Cays

We woke to blue skies clearing to the south and west of us this morning which wasn’t expected for another day. We listened to Chris, the weather guru, and elected to move to the western side of anchorage and take a peek around the island before deciding whether to continue on or not.

We made a pretty direct track across the anchorage without having to really dodge too many patches of reef or coral heads. As we approached the western side, the skies continued to clear to the north, so we decided to take the chance and go for it.

The two boats anchored at the western end of the island, Vagu and Stillawaw, hailed us and asked where we were headed and if they could tag along with us. Of course not, the more the merrier. We told them that if things blew up in our faces, we’d tuck in at Atwood Harbor along the way.

As it turned out, the skies continued to improve. Unfortunately, Stillawaw was the slowest of the 3 boats and could only do about 4.5 kts. Vagu could keep up with us but he didn’t like to run his engine at very high RPMs; not sure why. Stillawaw had an 8’ draft, SSB but no GPS; Vagu had GPS but his SSB wasn’t working, so he couldn't pick up weather forecasts.

As we passed the Plana Cays, Stillawaw broke off, radioing us that they were going to anchor behind West Plana Cay for the night. Since the skies were still clear, we told Vagu that we were going to continue northward to make Rum Cay by morning. Famous last words, of course, because as soon as night fell, lightening lit up the skies and there was no way we could bail out at that point.

The lightening was primarily on the western side of us. We dodged one cell that we saw on radar but in what appeared to be a single sweep of the radar, another smaller cell blossomed around us and kept us in rain, wind, thunder and lightening for the next 3 hours. It was not fun. Vagu didn’t care for it either. About the time we decided that the cell was attached to our mast and there was no way of shaking it, the lightening passed in front of us, moved off toward the east and left us only wind and rain to contend with. We figured our only options were to either push through it or turn around and head back. Considering more of it appeared to be behind us than in front of us, we kept pushing through.

Thunder and lightening continued throughout the night but thankfully, we could see the band of clouds that held the majority of the nasty weather was behind us now.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W


As predicted, the weather continued to deteriorate throughout the day but we and the trimaran anchored next to us are anchored securely and weathering the conditions nicely. Unfortunately, the two boats that were anchored in Betsy Bay didn’t fare as well.

We first heard them hailing us on the radio about mid-morning when they asked about the conditions in Abrahams Bay. We relayed back to them that although we were registering about 20 kts winds with gusts to 25 kts, the seas inside the reef were only 1’ wind driven waves and that we were riding comfortably. The boat we were speaking with reported that they had an 8’ draft and were leery about tucking too far inside in shallow waters. They said that they were going to check their charts and most likely move back to the western side of the anchorage where the water was deeper. We assumed that meant within the next couple of hours.

However, during the day we would hear them talking to each other about getting together and reviewing charts together. It seems that the boat with the 8’ draft doesn't have a GPS and the second boat with the shallower draft, does have one.

As I described earlier, the day got progressively worse with pelting rain and visibility falling to a couple of hundred feet. About 5pm, with light fading, pouring rain, and the winds picking up, we heard them say that they were leaving Betsy Bay for here. With all of the reefs and coral heads around, we considered that a daring move in good conditions.

We listened as the deeper draft boat without GPS led the way into the anchorage, with the shallower draft boat with the GPS guiding him in from behind. At one point it got a little exciting when the lead boat apparently turned too soon and wasn’t responding when the other boat tried to let him know. With us being on the far eastern side of the anchorage and not being able to see them through the rain, we could only sit and listen. Finally, we heard them say that they were dropping their anchors. A couple of hours after that, one said goodnight to the other saying that he’d had a harrowing day. We’re guessing, of course, but we suspect that in view of where they were located, wind and waves, a bit of dragging might have been involved.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W


It rained. It blew. We read. How are you?

When I sat down to write this evening, Dale sugested that this is what I should write as there wasn’t anything else that we did today. Technically, he’s right but surely I can add something else to it.

As he implied, we woke to heavily overcast skies this morning and by the time we finished listening to the weather forecast and learned that the earliest we can consider moving would be Friday, thunder could be heard rolling in the distance. Dale dove our anchor to make sure that it was still set in spite of all of the turning we’ve been doing over the past 24 hours and came to back to report that it was still well dug in. He added another 10’ to our scope as the forecast suggested that some of the cells heading in our direction could pack as much as 40-50 kt winds within them.

Once again, we checked our charts to see if there was any other option available to us and decided that we were in the best possible place considering what was approaching.
We were surprised to see the boat that had been anchored to the west of us in the same anchorage decided to move further north along Mayaguana to Betsy Bay. From what we could gather from the radio, they were getting some swells wrapping around at their end and thought that if they put more of the island between themselves and the storm, it might take some of the punch out of the winds and waves. Unfortunately, the bay where they moved to has a hard bottom and clearly states (at least on our charts) that it has poor holding. Granted, we’re more exposed to the wind here and it has gotten choppy inside of the reef but we have deep holding sand beneath us in our favor.

With the rain pouring down most of the day, we picked up our books and escaped to whatever drama evolved between their pages. I suggested to Dale that he prepare dinner tonight trying to convince him that the family favorite potato soup he’s famous for was just what was needed for a nasty day like today. When he started puttering around the galley, I thought that the hearty soup was on its way. Well yes and no. He made a hearty soup but it ended up being a type of chicken stew. Still, it was quite tasty and I got out of the galley one night.

We heard from Gerry and Nicky that they are preparing to leave Cartagena tomorrow for a direct transit to Panama. We also heard from Bob & Caron Bass, who used to be our neighbors at Whitney’s Marine. They are stuck in Georgetown, about 3 days from here, waiting for weather as well. Who knows? Maybe we’ll catch up to them.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that we’ll be able to make a quick trip north on Friday and Saturday; at the rate we’re reading, we’ll going to run out of books.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

We awoke to cloudy skies again but they quickly burned off. The weather guru wasn’t very optimistic with regard to the weather over the next couple of weeks. In fact, if we aren’t able to move further north by the weekend, we might be stuck here for another 2 weeks. Personally, I think Dale’s already getting antsy. We noticed most of the other boats high tailing it to the Turks & Caicos today when the weatherman said that today was as good as it was going to get for the next 3-4 days. Those of us heading north are stuck.

Mid-day we saw a couple of large Southern Stingrays to the side of our boat. We guesstimated that each of them had an approximate wing span of 4 feet. Dale volunteered to jump in and take a couple of pictures because I was a little leery of their size. He followed them for a little way and got a couple of good shots but then one of them took an interest in him and started following him back to the boat. According to our book on fish behavior, rays aren’t supposed to be aggressive unless you step on them or corner them. In spite of the literature, this one didn’t want Dale anywhere near it. Dale obliged and fought Rocky, our attack triggerfish, to get back on board quickly.

Each day we seem to attract more and more fish under our boat. Most of the time, the wind is negligible and fish watching can be done from the deck. Today we saw several squid (looking like commas in the water from above), a cloud of silversides (always fun to swim through), the Southern Stingrays (the biggest I‘ve seen to date), and several trunkfish (they seem to like hanging around our anchor chain). I told Dale that if we stay here long enough we’ll have our own little ecosystem below us.

By mid-afternoon, it started clouding up again and the thunder rolled in the distance. We sat in the cockpit and watched two separate cloud formations meet right above us as a trimaran came in and selected a spot off to our port side to anchor. By the time the rain fell in earnest and the wind picked up to 20 kts, we could no longer see him. A couple of hours later the rain moved off north and we could see that they were still where we left them.

I’m not looking forward to the next couple of days of stormy weather but I do feel comfortable in where we’ve chosen to ride them out. The wind (when we have it) continues to circle around and forces our anchor to reset with each cell that passes by. Like mini hurricanes, the wind blows first from one direction then the opposite. We have fairly deep sand below us and plenty of room to drag should that happen. Now if we can just get a couple of days of good weather in order to move north.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

Happy 1st Birthday Heather!!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Dale was already up when raindrops splashed on my face from the hatch above my head bringing me into the morning rather rudely. We ran around closing all of the hatches and then went up into the cockpit to get a bearing on where the offending clouds lay.

Most of the sky was cloudy but the really dark clouds lay to the north of us and a couple to the south of us. Seven of the 11 boats that had anchored here last night made their way out of the anchorage and in the direction of the Turks & Caicos. We listened as they debated which direction would take them around showers and wished them well on their transit.

Once again, we were lucky that we only had light sprinkles and the nasty squalls went around us. However, throughout the day, the Palace swung through every point on the compass submitting to the winds that swirled from every direction.

I jumped in for a quick swim mid-afternoon to cool down and was literally chased by a Gray Triggerfish that has taken up residence under our stern. He’d nip at my fingers and toes when I tried to climb up the swim platform to chase me away. He had the audacity to look me straight in the eye before darting after me through the rungs of the ladder and wasn’t very intimidated when I tried to shoo him away. I swear he was swimming out from under the boat to peer up at us waiting to for us to jump in again so that he could make his next strike. Dale said that when he when he lowered the dink in the water, the little guy came out to attack that as well. I think we’ll name him Rocky; he’s not afraid of anything and doesn’t know when to quit.

Most of the day we read again. We’ve both been averaging about a book a day. Good thing we have a large selection to choose from.

Dale pulled up some weather information this evening. We were hoping that all of the nasty weather would clear out by Wednesday but it looks like it might be as late as Thursday now.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

We had another night of lightening flashes and some thunder but again were blessed that no storms came our way. Listening to weather on the SSB this morning, we learned that we are simply in a pocket of clear sky and that nasty weather is surrounding us, so we’ll just stay put until it passes.

The husband and wife crew off the catamaran nearest to us came by this morning to say hello and ask about what there was in “town”. They were looking for a telephone and we were able to tell them that there were two next to the Customs office. In spite of the weather, they plan on heading out tonight for the Turks & Caicos. We chatted for a little while before they continued their exploration.

Dale jumped in for a little swim and came back with a couple of little shells that we’ve not seen before. He said that he saw some rays in the water but so far, we have not seen Seymour again.

The rest of the day was spent reading. Dale even put up the hammock for me. Occasionally we’ll get a little breeze for a few minutes but on the whole, the air is terribly still and humid.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

After listening to the weather report this morning, it appears we’ll be here for awhile. We’re caught between two systems that are creating havoc for those caught out in them. So far for us, we’ve been watching the show from a distance. Others haven't been as fortunate. We’ve heard that one boat with a crew of 4 is missing and several others were dodging and running most of the night trying to evade the storms and lightening strikes forming right above them.

In fact, one boat reported that they were trying to make the Turks & Caicos so that a crew member could seek medical attention. They were hoping to make Mayaguana today to rest before heading out again. We gave it a couple of hours and when we saw several boats coming in we hailed them and Dale identified himself as a physician if there was an emergency. Apparently the man’s wife suffers from a nervous stomach and was afraid that she had developed an ulcer. However, from her symptoms, Dale didn’t think that was the problem. Since they have elected to stay here for a few more days, we’ll see what develops.

We made our way in to the island and found the Customs/Immigration office about a ½ mile down the road from the dock. We spoke with a woman behind the counter who indicated that the customs officer wasn’t in and to return in the afternoon. We walked further down the road and found an intersection where we looked in all directions but didn’t see anything of interest in any direction. This is one quiet island.

We returned to the Palace where we swam a little, read a little and napped a little. In the afternoon, we returned as requested and this time stood in line so that the same woman who had dismissed us earlier in the day could process our paperwork. Dale surmised that the “boss” wasn’t in during the morning, so she sent everyone way until he was there and could witness for himself that she was a very busy person.

On our way back to the boat on this trip, we passed 3 fishermen that had a bounty crop of conch they were cleaning as well as several very large grouper. They said that they had caught everything along the reef at the far end of the island. Several young boys were swimming in the area but then saw a large barracuda interested in the scraps left over from the fish cleaning and made a hasty retreat from the water. I was impressed with how polite they all were as we passed by. They even offered to help us get off the pier when we got into the dinghy.

This time on our return trip, we kept going out past the Palace and explored the wreck that is on the reef. It is the rusted out hulk of a steel boat that obviously had a bad day.

We’ve noticed that Seymour hasn’t made an appearance today, so I’m guessing that the blood in the water from the meat was what attracted him to our boat last evening. Still, we make sure that we are out of the water by sunset just in case.

Abrahams Bay,
Mayaguana,
Bahamas
22.21.553N
72.59.068W

57.3 NM
9.01 Hrs.
6.4 Avg.
7.6 Max

Current Odom: 7503.0


We dropped our lines and eased out of our slip at 6:20 am, waving farewell to Chris & Laura who were in the process of doing the same thing. We slowly zig-zagged out of the marina entrance, following the chart plotter bread crumbs we had left behind when we first arrived and required the services of a guide. The surf was breaking on the reef but the entrance was navigable so we punched through, turned north and set a course to Mayaguana. The water depth immediately fell away and the water changed to a deep clear indigo blue. We looked back and saw Maltimia break through safely and turn south.

For the next 9 hours, we tried to motor sail periodically by raising our main. This worked for a short time but with the light winds shifting from one aft quarter to the other, proved worthless, so we rolled it back in and waited until the winds picked up a bit. We tried again when we saw double digits reflected on the wind gauge but still no joy, the direction was just too variable.

A line of dark clouds, apparently streaming all the way from Panama (according to our weather guru,) reached us and sprinkled enough rain that we dropped our enclosure for the first time in ages. It was just enough to turn the warm air into a sauna. However, as it passed us, it opened up the sky above Mayaguana and we had perfect visibility for entering Abrahams Bay at Guana Point, which is a very narrow opening in the reef and strewn with coral heads.

We dodged and weaved our way in, selected a spot behind the reef and dropped the hook. We backed down and felt the familiar tug of a well set anchor. Dale jumped in to confirm the set and on his way back to the boat, I noticed that he kept diving down here and there along the way. When he climbed back aboard, he had a fist full of dollars. Sand dollars. He said that the water was extremely clear and that he could see what was left of our completely buried anchor as soon as he jumped in.

As I made dinner, we could occasionally hear the distant rumble of thunder. We knew that nasty weather was predicted, so we finished eating and went up into the cockpit to watch. The dark clouds were well to the north of us and the air was deathly still. The water, although already calm, slowed to a standstill and we appeared to be anchored in a bathtub. I was marveling at being able to see sand dollars and sea shells on the bottom while standing on the bow, when a dark figure approached. My first thought was that it was a barracuda. However, as it came closer, it was clearly a reef shark.

Seymour Teeth, the shark, clearly likes to loiter around boats. He has a gash on the right side of his head that appears to have come from a fairly recent encounter with a prop. I suspect that he was attracted to the blood from the pork chops I made for dinner but who knows. He hung around the Palace well into the night, so there will be no midnight swims for us in this particular harbor.

We tried to watch a movie but the lightening to the north kept grabbing our attention. We could no longer hear the thunder but the cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightening was spectacular. Constant flashes of light; one over the other. Only a second or two was ever devoted to the darkness of night. It reminded me of the lightening storm that blacked out New York when I was a child. We could still see Seymour circling. I wonder if he knows something that we don’t.

Turtle Cove,

Providenciales,

Turks & Caicos Islands
21.47.141N
72.13.605W

For some crazy reason I couldn’t sleep last night and ended up getting up to readjust the lines to keep the Palace from dancing around in the slip so much. I kept hearing her fender smack the piling on the finger pier and then bounce off. When I climbed outside, I could see her swing from one extreme to the other both at her bow and her stern, so she was all over the place. Dale, of course, slept through everything.

When morning finally dawned, it was overcast and humid. The weather report states that the storm we’ve been hiding from has been upgraded to a sub-tropical status and has been named Andrea. Yesterday, we had the distinct impression that we were going to miss most of it but now I’m wondering about it. We have a window of about 24 hours in which to move north before tucking in again before the next predicted storm passes through. Mayaguana is protected by a reef system too and is on the southern side of the island which should afford us better protection. It will take us approximately 10 hours to transit if we motor all the way. The vessels that arrived late today said that the swell had diminished to 6’ with 12 second intervals; in other words, big rollers.

While I updated the blog, Dale hiked into town to access an ATM machine and buy some tomatoes. By the time he returned, I had just about finished up.

We’ve spent some time getting to know our neighbors in the slip nearby. Chris is from South Africa and Laura is from Alberta, Canada. They just purchased their 47’ Leopard Catamaran and will be taking it to Trinidad for hurricane season and to prepare it for crewed chartering. Apparently they’ve been in the charter business for some time but this is the first time that they will be using their own vessel for the enterprise.

Late afternoon was marked by the arrival of two more sail boats which were berthed on either side of us. One, a single handler, arrived from Rum Cay and the other had a crew of 3 men who plan on leaving tomorrow about the same time as us but making a straight shot to Georgetown. Chris & Laura will also be leaving at the same time but will be heading directly to the BVIs.

June, the Customs/Immigration officer came by a little after 5pm with her 3 daughters in tow to sign all of us out of the country. Chris & Laura invited us and June and her family aboard for drinks and munchies. At first the children were very quiet but after a while they warmed up to us and were soon babbling away. June is a native to the TCIs, born on Grand Turk, although she has lived on just about every island throughout the TCIs at some point or other in her 19 years as a Customs officer. Her husband, a policeman, is a St. Vincentian. All of her children, however, were born in the US. Although I didn’t ask how she managed that, I suspect that she is one smart cookie and planned it that way.

After June and the girls left, we told Chris & Laura that we were heading over to the little Italian restaurant across the harbor for dinner and they were welcome to join us. They agreed and we had a wonderful evening discussing everything from the differences (pro and con) between cats and monohulls to whether it would be better to maintain a boat over a long period of time versus buying a new one when you were ready to take off at a later point.

As we walked back to the dock, lightening was flashing in the night sky pretty frequently. We wished each other good transits and most likely will make the journey out of the marina and to the cut in the reef together in the morning. I hope our luck holds with regard to weather but I have a feeling these next two months are going to be a challenge with the persistent lows that seem to be developing around us.

Turtle Cove,
Providenciales,
Turks & Caicos Islands
21.47.141N
72.13.605W

You know, I miss sleeping in dry, air conditioned comfort. You get acclimated to living without some of the creature comforts we’ve become accustomed to living with on shore but it doesn’t take any time at all to adjust to air conditioning. This particular marina charges you a minimum amount for water and electricity whether you use it or not , so . . . We’re plugged in and turned on. By the time we leave here, I’ll be so spoiled, Dale will have to let me run every single fan on the boat until I can re-acclimate to living without again.

After listening to the weather this morning, we figure that we’ll be here until at least Thursday when the waves are predicted to moderate to something we can travel in. Our slip neighbors on a 47’ catamaran came in late yesterday evening and told us that although things are extremely calm inside the marina, the outside was deteriorating rapidly. In fact, he said that the cut we had come into earlier in the day will most likely be impassable by this afternoon or evening. He said that waves were breaking over the fringing reef and that they left their anchorage further to the south to come in for protection. They plan on leaving the same time that we do but will be heading in the opposite direction toward the BVIs.

I spent the better part of the morning, collecting my hand written notes of our travels over the past couple of days and organizing them so that I could update this blog. Dale went in search of an internet connection for me and came back with a credit card looking thing that has a scratch off pass code. Good! Maybe I’ll do some banking too.

We took another walk around the boardwalk and stopped for a couple of salads at a place called the Tiki Hut before wandering through some of the shops along the road. I got directions to the nearest grocery store from the waitress and maybe tomorrow morning we’ll head in that direction for some fresh produce as its about a mile away starting with an uphill climb.

Back on the Palace, we tucked away our Caribbean charts and pulled out our Southern Bahamas charts to plan the next leg. Our calculations reflect that it will take us a full day to head north to the next island of Mayaguana. This means that we’ll have to head out of the marina very early in the morning and most likely have to motor the whole way in order to arrive before dark. It also means checking into the Bahamas. We can now say, with authority and experience, that this is the most expensive country in all of the Caribbean to clear into and we’ll need to find an ATM before leaving here in order to do so. I guess we’ll add that to our list of things to do tomorrow.

We ended our evening being entertained with fireworks right off our starboard side. We’re not sure what the holiday might be (Hero’s Day?) but we had ring side seats for the celebration. The big finale had sparks landing on boat decks, condo roofs, and grass all to the inside of us but I think everyone enjoyed the display regardless of the sudden stomping at the end.