Sunday, June 14, 2009
Back home with 'northern' Vectis
This postscript to our 'Sailing Away' blog is written to celebrate the return of Carole, Bob and 'Sea Change' from their epic voyage to the Bahamas. Unlike us, they did not cheat by buying a boat 'down south' and leaving it there to fly back! They started in late August 2008 and arrived back in Toronto today - 14 June 2009! A fantastic adventure. Their blog can be found at seachangeheadssouth.blogspot.com/
This was the weekend of the RCYC's annual cruise-race across from Toronto to Youngstown, N.Y. Carole & Bob had been putting in long days on their trip north to get to Youngstown to see the group and sail back to the RCYC with them all.
We just had to 'nip' over from Niagara-on-the-Lake on northern 'Vectis' though! A five minute trip! We did this on Friday afternoon and met them for a lovely dinner at Youngstown Yacht Club. We watched the sun set in splendour over Niagara-on-the-Lake, and hoped to catch a glimpse of that elusive 'green flash' which we had never seen in the Bahamas. Still no luck! It was great to laugh over all the adventures we'd had together. I wore my "Eleuthera, not for everyone" T-shirt and we had an instant 'in-joke'!
On Saturday Bill and I walked up to Fort Niagara and toured the Fort. It has been beautifully preserved, and its' strategic and majestic setting at the mouth of the mighty Niagara has given it a history full of epic battles and conflict. All is peaceful now except for the huge 'Homeland Security' marine base just around the corner!!
The other boats arrived from Toronto later in the afternoon, and that evening we barbecued on the dock and had the hilarious (as always) award ceremony given by Terry O'Connell. The sun shone warmly on our festivities...which makes a change as this spring has been so cool!
This morning (Sunday 14 June) most of us met for breakfast at the little cafe (greasy spoon) at the top of the hill. It has a perfect view over the mouth of the river. Then it was time to say goodbye to everyone as they sailed (probably motored!) back to the RCYC where a flotilla was to come out to meet 'Sea Change' and escort her in for celebratory cakes and wine! Carole and Bob will sleep in their own bed tonight and not have to get up at crack of dawn to listen to the weather forecast, and set off for yet another 50 mile leg of their journey!
We will look forward to joining 'Sea Change' somewhere en route when we sail to the Thousand Islands later this summer.
This was the weekend of the RCYC's annual cruise-race across from Toronto to Youngstown, N.Y. Carole & Bob had been putting in long days on their trip north to get to Youngstown to see the group and sail back to the RCYC with them all.
We just had to 'nip' over from Niagara-on-the-Lake on northern 'Vectis' though! A five minute trip! We did this on Friday afternoon and met them for a lovely dinner at Youngstown Yacht Club. We watched the sun set in splendour over Niagara-on-the-Lake, and hoped to catch a glimpse of that elusive 'green flash' which we had never seen in the Bahamas. Still no luck! It was great to laugh over all the adventures we'd had together. I wore my "Eleuthera, not for everyone" T-shirt and we had an instant 'in-joke'!
On Saturday Bill and I walked up to Fort Niagara and toured the Fort. It has been beautifully preserved, and its' strategic and majestic setting at the mouth of the mighty Niagara has given it a history full of epic battles and conflict. All is peaceful now except for the huge 'Homeland Security' marine base just around the corner!!
The other boats arrived from Toronto later in the afternoon, and that evening we barbecued on the dock and had the hilarious (as always) award ceremony given by Terry O'Connell. The sun shone warmly on our festivities...which makes a change as this spring has been so cool!
This morning (Sunday 14 June) most of us met for breakfast at the little cafe (greasy spoon) at the top of the hill. It has a perfect view over the mouth of the river. Then it was time to say goodbye to everyone as they sailed (probably motored!) back to the RCYC where a flotilla was to come out to meet 'Sea Change' and escort her in for celebratory cakes and wine! Carole and Bob will sleep in their own bed tonight and not have to get up at crack of dawn to listen to the weather forecast, and set off for yet another 50 mile leg of their journey!
We will look forward to joining 'Sea Change' somewhere en route when we sail to the Thousand Islands later this summer.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Return to the tropics of Toronto
Such a lot has happened since I last wrote....our epic voyage has come to an end (until next time, that is!)....and we have returned to a startlingly warm Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL). As I write this the temperature in NOTL is a muggy 29C, and Bill and I are wearing the shorts and T-shirts we thought we would wash and put away for at least a few weeks!
Back to our trip....We had a wonderful time with Fruji and John at Harbour Ridge Golf and Country Club. We celebrated John's birthday in style, did not disgrace ourselves on the golf course, and enjoyed two nights in a real, static, windproof bed!!
After two relaxing days, we set off to travel up the ICW to our final destination - Fort Pierce. We knew that Carole and Bob on 'Sea Change' had returned from their trip home the previous day, and that they would probably be moving north from Lake Worth soon, but we were surprised to hear them requesting a bridge opening not too far south. They had also heard us requesting a bridge opening and we spoke on the VHF radio. Little did we know how close we were! As we left the St. Lucie River to join the ICW once more, the first boat we saw coming up behind us was 'Sea Change'!
So we journeyed together on to Fort Pierce where we took a slip at the Harbortown Marina, and 'Sea Change' anchored off because they were anxious to leave early the next day. We also met up with Mike, on 'Norma Fay'. We had last seen him at the 'Orchid Bay Marina' at Great Guana Cay in the Abacos. That night we all had an Italian dinner at a great nearby restaurant recommended by Bob and Carole.
For the next four days we organized the haul-out and any repairs that needed to be done to 'Southern Vectis' over the summer. We changed our mind about hauling her out at Fort Pierce's 'Riverside Marina' and decided to haul her out at Harbortown as the boats are strapped down (hurricane-proofed!?), and all the marine services are on site in this well-organized boatyard. 'Southern Vectis' came out on Tuesday - we spent a couple of nights in a nearby hotel and then, after dropping in on Fraser and Edi, Southern Vectis' babysitters of last summer, we returned via US Air to Buffalo to be met late at night by our dear Louisa. We got lost in Buffalo....we always do! It's lovely to be home and to see Louisa, Steve, Leo, Orson and Simon.....not to mention Brandy our cat! But we haven't forgotten 'Southern Vectis' and our many promises made along the way to all those friendly cruising mates....."same time next year!" Watch this space!
Back to our trip....We had a wonderful time with Fruji and John at Harbour Ridge Golf and Country Club. We celebrated John's birthday in style, did not disgrace ourselves on the golf course, and enjoyed two nights in a real, static, windproof bed!!
After two relaxing days, we set off to travel up the ICW to our final destination - Fort Pierce. We knew that Carole and Bob on 'Sea Change' had returned from their trip home the previous day, and that they would probably be moving north from Lake Worth soon, but we were surprised to hear them requesting a bridge opening not too far south. They had also heard us requesting a bridge opening and we spoke on the VHF radio. Little did we know how close we were! As we left the St. Lucie River to join the ICW once more, the first boat we saw coming up behind us was 'Sea Change'!
So we journeyed together on to Fort Pierce where we took a slip at the Harbortown Marina, and 'Sea Change' anchored off because they were anxious to leave early the next day. We also met up with Mike, on 'Norma Fay'. We had last seen him at the 'Orchid Bay Marina' at Great Guana Cay in the Abacos. That night we all had an Italian dinner at a great nearby restaurant recommended by Bob and Carole.
For the next four days we organized the haul-out and any repairs that needed to be done to 'Southern Vectis' over the summer. We changed our mind about hauling her out at Fort Pierce's 'Riverside Marina' and decided to haul her out at Harbortown as the boats are strapped down (hurricane-proofed!?), and all the marine services are on site in this well-organized boatyard. 'Southern Vectis' came out on Tuesday - we spent a couple of nights in a nearby hotel and then, after dropping in on Fraser and Edi, Southern Vectis' babysitters of last summer, we returned via US Air to Buffalo to be met late at night by our dear Louisa. We got lost in Buffalo....we always do! It's lovely to be home and to see Louisa, Steve, Leo, Orson and Simon.....not to mention Brandy our cat! But we haven't forgotten 'Southern Vectis' and our many promises made along the way to all those friendly cruising mates....."same time next year!" Watch this space!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The weathermen lied!!!
(Just a brief news update while sitting in a 'Panera Coffee Shop' in Stuart, Florida.)
Every weather forecast we consulted before our Saturday Gulf Stream crossing promised seas of a mere 2'-4', and winds of 10-15 knots dying down to 5 knots or less!! They were all wrong! 'Barometer Bob', Chris Parker, 'NOAA', even computerized 'Passage Weather' spoke with forked tongue! We travelled across in company with a 32' sailboat, as Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' who were originally to be our 'buddy boat' waited an extra day to meet up with some friends. By the time we had fought the 30 knot winds and 8'-10' waves, not to mention the strong Gulf Stream current and reached the sunny shores of Lake Worth 12 1/2 hours later, the sun had just about set. It was dark when our 'buddy boat' appeared! We anchored thankfully for the first night, and then took the boat into the 'Old Port Cove Marina', which had been recommended by Carole and Bob. We tied up just behind their boat, 'Sea Change'. They had gone home to Canada for Easter. We had to go out to the airport to check in, and then rented a car from there so that we could do some much needed food shopping etc. Going in to a 'Publix' supermarket after three months of local Bahamian stores was like going into Aladdin's cave! So many choices, so much food, and such succulent, fresh vegetables! I went crazy for tomatoes! That day we went to a little restaurant beside the Intra-Coastal waterway called 'The Raw Bar' for a late lunch. Later that day Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' arrived from the Bahamas and the next day we were invited to dinner on board and met up with a whole group of Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club members. Great fun, and we all pledged to meet up next year in the Bahamas. Most of the group have been wintering in the Bahamas for many years and most have graduated to trawler-type power boats from sailboats!
Yesterday (Tuesday) we set off up the Intra-Coastal (ICW) to Stuart to visit John and Fruji Bull at their lovely golf resort, 'Harbour Ridge'. Unfortunately when we were about 10 minutes from the dock a huge storm with 40 knot gusts of wind broke over us. We had to stay out in the river until the winds went down to a mere 20 plus knots before we could try for the dock. Bill did a fantastic job of getting us in safely, aided by John and the dockmaster. It was John's birthday, so he and Fruji and a couple of their friends from Ottawa came on board for champagne before we all went out to a lovely birthday dinner. Last night it was wonderful to spend a night in a real bed...one that didn't rock and roll! Today we shall go up to Fort Pierce by car to check out the marina where 'Southern Vectis' will spend the summer, and then we will play a game of golf! Hope we're not too rusty! We expect to be back in Canada by the end of next week.
Every weather forecast we consulted before our Saturday Gulf Stream crossing promised seas of a mere 2'-4', and winds of 10-15 knots dying down to 5 knots or less!! They were all wrong! 'Barometer Bob', Chris Parker, 'NOAA', even computerized 'Passage Weather' spoke with forked tongue! We travelled across in company with a 32' sailboat, as Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' who were originally to be our 'buddy boat' waited an extra day to meet up with some friends. By the time we had fought the 30 knot winds and 8'-10' waves, not to mention the strong Gulf Stream current and reached the sunny shores of Lake Worth 12 1/2 hours later, the sun had just about set. It was dark when our 'buddy boat' appeared! We anchored thankfully for the first night, and then took the boat into the 'Old Port Cove Marina', which had been recommended by Carole and Bob. We tied up just behind their boat, 'Sea Change'. They had gone home to Canada for Easter. We had to go out to the airport to check in, and then rented a car from there so that we could do some much needed food shopping etc. Going in to a 'Publix' supermarket after three months of local Bahamian stores was like going into Aladdin's cave! So many choices, so much food, and such succulent, fresh vegetables! I went crazy for tomatoes! That day we went to a little restaurant beside the Intra-Coastal waterway called 'The Raw Bar' for a late lunch. Later that day Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' arrived from the Bahamas and the next day we were invited to dinner on board and met up with a whole group of Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club members. Great fun, and we all pledged to meet up next year in the Bahamas. Most of the group have been wintering in the Bahamas for many years and most have graduated to trawler-type power boats from sailboats!
Yesterday (Tuesday) we set off up the Intra-Coastal (ICW) to Stuart to visit John and Fruji Bull at their lovely golf resort, 'Harbour Ridge'. Unfortunately when we were about 10 minutes from the dock a huge storm with 40 knot gusts of wind broke over us. We had to stay out in the river until the winds went down to a mere 20 plus knots before we could try for the dock. Bill did a fantastic job of getting us in safely, aided by John and the dockmaster. It was John's birthday, so he and Fruji and a couple of their friends from Ottawa came on board for champagne before we all went out to a lovely birthday dinner. Last night it was wonderful to spend a night in a real bed...one that didn't rock and roll! Today we shall go up to Fort Pierce by car to check out the marina where 'Southern Vectis' will spend the summer, and then we will play a game of golf! Hope we're not too rusty! We expect to be back in Canada by the end of next week.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Backwards and forwards!
‘Backtracking for repairs’ and ‘Florida here we come!’
(This blog was written in two stages as we haven’t been able to get near an internet connection for a few days.)
Tuesday 7 April, 2009
Last time I wrote we were still in Orchid Bay on Great Guana Cay waiting to go north through ‘the Whale’ the following day with some of the other boats that had been sheltering from the strong winds. We had really enjoyed our time there because even though the winds were howling, a warm sun still shone in a clear blue sky, the marina was lovely and there was lots to do and see around the little ‘settlement’ and its beautiful beaches.
On the day before our departure Bill had discovered an important repair which needed doing – getting a new ‘zinc’ fitted. We had hoped to get it done on the north side of the ‘Whale’ crossing – at Green Turtle Cay. But, when we phoned around on the morning of our scheduled departure, the only place where we could find our type of ‘zinc’ was at Edwin’s Boat Yard in Man O’ War Cay. So we had to decide whether to go on with the others and risk it, or backtrack to get it fixed. We decided to be cautious and backtrack to Man O’ War. We also decided that we should get our dinghy outboard motor fixed as it’s our lifeline to shore when we are at anchor or moored. The only place that could do this was in Marsh Harbour. This was really backtracking!
So on that beautiful Monday morning we waved farewell to everyone as they sailed north and we sailed in the opposite direction. It was a lovely day with much lighter winds and we went in to Man O’ War marina for two nights (this time we didn’t run aground!), and then sailed over to Marsh Harbour to spend three nights at Mangoes Marina while we waited for our outboard to be fixed. Everything went smoothly. We met up with Michel and Maryse on ‘Maduro’ once again and had a nice ‘cocktail evening’ on board ‘Southern Vectis’.
On Friday we said yet another ‘farewell’ to Marsh Harbour and had a good sail over to Fisher Bay, Great Guana to take a mooring for a night before crossing through the ‘Whale’ the next morning. It should have been a peaceful and lovely evening. There were about eight other boats either moored or anchored nearby and the sunset promised to be spectacular. Suddenly, from around the corner of the bay, two huge ‘Moorings’ chartered catamarans appeared. Usually when this happens everyone holds their breath and prays that they’ll move on. This was not to be! They moored right next to our boat – each tying on to the same mooring ball – and proceeded to party and play loud music into the early hours of the morning! And we had thought that the music from the restaurants around the marinas in Marsh Harbour was loud!!! What can we say except that our unwelcome neighbours were not young party animals, but three or four ENGLISH families complete with middle aged parents and teenagers! We left very early the next morning!
Our trip through the dreaded ‘Whale’ was perfectly peaceful – just a little one foot swell – and a beautiful blue day. We anchored off Green Turtle Cay until mid-afternoon as we had to wait for mid-tide to get in the channel to ‘Black Sound’ where we had booked a mooring buoy through Donny’s Boat rentals. On our way into the harbour we noticed ‘Gray North’ out of the water at ‘Abaco Yachts’ boatyard, and Glen hard at work on the topsides. So once we’d moored we dinghied back and brought Glen and Louise for drinks on board. ‘Gray North’ is spending the summer here, as are a lot of other ‘northern’ boats. Glen and Louise flew out to Florida yesterday and will drive back to Ottawa.
‘Black Sound’ is a lovely harbour and is within an easy walk of the town of New Plymouth. Yesterday the harbour filled up as the wind filled in to 25 knots yet again. Another fierce cold front was in the forecast and everyone was making for shelter.
Last night the cold front arrived and dropped the temperature from a humid 83F to a cool 71F with raging winds of 25 – 32 knots! We are spending today listening to the weather forecasts and planning our route back to Florida as, unbelievable as it seems now, a weather window is supposed to open up tomorrow or the next day and may last for more than one day! We need at least three days for our passage back to Lake Worth/Palm Beach from here. Our first day will take us to an overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay, the next day we’ll sail on and spend the night at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ marina at ‘West End’, and the following day, if the wave heights look reasonable and the winds favourable, we’ll make the Gulf Stream crossing. We think there will be quite a few boats doing the same as us, so we shan’t be going it alone! Wish us luck!
April 10, 2009
Florida Here We Come!
It’s ‘Good Friday’ – April 10 – and we arrived at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ Marina yesterday evening after two beautifully calm days of travelling. At Great Sale Island we came across our lovely friends, Rob and Laurie from Jacksonville, on board ‘Arita’. We were going in opposite directions so only had time to shout between boats. They are off to Antigua and then, eventually, to Australia. Brave souls! We were sad that we didn’t have a chance for a proper get-together. Bon Voyage ‘Arita’ and ‘Svea’, their buddy boat.
We plan to cross the Gulf Stream tomorrow – Saturday 11 April. We will either cross to Lake Worth/Palm Beach (55 miles) or Fort Pierce (82 miles). I vote for the former and Bill the latter. We shall see who wins! ‘Southern Vectis’ will be stored out of the water at ‘Riverside Marina’ in Fort Pierce for the summer. We will make our crossing travelling together with Robert and Carolyn on their motor cruiser, ‘Sea Island Girl’. Robert is past Commodore of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club, a club we shall join for next year. We’ve heard from many people that the club holds great parties and that membership also gets you discounts at various marinas!
Fingers and toes crossed for the crossing tomorrow!
(This blog was written in two stages as we haven’t been able to get near an internet connection for a few days.)
Tuesday 7 April, 2009
Last time I wrote we were still in Orchid Bay on Great Guana Cay waiting to go north through ‘the Whale’ the following day with some of the other boats that had been sheltering from the strong winds. We had really enjoyed our time there because even though the winds were howling, a warm sun still shone in a clear blue sky, the marina was lovely and there was lots to do and see around the little ‘settlement’ and its beautiful beaches.
On the day before our departure Bill had discovered an important repair which needed doing – getting a new ‘zinc’ fitted. We had hoped to get it done on the north side of the ‘Whale’ crossing – at Green Turtle Cay. But, when we phoned around on the morning of our scheduled departure, the only place where we could find our type of ‘zinc’ was at Edwin’s Boat Yard in Man O’ War Cay. So we had to decide whether to go on with the others and risk it, or backtrack to get it fixed. We decided to be cautious and backtrack to Man O’ War. We also decided that we should get our dinghy outboard motor fixed as it’s our lifeline to shore when we are at anchor or moored. The only place that could do this was in Marsh Harbour. This was really backtracking!
So on that beautiful Monday morning we waved farewell to everyone as they sailed north and we sailed in the opposite direction. It was a lovely day with much lighter winds and we went in to Man O’ War marina for two nights (this time we didn’t run aground!), and then sailed over to Marsh Harbour to spend three nights at Mangoes Marina while we waited for our outboard to be fixed. Everything went smoothly. We met up with Michel and Maryse on ‘Maduro’ once again and had a nice ‘cocktail evening’ on board ‘Southern Vectis’.
On Friday we said yet another ‘farewell’ to Marsh Harbour and had a good sail over to Fisher Bay, Great Guana to take a mooring for a night before crossing through the ‘Whale’ the next morning. It should have been a peaceful and lovely evening. There were about eight other boats either moored or anchored nearby and the sunset promised to be spectacular. Suddenly, from around the corner of the bay, two huge ‘Moorings’ chartered catamarans appeared. Usually when this happens everyone holds their breath and prays that they’ll move on. This was not to be! They moored right next to our boat – each tying on to the same mooring ball – and proceeded to party and play loud music into the early hours of the morning! And we had thought that the music from the restaurants around the marinas in Marsh Harbour was loud!!! What can we say except that our unwelcome neighbours were not young party animals, but three or four ENGLISH families complete with middle aged parents and teenagers! We left very early the next morning!
Our trip through the dreaded ‘Whale’ was perfectly peaceful – just a little one foot swell – and a beautiful blue day. We anchored off Green Turtle Cay until mid-afternoon as we had to wait for mid-tide to get in the channel to ‘Black Sound’ where we had booked a mooring buoy through Donny’s Boat rentals. On our way into the harbour we noticed ‘Gray North’ out of the water at ‘Abaco Yachts’ boatyard, and Glen hard at work on the topsides. So once we’d moored we dinghied back and brought Glen and Louise for drinks on board. ‘Gray North’ is spending the summer here, as are a lot of other ‘northern’ boats. Glen and Louise flew out to Florida yesterday and will drive back to Ottawa.
‘Black Sound’ is a lovely harbour and is within an easy walk of the town of New Plymouth. Yesterday the harbour filled up as the wind filled in to 25 knots yet again. Another fierce cold front was in the forecast and everyone was making for shelter.
Last night the cold front arrived and dropped the temperature from a humid 83F to a cool 71F with raging winds of 25 – 32 knots! We are spending today listening to the weather forecasts and planning our route back to Florida as, unbelievable as it seems now, a weather window is supposed to open up tomorrow or the next day and may last for more than one day! We need at least three days for our passage back to Lake Worth/Palm Beach from here. Our first day will take us to an overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay, the next day we’ll sail on and spend the night at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ marina at ‘West End’, and the following day, if the wave heights look reasonable and the winds favourable, we’ll make the Gulf Stream crossing. We think there will be quite a few boats doing the same as us, so we shan’t be going it alone! Wish us luck!
April 10, 2009
Florida Here We Come!
It’s ‘Good Friday’ – April 10 – and we arrived at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ Marina yesterday evening after two beautifully calm days of travelling. At Great Sale Island we came across our lovely friends, Rob and Laurie from Jacksonville, on board ‘Arita’. We were going in opposite directions so only had time to shout between boats. They are off to Antigua and then, eventually, to Australia. Brave souls! We were sad that we didn’t have a chance for a proper get-together. Bon Voyage ‘Arita’ and ‘Svea’, their buddy boat.
We plan to cross the Gulf Stream tomorrow – Saturday 11 April. We will either cross to Lake Worth/Palm Beach (55 miles) or Fort Pierce (82 miles). I vote for the former and Bill the latter. We shall see who wins! ‘Southern Vectis’ will be stored out of the water at ‘Riverside Marina’ in Fort Pierce for the summer. We will make our crossing travelling together with Robert and Carolyn on their motor cruiser, ‘Sea Island Girl’. Robert is past Commodore of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club, a club we shall join for next year. We’ve heard from many people that the club holds great parties and that membership also gets you discounts at various marinas!
Fingers and toes crossed for the crossing tomorrow!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A 'Raging Whale' leads us to 'Shangri La'.
A ‘raging Whale’ leads us to Shangri-la……..’Orchid Bay’.
We spent nine days in Marsh Harbour waiting for the weather to settle down and the winds to clock below 20 knots! Harbour View Marina treated us well, and we enjoyed our stay. But eventually there comes a time when the weather forecasters tell you it’s time to pry yourself off the dock and start heading for home. So, on Thursday, we sailed north once more to Great Guana Cay and picked up a mooring in Fisher Bay. Next stop would be a crossing of the dreaded ‘Whale’ – the entrance out and back into the Atlantic. We had travelled over to Great Guana with Mike, who is single-handing his Hunter 380, ‘Norma Fay’, and we arranged to meet him for drinks at ‘Grabbers Bar’ on the beach that evening. Unfortunately our outboard motor decided to give up the ghost, which left ‘Southern Vectis’ stranded about half a mile from the shore and, with the choppy seas and current, definitely not within rowing distance. However, Mike sent out the cavalry to bring us in to our watering hole! We were just resigning ourselves to a lonesome sunset drink when Pete from ‘Dream Seeker 2’ arrived in his dinghy to take us ashore. We had a good cocktail hour or two, and a good chat with our saviour, Pete, and his wife Pat.
Overnight the wind increased once more with gusts of 28 knots. All the anchored boats left in a hurry during the early morning heading to the shelter of Treasure Cay. This left about five boats on the moorings. Later in the morning we heard ‘Dive Guana’, the company that owns the moorings, warning a power boat off from taking a mooring because of the anticipated ‘blow’, so we decided to call and find out about the safety of our mooring. We were told that that, if conditions worsened and the wind clocked around to the west, we would be asked to leave the mooring! Our imagination ran wild at the thought of a midnight knock on the hull, and a request to move off in the dead of night in the teeth of a gale! So…..we moved around the corner into the next bay and to a dock at the beautiful ‘Orchid Bay’ marina. As the day progressed ‘Norma Fay’, ‘Dream Seeker,’ and ‘Avignon,’ sailed by Dave and Terry, followed us. Then Tony and Wendy from Port Credit Yacht Club arrived on ‘Delta’, and this beautiful, but usually fairly quiet marina, filled up.
We are all very happy to be here, not just because we are safe and sound from the howling winds, but also because Orchid Bay is not just a marina, but a most beautiful resort. We are being charged only $1 a foot for all this splendour! Yesterday we decided to make the most of every minute, and spent the day beside the pool and walking into the little town and, of course, over to ‘Grabbers’ bar once again! We had all met for drinks in the resort’s bar the first night, and last night Pete and Pat hosted drinks on board ‘Dream Seeker’, and then we joined Mike for dinner at resort’s lovely waterfront restaurant. Today more boats are arriving as it’s Sunday, and ‘Nippers Bar’ facing over the Atlantic, has its famous ‘Pig Roast’.
The talk all morning is about possible ‘weather windows’ and plans to head north and cross the Gulf Stream. Should we do this, should we do that? No one is sure what to do as the weather really hasn’t settled down that much, and the forecasts are a bit ambiguous! To add to the complications, we not only have an outboard engine that doesn’t work, but also Bill has discovered that the ‘zinc’ has gone from our prop shaft. (A zinc prevents galvanic erosion of through-hull fittings!!) We shall all probably go through ‘the Whale’ tomorrow morning as the winds are supposed to go down a bit. Then, we have three choices: To take the boat into Green Turtle Cay to see if we can get the zinc fitted; to carry on and do some long days and nights of sailing to get back to Florida if the weather window materializes, or to take our time getting to West End on Grand Bahama, and do a daytime crossing to Florida from there. Only time and weather will tell. In the meantime we are off to ‘Nippers’, and then on to ‘Grabbers’, and then, at sunset, Mike, who is a member of a Jimmy Buffet style group called ‘Boat Drunks’, has offered to play for us while we sip our cocktails under the gazebo as the sun sets over the turquoise and turbulent Sea of Abaco. Watch this space!
We spent nine days in Marsh Harbour waiting for the weather to settle down and the winds to clock below 20 knots! Harbour View Marina treated us well, and we enjoyed our stay. But eventually there comes a time when the weather forecasters tell you it’s time to pry yourself off the dock and start heading for home. So, on Thursday, we sailed north once more to Great Guana Cay and picked up a mooring in Fisher Bay. Next stop would be a crossing of the dreaded ‘Whale’ – the entrance out and back into the Atlantic. We had travelled over to Great Guana with Mike, who is single-handing his Hunter 380, ‘Norma Fay’, and we arranged to meet him for drinks at ‘Grabbers Bar’ on the beach that evening. Unfortunately our outboard motor decided to give up the ghost, which left ‘Southern Vectis’ stranded about half a mile from the shore and, with the choppy seas and current, definitely not within rowing distance. However, Mike sent out the cavalry to bring us in to our watering hole! We were just resigning ourselves to a lonesome sunset drink when Pete from ‘Dream Seeker 2’ arrived in his dinghy to take us ashore. We had a good cocktail hour or two, and a good chat with our saviour, Pete, and his wife Pat.
Overnight the wind increased once more with gusts of 28 knots. All the anchored boats left in a hurry during the early morning heading to the shelter of Treasure Cay. This left about five boats on the moorings. Later in the morning we heard ‘Dive Guana’, the company that owns the moorings, warning a power boat off from taking a mooring because of the anticipated ‘blow’, so we decided to call and find out about the safety of our mooring. We were told that that, if conditions worsened and the wind clocked around to the west, we would be asked to leave the mooring! Our imagination ran wild at the thought of a midnight knock on the hull, and a request to move off in the dead of night in the teeth of a gale! So…..we moved around the corner into the next bay and to a dock at the beautiful ‘Orchid Bay’ marina. As the day progressed ‘Norma Fay’, ‘Dream Seeker,’ and ‘Avignon,’ sailed by Dave and Terry, followed us. Then Tony and Wendy from Port Credit Yacht Club arrived on ‘Delta’, and this beautiful, but usually fairly quiet marina, filled up.
We are all very happy to be here, not just because we are safe and sound from the howling winds, but also because Orchid Bay is not just a marina, but a most beautiful resort. We are being charged only $1 a foot for all this splendour! Yesterday we decided to make the most of every minute, and spent the day beside the pool and walking into the little town and, of course, over to ‘Grabbers’ bar once again! We had all met for drinks in the resort’s bar the first night, and last night Pete and Pat hosted drinks on board ‘Dream Seeker’, and then we joined Mike for dinner at resort’s lovely waterfront restaurant. Today more boats are arriving as it’s Sunday, and ‘Nippers Bar’ facing over the Atlantic, has its famous ‘Pig Roast’.
The talk all morning is about possible ‘weather windows’ and plans to head north and cross the Gulf Stream. Should we do this, should we do that? No one is sure what to do as the weather really hasn’t settled down that much, and the forecasts are a bit ambiguous! To add to the complications, we not only have an outboard engine that doesn’t work, but also Bill has discovered that the ‘zinc’ has gone from our prop shaft. (A zinc prevents galvanic erosion of through-hull fittings!!) We shall all probably go through ‘the Whale’ tomorrow morning as the winds are supposed to go down a bit. Then, we have three choices: To take the boat into Green Turtle Cay to see if we can get the zinc fitted; to carry on and do some long days and nights of sailing to get back to Florida if the weather window materializes, or to take our time getting to West End on Grand Bahama, and do a daytime crossing to Florida from there. Only time and weather will tell. In the meantime we are off to ‘Nippers’, and then on to ‘Grabbers’, and then, at sunset, Mike, who is a member of a Jimmy Buffet style group called ‘Boat Drunks’, has offered to play for us while we sip our cocktails under the gazebo as the sun sets over the turquoise and turbulent Sea of Abaco. Watch this space!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Marooned in Marsh Harbour
Marooned in Marsh Harbour
We spent two days on our mooring at Fishers Bay, Great Guana Cay last weekend. It was sunny, warm and windy. We had already visited the much-publicized ‘Nippers Bar,’on the hill overlooking the Atlantic, for the ‘Barefoot Man’ concert, so this time we enjoyed spending time on the beach at ‘Grabbers’ bar.
(Bar hopping has become a favourite pastime for the crew of ‘Southern Vectis’, particularly as the names of the local ‘watering holes’ are so enticing. How could we resist a visit to: ‘Grabbers’, ‘Nippers’, ‘Snappers’, ‘Cracker P’s’, ‘Mangoes’, ‘Curly Tails’, ‘Capt’n Jack’s’ or ‘Pete’s Pub’?)
We made the most of the beautiful sailing weather on Sunday to criss-cross the sea of Abaco en route for our dinner date with RCYC friends, Bruce and Janet McKelvey. We anchored in Marsh Harbour and dinghied for drinks on board Bruce & Janet’s brand new ‘Moorings’ charter boat. As we were walking down the dock on the way to dinner at ‘Curly Tails’, we noticed groups of sailors looking fixedly up at the night sky. We joined them, and saw the sky light up as the space shuttle, launched from Cape Canaveral just minutes before, rose majestically upwards and then, leaving a brilliance which more than matched the full moon, discarded its booster rocket and raced free towards the stars. We all cheered and heaved a sigh of relief for the brave souls on board.
We had a great evening with Bruce and Janet and the next day, when we dinghied over to say goodbye, we were presented with mountains of food and booze – their left over provisions. Bill and I decided at this point that we needed to do more exercise to justify this windfall! We have been for a few token walks since! Thank you Bruce and Janet.
On Monday we moved in to a dock at Harbour View Marina because a ‘cold front’ was due on Tuesday. All the marinas and mooring fields get very busy when the weather forecast is bad, and we wanted to be sure of getting a dock. We have been here ever since! That cold front came through late Tuesday evening, after we had enjoyed a really great St. Patrick’s Day party organized by some cruisers on our dock. Then, on Wednesday, as everyone was slowly rolling from their bunks, the heavens opened and didn’t close for 24 hours!! As we used to say in England, the rain was ‘set in’, and we had no choice but to hibernate with a good book, and also to watch some of the movies Louisa had loaned us for the trip. Thanks Lou. As this is the first rain we have seen since arriving in the Bahamas, all the locals are ecstatic…..not so the sailors. To make matters worse, another cold front arrived last night and is raging around us as I write. Winds are in the 20 to 25 knot range with squalls of 30 knots or more. We are happy to be tied to our very secure dock, surrounded by lots of other sailors!
We were happy to meet up once again with Bob & Carole on ‘Sea Change yesterday. They have made it back from the Exumas, and will spend a few days here waiting out the weather before travelling north. We are looking forward to having dinner with them at ‘Curly Tails’ tonight, and swapping cruising tales of our exploits on the high seas.
We spent two days on our mooring at Fishers Bay, Great Guana Cay last weekend. It was sunny, warm and windy. We had already visited the much-publicized ‘Nippers Bar,’on the hill overlooking the Atlantic, for the ‘Barefoot Man’ concert, so this time we enjoyed spending time on the beach at ‘Grabbers’ bar.
(Bar hopping has become a favourite pastime for the crew of ‘Southern Vectis’, particularly as the names of the local ‘watering holes’ are so enticing. How could we resist a visit to: ‘Grabbers’, ‘Nippers’, ‘Snappers’, ‘Cracker P’s’, ‘Mangoes’, ‘Curly Tails’, ‘Capt’n Jack’s’ or ‘Pete’s Pub’?)
We made the most of the beautiful sailing weather on Sunday to criss-cross the sea of Abaco en route for our dinner date with RCYC friends, Bruce and Janet McKelvey. We anchored in Marsh Harbour and dinghied for drinks on board Bruce & Janet’s brand new ‘Moorings’ charter boat. As we were walking down the dock on the way to dinner at ‘Curly Tails’, we noticed groups of sailors looking fixedly up at the night sky. We joined them, and saw the sky light up as the space shuttle, launched from Cape Canaveral just minutes before, rose majestically upwards and then, leaving a brilliance which more than matched the full moon, discarded its booster rocket and raced free towards the stars. We all cheered and heaved a sigh of relief for the brave souls on board.
We had a great evening with Bruce and Janet and the next day, when we dinghied over to say goodbye, we were presented with mountains of food and booze – their left over provisions. Bill and I decided at this point that we needed to do more exercise to justify this windfall! We have been for a few token walks since! Thank you Bruce and Janet.
On Monday we moved in to a dock at Harbour View Marina because a ‘cold front’ was due on Tuesday. All the marinas and mooring fields get very busy when the weather forecast is bad, and we wanted to be sure of getting a dock. We have been here ever since! That cold front came through late Tuesday evening, after we had enjoyed a really great St. Patrick’s Day party organized by some cruisers on our dock. Then, on Wednesday, as everyone was slowly rolling from their bunks, the heavens opened and didn’t close for 24 hours!! As we used to say in England, the rain was ‘set in’, and we had no choice but to hibernate with a good book, and also to watch some of the movies Louisa had loaned us for the trip. Thanks Lou. As this is the first rain we have seen since arriving in the Bahamas, all the locals are ecstatic…..not so the sailors. To make matters worse, another cold front arrived last night and is raging around us as I write. Winds are in the 20 to 25 knot range with squalls of 30 knots or more. We are happy to be tied to our very secure dock, surrounded by lots of other sailors!
We were happy to meet up once again with Bob & Carole on ‘Sea Change yesterday. They have made it back from the Exumas, and will spend a few days here waiting out the weather before travelling north. We are looking forward to having dinner with them at ‘Curly Tails’ tonight, and swapping cruising tales of our exploits on the high seas.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tahiti Beach and a Full Moon Party
From Tahiti Beach to Man O’ War including a ‘Full Moon Party’.
We left Hope Town on a beautifully warm, blue day. In fact the whole of Hope Town harbour seemed to empty out that morning as the weather forecasters promised no cold fronts into the foreseeable future! We did not plan to go far, just a few miles south to Tahiti Beach, which lies just to the east of an island called ‘Lubbers Quarter’. The beach is a finger of pure white sand and is mainly covered at high tide. As the tide was low when we arrived, we dinghied over and spent the afternoon swimming, snorkelling and looking for shells. That evening was warm and still, and we barbecued on board. A perfect day.
Next day we took a look at our batteries and decided we should spend a night at the nearby ‘Sea Spray’ Marina to get them boosted. The marina is just a ten-minute trip from Tahiti Beach. It’s very well run, has a restaurant and pool, and is within walking distance of the Abaco Inn, one of the original inns of Elbow Cay, situated on a well-known surfers’ beach. While we were there ‘Lady’, a boat we had met on the ICW in Florida, came in. Charlie and Jennie had originally hailed us on the ICW because they had recognised the name of ‘Southern Vectis’ and asked if we were a bus company! (“Southern Vectis’ is the name of the main bus company on the IOW.) Jennie had just returned from the IOW. Her mother lives in Blackwater, and she grew up in Portsmouth.
The next day we moved out to our anchorage again and were pleased to see ‘Gray North’ and ‘Jilli Q’ there. We hadn’t seen ‘Gray North’ since she was sitting high and dry at the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard awaiting repairs, so it was great to see her afloat once more. Glen and Louise invited us for a delicious lunch of home made rolls and smoked salmon on board, and we caught up with their news.
That evening we all dinghied over to ‘Cracker P’s’ bar on Lubbers Quarter for the Full Moon Party. It was a good evening and the moon shone clear and bright. We had hoped to see the space shuttle pass over us after its 9:30 p.m. launch, but found out later that the launch had been cancelled.
The next day we sailed from Tahiti Beach to Man O’ War Cay – again, not very far. The entrance to Man O’ War is very narrow and shallow at low tide, with rocky ledges just below the surface. We made it through with no problem, picked up one of the moorings just off the marina, and settled down with our lunch and a nice cold glass of white wine. It was all too good to be true, because after an hour or so we heard a large ‘clunk’ and then another. We looked over the side and discovered that we were banging against the large concrete block that held the neighbouring mooring buoy! The tide was still going down, so we knew we couldn’t stay there, and we moved off to find another buoy. Unfortunately the water levels in the harbour vary a lot at low tide and we went aground in the soft sand! And there we had to stay for a few hours while the tide went down and then came up! Luckily we were within reach of another mooring buoy and could tie ourselves on while we walked around the island! At 6:30 p.m. we were afloat once more and took a dock at the marina!
We treated ourselves to dinner out at the marina restaurant - you can bring your own beer or wine to have with the meal. While we were waiting we saw a familiar face from the RCYC – it was Bruce McKelvey. He and Janet had chartered a ‘Moorings’ boat from Marsh Harbour for the week, and were anchored off Man O’ War for the night.
It was such a nice surprise to see them and catch up with all their news. They sailed over to Hope Town yesterday, and we are now moored at Fishers Bay off Great Guana Cay. We plan to sail back to Marsh Harbour tomorrow and get together for dinner on their last night.
We left Hope Town on a beautifully warm, blue day. In fact the whole of Hope Town harbour seemed to empty out that morning as the weather forecasters promised no cold fronts into the foreseeable future! We did not plan to go far, just a few miles south to Tahiti Beach, which lies just to the east of an island called ‘Lubbers Quarter’. The beach is a finger of pure white sand and is mainly covered at high tide. As the tide was low when we arrived, we dinghied over and spent the afternoon swimming, snorkelling and looking for shells. That evening was warm and still, and we barbecued on board. A perfect day.
Next day we took a look at our batteries and decided we should spend a night at the nearby ‘Sea Spray’ Marina to get them boosted. The marina is just a ten-minute trip from Tahiti Beach. It’s very well run, has a restaurant and pool, and is within walking distance of the Abaco Inn, one of the original inns of Elbow Cay, situated on a well-known surfers’ beach. While we were there ‘Lady’, a boat we had met on the ICW in Florida, came in. Charlie and Jennie had originally hailed us on the ICW because they had recognised the name of ‘Southern Vectis’ and asked if we were a bus company! (“Southern Vectis’ is the name of the main bus company on the IOW.) Jennie had just returned from the IOW. Her mother lives in Blackwater, and she grew up in Portsmouth.
The next day we moved out to our anchorage again and were pleased to see ‘Gray North’ and ‘Jilli Q’ there. We hadn’t seen ‘Gray North’ since she was sitting high and dry at the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard awaiting repairs, so it was great to see her afloat once more. Glen and Louise invited us for a delicious lunch of home made rolls and smoked salmon on board, and we caught up with their news.
That evening we all dinghied over to ‘Cracker P’s’ bar on Lubbers Quarter for the Full Moon Party. It was a good evening and the moon shone clear and bright. We had hoped to see the space shuttle pass over us after its 9:30 p.m. launch, but found out later that the launch had been cancelled.
The next day we sailed from Tahiti Beach to Man O’ War Cay – again, not very far. The entrance to Man O’ War is very narrow and shallow at low tide, with rocky ledges just below the surface. We made it through with no problem, picked up one of the moorings just off the marina, and settled down with our lunch and a nice cold glass of white wine. It was all too good to be true, because after an hour or so we heard a large ‘clunk’ and then another. We looked over the side and discovered that we were banging against the large concrete block that held the neighbouring mooring buoy! The tide was still going down, so we knew we couldn’t stay there, and we moved off to find another buoy. Unfortunately the water levels in the harbour vary a lot at low tide and we went aground in the soft sand! And there we had to stay for a few hours while the tide went down and then came up! Luckily we were within reach of another mooring buoy and could tie ourselves on while we walked around the island! At 6:30 p.m. we were afloat once more and took a dock at the marina!
We treated ourselves to dinner out at the marina restaurant - you can bring your own beer or wine to have with the meal. While we were waiting we saw a familiar face from the RCYC – it was Bruce McKelvey. He and Janet had chartered a ‘Moorings’ boat from Marsh Harbour for the week, and were anchored off Man O’ War for the night.
It was such a nice surprise to see them and catch up with all their news. They sailed over to Hope Town yesterday, and we are now moored at Fishers Bay off Great Guana Cay. We plan to sail back to Marsh Harbour tomorrow and get together for dinner on their last night.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hanging out in Hope Town
March 8, 2009
Hanging out in Hope Town
It seems a long time since I last updated the blog. We certainly haven’t moved very far – maybe just a few feet as we swing on our mooring here in Hope Town harbour. What have we been doing? Well…..we’ve fallen in love with this pretty little town and have been busy partaking of everything it has to offer. We’ve spent time on the lovely Atlantic beaches, we’ve snorkelled, (though the only exciting thing with fins I saw was Bill!),we’ve wined and dined at Capt’n Jack’s, at the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant, at the Hope Town Harbour Inn, and we’ve cycled the length and breadth of Elbow Cay, which is where Hope Town is situated.
We haven’t been short of entertainment either as we’ve attended a poetry reading, a choir concert, a couple of street fairs, and we’ve even taken a ferry over to Great Guana Cay for the ‘Barefoot Man’ Concert at ‘Nippers Bar’ on the beach. (Barefoot Man is the Bahamas equivalent of Jimmy Buffet.)
We’ve also met lots of great cruisers and toasted many a sunset with a cocktail or three on board. In fact, we’ve had such a good time that we are planning to do what a lot of the other cruisers have been doing for years, and that is to reserve a mooring buoy for a more extended stay next year. Some of the cruisers have been regulars here for many years, and other ex-cruisers we’ve met on shore have graduated to renting cottages for the winter. Strangely enough, most cruisers we’ve met are either from North Carolina or from Canada! We’ve also noted that quite a few cruisers leave their boats in the Bahamas for the summer – usually at Abaco Yachts on GreenTurtle Cay, though one boat will be left on a mooring Man ‘o War Island. We are not ready to do this yet…..though who knows how we’ll feel after our re-crossing of the Gulf Stream at the end of this month!
The weather has been quite mixed – colder than normal say the locals. But this coming week is forecast to be set fair – so we will tear ourselves away from this lovely place and see some more of the harbours and anchorages in the Sea of Abaco. Tomorrow we’ll leave with the high tide at around 8 a.m. and move around the corner to an anchorage off Lubbers Island. After that we’ll head to Man ‘o War Cay for a couple of days….but no longer, as Man ‘o War is a ‘dry’ island……no alcohol served! (We have stocked up the boat though and won’t feel a thing!)
Hanging out in Hope Town
It seems a long time since I last updated the blog. We certainly haven’t moved very far – maybe just a few feet as we swing on our mooring here in Hope Town harbour. What have we been doing? Well…..we’ve fallen in love with this pretty little town and have been busy partaking of everything it has to offer. We’ve spent time on the lovely Atlantic beaches, we’ve snorkelled, (though the only exciting thing with fins I saw was Bill!),we’ve wined and dined at Capt’n Jack’s, at the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant, at the Hope Town Harbour Inn, and we’ve cycled the length and breadth of Elbow Cay, which is where Hope Town is situated.
We haven’t been short of entertainment either as we’ve attended a poetry reading, a choir concert, a couple of street fairs, and we’ve even taken a ferry over to Great Guana Cay for the ‘Barefoot Man’ Concert at ‘Nippers Bar’ on the beach. (Barefoot Man is the Bahamas equivalent of Jimmy Buffet.)
We’ve also met lots of great cruisers and toasted many a sunset with a cocktail or three on board. In fact, we’ve had such a good time that we are planning to do what a lot of the other cruisers have been doing for years, and that is to reserve a mooring buoy for a more extended stay next year. Some of the cruisers have been regulars here for many years, and other ex-cruisers we’ve met on shore have graduated to renting cottages for the winter. Strangely enough, most cruisers we’ve met are either from North Carolina or from Canada! We’ve also noted that quite a few cruisers leave their boats in the Bahamas for the summer – usually at Abaco Yachts on GreenTurtle Cay, though one boat will be left on a mooring Man ‘o War Island. We are not ready to do this yet…..though who knows how we’ll feel after our re-crossing of the Gulf Stream at the end of this month!
The weather has been quite mixed – colder than normal say the locals. But this coming week is forecast to be set fair – so we will tear ourselves away from this lovely place and see some more of the harbours and anchorages in the Sea of Abaco. Tomorrow we’ll leave with the high tide at around 8 a.m. and move around the corner to an anchorage off Lubbers Island. After that we’ll head to Man ‘o War Cay for a couple of days….but no longer, as Man ‘o War is a ‘dry’ island……no alcohol served! (We have stocked up the boat though and won’t feel a thing!)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Shipwrecked Sailors.... and happily ever after in Hope Town
February 25, 2009
Shipwrecked sailors… and happily ever after in Hope Town.
(Due to the weak internet signals here we have not been able to attach any pictures recently. We’ll keep trying!)
We spent four nights in Marsh Harbour last week at the Harbour View Marina. ($1 a foot) The marina is owned and run by Troy Cornea who purchased it after it was devastated by hurricane Floyd in 1999. This is one of the best run marinas we have come across during our travels in Florida and the Bahamas. Troy is always available to help whether it’s with boating problems or setting up cable T.V. so that ‘Southern Vectis’ can get better reception! The marina has a lovely pool area, and ‘Snappers’ restaurant, a lively bar, is also part of the operation. The majority of boats are sailboats, and many are ‘regulars’ with reserved seasonal dockage.
For the first couple of days we explored, and visited the supermarket to stock up on food. We were pleased to see Glen and Louise pull in on ‘Gray North’, a 47 foot Beneteau from Ottawa. We had met them in Green Turtle Cay. Their guest, Pamela also from Ottawa, had just arrived for a week of sailing, so we invited them on board for a drink on Thursday. On Friday we went over to their dock to help them off as they were bound for Hope Town, where they had taken a mooring buoy for the month. They were docked at Mangoes Marina, right next door to our dock. That’s when the excitement began! Glen was reversing his large boat out of the dock when the transmission failed and he lost control of the steering. It was windy, and, to cut a long story short, ‘Gray North’ headed towards our dock and was eventually tethered after doing some damage to one of the docked boats. But this was not the end of the story. Troy and his team pulled ‘Gray North’ out into the harbour, at which point Glen, who was not sure exactly what the problem was, put the boat into forward gear……and it went shooting backward and crashed heavily into some docking posts, causing damage to the transom. The boat was taking in water at this point, and again Troy and his helpers, with much advice offered by the many boat owners who had suddenly shot out of their cabins with all the excitement,
brought it into a dock and set up pumps to stop the boat from sinking.
While all this drama was happening, Pamela, the guest who had little experience with boats, was still on board. It was decided that the boat would be towed around to a boat yard and taken out of the water for repairs, so off it went. Pamela had come over to sit on our boat to get over all the shock, and we told her she’d be welcome to stay. So that’s how we inherited our first, and very perfect guest. Glen and Louise decided to stay on board their dry-docked boat but, the next day being Saturday and the day we had planned to leave for Hope Town, we all had lunch together, and then ‘Southern Vectis’ set off with Pamela, Glen and Louise, for Hope Town to take up ‘Gray North’s mooring buoy. Hope Town harbour entrance is very shallow, so we needed to go in an hour before high tide. We were very pleased to have Glen and Louise to point out their mooring spot, as, faced with 60 boats all closely packed together and swinging on their moorings, it would have been difficult to find it otherwise. Glen and Louise caught the ferry back to Marsh Harbour that night, and are still awaiting the verdict on repairs needed for their lovely boat. Pamela spent another night on board and then transferred to the pretty Hope Town Harbour Lodge for two nights. We really enjoyed her short stay with us, and spent a lovely day on the beach, and dinner out at the ‘Harbour’s Edge’ restaurant. She is en route to snowy Ottawa as I write this.
As always, the boating life is a very social one! We were pleased to make contact again with Lawrence and Jane on ‘Esprit’, and Lane and Marilyn on ‘Spirit’, and had a good evening on board ‘Southern Vectis’ the other night. It was also good to get to know David and Jill, our neighbours on the catamaran, ‘Jilly Q’.
So now here we sit on our lovely inherited mooring in lovely Hope Town. It is a beautiful spot, and will be even more so when the wind of this latest cold front goes down a bit in a couple of days, and the temperatures rise from a mere 18C to 25C. We have climbed the 101 stairs of the Hope Town lighthouse, one of the few still manually operated in the original manner with a kerosene-fuelled lamp. We have explored the town, and walked the lovely Atlantic beach, and plan to rent bicycles tomorrow to ride further south on Elbow Cay. We are not sure how long we’ll be here, but we hope to hear from Glen and Louise that their boat will be on the water again soon, so that they can come and take up their mooring again. Many people take long-term moorings here, and stay for the winter!
BIRTHDAYS: It was our granddaughter, LILY’s second birthday on the 19th February – HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY. ‘Aunty’ Louisa flew over from Toronto as a surprise for Lily’s party on Sunday.
HAPPY BITHDAY JOHN. It is my brother, John’s birthday today. He is spending it with all his family at a lovely resort in Antigua. I spoke on the phone to him, and they are having a wonderful time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY. It will be Melody, my niece’s birthday on Friday 27 Have a super day, Melody.
Shipwrecked sailors… and happily ever after in Hope Town.
(Due to the weak internet signals here we have not been able to attach any pictures recently. We’ll keep trying!)
We spent four nights in Marsh Harbour last week at the Harbour View Marina. ($1 a foot) The marina is owned and run by Troy Cornea who purchased it after it was devastated by hurricane Floyd in 1999. This is one of the best run marinas we have come across during our travels in Florida and the Bahamas. Troy is always available to help whether it’s with boating problems or setting up cable T.V. so that ‘Southern Vectis’ can get better reception! The marina has a lovely pool area, and ‘Snappers’ restaurant, a lively bar, is also part of the operation. The majority of boats are sailboats, and many are ‘regulars’ with reserved seasonal dockage.
For the first couple of days we explored, and visited the supermarket to stock up on food. We were pleased to see Glen and Louise pull in on ‘Gray North’, a 47 foot Beneteau from Ottawa. We had met them in Green Turtle Cay. Their guest, Pamela also from Ottawa, had just arrived for a week of sailing, so we invited them on board for a drink on Thursday. On Friday we went over to their dock to help them off as they were bound for Hope Town, where they had taken a mooring buoy for the month. They were docked at Mangoes Marina, right next door to our dock. That’s when the excitement began! Glen was reversing his large boat out of the dock when the transmission failed and he lost control of the steering. It was windy, and, to cut a long story short, ‘Gray North’ headed towards our dock and was eventually tethered after doing some damage to one of the docked boats. But this was not the end of the story. Troy and his team pulled ‘Gray North’ out into the harbour, at which point Glen, who was not sure exactly what the problem was, put the boat into forward gear……and it went shooting backward and crashed heavily into some docking posts, causing damage to the transom. The boat was taking in water at this point, and again Troy and his helpers, with much advice offered by the many boat owners who had suddenly shot out of their cabins with all the excitement,
brought it into a dock and set up pumps to stop the boat from sinking.
While all this drama was happening, Pamela, the guest who had little experience with boats, was still on board. It was decided that the boat would be towed around to a boat yard and taken out of the water for repairs, so off it went. Pamela had come over to sit on our boat to get over all the shock, and we told her she’d be welcome to stay. So that’s how we inherited our first, and very perfect guest. Glen and Louise decided to stay on board their dry-docked boat but, the next day being Saturday and the day we had planned to leave for Hope Town, we all had lunch together, and then ‘Southern Vectis’ set off with Pamela, Glen and Louise, for Hope Town to take up ‘Gray North’s mooring buoy. Hope Town harbour entrance is very shallow, so we needed to go in an hour before high tide. We were very pleased to have Glen and Louise to point out their mooring spot, as, faced with 60 boats all closely packed together and swinging on their moorings, it would have been difficult to find it otherwise. Glen and Louise caught the ferry back to Marsh Harbour that night, and are still awaiting the verdict on repairs needed for their lovely boat. Pamela spent another night on board and then transferred to the pretty Hope Town Harbour Lodge for two nights. We really enjoyed her short stay with us, and spent a lovely day on the beach, and dinner out at the ‘Harbour’s Edge’ restaurant. She is en route to snowy Ottawa as I write this.
As always, the boating life is a very social one! We were pleased to make contact again with Lawrence and Jane on ‘Esprit’, and Lane and Marilyn on ‘Spirit’, and had a good evening on board ‘Southern Vectis’ the other night. It was also good to get to know David and Jill, our neighbours on the catamaran, ‘Jilly Q’.
So now here we sit on our lovely inherited mooring in lovely Hope Town. It is a beautiful spot, and will be even more so when the wind of this latest cold front goes down a bit in a couple of days, and the temperatures rise from a mere 18C to 25C. We have climbed the 101 stairs of the Hope Town lighthouse, one of the few still manually operated in the original manner with a kerosene-fuelled lamp. We have explored the town, and walked the lovely Atlantic beach, and plan to rent bicycles tomorrow to ride further south on Elbow Cay. We are not sure how long we’ll be here, but we hope to hear from Glen and Louise that their boat will be on the water again soon, so that they can come and take up their mooring again. Many people take long-term moorings here, and stay for the winter!
BIRTHDAYS: It was our granddaughter, LILY’s second birthday on the 19th February – HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY. ‘Aunty’ Louisa flew over from Toronto as a surprise for Lily’s party on Sunday.
HAPPY BITHDAY JOHN. It is my brother, John’s birthday today. He is spending it with all his family at a lovely resort in Antigua. I spoke on the phone to him, and they are having a wonderful time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY. It will be Melody, my niece’s birthday on Friday 27 Have a super day, Melody.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Extreme sports and finding paradise
Tuesday February 17, 2009 – Little Harbour, Great Abaco Island
‘Extreme Sports’ and finding paradise.
We have been unable to get an internet connection for a few days as, although we have signed up for the ‘Out Island Internet’ service, it seems only to work spasmodically here at Little Harbour. We could receive messages on Saturday, but not send any, or get into Google or our ‘Blog’ site. Since then we’ve not been able to connect at all. But we have been having a good …and adventurous time since we last wrote.
We left Hatchet’s Bay, Eleuthera, about a week ago – Tuesday 10 February. The wind seemed favourable and we were keen to get back to the Abaco Islands. As we sped through ‘Current Cut’ on the way to Spanish Wells at 11.5 knots (5 knots of current assisting us) I held tightly to the wheel and my nerves, struggling to keep us on a straight path between the walls of jagged limestone. We made it, but little did we know that an even greater challenge lay ahead of us in a couple of days! We docked at Spanish Wells and were made to feel most welcome by Treadwell, the dock master. We were pleased to see Les and Kathy on Ragtop II. They had been at Hatchet’s Bay earlier that week. We decided that we would ‘buddy boat’ across the 50 miles of Atlantic known as the ‘Northeast Providence Channel’ the next day. So, on Thursday morning we left just before 7 a.m. to follow our pilot, a local character by the name of ‘Ole Pot’, through the coral heads of Ridley Cut to begin our passage. (‘Ole Pot’ is an interesting character. His direct forebears were some of the ‘Eleutherian Adventurers’, who came to settle the island from Britain in the 1640s…or so he told us!)
We had chosen Thursday for our long passage as our weather guru, Chris Parker, had forecast a favourable wind change to the south-east at about 15 knots. Well, it turned out that there was no wind that day, only a fairly large south-easterly swell – 10 to 12 foot waves, but at long intervals. We were rocking and rolling for about nine hours, but all was well, and Les even caught a four-foot Mahi-Mahi fish! The fish didn’t bite for Bill unfortunately! (Not sure we would have known what to do with a four-foot fish anyway.) The first sight we had of our destination – Little Harbour Cut, Great Abaco – was the white spume of huge waves crashing against the shore and rocky outcrops. We weren’t too worried at first, but as we got closer we could see that the surf was not just crashing on the rocks at each side of the narrow cut between the barrier islands into the Sea of Abaco, it was crashing all across the cut. We had to trust to our GPS waypoints and nerves to get us through – there was no way back! We led the way, but just as we hit the surf my hand-held GPS started flashing a red danger sign saying ‘low battery’, and the chartplotter, for some strange reason, lost the course line through the cut! We held on for dear life and hoped our course would take us through. When we turned around to look at the 12 foot breaking waves that were carrying us forward we couldn’t at first see Les and Kathy in their 30 foot Hunter. Suddenly they emerged on the top of another huge surfing wave. Kathy managed to take a photo of us disappearing into the trough, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the rocks! We made it though, and slunk along the sheltered shore of Lynyard Cay to relax, drink lots of gin, and anchor for the night. Les and Kathy gave us some of their fish, and we had a lovely fish fry for supper.
The next day both boats decided to go and take up a mooring at Little Harbour, just a mile or so south of the wicked Little Harbour Cut. (We didn’t have to go back through it!!) Bill and I dinghied over to check out the area, and loved it at first sight. The entrance, shallow at low tide, leads into a circular, palm fringed bay. We phoned ‘Pete’s Pub’, the only commercial activity in Little Harbour, and found that the tide was just right for our entry – we figured we could get through the entrance an hour each side of high tide.
We have been here ever since, tied securely to a mooring, and we have had a wonderful time. Pete’s pub is right on the beach. Pete is the son of Randolph Johnston, who settled here with his family in the 1950s and set up a foundry for bronze casting of his sculptures. The foundry and the art gallery border the beach, as do some lovely houses. Friday night is locals’ night at Pete’s Pub. We dinghied over and met some very friendly people, particularly David and Lenore, who invited us for drinks at their house the following day. Their house is most unusual, on many levels with views of the both the Atlantic and the bay. All the houses are powered by solar power and use rainwater cisterns. David and Lenore will be bringing their trawler, ‘Mr. G’, up to Kingston this summer to join a group from the Cruising Club of America. They expect to leave it in Canada for the winter and we were able to give them some useful tips. That evening Bill and I joined Les and Kathy for a Valentine’s dinner overlooking the beach at Pete’s.
Since then we’ve been hiking, fishing and generally enjoying everything this lovely out-of-the-way spot has to offer. Everyone we’ve met here, whether a local or a cruiser, has been extremely friendly and helpful. As an example of this, we awoke early on the morning after our Valentine’s night out at the pub to find our dinghy half-deflated and upside-down in the water, with the motor submerged! The gremlins, in the form of one of us dislodging an air-valve as we left the dinghy in the dark, had been at work again. Bill worked on the engine that morning, and was given so much advice by the neighbourhood that by the afternoon it was running fine once more. We hope it will last out the rest of our trip! Last night we were invited for a drinks party on a nearby catamaran owned by Andy and Alice who’ve been visitors here for eight years. Later that evening David and Lenore came aboard ‘Southern Vectis’ and we chatted more about their trip to Lake Ontario this summer. A cold front came through last night with heavy winds gusting to 30 knots and we were happy to be securely tied to a mooring and not anchored. Today we plan to travel 20 miles north to Marsh Harbour once more, to provision the boat, get an internet connection and buy some top-up cards for our Bahamian pay-as-you-go cell phone. We must wait until about 1 p.m. for the tide to be right for the channel. We’ll go over to Hope Town later in the week, after our stay in Marsh Harbour.
‘Extreme Sports’ and finding paradise.
We have been unable to get an internet connection for a few days as, although we have signed up for the ‘Out Island Internet’ service, it seems only to work spasmodically here at Little Harbour. We could receive messages on Saturday, but not send any, or get into Google or our ‘Blog’ site. Since then we’ve not been able to connect at all. But we have been having a good …and adventurous time since we last wrote.
We left Hatchet’s Bay, Eleuthera, about a week ago – Tuesday 10 February. The wind seemed favourable and we were keen to get back to the Abaco Islands. As we sped through ‘Current Cut’ on the way to Spanish Wells at 11.5 knots (5 knots of current assisting us) I held tightly to the wheel and my nerves, struggling to keep us on a straight path between the walls of jagged limestone. We made it, but little did we know that an even greater challenge lay ahead of us in a couple of days! We docked at Spanish Wells and were made to feel most welcome by Treadwell, the dock master. We were pleased to see Les and Kathy on Ragtop II. They had been at Hatchet’s Bay earlier that week. We decided that we would ‘buddy boat’ across the 50 miles of Atlantic known as the ‘Northeast Providence Channel’ the next day. So, on Thursday morning we left just before 7 a.m. to follow our pilot, a local character by the name of ‘Ole Pot’, through the coral heads of Ridley Cut to begin our passage. (‘Ole Pot’ is an interesting character. His direct forebears were some of the ‘Eleutherian Adventurers’, who came to settle the island from Britain in the 1640s…or so he told us!)
We had chosen Thursday for our long passage as our weather guru, Chris Parker, had forecast a favourable wind change to the south-east at about 15 knots. Well, it turned out that there was no wind that day, only a fairly large south-easterly swell – 10 to 12 foot waves, but at long intervals. We were rocking and rolling for about nine hours, but all was well, and Les even caught a four-foot Mahi-Mahi fish! The fish didn’t bite for Bill unfortunately! (Not sure we would have known what to do with a four-foot fish anyway.) The first sight we had of our destination – Little Harbour Cut, Great Abaco – was the white spume of huge waves crashing against the shore and rocky outcrops. We weren’t too worried at first, but as we got closer we could see that the surf was not just crashing on the rocks at each side of the narrow cut between the barrier islands into the Sea of Abaco, it was crashing all across the cut. We had to trust to our GPS waypoints and nerves to get us through – there was no way back! We led the way, but just as we hit the surf my hand-held GPS started flashing a red danger sign saying ‘low battery’, and the chartplotter, for some strange reason, lost the course line through the cut! We held on for dear life and hoped our course would take us through. When we turned around to look at the 12 foot breaking waves that were carrying us forward we couldn’t at first see Les and Kathy in their 30 foot Hunter. Suddenly they emerged on the top of another huge surfing wave. Kathy managed to take a photo of us disappearing into the trough, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the rocks! We made it though, and slunk along the sheltered shore of Lynyard Cay to relax, drink lots of gin, and anchor for the night. Les and Kathy gave us some of their fish, and we had a lovely fish fry for supper.
The next day both boats decided to go and take up a mooring at Little Harbour, just a mile or so south of the wicked Little Harbour Cut. (We didn’t have to go back through it!!) Bill and I dinghied over to check out the area, and loved it at first sight. The entrance, shallow at low tide, leads into a circular, palm fringed bay. We phoned ‘Pete’s Pub’, the only commercial activity in Little Harbour, and found that the tide was just right for our entry – we figured we could get through the entrance an hour each side of high tide.
We have been here ever since, tied securely to a mooring, and we have had a wonderful time. Pete’s pub is right on the beach. Pete is the son of Randolph Johnston, who settled here with his family in the 1950s and set up a foundry for bronze casting of his sculptures. The foundry and the art gallery border the beach, as do some lovely houses. Friday night is locals’ night at Pete’s Pub. We dinghied over and met some very friendly people, particularly David and Lenore, who invited us for drinks at their house the following day. Their house is most unusual, on many levels with views of the both the Atlantic and the bay. All the houses are powered by solar power and use rainwater cisterns. David and Lenore will be bringing their trawler, ‘Mr. G’, up to Kingston this summer to join a group from the Cruising Club of America. They expect to leave it in Canada for the winter and we were able to give them some useful tips. That evening Bill and I joined Les and Kathy for a Valentine’s dinner overlooking the beach at Pete’s.
Since then we’ve been hiking, fishing and generally enjoying everything this lovely out-of-the-way spot has to offer. Everyone we’ve met here, whether a local or a cruiser, has been extremely friendly and helpful. As an example of this, we awoke early on the morning after our Valentine’s night out at the pub to find our dinghy half-deflated and upside-down in the water, with the motor submerged! The gremlins, in the form of one of us dislodging an air-valve as we left the dinghy in the dark, had been at work again. Bill worked on the engine that morning, and was given so much advice by the neighbourhood that by the afternoon it was running fine once more. We hope it will last out the rest of our trip! Last night we were invited for a drinks party on a nearby catamaran owned by Andy and Alice who’ve been visitors here for eight years. Later that evening David and Lenore came aboard ‘Southern Vectis’ and we chatted more about their trip to Lake Ontario this summer. A cold front came through last night with heavy winds gusting to 30 knots and we were happy to be securely tied to a mooring and not anchored. Today we plan to travel 20 miles north to Marsh Harbour once more, to provision the boat, get an internet connection and buy some top-up cards for our Bahamian pay-as-you-go cell phone. We must wait until about 1 p.m. for the tide to be right for the channel. We’ll go over to Hope Town later in the week, after our stay in Marsh Harbour.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hanging out in Hatchet's Bay
Monday 9 February
We are still firmly tied to the dock at Hatchet Bay, and have now become part of the scenery! Bob & Carole on ‘Sea Change’ left to move south last Thursday. They had a deadline to be in Staniel Cay in the Exumas for visits by family and friends. We decided that we’d like to linger a little, and as the weather with its incessant cold fronts seemed set in (now we know why a lot of people we met in Florida do not stir in this direction until April!) it seemed like a good idea to stay tucked into ‘The Safest Harbour in the Bahamas’- particularly as it’s free! Locals and boaters are very friendly; the Water’s Edge Internet Café is the local meeting place and pub; there are a lot of beach hikes and beach combing expeditions; Carl & Evi on ‘Three Belles’, the black schooner moored in the bay, have joined us in some adventures such as the fish fry (snapper with heads attached and staring eyes) at the new restaurant and gift shop owned and run by a graduate of Dalhousie University, N.S., and ‘Double D’s’ 39th ++ birthday pool party at the lovely Rainbow Inn just down the road. ‘Double D’ is the owner of the Internet Café. Her name is Debbie, but she gets her nickname for another reason!!
What a party! The four of us got a lift there in the back of a pick-up truck. The mix of guests was interesting – from 8 year old guitar playing little boys, to flautists, to every sort of music maker taking part in a fantastic jam session which culminated in the arrival of Lennie Kravitz, great blues and rap singer, who is a local and is producing his latest album on a beach around here. We left as the full moon came up, as we had to hitch-hike the 5 miles or so back to the dock. We gave Carl & Evi a ten minute start, and then followed them up to the road. We got a lift in no time! You may be wondering why a couple of conservative grandparents would be hitching on deserted country roads in a strange land – well, everyone does it here. It is common practice if you want to get from one place to another. DON’T try it at home though! Today we rented a car to visit some of the other little villages and lovely beaches. We had lunch at a nice little restaurant in Governor’s Harbour, ‘The Buccaneer’ – about 25 miles south of here. We have decided that we won’t sail further south this year but will leave our exploration of the Exumas to a future year and different time of the year. We’ll be heading back to Spanish Wells, and then across the 50 mile stretch of Atlantic called the ‘New Providence Channel’ to the delights of the Abacos Islands later this week when the wind and seas calm down, and start blowing from the south.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Holed up in Hatchet Bay
We are sitting out a cold front here in Hatchet Bay, “Home of the Country’s Safest Harbour”, on the west coast of Eleuthera. We spent five days at Spanish Wells waiting for the last cold front to move through on Friday, so when a short weather window opened up on Sunday we took advantage of it to move further south. You may wonder how we get weather forecasts while afloat. Well, it’s not that easy, but a weather picture of the next few days or so can usually be cobbled together through a variety of sources, depending where in the Bahamas you are. The most popular method for boaters in the Bahamas, and those making passage throughout the rest of the Caribbean area and the Gulf of Mexico, is to tune in to Chris Parker’s broadcasts on the Single Sideband Radio (SSB) if you have one. We do, and we listen to him give a general synopsis of the weather patterns at 6:30 each morning, followed by a question and answer period for specific boats who have paid for this personalized service. (Carole and Bob have signed up to get e-mail forecasts, and can also phone Chris.) Unfortunately our SSB reception can be very poor to non-existent at times. Weather forecasts for the Abacos can be heard on the Marsh Harbour ‘Cruisers Net’ which broadcasts on channel 68 at 8:15 a.m. There are also various forecasts to be found on the internet, provided you can find an internet connection. (We have been using out enhanced wi-fi antenna, and usually we’ve been lucky to find signals so far. but our luck may run out when we get to the small islands of the Exumas.) In addition to all of the above, you’ll usually get the drift of what meteorological delights await you by just chatting with other boaters……and so many of them are Canadians who are, of course, very much attuned to weather!
Our trip from Spanish Wells to Hatchet Bay was not without excitement as we had to pass through the ominous sounding ‘Current Cut’, pick the right time of the tide and, once through, turn sharply to starboard (right) thus neatly avoiding the craggy rocks to the right and sand bar on our left. Sea Change paved the way, and we followed along in their wake! So far so good. However, now we were head-on into the 20 to 28 knot winds and 6-8 foot swells for the 18 miles or so to Hatchet Bay. We made it only to be confronted by an almost invisible and unbelievably narrow entrance between limestone cliffs which would lead us into Eleuthera’s safest harbour! Well……we made it, but as the mooring buoys were all taken, and the holding for anchoring was not too secure, we were advised by a neighbouring boat to tie up at the old town dock. So here we are, tied up against the crumbling concrete wall of what was once, before hurricane Andrew’s 200 mph winds, a thriving marina*. We can walk into the little town of ‘Alice’ – not at all like it’s Australian equivalent. Yesterday we spent some time at the Internet Cafe, and later had lunch sitting outside admiring the turquoise seas and clear blue skies.Today, if the stormy winds and rain drift off into the Atlantic, we hope to do the same. Later we may all take a taxi into Governor’s Harbour, about 15 miles south, for dinner. We are not sure when we’ll be able to squeeze between the rocky sentinels and navigate the dizzying swells at the harbour mouth to carry on with our passage south to Powell Point, the jumping off spot for the Exuma chain of islands. We’ll be in touch!
P.S.* A footnote on hurricane Andrew. Hatchet Bay, with its reputation as Eleuthera’s safest harbour, was packed with boats when the hurricane hit head-on. Many of the wrecks are still to be seen around the harbour’s edge and further afield! We should not complain about a mere 40 knot blow-out!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Landfall in Spanish Wells
We left Marsh Harbour early on a calm, sunny Sunday morning (25 January). We waved farewell to those revellers from the previous night's party who had ventured above decks. It was hard to leave such a peaceful and secure anchorage! Anyway, we were on our way for the first leg of a voyage which would take us over 50 miles of Atlantic waters to Eleuthera. Our jumping-off spot for this trip was an anchorage on the lee side of Lygard Cay. From here we would join the Atlantic waters through the 'Little Harbour Cut'. We left 'Hope Town' to port, and promised ourselves a long stay in this charming town on our way back. The winds built from the north-east during our run down the side of Great Abaco Island. That night the strong wind and crashing waves pounding against the nearby barrier islands, not to mention the thought of the impending ocean voyage, made for a less than peaceful night. At 6:45 a.m. we weighed anchor and 'Southern Vectis' and 'Sea Change' headed for the rolling waves curling through the 'cut'. By 7:30 a.m. we were through and set sail in a fresh 15 knot breeze and 3 - 5 foot rollers. We expected to average 6 knots and arrive at our anchorage at Royal Island in around eight hours - leaving plenty of daylight to get us safely through the channel between the Egg Islands. All went according to plan, except that the winds built to 23 knots, and the waves to 6 to 8 feet at times. We had to fight with the wheel to keep our course, but, on the other hand, we flew across the water at 8 knots at times, and reached our destination earlier than expected. It was not a sheltered anchorage, and we needed a good night's sleep to rest our aching arms...but we were not to get one. The winds continued to howl in this 'sheltered' anchorage, and we dragged anchor once again! Luckily we didn't notice until it was almost light! A joint decision to take a break from passage-making for a few days saw us motoring the few miles to the Yacht Haven Marina at Spanish Wells. We have been here ever since. The island is named for the fresh water found here by the Spanish. Many of today's inhabitants are descended from Loyalists who fled the American revolution, or the Eleuthera Adventurers, English Puritans who arrived in 1648. The majority of the inhabitants are white skinned and speak with an interesting patois. The island, the centre of the lobster fishing trade in the Bahamas, appears a very industrious island. The houses are brightly painted, but generally not in a 'tourish brochure' fashion. The gardens are neat and well kept. The population is less than 400. Yesterday we took the fast ferry to 'Harbour Island' - a well-known and beautiful barrier island to the east of Eleuthera. The half-hour ferry trip took us over the shallows and coral of an extremely dangerous route known as the 'Devil's Backbone'. Sailors who brave this passage and survive take one of the pilots on board - either 'Ole Pot', or 'A1'. Harbour Island has a beautiful pink sand beach, quaint houses, shady lanes and some lovely hotels and restaurants. Our favourite beachfront hotel was the 'Coral Sands', and our lovely lunch time restaurant was the Aqua Wine Bar overlooking the Harbour Island Marina. While we have been here we've sorted out a problem with our roller-furling mainsail (thanks, Bob), and developed a leak in our water tank.....still to be solved. It seems there is always something to sort out.....that's the boating life for you. There's a storm due tonight, but we hope to set off further south towards the Exumas tomorrow if things settle down.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Marsh Harbour
We left Green Turtle at grey dawn on Friday to 'shoot the Whale' - the narrow channel out into the Atlantic that deeper draft boats must take to avoid shoals. We knew we had probably chosen the right day when we looked ahead and behind us and saw a small flotilla of boats also heading in the same direction! Well, the Whale was a breeze. As we approached the channel we were met by rolling waves of only about three feet, even though, at each side of the channel, the spray from towering breakers crashing against the rocks was spectacular. Our route then took us back into the shelter of the sea of Abaco through Loggerhead Channel and past Baker's Bay on Great Guana Cay. This was once a stopping point for cruise ships, but was discontinued due to the unreliability of getting the cruise ships in there on schedule in the heavy seas. We waved goodbye to 'Somewhere in Time' as they made their way into Orchid Bay Marina on Great Guana. They will stay there for a few days and partake of the renowned Sunday 'Pig Roast' at 'Nippers Bar' on the hill overlooking the Atlantic. We sailed on into Marsh Harbour along with 'Sea Change' and dropped anchor by midday. Marsh Harbour is the main town of the Abacos Islands, with a small commercial port. It is also a good provisioning port for cruising boats. The town has nothing of the quaintness of New Plymouth on Green Turtle, or Hope Town just a few miles south. However, it does have a good grocery store and a few liquor stores. We stocked up on essentials like Coconut and Mango Rum - at $12.95 a litre how could we not! We also met Jane and Lawrence on 'Esprit', and were invited for drinks on their boat. As we approached 'Esprit' by dinghy we could see three or four other dinghies already tied to the stern. It turned out to be quite a party! After a glass or three provided by our generous host and hostess we all dinghied off to the 'Jib Room' at the Marsh Harbour Marina for dinner. It was a good evening! Now it's 7:30 a.m. and I am rushing to get this written before we set off for Little Harbour which will be our jumping off point for a 50 mile Atlantic trip across to the island of Eleuthera. We hope to do that tomorrow (Monday 26 Jan) if the weather is good.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Waiting for 'The Whale'.
We left Manjack Cay last Sunday (18th Jan) to travel the few miles to neighbouring Green Turtle Cay. The weather forecast was not good - two 'cold fronts' were heading our way with gale force south-westerly winds and we wanted for find a 'hurricane hole' before the gales found us. It turned out well. We entered the anchorage and marina area of White Sound at high tide to allow for the depth of the entrance channel, and tied up at the Bluff House Marina. There are two marinas, some mooring buoys and plenty of anchorage space here. We chose Bluff House over Green Turtle Marina because we had heard that they were offering a special deal - to 'eat your dockage fee' at the marina's bar and restaurant! Over the past four days we have certainly done so! Despite the mixed and very cool weather - daytime highs yesterday of only 62F - we have had a good time here. We caught the ferry into the charming little town of New Plymouth. Neville Chamberlain grew up there. He was British Prime Minister at the start of WW2, and has gone down in history for his misguided statement, "Peace in our time", after meeting with Hitler in 1938. We all wondered how on earth he had made it from these small beginnings to such lofty heights of fame...or infamy. On Tuesday 20 January we watched the inauguration of President Obama from the Jolly Roger bar. We had a drink or three to his health and success. Such a difficult job at a difficult time. Since then we have been for walks, and got together with Sea Change and Somewhere in Time's crews at the Green Turtle Club's bar. Tomorrow we hope to set off through 'the Whale' for a short trip out into the Atlantic and then back into the Sea of Abaco en route for Marsh Harbour. Fingers crossed we'll make it past the ragged rocks and through the raging surf!!!! More anon...we hope!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Moving on from West End
We spent four very restful days at the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Yacht Harbour. After our Gulf Stream crossing we thought we had deserved it! Memorable moments included Bob and Carole's champagne and caviar 'reception' on the beach, a bicycle ride to the settlement of West End, and a bus trip to Port Lucaya, the shopping area adjacent to Freeport, on the west coast of Grand Bahama Island. Looking to the right as we drove along the road into Freeport we were amazed to see huge cruise ships towering above the sparse trees and sandy scrub which bordered the road. Our bus driver, Carmen, explained that these ships were in dry docks in Freeport for repairs and updates. Freeport used to be a busy tourist centre, with a bustling 'International Market Place' and a thriving casino and hotel complex. This changed with the last major hurricane, 'Wilma'. Damage from this vicious windstorm is still very evident. Now Port Lucaya has been developed into a shopping and restaurant area, and a marina. Judging from the bus loads of visitors pouring into the area, it is a focus for cruise ship passengers. We bought some trinkets, and had a delicious shrimp lunch. On the way back, Carmen took us to a large and well-stocked grocery store. It was interesting to compare some of the prices. A large block of cheddar cheese, for example was very much cheaper than in Canada.
Maybe it was a result of martinis served at Southern Vectis' martini party on Wednesday afternoon, but later that night, rather on the spur of the moment, but also keeping in mind the deteriorating weather forecasts of cold fronts and fiercesome winds to come, we decided it was now or never to start heading south towards the warmer and calmer climes of the Exuma Islands. So, having scrambled to put in our navigational waypoints early the next day, 'Sea Change', 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Southern Vectis' set out. The first leg of our trip was travelled very tentativly through the narrow and shallow 'Indian Rock Channel', just off West End. After safely passing this initial test we headed north-east for about 45 nautical miles to our overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay. We set off at around 8:30 a.m. and arrived around 5 p.m. The days are short at the moment - the sun rises at about 7:05 a.m. and sets around 5:45 p.m. All boaters try to be at their overnight anchorages before dark as the Bahama Islands rarely offer the luxury of a buoyed channel. The wind had increased during the day and those with sails managed some good sailing. The anchorage was a crescent of water surrounded by the 'arms' of an uninhabited low-lying cay (pronounced 'key'). Two other boats shared this very welcome shelter with us, and each had some useful advice to tell us over our VHF radios. The next morning we set off at 8 a.m. determined to make it as far east along the Little Bahama Bank as possible. The winds during the day reached 25 knots from the north east, and the seas were a little lumpy at times, but luckily we were sheltered from the full force of the Atlantic by the barrier islands. As evening drew closer we decided to call in to Manjack Cay, which had been recommended by one of our friendly neighbours last night. It was a long and tiring day, fighting the heavy winds to keep on course. Bill and I relaxed with a gin and tonic, and yesterdays' cooked pork tenderloin and salad. A good day, and it was good that it was now over and we had covered at least another 45 miles.....but our day wasn't over! At 9 p.m. our anchor alarm, which we had luckily remembered to set on the GPS, started buzzing urgently. We went on deck. It was very windy and we were swinging wildly......that must have been the problem....the wide arc of the swing. So we set the alarm for a wider angle and settled back with our books, feeling sleepy and relaxed. But our relaxation was short-lived. The anchor alarm just would NOT keep quiet. On deck once again, in the pitch black, we admitted to ourselves that we were dragging our anchor, particularly as we were now west, instead of east of 'Somewhere in Time', and moving closer to the side of the bay, which we could just make out as a darker mass. Well, to cut a long story short, Bill saved the day. Under his masterful guidance, we managed to pull up the anchor, move the boat, and put down not just one anchor this time, but two! My decision to stay on watch all night gave out at 10:30 p.m., but I woke early to hurry on the dawn. When the sky lightened over the east and I went on deck and saw we were still in the same place, I crept back to bed and slept until the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in the pan brought me back to consciousness. Today we have a 'lay day'. We have all dinghied to the cay and walked along a trail to the beautiful sweeping Atlantic beach. This evening Eileen and John from 'Somewhere in Time' have invited us for a pot luck dinner on board. This all means that we will be anchored here for another night! Keep your fingers crossed that this one will be less eventful than the last.
Maybe it was a result of martinis served at Southern Vectis' martini party on Wednesday afternoon, but later that night, rather on the spur of the moment, but also keeping in mind the deteriorating weather forecasts of cold fronts and fiercesome winds to come, we decided it was now or never to start heading south towards the warmer and calmer climes of the Exuma Islands. So, having scrambled to put in our navigational waypoints early the next day, 'Sea Change', 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Southern Vectis' set out. The first leg of our trip was travelled very tentativly through the narrow and shallow 'Indian Rock Channel', just off West End. After safely passing this initial test we headed north-east for about 45 nautical miles to our overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay. We set off at around 8:30 a.m. and arrived around 5 p.m. The days are short at the moment - the sun rises at about 7:05 a.m. and sets around 5:45 p.m. All boaters try to be at their overnight anchorages before dark as the Bahama Islands rarely offer the luxury of a buoyed channel. The wind had increased during the day and those with sails managed some good sailing. The anchorage was a crescent of water surrounded by the 'arms' of an uninhabited low-lying cay (pronounced 'key'). Two other boats shared this very welcome shelter with us, and each had some useful advice to tell us over our VHF radios. The next morning we set off at 8 a.m. determined to make it as far east along the Little Bahama Bank as possible. The winds during the day reached 25 knots from the north east, and the seas were a little lumpy at times, but luckily we were sheltered from the full force of the Atlantic by the barrier islands. As evening drew closer we decided to call in to Manjack Cay, which had been recommended by one of our friendly neighbours last night. It was a long and tiring day, fighting the heavy winds to keep on course. Bill and I relaxed with a gin and tonic, and yesterdays' cooked pork tenderloin and salad. A good day, and it was good that it was now over and we had covered at least another 45 miles.....but our day wasn't over! At 9 p.m. our anchor alarm, which we had luckily remembered to set on the GPS, started buzzing urgently. We went on deck. It was very windy and we were swinging wildly......that must have been the problem....the wide arc of the swing. So we set the alarm for a wider angle and settled back with our books, feeling sleepy and relaxed. But our relaxation was short-lived. The anchor alarm just would NOT keep quiet. On deck once again, in the pitch black, we admitted to ourselves that we were dragging our anchor, particularly as we were now west, instead of east of 'Somewhere in Time', and moving closer to the side of the bay, which we could just make out as a darker mass. Well, to cut a long story short, Bill saved the day. Under his masterful guidance, we managed to pull up the anchor, move the boat, and put down not just one anchor this time, but two! My decision to stay on watch all night gave out at 10:30 p.m., but I woke early to hurry on the dawn. When the sky lightened over the east and I went on deck and saw we were still in the same place, I crept back to bed and slept until the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in the pan brought me back to consciousness. Today we have a 'lay day'. We have all dinghied to the cay and walked along a trail to the beautiful sweeping Atlantic beach. This evening Eileen and John from 'Somewhere in Time' have invited us for a pot luck dinner on board. This all means that we will be anchored here for another night! Keep your fingers crossed that this one will be less eventful than the last.
Monday, January 12, 2009
We've crossed over...greetings from Paradise!
It has taken us a day of hot sun, fine white sand beaches, and 'Bahama Mama' rum c0cktails to really relax enough to be able to tell the true tale of our crossing from Fort Lauderdale to the Old Bahama Bay Marina at the northern tip of Grand Bahama Island. The true tale........it was a piece of cake! Truly, the build up, and the midnight flit from U.S. waters.....which included some of us going aground briefly, but not permanently, while exiting our Lake Sylvia anchorage (not telling who!), and a bridgemaster who was asleep at his job of letting us out into Port Everglades Harbour....tested our mettle so much that nothing could phase us on the actual trip. And nothing did. We stuck together and in contact by VHF. John helped us avoid the cruise ships and tankers by using his latest navigational toy - an AIS (Automatic Identification System), which told him the name of the vessels and what speed they were making. It got a little cool, so we put on a sweater plus socks, then peeled them off when the sun rose. Some of us slept more than others (see attached photo), while the cruel seas of the Gulf Stream lapped gently against our hulls.
We spotted land about 8 miles out, and were tied up at our docks by about midday. John ('Somewhere in Time') had made the Marina bookings for us all, and was the first one to negotiate the almost invisible, rock strewn entrance to the harbour. We followed him like lambs once we saw that he had not come to grief! Thank you, John.
Last night we were asleep by 8 p.m., but woke up starving hungry and cooked bacon, eggs and....fried bread (again!) - a breakfast to fortify us for the tough day of swimming, reading and exploring ahead.
The Old Bahamas Bay Marina is a lovely resort. It has rented or owned condo cottages, and a lovely pool area, a beach, restaurants, and a marina. There is an immigration and customs office here, so when we arrived only one person was allowed to get off the boat (in theory) and trot round to fill out forms and pay the $300 fee. While we waited to see if we were allowed in (!), we flew a yellow 'quarantine' flag, which we exchanged for a Bahamas flag once formalities were completed.
The marina is quite empty, and there aren't many people around. We were all offered a special docking rate of $1 per foot per day if we stayed for four nights (otherwise $1.75 per foot per day.) This is an unheard of rate....so we will all stay for four nights, particularly as a strong winds are expected tomorrow with a 'cold' front for the next few days.
Must finish now as Carol and Bob are hosting a champagne and caviar party, and I have to get into my cocktail shorts and T-shirt. Talk soon. Bye.
We spotted land about 8 miles out, and were tied up at our docks by about midday. John ('Somewhere in Time') had made the Marina bookings for us all, and was the first one to negotiate the almost invisible, rock strewn entrance to the harbour. We followed him like lambs once we saw that he had not come to grief! Thank you, John.
Last night we were asleep by 8 p.m., but woke up starving hungry and cooked bacon, eggs and....fried bread (again!) - a breakfast to fortify us for the tough day of swimming, reading and exploring ahead.
The Old Bahamas Bay Marina is a lovely resort. It has rented or owned condo cottages, and a lovely pool area, a beach, restaurants, and a marina. There is an immigration and customs office here, so when we arrived only one person was allowed to get off the boat (in theory) and trot round to fill out forms and pay the $300 fee. While we waited to see if we were allowed in (!), we flew a yellow 'quarantine' flag, which we exchanged for a Bahamas flag once formalities were completed.
The marina is quite empty, and there aren't many people around. We were all offered a special docking rate of $1 per foot per day if we stayed for four nights (otherwise $1.75 per foot per day.) This is an unheard of rate....so we will all stay for four nights, particularly as a strong winds are expected tomorrow with a 'cold' front for the next few days.
Must finish now as Carol and Bob are hosting a champagne and caviar party, and I have to get into my cocktail shorts and T-shirt. Talk soon. Bye.
Friday, January 9, 2009
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