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!)
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