Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Going home!
May and November are the best times of the year to sail in Florida and the Bahamas, or so we have been told. The cold fronts have melted away, the winds have swung around to the south, and the locals are preparing to set sail into the waveless, windless, clear and untroubled blue yonder! While we.....we have said our farewells to our lovely 'Southern Vectis', and tomorrow (May 6) will fly home to Toronto.
Today the temperature has been over 90F - the hottest day yet.
But Toronto temperatures are not far behind we are told - in the respectable mid-70s! Shall we travel back in shorts and flip flops, or our heavy jeans and sweat shirts? We'll make the decision once we get our 5:15 a.m. wake up call!
The past week has been idyllic. We met up with some great people during our time on a mooring at 'Sunset Bay' in Stuart: Valerie and Ross from Toronto, who also, like us, keep two boats - one at the Toronto Island Marina and one down south. We also met Roma and Martin from.........the Isle of Wight... on their boat 'Apple'. They have sailed across the Atlantic and around the Caribbean, and are preparing for the trip home via the Azores. We hope to see them when we go the Isle of Wight this summer.
So that's it from the sunny south. We've had a wonderful time seeing new places and meeting new faces.... but it will be good to be home once again with all the dear familiar faces.
Watch this space though..............same time next year!
Today the temperature has been over 90F - the hottest day yet.
But Toronto temperatures are not far behind we are told - in the respectable mid-70s! Shall we travel back in shorts and flip flops, or our heavy jeans and sweat shirts? We'll make the decision once we get our 5:15 a.m. wake up call!
The past week has been idyllic. We met up with some great people during our time on a mooring at 'Sunset Bay' in Stuart: Valerie and Ross from Toronto, who also, like us, keep two boats - one at the Toronto Island Marina and one down south. We also met Roma and Martin from.........the Isle of Wight... on their boat 'Apple'. They have sailed across the Atlantic and around the Caribbean, and are preparing for the trip home via the Azores. We hope to see them when we go the Isle of Wight this summer.
So that's it from the sunny south. We've had a wonderful time seeing new places and meeting new faces.... but it will be good to be home once again with all the dear familiar faces.
Watch this space though..............same time next year!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
We spent eight days at Dinner Key in Coconut Grove, Miami - four days on a mooring off Dinner Key and four days at a dock at the marina. We explored the area on foot and by bus and train. We wandered in Barnacle Park, the former home of boat designer Ralph Munroe in the 1880s, when this area was an exotic jungle of lush tropical vegetation only accessible by boat. Remnants of the once vast "Miami Hammock" still survive in this park, brave holdouts against the concrete and glass towers that, in just over a century, have taken over from the stately tropical hardwoods.
We had an enjoyable dinner aboard with Sue, my Isle of Wight school friend from Sandown Grammar School days. It's always fun to talk about 'old days and old friends'! It's hard to break with those strong emotional ties to 'The Island' - not that we would want to!
The weather which, for the first week of out return to Florida, had been perfect, had deteriorated dramatically and we knew that, if we were to make it up the coast to Fort Lauderdale any time in the next week, we had a 'weather window' of one day! The wind had been blowing 20 - 25 knots from the east for a few days and the waves in the Atlantic had built to 10 - 12 feet during the week, but there was to be a small lull of two days. We allowed one day for the waves to go down, and set off on Saturday 17 April. (The reason for choosing the open Atlantic waters over protected Intra-Coastal Waterway is the 'Julia Tuttle' bridge just north of Miami, which is only 55 feet high. Our mast measures 59 feet!) So, after a fast but bumpy sail of 6 hours, we pulled into Fort Lauderdale harbour, relieved that the six cruise ships, including the vast 'Oasis of the Seas', were not yet on the move! We made our way around to Lake Sylvia, a small 'oasis' of a lake in the midst of beautiful homes, dropped anchor beside a mock Italian palazzo, and enjoyed a splendid sunset, a breathtaking view of the departing cruise liners, and a peaceful night.
We knew that the weather was about to deteriorate rapidly the next day, but we wanted to see Fraser and Edi, our Canadian friends from Lighthouse Point, before we disappeared north. So we arranged to meet them for lunch at the 'Southport Raw Bar' - a favourite restaurant on the water, which involves a dinghy ride under a VERY low road bridge (as in flattening yourself on the dinghy's floor, and keeping your fingers crossed that you still have a head on your shoulders at the other side!). We had a lovely lunch despite the rain which had now started bucketing down, and we made it back to the boat, wet but in good spirits. That night our little 'sheltered' lake became a wild and wave-swept pool! Not too much sleep for me, but luckily our anchor, and everyone else's, held. By the next morning everything had calmed down and just about dried out, including us, and we relaxed and enjoyed our lovely 'oasis' for one more day.
On Tuesday 20 April, a red-letter day for us as it is our daughter, Charlotte's, birthday, we set off for Lake Worth - Palm Beach. There are 18 lift-bridges to negotiate on this fifty mile stretch of the ICW, and each bridge has set openings or is 'on demand'. Either way, there is a protocol for getting through them: Each boat calls on VHF channel 09 to the bridgekeeper and requests an opening. Once passed through the bridge each boat then thanks the bridgekeeper, and wishes him or her a 'nice day'! If there is an errant boat that joins a line of boats, but hasn't bothered to call, then that boat gets its knuckles rapped! Sometimes, because of the set bridge opening times, it's a race to get to the next one. Missing a bridge opening can mean an extra half hour spent hanging around in the narrow channel contending with strong currents, fluky winds and other boats! Ten and a half hours later we made it to our anchorage at the north end of Lake Worth, where we spent two relaxing nights.
Thursday was such a perfect day that, instead of travelling straight to our planned destination of Stuart, we decided to anchor in a small inlet off the ICW known as 'Peck Lake'. We had been here before and enjoyed the lovely Atlantic beach which is a short dinghy ride and walk across the barrier island.
But Peck Lake is shallow and this is where, for the first time in the whole trip, we went aground! A large trawler was anchored in the narrow channel, but we thought we could get around it and still stay afloat! Not so! Bill jumped in the dinghy and took the anchor to kedge us off, but luckily this wasn't needed, as just as that moment a large power boat roared up the nearby ICW channel and rocked us free! It was interesting to see the difference just a few feet made - from a depth of 3 feet we were now in 14 feet! So, we tentatively carried on into the anchorage, this time edging very close to the errant trawler. A peaceful night was had by all!
Now we are almost back to the beginning of our tale. We are in Stuart, just three hours by boat south of our final destination of Fort Pierce.The sun is shining and the temperature is 85F, and we are bobbing around on a mooring at the lovely Sunset Bay Marina about six miles west off the Intra-coastal waterway (ICW), up the St. Lucie River.
The Marina at Sunset Bay hasn't been open for a year yet but it's already full, with a 90 boat waiting list. The moorings are mostly full too, and it's easy to see why. This marina has everything a sailor could want - great facilities, friendly staff, a wonderful west facing location, a boardwalk around the bay, and a five minute walk to a quaint little town full of shops to potter in, and restaurants of all kinds to enjoy. But the best thing of all at the marina is the 'Sailors' Return' - a restaurant on the water that, on Friday and Saturday evening, was packed with anybody who could afford the price of a martini (very reasonable)! The mix of young and old, city slicker and crusty sailor, makes for wonderful people watching. We spent a lovely evening here on Friday with Fruji and John Bull, joint grandparents with 'our boys' in Toronto. Fruji and John have a winter home nearby, and we have been invited there for dinner on Sunday evening.
Life is good here...so we have decided not to rush up to Fort Pierce after all! We'll give ourselves a few more days before we begin moving north again, and preparing for the serious business of 'returning to base' in Ontario.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Exploring Miami
We had anchored off Key Biscayne Yacht Club upon our arrival from Bimini. It was Easter weekend, the sun was hot, and everyone who owned a boat was using it. We swam and generally enjoyed the spectator sport of watching boats of all shapes and sizes cruise by, or stop for a short while to test the warm waters of the bay. But, after a glorious sunset had turned the bay waters crimson, most of the boats sped away back to their marinas, and we were left with just a few quiet sailboats for company. It was a perfect way to get acclimatized, once again, to the delights of southern Florida.
The next day we pulled up our anchor and made our way to check in at Customs and Immigration at the Cruise Ship docking area. We had decided to spend a night at MIA Marina, in the heart of downtown, so that we could avoid a long taxi ride, and also so that we could have a chance to explore a part of the city we had never visited before.
Immigration procedures at the Homelands Security Office in the docks went smoothly – we’d called the previous day and been given a number. Our taxi ride there was the first of many in which we, complete strangers in Miami and armed only with a tourist book, had to give directions to the Haitian driver who could hardly speak English! We carried a map with us ever after!
Now we were free to enjoy and explore the delights of the Bayside area, and also further afield. MIAMarina is part of the ‘Bayside Marketplace’. It’s an area of shops, restaurants of every nationality, and music. Each evening at 7 p.m. there was a different concert at the waterfront – our favourite performer was David Fernando with his Latin jazz group. Each day we would take our computer to Mambo’s Cuban coffee house to drink coffee and check e-mails.
We badly needed food on board, and were directed to take the free overhead ‘Metromover’ train to 10th Street where we would find a brand new Publix supermarket at the Mary Brickell Centre. We were so pleased to discover this lovely area – rather like Yorkville in Toronto – particularly as we happened upon a restaurant called ‘Balan’ at Happy Hour. We visited this twice to enjoy Happy Hour champagne and delicious dips and pita bread.
After four days of ‘extreme civilization’, and having managed to have a few electrical and other problems fixed on the boat, we headed out and back south to Coconut Grove. The wind in Biscayne Bay was brisk and we had a few hours of great sailing, only being passed by a sleek catamaran!
This time we decided to take a mooring ball in the brand new mooring field and not go into the Dinner Key Marina. So far it has worked out really well. When it is too rough to take the dinghy in without getting wet, we just call the shuttle to pick us up. We have planned a few areas we would like to explore on foot, or by public transit, and, as the weather is supposed to be rather stormy for most of this coming week, we’ll enjoy all that Coconut Grove has to offer.
Our next stop before sailing north to Fort Lauderdale will be the South Beach area of Miami – famed for its Art Deco revival architecture, white sand beaches and large gay population! Lots to look forward too!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Back in the U.S.of A....we've come a long way!
It's Easter Sunday - April 4 - and we've made it safely back over the Gulf Stream from Bimini to Biscayne Bay, Miami. A 9 1/2 hour trip with a few large rolling waves, but nothing to worry about. We seem to have travelled a long way in the last week since I last wrote.
Just over a week ago (Saturday 27 March) we set off from Highborne Key, Exuma Islands, headed for Nassau. We made it safely past the notorious 'Yellow Banks' - areas of coral which can only be spotted on clear sunny days, and can snare unwary boats. In fact, as we did on the way south, we cheated a little on this part of the trip, and sail a little further south around the White Banks and missed the hungry coral heads by a mile or two!
We had a wonderful welcome in Nassau from Marianne & Paul, who had managed to persuade Peter, the dockmaster at the Nassau Harbour Club, to give us a dock next to them. (There are lots of tales about 'Peter the Greek'...but that's for another time!) We celebrated a lovely sunset in the usual way - gin & tonics followed by a glass or two of wine - and caught up with all their news. The leak in their boat had been fixed, and now they were awaiting the arrival of their daughter and her husband before setting off for the Abaco Islands.
We appreciated Nassau much more this time around.Its' chaotic traffic, thronging crowds and general air of gentle decline were an interesting and not unwelcome contrast to the pristine and quiet anchorages of the Exuma Islands. We visited the Straw Market, took a look at Government House, once the home of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, and then discovered a little hotel, The Towne Hotel, just off the beaten tourist track and on the road below Government House. We were admiring the hotel, when the proprietor invited us in to see his parrot, Max!! So off we went and ended up having a delicious, peaceful and extremely reasonably priced (for Nassau) lunch.
Our last evening was spent on 'Knot-A-Gain' with a pot luck supper of fresh lobster, steak and all the trimmings.
At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the last day of March, we waved a fond farewell to Marianne & Paul, and set off for our 115 mile trip over the sometimes tricky Northwest Providence Channel and the Great Bahama Banks, to Bimini. We planned to get as far as 'Mackie Shoal' (79 miles) and anchor for the night. All went well - the seas of the Northwest Channel were almost flat, as were the conditions on 'the Banks'. Although we had set off alone, we soon made contact with other boats en route via our VHF radio, and arranged to anchor together. It was comforting to think that other boats were around in all that wide open water, and waiting for our arrival. We were the last to get to our 'spot' and were welcomed with a VHF message from 'Southern Dreams': "Welcome to the marina...hope you sleep well!"
It was already dark when we dropped anchor at 9:15 p.m. Just a few minutes later we looked to the east to see a spectacularly huge and full, orange moon rise majestically out of the sea! All the VHF radios 'oohed and aahed' at the sight!
The soft nudging of the waves on the hull lulled us to a sound sleep that night.
The next morning we set off early and made Bimini by 4 p.m. The entrance to Bimini Harbour is very tricky for a variety of reasons: Firstly the current in and out of the narrow entrance can be fearsome, secondly the entrance is narrow and bordered by jagged reefs and sandbars just waiting for a likely victim, thirdly, there are no navigational aids (channel marker buoys) to help you thread your way through all this! (This is typical of the whole of the Bahamas, where you are on your own when it comes to navigating the perilous reefs that surround the islands, and that have been the downfall of many vessels, large and small, for hundreds of years!)
Despite all of the above, we liked Bimini from the first moment we saw it. Alice Town, the main town on North Bimini, consists of just a small strip of shops and bars, but the town is full of life, colour....and music! As it was Easter weekend there was what sounded like a 'Battle of the Bands' going on! Bahamians like their music loud, with lots of base! We stayed at the Blue Water Marina, which is right in town, and right in the music zone! We thought we could stand it for a few days, and met some other boaters who also felt the same. We walked the island's two streets, and we admired its' lovely beaches, we watched the Easter Parade on Good Friday, and then, after a few nights of earsplitting music from 2p.m. until 4 a.m., a large group of boats, including 'Southern Vectis', slipped their lines at dawn and left the celebrations to continue without them!
Our crossing of the Gulf Stream was uneventful. The wind was from the east, and the waves of 3 to 5 feet, with the occasional 8 foot roller, were from the same direction. After 9 1/2 hours we arrived at our lovely anchorage just west of the island of Key Biscayne, Miami. We've anchored here before. It's just off the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and some lovely houses multi-million dollar homes. Richard Nixon used to have a home here, but it's been torn down now!
A couple of miles across the bay are the delights of Coconut Grove and the Dinner Key Marina. We'll probably move over to their new mooring field in a couple of days. Then we'll make our way slowly north. But there's no hurry! The sun is shining and the pelicans are diving for their lunch beside our boat...and it's time for our lunch too!
Just over a week ago (Saturday 27 March) we set off from Highborne Key, Exuma Islands, headed for Nassau. We made it safely past the notorious 'Yellow Banks' - areas of coral which can only be spotted on clear sunny days, and can snare unwary boats. In fact, as we did on the way south, we cheated a little on this part of the trip, and sail a little further south around the White Banks and missed the hungry coral heads by a mile or two!
We had a wonderful welcome in Nassau from Marianne & Paul, who had managed to persuade Peter, the dockmaster at the Nassau Harbour Club, to give us a dock next to them. (There are lots of tales about 'Peter the Greek'...but that's for another time!) We celebrated a lovely sunset in the usual way - gin & tonics followed by a glass or two of wine - and caught up with all their news. The leak in their boat had been fixed, and now they were awaiting the arrival of their daughter and her husband before setting off for the Abaco Islands.
We appreciated Nassau much more this time around.Its' chaotic traffic, thronging crowds and general air of gentle decline were an interesting and not unwelcome contrast to the pristine and quiet anchorages of the Exuma Islands. We visited the Straw Market, took a look at Government House, once the home of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, and then discovered a little hotel, The Towne Hotel, just off the beaten tourist track and on the road below Government House. We were admiring the hotel, when the proprietor invited us in to see his parrot, Max!! So off we went and ended up having a delicious, peaceful and extremely reasonably priced (for Nassau) lunch.
Our last evening was spent on 'Knot-A-Gain' with a pot luck supper of fresh lobster, steak and all the trimmings.
At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the last day of March, we waved a fond farewell to Marianne & Paul, and set off for our 115 mile trip over the sometimes tricky Northwest Providence Channel and the Great Bahama Banks, to Bimini. We planned to get as far as 'Mackie Shoal' (79 miles) and anchor for the night. All went well - the seas of the Northwest Channel were almost flat, as were the conditions on 'the Banks'. Although we had set off alone, we soon made contact with other boats en route via our VHF radio, and arranged to anchor together. It was comforting to think that other boats were around in all that wide open water, and waiting for our arrival. We were the last to get to our 'spot' and were welcomed with a VHF message from 'Southern Dreams': "Welcome to the marina...hope you sleep well!"
It was already dark when we dropped anchor at 9:15 p.m. Just a few minutes later we looked to the east to see a spectacularly huge and full, orange moon rise majestically out of the sea! All the VHF radios 'oohed and aahed' at the sight!
The soft nudging of the waves on the hull lulled us to a sound sleep that night.
The next morning we set off early and made Bimini by 4 p.m. The entrance to Bimini Harbour is very tricky for a variety of reasons: Firstly the current in and out of the narrow entrance can be fearsome, secondly the entrance is narrow and bordered by jagged reefs and sandbars just waiting for a likely victim, thirdly, there are no navigational aids (channel marker buoys) to help you thread your way through all this! (This is typical of the whole of the Bahamas, where you are on your own when it comes to navigating the perilous reefs that surround the islands, and that have been the downfall of many vessels, large and small, for hundreds of years!)
Despite all of the above, we liked Bimini from the first moment we saw it. Alice Town, the main town on North Bimini, consists of just a small strip of shops and bars, but the town is full of life, colour....and music! As it was Easter weekend there was what sounded like a 'Battle of the Bands' going on! Bahamians like their music loud, with lots of base! We stayed at the Blue Water Marina, which is right in town, and right in the music zone! We thought we could stand it for a few days, and met some other boaters who also felt the same. We walked the island's two streets, and we admired its' lovely beaches, we watched the Easter Parade on Good Friday, and then, after a few nights of earsplitting music from 2p.m. until 4 a.m., a large group of boats, including 'Southern Vectis', slipped their lines at dawn and left the celebrations to continue without them!
Our crossing of the Gulf Stream was uneventful. The wind was from the east, and the waves of 3 to 5 feet, with the occasional 8 foot roller, were from the same direction. After 9 1/2 hours we arrived at our lovely anchorage just west of the island of Key Biscayne, Miami. We've anchored here before. It's just off the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and some lovely houses multi-million dollar homes. Richard Nixon used to have a home here, but it's been torn down now!
A couple of miles across the bay are the delights of Coconut Grove and the Dinner Key Marina. We'll probably move over to their new mooring field in a couple of days. Then we'll make our way slowly north. But there's no hurry! The sun is shining and the pelicans are diving for their lunch beside our boat...and it's time for our lunch too!
Monday, March 29, 2010
The migration north begins!
At this time of year, towards the end of March, two definite patterns emerge as far as the sailing activity in this part of the world goes: boats gather in packs awaiting those elusive 'weather windows' and, when the weatherman blows the starter whistle, the boats are off and running either north back to the U.S. or, those who have bet on "better weather the later you leave it", migrate on the southbound route to George Town. We are with the northbound pack, and hoping to eventually make it back to Fort Lauderdale via Nassau, Chubb Cay and Bimini. It is all in the hands of the weather gods!
We stayed four nights in the pristine waters of Warderick Wells and had two very enjoyable evenings with Gail and Michael on 'Southern Spirit'.
Our next destination was Norman's Cay, a part of the world which became notorious during the 'drug wars' of the 70s and 80s. In 1979 Carlos Lehder, a shady character from Columbia, bought half of the 650 acre Norman's Cay. He bought the other home owners out, and threatened and intimidated those who wouldn't budge! He lengthened the island's airstrip, improved the dock, and proceeded to make this little corner of paradise the cornerstone of the Medellin Cartel's cocaine smuggling activities into the southern U.S. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) caught on to this pretty quickly, set up surveillance on the neighbouring islands, and carried out what was supposed to be a surprise raid, but to no avail. The raid failed and many allegations of bribery and corruption right up to the highest levels of the police and Bahamian government, surfaced. However, the DEA prevailed in the end, and Lehder, fed up with all this harassment, and indicted as a fugitive in the U.S., eventually moved back to Columbia. The story has a happy ending, but not for Carlos!
In 1987 he was captured, extradited to the U.S. and was sentenced to life without parole plus 135 years!!
This lurid history adds a certain 'edginess' to this lovely island, particularly as the remains of one of the drug runners' planes sits right in the middle of the main anchorage, and bullet holes still scar the once lovely holiday homes! We enjoyed rambling down the pot-holed highways and by-ways, but did not fancy being there after the sun set! There is one little restaurant on the west side of the island - 'Macduff's'. The signpost with directions from the anchorage is in the shape of a scotty dog, and warns sailors to watch out for planes landing and taking off on the airstrip. Bill insisted on walking along the runway to tempt the gods!
MacDuff's is a great and funky little watering hole, with a nice sit-up bar and hamburgers that cost $18! We had fun.
From Norman's we decided to treat ourselves to two nights at the lovely Highborne Cay Marina. We had called in there earlier in the trip, but this time the weather was much warmer and we could swim from the pretty beach.
At some point between Warderick Wells and Highborne we had found out what had happened to our friends, Marianne and Paul, on Knot-A-Gain. Their boat had sprung a leak in George Town, and they had made a horrendous, thirty hour, non-stop trip in heavy seas back to Nassau to get it fixed! So, after two days in Highborne we decided to move back to Nassau. We are now docked next to them at Nassau Harbour Club Marina and catching up with all their news during the many cocktail hours and 'sundowner' opportunities that seem to crop up around here!
The north-bound pack of boats here is eagerly awaiting promised 'weather windows' later this week (yes, more than just one day!) to head out and back to the U.S. Our plan is to move off on Wednesday, and get to Chubb Cay where we'll anchor for the night. We'll set off before dawn the next day to try to get to Bimini (About 80 miles from Chubb Cay) in daylight, and avoid what could be a rough night at anchor on the Bahama Banks. We may stay in Bimini for a while and await a good day to cross the Gulf Stream back to Fort Lauderdale. This plan is, of course, subject to change!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Heading north
Just because your own anchor is firmly buried in the sand, doesn’t mean that your neighbours’ anchors are situated likewise! We discovered this on the morning of the arrival of the next cold front in George Town. A boat which had come in to anchor fairly close beside us began rapidly edging closer to our starboard side in the blustery, 20 knot gusts. All the inhabitants of the boat must have been sleeping off the previous night’s Regatta Wrap-Up Party, as there was no sign of life on board. So, after much tugging, and straining of the windlass, Bill managed to pull our anchor up, and we left to go……where? That was the question.
Some boats had moved across the harbour to seek some sort of shelter from the strong north-westerly blow. There was no other shelter available, and the alternative was to re-anchor somewhere and ride out the storm. But then we had a bright idea! The much- lauded ‘Marina at Emerald Bay’ – a former ‘Four Seasons’ property – was only seven miles north, and many cruisers had praised the beautiful clubhouse and showers, free laundry and relatively cheap rates. We made an instant decision to head there ahead of the storm – particularly as weather guru, Chris Parker, had forecast that the front would not arrive fully until around 3 p.m.
Well, we made it, but only just! The front actually arrived at 11 a.m., and we managed to get ourselves tied up at Emerald Bay at 10:45 a.m. Phew! En route we were treated to a smorgasbord of VHF radio activity which told of 42 foot boats breaking their mooring lines and heading for the rocks, and boats rapidly sliding closer together in some of the already tightly packed anchorages. There was also an ominous weather warning telling of the ‘heaviest rainstorm in living memory’ that had just hit Staniel Cay to our north, and was rapidly bearing down on us!
Emerald Bay Marina has only just re-opened. ‘Four Seasons’ recently sold the marina and the nearby resort to ‘Sandals’. It was closed last winter, but re-opened in November 2009. A short walk from the marina is a lovely, crescent shaped beach where we swam each day before moving on to the pool bar at the ‘Grand Isle Resort’ nearby! It’s a great place for sailors to clean up (yes, literally) after the rigours of being at anchor!!
After a few days we had to drag ourselves away from all this comfort to head north to spend a night at anchor at Lee Stocking Island. This island is the home of the ‘Caribbean Marine Research Centre’. We were lucky enough to pick the day of the tour of the centre, so off we went with Sue and Bruce from Andiamo to learn about the research projects taking place there.
The next day we took advantage of the comparatively calm seas in the Exuma Sound to move north and re-visit ‘Little Farmers Cay’. It can be tricky entering or leaving the ‘cuts’ between the ‘Sound’ (Atlantic side) and the Banks (shallow waters which surround most of the Bahamian islands). However we managed to get through Little Farmers’ Cut at slack tide, and all went smoothly. As we came closer to our destination we could hear Ernestine from ‘Ocean Cabin’ advertising ‘Happy Hour’ with free conch fritters. Conch is a shellfish used in many Bahamian recipes. So, as soon as we had picked up our mooring ball, we dinghied over to join the throng of happy sailors, and say hello once again to Terry and Ernestine at Ocean Cabin. Terry had composed a song for a couple celebrating their anniversary and we serenaded them raucously!
The next morning we went to the ‘Yacht Club’ – which is not really a yacht club, but a restaurant and bar – and Roosevelt Nixon, the owner, cooked us a delicious breakfast. From here we braved the coral-strewn waters north of the Cay and moved further north to anchor at the settlement of Black Point. We had heard a lot about Black Point. This little town is particularly renowned for its laundry! Many sailors, whether north or southbound, are getting desperate at this point for some clean clothes. The laundry has its own dinghy dock and has ‘Lorraine’s Restaurant’ right next door. So the routine is to move from one to the other while the suds are doing their work. Luckily we didn’t need to use this service as we’d laundered everything in sight at Emerald Bay! That afternoon we tried to go ashore but had to give up as it was too rough to tie up the dinghy safely. By morning the seas had settled down and we toured the little town, bought some groceries at the small store, and some coconut bread at Lorraine’s.
By midday we had to up anchor and move on as we had booked a mooring at Exuma Land and Sea Park – Warderick Wells. We were anxious to get there as we were meeting up with Gail and Michael Dixon on their 42 foot Catalina, ‘Southern Spirit’. Gail and Michael are from Toronto and are RCYC members. We often meet up with them during our summer wanderings around Lake Ontario - we on ‘Vectis’, and they on ‘Winged Spirit’.
The prize moorings at Warderick Wells are in the north mooring field, but neither ‘Southern Spirit’ nor ‘Southern Vectis’ were lucky enough to be allotted one of these for our first night, and we were both in the Emerald Rock mooring area. However, when we arrived, we were welcomed by Gail and Michael and their friends, Suzy and Gary on ‘Happy Sails’, who actually dinghied out and handed us our mooring line!
The next morning we had to wait to hear if we would be given a north mooring. We were quite anxious as yet another cold front with strong north-westerlies is coming in on Monday, and the Emerald mooring field is very exposed! We were in luck, and so were Gail and Michael, but not so Gary and Suzy, who were given the south mooring area.
The wind and waves really got up that morning as we made our way to the north mooring area. We had almost made it when Michael called us on the VHF to say that someone (a Quebec boat) had just taken our mooring ball (#14). Luckily Darcy, the Park Ranger and organizer of the moorings, sorted this out – and a little later we were able to come in from circling in the raging 27 knot winds and tie up in paradise! (Thank you, Michael, Gail and Darcy!) We needed a strong rum and coke, and an ‘All Day Breakfast’ of bacon and eggs with all the trimmings, to recover from this!
It is truly beautiful here – the water is an amazing pale turquoise and totally clear. We will stay here through the next front and for a few days!
Some boats had moved across the harbour to seek some sort of shelter from the strong north-westerly blow. There was no other shelter available, and the alternative was to re-anchor somewhere and ride out the storm. But then we had a bright idea! The much- lauded ‘Marina at Emerald Bay’ – a former ‘Four Seasons’ property – was only seven miles north, and many cruisers had praised the beautiful clubhouse and showers, free laundry and relatively cheap rates. We made an instant decision to head there ahead of the storm – particularly as weather guru, Chris Parker, had forecast that the front would not arrive fully until around 3 p.m.
Well, we made it, but only just! The front actually arrived at 11 a.m., and we managed to get ourselves tied up at Emerald Bay at 10:45 a.m. Phew! En route we were treated to a smorgasbord of VHF radio activity which told of 42 foot boats breaking their mooring lines and heading for the rocks, and boats rapidly sliding closer together in some of the already tightly packed anchorages. There was also an ominous weather warning telling of the ‘heaviest rainstorm in living memory’ that had just hit Staniel Cay to our north, and was rapidly bearing down on us!
Emerald Bay Marina has only just re-opened. ‘Four Seasons’ recently sold the marina and the nearby resort to ‘Sandals’. It was closed last winter, but re-opened in November 2009. A short walk from the marina is a lovely, crescent shaped beach where we swam each day before moving on to the pool bar at the ‘Grand Isle Resort’ nearby! It’s a great place for sailors to clean up (yes, literally) after the rigours of being at anchor!!
After a few days we had to drag ourselves away from all this comfort to head north to spend a night at anchor at Lee Stocking Island. This island is the home of the ‘Caribbean Marine Research Centre’. We were lucky enough to pick the day of the tour of the centre, so off we went with Sue and Bruce from Andiamo to learn about the research projects taking place there.
The next day we took advantage of the comparatively calm seas in the Exuma Sound to move north and re-visit ‘Little Farmers Cay’. It can be tricky entering or leaving the ‘cuts’ between the ‘Sound’ (Atlantic side) and the Banks (shallow waters which surround most of the Bahamian islands). However we managed to get through Little Farmers’ Cut at slack tide, and all went smoothly. As we came closer to our destination we could hear Ernestine from ‘Ocean Cabin’ advertising ‘Happy Hour’ with free conch fritters. Conch is a shellfish used in many Bahamian recipes. So, as soon as we had picked up our mooring ball, we dinghied over to join the throng of happy sailors, and say hello once again to Terry and Ernestine at Ocean Cabin. Terry had composed a song for a couple celebrating their anniversary and we serenaded them raucously!
The next morning we went to the ‘Yacht Club’ – which is not really a yacht club, but a restaurant and bar – and Roosevelt Nixon, the owner, cooked us a delicious breakfast. From here we braved the coral-strewn waters north of the Cay and moved further north to anchor at the settlement of Black Point. We had heard a lot about Black Point. This little town is particularly renowned for its laundry! Many sailors, whether north or southbound, are getting desperate at this point for some clean clothes. The laundry has its own dinghy dock and has ‘Lorraine’s Restaurant’ right next door. So the routine is to move from one to the other while the suds are doing their work. Luckily we didn’t need to use this service as we’d laundered everything in sight at Emerald Bay! That afternoon we tried to go ashore but had to give up as it was too rough to tie up the dinghy safely. By morning the seas had settled down and we toured the little town, bought some groceries at the small store, and some coconut bread at Lorraine’s.
By midday we had to up anchor and move on as we had booked a mooring at Exuma Land and Sea Park – Warderick Wells. We were anxious to get there as we were meeting up with Gail and Michael Dixon on their 42 foot Catalina, ‘Southern Spirit’. Gail and Michael are from Toronto and are RCYC members. We often meet up with them during our summer wanderings around Lake Ontario - we on ‘Vectis’, and they on ‘Winged Spirit’.
The prize moorings at Warderick Wells are in the north mooring field, but neither ‘Southern Spirit’ nor ‘Southern Vectis’ were lucky enough to be allotted one of these for our first night, and we were both in the Emerald Rock mooring area. However, when we arrived, we were welcomed by Gail and Michael and their friends, Suzy and Gary on ‘Happy Sails’, who actually dinghied out and handed us our mooring line!
The next morning we had to wait to hear if we would be given a north mooring. We were quite anxious as yet another cold front with strong north-westerlies is coming in on Monday, and the Emerald mooring field is very exposed! We were in luck, and so were Gail and Michael, but not so Gary and Suzy, who were given the south mooring area.
The wind and waves really got up that morning as we made our way to the north mooring area. We had almost made it when Michael called us on the VHF to say that someone (a Quebec boat) had just taken our mooring ball (#14). Luckily Darcy, the Park Ranger and organizer of the moorings, sorted this out – and a little later we were able to come in from circling in the raging 27 knot winds and tie up in paradise! (Thank you, Michael, Gail and Darcy!) We needed a strong rum and coke, and an ‘All Day Breakfast’ of bacon and eggs with all the trimmings, to recover from this!
It is truly beautiful here – the water is an amazing pale turquoise and totally clear. We will stay here through the next front and for a few days!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
We made it to cruisers' paradise...George Town, Exuma
On Friday we finally tore ourselves away from lovely Sampson Cay Marina after nine days packed with three cold fronts and their accompanying ‘pre-frontal troughs’, ‘re-enforcing fronts’, and 30 knot winds with accompanying heavy seas. (Our ‘weather-speak’ is developing with each new front!) As usual, it was a busy day on the water as boats nosed tentatively out of their ‘sheltered’ anchorages and mooring areas, and the lucky marina dwellers cast off their lines.
We headed south for about 18 miles, along with Sue and Bruce on Andiamo, towards ‘Little Farmer’s Cay’. This would be our jumping-off point for our final southward leg to George Town. ‘Little Farmer’s’ is only ¾ mile long and has a population of 55 people who are mostly related! We decided to take a mooring ball for just one night as the weather was supposed to settle down to allow for a smooth passage down the east side of the Exuma chain in Exuma Sound – the exposed Atlantic side. This was ‘subject to change’ as 25 knot north-westerlies built up overnight and forced us to put off our Atlantic leg until Monday.
We had reserved our mooring ball on the south-east side of the island with Terry Bain and his wife, Ernestine, of ‘Ocean Cabins’ – a restaurant, bar, book-swap and internet station at Little Harbour. Once ‘checked in’, we pre-ordered our Friday night lobster dinner for 6 p.m., and had a very entertaining evening with Sue and Bruce, and other boaters, crowned by Terry and Ernestine singing the lovely ‘Little Farmer’s Cay’ anthem!
On Saturday our ‘buddy boat’, Knot-A-Gain’, which had been weather-marooned in Warderick Wells for 11 days, arrived on the mooring ball next to us, and we explored the island and visited the other meeting area – the ‘Yacht Club’, run by Roosevelt Nixon (real name!). We also bought a delicious take-out dinner from “Brenda’s’ on the beach at Little Harbour and had a lovely ‘dinner party’ on Marianne & Paul’s boat.
We had planned to move south on Sunday through the ‘Little Farmer’s Cut’ into the Atlantic. The winds were still blowing about 20 –25 knots, but the real problem was the huge swell which we could see crashing against the rocks either side of the ‘cut’, and the towering ‘white horses’ further out. ‘Andiamo’ decided to make a break for it, but ended up going out one cut and in the next (Galliot Cut) as the huge seas would have made a really uncomfortable 7 hour ride to George Town!
At last, on Monday, the time was right for our last leg south - to ‘cruisers’ heaven’, George Town. We set off at 7:30 a.m. to get the slack tide at the ‘cut’ as the seas were still fairly high, and arrived at our anchorage spot under the Monument just off ‘Hamburger Beach, George Town at 3 p.m. This anchorage is one of the few marked as ‘good holding’ for anchors, and it has proved to be fine so far even though the winds have been blowing from the south east at a pretty consistent 20 plus knots since our arrival. We had expected to see a wall of boats with little space left for our anchor, but even though there must be about 300 boats here, there’s still plenty of space off the three main beaches – ‘Hamburger Beach’ (Monument), ‘Volleyball Beach’ (Graviata Bay), and ‘Sand Dollar Beach’.
As it’s regatta week there are a lot of activities going on – all of which are ‘advertised’ by volunteer cruisers on the 8 .a.m. morning ‘net’ (broadcast on VHF Channel 72). The net also gives a very good weather forecast which we have found to be more accurate than Chris Parker’s 6:30 a.m. morning forecasts on the single sideband radio (SSB). The ‘net’ is a wonderful way to find assistance or information as all cruisers are eager to share their expertise, equipment, and knowledge. Some of these cruising boats have been coming here for twenty or more years and really know the ropes! As usual there are a great many Canadian boats – two from Toronto right in front of us!
On Tuesday we dinghied in to George Town – about a mile across the bay on the shores of Victoria Harbour. You enter the town under a narrow, low bridge and are immediately faced with a long dock filled with dinghies. There are quite a few rules of etiquette which are daily drummed into the cruising community – the most important being to leave a long line tied to your dinghy so that it can be pushed out of the way to allow other dinghies to move up to the dock! We stocked up on groceries from ‘Exuma Markets’, an excellent store beside the dinghy dock, bought fresh coconut bread (delicious) from ‘Mom’s Bakery’ van, and found an internet café where we almost froze to death in the air-conditioning! We also filled up our water containers with ‘free’ water (it can cost 50 cents a gallon at some places) and got rid of our garbage. These are all activities which we don’t really have to think about back home, but if you want to eat, shower, or keep the boat smelling fresh in the islands they are top of the list when looking for a place to drop anchor!
Yesterday we spent the day at Volleyball Beach watching the volleyball finals and drinking a few beers from ‘Chat ‘n Chill’ Beach Bar. We also had a delicious lunch at ‘St. Francis Resort’, just two minutes away by dinghy. It was very rough on the water yesterday, and we decided not to risk getting soaked taking the dinghy ride into town. Today we’ll do it, as I need to get a haircut. We also need gasoline for the dinghy and to find a good internet signal so that I can post this blog and some photos. Tonight there is a party on Hamburger Beach – right beside us, and tomorrow there will be the closing party for the regatta on the beach at ‘Chat ‘n Chill’. A small (we hope) cold front is coming in on Saturday, but after that we may have a few settled days. We may move back north with Marianne & Paul from ‘Knot-A- Gain’ on Monday. As usual, all our plans are subject to change…and weather!
We headed south for about 18 miles, along with Sue and Bruce on Andiamo, towards ‘Little Farmer’s Cay’. This would be our jumping-off point for our final southward leg to George Town. ‘Little Farmer’s’ is only ¾ mile long and has a population of 55 people who are mostly related! We decided to take a mooring ball for just one night as the weather was supposed to settle down to allow for a smooth passage down the east side of the Exuma chain in Exuma Sound – the exposed Atlantic side. This was ‘subject to change’ as 25 knot north-westerlies built up overnight and forced us to put off our Atlantic leg until Monday.
We had reserved our mooring ball on the south-east side of the island with Terry Bain and his wife, Ernestine, of ‘Ocean Cabins’ – a restaurant, bar, book-swap and internet station at Little Harbour. Once ‘checked in’, we pre-ordered our Friday night lobster dinner for 6 p.m., and had a very entertaining evening with Sue and Bruce, and other boaters, crowned by Terry and Ernestine singing the lovely ‘Little Farmer’s Cay’ anthem!
On Saturday our ‘buddy boat’, Knot-A-Gain’, which had been weather-marooned in Warderick Wells for 11 days, arrived on the mooring ball next to us, and we explored the island and visited the other meeting area – the ‘Yacht Club’, run by Roosevelt Nixon (real name!). We also bought a delicious take-out dinner from “Brenda’s’ on the beach at Little Harbour and had a lovely ‘dinner party’ on Marianne & Paul’s boat.
We had planned to move south on Sunday through the ‘Little Farmer’s Cut’ into the Atlantic. The winds were still blowing about 20 –25 knots, but the real problem was the huge swell which we could see crashing against the rocks either side of the ‘cut’, and the towering ‘white horses’ further out. ‘Andiamo’ decided to make a break for it, but ended up going out one cut and in the next (Galliot Cut) as the huge seas would have made a really uncomfortable 7 hour ride to George Town!
At last, on Monday, the time was right for our last leg south - to ‘cruisers’ heaven’, George Town. We set off at 7:30 a.m. to get the slack tide at the ‘cut’ as the seas were still fairly high, and arrived at our anchorage spot under the Monument just off ‘Hamburger Beach, George Town at 3 p.m. This anchorage is one of the few marked as ‘good holding’ for anchors, and it has proved to be fine so far even though the winds have been blowing from the south east at a pretty consistent 20 plus knots since our arrival. We had expected to see a wall of boats with little space left for our anchor, but even though there must be about 300 boats here, there’s still plenty of space off the three main beaches – ‘Hamburger Beach’ (Monument), ‘Volleyball Beach’ (Graviata Bay), and ‘Sand Dollar Beach’.
As it’s regatta week there are a lot of activities going on – all of which are ‘advertised’ by volunteer cruisers on the 8 .a.m. morning ‘net’ (broadcast on VHF Channel 72). The net also gives a very good weather forecast which we have found to be more accurate than Chris Parker’s 6:30 a.m. morning forecasts on the single sideband radio (SSB). The ‘net’ is a wonderful way to find assistance or information as all cruisers are eager to share their expertise, equipment, and knowledge. Some of these cruising boats have been coming here for twenty or more years and really know the ropes! As usual there are a great many Canadian boats – two from Toronto right in front of us!
On Tuesday we dinghied in to George Town – about a mile across the bay on the shores of Victoria Harbour. You enter the town under a narrow, low bridge and are immediately faced with a long dock filled with dinghies. There are quite a few rules of etiquette which are daily drummed into the cruising community – the most important being to leave a long line tied to your dinghy so that it can be pushed out of the way to allow other dinghies to move up to the dock! We stocked up on groceries from ‘Exuma Markets’, an excellent store beside the dinghy dock, bought fresh coconut bread (delicious) from ‘Mom’s Bakery’ van, and found an internet café where we almost froze to death in the air-conditioning! We also filled up our water containers with ‘free’ water (it can cost 50 cents a gallon at some places) and got rid of our garbage. These are all activities which we don’t really have to think about back home, but if you want to eat, shower, or keep the boat smelling fresh in the islands they are top of the list when looking for a place to drop anchor!
Yesterday we spent the day at Volleyball Beach watching the volleyball finals and drinking a few beers from ‘Chat ‘n Chill’ Beach Bar. We also had a delicious lunch at ‘St. Francis Resort’, just two minutes away by dinghy. It was very rough on the water yesterday, and we decided not to risk getting soaked taking the dinghy ride into town. Today we’ll do it, as I need to get a haircut. We also need gasoline for the dinghy and to find a good internet signal so that I can post this blog and some photos. Tonight there is a party on Hamburger Beach – right beside us, and tomorrow there will be the closing party for the regatta on the beach at ‘Chat ‘n Chill’. A small (we hope) cold front is coming in on Saturday, but after that we may have a few settled days. We may move back north with Marianne & Paul from ‘Knot-A- Gain’ on Monday. As usual, all our plans are subject to change…and weather!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Marooned in paradise
The third cold front in a week is still with us. The last one has been the 'mother (or father) of cold fronts', with gale force winds and high temperatures only in the low sixties. However, we feel very lucky that we have been safely tucked in at our dock at lovely Sampson Cay Marina. The marina has been full for a week now with all boats 'sticking', and many boats on the waiting list. There's a good group of stranded sailors here - and there are also some very nice powerboaters! We've had some good get-togethers either at the restaurant or the gazebo. Bill and I do our daily walk to the south beach which looks out over Fowl Cay. It is usually sheltered from the prevailing west and northwesterly winds and one day it was actually warm enough to snorkel! We have nurse sharks and rays swimming under our boat (that's why we don't swim right here!) and there's always lots going on. We've taken some dinghy rides to Staniel Cay and to Pipe Creek and Compass Cay, and come across other sailors we've met at other ports-of-call en route. Staniel Cay is an interesting settlement consisting of both local and vacation properties, a beach bar/restaurant called the Yacht Club, and three grocery stores - the Pink Store, the Blue Store and the Isles General Store. These stores get mobbed when the freighter arrives with fresh provisions! There is also an airport on the Cay. We took a look at the Thunderball Grotto in Staniel Cay harbour, featured in an early James Bond film, but it was a little cool to get in the water and swim into it. (When other sailing friends mentioned bringing their wet suits on their Bahamas trip we laughed at the thought - but now we don't!)
Tomorrow will be 'moving on day' for us and the majority of boats that have been stuck on anchors, mooring balls or at ports during the past week or so. We will move south about 18 miles to Little Farmers' Cay together with Sue and Bruce on 'Andiamo'. We've already booked our moorings with 'Ocean Cabins'. Then, on Saturday, we'll make the final run south in Exuma Sound to Georgetown. The Georgetown Regatta is in full swing, so we are looking forward to getting into the swing of all the activities that take place at this time. We have been given a four, or maybe even five day weather window (no winds above 20 knots and even some blessed easterlies!) - such a luxury ....and a relief!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Moving on and staying put!
This is rather long as I haven't updated it for a week or so....feel free to read it in instalments!
We enjoyed our stay at Highborne Cay, although the weather was so cool that one day I even resorted to wearing cut-off jeans instead of shorts! On our last night at the marina we sat on the beach and toasted the sunset with our neighbours, Ken & Daisy on 'Big Blue'. The next morning they were headed back to Nassau without an engine. Sounds easy in a sailboat, but there was only one weather window in the days ahead, and they had the choice of either too little wind, or too much with heavy seas! They chose the calmer day - we hope they made it into Nassau harbour before nightfall!
We had called a day ahead and been lucky enough to be assigned a mooring ball at the coveted northern anchorage at Warderick Wells, the hub of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. The Park is a protected area of 176 square miles and is managed by the Bahamas National Trust. It stretches 22 miles from end to end, and is made up of 15 major cays and many smaller ones. It also has the greatest diversity of marine life in the Exumas. The moooring area at Warderick Wells is entered from the north, and the twenty or so moorings form a semi-circle in the crystal clear and startlingly blue waters along the edge of a shallow sandbar. The rangers headquarters is based here too. The cost of paradise - $15 a night!
As usual, when the weather behaves, anchorages and marinas empty out and everyone is on the move. So we were pleased to see some of the 'usual suspects' we had met along the way, particularly 'Not-a-Gain' with Mariane & Paul. We had two perfect days of weather here (unusual for this winter). Bill devised a ladder to help us to get back into our dinghy after swimming. This procedure can be difficult, and is always inelegant with the hapless snorkeller ending up flopping onto the floor of the dinghy in a tangle of arms, legs and fins like a stranded whale! We snorkelled past brilliantly painted fish, and dinghied around to deserted beaches with sand like icing sugar, disturbed only by the little paw prints of the Hutia, a round rat-like creature native to the islands. Lying on the beach after a swim we were often serenaded by the beautiful song of the Bahamas Mocking Bird. Birds could also present a small problem in paradise as Marianne and Paul, on Knot-A-Gain, found when a mockingbird and some little Bananaquits flew into their cabin!
On Saturday there was a beach party and bonfire where tall tales of the sea were swapped, friendships made and plans hatched...apart from the usual drinking! A lovely evening, and not too far to dinghy back in the dark! We walked on some of the island's trails over the craggy and pockmarked limestone, and made the obligatory pilgrimage up to the top of 'Boo Boo Hill', named because of the ghostly apparitions of lost sailors who show their faces from time to time....so we were told. It's here, at the highest point on the island, that you deposit a piece of driftwood with your boat's name on it, for future generations to see (or until the rangers burn it all and decide to start the pile again!) If you make it up there, dig around to find 'Southern Vectis'- we scrawled our name about twenty times on a very worn and uneven slab of old boat...not ours! It is here, too, that you will get the only cell phone signal on the island, and that was critical news for us as we had to take part in a conference call to Toronto at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning! Monday was also the day when the next cold front was due! Anyway, we made it to the top of the hill by the appropriate time and all went well, except for the occasional comment by other 'conferencees' complaining about wind noise! If they could have seen Bill and I, clinging together as though in a passionate embrace, but actually trying to listen to a conversation which seemed a million miles away (both in reception quality and also in content!), and also attempting to lessen the wailing of the gale that was blowing (or maybe it was the wailing of the ghosts!), they would have laughed! We did after is was all over! As we clambered over the limestone crags to get back to the dinghy the rain started, and lasted through to the next morning - so we were lucky with the timing of our call from the top of the world.
On Tuesday we decided to make a break for it. The weatherman promised that the winds would calm down for one day and one night before the next cold front came rushing in, so we set off for Staniel Cay, about 18 miles to the south. This is an area that was made famous by James Bond: the 'Thunderball Cave' in the movie lies just off Staniel Cay and you can snorkel through it at slack tide. Another reason to go there was to see the swimming pigs that roam a cay called 'Big Major's Spot' directly to the north of Staniel Cay. This is a west facing anchorage and is very popular when a front is not blowing through. It was deserted that afternoon as 'the crowd' had moved on with the promise of a weather window, and we anchored with three other boats only. Suddenly a dinghy that had been breezing around the bay headed our way, and to our surprise and delight we saw Rob and Laurie (the 'Queen of Florida') waving at us. We had first met Rob and Laurie at Saddler's Point Marina in Jacksonville,just after we bought 'Southern Vectis'. Rob, a very experienced sailor and ultra-sociable Aussie, gave us so much good advice, and we were invited to a lovely BBQ at their house. They have sold up all their land bases (as have a lot of people that we meet afloat....not for us though!) and are on their way to Australia via the Bahamas and Antigua. The good thing about having no real time constraints is that you can take your time and backtrack to places that take your fancy when the spirit...and the weather...moves! They are having a wonderful time.
After the excitement of meeting Rob and Laurie, we set off by dinghy to see the famous pigs. We took some bread and other food scraps and threw this into the water as we neared the beach. At this, a half dozen large, pink and brown spotted pigs with extremely prominent ears and long legs adapted for Olympic-style speed swimming, launched themselves from the beach and headed towards us like torpedoes!
Bill was a little slow in getting the boat turned around and we were almost boarded by this frightening barrage of pork! As we sped back to the boat, which,luckily, was anchored some way from the shore, we imagined Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock weaving these dire creatures into a tale of horror and mayhem!!! Luckily it was a starry and calm night and we slept well .....with a board over the hatch to repel all invaders!
Now we are at beautiful Samson Cay Marina. Our reasons for coming here are two-fold: firstly, after one day of calm, yet another fierce cold front with 30 plus knot winds was coming in, and secondly we had an alarm sounding on our engine! We arrived yesterday and had a mechanic on board today. He thinks that he has diagnosed the problem - a problem with the alarm, and not the engine, caused by corrosion on some wires! Bill is supposed to clean the wires up and all will be well! Mike, the mechanic, lives just across from this beautiful marina and used to jointly own it with his friend, Marcus. Mike now runs a salvage and towing business in this area - a very useful person to know! I will put his details in this blog in case anyone reading it should need his assistance: Mike at Overseas Salvage based at Staniel Cay. Phone: 242-355-2140 or cell 242-359-1464.
Back to the usual subject for sailors this year...the weather! A cold front is still with us with 30-40knot winds. Some damage was done to the docking here last night by the wave surge. Two boats at anchor dragged quite dangerously! We have one day of grace coming up tomorrow, before the next cold front arrives on Saturday and Sunday and then, if that was not enough, a huge cold front will come in next Tuesday and Wednesday. All the marinas are full with even experienced 'anchorers' running for cover. So....we will stay put in this lovely civilized spot until we get a weather window of a few days to allow us to get to Georgetown - the cruising sailors' mecca. There isn't much shelter from the 40 knot blows between here and Georgetown - we may not make it. But...on the other hand....we have found a lovely, sheltered and entirely civilized niche, and we plan to make the most of it. There are free showers, there is a laundry area, and a book swap. The freighter arrived last night to stock up the shop, and there is a restaurant where we will meet Tom & Joyce from 'Whispering Sea' for pizza dinner tonight. When the winds go down tomorrow we'll dinghy over to Staniel Cay and explore this lovely area to the full. It's not so bad to be stranded in paradise!
P.S. Bill has just returned from news gathering - the latest hot tale came from a Canadian boat that arrived here last night. He was tied to a mooring ball at Warderick Wells -the Emerald Rock mooring field - and heard a loud snap in the middle of the wild night. Both his mooring lines had snapped and he was rapidly heading for the rocks! He, also, is happy to be here!
We enjoyed our stay at Highborne Cay, although the weather was so cool that one day I even resorted to wearing cut-off jeans instead of shorts! On our last night at the marina we sat on the beach and toasted the sunset with our neighbours, Ken & Daisy on 'Big Blue'. The next morning they were headed back to Nassau without an engine. Sounds easy in a sailboat, but there was only one weather window in the days ahead, and they had the choice of either too little wind, or too much with heavy seas! They chose the calmer day - we hope they made it into Nassau harbour before nightfall!
We had called a day ahead and been lucky enough to be assigned a mooring ball at the coveted northern anchorage at Warderick Wells, the hub of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. The Park is a protected area of 176 square miles and is managed by the Bahamas National Trust. It stretches 22 miles from end to end, and is made up of 15 major cays and many smaller ones. It also has the greatest diversity of marine life in the Exumas. The moooring area at Warderick Wells is entered from the north, and the twenty or so moorings form a semi-circle in the crystal clear and startlingly blue waters along the edge of a shallow sandbar. The rangers headquarters is based here too. The cost of paradise - $15 a night!
As usual, when the weather behaves, anchorages and marinas empty out and everyone is on the move. So we were pleased to see some of the 'usual suspects' we had met along the way, particularly 'Not-a-Gain' with Mariane & Paul. We had two perfect days of weather here (unusual for this winter). Bill devised a ladder to help us to get back into our dinghy after swimming. This procedure can be difficult, and is always inelegant with the hapless snorkeller ending up flopping onto the floor of the dinghy in a tangle of arms, legs and fins like a stranded whale! We snorkelled past brilliantly painted fish, and dinghied around to deserted beaches with sand like icing sugar, disturbed only by the little paw prints of the Hutia, a round rat-like creature native to the islands. Lying on the beach after a swim we were often serenaded by the beautiful song of the Bahamas Mocking Bird. Birds could also present a small problem in paradise as Marianne and Paul, on Knot-A-Gain, found when a mockingbird and some little Bananaquits flew into their cabin!
On Saturday there was a beach party and bonfire where tall tales of the sea were swapped, friendships made and plans hatched...apart from the usual drinking! A lovely evening, and not too far to dinghy back in the dark! We walked on some of the island's trails over the craggy and pockmarked limestone, and made the obligatory pilgrimage up to the top of 'Boo Boo Hill', named because of the ghostly apparitions of lost sailors who show their faces from time to time....so we were told. It's here, at the highest point on the island, that you deposit a piece of driftwood with your boat's name on it, for future generations to see (or until the rangers burn it all and decide to start the pile again!) If you make it up there, dig around to find 'Southern Vectis'- we scrawled our name about twenty times on a very worn and uneven slab of old boat...not ours! It is here, too, that you will get the only cell phone signal on the island, and that was critical news for us as we had to take part in a conference call to Toronto at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning! Monday was also the day when the next cold front was due! Anyway, we made it to the top of the hill by the appropriate time and all went well, except for the occasional comment by other 'conferencees' complaining about wind noise! If they could have seen Bill and I, clinging together as though in a passionate embrace, but actually trying to listen to a conversation which seemed a million miles away (both in reception quality and also in content!), and also attempting to lessen the wailing of the gale that was blowing (or maybe it was the wailing of the ghosts!), they would have laughed! We did after is was all over! As we clambered over the limestone crags to get back to the dinghy the rain started, and lasted through to the next morning - so we were lucky with the timing of our call from the top of the world.
On Tuesday we decided to make a break for it. The weatherman promised that the winds would calm down for one day and one night before the next cold front came rushing in, so we set off for Staniel Cay, about 18 miles to the south. This is an area that was made famous by James Bond: the 'Thunderball Cave' in the movie lies just off Staniel Cay and you can snorkel through it at slack tide. Another reason to go there was to see the swimming pigs that roam a cay called 'Big Major's Spot' directly to the north of Staniel Cay. This is a west facing anchorage and is very popular when a front is not blowing through. It was deserted that afternoon as 'the crowd' had moved on with the promise of a weather window, and we anchored with three other boats only. Suddenly a dinghy that had been breezing around the bay headed our way, and to our surprise and delight we saw Rob and Laurie (the 'Queen of Florida') waving at us. We had first met Rob and Laurie at Saddler's Point Marina in Jacksonville,just after we bought 'Southern Vectis'. Rob, a very experienced sailor and ultra-sociable Aussie, gave us so much good advice, and we were invited to a lovely BBQ at their house. They have sold up all their land bases (as have a lot of people that we meet afloat....not for us though!) and are on their way to Australia via the Bahamas and Antigua. The good thing about having no real time constraints is that you can take your time and backtrack to places that take your fancy when the spirit...and the weather...moves! They are having a wonderful time.
After the excitement of meeting Rob and Laurie, we set off by dinghy to see the famous pigs. We took some bread and other food scraps and threw this into the water as we neared the beach. At this, a half dozen large, pink and brown spotted pigs with extremely prominent ears and long legs adapted for Olympic-style speed swimming, launched themselves from the beach and headed towards us like torpedoes!
Bill was a little slow in getting the boat turned around and we were almost boarded by this frightening barrage of pork! As we sped back to the boat, which,luckily, was anchored some way from the shore, we imagined Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock weaving these dire creatures into a tale of horror and mayhem!!! Luckily it was a starry and calm night and we slept well .....with a board over the hatch to repel all invaders!
Now we are at beautiful Samson Cay Marina. Our reasons for coming here are two-fold: firstly, after one day of calm, yet another fierce cold front with 30 plus knot winds was coming in, and secondly we had an alarm sounding on our engine! We arrived yesterday and had a mechanic on board today. He thinks that he has diagnosed the problem - a problem with the alarm, and not the engine, caused by corrosion on some wires! Bill is supposed to clean the wires up and all will be well! Mike, the mechanic, lives just across from this beautiful marina and used to jointly own it with his friend, Marcus. Mike now runs a salvage and towing business in this area - a very useful person to know! I will put his details in this blog in case anyone reading it should need his assistance: Mike at Overseas Salvage based at Staniel Cay. Phone: 242-355-2140 or cell 242-359-1464.
Back to the usual subject for sailors this year...the weather! A cold front is still with us with 30-40knot winds. Some damage was done to the docking here last night by the wave surge. Two boats at anchor dragged quite dangerously! We have one day of grace coming up tomorrow, before the next cold front arrives on Saturday and Sunday and then, if that was not enough, a huge cold front will come in next Tuesday and Wednesday. All the marinas are full with even experienced 'anchorers' running for cover. So....we will stay put in this lovely civilized spot until we get a weather window of a few days to allow us to get to Georgetown - the cruising sailors' mecca. There isn't much shelter from the 40 knot blows between here and Georgetown - we may not make it. But...on the other hand....we have found a lovely, sheltered and entirely civilized niche, and we plan to make the most of it. There are free showers, there is a laundry area, and a book swap. The freighter arrived last night to stock up the shop, and there is a restaurant where we will meet Tom & Joyce from 'Whispering Sea' for pizza dinner tonight. When the winds go down tomorrow we'll dinghy over to Staniel Cay and explore this lovely area to the full. It's not so bad to be stranded in paradise!
P.S. Bill has just returned from news gathering - the latest hot tale came from a Canadian boat that arrived here last night. He was tied to a mooring ball at Warderick Wells -the Emerald Rock mooring field - and heard a loud snap in the middle of the wild night. Both his mooring lines had snapped and he was rapidly heading for the rocks! He, also, is happy to be here!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Landfall in the Exuma Islands
There was a general exodus of boats from Nassau on Sunday. The Nassau Harbour Club Marina had filled up over the previous couple of days with boats seeking shelter from the strong cold front which hit yesterday with 30-40 knot winds and squalls. But by Sunday, miraculously, things had settled down, and Chris Parker, our radio weather guru, gave out the 'all clear' for a couple of days at least! So,together with buddy boat 'Knot-A-Gain' we headed south-east from Nassau for a 29 mile run to Allan's Cay, a group of islands in the northern Exuma island chain. The water was fairly flat, and we had a comfortable passage. We had heard from other friends that the anchorage could be very busy...and it was. By the end of the day there were 18 boats anchored between the three main cays which make up this anchorage. Allan's Cay's claim to fame, apart from being a good spot to snorkel and fish in pristine clear turquoise waters, is that two of the islands are home to a large colony of rock iguanas. There are large numbers of these prehistoric-looking creatures scuttling along the sands, particularly when food of any sort is on offer. Although there are signs requesting visitors not to feed the iguanas, they expect to be fed! They also have poor eyesight and may nip your ankle if you are not paying attention!
We spent two nights at this anchorage. The first night was calm, and the day that followed was a perfect, sunny warm day - for once! We swam, dinghied around the islands, and fished. Bill caught a mutton snapper, and we ate it for lunch! At sunset we invited Marianne and Paul (Knot-A-Gain) and Frank and Mary-Pat (Yolo) on board to celebrate the end of a perfect day. Well, the day may have been perfect, but the night at anchor was not. A large motor yacht had slipped in late in the day and anchored near us - we were nervous as this anchorage is fairly restricted, surrounded by sharp coral heads, and the holding is not that good. By the middle of the night the wind had come up, and all the boats were rocking and rolling on their anchors. We learned later that one boat's owners sat up most of the night watching with angst as the catamaran next to them crept ever closer as the boats all swung with the tide and strong gusts. At first light the large motor yacht slid out of the anchorage....and we followed shortly after. The seas were very choppy and the wind was howling as we headed just around the corner to Highborne Cay Marina. We had already made our two night reservation, as I had just finished a book by a previous manager of the Cay (it is a privately owned island) called "Life on a Rock", and I wanted to see some of the things she had written about. This is a lovely little marina, and has been upgraded since the book was written. It is fairly tricky to figure out the entrance in rough weather, and we were relieved to get tied up. There is a well-stocked shop (for the islands, that is!) and there are some lovely beaches. Yesterday we followed some of the walking trails mentioned in the book and just enjoyed our calm haven as the cold front churned up the water on the shallow banks to the west of the island. Today the cold front is lingering and so are we. We plan to spend $4 each on a shower (for 4 minutes of water use!), and also go on another walk south from the marina. We are also planning the next part of our trip as we have been promised three days of good weather, starting from Friday! It's all subject to change, of course!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
'Around Nassau town we did roam...."
With apologies to the composer of 'The Sloop John B'!
"We sailed on the sloop 'Southern V'
Grandpa Bill and me
Round Nassau town we did roam
Couldn't go out at nights
Cause the drug gangs like to fight
Kept our money in a safe place 'n
Should've left my jewels at home
So haul up Southern V's sail
See how the mainsail sets (this is an 'in' joke for those travelling with us!)
Should I send for the dentist ashore,
Or spend my money on rum?
But when a filling 'done gone'
There's nothing for it, 'mon'
But to open up wide
For the dentist who did her training 'back home' (Waterloo U.)
We've been to 'Paradise' now, you see,
Ole Capt'n Billy 'n me
Around fabled 'Atlantis' we did roam
The riches did astound us
The casino did confound us
But the mega-yachts in the marina
Didn't make it feel like home.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Riding out the cold fronts
Our stay at Chubb Cay Marina turned out to be longer than anticipated. This was due to the frequent cold fronts that have been sweeping across from Florida, bringing 25 – 30 knot winds and high seas. However, we enjoyed our stay in Chubb Cay very much as we were joined by two other Canadian boats – ‘Knot – a- Gain’, a 37 ft Island Packet from Nova Scotia, and ‘Steel Away’, a steel boat from Port Dalhousie, Ontario. Chubb Cay Marina is in receivership, and we had the place to ourselves apart from a few sport fishing boats and a luxury motor yacht. There was a lovely beach and a beautiful infinity pool, complete with swim-up bar. There was also one far distant shower which actually worked! Each evening we would take our ‘sundowner’ drinks down to the pool and beach, perch on the bar stools beside the pool, and pretend we had waiter service! As the sun sank below the horizon we avidly watched for the famed ‘green flash’, and thought we had caught a brief glimpse of it one time. We were all pleased to be tied up to a dock because many nights the winds gusted to 30 knots and the boats tugged at their lines and bounced against the docks.
There were two other Canadian boats about four miles further on from us, at Fraser’s Hog Cay - ‘Rhama’ and ‘Madcap’. We had thought of moving round there too, but were not sure how secure the moorings were. It turned out they were fine – thank goodness!
We also met Andrea from New Zealand. She is the personal assistant to the owner of the large and luxurious motor yacht in the harbour. We were fascinated to hear tales of how the ‘other half’ lived – private jets, race horses, and houses in every corner of the world !
After four days of strong winds the weather settled, and we set off for Nassau on Monday. We left at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at 2:30 p.m. The seas were fairly flat on the crossing over the extremely deep Northwest Providence Channel, however there was quite a swell in the narrow and rocky entrance to Nassau Harbour. You must call Nassau Harbour Control before entering the harbour, and we could see why! A huge cruise ship towered over the harbour as we entered. Squeezing past this monster in the harbour entrance doesn’t bear thinking about!
So now all the Canadians are together again – tied up snugly at Nassau Harbour Club Marina and deciding whether to make a run for the Exumas before the storm of the decade hits on Friday ( so says Chris Parker, the weather guru we listen to on our Single Sideband Radio), or stay until the beginning of next week and maybe visit Paradise Island and all the ‘delights’ of ‘Atlantis’ – Sol Kertzner’s playground for millionaires and ‘wannabees’!
There were two other Canadian boats about four miles further on from us, at Fraser’s Hog Cay - ‘Rhama’ and ‘Madcap’. We had thought of moving round there too, but were not sure how secure the moorings were. It turned out they were fine – thank goodness!
We also met Andrea from New Zealand. She is the personal assistant to the owner of the large and luxurious motor yacht in the harbour. We were fascinated to hear tales of how the ‘other half’ lived – private jets, race horses, and houses in every corner of the world !
After four days of strong winds the weather settled, and we set off for Nassau on Monday. We left at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at 2:30 p.m. The seas were fairly flat on the crossing over the extremely deep Northwest Providence Channel, however there was quite a swell in the narrow and rocky entrance to Nassau Harbour. You must call Nassau Harbour Control before entering the harbour, and we could see why! A huge cruise ship towered over the harbour as we entered. Squeezing past this monster in the harbour entrance doesn’t bear thinking about!
So now all the Canadians are together again – tied up snugly at Nassau Harbour Club Marina and deciding whether to make a run for the Exumas before the storm of the decade hits on Friday ( so says Chris Parker, the weather guru we listen to on our Single Sideband Radio), or stay until the beginning of next week and maybe visit Paradise Island and all the ‘delights’ of ‘Atlantis’ – Sol Kertzner’s playground for millionaires and ‘wannabees’!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
We made it!
We are now in the Bahamas! We left Miami on Tuesday morning and were passing Bimini by 5 p.m. There was a mass exodus from Miami that day as the 'weather window' was very narrow. We crossed with Delta G. and decided to carry on as long as we could before anchoring on the Bahama Banks overnight. The crossing of the Gulf Stream was very peaceful...for which we were very grateful! We carried on until around 11 p.m. and anchored about a mile south of the main boating channel. We slept well and, after a leisurely breakfast, left at around 8 a.m. headed for Chubb Cay. Despite a short, sharp squall (not in the weather forecast) and 25 knots winds we made it to Chubb Cay marina by 2 p.m. Now we are waiting to do our customs and immigration check in to make us legal. The sun is shining and the sea is blue. More anon.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Waiting and waiting....and waiting for a 'window'!
We've been in Florida for a month now and haven't got very far! We're now at a dock in 'Dinner Key Marina', Miami. When we left our dock at Fort Lauderdale we spent a very peaceful night at lovely Lake Sylvia, and took the dinghy up to eat yet more oysters at the 'Southport Raw Bar'. The sunset was beautiful that evening and there were only six other boats at anchor around us. The next day we set off down the coast to Miami - we can't use the Intra-Coastal Waterway for this part of the trip as our mast is too high for one of the bridges. It was a peaceful trip. We hugged the coast, and the beach scene at Hollywood Beach and South Beach was quite fascinating - high rise buildings of every shape and size, and people to match! We anchored for two nights just north of Miami's 'Government Cut' beside Venetian Causeway. There is a large anchorage here and boaters can use the facilities of the Miami Yacht Club for a small fee. We had a drink there one night and took the dinghy up to the South Beach area the next day to do some provisioning. After three nights at anchor we decided to head to Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. We spent some time here last year and enjoyed exploring the area. 'Dinner Key' is a large 600+ boat marina situated where the old Pan-Am Clipper flying boat basin was in the 30s - 50s....when flying was for the lucky few, and everyone wore their best clothes and drank martinis at take off! No $6 plastic hamburgers and warm water.....and no waiting for hours at check-in for the pleasure of being thoroughly (and I mean THOROUGHLY!!) frisked!
There has been a big change here since last year - and for the better. The old anchoring field, which was full of rotting and abandoned boats, has been cleaned out, and now this area has become a wonderful mooring field. There is even a tender to pick you up or drop you off at your mooring! Our friends, Wendy and Tony from Delta G., came in on Saturday and have taken one. We, however, are luxuriating at a dock....and pleased to do so at the moment as the strong winds and now torrential rain of a cold front have made the moorings seem a little less attractive at the moment!
On our first night here we had dinner sitting on the sidewalk of a restaurant called 'Greenstreet' at the corner of Commodore and Main. What attracted us to this restaurant was the large board which advertised 'Ladies Night - free champagne'. The waiting staff just wouldn't stop pouring the stuff....even Bill qualified to get the free drinks! So we sat on our plush velvet couch looking out at the Friday night scene (which was very lively and young!) and watched the full moon rise over Coconut Grove. It was very pleasant! Yesterday we met my Isle of Wight schoolfriend, Sue and her husband, Jean, at Monty's Raw Bar and ate my favourite delicacy of this area...stone crab claws! (The crabs 're-grow' the claws evidently!) Now we are in a holding pattern waiting to go across to Bimini and further, to eventually end up in Nassau and the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas. I am writing this in the library as we cannot get any internet on the boat still. Bill has just arrived here from a shopping expedition soaked to the skin! A huge storm has been raging for about an hour now and the rain is torrential and tropical! It doesn't look as though it's going to let up for days!!! Maybe 'Southern Vectis'will float away without us. Or maybe we will take off for the Bahamas tomorrow. Who knows!
Monday, January 25, 2010
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