Wandering about Abaco

Wed March 17th thru Mon March 23rd--
   With warm sunny days in the mid 80's and nights around 70 we find ourselves being lazy relaxing on the many area beaches. On Wed morning in dead calm Chris climbed the mast to take care of some chores we had been putting off.  I havn't been able to do any strenuous work since Oct as I have been batteling a herniated cervical disk and still have trouble looking up or using my arms above chest level. Chris was able to replace our broken windvane and reave a new spinnaker halyard. Note that even with our new mast steps we still use a safety harness.

Chris enjoying the view from 55 ft up

     Later that morning we decide to head south which requires a  jog out into the ocean to round Whale Cay. As we approach the cut the swells are rolling in with alarming size and we decide to play it safe and return to Green Turtle Cay. The next morning we head south again but with a full moon(supermoon) giving an extra high tide we take the inside route called don't rock passage that I have always wanted to try. We could never make it at low tide but with an extra 3 ft we see no less than 6 ft of water. The ocean waves were still making their way into this area but just a gentle 4 ft swell.
     Spent Friday night anchored near Water Cay taking advantage of the extra low tides to explore a few backwater areas on foot. After spending the day Saturday exploring in the dinghy and a day on the beach we head into the protected anchorage at Treasure Cay where we can use the resorts facilities for a minimal fee.
Sunday was another glorious beach day and today(mon) we were able to get to the Batelco (phone co.) office to get sim cards for our phone and computer. We now should have internet wherever  3g service is available (a surprising number of islands).

   Monday March 23rd thru April 4th

Settled weather allows us to visit many different anchorages we have missed the past couple of years. We spent time at Fishers Bay on Great Guana Cay, Water Cay off of Great Abaco, Man-o-War Cay, then back to Treasure Cay to ride out the latest cold front.
Our next stop is Marsh Harbor where Chris got to stock up on fresh veggies at the supermarket there.  This is the only small city in Abaco and boasts most everything a boater would need.  Picked up a case of our favorite rum “ Fire in da hole” it being one of the few things that is a bargain compared to US prices. Also a visit to the fish market for frozen Conch and Lobster tails without shells.  We always thought that buying from the local fisherman was the best deal but find that since we freeze most for future use the price is just as good and sometimes better.

Snake Cay-  On wed April 1st we made our way to a spot that has always attracted us but is only favorable in west winds.  We anchor in the lee of what at one time was a huge port complex and is now abandoned.  We spent an enjoyable afternoon on 5 mile dingy excursion into the back waters of the numerous cays that dot this coastline.  Hundreds of sea turtles along with many huge rays were the highlight of this trip. Thankfully I brought along the gps map to guide us  as we wound our way thru miles of shallows dotted with many small islands.

Lynyard Cay- Tranquil weather has been with us for much of the trip thus far but with the predicted return of strong trade winds next week we decide to prepare to cross open ocean to Eleuthra while we can. We spend a quiet night anchored close to the Little Harbor inlet where we exit the Sea of Abaco.

back to the bahamas 2015

Bahamas Bound, Spring 2015

After spending a quiet winter enjoying the sunshine and warm Florida temps we are finally ready to set sail on our annual Bahamas Cruise. Chris has been busy provisioning for a three month sail and the boat is loaded and just awaiting favorable weather.
The winds over the past few weeks have been blowing strong from the east and the ocean has been very rough.  The weatherman has promised a break by this Sunday so we are off on another adventure.

Friday March 13th- Going against sailors superstition of never starting a journey on a Friday, never mind the 13th we head south to meet up with friends Greg and Duwan on Blue Wing at Pecks Lake.  They normally winter in the Bahamas but have opted this year to stick around and are now heading for the Keys.

Sat- As much as I hate traveling the Intracostal on a weekend we head south for Lake Worth (Palm Beach) where we will anchor near the inlet for an early start.  As expected tons of boat traffic has us bouncing along most of the trip. About at Jupiter I realized I left our spare propane tank sitting in the shed at home, not a disaster but nice to have a spare as most of our cruising is away from the populated areas. A call to our long time friend  Bob LaRoy was all it took for him to rush down and meet us with the tank. As we call it an early night the winds are finally subsiding but I can’t imagine the seas will calm down by morning.

Sun- Up at 3 AM under starry skies and calm wind. We head out and much to our amazement the ocean has settled down to a manageable 3 ft swell. The south wind that we had hoped for barely materialized but we would much rather motor across than pound into rough seas.
   In the past one of our greatest concerns as we cross the shipping lanes has been trying to calculate how close we will be to the giant freighters and Cruise ships in our path. In the dark we both have trouble telling distances and these ships are the size of 3 football fields and moving at 20 mph.  My solution this year was to update our chart plotter/fishfinder with a larger unit that I was able to add Radar and AIS (automatic ident. System) to.  The AIS is amazing in that all commercial vessels broadcast a signal that gives their name and ID # and the unit then displays a ton of data most importantly their course and how close we will approach them.  This along with the radar really took a lot of the anxiety out of the crossing as we were in the path of at least 8 huge ships during the crossing.
All went smoothly until about 25 mi out I notice a steady stream of water coming from our bilge pump. As I step below I am greeted with the sight no boater wants to see of water flowing across the floor. This led to a few anxious seconds until I realize the water is hot and coming from our water heater. A broken fitting and 35 gallons of our precious drinking water was all that resulted from what at first seemed like a major catastrophe.
Not long after the engine, which had been purring along smoothly faltered and died. It only took a few minutes to find our diesel filter/water seperator was full of water, but the fix took about an hour of sweaty work replacing both filters, purging the bad fuel from the system and bleeding the system.  I have been thru this procedure on other occasions but this time it took a major effort to get running again. Never mind being nervous wondering if we would be stuck 30 miles offshore with no wind.


sailing into the sunrise



the admiral (napping) at the helm

Our luck turned around when I decided to wet a few lines. The first fish on was a nice skipjack tuna (bonita) which are very bloody and not good table fare  but make great bait.  Within minutes of the bait hitting the water  the rod started to scream.  After a long battle we were able to board a beautiful Mahi (dorado or dolfin fish) which is one of our favorites. With hardly any extra freezer space this early in the trip I called a halt to fishing.  We treated ourselves to a feast of fresh dolfin for both lunch and dinner and still froze fillets for 8 more dinners.



this will fill the freezer



hurry up I can't hold it!

Even with our engine troubles that had us drifting north about 3 miles in the gulf current we still made landfall at our anchorage at 5:30 making the trip of 77 nautical miles(about 88 statute miles) in under 14 hours.  We topped of a near perfect day with a dip in the warm clear water and a few cocktails as we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.


 Monday-  After a peaceful night we set out under brisk winds and full sail. All to soon the winds veered to the east and we were now what beating into wind and seas, this called for a change of plans and after 24 miles we headed for the protected anchorage at Great Sail Cay. This uninhabited island is a favorite stopover for boats along this route and we spent a peaceful nite at anchor. Adding to the excitement of this sail was catching a huge barracuda (released) and a fat mutton snapper that made a great dinner plus 2 dinners in the freezer.

Tuesday- Light winds find us motor sailing east for most of the day. Thankfully there was plenty of exciting fishing to break up the trip. We brought aboard  two big barracudas and a Spanish mackerel. The barracudas were both way to big(any over 30 inches can build up toxins and are not fit to eat) but we had a fine lunch of the Spanish mackerel. Spent a rolly night anchored in Allens-Pensacola Cay as the wind that was promised all day finally materialized.


another few dinners, where do we keep it?

Wed- Lite winds plague us yet again as we turn south along the Abacoes. Motor to Green Turtle Cay where we clear customs, pay for our cruising permit then head in to a mooring at our old friend Donnies. Caught another nice mutton snapper and another Spanish Mackerel which may have to go into chowder as the freezers are overfull.