island hopping north thru Exuma

Thurs- Fri, May 4^th

BARRATERRE

   Heading north out of the Georgetown area under light wind we motor sail as we try to keep up our speed for fishing. After 20 nm and no fish we head into Rat Cay cut where we stop for lunch and a swim. We are expecting strong south and west winds over the next few days so we decide that since we are on a rising tide and with sunny skies to try the shallow route to anchor at Barraterre. Much of the Exumas consist of very shallow sand banks that move with the current as the tide flows between the shallow bank side to the deep ocean on the sound side. As long as the sun is overhead reading the water depth is fairly easy. We find a spot just in front of town to anchor in 6 ft of water with great protection. A walk around this tiny town provided us with a a bag of local tomatoes and a stop at the local bar for refreshments.  Late day we stopped a local boat and were able to buy cleaned conch at 5 for $10, not worth hunting and cleaning at that price.

LEE STOCKING ISLAND

Sat thru Mon

  As the wind veered to the east and built our anchorage became uncomfortable so we headed north to one of our favorite stops at the abandoned Carribean research center. Spent our days wandering the island enjoying the beautiful oceanside beaches. The first evening we stopped to visit a sportfish anchored next to us and were rewarded with a gift of 5 lbs of Mahi fillets. A great dinner plus plenty for the freezer.

  On Mon we took a dingy ride to explore the salt pond on Normans Pond Cay. Had a productive day harvesting 23 big conch. On our return I was reminded why it is easier to buy them after spending hours cleaning and skinning them. Had a feast that evening and still froze many meals.

 

outlet of salt pond at low tide

          

RUDDER CAY

Moving north we exit Adderly cut with the wind opposing the current and had a hairy ride for a bit as we buried the bow into about 5 sets of standing waves. By the time we realized how big these seas were it was to late to turn back safely but once we entered open water the seas calmed nicely. Sailing north I lost a nice Mahi after getting it alongside but landed a big Barracuda that was to big to keep. Stayed outside sailing back and forth past the cut we wanted to wait for slack tide.  This proved to be a good move and we entered Cave Cut with much smoother seas.

Dingeyed around checking out the man made cave(Germans hid U-boats here) and snorkeling on a site where the Islands owners (supposedly David Copperfield) have placed a mermaid at a piano.

             

 

mermaid at piano(stock photo)

BIG FARMERS CAY

Another gunkholing expedition led us into an anchorage we have always bypassed due to shallow sandbars. Anchored in 6 ft off a great beach where we spent the afternoon exploring a stream filled with small conch, rays and turtles.

BLACK POINT

Another beautiful day has us sailing north under full sail making great time. Anchored off of the village of Black Point where we were able to get rid of our trash(always a problem) fill our water and have lunch at Lorraines Cafe. In the morning we hiked to a blow hole on the ocean side but weren’t impressed as the ocean was nearly calm and the tide was out. We are told this is one of the most impressive blow holes in the Bahamas, maybe next trip.

 

Black Point blowhole(stock photo)

SANDY CAY

Another great sail took us north with plans to stop at Staniel Cay for gas and diesel but it turned out they were out of both so we sailed on and tucked in to a small group of islands once again in about 6 ft of water. As we worked our way thru the shallows caught a nice mutton snapper that we devoured for dinner. Spent the afternoon on a perfect tiny beach that Chris now adds to her list of favorite beaches.

 

another great beach

EXUMA NATIONAL PARK

CAMBRIDGE CAY-BELL ISLAND

Moving along north we sail with just the jib working our way thru the windy channel to anchor in a cove off of bell Island. We are expecting west winds and the anchorages for protection are very limited. Bell Island is one of the many private islands in Exuma National Park and the owners made their wishes for privacy known with many signs along with 2 large dogs patrolling the beach. Even though all beaches in the Bahamas are public up to the high water mark we didn’t press our luck with the dogs by venturing ashore.  

HOG CAY-PIRATES LAIR

I have always wanted to venture into this anchorage but it requires entering from the ocean with calm seas or transiting an intricate channel thru many small islands. We decided to try the channel as the tide was high and soon realized this should have been accomplished at slack tide. The gps made following the channel a breeze but currents flowing off the bank were fierce pulling at us as we negotiated the narrow cuts thru the islands.  We had reserved a mooring via radio thru the park service since their are only 5 moorings available and anchoring would be tricky as the current flows at a good clip with the tide.

This narrow anchorage was supposedly a hideout for pirates and we hiked to the spot where they had a camp and well. At low slack tide we explored a cave that connects the harbor with the ocean. Enjoyed an afternoon on the beach with 2 couples journeying south both seeing this area for the first time.

Our second nite brought severe squalls with heavy rain and winds to 50kts but we felt quite safe in this protected harbor. The only problem was that after the storm quieted down and the  tidal current flowing at about 3 kts the boat couldn’t decide to lay with the tide or the wind. Until about midnight when the tide switched we had to put up with the mooring ball being dragged back and forth under the bow. I hate to see what this did to our bottom paint.

    

cave at Hog Cay

WARDRICK WELLS

Tues and Wed

     We awake to clear skies and much calmer seas and decide to exit this crazy anchorage before the seas build and trap us here. A short sail up the coast to the inlet at Wardrick Wells Park where we have reserved a mooring for the next couple of days as more squally weather is expected. Drinks (homebrew) aboard Irish Eyes with Bill and Adair whom we have met at many of our stops, and yes they really do make homebrew on their 34 ft boat and it was great. Our second night we had them over for my special conch fritters and cocktails. A couple of hikes and a trip up BoBo hill to replace our updated boat sign made for a relaxing stay.

Apres Ski at Wardrich Wells mooring

   

replacing our sign-BOBO Hill

HAWKSBILL CAY

    Keeping with our island hopping theme we move all of 16nm up the chain to anchor at Hawksbill Cay. Great sailing with 18 kt winds under just the jib until we were hit by a squall with heavy rain but we managed to get our cockpit enclosure sealed up in time to stay dry. Skies cleared by afternoon and we hiked to the ocean side but seas were wild so it was back to our protected beach.

three sea turtles kept us entertained- this one is about 24in long

SHROUD CAY

Another short sail with big winds finds us in the protected north end of Shroud Cay. The center of this island is nearly all mangrove swamp with tidal streams flowing thru. We dingy thru to the ocean side but decide to spend the afternoon at a tiny beach close to the boat.

our private beach -Shroud Cay

HIGHBORNE CAY

Winds are still howling but the seas are reasonable in the lee of the islands as we fly under jib only to anchor for lunch at Normans Cay. We met friends here and had lunch at the resort. If we hadn’t already committed we probably wouldn’t have stayed for the $25 burgers and $7 beers. A nice lunch but certainly not our kind of place.

After lunch we continued our journey north to anchor off of Highborne Cay to prepare to cross back to Eleuthra.

South to Exuma

Crossing to Exuma-April 18th
     
WARDRICK WELLS

      We have been waiting for a break in the high winds/big seas to make the crossing to the Exumas and it appears that things have calmed enough to head out. We would like a little quieter seas but after this winds are expected to pick up again. The day started out great as we head thru the shallow waters leaving Rock Sound Harbor and approach Cape Eleuthra we caught a nice grouper.  Leaving the protected waters and heading offshore we quickly realize that it's going to be a rolly ride.  The wind is pushing us along at a good clip with a reefed main and partial jib but steering is a chore as the seas build. Fishing is productive as we hooked 2 nice mahi but only landed the first.  I always seem to have a problem getting the fish into the boat once they are alongside, especially since Chris can't leave the helm and we're flying along at 7 kts. Arrived at Exuma park  in Wardrick Wells where we picked up a mooring for the nite. After a quick swim we noticed a few nurse sharks swimming by and a neighboring boat was even trying to get pictures of their teenagers swimming with them. Seemed crazy to me!
  
                                                                             

do I really want to swim with these guys?

     


PIPE CAY

     After a morning hike up BO BO hill to pick up our boat sign (tradition is for each visiting boat to leave a plaque with their boat's info atop this hill) so I can add this years date.  We plan to replace the sign on our return back north. We decide to push south into the wind and after a short time realize this was a bad chouce. Pushed on pounding into a steep chop to a protected bay on Pipe Cay.

 STANIEL CAY

     After a morning hike and some productive conch hunting (found 3, enough for dinner) we head south taking advantage of stiff east winds to sail with a reefed jib. Anchor near town to pick up a few groceries (very expensive and limited) and some gas and diesel. Just to give you some idea of prices Chris bought a cabbage and a dozen eggs without asking the price and paid $9.00. On the other hand fuel was reasonable (for the Bahamas) at $4.30/gal for diesel and $5.25 for gas. Moved to the bay off Big Majors to anchor for the night. As a treat for my birthday Chris baked a wild blueberry pie from berries canned this past summer.

LITTLE FARMERS CAY

     We are determined to make Georgetown for the Family Islands Regatta so we are pushing on while the weather allows.  With winds still brisk we sailed south under just a full jib with a lunch stop at the beach at White Point. Anchored mid afternoon off of Little Farmers where we went ashore for a walk.

DARBY ISLAND- Sat and Sun April 22-23

     Motor south to find protection from the winds that are veering from the south. Very limited spots in this area to hide from south winds but after a few tries we were able to get the anchor to set in the hard bottom as there is a strong current that scours the bottom. I set the anchor alarm just to be safe in case we drag during the nite. The anchor alarm uses GPS to warn us if we move more than a set distance. This island was supposedly owned by a German sympathizer during WWII and has a dredged channel where German Uboats were re-provisioned under cover of darkness. While exploring the shoreline we came across a trail leading to an overgrown airstrip with remains of a crashed small plane.

 

abandonded castle Darby Island

                                        

man made cave where German U-boats were  hidden during WWII

GEORGETOWN

     By Mon morning the wind has veered to the west making our anchorage rather uncomfortable so we decide to take advantage of the wind and head south out into the open waters of Exuma Sound for the 35 nm trip to Georgetown. Had a great sail under a reefed main and full jib averaging over 6 knots. Anchored off of town with plans to do chores before the crowds arrive later this week in the company of dozens of boats. Invited fellow travelers on Kachina and Will-o-wind aboard for sunset cocktails.

Tues-Wed

Busy days with grocery shopping, hauling water, 4 loads of laundry, liquor store and a haircut for Chris.  As the crowds arrive from all points in the islands with their traditional Bahamian sloops either in tow or stacked aboard freighters for 5 days of partying and racing  we decide that it’s time to move across the harbor and get away from the loud music. 

 

B class boat leaving harbor

anchorage from monument hill, Apres Ski on far left, racers in harbor

class A boat preparing for race

   

STOCKING ISLAND

Thurs thru Wed April 27^th - May 3^rd

Still in Georgetown Harbor we have moved to Monument Beach on Stocking Island to be away from the craziness of regatta and have protection from the east winds that are again blowing around 20 kts.  The only problem with this is that the water is to rough to cross the mile to town by dingy.  In the company of many other cruising sailors we manage to join sundown parties on the beach quite a few nights. Hikes on the many trails and days spent at the oceanside beaches fill our days. Other years we have taken the water taxi across to town for the closing ceremonies but decide on a beach bonfire party instead.

Having spent a week here we decide to move on, our tentative plan was to head south to the Jumentos but this remote area calls for settled weather which is not predicted so we decide to move back north to explore more of the Exumas. A trip to town to fill propane, trade books at the library, pick up fresh veggies and lunch at the old Peace and Plenty hotel filled our day.  As we point our bow back north we have covered 670 statute miles on the gps and have been out a little over 2 months.

as close as we get to rock climbing- monument hill

Happy hour- monument beach

Wandering about Eleuthra

ROYAL ISLAND

Wed March 22- Awake at 5am and anchor up at 6 as we head out to the open ocean and south across the shipping lanes of the NE Providence Channel. Gently rolling seas of about 6 ft with no wind has us motoring the 53 nm to the protected anchorage at Royal Island. We are within sight of many other boats making this passage as all have been waiting for a break in the weather. We plan to be here for a few days as we will need protection from the next batch of stormy weather expected to blow in later in the week.

Thurs-Sat-With just one calm day before the weather rolls in we hike to the north side of the Island where we spend a beautiful day with a picnic, snorkeling and gathering a mess of Conch. As we lounged on the rocks a good size shark decided to hang around so that was the end of our water activities.

With gusts expected to exceed 40 mph overnite I set a second anchor just to be safe and we spent the next couple of days snug with the rains filling our water tanks as the wind howled. Chris likes to take advantage of the weather by baking and we had fresh bread along with desserts to go along with a batch of fresh cracked conch.

Royal Island Harbor

    SPANISH WELLS

Sun-The weather has cleared so we make the short hop to Spanish Wells where we visited fellow cruisers Tom and Jean who now live in a cottage here and operate an informal library where we were able to swap out a number of our paperbacks. On Mon we were back in town for Lunch, beer and wifi at a little bar called Buddas followed a stop at the grocery store for a few fresh veggies.

    GLASS WINDOW

Mon and Tues- One of our favorite stops along this stretch of the island is the Queens Baths but to get here we pass thru a cut in the island called Current Cut. The waters here live up to the name and with a new moon the tides create currents that require you to time your passage to travel with the flow. Friends transited the cut for the first time at max current and referred to the ride attuned to getting squeezed out of a toothpaste tube.

Spent Mon afternoon relaxing in the pools at the baths and on Tues we took a 5 mi hike to the north where we stopped to visit with the new owner of what had been one of our favorite swimming spots(more baths) and is now being rebuilt into a boutique hotel.

raging sea into Harbor Island inlet south

filling the Queens Baths

                              

                             

The Queen awaiting her bath

       

    HATCHET BAY

Wed thru Fri- work our way south to the protected harbor off of Alicetown where we will wait out the next strong winds that are predicted for Thurs. We have always stopped and bought Stone Crab claws from the local fisherman but much to our disappointment it appears the operation is now defunct. A phone call to another fisherman whom has sold us lobster in past years was also a bust as the weather has kept him off the water.

protected anchorage-Hatchet Bay

Hiked across the island both Thurs and Fri to spend the afternoon on the beach. Cocktails with friends Keith and Judi both evenings and I even whipped up a batch of conch fritters.

on the beach at Hatchet Bay oceanside

GOVERNORS HARBOR

Sat thru Wed- The seas have calmed and a fair wind gives us a great sail south the 16nm to the colonial village of Governors Harbor. This has to be one of the prettiest towns in the Bahamas with Victorian homes surrounding the harbor and dotting the hillside.

While sailing we were joined by a pod of dolphin that kept us entertained playing off our bow for about a mile. I tried to get a video so click below for the fun.

  Spent 2  afternoons at what we have found to be the nicest beach in the Bahamas. The short hike to the ocean brings us to what was the site of a now defunct Club Med and the wide pink sand beach and palm trees make it a perfect location. Had takeaway lunch twice from local vendors, were able to get our propane filled but the gas station was out of diesel so that will have to wait. We plan to continue south but another front is predicted so we decide to take advantage of south winds for a relaxing sail back to the protected Hatchet Bay harbor to wait out the weather. 

                 

Governors Harbor anchorage

warm pink sand and palm trees

HATCHET BAY

Wed thru Fri, April 5^th-7th

Back at the protected anchorage of Hatchet Bay pond we are once again hiding out from predicted storms that were to bring 45 kt winds. Thankfully the worst squalls missed us but we were glad to be in this snug anchorage as the winds howled. Spent our time hiking to the oceanside beach, doing boat chores, and spent a pleasant evening with friends Keith and Judi over for dinner. We are anchored among 12 other boats and to show what a varied group we travel among there is 20 ft sailboat from the Maryland with 2 young men aboard on one side of us and a 54 ft sailboat from Denmark with an older couple aboard on the other.

                       

                                                      Anchorage in Hatchet Bay Pond

GOVERNORS HARBOR

The winds have veered back to the east and we take advantage of being able to sail south in the protected lee of the island. As we pick up a free mooring in the protected corner of Governors Harbor we spot friends Derick and Sue from Panacea have stayed in place and rode out the rough weather here. They have been waiting here for parts for their dead diesel for weeks and havn’t tried sailing out until today. Seeing they were struggling I dingyed over and with a dingy on each side we were able to tow them to where they could sail out to a more protected spot.

Enjoyed a great evening with happy hour at the gazebo on the beach with Panacea and their guest Narvis followed by a party at the fish fry. Having met Ilena, a local bahamian, on a previous visit she hailed us with an invite to this birthday party for her sister. Had a great time partying with the locals with dinner cooked over wood fired grills, drinks and music well into the night.

For those of you wondering what fish fry (used as a noun) is I can best describe it as a collection of shacks usually located on a beach close to town where the locals gather on Friday nights and holidays to party. Vendors sell local food and drink with the music blasting late into the night. In some of the larger towns such as Nassau and Georgetown these sites have turned into daily operations.

It looks like we will be here a while since the winds have built into the 20’s and are expected to build further for at least a week. We are in the lee of the island but our next destination will take us across a stretch of open ocean so we will wait out calmer seas. While here we finally got our wifi straitened out by buying a cheap bahamian smartphone to use as a hotspot. We have been fighting with our old wifi stick since starting out and I’m fed up. BATELCO has great cell coverage all thru the islands and now offer unlimited data for $35 per month.

Happy Hour

Drinks at Ronnies

Birthday party

Fish Fry

  

Have to bring your own drinks to this resort!

April 8 thru 17^th

As the winds have still been howling we find ourselves hanging out in Governors Harbor enjoying the ocean beaches and spending time with our neighbors getting together for sunset cocktails and sharing stories. On Fri evening we met up at the weekly fishfry for a great evening. For Easter we sailed north to spend a night at the beautiful Ten Bay beach.

 

sunset cocktails at library 

Fish Fry


Rock Sound   Having decided it was time to move on and with lighter winds predicted we sail south to the anchorage at Rock Sound. We had hoped to stock up on a few fresh veggies but as it was Easter Monday the stores were all closed up. We did find a  local gardener selling homegrown tomatoes which were a treat. 

HOPPING ABOUT ABACOE

TREASURE CAY

Fri March 9^th- After spending a quiet nite anchored off of Green Turtle we decided to take advantage to the benign conditions to move south thru the whale passage which takes us out into open ocean for a short hop. Anchored in the harbor at Treasure Cay where we were able to get our local phone activated but failed to get our computer stick working on the local cell service. No luck with getting help at the local computer geek as he missed 3 different appointments we set up. Typical in Bahamas. Showers and wifi at the resort were a welcome change.

GUANA CAY, FISCHERS BAY

Sat-Motor the short hop to Fischers Bay under sunny skies to anchor off the beach. Wander around town and take a long walk on the beautiful ocean beach. The anchorage is a little rolly as the expected wind shift hasn’t materialized.

MARSH HARBOR

Sun-Once again we find ourselves motoring into choppy seas to the anchorage at Marsh Harbor. We plan on filling up with water and fuel as we have been out for 2 weeks and our water supply has been running low. Not long after dropping anchor the skies opened up and we had a welcome heavy rain and were able to fill our tanks with about 60 gallons of water. Skies cleared on Monday and we took a trip to town to stock up on fresh veggies and a case of our favorite rum “Fire in da hole”. On Tues we took the computer in and after a long hike found a shop that was able to solve our problems. Turns out the batelco office that set up our stick downloaded the wrong driver. A trip to the local seafood wholesaler followed and we feasted on lobster tails that evening freezing both lobster and conch for a few more meals. By Wed morning the winds are howling and we spend the day aboard. Thurs brings more high winds. It seems it’s either feast or famine with the winds this trip. At least we’re not shoveling snow.

Apres Ski under a great double rainbow

2017-Florida Bound

We arrived in Fl Oct 11^th after delaying our trip by a week due to hurricane Mathew hitting our area. Uncertain of what we would find we were pleasantly surprised to find our home and boat in great shape. Not so for many marinas and boats in the area. The sailboat we share a slip with sits on the bottom with a huge hole in the bow after her spring lines parted. A neighboring 40 ft sportfish also has much damage from beating against pilings.  When 70 mph winds veered west the waves swept into our normally protected harbor, thankfully Apres Ski was stored 25 miles inland where winds only reached 40 kts.

sad site in slip next to ours

Back in the water Nov 2

After a quick cleanup Apres Ski is back in the water and secure in our slip close to home in Jensen Beach. The only major project has been replacing our house battery bank. This included adding 2 more batteries for a total of 6 golf cart batteries. Hopefully with all the improvements made last year this will make life easier while living aboard. The weather this winter has been fantastic and we have spent many hours daysailing along with a few overnites to favorite anchorages.

CRUISING IN LUXURY

For a much more pampered style of cruising we usually take a cruise on a real ship and this fall we found a few deals to good to pass up. A week on Royal Carribean’s  Majesty of the Seas took us around the Bahamas, this was followed by 2 seperate weeks aboard Fathom’s Adonia to the Dominican Republic.  This was a different type of cruising as the ship only holds 700 passengers and specializes in what they term impact cruising. The ship docks in the DR for 4 days and passengers can volunteer in the community thru various organized programs. We rented a car for both trips and had a great time exploring this beautiful Island. The highlite was the 27 waterfalls national park where a guide leads you sliding thru cascades and jumping off waterfalls. We had such a great time we returned during our second visit.

View from our balcony

BAHAMAS BOUND

Feb 27, 2017- Having skipped our Bahamas trip last year we are anxious to be back on the water and have set March first as our target date to head out. With the boat provisioned for 3 months it looks like we have a break in the weather by mid week so we head out to stage for our crossing in Lake Worth(Palm Beach) a day early in case we encounter any delays. This portion of our trip takes across the gulf stream where the current flows north at up to 4 kts and if there is any amount of north wind the seas build to incredible heights. As typically happens our 3 day weather window shortens until the evening prior to departure it looks like we will have only about 30 hours before the north winds build and we need to be in a protected anchorage which is 100 nm away. We normally break this trip up into 2 days but decide after much discussion to head out during the early morning hours so we can be anchored before dark. In case you think we are risking being caught out in bad weather we do have a back up plan to detour to a marina in West End which is only 6 miles south of our projected route and only 55 nm from Fl.  As we sit at anchor close to the inlet we are amazed at the number of boats arriving with plans to cross during the night. Long time sailing friends Kitty and Scott aboard Tamure arrive and we are pleased to have friends along for the trip. Their tentative plan is to continue to Green Turtle Cay to be at a marina for the upcoming weather. This adds another 50nm to the trip that we wouldn’t even consider.  They are long time sailors having twice sailed around the world in their younger days and have great stories to tell.

CROSSING THE GULF STREAM

Thurs March 3rd-As is common for me I find myself anxious and unable to sleep so I wake Chris and we up anchor at 2 AM. Many of our neighbors had left at 11 PM but Chris doesn’t like being out at nite so this was my compromise. We also wanted to give the seas time to calm down from the previous days winds. Calm winds and only a bit rolly as we motor into the dark night. Very few ships cross our path and we were able to easily avoid them thanks to our radar and AIS. We approach Memory Rock and the Bahama Banks by 10AM with the wind building and a few showers around. Finally roll out the jib and we motor sail with a building swell. Arrive at our destination Great Sale Cay at 5 PM to find only 3 boats anchored, we made great time averaging 6.5 knots.

As we drop anchor we are hailed by our friends on Tamure and invited over for cocktails. They decided to stop here and only beat us by an hour. After launching the dingy off the deck where we store it for ocean passages and mounting the outboard it refused to start so since it had been a long day we settled in for a quiet evening.

GREAT SALE CAY

Fri thru Wed- As predicted by early morning the north winds are howling and will only build as the days progress. We up anchor to poke out into the open seas but decide to stay put rather than fight the building seas. Our friends on Tamure carry on but the are a much larger and heavier boat.  By Sat morning winds are 25 to 30kts gusting to 40 but we are quite comfortable in our protected anchorage. Our new wind generator is working like a champ keeping our batteries fully charged.

This uninhabited island is very low lying and inhospitable with ironstone shoreline and thick mangroves. The only landing is across the harbor and a very choppy dingy ride to get there so we spent the first couple of days aboard reading and working on some delayed maintenance items. Fought with dingy motors (neither wanted to cooperate) finally getting both running good. Sunset cocktails 2 evenings with neighbors Rex and Reba aboard Moonraker made for a fun couple of evenings. Had a great time fishing as hundreds of barracuda were hanging out in the shallows and the clear water made it fun to try drifting up on them. Even the small ones give a great fight and I kept a few of the smaller fish making a fine dinner plus freezing a few meals along with making a batch of chowder. As the winds subsided slightly we were able to get off the boat for hikes to a nice beach on the far side of the island.   

GREEN TURTLE CAY

Thursday March 9^th- Calm winds and flat seas make for an easy motoring trip for the 50 nm to Green Turtle where we will clear customs. Arrive late afternoon and spend a quiet nite anchored in the outer harbor.