on to Georgetown

     We ave enjoyed our time at the dock in Spanish Wells, but with our repairs complete it's time to move on. Chris especially liked having all the hot water she wanted. We normally are very conservative with our water and heat it off the engine. Long showers are a treat. It was nice being at a dock but also noisy as we were close to the main waterfront street and much of the traffic is golfcarts which are louder than cars.

Ship Channel Cay
     Heading out early we had a mix of good sailing then motorsailing for 9 hours back south to Ship Channel Cay in Northern Exuma. Anchored off the beach late afternoon then went conch hunting where I was able to pick up 6 nice conch. I was going to say caught them but since they move at a snails pace that wouldn't be very accurate. The trick is finding them, the young ones stand out because of their shiny shell but as they grow they also build up a layer of grassy growth that makes them blend in with their surroundings.

Shroud Cay
     On the move again while the winds are in our favor we sail south 4 hours to Shroud Cay in the Exuma National Park. This preserve stretches 22 nm along the chain of islands and encompasses both private and public cays. It is a no take zone which makes the snorkeling excellent. We spent the afternoon exploring and hanging out on one of it's many pristine beaches. 

Wardrick Wells
     One of our favorite stops is the protected mooring field at the park headquarters. With stormy weather expected we motor south into a rough chop the 13 miles to our reserved mooring. Spent Sun and Mon hiking the trails, snorkeling and lazing on the beach. Tradition calls for visiting boats to leave a driftwood sign atop Boo Boo hill  and we added a 9th  year to our boat sign.

Chris filling in my carving with nail polish, we forgot paint

atop boo boo hill

Rudder Cay
     With winds finally coming from the north we opt to move south for a great 40 st mi. run to anchor at Rudder Cay. We flew by many of our favorite stops but decided to take advantage of the winds to move to Georgetown in time for Regatta.

Georgetown
     Still working south we motor sail 36 st mi to Stocking Island to anchor at Monument beach.  This past week we have covered about 150 nm(173 statute mi) with only one lay day.  We plan to hang out here for a while to enjoy the festivities that go along with the Family Islands Regatta.   
      

Week 6-engine repairs,

  Spanish Wells
       Sunday morning April 6th dawned sunny, warm and breezy. We tacked the couple of miles to drop anchor off the channel into Spanish Wells and after a  dinghy ride in to check on the dock we had reserved we motored in and got tied up. Finding this dock was a lifesaver as the local marina would have charged us almost $100/day while we payed $18/day inc electric for this spot.  Later in the afternoon we stopped in at Dun Rovin cottage to visit our friends Tom and Jean and ended up staying for happy hour. This couple has been boating in this area from the Chesapeake for the past 30 years and have owned a cottage in the village since the 90's. Their living room is set up as a book exchange library and they welcome boaters to visit.
    We were able to rent a golf cart as we expected to be here a while as we await the arrival of our  parts.  Days were spent wandering the miles of sandy beaches, a few lunches out and running errands. Tom, Jean and Toms brother joined us for happy hour on Monday and I served my specialty- conch fritters. Jean volunteers at the local museum and we joined another cruising family for a tour while Jean gave an interesting talk on the islands rich history.
    Thursday morning my parts arrived on the ferry from Nassau and I was able to take the exhaust manifold to a local mechanic where I watched in horror waiting for something to shatter as he used torches and a 3 ft wrench with a 2 ft extension to work the  parts free. I had already crushed the bad elbow while removing it and was able to breathe a sigh of relief  when the adjoining parts separated.  With the repaired assembly in hand I had it reinstalled and ready to roll by mid day.

     Spanish Wells is a unique village compared to the rest of the Bahamas. A walk about this quaint town shows the pride the residents take in their surroundings.  Settled in the mid 1600's by puritans from Bermuda who were shipwrecked off it's shores the four family names of these original settlers are still the prominent names seen around town. This all white community is very close knit with businesses such as the supermarket and electric company owned as a co-op. The main business here is lobstering and the dozen or so boats such as the one pictured below that make this harbor home are owned by groups of fishermen each sharing the profits. These boats go out for a month or more at a stretch to scour the distant waters diving for lobster which are then frozen in the hold. Each boat will tow as many as 6 runabouts manned by 2 owners each and equipped with hooka diving rigs. 

our home for the week tied up behind the lobster boat the Cracker Prince

totally corroded exhaust elbow(looked fine from above until I moved the hoses for a better view)

miles of sandy beaches surround the town on 3 sides sides 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week five- moving east

The past week has been marked by a stretch of great weather with warm sunshine under blue skies. As I mentioned in last weeks post we were waiting on the weather forecast to decide our next destination as we leave Plumb Creek in South Eleuthera. With lite east wind motoring was called for to head for either Exuma or the far islands to the east. We opted for the short 18 nm trip east to the anchorage at Little San Salvador.

Little San Salvador (AKA Halfmoon Cay)
     This island is owned by the Carnival group which includes Princess, Holland America and numerous others and is operated as a day stop for their ships. We love this crescent shaped harbor and  have visited here numerous times both on our own and aboard cruise ships. It boasts one of the most beautiful beaches we have found as long as you are here when there isn't a ship in. Even then they normally leave late afternoon and we have never been questioned for wandering the beach. Bahamas law states that all beaches are public up to the high water line but some private islands can make it unpleasant to go ashore (think roaming guard dogs).

Half Moon Bay all to ourselves

Cat Island
     With another calm day we continue motoring 18nm east to anchor in Bennetts Harbor. On arrival I noticed exhaust smell in the cabin and upon inspection found a crack in the elbow off our engine that mixes sea water with exhaust to cool the exhaust system. Digging further I found major corrosion indicating complete failure was imminent leaving us unable to run the engine. The decision was made to backtrack under sail the 120nm (approx 140 miles) to Spanish Wells where facilities for repairs were available. My first attempt at a temporary fix using JB Weld epoxy failed but a second try seems to be holding allowing us to use the motor in an emergency.

Life's a beach-Cat Island

Little San Salvador
      After 2 calm nights anchored at Cat waiting for some wind and allowing my patches to harden the promised trade winds started building and we set sail (slowly) back west for another quiet night in Halfmoon Bay.

South Eleuthera-Plum Creek 
      The east winds have built by morning allowing us a moderate but rolly downwind sail back across this ocean exposed stretch of rough water to anchor once again in Plum Creek. From here the normal route would take us thru northern Eleuthera and Current Cut but this involves transiting a narrow 7 mile  channel thru shallows then later the swift currents in Current Cut. Not wanting to run the motor any more than necessary we opted for the downwind sail across the exposed waters of Exuma Sound for a stop in Northern Exuma.


North Exuma, Ship Channel Cay
      With winds predicted to be in the upper teens we loaded the dingy on deck and prepared for a rough crossing. Thankfully the strong winds didn't materialize but we still had a brisk but rolly downwind sail the 40 st miles to a protected anchorage. The hi-lite of the trip was finally having some luck fishing. As we approached our destination but still in water 3000 ft deep we caught a nice Mahi (Dolphin Fish) and not long after lost another due to a knot failing attaching my hook to leader. You would think I would be getting better at these knots by now!

finally some luck

what does this portend? good weather I hope!

North Eleuthra- Meeks Patch
      Another day of favorable trade winds has us moving north at our best point of sail dodging the coral heads in the shallow waters leading to Fleming Channel. We covered the 50 miles in 7.5 hours making for some great sailing.

dodging coral heads in 12 ft of water

the view from the helm, wing on wing

     We are currently anchored 2 miles off Spanish Wells where we hope to have a slip where I can pull the engine to gain access to remove the failed part. Have ordered parts out of the Yanmar dealer in Nassau that once they arrive in Nassau will have to pass thru customs then be sent by ferry to here. I actually have the needed part sitting at home in Fl but the logistics involved in getting it here seemed daunting. Have spoken to a local mechanic who I hope can assist with big wrenches and torch to remove the elbow. We may be here a while but a great place to be stranded. Needless to say the past week has been rather stressful but we handled it well. It was quite satisfying to be a true sailboat but the good weather made it enjoyable.
    Our plan for today (Sun) is to get the dinghy back in the water and sail the short hop to anchor off the entrance to Spanish Wells where we can dinghy in to check things out.