Moving south

Thurs- March 21-Allens-Pensacola Cay

The day dawned sunny with a brisk north wind and we headed south under reefed sails moving along at 6-7 knots. Great fishing with 2 macarell, a jack and 2 barracuda we released. Made the anchorage at Allens-Pensacola at 5pm and spent a quiet night. During the run south we broke 4 sailslides on the main, this is after breaking 2 a few days back. Apparently they have reached their lifespan being nearly 30 years old. A friend from previous years- Reggie on Adrenaline was the only other boat in the anchorage and he happened to have 4 used slides to give us. Will be looking to replace the rest.

Fri-Treasure Cay
Another clear day with the winds still north. Decided to continue south and get thru Whale passage before the wind and waves built again tomorrow. Sail all day wit a little help from the engine and made Treasure Cay at 3pm. Another fun fishing day with a mackerel  and a big jack that was great on the grill for dinner. Made a big pot of chowder with the Mackerel as we are out of freezer space.

Sat thru Mon
Another front has us hunkered down in this well protected anchorage along with 25 other boats.  The resort here charges $10 per day to anchor and use all their amenities and this along with a great beach makes it one of Chris' favorite spots.

Tues-  Man-O-War Cay

Skies have cleared and winds calmed to 18 kts so we ran south under reefed sails to the great harbor at Man o war. No anchoring in this harbor as it is filled with moorings. Picked up a mooring as the wind protection from the north is non existent nearby. In to the only sailmaker in the Bahamas where we were able to pick up some spare slides. Wander about this well kept village then on to a pot luck ashore that was attended by at least 40 boaters. We were entertained by an informal group of boaters playing 4 guitars, a mandolin, a fiddle and drums for a fun evening.

Marsh Harbor
March 27th
Off to Marsh Harbor under reefed sails with a brisk north wind. Picked up a few fresh veggies at the supermarket and an extra spare primary fuel filter at NAPA. Marsh Harbor is a small city where you can find most items a boater needs. Prices here are also much better than the islands further south.

Thurs-March 28
Little Harbor
Sunny but still cool north winds. The Bronze foundry at Johnsons art gallery was doing a pour at 1pm so having never seen this we headed out early to try to make the harbor in time. Missed the first pour but thankfully the had a second a few hours later.  They use the age old lost wax process and this is quite a site to see.

Hot work

Breaking away the plaster mold

Back on the water

March 2013

After having spent the summer enjoying our home and camp in NY's Adirondacks and a great winter in Florida we are finally back in the Bahamas for a few months.

Fri-Sat, March 16th- finally looks like we have a weather window to cross the gulf stream. Chris has been busy provisioning the boat while I have been finishing up a remodel/addition job for our friends Tom and Patty Amell. We have completed a few projects on Apres Ski over the winter and been out for some great daysails. Before launching this Oct we stripped the bottom and keel and applied new bottom paint. The addition of a new battery bank consisting of 4- 6 volt golf cart batteries, a link battery monitor and a 3rd solar panel will hopefully improve our electric situation but since I bought a small portable freezer we will most likely be still running the engine regularly . The canvas enclosure I made last year had to be completely redone, the material I used didn't hold up in the tropical sun and the seller replaced it but the labor involved in resewing everything was a big job.
Spent our first day on the water motoring south to Lake Worth where we will head out when the seas and wind cooperate. Had engine problems on the trip down and had to change both fuel filters. Spent much of the day Sat pumping out the bottom of the fuel tank and was able to separate a quart of water and a quart of gunk(algae) from the fuel. Added biobar to fuel and hope this is the last of the fuel problems. Moved late afternoon to anchor close to the inlet for an early morning departure.

Sun- Anchor up at 4am and motoring east in an easy ocean swell.  Wind is lite but right on the nose. Able to maintain over 6 knots all day and even got to sail a few hours when the wind veered a little to the south. Crossed onto the shallow water of the Bahama bank at 1pm finally catching a small yellowtail, the only fish in over 7 hours of trolling 2 lines.  Anchored for the night at Mangrove Cay at 5 PM in time for cocktails and a beautiful sunset. We have been in radio contact all day with sailing friends aboard Stardust and Incommunicado. It's comforting to know that even though we aren't traveling as "buddy boats" that in an emergency we have friends we can contact.  Both boats left after us but they decided to continued on another 3 hours to Great Sale Cay. We felt that since we never sleep well the night before a crossing that an early night is called for after 13 hours on the water.

Mon- A lazy morning led to a late start heading for Great Sale, Winds piped up to 18kts and we flew along a 6-7 kts for hours. Upon arrival at the anchorage decided the protection would be poor if the predicted cold front arrived earlier than expected . headed north to one of our favorite stops- Grand Cay where we were at anchor by 5PM . A trip in to the docks provided us with 6 lobster tails and 6 conk from a local diver for $20.  We managed to gorge ourselves on the lobster for dinner but saved the conk for another night. The predicted wind shift came at 3 AM and we were glad to be in a protected harbor.

Tues- A quiet day working on projects and cleaning up. Customs came to us on the boat at 5 PM and we cleared in easily. One surprise was that the cruising permit fee increased from $150 to $300 and they charged a $30 overtime fee. Cracked conk for dinner along with fresh baked brownies for later. Since lobster season ends this month stopped at a local boat and bought $20 worth of tails. What a deal for 18 tails. Trying to make room in freezer is the problem. Wish we could always have such dilemas.

Lobster tails for the freezer

Ocean side beach- Grand Cay

Wed-After Spent a great afternoon exploring the oceanside beach. Cold front expected overnite with big winds so we decided to move into the dock. We have been in here during big blows and the holding is poor in grassy bottom. Glad we were at the dock as the storm was fierce and a boat upwind from our spot dragged across the harbor. Always seems to happen in the dark of night.

Abacoes and on to Fl

May 31st
Marsh Harbor
Our plan for this AM was to snorkle on the coral gardens at Sandy Cay. Once again a sunny morning quickly turned into stormy skies so we sailed on to anchor at Marsh Harbor staying just ahead of the storms. Managed a trip to town in late afternoon for wine and groceries. At dinner time I flagged down a passing local with a boatload of conk and we bought enough conk for the freezer along with 4 lobsters for dinner.

June 1st-2nd
Treasure Cay 
With more nasty weather approaching we took advantage of a break in the rain to sail north to Chris' favorite anchorage at Treasure Cay. This is a very protected harbor where we can anchor and still have wifi, pool, showers and a great beach. major storms passed during the afternoon and again late night but the few boats here rode out the weather safely. A break in the rain Sat afternoon let us spend time on the beach.

June 3rd-7th
A pleasant morning with calm seas found us transiting the whale passage and heading to Green Turtle Cay. We are planning to keep moving north as the weather permits to be ready to cross to Fl when we get favorable conditions. With a full moon we have to wait for a rising tide to enter Black Sound so we spent the afternoon anchored off Abacoe Island exploring the remains of yet another failed development. Acres of mature coconut palms and flowering tropical vegetation lining the roadsides made for a pleasant walk thru these deserted woods.    Picked up a mooring at Donnies, one of our favorite stops, and we will be here a few days waiting for the strong NW winds and squally weather to improve. Monday found us spending the afternoon at the nearby beach on the lee side protected from the winds. The nights have been hot and buggy with not a lot of breeze on the mooring but with storms passing regularly moving to an anchorage with more breeze isn't an option. Hung out the next few days putting up with the no-see-ums at dusk. Hazy hot and humid, spent time at beaches and exploring on bikes. Storms about each day.

June 8th-Fri
After a morning shower decided to move north to Allens-Pensacola Cay. Spent a quiet night in an old favorite anchorage.

June 9th-Sat
Finally some good sailing wind. Moved on to Great Sale Cay where we anchored along with 8 other boats all headed back to the US. Caught 2 big Barracuda both to big to eat and a nice Spanish Macarell we had for dinner.

Sun- Off early with plans to stop and anchor at West End. We have never stopped there and have been told that anchoring is limited to fair weather only. Have heard that the marina charges $100-150 per night so we have never stopped. This is the first place for power boats from FL to stop to fuel up and clear customs.
        As they say "the best laid plans..." Around 11 AM noise started in engine and after some checks found the coolant pump on the engine had gone bad. Radioed West End and inquiring about chances of getting a new pump in a timely fashon was told our chances were "slim to none". With a decent wind we decided to sail on and made for Memory rock to anchor for the night.

Mon- Memory rock is just a small rock marking a spot where the water is deep enough to cross onto the banks. It is totally exposed in all directions but is the last place to anchor before the ocean depths. We spent a very rolly night azt anchor with winds about 15 kts. At 4 AM we set sail for Stuart figuring if we kept a speed of 5 kts we could enter the inlet on an incoming tide. "Wrong again" wind died to lite and we slowly made our way across. Thankfully we have Seatow (AAA for boats) or we wouldn't have attempted this crossing or the sometimes hazardous St Lucy Inlet. Called Seatow from 5 miles out and they met us outside the inlet to tow us in thru the 2 knt outgoing tide. It turns out that our friend Fred was the Seatow Capt and we enjoyed a smooth (even if a tow is a bit embarrasing) end to our 3 month journey.

Back at our dock and moved ashore we waited for our new water pump which the engine rebuilder replaced under warranty. In the meantime the St Lucy locks closed for maintenance so we had to wait to take the boat to Indiantown for summer haul out/storage.

We had a great trip visiting many new places and meeting lots of wonderful people. Traveled a total of 1106 NM over a period of a little under 3 months.  Now its time to head north to our summer  home and camp in NY's Adirondacks.

Pushing Northward

May 28th-Current Island, Eleuthra
With all the inclement weather we have been experiencing of late we decided a change of plan was in order. We have wanted to make our return trip take us thru the Berries then across to Bimini but this weather has us returning to Fl by our usual route. An early start has us motorsailing north thru the 40 miles of shallow coral studded waters to Current Island. This is best done in good light and calm seas to make it easier to dodge the coral heads that abound. Caught 2 big Barracuda that we released but no keepers. As we approach Fleming Channel the engine overheat alarm sounds and Chris takes the helm under sail only while I find the problem. A clogged cooling water filter solved the problem for a while but also found intake thru hull partially clogged with weeds after overheating a couple more times. Spent a quiet night at anchor off of Current settlement.

May 29th-Royal Island
Sail north to Spanish Wells for fuel and a few fresh Veggies the on to Royal Island to be ready to head north across the Providence Channel at first light.

May 30th- on to Abacoe-Lynyard Cay

Off at 6:30 to cross the 55 miles of open ocean to Little Harbor cut. No wind has us motoring and right away the engine overheats. After many tries messing around replacing the water pump and checking water flow thru the system finally found some blockage in intake thru-hull that must have been reducing water flow enough to only cause problems at higher engine loads. Would run fine at speeds under 5 kts but I wanted to keep up our speed for this long crossing to enter the reef in daylight. The highlight of the trip was hooking a huge Dolphin(Mahi) on and foughting it for quite a few jumps before it broke my line after stripping nearly all the line off the reel. Even after our engine problems we were still anchored by 5:30 for a quiet night.

East to the Exumas

Georgetown, Exuma
May 12th-16th
With the wind at our backs we set sail for Georgetown. The weather is predicted to turn nasty soon so we are heading for a protected anchorage. Large seas and strong wind on our stern made for a long trip as I had to be steering the boat thru each wave. Was a little nerveracking entering the harbor thru north channel rocks with the seas running but anchored in calm water off Sand Dollar Beach in the lee of Elizabeth Island by mid afternoon.
Spent Mothers Day hiking and hanging out on the beach. The next few days were spent anchored off of town so we could take care of chores- laundry, propane and shopping as we tried to avoid the worst of the rain.

May 16th-Lee Stocking Island
Motorsailed in light winds to the marine research center where we wandered about the mostly deserted facilities. Hiked the island and spent time on the beach.

May 17th- Musha Cay
Spent the morning exploring Normans Cay by dingy as the mosquitoes chased us off the island. Made our way to Musha Cay fishing along the way. Quiet beautiful anchorage but visits ashore to this exclusive resort are not permitted.

May 19-20th- Little Farmers Cay
Showers thru the day as we motor to Little Farmers. Coctails aboard with crew of Lamaru. Wander about town where all was quiet on Sunday afternoon.

May 21st- Big Majors Cay
Motorsailed north to piggy beach where there were 20 boats (half huge Yachts) anchored. Rainy afternoon with two big storms keeping us on watch much of the night. A few big boats dragging anchor made for an exciting time for some of our neighbors. Thankfully all was fine around us.

May 22-25th- Wardrick Wells
With more stormy weather predicted we decided to move to the protected moorings at the Exuma Park HQ. Windy and showers much of the time but we got to trade a bag of books at the office library. Hike up Boo Boo hill to fetch our boat sign so I could carve our new name and date. Most visiting boats leave a driftwood sigh on this hilltop cairn to mark their visits to this wonderful place. Drinks aboard with young newlyweds Dave and Janae from Wave Dancer. They were married during their extended cruise while in Little Harbor,  Abacoe.


May 26th-Hawksbill Cay
Sunny skies finally found us sailing north to Hawksbill Cay where we enjoyed the beautiful beach. After all the rain we have been having the bugs are fierce and we try to anchor a decent distance from the mangroves but still must be sure to have the screens in well before dusk.

May 27th- Allens Cay
Sail north trying to keep ahead of building storms. Anchor in the protected harbor with 5 other boats. We set 2 anchors as the tide rushes thru and there is very little swinging room. Protected iguanas call this uninhabited island home and draw many visitors here.

South in the wake of Columbus

May 2nd -3rd
After sitting out the past 6 days of storms and rain in Governors Harbor we are finally rewarded with sunny and breezy weather for a sail to Rock Sound. Enjoyed wandering around town and exploring a group of caves and a blue hole that were close by.

Caves at Rock Sound

May 4th
With settled weather predicted for the next week we decided to modify our plan to cross to the Exumas and instead continue south and east to explore the more remote islands of the far Bahamas. Most of the anchorages we will be visiting offer very limited protection from any winds other than the prevailing trades so good weather is essential for visiting this area. After a pleasant sail managing to catch a small Barracuda for our dinner, our final anchorage on the southern end of Eleuthera is off of Plum Creek.  Spent time exploring another fine beach and another beautiful sunset. 

Little San Salvador
May 5th
Off early in light winds motorsailing to Half moon bay on Little SanSalvadore. A cruise ship was anchored in the protected cove that serves as a day stop for some of the cruise lines but they left by late afternoon and we had the beautiful spot to ourselves for a quiet walk on the beach.

Just a few of the days catch-best fishing yet!

Cat Island
May 6th-7th
Calm winds finds us motoring south all day to Fernandez Bay. The upside was the fishing was great bringing in a large Grouper, 1 large and 3 small Jacks, and a Barracuda we released. We now have plenty of fish in the freezer.  Spoke with friends aboard Glennis via radio that were in the anchorage on the southern tip of the island off of Port Howe. We had heard that passage thru the reef into this anchorage was hazardous as the gps charts were incorrect so we hadn't planned on attempting it but after Glennis gave us coordinates to enter the reef we decided to join them..  On Monday we motored south catching and releasing 3 large Barracuda along the way. Entrance thru the reef in calm seas and bright sun was very simple but the chartplotter would have had us on the reef. This is one of the few times that the electronic charts have been inaccurate and we are told that the 2012 version has been corrected. Enjoyed sunset cocktails with Janice and Greg then spent a rolly night as the ocean swells pass over the reef.

Conception Island
May 8th-9th
Motoring in flat seas we pass Columbus Point and cross open ocean to make landfall at Conception Island. The crescent shaped anchorage boasts a beautiful beach unspoiled by human habitation. The island is part of the national park system and is a no take zone. Known for its gin clear water, sea turtle habitat, flocks of Tropicbirds, magnificent reefs and beaches it is described as the crown jewel of the Bahamas by the cruising guides. Time spent snorkeling and exploring the miles of creeks passed much to quickly but the fair weather is predicted to end and with no protected anchorage we must move on

another perfect beach- Conception Island

Long Island
 May 10th-11th
With strong breezes from the southwest we had an exciting sail covering the 20 nm before rounding Cape Santa Maria and its Columbus monument atop the cliffs. The best part of the day was when both reels started screaming at once each with a Dolphin(Mahi) on. I managed to loose the first after a few jumps but brought the second along side only to lose it trying to gaff it from the pitching deck. It was an exciting time as Chris got to handle the second rod for quite a while. These fish display brilliant colors and put in quite a show leaping straight out of the water numerous times. Also released a large Barracuda that put up quite a fight. Anchored in one of our favorite spots off Hog Cay where we spent our time walking the beach, snorkeling and exploring the miles of shallow mangrove creeks. Sunset cocktails aboard Maholo with Tom and Delwin who we had met snorkeling at Conception.

Northern Eleuthera

April 18th- Dawn brings clear skies and lighter winds and we can see that the seas have calmed in the Little Harbor cut so its anchor up and off south under full sail. Winds are a little more on the nose than we had hoped for but light enough that we keep our speed up by adding the iron genny (motor) any time our speed drops below 5.5 kts. We need to cover 55 miles of open ocean before dark and are also passing thru a busy shipping lane. Hooked a nice dolphin (Mahi) around noon and had an exciting time bringing it alongside. Unfortunately we failed to get it into the boat as has happened many times before. The sailboat is not set up for gaffing a big fish as we have so much stuff in the way at the stern and Chris is a little leery of hanging over the rail as we roll in the swells. Hooked into another big fish later but got just a look at it as it leaped high and got loose before I even had the drag set. Picked up mooring in the protected harbor at Royal Island in time for cocktail hour and spent a quiet evening along with 14 other boats. Nearly all the boat traffic is heading north at this time of year and most of these boats will head out over the next 2 days as the wind swings south.

April 19th thru 23rd- Two days of fine weather has us relaxing wandering about the island, snorkeling and generally lazing about. A storm front passed thru Sat night with gusts over 50 kts and heavy rain. Gale winds persisted thru monday when they finally died down to 20 kts and we were able to spend the day hiking the island.  We were glad to be on one of the private hurricane moorings and not have to worry about dragging anchor. Many boats have come into the harbor to ride out the storm and a few had to reanchor as they dragged in the storms.

Royal Island ruins, outdoor bar

Snorkeling spot- ruins of pier and harbor

what appears to be a corall(holding pen) possibly for conk or lobster? cut into shoreline at Royal Is ruins. A gated sluceway to the ocean allowed fresh seawater to enter

 our protected anchorage in the center of Royal Island

April 24th- Off in the morning to Spanish Wells for propane and fresh veggies. Picked up a mooring in this crowded harbor as the seas are still rough to anchor outside. Stopped at the boaters book exchange during happy hour and enjoyed the company of Jean and Tom who are from RI but own a home here and welcome boaters to visit their library and trade books. They keep their trawler in the harbor and have made the trip to RI for the past 29 years. After so much nasty weather we were in need of fresh reading material.


April 25th- Sail south thru Current Cut (one of my most dreaded spots with 3.5 kts of current and shifting shoals as you exit) then motor sail into the wind to Hatchet Bay. Picked up a free mooring and dingeyed in to buy stone crab claws from the local crabber. A bottle of cheap rum ($6) and $20 cash and we had a bag of 20 large claws fresh off the boat. We have decided that these are even better than lobster and stuffed ourselves for 2 nights dinners.


April 26th thru    -Motor sail south to Governors Harbor where we plan to wait out more stormy weather expected over the next few days. Pick up the only mooring where we will be secure for the next few days. Many boaters dont trust these govt moorings but over the years I have dove on any that we use and found that most have monster chain and huge concrete blocks. You usually have to supply your own mooring line as most are pretty ratty. The holding for anchoring in many of these harbors is tenacious at best with a bottom of either grass or marl(limestone) so we feel more secure on a mooring. Caught a nice Barracuda on the way and made chowder from the carcass and froze a few dinners. 
    Fri- Hike out to the beautiful ocean beach(pink sand- one of our favorites) where we explored the abandoned Club Med Resort. Was a huge operation apparently in the 70's before being wiped out by a hurricane.

   Sat- Threat of rain all day kept our  exploring close to the boat. Light rain all night with heavy rain and expected winds on Sunday kept us aboard. The good thing is that I can fill our water tanks with our rain collection system. Unlike most of the Bahamas good water can be had for free in most of Eleuthra but has to be hauled from shore in jugs. Water in Abacoe is mostly RO (reverse osmoses) water and usually costs about 20 cents/gal. We carry 70 gals of water in our tanks and can usually make this last quite a while by washing dishes using salt water whenever we are in clean water. I have added sea water faucets at both sinks for this purpose.