The Abacos (Free at Last!)

Photo: View from the Bluff House (New Plymouth in the distance)

The winds finally shifted to the ESE at 10kts which allowed us to leave Marsh Harbour and see what the rest of the Abacos are all about. It was like a jailbreak as many boats took advantage of the good weather.

This began our journey back to the states via the northern Abacos.

The first night we cruised up to Green Turtle Cay and the Bluff House restaurant/marina. Travis had given us a gift certificate there for Christmas and we were anxious to use it. Green Turtle Cay is a gorgeous island with two separate anchorages, Black Sound and White Sound. We spent the night at the Bluff House Marina on White Sound.

Photo: Enjoying dinner at The Bluff House on Green Turtle Cay

The next day we visited Pensacola Cay (yes, there really is one!). It is uninhabited but we walked a narrow pathway to the Atlantic side where there are "sign" trees. Cruisers leave all sorts of memorabilia tied to the trees. We found an old piece of wood and wrote our names on it (thinking ahead, we had brought a permanent marker).
Photo: Leaving a record of our visit to Pensacola Cay.

Barefoot Man Concert

Today (Sunday) we took the ferry over to Guana Cay to attend the Barefoot Man concert at Nipper's. He is a local favorite "Jimmy Buffet" type who sings a lot about the Bahamas. Not sure how many people were there but it couldn't have held too many more! His latest CD is named "Thong Gone Wrong" which tells you a lot about the rest of the songs! It was Woodstock for the gray-haired set.

PINNED DOWN IN MARSH HARBOUR

It is a good thing we left Eleuthera when we did. That one day was the only weather window since and looks like the only one for the next week. We had planned on staying in the Abaco for a few weeks but there are others here who would like to get going. The winds have been a constant 20-25 kts with gusts to 30 kts. The marina is very sheltered (as is the pool) but boats are pinned down.


Boats leaving here for the north have to cross Whale Cut about 17 miles north. This is open to the ocean on the east and NE or E winds virtually close it to passages. The winds have been from that direction for a week and are forecast to remain so for at least another five days.

Hopefully, April will be less windy.

BOB & BJ KING VISIT COMPASS ROSE

Our long time friends from Crofton, Bob and BJ King, arrived Sunday to spend five days in the Bahamas. We wasted no time and took the boat out into the Sea of Abaco and had a great two hour ride. Three dolphins came over and cruised along in our bow wave and were then joined by four more. What a sight!! It was like the Bahamas chamber of commerce had arranged this for Bob and BJ.

On Monday, we all took the Albury Ferry over to Hope Town. What a delightful little town…it was originally settle by British Loyalist (as were most of the Bahamas) during the American Revolution and has continued to maintain a small village atmosphere. On one side is the harbour and the other is on the Atlantic Ocean. We took numerous photos of the famous candy striped lighthouse there. We also had a great lunch at Cap’n Jacks (this was the start of a gastronomical feast that lasted their whole visit!). While in Hope Town we also visited the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum which depicted life as is was in the original settlement.

Wednesday found the four of us on the ferry again, this time to Man-O-War Cay. Despite the historical and romantic name, the island doesn’t seem to much going for it. The very small ‘downtown’ has a few souvenir shops, one restaurant and a few boat builders. 90% of the residents have the surname “Albury”. It is still a destination for those who want to ‘get away from it all’ and you can certainly do that. After returning to Marsh Harbour, we took a taxi to The Jib Room for their famous ribs. And they were fantastic…right up there with Adam’s Ribs.

Marsh Harbour

The next day we explored Marsh Harbour by bike. This didn’t take too long since the town only has a population of 1100. However, there are at least two hundred boats anchored or in marinas. Boat Harbour marina is very nice with a pool, tiki hut bar, laundry, dive shop, etc. It is also the “home” of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. This consists entirely of cruisers from around the world and is more a social club. However, they have negotiated some great rates for this marina. We joined the club in January and are very glad we did. The current transient slip rate is $2.25/ft per day and we ended up paying $.55/ft per day. We Photo: Entering Boat Harbour Marina

did have to reserve a slip for a month but it is still a great bargain.

There is ferry service from Marsh Harbour to both Hope Town and Man-O-War Cays which we will take advantage of.

The Abacos (Finally!!)

We finally found a weather window (of sorts) and left Spanish Wells Thursday morning. We could hear on the radio that 10-15 other boats (all sail) were also departing from the west end of Eleuthera. The pilot (A1 Broadshad) we had hired showed up thirty minutes late and we (Compass Rose & La Garza Verde) were about to leave without him. [Footnote: met his niece who is a waitress at the local restaurant; she revealed his real name- Hextant Pinder]. He finally led us out through the reefs at Ridley Point and we entered the ocean northbound. The photo of La Garza Verde’s chart plotter clearly shows the reefs. We felt much more comfortable with A1 leading us through. The winds were still SE at around 20 kts with seas in the 5-6 ft range off our starboard beam to slightly aft of the beam. While this was much better than the northerly conditions of the past week, it still made for a rock and roll ride. We put up our steadying sail but not sure if is helped much. As you can see from the photo of the saloon, things tended to slide around even though they we bungied. After seven hours of open waters, we finally reached the cut through Little Harbour and entered a much smoother Sea of Abaco. We went from rolling seas and 15,000 ft of water to smooth, crystal clear water only eight feet deep. What a welcome relief it was to once again be in these conditions. Another two hours up the Sea of Abaco and we arrived at Abaco Resort and Boat Harbour. We pulled into slip #713 and we had arrived! Since leaving Marathon on February 21st, we have now covered exactly 500 nm. Since leaving Annapolis last October, we have now covered 1,901 nm.

Photo: Entering Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour

Spanish Wells (Day 7)

Photo: Now wer're reduced to taking pictures of rocks!!


While in Spanish Wells we met Bob and Jane aboard “Sweet Luxury”, a Cabo Rico sailboat. They are best friends with John’s cousin Jenny in Conn. Small world... Then “Cygnus” pulled into the marina. This is a Catalina 47 and they had been out on a mooring ball for the past 10 days waiting to cross to the Abacos. They are from Annapolis (Steve & Mary Jane Floyd) and are best friends with Joe Rocchio who was two slips from us at Bert Jabin’s Marina in Annapolis. They both have Catalina 47’s. This is getting freaky! There are at least 25 boats in Spanish Wells waiting to cross to the Abacos. When we are all ‘set free’, it will be like the Beltway!

Wellllllll, Tuesday morning and still the winds/seas are wrong for crossing. There was a lot of chatter this morning on the radio about weather and the general consensus (and that of our professional pilot) was to wait another day. Never did we think we would be here for a full week.

Eleuthera

Arrived at Spanish Wells, Eleuthera on Wednesday and tied up at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. Spanish Wells is a charming town (village) whose main economy is lobstering. The boats go to the ends of the Bahamas to catch lobster.
Photo: Entering Spanish Wells harbour















Photo: Spanish Wells "All Age School"

Photo: Pam riding through Spanish Wells

We met Jim and Dudley Grove on their 1962 Hatteras ("Fanfare") which they have owned for the past 45 years (it was his parent’s boat first). He has been coming to Eleuthera since he was 8 years old and was a wealth of information. On Friday they departed to go over to Harbour Island, about an hours sail. To get there, you have to cross “The Devil’s Backbone”, a snaking route through coral reefs and shifting sands. The services of a professional pilot are strongly recommended.

“La Garza Verde” (The Green Heron) arrived on Friday. We had met John & Susan Hauge down at Exuma Park. We had some drinks and food on their boat and seemed like we had been friends forever.
Photo: Rainbow in Spanish Wells

On Saturday, the four of us decided to take the ‘fast’ ferry (The Bo Hengy) over to Harbour Island. This is a 120 foot catamaran that blows through the Devils’ Backbone at 25 kts. Even at that speed, it was a rockin and rollin trip. At times we were 50’ off the beach and at other times 50 ft from exposed coral reefs. Harbour Island is the new “hot” real estate area of the Bahamas. Waterfront houses routinely go for $3-4 million. The main mode of transportation there is golf carts and they are everywhere. No seatbelts or helmets…. Quite a sight!

Photo: The "Bo Hengy" fast ferry.

Everything closes in Spanish Wells on Sunday. We rode our bikes around and, not only is everything shut down, but there is no one on the streets. Not sure where they all go but is was like a ghost town.

Photo: Fantasy Corner in Harbour Island

We hired a professional pilot to guide us through the reef and get us on our way to the Abacos Monday morning. Alas, it was not to be! He arrived a 7:30am and said, ‘if it was his boat, he would not go’. Good enough for me! Maybe Tuesday…at least the stores are open today and we can check email at “Computer Concepts”.

A 47 Catalina sailboat pulled in this morning. Steve and Mary Jane Floyd from Annapolis have been out on the mooring balls for two weeks waiting to go to the Abacos. Yikes!! He says Tuesday looks promising.

We need to take the boat out today to empty the holding tank. There are no pump out stations in the Bahamas. All the ‘flushing’ of the tides seems to keep the water clear. But, we just don’t feel good about dumping it right in the marina.

The Exumas

Photo: Compass Rose off Warderick Wells, Exumas
Photo: Skeleton of a whale at Warderick Wells

We left Nassau after two days decided to continue with Mike & Casey down to the Exumas. After a two day cruise, we tied up to a mooring ball at the Exumas Land & Sea Park in Warderick Wells. The water here looks as clear as gin!

Photo: Boats anchored at Warderick Wells, Exumas

We dinghied in to check in at the Ranger station. Coming ashore we saw the remains (bones) of a mammoth whale. Phil Chapman (“Resolute”) stopped by in his dingy this afternoon. He is anchored at the Hog Cay mooring field. Got a call on the radio from Ted & Pat (“Seclusion”) down in Staniel Cay. Looks like we will miss them as they are headed south. At 5:30p there was the weekly Happy Hour (BYO) on the beach complete with bonfire. There were about 30 other cruisers there. We stayed about and hour then headed back to ”Tranquility Base” for dinner. To top it off , there was a lunar eclipse of the full moon!

Photo: John & Pam, Casey & Mike at Exumas Land & Sea Park

The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the first land and sea park in the world, covers 176 square miles (22 by 4 miles). It is a no-take zone by both land and sea-nothing living or dead, can be removed from the park. Warderick Wells in the headquarters for the park.

Sunday finds us still at the anchorage. Took the dingy in to the beach with Mike and Casey and hiked to the top of ‘Boo Boo Hill’. Did a little snorkeling and basically just acted like a slug.

The two fronts are still meandering south and no one knows when or if they will effect our weather. Best guess in 15-20 kts NW late Sunday and into Monday. This will determine when we start heading back north to the Abacos.