The Bahamas - On to the Exumas

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The Bahamas - On To the Exumas

We arrived in Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island, on the afternoon of Friday November 28th after a 25 hour sail from Vero Beach, Fl. The trip was mostly uneventful with light winds and calms. Not a bad way to make a Gulf Stream crossing. We checked into the Grand Bahama Yacht Club, a fancy marina in Lucaya. From there it is easy to clear Bahama Customs and Immigration. Next, we decided to spend a couple days there waiting out a predicted strong storm system which was to pass during the next two days.
On Monday morning we left along with four other boats all headed south and east toward the Exumas. Our planned destination for the night was Great Harbor bay some 65 miles to the East. The weather prediction was for light winds in the morning with a stronger NW flow developing in the afternoon that would peak at 15-20 knots, but directly behind us.

The morning started as we expected. We put out our fishing rigs and motorsailed along the course. After about an hour Nancy looked back and saw that we had a FISH ON! It turned out to be a Mahi-Mahi about 30” in length. We were able to get it in the boat and filleted successfully. Shortly thereafter, the wind began to fill in as predicted. I reefed the main and rolled out the smaller jib and we began strictly sailing towards our destination. However, the wind gusts began to build and build as our speed climbed from 5 to 6 then 7 and 8. Before long we were surfing down the building waves at speeds mostly above 10 knots. I was having a great time steering the boat, as the auto pilot was having trouble keeping up with the following seas. We were quickly passing the other monohull sailboats that had motored ahead of us in the earlier light winds. As we neared our destination we were regularly rushing along at speeds nearing 14 knots in the gusts. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang, followed by the mainsail crash jibing to the other side of the boat. The preventer I had keeping the boom stationary had carried away. As I sheeted in the sail to jibe back under control, I saw that the mainsail was coming down the mast. During the crash jibe, the head of the mainsail had torn away from the head car(sorry about all the nautical terms) leaving the hoist for the sail near the top of the mast. This meant getting the sails down and motoring the final 5 miles to our stop for the night.

We diverted to a more protected anchorage at Bullocks Harbor on the West side of the Berry Islands since the wind by now had swung into the Northeast at a steady 25 knots. It was a relief to get the anchor down under a rocky cliff which protected us from the strong winds. After a quick dinner we turned in early. The next morning dawned clear and sunny. It was great to be back in the crystal clear water and white sand bottoms of the Bahamas. We found that five Bahamian fishing boats had arrived during the night, also seeking a calm place to ride out the stormy weather. It looked like an armada of vessels because each big fishing boat ( about the size of a shrimp trawler) was towing 6 or more small boats like Boston Whalers. As the day progressed the crews of the trawlers were buzzing back and forth to town in the small boats, so there was plenty of activity in the anchorage.

The wind settled into the North East and moderated by the 2nd day so we headed out around Great Stirrup light past a very large cruise ship anchored off Little Stirrup Cay. Then we headed South along the chain of Berry Island towards Nassau. Our anchorage that evening was off a beautiful palm tree lined beach behind Alders Cay. We were the only boat there and no sign of humanity within sight. The Great Bahamas bank stretched behind us as far as the eye could see. We enjoyed a brilliant sunset followed by a peaceful night. The next morning we were able to motorsail with only our small jib since the mainsail was still in need of a major repair. We had called the only sailmaker in the islands, who was located in Nassau and made arrangements to have him pick up the sail when we arrived. The winds and seas were in our favor and we arrived at Yacht Haven in Nassau just after noon. The sailmaker showed up about 1:30 to pick up the sail. He told me to check back about 3:30 and see if they had been able to make a repair. I walked to his shop at the appointed time to find that they had three guys working on my sail. They had rebuilt the head using a composite sail cloth made up of carbon fiber and Kevlar. The repair looked to be much stronger that the original construction. By four-thirty we had the sail back on Double-Wide which was very important since the weather forecast for the next two days was perfect for sailing on to the Exumas. This passage is to the Southeast and is generally in the direction of the prevailing winter winds. We left on Saturday morning with 12-15 knot westerly winds; perfect for trying out our recently repaired sail.

After a 10 hour broad reach we arrived at Hawksbill Cay, on the North side of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. This is a protected area that is maintained by the government and is pristine with no development. We picked up the last empty mooring ball, which was rated at 150 tons with an 8” mooring pennant. This mooring was designed to hold very large super yachts. We had time for a quick beach walk before sunset. The Oceanside beach was great and it looked as if no one had been there in some time.
The next morning we returned to Warderick Wells where the park headquarters are located. This is a truly spectacular mooring field with 360 degree protection which is surrounded by high banks. Also, there are several great snorkeling sites a short dinghy ride away. We dove on several coral reefs on our 2nd day there. That evening there was a happy hour on the beach, where we got to meet the crews of most of the 15 boats moored at the park.

After four days in the park we found a good weather window with brisk Northerly winds and only a 4’ sea, so we went outside in Exuma Sound and tried to fish along the steep drop off just about a mile offshore. The depth here goes from about 30’ to 500 feet in less than 100 yards. Both “About Time” and “Double-Wide” were equipped with new lures that we purchased in Nassau and were anxious to try them. We hooked a fish not more than 15 minutes after putting out the lines. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an ugly barracuda which we had to release. Some barracuda carry a toxin from feeding off the reefs that is dangerous to humans. Another boat about 2 miles behind us, “LaCoquette”, landed a 30 pound wahoo, but they were the only boat out of five that had any luck fishing.

We re-entered the Exuma banks at a break in the rocky coast called Dotham Cut. The pass is quite spectacular as you sail between two huge rock cliffs with reefs and breaking waves on both sides. We rounded the Black Point peninsular and proceeded to Little Bay. This was protected from the brisk Northerly winds and we were able to anchor about 75 yards off a white sand beach. Doug & Sharon joined us for a tour of the beach. There was a large abandoned house which was part of a resort development that went bankrupt two years ago. There was a huge pit behind the house that was to be the marina for the development. Some of the construction equipment was left where it had last been working. We walked across the island about ½ mile to reach the ocean side beach. Here we found many pieces of “Sea Glass”. These are pieces of broken glass that have been washing around in the sand and surf for a long time and all the edges have been worn smooth. People collect this glass and make jewelry from it.

Our plans were to hang out here for 2-3 days, visit the settlement of Black Point, do laundry, try to buy fresh bread, milk and eggs and to head to Georgetown later in the week. We needed to be there by the 21st of December when Julie and Dan were flying in to spend Christmas with us. As we listened to the 06:30 AM weather forecast with Chris Parker, one of the sponsoring vessels called in with a request for weather routing from Black Point to Georgetown, exactly what we were looking for. Chris’ answer was that today looked like the only day in at least the next seven that would allow a passage in the rough Exuma Sound to the South. He predicted that the rest of the week would have ESE winds at 25 knots or more with seas in the 10-12’ range. Therefore, we made the quick decision to put breakfast on hold, raise the anchor and head to Georgetown. We headed south on the bank for about 2 hours and then exited out to the ocean through Cave Cay Cut. Once in the Ocean we were able to sail with the 17-20 knot winds just abaft the beam. This kept us moving along at about 8 knots with a double reefed mainsail and small jib. I was being extremely cautious after ripping the sail on our last windy ocean passage.

We found our way to the entrance of Georgetown harbor by 2:00 PM and anchored in exactly the same place as last year. There were only about 30 boats in the harbor which is nothing compared to the 200 or more that arrive by the middle of March for the big Regatta celebration which is an annual event.

It seemed as though we were back home again. We plan to use Georgetown as a base to explore more of the southern Bahamas this year.

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Photos

Christmas Tree in Bahamas
Nancy & Sharon in front of the tree at the Lucaya market Place

Resting After Crossing the Gulf Stream
By the pool at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club

Hawksbill Beach
Cameron & Nancy Back on a White Sand Beach