Advertisement
Published: February 6th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Sunset at Nassau Entrance
The end of our passage from Miami into the Bahamas. The sky was lovely as we waited for a cruise ship to exit. Exploring the Exumas
When last we wrote we were sailing to Nassau after checking into the Bahamas at Morgan’s Bluff, Andros. We began to lose the sailing winds but arrived at the entrance of Nassau just as it was getting dark. We needed to stand off while a cruise ship exited, and it’s lights danced on the water as the nearly full moon rose behind it. Those moments waiting for the ship to clear meant we had to anchor in the dark, which adds a note of stress even though we are familiar with the harbor and have anchored there many times. We tried a spot near the old Club Med but the anchor was skipping. By moving just a bit further West it hooked well. Club Med is now a Ashram Yoga center so we had the calming sound of evening and early morning chants drifing onto the boat. A bit more pleasant than the loud “Booze Cruise” music you usually have in Nassau.
Thursday dawned and we were looking forward to the yachtsmen’s lunch hosted by Nick & Carolyn Wardle but the early weather check showed we had calm conditions Thursday but would have head winds for
Cruise Ship and Rising Moon
This is what the cruise ship looked like as it ghosted out of Nassau under the rising moon. several days and then a strong cold front passage if we waited. So off we went onto the banks heading for the Exumas. In case visibility was poor we decided to make a dog leg between the White and Yellow Banks to avoid the occasional coral heads to be found on the direct route. It is only a few miles longer and we have never seen heads on the dog leg. Sure enough as we approached Porgee Rock the fog was THICK. The Grand Master mail boat was coming in and we had each other on radar but never got even a glimpse, even though we had to alter course to give the larger boat the deeper part of the channel.
By noon the fog had lifted but the water was absolutely calm. You could see plants clearly in 15 to 20 feet of water and the horizon between the water and the sky melded perfectly—both the same pale clear blue. It was magical. Since bad weather including west winds was in the forecast we stopped only overnight at Hawksbill before sailing on to Cambridge, also known as Little Bell. Within the Exuma Land a Sea Park Cambridge has
Into the Fog
We are used to fog in Maine but not the Bahamas! This was the view over I Wanda's bow as we left Nassau for the Exumas. a number of sturdy moorings that we know are regularly maintained by the Park volunteers. We had one evening to socialize on the beach before hunkering down for the blow which lasted a couple of days.
We did a short hop to Little Pipe Cay and explored a bit. Over Yonder Cay near Compass Cay is experiencing some extensive development with at least a dozen large wind turbines and a huge field of solar panels. Much dredging is being done so it should be quite the development if the money holds out. We say that because as you travel around the Bahamas there are many abandoned developments or those that were only partially completed after much initial excitement. We have seen this in Lucaya, Royal Island, Powel Point, Black Point and in a couple of places on Exuma Island.
Another short hop brought us to the more protected anchorages around Staniel Cay. We chose Big Majors Spot, a long time favorite. We judged that the next cold front would not have strong enough westerly winds to warrant tucking in between the Majors where the current can be a problem. In Cambridge where we had GREAT protection from the
Clear Water
Even in water of 25 feet you can see the plants and fish clearly under the boat. westerly winds we STILL had to cope with the wild boat movement that results when you have 30+ knots of wind going the opposite direction of the strong tidal current. At Big Majors Spot there is hardly any current until you approach the cut at the tip of Fowl Cay. From this anchorage we were able to head out for beach combing, snorkeling, and exploring in Staniel. Lots to do within a short dinghy ride, and we were happy to see that things look prosperous in Staniel Cay. Another private development has come since our last visit just east of the airstrip. A long finger of water leading to the Sound near Lumber Cay has been dredged and some LARGE power yachts and sailboats are now tied up there with luxury homes on the peninsula on the seaward side.
Next was a favorite stop over in Black Point. This is a very small settlement that welcomes cruisers with open arms. It provides free R/O (reverse osmosis) water near the dock, and WiFi at Lorraine’s Café where you would want to go anyway! Nothing like a cracked conch sandwich and a cold Kalik while you are checking your mail! We
More water
Your eyes are always drawn to the beautiful blue water. You learn to "read" the depth of the water based on its shade of blue. The lighter it is the shallower the depth. also hauled in the laundry as the Laundromat here is the loveliest in the Exumas with views out over the anchorage. The harbor at Black Point is open to the West however. While the next morning dawned calm that all changed in a coupole of hours as a 10-15 knot wind from the NW piped up. We had gone into town to get a chip for our European cell phone so we would have an operational cell phone while here in the islands. When we looked out over the anchorage we saw that boats were hobby horsing and we hurried back. The two dinghies tied to the stationary dock were bouncing 4-5 feet into the air as waves rolled in. NOT a good situation but we were able to untie ours and move it to a safer spot to get in. Still dicey. We quickly secured the dinghy to I Wanda and upped anchor to move to a safer spot. In spite of all the boat movement both kitties were calm and not seasick. YAY! We later learned that another boat that stayed in Black Point for two days with adverse winds exerienced some serious damage to their head stay
No Horizon
Looking back on our path through the water you cannot tell where the water ends and the sky begins. and roller furling.
We anchored in the bight by “Hetty’s Land” and had a peaceful night and decided to snorkel in the morning. Well, that NW wind had cooled the water significantly over night and we did not linger in the water. We did see several spiny lobsters and two HUGE crabs. Christian missed the lobster shots and we decided not to take the crabs, as it is quite an ordeal to cook them on board ( they are very large). With our eye always on the weather forecast we decided it was time to head for George Town or get stuck with head winds for several days. We moved to Galliot Cut where we knew we could get a very early start. High tide was to be about 5 am and while you might get some leeway for an hour or so the ebb tide won’t wait long and as soon as it is running against the wind the seas build up in the cuts. We wanted to avoid that (and so did the kitties!) We made it out well just before sunrise and within half an hour Christian landed a dolphin fish (mahi mahi). That made the
Bisous Relaxes
This kitty seems quite at ease during our calm motoring to the Exumas. loss of the lobster more than ok! We both prefer mahi to spiny lobster and there are many more meals in the fish.
With our early start we made Conch Cut by one o'clock and sailed the entire run once we were clear of Galliot. Clearly this is a winter of good sailing, far more than we expected to have. We are now snugly anchored between Stocking Island and George Town. The harbor is so well protected that you hardly need to move in adverse winds. We usually do, as it is just a mile or so to the other side for excellent westerly protection. No cold fronts since we have arrived though and lots of sunny warm weather. We will tell you all about George Town in our next post!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.097s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 13; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0606s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
betty
non-member comment
Thanks -
I