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Published: January 14th 2010
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Ocean Reef to Georgetown - 2010
We quickly settled into the routine at Ocean Reef resort and before we knew it the holiday season was upon us. There was a planned “Pot Luck” dinner organized by the remaining 50 or so cruisers for Christmas Day. It was lots of fun with plenty of Turkey, Ham and special dishes prepared by the different boats. Dinner was followed by a gift exchange which was done as a “Chinese Auction”. This provided plenty of laughs. One of the gifts we brought was a bright red crab hat that was fought over by several guests.
Julie and Dan flew in on the 27th and we had Christmas morning all over again. They were glad to be in warmer temperatures after spending some very cold days in Atlanta and Chapel Hill. It was a little chilly for the swimming pool but the hot tub was very busy. Plus they enjoy just relaxing around the pool with a good book. One day we rented a car and toured the island. This is always a challenge since the Bahamians drive on the opposite side of the road. One interesting stop was the Lucayan caves and the
Julie & Dan
New Years Eve at Bikini Bottom Beach Bar nearby Golden Sands Beach which is part of the Bahamian National Preserve. We had a great lunch in the Garden of the Groves which is a lush tropical setting.
After Julie and Dan left on New Year’s Day we made quick preparations to get underway for the Exumas. By the 4th of January we were ready and the winds were 10-12 knots out of the Northwest, a perfect direction for our 60 mile trip across NW Providence Channel to Great Stirrup Cay. We had to motor-sail most of the way as the following breeze was not strong enough to get us in before dark. Since this was our first time in this anchorage I wanted to be able to see during our approach. We anchored about 30 minutes before dark along with 4 other boats.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny yet a little cool with early morning temperatures in the high 50’s. We had a fresh northerly blowing at 15-20 knots. We hauled anchor, tucked a reef in the main and proceeded towards Nassau. The wind veered slightly east during the day and provided some gusts into the low 20’s but this gave us a good
quick broad reach down to Nassau. We were off the big Atlantis resort by about 3:00 PM and decided to go north of the Nassau harbor and continue on to Rose Island some 6 miles closer to our next destination. The weather forecast was for yet another strong cold front to roll in during the night and we thought Rose Island would give shelter from the 30+ knot winds predicted from the NW.
We anchored just after 4:00 PM in the small cove on the west end of the island along with 4 small sailboats and one mega yacht. Sure enough the wind began to howl during the night. By the next morning it was still blowing at 25knots with higher gusts and we elected to sit tight until the winds eased some. Shortly later the mega yacht and all but one of the other boats elected to run into Nassau harbor for more shelter. Since we were tucked in pretty close to the rocky shoreline we stayed put.
The following morning the winds were still NW but had eased to 15-18 knots. We raised anchor and got under way towards the northern Exumas. The first part of
this trip included crossing the yellow banks. This is part of the great Bahama Bank of crystal clear light blue water averaging8-20 feet deep. However, the Yellow Banks is littered with numerous coral heads that rise to within a few feet of the surface. On a clear sunny day, which we had, it is easy to see them within about 100’ from them. They appear as dark patches in the water. Our first year down in the Bahamas we met an experienced couple on the sailboat “Mandalay” that gave us their waypoints for crossing the bank. This course involves a long dogleg that takes a path through the coral heads but with the least amount of maneuvering necessary.
We made good time, again on a broad reach and then a run. We averaged nearly 7 knots for the trip and reached our destination of Norman’s Cay about 3:30. Since the winds were still NW and up near 20 anchoring in a secure location meant we had to use the area south of the Cay in the cut between Normans and the next cay. While this is a place with good holding, the current runs through the anchorage at 3+
knots and switches direction every 6 hours. As we came into anchor, the area was very crowded with boats seeking protection from the strong NW winds. There were already 25 boats anchored. It took us over an hour, and several attempts, to get anchored in a position that left enough room to swing without interfering with other boats. Once anchored we needed to get ashore to stretch our legs, as we had been sailing without leaving the boat for the past 96 hours. Fortunately, there is a small airstrip on that end of Normans Cay along with a great little beach bar & grill called Normans Beach Club (or McDuffs - its former name). We found some of our friends from previous voyages already inside McDuffs enjoying cracked conch and Kalik beer. So we spent a good 1 ½ hours talking with them before returning to Double-Wide for the night.
Our plan was to get up and move 15 miles south to Warderick Wells, the national park. There is a great anchorage there but all boats must take moorings due to the current and to help preserve the natural environment. We got up early and sailed out the cut
into Exuma sound just after sunrise hoping to get down to the park early. As they started their morning radio check-in process it became clear that there were many cruisers with the same plans as us. It turned out that we would not be able to get a mooring that night and since it was a perfect day out in the sound with only 2 foot seas and a light NW wind, we decided to push south as far as we could and try and reach Georgetown before the next cold front was due in 2-3 days. Just after making this decision, one of our fishing lines suddenly pulled tight indicating - Fish On!!! We pulled in a nice blackfin tuna about 30” long. Suddenly our menu for the evening was looking up.
We continued on and reached Little Farmers Cay about an hour prior to sunset. The anchorage was in about 6’ of pure blue water over fine white sand. It is really cool when you can drop the anchor watch it hit the sand and the see the chain pay out. That night we had a glorious sunset of multicolored hues of pink and red.
The
forecast for the next day was for light winds clocking towards the southeast during the day. This would mean a beat to Georgetown. However, if we did not make the run today we would have to find a place to hide for the next front and its strong NW winds. So we left Little Farmers just prior to sunrise and motor-sailed out the cut back into Exuma Sound. By 12:30 we had reached Conch cut the entrance to Elizabeth Harbor and Georgetown. It felt like being home again. There were already about 85-90 boats anchored in the various bays behind Stocking Island. We recognized many of the boats from previous years. We anchored off Volleyball Beach as we have done in the past and were welcomed into the harbor by several of our cruising friends.
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