Monday, December 23

The week of Christmas is supposed to be a time to slow down and enjoy family, friends, and reflect on our blessings.  Seeing the damage caused by Dorian certainly makes it easy to count our blessings.  This week was also dominated by windy, squally weather that made life on the boat interesting.

We finished our work at Che’s house although we were unable to complete the plumbing to get water to the cistern.  The only hardware store on the island, which had the couplings we needed to join the pipes together is closed until January 3.  Such are logistics in the Bahamas.

Tuesday was dominated by rain and wind.  A squall came through around 6am, right at dawn,  with torrential rain and several gusts of wind that had to be 70 knots or more.  Makani healed over to where I thought, for only the second time in our sailing, that she might capsize.  The pots and pans in the cabinets flew out, clanging on the floor.  Two of the boats in the harbor had their dinghies flip over, another dinghy tied to a mooring ball flipped, and one boat snapped their bridle that attached them to their mooring and had to motor out of the harbor to anchor away from the other boats.  Several other boats had various pieces of gear blown off; a kayak, oars, cushions and life jackets.  All the boaters scrambled to get into their dinghies to help retrieve gear and right the upended dinghies.  Fortunately this all happened when the morning allowed us to see.  All of the excitement was over in 2 hours.

Prepping Windows

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a wonderful get-together with 5 other couples on Second Sojourn for cocktails and snacks.  Christmas morning, Gary and we went out lobster hunting even though the weather was still windy and squally.  Another couple was going with us as well but as soon as we got out of the harbor and they saw the conditions they turned back.  We got 4 lobster to use for Christmas dinner but only stayed out a short time due to the weather and currents.  Christmas dinner was surf and turf.

Thursday we did our last task in Hopetown, at least for a while.  Eight of the windows in the lighthouse were broken so Gary and I went and installed new glass.  Gary was a glazier for a few years after college.  My job was to prep the windows which proved harder than it should have been.  The new glazing compound was old and would not stick.  We had to clean all of the old glazing/paint off of the frames to allow the new glazing to have a chance at sticking.  Even then, Gary, always the perfectionist, was not happy with the finished product.  After 5 hours we had the job done.  At least the windows were whole again.  The lighthouse is a treasured symbol in Hopetown.  It is purported to be the last Kerosene burning lighthouse in the world and is hand-lit each evening.  Clinbing to the top of the lighthouse is one of the must-do activities for anyone visiting Hometown.  Since Dorian however, the lighthouse has been closed to visitors so our getting to work in the lighthouse, and see the views, was a treat.

Normally, Hopetown Harbor is filled with boats this time of year.  Many boats take a mooring ball and spend the entire winter season in the harbor enjoying the numerous social activities.  As you can see from the picture of the harbor, it is not 1/4 full.  Repairs to the infrastructure on the Cay are progressing faster than we would have thought, despite the logistical challenges of getting materials.  We have been amazed at the industriousness of the people and the strides they have made to put Elbow Cay back together.

Hopetown Harbor from the Lighthouse.
Makani is in the center of the photo

The weather will start calming down around New Year and give us an opportunity to leave the Abacos and travel south about 55 miles to Eluthera.  We wanted to spend a couple of days visiting our favorite spots at some of the Cays south of Hopetown and Marsh Harbor.  We hope that the next couple of days will allow us to get back into our normal routine of snorkeling 3-4 hours each day; something that we missed while being in Hopetown Harbor.  Our next stop will be Armstrong Cay, one of our favorite stops, before we have to stage for the crossing to Eluthera.

Monday, December 9

Hopetown Lighthouse

We arrived at Hopetown in the late afternoon, anchoring in our usual spot below the lighthouse.    The houses that we were use to seeing were badly damaged; roofs gone, walls blown in, rooms missing.  The next morning we dinghied into the harbor to walk around, get a feel for what was going on and see how to find ways to help.  The devastation is very widespread with virtually every building damaged in some way.  Many houses are gone and many more just need to be torn down.  We stopped by the “Command Center” and visited with Peter, the person in charge.  He tries to keep track of projects where volunteers can be used.  Tomorrow, he said, he wants some people to go to the “Straw Market” across from Vernon’s Grocery to get it cleaned out so they can further assess what will be needed to get that business up and running.

Hopetown Lodge

Wednesday morning we arrived at the store and shortly after were joined by our friends on Second Sojourn and also 3 people from the States who had come over for a week with the sole intention of helping with the clean-up/recovery effort.  They are staying on a boat in the harbor that is owned by a relief agency.  We spent about 4 hours pulling ruined furniture, fallen ceiling panels, and roof shingles out of the building and piling the debris at the side.  Eventually, a work crew will come by to pick up the debris and move it to someplace for permanent removal from the island.  Sheila, the owner of the business, worked along side us, letting us know what she might want to try and salvage and what could just be tossed out.  When we left, the building was cleaned out enough for repair workers to come in, reinforce/rebuild some of the rafters that had been damaged and get a new roof put on.  We don’t think it will happen very quickly.  We stopped back by the Command Center for an afternoon job but nobody was around so we went back to the boat for an afternoon snorkel.

Hopetown Lodge Pool

Successful Lobster Hunt

Gary and Mel from Second Sojourn joined us.  We went to our favorite spots and got lobster for tonights meal and a few extras for the freezer.

Our next job was to help at Vernon’s Grocery.  He is back up and running although with very little product to sell.  He is baking fresh bread everyday and it seems like everyone on the island stops by sometime during the day to buy a loaf or two.  We mainly helped spruce-up the place with painting and general clean-up.  Vernon had his 86th birthday yesterday.  He lost his house and almost everything in it to the storm.  He and his wife rode out the storm in the grocery store which survived intact although his bakery, in a small attached shed, was damaged.  

On the bright side, people seem to be in good spirit, a couple of businesses seem to reopen every week and the town is decorating for the holidays.

Bahamas Strong

On Friday, a group of 8 of us took Second Sojourn over to Marsh Harbor.  I’ve mentioned how poor the internet is here so I wanted to get a new phone or hotspot with a company called Aliv. We had heard that their system is working very well in the Bahamas.  We got a hotspot and it is working superbly, so we hope to be able to communicate now more easily.  Most of the group went to Maxwell’s supermarket to pick up some fresh items.  Maxwell’s is almost fully stocked with a great selection of food items.  Another couple on our trip to Marsh Harbor, Mike and Jan on Gorek Shep,  needed to clear through customs and immigration; more about them later.

Marsh Harbor, at least near the harbor, has very few building standing.  Maxwell’s grocery, about a half-mile from the harbor, is one of the few.  We didn’t get to walk around a lot, just within a 10 block radius or so; Kathi says they could film “The Zombie Apocalypse” movie here without a need for a movie set.  We saw lots of activity though.  Cars were going up and down the roads moving goods from the government dock to places they would be used; new refrigerators, microwaves, generators, other furniture.  At least some people are getting their lives put back together.

Mike and Jan on Gorek Shep sailed from Savannah, GA with the Virgin Islands as their destination.  After about a week of sailing their forestay broke.  The forestay is a key part of the standing rigging that keeps the mast upright.  They managed to get the sail cut away and keep the mast from toppling down.  The only direction they could safely sail was with the wind behind them; all of the wind pressure would be on the back stay and shrouds.  The wind was from the east so they set their course for the Bahamas, 700 miles away.  They arrived safely and we met them because they needed depth information for getting into Hopetown; their boat draws 7 feet which is a lot of draft for the Bahamas.  We have a handheld depth finder and helped guide them in.

The weather is projected to be bad for the next week or so, at least until Christmas.  Winds are projected to be around 30 knots with gusts up to 40 knots. We decided to stay in Hopetown since we can help out here and have protection from the winds as they clock around.  I stopped by the command center on Wednesday to see if they had any jobs.  Peter had a job of helping reinforce a porch and some stairs.  Gary, from Second Sojourn, and I went out to the house to evaluate what we might need.  The homeowner, Cha, welcomed us and also mentioned the need to reconnect the plumbing from the gutters to the cistern so they could have a source of water.  We evaluated what we could do and what we needed.  We recruited additional help from “Gorek Shep,” Mike and Jan.

Merry Christmas from Hopetown

On Thursday, Gary, Kathi, Mike, Jan and I went to Cha’s house and started working.  We repaired the stairs to the front door, jacked-up and reinforced 2 different sections of decking, and got a start at replacing the plumbing needed to get water to the cistern. The next day we tackled the back deck; badly twisted and detached from the house.  The owner was still using it to get from the back door to the back steps even though it was a 2 foot drop from the back door to the deck.  We jacked the deck up as best we could but because it was twisted it was catching on the plywood sheathing of the house.  We blocked it up to keep it stable.  At least now the step down is only about 8 inches.  The whole deck needs to be torn down and replaced but because of the logistics of getting materials and labor here the deck needs to be safe and semi-functional for the next 6 months to a year. We plan to finish the plumbing to the cistern on Monday.

Kathi and Santa (Will on sv Antares)

On Sunday we attended a church event and then went to a potluck hosted by ‘On da Beach’ a local restaurant and bar.  Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to Christmas.  Kathi even got to visit with Santa! 

Monday, December 2

We have not had internet coverage since we arrived at West End, the day of our crossing.  We don’t really miss it much but have gotten dependent on current weather information in order to make informed decisions on where to anchor.  The cold front that was supposed to pass through Sunday night did not arrive.  We had a peaceful night in Crab Cay but no internet.  We decided to head to Green Turtle Cay, see how they fared with Dorian, and hopefully reconnect with the rest of the world.

The sail to Green Turtle Cay, 20 miles away, was perfect.  The wind was just behind our beam, blowing 15 to 25 knots.  We put out our headsail and sailed at 6 to 7.5 knots for 3 hours.  The peacefulness of sailing, no noise from an engine, is amazing.  We relaxed and enjoyed the sound of  the bow of the boat cutting through the water.  We could tell that the front was closing in on us; clouds built up and we had occasional sprinkles.  We reached Green Turtle Cay around 2pm, anchored in White Sound, and had access to internet.  The front arrived around 4pm with a little increased wind but not much else.

GTC, House with little damage

Green Turtle Cay is a tourist destination.  If you come by boat, two well protected sounds provide excellent anchorages for winds from any direction.  Several marinas are also available with fuel, dockage, and restaurants.  If you come by plane to Great Abaco Island, a ferry will quickly get a person to this beautiful destination.  The main settlement, New Plymouth, has restaurants, grocery stores, a bank, post office, hardware store and marine services.  Many rental houses are available and the Green Turtle Club offers deluxe accommodations in a resort setting.  If you wanted a great get-away vacation, or a unique wedding location, Green Turtle Cay, along with Elbow Cay further south, would be the go-to destinations in the Abacos.  Dorian changed the situation for at least the present.

Green Turtle Cay, Roof Damage

GTC, House totally destroyed

Tuesday and Wednesday we did boat chores, walked around the island, and discussed our next move.  Green Turtle Cay did not get hit as hard as Elbow Cay or Marsh Harbor, which we have yet to visit.  Some of the houses here look like they had very little damage, others however looked like a bomb exploded on them.  We were amazed at one house totally destroyed next to a house with only some minor roof damage.  The people were rebuilding and seemed in great spirits.  We visited the “Tool Exchange” where people could come to borrow tools for use in rebuilding.  We saw stacks of building materials, plywood, 2x4’s 8’s and 10’s.  Pallets of roofing shingles.  The lady running the tool exchange said everyone is working hard to rebuild and the supplies were arriving.  One of the grocery stores was open.  They are getting their regular shipment by boat every Thursday.  We purchased a few items to help support the economy, the most important of which was TP.  Kathi asked them what they needed most on the Island.  Their concern was the lack of beds and blankets.  With winter coming, and colder weather (Not cold by northern standards) they thought more bedding material would be useful in the near future.

Sunset at Manjack Cay

Winds calmed down on Thursday so we stopped at the Green Turtle Cay fuel dock to fill with diesel then headed for Powell Cay, about 18 miles north.  The winds were not blowing in the direction we expected so we diverted to Manjack Cay, only a few miles from Green Turtle Cay, due to the better anchorage.  When we arrived, friends from M/V Teamwork, Bill and Betty Sue, greeted us.  They normally hang out in Allens-Pensacola Cay, 25 miles north, but were here helping the landowners, Bill and Leslie, to do some clean-up after Dorian.  The island did not get hit too hard; some trees down and debris on the beaches.  Little or no damage to the houses.  Manjack has always been a wonderful place to visit.  Our first trip here, 10 years ago, we went ashore and were greeted by a sign that read, “Please Trespass.”  The owners of the property welcome visitors and keep paths cleared for travel to various beaches on the island.  Our visit this time we were greeted by a sign “Beach trails closed due to Dorian and Poisonwood.”  Apparently the trails are blocked by fallen poison wood trees which you DO NOT want to touch.  We snorkeled for lobster; saw dozens and took 3 for dinner. One for Sasi.

Construction at "Piggyville"

We’ve decided to cut short our visit in the northern Abacos and get south “Through the Whale” to the Central Abacos.  We made a short trip to No Name Cay and their ‘famous’ Piggyville for our Friday night anchorage. The Island is home to a growing population of Pigs that were abandoned there about 8 years ago.  To our astonishment a large building is being constructed at what use to be Piggyville.  After looking it up on the internet we learned that it is going to be a restaurant and bar. The pigs are still there, the property judging by the trees and lack of leaves got hit by Dorian but construction of the facility is continuing on.

Chandler's House

Saturday was a bright, sunny, and calm day.  We motored out the Whale Cay passage and into Loggerhead Channel bringing us to the central portion of the Abacos.  As we passed the north end of Great Guana Cay we saw the large community of Bakers Bay had continued to grow.  Bakers Bay is home to a first class marina and extensive development of primarily wealthy Americans.  Most of the homes showed minor damage to roofs.  We anchored at the south end of Great Guana Cay near our friend Chandler’s home.  Most of you have heard us tell stories about Chandler.  We were shocked to see that his home was totally destroyed and the peninsula where his home stood was now an island.  Late that afternoon, a boat sped into what had been the private harbor for the home.  When the person came back out, Kathi signaled to him and he came to our boat.  We wanted to find out what we could about Chandler.  As it turns out, the person is Chandler’s son.  He let us know that Chandler is safe, currently in Miami.  He had intended to ride out the storm in the house but Brad, his son, got him off of the island and to the Bakers Bay community when they saw the storm strength and direction.  Unfortunately, they still felt the house would survive the storm so left their bird, a Toucan, and 2 cats in the house.  They obviously did not survive.  Brad is unsure if they will rebuild.

We enjoyed a beautiful snorkel at the reef outside of the cut by Chandler’s home.  We saw a turtle, all types of parrotfish and angelfish, and 3 huge spotted eagle rays.  The reef didn’t seem to be hurt by the storm although we did find a few pieces of wreckage around the area.

The only major change we made to Makani this past year was the addition of a water maker.  We used Sunday to fill our water tanks, do laundry and do an overall clean-up of the boat.  Tomorrow, we will head to Hometown on Elbow Cay and ground zero for Hurricane Dorian.  Our friends on Second Sojourne have been there about a week helping out and we will join them to see what help we might provide.

Sunday, November 24
We raised anchor on Makani shortly before 4am at our location just inside the Lake Worth inlet.  Getting moving in the dark is still an anxious experience especially when you are going offshore and know that the weather and sea conditions might be considered iffy.  We knew that the better weather window was the day before but we had been working on projects and didn’t get done until near dusk.

At that time, we were anchored about 6 miles away from the Lake Worth inlet.   We decided that getting the engine off of the dinghy and stowed, the dinghy raised, all the gear on deck tied down, and moved an hour to the anchorage by the inlet was more than we wanted to tackle.  We had been at the anchorage in North Lake Worth for 4 days ever since moving south from Vero Beach.  We like the anchorage; it’s close to a grocery store and West Marine.  We used the 4 days to finalize provisioning.  I also worked to install a new battery monitor.  Those were the tasks we needed to complete before heading to the Bahamas.

Heading out the inlet we had a tide against wind situation which causes the waves in the inlet to be larger than expected.  As we got past the breakwater, we steered southeast and were headed directly into the swells.  Most were only 2 to 3 feet but spaced only 4 seconds apart so Makani’s bow was hitting the tops of the waves and some water rolled along the deck.  The edge of the Gulf Stream is about 8 miles east of the inlet and we wanted to get a bit south before we hit the current which moves north up to 3-4 knots.  Our destination, West End, Bahamas is almost due east so by heading slightly south for the fist 2 hours we can then turn more due east, not be fighting the current and use it to move us north.

We’ve had worse crossings but also many better ones.  We motor-sailed across with the sails up mainly to help stabilize the roll of the boat.  Sasi, our cat, didn’t seem bothered at all.  She came up into the cockpit, laid down on a cushion and went to sleep.  Kathi and I took turns watching our course and watching for other vessels.  One large cruise ship passed us about 1/2 mile away heading into the port of Palm Beach.

Even though the seas were choppy, Makani and crew handled it fine.  Occasionally a set of waves 4-5 feet high would rock us and send spray flying into the cockpit but they were rare.  John had to go on-deck twice.  Once to righten 2 of our dive tanks that had been knocked down by waves and once to righten our jerry cans of extra fuel.  No matter how well you think things are secured, mother nature can teach you otherwise.

About 10 miles from our destination a pod of dolphins greeted us; riding our bow wave as if to say welcome to the Bahamas! We reached the entrance to Old Bay Marina in West End at about 2:30 pm.  We wondered what we would find and how much damage Hurricane Dorian left.  Surprisingly, we saw little damage at the marina.  The immigration officer said they were told to evacuate West End so they went to Freeport.  Freeport got hit hard while West End was virtually untouched; Dorian had stayed far enough to the east and north.  He let us know that East End was essentially destroyed but people were rebuilding. We had a smooth check-in process and could finally wind down with a glass of wine and relax.

The next day we headed for Mangrove Cay; in the past, it is our normal first stop in the Bahamas.  Nothing but a mangrove swamp but it gives a spot to stop for the night.  We performed our customary “Kowabunga” and relaxed.  Although Mangrove Cay has nothing but trees and brush, we saw that Dorian had essentially stripped the vegetation bare.  Normally green with leaves it was now bare brown branches.

Tuesday, November 26

First Lobsters

Our first real stop-over in the Bahamas will be Double Breasted Cays.  We anchored here for the first time 2 years ago.  We found lots of areas to explore and plenty of fish and lobster to hunt.  The trip from Mangrove Cay took about 4 hours.  We dropped anchor around 2pm, put the dinghy in the water and the outboard on the dinghy (The outboard weighs 120 lbs so it’s not easy for a couple of old farts to maneuver it onto the dinghy, especially if the water is bouncy which in this case it wasn’t.)  Finally, the time for our first lobster hunt of the season.  We spotted lots and lots of lobster; many of them too small, but plenty of legal size also.  We limited our catch to 4 lobster since we have so much food aboard right now that we don’t want to freeze any.  Our dinner that night was lobster, clam chowder, and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.  We had been wondering if Sasi would like lobster and boy Oh boy did she.  She ate half a lobster and would have eaten more if we’d let her.  

One of the crucial items for us in the Bahamas is internet access.  The first year we came the internet was very sketchy.  About 5 years ago they upgraded their systems and we had very good internet in most of the areas we visitied.  Two years ago at Double Breasted Cay we had good internet from a tower on Little Grand Cay, about 3 miles away.  We were surprised that we had no internet access or other communications.  We dinghies over to the town with the intention of maybe getting a new phone or at least finding out why we might not have internet.  We discovered that Little Grand Cay had been hit pretty hard by Dorian.  We say most of the residents working on repairing roofs, rebuilding walls, clearing out debris.  They have not had any communication, except for satellite phones, ever since Dorian.  A relief ship, the Pacific Hope, was anchored outside of the Cay providing logistical and physical assistance.  The crew are from all over, Brits, Australians, Americans, New Zealanders, Canadian.  Everyone we spoke to were thrilled with the assistance they have received from the U.S.  They indicated that the Bahamian Government has done little for them but the assistance from the U.S. has been overwhelming.  We saw pallets full of roofing material, plywood, 2x4’s, water, and other goods.  No stores were open and a “Soup Kitchen” was providing meals for the residents.  The school was open though and at the end of the school day we saw all of the kids, in their green and white uniforms, heading home for the day.  We know that these people will rebuild and hopefully prosper in the future.

Thanksgiving Day.

I love the smell of turkey roasting.  Perhaps it’s because it bring back memories of childhood and perhaps it’s just because it smell so damn good!  Every year that we’ve been in the Bahamas We’ve roasted a turkey on Thanksgiving, with all the accoutrements; dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, biscuits.  Sometimes we even do squash.  

Thanksgiving Dinner

Friends of ours on Second Sojourne planned to cross on Wednesday to West End.  We had not been in contact with them since we left Palm Beach but hoped that they would make it to Double Breasted Cay in time for Thanksgiving dinner.  Around noon we went for a “Naked” snorkel;  No wetsuit.  We were not hunting, just getting exercise and enjoying the scenery.  We swam from the boat to the shore, stopping at every coral head and rock to look at the fish and see if there were any lobster.  We saw at least 50 lobster.  After about an hour we headed back to the boat.  Kathi saw another boat coming into the anchorage and warned me to make sure they didn’t run us over.  As the boat got closer, we saw our friend Mel and Gary waving at us.  Second Soujourne had arrived!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with them that evening.

Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30.

Calm weather, hunting lobster, and enjoying dinners/lunches with Mel and Gary.  We made short work of the Thanksgiving leftovers and had an evening enjoying lobster as well.  The biggest concern with lack of internet is not having access to weather information.  We radioed Pacific Hope, figuring they have satellite communications, and asked for weather information.  A front will come through Sunday night, into Monday with increased winds clocking to the west and northwest.  The Bahamas have very few good anchorages for winds from the west or northwest.  We decided to leave Double Breasted Cay and head further south.  Second Sojourne headed to Green Turtle Cay and White Harbor where there is good protection from any direction.  We decided to go to Crab Cay where the protection is not the best but we hope to ride out the from without to much difficulty.  Part of our decision is based on how long we need to travel; 6 hours is plenty.  To get to the protection of White Sound would be another 3 hours.  Second Sojourne, being faster than us, made it an hour sooner that we would.  We anchored at Crab Cay, Kathi snorkeled the anchor to make sure we have a good hook for the night, then made turkey enchiladas with the remainder of our leftovers.  We set an anchor alarm in case we drag during the night since the strong winds are not expected to arrive until after midnight, accompanied by thunderstorms.