Wednesday, January 8

Rather than move back to Royal Harbor from Spanish Wells,  we started our move further south going through Current Cut and anchoring near a place called the Glass Window.  At this location, Eleuthera is only about 100 feet wide and their use to be an arch which looked out into the Atlantic Ocean from the shallow waters of Eleuthera Bank.  The arch collapsed in a hurricane many years ago but a road spans the chasm and recreates the “Window.”  

Glass Window

The wind will be blowing up to 40 knots for the next 4-5 days so we will hunker down here until the winds relax.  The Glass Window is a phenomenal spot to watch the power of the ocean especially with these strong winds.  Another spot that we  saw for the first time is a place called “Queen’s Baths” located about 1/2 mile south of the Glass Window and right across the road from our anchorage.  We were walking Sasi and she headed up a trail to the road.  On the other side was a small parking area and a sign saying “Queen’s Baths.  We crossed the road and Sasi headed down the other trail to an overlook of the Baths.  We think that these are more spectacular than the Glass Window.  In calm weather I’m sure you can climb down and enjoy some peaceful relaxation in one of the pools.  In this weather the waves are crashing over the pools and I’m sure anyone foolish enough to get into the pools would soon be swept out to the Ocean.

Sausage-Pepperoni Pizza

This section of Eleuthera is pretty far from the nourishing current of the Ocean and Exuma Sound so we find very little marine life which for us means no hunting.  We’re making use of our time doing a few boat chores and walking with Sasi.  We’ve also had a neighbor at this anchorage, Pelican Express, with whom we’ve enjoyed cocktails.  They’ve been living aboard for 24 years and have circumnavigated the globe.  We hope to hear more stories of their adventures in the South Pacific.

Kathi and I both enjoy pizza so normally once a week I make some crusts and Kathi devises the ingredients to go on top.  We love to take this opportunity to also have guests for dinner and will bake 4-6 pizzas.  This week, it’s only us so limited the pizzas to 2, an old standby, Sausage-Pepperoni, and a new pizza, Jalapeño Popper pizza; both were delicious.

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

Tonight we are listening to the 49er-Viking game.  To my wondrous surprise they win!!!  Go niners in the NFC championship game next week.

Timing is everything when it comes to moving from one anchorage to another.  We first thought of moving about 18 miles south to Governor’s Harbor on Saturday.  We decided we wanted to stay where we were at, take one more trip to Queens Bath to enjoy the scenery.  We left the anchorage on Sunday morning.  The sail would be to the SE and the wind was projected to be from the East;  Good conditions.  Unfortunately the wind turned to the SE, increased its briskness and caused the swells to build to 3-5 feet directly on the nose.  We motored into the waves making about 3.5 knots.  After about a half hour of beating into the waves, one of the attachments holding the dinghy onto the davits broke leaving the dinghy swinging precariously as we bounced through each wave.  We bailed out into the nearest cove, dropped anchor and intended to spend the night.  Unfortunately the swells were rounding the point of the cove, hitting Makani on its side causing us to roll sickeningly from side to side.  We decided that this was not a good anchorage to spend the night.  We got the dinghy secured once again to the davits, left our tenuous anchorage and headed to the next cove, about a mile away.  Again, as we motored into the cove, we saw that once again the swells were rounding the point and creating a less than desirable anchorage.  We continued south for the 5 miles to Hatchet Bay which does not seem like a long ways but at 3.5 knots, into the wind and swells, it can seem endless to someone on a boat.  The entrance to Hatchet Bay is about 50 feet wide with sheer rock walls on either side.  Inside the bay, the water was calm as could be.  We found our anchoring spot and enjoyed the peacefulness of a calm boat with no rolling.  If we had left yesterday, as we originally intended, our trip would have been a pleasant sail.  Timing is everything.

Saturday, December 28

We said adios to our friends in Hopetown and sailed around the Tilloo Bank to anchor at the north end of Tilloo Cay; a good anchorage for the northeast winds.  We ran the water maker for about 2 hours to fill the one tank that was empty.  After that we just relaxed and enjoyed the sun.

On Sunday we moved a little further south to Armstrong Cay, one of our favorite anchorages in the Abacos.  Armstrong Cay only provides protection from south and west winds which generally only occur as a cold front moves through so we enjoy any opportunity to come here.  The area has some of the largest lobster we’ve ever found, several blue holes to explore, an area we call turtle city since we often see dozens of turtles there and a couple of swim throughs where you just let the current carry you past coral heads and an abundance of underwater life.  We’ll only be able to stay here 2 nights before we need to move to Lynyard Cay and prepare for the crossing to Eleuthera.  Sunday night we were able to listen to the 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Western Conference of the NFC.  I’ll be looking forward to at least being able to listen to the playoff games even though we’re not able to see them.  Go 49ers.

After anchoring, we snorkeled the nearby rocky outcroppings and got a couple lobster for dinner.  We mainly wanted to get into the water since we had been in Hopetown for longer than expected.  After the snorkel we took Sasi ashore to see what remained of an abandoned, partially destroyed home that sits on a beautiful hilltop overlooking the Sea of Abaco.  We expected that Hurricane Dorian would have completed the destruction but were surprised to see it looking essentially the same as the last time we visited, two years ago.  At one time it must have been a lovely home.  Sasi, as usual, walked with us and enjoyed exploring.  We keep her on a leash so she doesn’t run into the brush after the curly tails she likes to chase.  

Monday and Tuesday morning the winds calmed down a little and the areas we like to explore were well protected.  We got eight lobster on Monday and another 6 on Tuesday.  Our Tuesday hunting was for the benefit of Second Sojourn who have guests aboard and haven’t had the opportunity to do much hunting.

Another Successful Day Hunting

Tuesday afternoon, New Years Eve, we moved to Lynyard Cay.  Second Sojourn invited us to go with them to Pete’s Pub for dinner and entertainment.  We also had an invitation to attend a bonfire on the beach with the other cruisers planning to head south to Eleuthera in the morning.  We chose the bonfire.  Six boats were represented; as is usually the case at a get-together like this, one of the boats brought a piece of flotsam for everyone to sign their names and hang on a tree to commemorate the event.  Even though it was New Years Eve, the party broke up early since everyone was getting up between 4am and 6am to leave for Eleuthera.

The trip to Eleuthera is only about 55 miles, 8 to 10 hours for most sailboats, and crosses a portion of the ocean called the NorthEast Providence Channel.  This channel separating the Abacos from Either is over 10,000 feet deep in portions.  When the wind is blowing hard, as it had been for the last week or so, waves can easily get over 12 feet high.  Most cruisers, including us, will wait for the winds to calm down, allowing the seas to calm down, and cross when the waves are 3-4 feet high.  We left at 6:30am, had a smooth crossing, and reached our anchorage at Royal Island around 4pm.  Second Sojourn, had arrived around 2pm and were already snorkeling looking for lobster.  After their snorkel, they stopped by the boat and introduced their guests.  We gave them 5 lobster that we had caught for them at Armstrong Cay.  Thursday, they left for Spanish Wells and other visiting points around Eleuthera.

On Friday we were taking a scenic ride in the dinghy when a seaplane landed in the harbor.  Seeing a seaplane is always an interesting experience .  This one taxied to a location 2 boats away from us, dropped an anchor and waited to pick up guests from the Royal Island resort.  Construction on Royal Island for a huge resort complex was started in early 2008.  The principal developers were Roger Stauback and Jack Nicholas.  Construction was put on hold soon after it started however due to the economic downturn in 2008.  One resort did get put into place; a one week stay for 10+ guests in 5 beachfront bungalows costs about $93,000.  The seaplane picked up 4 gentlemen and took off, spraying us with mist as it started its run into the air.  We assume that the remainder of the families on the island, the kids and wives, were journeying back home via commercial flights from Eleuthera airport.

Friday is normally “Pizza Friday” where we make and bake several pizzas and try to have guests to enjoy the cuisine.  Second Sojourn had left but Janice B, with Gregg and Vickie aboard, came into the anchorage that afternoon and joined us.  Kathi does a great job putting together the ingredients for the pizzas after I’ve made the crusts.  This night she prepared Lobster Thai, Mexican, Sausage-Pepperoni, and Chicken-Garlic pizzas.  As usual, they were delicious.

Monster Fish

Saturday and Sunday the winds picked up again so we limited our snorkeling, but went fishing one morning using fishing poles and conch for bait.  On my first cast I caught a nice pan-sized fish and we thought we would be catching the heck out of them.  We caught a few fish but they were all small; Kathi’s took top prize.  After a couple of hours we decided to head back to the boat and released the one keeper that we had.  We, along with Dale on  svMokocat were invited over to Janice B on Sunday for a movie/documentary called “Red Dot on the Ocean,” a film about Matt Rutherford who at 30 years old became the first person to sail alone, nonstop around North and South America.  The journey took him through the Arctic’s northwest passage and around Cape Horn, one of the stormiest places on earth.  After 309 days he completed the journey and it seems his 27 foot sailboat was being held together by duct-tape and prayers.  A very good movie which we’d highly recommend.

Pirate Anne Boney

Monday the winds grew calm again allowing Janice B and Mokocat to head further south and us to go to Spanish Wells for some re-provisioning and to find someone to rebuild our alternator.  The alternator story goes back 4 years when we replaced the voltage regulator in the boat and started having alternators go bad about every 6 months.  No one has seemed to be able to properly diagnose the problem.  We thought we had it solved this year but another alternator decided to quit.  With the history we’ve had with the alternator, I like to keep a spare aboard in case we need it.  Fortunately we found an alternator repair shop and Jason was able to complete the repair that same day.  The problem with this alternator was different from the problems with the previous alternators so maybe we’re making progress.

While in Spanish Wells, we ran into the famous lady pirate Anne Boney and I got a picture with her.  The winds will be picking up again to about 40 knots over the next couple of days so after we finish picking up a few additional items in town we will head back to the anchorage at Royal Island to await calmer weather and continue our voyage south.  

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.

JANUARY AND WEATHER WOES

The best way to describe the month of January this year in the Bahamas is wind, wind and more wind; clouds, clouds and more clouds; rain, cold, and rolling seas.  I don’t like to complain about the weather we have in the Bahamas particularly when everyone up north are dealing with snow and freezing temperature but coats in the Bahamas?

To be fair, we did have a few periods of time when the winds died down and the sun shown its beautiful warming rays down onto the boat.  Those times were rare.  For the most part, we don’t let bad weather conditions deter us from doing what we love to do, snorkel, spearfish and seaglass hunting.  And for the most part, January was no exception.  

Shortly after the first cold front came through, the one where we were anchored at Cormorant Cay, we went out to hunt for dinner.  The temperature was a high of 56 degrees that day and although we knew we would be cold getting back to the boat we would then quickly warm up.  We were a little shocked when we jumped into the water to find the water temperature had also dropped considerably.  We snorkeled around until we found a nice series of ledges with about a dozen lobster hanging out.  Kathi tickled a couple of them out, I got one and took it back to the dinghy.  Another had also come out and Kathi took at least 8 shots at it and missed every time.  As you all know, this is highly unusual for Kathi.  We had to attribute it to the cold water and her shaking hands.  I got 2 more lobsters giving us 3 for the day and called it quits.  We were hoping for 4 because another boat had joined us in the anchorage and we wanted to be neighborly by sharing.  When we got back to the dinghy, we only had 2 lobsters in the bucket.  The only thing we can figure is that when I took the last lobster off the spear and hurried back to the hunting zone I didn’t get the lobster all of the way into the bucket.  If his tail was on the edge of the bucket he could have flipped himself out of the boat; unlikely but that’s my story.  We shivered our way through 2 foot seas back to the boat and warmed up slowly.  The next day we decided to catch our dinner using fishing poles and stay out of the chilly water.

Fortunately, our pole fishing skills are adequate to the challenge.  A couple of years ago, our friend Ron from Idaho, who is a master fisherman, spent a month with us in the Bahamas.  He gave us some great tips for rigging the lines for the type of fish we wanted to catch.  We pole fished several times this month and typically brought back 7 or 8 edible fish.  Kathi has become very good at filleting.

The highlight of the month was the visit of Kathi’s niece Alee, her husband Kale and their two children, Kingsley and Kiah.  They arrived January 17 and left on January 23.  We have never hosted kids on the boat for an extended period and rarely have more than 4 people total staying on the boat.  We normally use the quarter berth for storage but we rearranged a few things and got it converted back to a berth for the kids.  Even though the weather was not the best, we all had a great time.  

A cold ride hom

The first day after they arrived is a good example. We anchored back at Cormorant Cay and although the wind was blowing 30 knots Kathi wanted to take them to the “swim through” that we know of about 2 miles from our anchorage.  The wind was behind us as we dinghied there, it is in a nicely protected area so our trip was not too bad.  Even though the water was cold, the “swim through” has some great things to see so you forget about the cold.  They wanted to do it again but the kids were cold so we headed back to the boat.  The trip back we had the wind and waves coming at us; spray was flying over everyone with every wave we bounced through.  Two miles doesn’t seem like a long way but in conditions such as those, it is.  Fortunately, the good memories of the swim through persist and the poorer memories of the trip back fade to become a glorious adventure.

A Happy Hunter

Proud of Papa's catch

The kids were exceptionally well behaved, polite, and helpful.  Alee and Kale visited us before in the Bahamas, though without the kids,  so they knew our routine.  We found comfortable anchorages every night, hunted lobster, found seaglass, and made the most of the time they were here.  Kale managed to get several lobster including one that tied the boat record for the year, 5.25 inch body and 9 inch tail. 

Fish Cleaning lesson for Kingsley

He and Kingsley spent an evening pole fishing and we could hear them laughing every time they hooked a fish.  They brought back 7 fish which allowed Kale to give Kingsley and Kiah lessons in filleting.  Kiah was a great help learning to be the helmsman during our moves to different anchorages.  We hope that in spite of the weather they have good memories which they will keep for a long time.

Helmsman in training

Our friends IB and Rebecca, from West Virginia, had a weather window the day Alee, Kale, Kingsley and Kiah left for home, to cross from Florida to the Bahamas in their boat, Passport.  They sailed 30 hours straight and made it to Treasure Cay before the next front hit and the winds gusted back up to 30-40 knots.  We were tucked in at Cormorant Cay then moved a half-mile to the north end of Snake Cay. as the winds shifted to the south  We haven’t seen IB and Rebecca for months and were anxious to get together with them.  The weather wasn’t cooperating.  We each sat in our comfortable anchorages for 4 days.  We finally had an 8 hour break in the weather and Kathi and I moved up to Marsh Harbor only 8 miles from Treasure Cay.  That was as far as we could go before another front came through with rain squalls and more wind.  Yesterday, Passport was able to move from Treasure Cay to Guana Cay.  We tried to join them but were motoring into the wind and waves making only 4 knots so we turned around and went back into Marsh Harbor.  We plan to try again today to meet up with Passport but the winds haven’t settled down much although they have clocked to a slightly better direction for us to move.