Hope Town

Hope Town   ...   Tuesday 8^th Jan 2013

This morning, we walked to the laundromat with our dirty washing. Called the Classic coin-op, it was quite an eye-opener.  It should be said that the shop has an impressive number of washers.  Of the twenty-five or so machines only about 6 are in working order.  Add in the fact that there is no hot water, bill changing machines that don’t function and 75% of the dryers being inoperative and you start to wonder about the place.  We did manage to get our laundry done, so we shouldn’t complain.  It made me think that washing machine repair might be a lucrative field in the Abacos. 

After the excitement of the laundry we returned to the boat for lunch and a rest.  After lunch we got ready to sail and pulled up the anchor.  Our destination was Hope Town, about eight miles away as the tern flies.  The forecast was for east southeast winds 15-20 mph. The general direction that we needed to travel was, of course, southeast. We tacked to windward keeping a sharp eye on the depth sounder.  We needed to pass to the north of a waymark near something called Point Set Rock.  Although the depths to the south were especially concerning, a couple of quick tacks got us past this pinch point.  Then we sailed southeasterly (as much as possible) toward Parrot Cays.  From there into Hope Town Harbor, the convoluted route should provide adequate water after about half tide.  We came in during the last hour before high and avoided anything other than worry. We negotiated the tightly packed mooring field to pick up a mooring ball in the southwest portion of the harbor.  The portion of Hope Town that can be seen from the harbor is made up of small, colorful cottages.  I imagine that we will enjoy exploring it tomorrow.

Having consumed “cocktails in the cockpit”, we are feeling pleased with our sailing and navigating and are contemplating dinner.     

26 32 12.8 N; 76 57 40.4 W

A working barge in Marsh Town Harbour - photo taken from the "Union Jack" dinghy dock

The mooring field in Hope Town Harbor - there is absolutely no room to anchor

Self portrait - the happy sailors reflected in the compass cover

Paul Heads Home

Paul Heads Home   …   Monday 7th Jan 2013

I would be remiss if I didn't start todays entry with a description of last nights dinner. We took the dinghy in the dark directly to the dock below "Curly Tails" restaurant (so called because of the curly tailed lizards that live round here). I didn't have very high expectations for dinner, but I couldn't have been more wrong. We all ate fish; Gloria - grilled grouper with roast potatoes, Paul - plantain encrusted grouper with beans and rice, Mike - Jamaican jerk red snapper, also with beans and rice and a papaya / tomato salsa. They were all fantastic - some of the best fish I have ever eaten! A wonderful meal to mark the end of Paul's visit.

This morning Gloria and I took the dinghy into town, whilst Paul stayed on the boat to pack up his things ready for the flight home later in the afternoon. Our first stop was BTC (Bahama Telephone Company) to buy a cell phone. We were very impressed with store - like walking in to an Apple shop in the USA. We picked the cheapest phone available (samsung) which cost $40 including fitting the SIM card, and then added dollars to a pre-paid account. It seems that it's really easy to top up your balance and the texts / call rates are significantly lower than using our Verizon phones over here. Next stop Ace Hardware to buy a couple of new fishing lures and some fishing line to replace the kinked line that we have on the reel at the minute. Lastly we called by the Out Island Internet company to set up roaming wifi access for the next couple of months. The service is pretty good here in Marsh Harbor and is supposed to be good in all but one of the other major harbors in the region - so we may not have connectivity in the more isolated areas we hope to visit, but we should be able to connect in whenever we come back to the more populated areas.

After lunch the three of us jumped in the dinghy along with our two folding bikes and Paul luggage and headed back to shore. We called on the VHF radio for a taxi, which appeared within a couple  of minutes and we all drove out to the airport. I'm always keen to leave plenty of time for travel to the airport, check-in etc but to today we arrived with a ridiculous amount of time to spare and having completed check-in we still had a coupe of hours to wait until Paul's flight. However, we took seats in the waiting area (outside the terminal next to the dusty approach road) and chatted and watched the people go by. Before we knew it, the plane arrived and we said our goodbyes. It was great having Paul along. Whilst the passage from Florida to the Abacos had turned out to be very straightforward, just having him there really helped our confidence, and it was just a lot of fun to do the trip together. In some ways it would have been nice to have had more wind and been able to sail more of the distance. On the other hand, the wind is now expected to pick up to 15-20 mph from the east for the next several days and that would have been a long tough beat. After saying our goodbyes Gloria and I jumped on our bikes and cycled back to town - a somewhat scary experience with all the potholes and quite a lot of traffic. Our plan for the next couple of weeks is to start to explore the region.

Mike

26 32 47.8  N, 77 03 25.0 W

Gloria and Paul in the executive lounge at Marsh Harbour Airport

United Airlines flight to Orlando

One of the friendly airport staff

Marsh Harbour

Marsh Harbour   …   Sunday 6th Jan 2013

We had a much more relaxed morning today.  We took our time over eggs and toast enjoying that Sunday morning feeling.  Then after a little cleaning and a few jobs we went to shore by dinghy.  We walked around Marsh Harbor finding some restaurants, bars and liquor stores.  We met a nice lady called Donna who told us that her husband did birding tours (Try walking around with binoculars and see what happens to you.) She offered to drive us up to the "center of town" and show us the super market, Bahamas Telecom and other spots of interest. We hopped in her car and she helpfully pointed out things like the Maxwell's Supermarket and the Ace Hardware.  We walked back from town checking out the hours of the various shops.  The supermarket was large and well stocked with all kinds of things.  Mike was happy to see that we could get ginger beer there.  He's already dreaming of the "Dark and Stormy" drinks that he will have (ginger beer and dark rum).  We walked past a liquor store and confirmed that Kalik (the local beer) is $10 per six-pack.  Might have to stick the rum drinks.  We retreated to the boat for lunch.  After rigging a shade, we enjoyed a light lunch in the cockpit.  Our plan is to go to town for dinner--a sort of celebration of our trip.   

Gloria

The view from "Curly Tails" one of the local restaurants

Marsh Harbour BTC (Bahamian Telephone Company) tower - these towers are by far the highest points in the Islands

Little Bahama Bank - Sea of Abaco

Crossing Little Bahama Bank   …   Thursday 3rd Jan 2013

We awoke to the sound of clanging halyards and rain falling on the deck. We hadn't expected bad weather and this turned out just to be a passing shower. After a fine breakfast of muesli and bananas we left the dock at Old Bahama Marina and motored back out to the ocean. We headed north for about a mile and then eastwards through the Indian Cay channel onto the Little Bahama Bank. The geography of the Bahamas is interesting. They are essentially a set of sand covered plateaus rising abruptly from the vast depths of the Atlantic ocean. These saucers of land are fringed with reefs, and some of the land is above water in the form of low lying islands, but the majority is actually under water - but not by much. Grand Bahama and the Abacos are the larger islands on one of these large plateaus, separated by a large body of water, the Litte Bahama Bank, that ranges from about 0 to ~20 feet in depth. Old Bahama Marina is a man made Harbor cut into the deep water side of West End - easily accessible from the ocean. The indian Cay channel is one of only a few points of access with enough depth for boats to enter the Little Bahama Bank through the fringing reefs. We were careful to avoid low tide and follow the waypoints through the channel very carefully. Even so we saw deaths of just over 7 ft ... little more than 18 inches of water below our keel! Having covered the 1 - 2 miles of the channel, the water gets deeper and we were able to motor sail the next 45 miles east to Great Sale Cay in water that was 10 - 16 feet deep and an intense color of turquoise. The wind was very light and the water as flat as a millpond - we could see the bottom the entire way.  We saw a few fish "walking on their tails" and a couple of dolphins played in the bow wave. We arrived at our destination at about 3.30pm and anchored. The anchorage is incredibly dark and the stars are amazing. Tomorrow we plan another 40 mile journey to finish the crossing of Little Bahama Bank and position ourselves to enter the Sea of Abaco.

Mike

26 58 41.6 N, 78 13 08.2 W

On Little Bahama Bank 

On Little Bahama Bank

Great Sale Anchorage

Sunny and Windless  …   Friday 4^th Jan 2013

Our trek from Great Sale Cay to Crab Cay, a distance of forty miles, started at 8:30 am.  We found they day hot already as the sun was well above the mangroves and almost no breeze rippled the water.  Our route took us around the northwest side of Great Sale Cay and along eastward passing Little Sale Cay and Sale Cay Rocks.  We hoisted the mainsail in a fit of enthusiasm early on.  After the first couple hours the wind seemed to die altogether.  Possibly there was wind from astern that was completely counter balanced by our forward motion.  Either way, it was hot and airless in a way I had never imagined would occur in the Bahamas.  We had heard that it was always windy here. A second day of no breeze seemed hard to believe. The color and clarity of the water were every bit as amazing as people say.  It just would have been great to sail and not have to listen to the engine. 

Again today we tried to fish.  The plastic fish that we had used yesterday was replaced with a spoon lure.  This turned out to be a substantial error.  Dragging a “spinner“ behind the boat for about an hour led to an amazing knotted up mass of line when Mike tried to reel the lure in.  Unwinding this looked like some hot and tedious work.  I stayed in the shade and watched.  Changing to a “metal fish” lure seemed to help with the over-wound line but didn’t result in any bites.  Over the course of these uneventful hours, many minutes were spent by each of us staring down into the water. Not much was seen in the way of fish.  Paul saw one pencil shaped fish and Mike saw one flying (or is it walking) fish.  That was it! Once we arrived at our anchorage, we tried more casting all around the boat to no avail.  Mike and I got in and swam a bit to cool off.  Later when I leaned over the side to pull up the swim ladder, I saw a two-foot barracuda just below the boat.   I’m pretty sure he didn’t get to that size eating peanut butter sandwiches.  Maybe the problem is that Mr. Barracuda has eaten all the fish on the Little Bahama Bank.

We will move on to Marsh Harbor tomorrow, weather permitting.

Gloria

26 55 07.9 N, 77 35 54.1 W

Calm conditions on the Little Bahama Bank

The anchor chain with snubbers at Crab Cay - illustrates how clear the water is

Sunset at Crab Cay

The final leg to Marsh Harbor   ...   Saturday 5th Jan 2013

The Northern Bahamas in the winter have a reputation for being windy, so it was amazing to wake up to another day of glassy seas and windless airs. We finished breakfast and headed out from Crab Cay at about 8.30 am. We were excited to be heading down the Sea of Abaco, with the "mainland" go Great Abaco to the east and a string of barrier Island to the west. The Sea of Abaco itself runs about 40 miles north south down the central / southern part of the Abacos and is about 3-5 miles across. About half way down there is a large sand bar that blocks access to all but the shallowest draft boats and forces the rest out into the Atlantic Ocean via the Whale Cay passage. This can be very rough and at times impassable when wind, tide and swell combine to creat "rage" conditions in the changes. Today it could not have been calmer. We found ourselves once again motoring to cover the distance - but shortly after completing this brief passage outside of Whale cay the wind picked up and we were alb ego sail the remaining 10 miles or so to Marsh Harbor. We arrived at about 3.30pm and anchored. We feel good for having completed this part of the journey. Over the last 6 days we have covered about 250 miles -  mostly under motor because of the lack of wind. We haven't yet been to shore in the Abacos but its obvious that there are many beautiful places to explore within a relatively small area.

Mike

26 32 48.6 N, 77 03 25.6 W

Sunrise at Crab Cay

Sailing on the Sea of Abaco ... yes actually with the sails and wind!

Bahamas at Last

Bahamas at Last   ...   Wednesday 2 Jan 2013

We got up at 3 am to get an early start on our trip to West End.  After a quick breakfast, we had the anchor up by 3:45 am and the adventure began.  The transit of the inlet was straightforward even in the dark and by 4am we found ourselves on the open sea in light winds.  After a short while we raised the mainsail and continued to motor-sail. We did see another sailboat quite close to us and at one point we had to change course to maintain a safe distance.  At about 6:30 am it became light, but it was nearly an hour later before we saw the sun rise.  Shortly after that, we decided that we should get fishing before we were all the way through the Gulf Stream.  After a few attempts Mike and Paul arranged a system that would keep the lure down in the water without putting lots of strain on the rod and line. This involved tying the "planer" (a gadget that uses drag to pull the line down into the water) to a length of thin rope attached to the back of the boat, and having the fishing line flow freely through a hole in the middle. In this way you get the sinking without the drag on the line. Shortly after nine thirty we got a fish on the line.  Slowing the boat allowed Mike to land the fish.  We think it was a "blue runner" but aren't completely sure.  As it clearly wasn’t large enough to feed us all, we threw it back. 

Having slowed down it became more evident that there might now be enough wind to sail, so we pulled out the genoa and after a bit of adjustment were sailing along nicely at about 6 knots.  Everyone was happy to turn the engine off.  We continued to sail for about 3.5 hours until we were off Grand Bahama Island at which point we dropped the sails and negotiated the channel into the marina.  The docking went fantastically and by 2pm we were all tied up at slip in the Old Bahama Marina. Clearing customs and immigration also went smoothly and as the afternoon progressed it was fun to see all the other boats arrive. The crossing turned out to be quite magical and not the scary experience we feared. I think this is all down to having near perfect weather conditions. The color of the water in the gulf stream is amazing - the deepest blue - almost purple - then as you close on the Bahamas it turns to a fantastic turquoise. During the passage we saw lots of flying fish - these little creatures take off and see to be able to glide great distances - perhaps 100 yards. Quite impressive!

26 42 05.2 N, 78 59 28.4 W

3 am Breakfast under the glow of our "red light" to preserve night vision

Motor sailing into the dawn

Looking back west just after sunrise

Gulf Stream sunrise

Old Bahama Marina - West End

The Beach behind the Marina on the Bahama Banks side

Bridge Triumphs

Bridge Triumphs   ...   Tuesday 1 Jan 2013

No, I’m not talking about card games.  Today we departed from Peck Lake at 8:30 am with the prospect of seven bascule (opening) bridges to negotiate. All was going swimmingly for the first few bridges that would “open on request”.  Then we were approaching the first of the “ restricted bridges”.  At this point we were following two boats that didn’t seem to want to maintain a constant speed.  We were concerned that we wouldn’t reach the bridge for the opening at 11 am.  We overtook the boats and arrived at the bridge in time.  Then we needed to travel 3.2 statute miles in about 28 minutes to make the opening of the next bridge.  It was a very tense time as we had both opposing current and wind.  A call to the bridge got us a message ‘to get a move on’.  We squeeked through at the last moment.  Although we were happy to get through, we then had less time to get to the next bridge.  Another frantic sprint seemed doomed to failure.  By revving the engine up we were able to catch up with the boat ahead and got through again.  According to our guidebook the next bridge was about 1.5 miles away and opened only at 12:45.  Happily our guide was wrong and the bridge opened at 12:15.  We were on our way to Lake Worth and very relieved to be done with bridges! We anchored without too much fuss.  Then we deflated the dinghy and secured it to the foredeck. Mike and Paul put up the inner forestay and hanked on the staysail and did a few other preparatory tasks. Now we have just finished a fine meal of risotto and steak.  We are all hoping to get an early night in preparation for the 3 am wake up call.  Tomorrow will be the crossing day, all being well.

Gloria

26 46 02.6 N, 80 02 40.3 W

Paul concentrating at the helm

congestion at one of the bridges

One of the many fancy houses we passed north of Palm Beach

I guess manatees are immune from damage by sheriff's boats

High rise condos west of Lake Worth