Exumas

Well, we have been in the Exumas for a month, now, and only just now getting a chance to add to my blog!!  We have been at anchor ever since we got here, which means no internet for us, unless we go in to a restaurant or bar, which have also been far and few between!  Also, we can only get a phone signal when we are anchored off one of the very few and very small settlements, so essentially have been 'off-line' since we arrived!

Enjoyed a nice sail across the Exuma Sound, a distance of approximately 50 miles, from Point Eleuthra to Warderick Wells, the point where we entered the Exuma Islands chain.  This is also the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park which stretches along the chain for a distance of about 22 miles.  They have mooring balls which are available by assignment, and luckily, when we called ahead, they had two available for both the Wyvern III and Tina.  The water is a beautiful turquoise, with a sand bank that exposes itself at low tide in the middle of the mooring field!  The next day was actually quite cool and windy, but sunny, so I spent the day reading and relaxing in the cockpit, while George finessed the workings of our watermaker.  Have finally reached water where we can safely turn it on, so will now get in the habit of making water about every other day in order to keep the watermaker clean and fresh.  Due to the confines of our boat, we have bought the smallest one we could find, so it only makes about a gallon and a half every two hours, but it also works within our battery bank limitations, so is providing our drinking water, and then our tanks will provide for everything else!  We have been very pleased with our solar panel, also.  The batteries will, if we are anchored for long enough, eventually get to the point where the solar panel can't get them charged fully,- mostly due to the draw from our fridge, - so we have found that we need to run the engine every couple of days, and we make water at the same time.

Whale skeleton at Warderick Wells

Exuma Land and Sea Park Headquarters

Mooring at Warderick Wells

After spending two nights in Warderick Wells, we headed downwind on the Exuma Bank to Staniel Cay, anchoring off Big Major's Spot, across from Pig Bay.  Pig Bay is a stretch of beach where some feral pigs live.  Apparently, they were initially put on the island by a local farmer, but it seems they now live there, along with a couple of chickens and goats, being fed and visited regularly by both cruisers and the local restaurant staff!  At first blush, I must admit I couldn't see the appeal of 'seeing the pigs'...after all, they're just pigs, for heaven's sake...but there is something unusual about having a pig run across the sand, jump into the ocean, and then swim out to your dingy, looking for some good left-overs!!  I personally wouldn't recommend getting in with them, as they are not – to put it bluntly – toilet-trained, and you do run the risk of running in to the 'fall-out' of the aforementioned left-overs!

The anchorage, is, however, delightful!!  With the beautiful, sandy bottom, in the shallow areas the water is almost white, at about the 10' mark, the colour turns to a gorgeous turquoise, about 20' it becomes a light green, and finally, over 20' it is a dark blue.  That means that as long as the bottom is sandy, wherever we anchor, I feel like I am anchored in a swimming pool! On the occasional day when it is not windy, the calm water is reflected in prisms off the bottom of the ocean floor!  The water temperature, while not as warm as we had experienced in the Andaman Sea off Thailand, is warm enough to easily dive in to, and cool enough to be refreshing!!  At all our anchorages, because of the sandy bottom where we choose to anchor, for both good holding and we don't wish to harm the coral beds in other parts of the seabed, we don't see very much sea life.  The occasional Southern Ray swims by and also Nurse Sharks can be spotted.  Rarely, a school or single fish will pass through the anchorage, and finally, if the water is deep enough, we will see large starfish, but that is usually it.

anchorage off Big Major's 

swimming off the boat!

To see the fish, we head for coral heads or reefs off the islands we have been anchoring near.  It is amazing how we will not see a single fish over the sandy bed leading up to a coral head, but as soon as you reach the coral, there will be hundreds of multi-coloured fish!!  My favourite are the beautiful parrot fish!  They come in a variety of colour schemes and are easily spotted munching on the coral!  Of course, there are always the curious Sargeant Majors, small black and yellow striped fish who will swim right up your mask, look you in the eye, and check to see if you are going to feed them!  Along the bottom, and under rocks, Groupers will be hiding.  We are always sure to see angelfish and butterflyfish, usually the Spotfin Butterflyfish and Queen Angelfish, also the bright blue Blue Tang.  Pat and Fiona spotted a Moray eel, and Cindy and Carlie and I saw a Lionfish, both very shy breeds of fish, so hard to spot!  Although, we have read that unfortunately, the Lionfish is not a native of the Caribbean, and has become so numerous, that it is considered an invasive species here, so not a welcome sight for the locals!  Also, while snorkeling with Pat and Fiona, a Barracuda swam past me!

When we are not snorkeling, we are beachcombing!  Different beaches offer up different types of shells, and we have been somewhat successful in finding various conch shells, not to mention lots of periwinkles, whelks, limpets, barrel bubbles, cowries, tops and turbines, moon shells and nerites.  The sand, of course, is soft and white on many beaches, but can be coarse and grainy, also.  Where the beach is not sand, it is a jagged, almost lava-like rock, that is, in fact, a type of limestone created by the compression of millions of shells!

Bell Rock

windward beach

leeward beach!

path to Honeymoon Beach

Honeymoon Beach

view over Little Bell and Bell Islands, looking toward the Exuma Bank

Finally, when Cindy and Carlie were here, (unfortunately winds did not co-operate while Pat and Fiona were here) we went to visit a local phenomenon called Rebecca's Bubblebath, or simply, the Jacuzzi.  This is a spot where, at high tide, the incoming waves rush up a small wall of rock, between two high cliffs, and spill over and down the other side in to a small, protected pool, where you can wait to get 'washed' over by the incoming wave!  Not nearly as dangerous, and much more fun than it sounds!!

Rebecca's Bubblebath

Before......

During.......

and after!!!! (note 'bubbles'!)

Since arriving in the Exumas, we have thoroughly enjoyed having two sets of company on board!  Pat and Fiona arrived shortly after we did, so submitted gamely to all our 'this might be a good place to go' experiments!!  After an all too brief visit, we prepared ourselves for our next guests, Cindy and Carlie!  Again, wonderful to have visitors on board, and nice to have a few places already 'cased out' that we could take them to!  As I write, we are anxiously awaiting our final set of guests; Wil and Didi and our oldest grandson, Ash (who just turned 4!)  We can't wait!!  We have been so fortunate with our guests!!


I will admit to being caught off guard as far as provisioning goes.  I had hoped that we would have lots of fresh fish and local fruit and veggies available once in the islands, but we have been disappointed to find that the Bahamas grows virtually nothing that can be sold to a large market, like tourists, so everything comes by boat from Florida, and nothing in great quantities.  Frequently the 'fresh' fruit and veg are tired and not in good shape, and packaged goods such as crackers, cookies, and cereal are usually stale by the time you buy them.  I have also been caught more than once purchasing dairy products that are way past their 'sell buy' date!  Most serious of all, there is NO CHOCOLATE!!!  At least not if you don't want to buy 'Bounty' chocolate bars.  George and I (and now, I fear, our guests!!) are going through serious chocolate withdrawl!!!!  Generally speaking, the 'mail boat' arrives once a week to the small settlements here in the Exumas, and delivers everything the community needs for that week, from building supplies to groceries.  Frequently it is late by a day or two, and, in the event of something happening in a different community, the boat may not come at all, and only go to where the event, (and therefore, the crowds!) will be.  We did get lucky, and stumbled upon a fisherman at Black Point cleaning some snapper he just caught while Pat and Fiona were here, so we bought three for dinner that night, but it is the only time we have seen any fishermen, and no fresh fish is offered in the small grocery stores in the towns.  So, while I had dreamed of  cooking and eating 'local', that has been virtually impossible to do.
In fact, since arriving here, we have discovered that the local fare consists mainly of conch in various forms, popularly as fritters, or breaded and fried in 'bits' or 'burgers'.  It can also be a chowder, and our personal favourite, marinated in lime juice as a salad, although unfortunately, the salad is the only form of conch we have not been able to find in the Exumas!  All of these conch are available only at restaurants, as conch is not sold raw anywhere, and I am not prepared to catch and clean the things myself!!!....A very messy business!    Other than conch, peas 'n' rice, (a form of fried rice with pigeon peas), are a staple with a meal, as well as baked macaroni and cheese.  The local women bake, on order, fresh bread which is much sweeter than what we are used to, but delicious, so we have been enjoying that on board also!

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

All in all, we have been enjoying the Bahamas, and I don't want anyone to think we are suffering in any way!!  We have been eating well, just not as I had hoped, as far as 'buying local', and we are certainly enjoying the warm breezes and sunny days!

At this point in our travels, we are starting to think about when we will be heading home.  We have been gone 9 months and have travelled approximately 3000 miles, with a return journey of about 1500 miles ahead of us.  While we have thoroughly enjoyed our experiences and adventures, we are also looking forward to plying the beautiful waters of Lake Ontario again, exploring our other Great Lakes, and, most of all, spending time with our family and friends!  We anticipate continuing to explore and enjoy the Exumas until the end of April, at which point we will have to start to plan our return trip across the Gulf Stream to Florida, and then back up the Eastern Coast towards New York, through the Hudson River canal system to Oswego where we will cross Lake Ontario to reach Kingston.

Meanwhile, I will try to keep you all up to date with our plans, but given the lack of wifi here in the Exumas, it may be another month before you hear from me again!

Rest assured, we are content, Wyvern III is continuing to look after us and keep us dry, and we will continue to search for that quiet anchorage where we can skinny dip without frightening the neighbours, and shower on deck without going through Mr. Bean-like gyrations in an effort to get out of our bathing suits and under a towel....all without revealing any of our 'naughty bits'!!!

Abacos to Eleuthra

After spending a lovely four days at Green Turtle Cay, we decided to make for Marsh Harbour on Abacos Island before the next front moved in. 

At this time of year, the fronts seem to come one after the other, with the winds clocking around in conjunction with them; the front bringing the north wind, followed by east, and then south-east winds.  As the next front approaches, the winds continue through to south, then south-west.  When the front is almost upon us, the winds start to pick up speed, averaging 20+ knots, and quickly swing through the west and then north again, until the front passes over us, and the whole thing starts again!!

To move south from Green Turtle Cay in to the rest of the Sea of Abaco, you must sail through what is called the Whale's Cut, which takes you back out in to the North Atlantic briefly before returning to the Sea of Abaco where you pass by Treasure Cay and on south to Marsh Harbour, which lies about halfway down the island of Abacos.  We elected to stay at the Marsh Harbour Marina, as a front was passing through in the next couple of days, and we wanted to do some re-provisioning and have some internet access.  The marina was a nice place to stay and the Jib Room provided a great barbeque dinner two nights a week....steaks on Saturday and ribs on Wednesday!!  Also, the town is a great spot for re-provisioning by Bahamas standards!  There is a new grocery store in town which is almost like something you would see at home.....especially right after the supply boat arrives and the shelves have been restocked!  This was also where we were able to buy a Bahama simcard for our cell phone, another worry we had while being here.  All in all, the visit was mostly utilitarian, but enjoyable!!  We did join our friends Guy and Pika for a day with a rental car and toured around the island, ultimately having lunch at Treasure Cay......what a lovely beach!!  Unfortunately, that was the day the front passed through, so not a good day for the beach, but still impressive!

feisty crab at Little Harbour

beach at Treasure Cay

After staying for almost a week in Marsh Harbour, we left on a sunny morning to head for Little Harbour, at the south end of Abacos Island.  This was to be our 'jumping off point' to cross the Northeast Providence Channel and enter Eleuthra Island.  We had a lovely sail all morning and for the early afternoon, until, as we approached the southern tip of Abacos Island, and the north Atlantic, just at the North Cut, a heavy squall hit us.  We had been sailing with one reef, as we knew the weather was going to get rough, and as the squall line approached and the wind started to pick up, George mentioned that we should probably take down the main.  Unfortunately, the crew wasn't too keen on going forward, as the wind was getting quite high and it had started to rain.  The skies then opened up and it absolutely POURED!!!  About five minutes in to the squall, my self inflating life jacket got so wet, that it did just that....it self inflated!!!  As I was trying to get the air out of the darn thing, George looked up and noticed that we had a tear in the main sail!!  The winds were now easily about 30 knots and we actually had lost a lot of visibility due to heavy rain.  Needless to say, the previously lazy crew put on her husband's life jacket and went forward to take down the main....too late!  The squall lasted about half an hour, and about half an hour after that we limped in to our anchorage just off Lynard Cay, as Little Harbour was too rough to try and enter.  The next day was spent frantically trying to repair the main sail!  Seven hours later, the approximately four foot tear was sail-taped and then sewn back together.  The next day we were due to sail across the Northeastern Providence Channel, which is essentially the North Atlantic, and a new northern front was due to arrive that night, so the winds were going to pick up, probably before we got to our anchorage, about 56 miles away, so we had to hope my sewing job would do the trick!  

sailing the Sea of Abacos

mending the sail

After a fairly 'rocky' night, we raised anchor right at sunrise to make the exit through the cut in to the channel.  The crossing, although somewhat lumpy, wasn't too bad, with an ocean swell from the east and waves from the southwest, and the wind staying southwest on our starboard bow, not clocking through until we were almost at the cut by Egg Island, where we entered the Bight of Eleuthra and anchored in Royal Harbour.  The sail, I am happy to report, is still in one piece, but it is a worry now.  Guy had some kevlar sail repair material which he very generously gave to us, so we will add that to the repair which should make it good and strong.

The next morning, after consulting with some very confusing information regarding tides and currents in West Eleuthra.....one source saying the flood was 5 minutes after Nassau, the other saying it was 2 hours after....the sailing vessels Tina and Wyvern headed out for the next challenge; Current Cut, which would take us in to the Bight of Eleuthra.  So named because the current is extremely fast and strong through there and ideally, we wanted a slack ebb, so we had steerage way through the narrow cut, without too much tide against us and as much water as possible under the keel for the shallow eastern side of the cut.  As it happened, we went with the 2 hour prediction, which landed us there with the sun in our eyes and a very strong ebbing tide, so the 5 minute advice was the correct one!  Guy and George spoke over the radio and very wisely decided to anchor in the lee of Eleuthra and wait for the tide to slacken and the sun would be higher, making it easier to practice the 'heads up' navigation that is so important in the islands.  This turned out to be such a good decision on so many levels, not the least of which, it gave us the opportunity to join Guy and Pika in their dingy and go for a swim off the beautiful sandy beach!!  It was a great way to spend the morning, cooling off in the lovely, clear water and looking for sand dollars!!!  Afterwards we successfully navigated the Current
Cut and made our way to the night's anchorage, south of the Glass Window, and north of Muttonfish Point.  The Glass Window is a natural rock formation where the Bight of Eleuthra almost meets the north Atlantic.  Originally, there was a rock bridge about 85' above sea level, but a hurricane washed it away in 1926, and it was replaced by a steel bridge.  In 1991, a rogue wave hit that bridge and moved the northern end of it 7' to the west!!!  Slowly, the sea is eroding the rock under the bridge and it is only a matter of time before the North Atlantic meets the Bight of Eleuthra, and the island of Eleuthra will effectively be cut in two!!

sailing the turquoise sea!

the Glass Window

That night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before a number of rain showers passed through.  The next morning the wind was back up to 20 knots and the sea was really lumpy....AGAIN!!  Even though it was a sunny day, I'm afraid the crew was a bit grumpy, wondering where the beautiful, protected waters of the Bahamas was??!!  Weathered yet another squall, this one reaching about 25 knots, so dumped the main this time, and then raised it again once the squall passed!!  Sailing down the west coast of Eleuthra, we arrived at our next anchorage, off Tom's Rocks, just north of Governor's Harbour, the capital of Eleuthra, in plenty of time.  Once again we joined Guy and Pika in their dingy and went snorkeling off Levi Island.  Saw some beautiful purple sea fans, lots of sea cucumbers, and a grouper!  Crew's morale was back up and we enjoyed a nice dinner under a full moon in the cockpit!  Went to bed early, as we were making an early start tomorrow to beat the arrival of the next front and get ourselves in to Cape Eleuthra Marina in good time.

beach off anchorage, north of Muttonfish Point

sunset!

moonlit beach

west coast of Eleuthra Island...lots of cliffs!

That night was nice and calm for a change, and we left in good conditions at about 5:30am.  Shortly after sunrise, we turned off the engine, then decided to turn it back on, as the winds were picking up, but were right on the nose, so no good for making our destination in time.  Memories of St. Lawrence came flooding back......the starter was not working!  After some trouble-shooting, George remembered a trick a mechanic had taught him with regard to the starter, and the engine fired back to life!!......We left it on for the rest of the trip and have ordered a new solenoid, (I call it a sol-annoyed) as we suspect a dead spot on the old one, as it took a couple of taps to make it work!!  Aah, life is an adventure!

We arrived at the beautiful Cape Eleuthra Marina by noon, just as the winds were picking up, so were happy to be in harbour!  That night we had an amazing dinner over on the Tina with Guy and Pika before heading to bed for a well-deserved rest!  That night the front arrived, bringing with it pouring rain (although both Pika and I agreed the boats needed a good cleaning, as they were covered in salt!) and extremely high winds, blowing 30-40 knots according to one of the locals the next morning.  We were glad not to be at anchor that night!!

The marina here had ambitions to be a resort, but it has stalled in its progress, however, we really like it!  It is extremely quiet, which suits us just fine, and pretty to look at.  The people here are very friendly, also, so we have really enjoyed our stay here and would recommend it.

safely tucked in before the front!

The next day, the skies stayed cloudy, but it was a good day for a walk, so while George and Guy tackled the starter, I went down the road and visited the Island School and the Island Marine Institute.  The school is for high school students who come for a semester and live here while doing their high school studies.  They also assist the university students who are doing graduate studies in marine biology at the marine institute next door!  The school practices self-sustainment and has a vegetable garden, a herb garden, a 'medicinal' garden, solar power, and wind power.  Next door, the marine institute has a hydroponic garden that is growing lettuce from treated water that the fish they are studying are living (and pooing....read fertilizing...) in!  The institute also has solar power.  There are only 48 students and one can see them riding their bikes all over the point, so they add an interesting dynamic to the cape!!  I really enjoyed walking about the two schools and chatting with the people there.

Island School's classrooms and housing

shark study at Marine Institute

Puffer Fish tank at Marine Institute

skates at Marine Institute

Marine Institute

view of Island School from Marine Institute

Tomorrow we plan to make our final 'open water' crossing for a while.  We cross the Exuma Sound, a distance of approximately 30 miles, traveling from Cape Eleuthra and finally entering the Exumas at Warderick Wells.  The Exumas  is where we plan to spend the rest of our time here in the Bahamas.  It is supposed to be beautiful, warm waters, with lots of protected anchorages, so we hope to 'rest and relax' in the area while entertaining some of our family and friends!!!  Part of the appeal of the Exumas is that it is not as populated as the Abacos, however, that also means less wifi available, and so more difficulty posting my blog, but I will 'endeavor to persevere', and will continue to try to update the blog whenever I can!

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas!!

After agonizing over a weather window that was rapidly trying to close on us (for the second time since Christmas!), we decided to 'go for it' as, at the last minute, the weather looked like it was going to hold after all.

We washed the moss off the bottom of the boat (haha), dropped our mooring line, and headed back on to the ICW, looking to exit at Fort Pierce where there is a good inlet for going out in to the Atlantic.  We reached Fort Pierce in time to catch the out-going tide and were passing the last buoy marking the inlet at 3:00pm on December 29.

heading toward the Gulf Stream

The winds were predicted to be high all morning, but decreasing about 7:00pm, until about midnight when they would be down to 5 knots.  We raised the main with one reef in for the 15-20 knot winds that were blowing outside of Fort Pierce.  The winds were south and were predicted to clock around through west and then north as the front approached, and as we were headed SE, that meant that, for now, they were on our starboard bow, as was the swell from the both the wind and the Gulf Stream, which the boat can handle well.  This SE track would work well for us, as the stream would push us north, landing us on the Little Bahama Bank where we planned to enter the Bahamas.

About an hour out, we were hit by a squall with winds hitting 25 knots and pouring rain!  Fortunately, it only lasted about 15 minutes, so we just let the boom out and headed in to the wind to keep from getting knocked down, as there was no way I was going out in that to put in a second reef!!  After it passed, we got ourselves organized and settled in for the trip across the Gulf Stream.  Just before nightfall we both agreed it felt that, despite the weather predictions, the winds were building -not weakening-, as were the seas, so we decided to put in that second reef which turned out to be a wise decision, as the night settled in to strong 20 knot winds with 3-4 meter swells and waves slopping around in all directions!!  For the first time on this trip I felt queasy going below, however, it was also far too sloppy to do any cooking of any sort anyway!  Also way too uncomfortable to try and rest below, so we both spent the night in the cockpit.  The waves were crashing over the front of the boat, with the occasional errant wave hitting us just in the wrong place, splashing over the dodger and all over us and the cockpit!!  Luckily it was warm, so being soaked was uncomfortable, but not too cold!  We were also happy that the wind actually stayed south during the night, so we were able to stay on the same tack all night, so no sail changes in the dark and sloppy seas!!

Finally, about 2:00am we were through the stream and the seas started to settle down to slightly smaller swells and far less waves, so we were both able to take turns lying down and resting for a bit!  At last, at about 5:00am we entered the Little Bahama Bank.....and were completely soaked again, only this time by a heavy rainfall!!!!  Which in fact, was just what the boat needed to wash off all that sea water that had made its way on to our decks!!  Despite the rain, the next morning once the sun had risen, when we I went on deck to shake out the second reef, I found two small fish on the deck just forward of the dodger which we decided must have come aboard with one of those waves during the night that had soaked us sitting in the cockpit!!

As the sun rose, we were greeted by smooth, emerald green water as far as the eye could see!!  We had made it!!  We marked the occasion by changing out of our wet clothes and I put my bathing suit on!!!!  The conditions were perfect for putting some miles behind us, and as we wanted to meet our friends Guy and Pika at Green Turtle Cay for New Years Eve, we decided to push on past Sale Cay, where we had initially thought we would anchor after the crossing, and made it all the way to Spanish Cay where we anchored in the lee of the island, as the front was finally catching up to us and we thought it might hit during the night.

The Sea of Abaco!!

As it turned out, it was fairly calm all night, so the next morning at 6:00am, we weighed anchor and made a run for Green Turtle Cay, about 15 miles away.  Finally, the front caught up to us!  The wind had come around from the north, so was on our port quarter, as it picked up to 20 knots and finally, just before we entered White Sound on Green Turtle Cay it started raining again!

Luckily Guy and Pika were watching for us, so were on the pier to help catch our lines in all that wind, so we were able to dock without too much incident!!  It was so nice to see them again!  We hadn't seen them since Camden Maine, so we had a lot of 'catching up' to do!

These are some photos of the leeward beach at the Bluff House Marina and where the Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar is!

The four of us partook of the New Years Eve celebrations here at Bluff House Marina where the staff worked hard to decorate and put on a nice meal for us, followed by a beach bonfire, a dance with a DJ at the beach bar (The Tranquil Turtle), and finally, a fireworks show at midnight!  The night passed quickly, and we eventually made our way back to our respective boats at 2:00am!!  WAY past our bedtime!!

The next day, the office helped to make arrangements to get us in to New Plymouth, the town here on Green Turtle Cay where the local Junkanoo was being held!  This is an annual celebration on New Years Day, where the people dress in costumes and masks, and dance through the street to the beat of the drums.  They also sell all kinds of wonderful food on the street for all the celebrants!  We had some conch ceviche, which was wonderful.  We tried to stay away from all the burgers, fries, and baked goods that were also plentiful and looked and smelled great!!!  Junkanoo can be really crazy I think, especially in Nassau, but this one was great and very family oriented.  The dancers and drummers went all around the town in a big circle, so we could walk down some of the side streets and watch it all again!  It is quite an endurance test for them, as the parade lasted about an hour and a half!  Because this is a small town, they only start to 'train' a few days before, but the participants in the Nassau Junkanoo have to train all year, as they have a much bigger route and they do it twice!!!

making conch ceviche

eating conch ceviche!

Here are some photos of the Junkanoo parade in New Plymouth!

After all that activity, we are ready to slow down and start living life on 'Bahama time'!  This has been a wonderful introduction to the Bahamas, so we will stay for a couple more days, and after the next front we will make our way south where I will try to make another entry in the blog!