4.4.11 (Brad's Day!)
After Pineapple Cays, we headed up to Governour's Harbour. This is supposed to be a great stop for cruisers, although the holding is very poor. The harbour is good for protection from big blows, but if you can't get your anchor in, it does you no good!
We are, of course, professional anchorers by this point and were undaunted by the task at hand. We sailed in there like we owned the place, went past all the other monohulls up to the only sandy area – about 50 yards off the beach in 6 feet of water. We dropped our anchor in the sand and after only two tries, had gotten her to bite. We were in! We were so much loser to shore than everyone else that we felt a bit out of place, but our anchor was in and that was all we cared about.
We headed in to tour the town, and didn't remember until we got in that it was Sunday. Everything closes on Sunday except the churches. The town was still beautiful – a small harbour surrounded by houses built into the hills overlooking the water. We walked around for a few hours and found a pizza place and a movie theater that would be open later in the day. A movie theater! We haven't seen a movie, in a theater, in ages!
We headed back to the boat and took naps in anticipation of staying up late for the movie. Well, once you're back on the boat, it is a hassle to get back to land. So, after stalling to go in, we finally admitted neither of us was that interested in going back in or staying up that late so we regretfully stayed on the boat. I was really looking forward to that pizza too.....
The following day was Brad's birthday and we headed up to Hatchet Bay. Much to our surprise (although at this point, it shouldn't be), we were joined by the trawlers. Although they were ahead of us, we were in radio contact with them the whole time. We had a great sail – 6 knots on a run (AMAZING!) and made it there by noon.
This harbour is a well-protected harbour surrounded on all side by rocks, so the only entrance is through a rock wall. It is very narrow and tricky in even the calmest weather. Well, we didn't have calm weather.
We were able to make such great time because the wind was so strong. Now the sea state had built to about 4 feet and we were being shoved sideways. We still had our sails up because the waves were too rough to take them down. With the sails up and the motor on to compensate for the sails and to give us better direction, we FLEW through the entrance at over 6 knots. We were very nervous and all the trawlers were just inside giving us directions over the radio on where to go and where not to go. It was like coming in out of the storm. We were in 4-5 foot waves and being shoved every which way and as soon as we broke through the rock entrance, we were in water as calm as a lake.
The trawlers had scoped out a mooring for us and came over in the dinghies to help us get a line on. They wished Brad a Happy Birthday and then invited us over for a birthday celebration dinner – homemade pizza and chocolate cake! It was like they read our minds – we had been craving pizza for days now!
We all went in and toured the town and then headed back out to our boats for a quick rest before dinner. “Barbara”, as usual, had outdone herself. Mark, from “Ibis” made homemade dough and everyone had brought toppings of all kinds. We had margarita pizza, hawaiin pizza, meat pizza, veggie pizza, and all kinds of other crazy pizzas – some even with stuffed crusts! These people are amazing and we are so glad that they have taken to us so quickly!
They made Brad's birthday a success and he had a great time! They even made him a party hat and a chocolate cake with a candle (albeit a tealight candle, haha)!! It was the perfect birthday and he is not likely to forget it anytime soon! The kindness of strangers has really helped us along on our first big cruise. We cannot even begin to think how this trip would have turned out if not for the generosity of those we had met along the way.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Southern Eleuthera
4.2.11
Half Moon Bay was definitely not as impressive as we had hoped. The cruise ship was leaving as we were pulling in. The harbour is very deep to accommodate the large ships so we had to anchor in 15 feet of water and the waves were already rolling in from the open western side, even though the wind had not shifted to that direction yet. We cleaned the bottom of the boat for a bit and then went to bed. We were surprised that the trawlers had also made the stop at this anchorage, as we had expected them to head on up to Eleuthera. We may be traveling with them for longer than we thought!
The next day we woke up to huge rollers coming in from the deeper water. We decided we didn't want to stay another night and we left the same time as the trawlers did that morning and headed up to Southern Eleuthera. It was a long sail, but the wind was good and we made it much farther than we had hoped. We anchored in Rock Sound by dusk and, again to our surprise, right by the trawlers!
The following day, they hailed us on the radio to let us know they were heading into town if we wanted to join them. We, unfortunately, had to TCB that day, so they went off exploring the town while we went to do laundry, use internet and try to find some replacement parts for the boat.
That night we had a real treat – an ice cream party on one of the trawlers, “Barbara”!! Ice Cream! We haven't had ice cream in ages! And not only did she have ice cream, but she had toppings galore – hot fudge, chocolate syrup, gummy bears, warm brownies, nuts, whipped cream, cherries, everything we could imagine! Their boat is very nice and the perfect place to have a mini-party. We are getting an “in” with the trawler group – they have taken us under their wing, despite the fact that we are sailors.
Quick note: In the boating world, trawlers tend to hang out with trawlers and sailors with sailors. Crossing the line to the other side is a no-no! So for these guys to take such a liking to us is unusual for all involved! We may very well be shunned from the sailing community!! :-)
We all left early the following morning, the trawlers going to a small town just 5 miles North of our current anchorage while we were heading up another 10 miles. We had a great sail, although a bit slow and dropped the anchor around lunchtime. We took some time to eat and pack for our day trip inland, then loaded up Koa and the dinghy and headed in. As we were heading to the dinghy dock, we passed a large trawler coming in to anchor – one of our friends! The other two trawlers were close behind. They had stopped at the previous place, looked around for a few hours and made it up to where we were almost at the same time as us! Diesel motors will do that for you I guess!
We went in and walked to two miles across the island to the East beach and then back again. We were exhausted and ready for a quiet evening in. But, when we got back to the boat we were invited over for dinner on “Barbara” again! We all met on their boat and had a DELICIOUS dinner on Linguine with clam sauce – and I don't even like clams! It was great! She had also made homemade bread and a pie for dessert! This lady thinks of everything! They are so hospitable and so generous and we are so lucky to have fallen into the hands. They gave us younguns' the leftovers and also the recipe for all the delicious food she had made for us so far.
We were heading our separate ways the following day, so we said our goodbyes and went home to get some sleep.
Half Moon Bay was definitely not as impressive as we had hoped. The cruise ship was leaving as we were pulling in. The harbour is very deep to accommodate the large ships so we had to anchor in 15 feet of water and the waves were already rolling in from the open western side, even though the wind had not shifted to that direction yet. We cleaned the bottom of the boat for a bit and then went to bed. We were surprised that the trawlers had also made the stop at this anchorage, as we had expected them to head on up to Eleuthera. We may be traveling with them for longer than we thought!
The next day we woke up to huge rollers coming in from the deeper water. We decided we didn't want to stay another night and we left the same time as the trawlers did that morning and headed up to Southern Eleuthera. It was a long sail, but the wind was good and we made it much farther than we had hoped. We anchored in Rock Sound by dusk and, again to our surprise, right by the trawlers!
The following day, they hailed us on the radio to let us know they were heading into town if we wanted to join them. We, unfortunately, had to TCB that day, so they went off exploring the town while we went to do laundry, use internet and try to find some replacement parts for the boat.
That night we had a real treat – an ice cream party on one of the trawlers, “Barbara”!! Ice Cream! We haven't had ice cream in ages! And not only did she have ice cream, but she had toppings galore – hot fudge, chocolate syrup, gummy bears, warm brownies, nuts, whipped cream, cherries, everything we could imagine! Their boat is very nice and the perfect place to have a mini-party. We are getting an “in” with the trawler group – they have taken us under their wing, despite the fact that we are sailors.
Quick note: In the boating world, trawlers tend to hang out with trawlers and sailors with sailors. Crossing the line to the other side is a no-no! So for these guys to take such a liking to us is unusual for all involved! We may very well be shunned from the sailing community!! :-)
We all left early the following morning, the trawlers going to a small town just 5 miles North of our current anchorage while we were heading up another 10 miles. We had a great sail, although a bit slow and dropped the anchor around lunchtime. We took some time to eat and pack for our day trip inland, then loaded up Koa and the dinghy and headed in. As we were heading to the dinghy dock, we passed a large trawler coming in to anchor – one of our friends! The other two trawlers were close behind. They had stopped at the previous place, looked around for a few hours and made it up to where we were almost at the same time as us! Diesel motors will do that for you I guess!
We went in and walked to two miles across the island to the East beach and then back again. We were exhausted and ready for a quiet evening in. But, when we got back to the boat we were invited over for dinner on “Barbara” again! We all met on their boat and had a DELICIOUS dinner on Linguine with clam sauce – and I don't even like clams! It was great! She had also made homemade bread and a pie for dessert! This lady thinks of everything! They are so hospitable and so generous and we are so lucky to have fallen into the hands. They gave us younguns' the leftovers and also the recipe for all the delicious food she had made for us so far.
We were heading our separate ways the following day, so we said our goodbyes and went home to get some sleep.
Fish Fry in Cat Island
3.29.11
So when we pulled into our anchorage two days ago, we were dying of heat. We had been motoring all day with absolutely no wind and we were hot! We dropped anchor and dove in for a swim. We were checking out the hull and I was scrubbing some of the algae off when a man dinghied over to our boat. He was off one of the trawlers we had been around earlier in the day and he brought us two huge fillets of fresh mahi, just caught hours before! He was single handing and there was no way he could eat both of the fish he caught and his buddy had caught two more, so they were happy to be rid of some of it.....our lucky day! We talked for awhile and decided we would all meet on the beach the following morning to go up to the Hermitage together.
We met on the beach at 0900, hoping to beat the heat and were surprised that there were now 7 of us in the group; another trawler had come in and joined the first two last night (Trawlers: "Barbara", "North Star", and "Ibis"). We all hiked up to the top of the highest mountain in the Bahamas (a whopping 206 feet!!) to the Hermitage.
Quick history lesson:
The Hermitage is one of the most well known churches in the Bahamas, built by an architect turned priest from England – Father Jerome. He came over to the Bahamas in the early 1900s to build churches that could withstand hurricane winds. He built many of them throughout the islands, with six of them being on Cat Island. The Hermitage was his final project. He lived in a cave on the top of the hill while building this small cathedral. It is deserted and now just a tourist destination, but the views are incredible and to think he built it by himself is amazing!
The group hiked back down the hill and then we perused the “town” and visited the grocer. On our way back, we stopped by a small shack on the beach that was selling beers and cold sodas. We stopped and rested for awhile and one of the guys in our group decided we should have a fish fry there that evening. He spoke to the owner and she agreed to fry the fish if we would supply it. So, we all went back to our boats and started making the dishes to bring this potluck fish fry together.
It was a great time! The food was great and the company was even better. The owner cooked a great meal and then afterwards a couple of the local men came and formed a pick-up Rake and Scrape band. One man played the accordion, another the saw and another the drum. They let Brad and I play the saw and the drum and we all had a good laugh at how bad our rhythm was. We stayed late into the night, enjoying each other's company and also listening to the locals talk about their island.
Today we woke to a surprise in the weather. The front that was stalled North of the Abacos is bearing down on us and will be here on Friday. Cat Island offers no protection from the Western winds, so we are rushing along to get up to Eleuthra before the big blow.
So, despite the lack of wind yet again, we set off this morning for Little San Salvador. Half Moon Bay is owned by a cruise line and is a stop on one of their Bahamian cruises. We have heard they discourage cruisers from coming there, but it is a mid-point on our trip North, so we are going to stop anyway and see what all the fuss is about.
As I'm sitting here typing this, we are looking out across miles and miles of perfectly flat gin clear water. Since there is no wind, the water is crystal clear – we could read a newspaper on the bottom if we wanted to! We can see all the rocks, crab pots and starfish on the bottom as we pass over them. The sun is bright and there are no clouds in the azure sky. Although it is breathtaking out here, no wind means motoring all day and also no respite from the scorching sun. Looks like we may have to drop the anchor and get in a mid-day swim!
So when we pulled into our anchorage two days ago, we were dying of heat. We had been motoring all day with absolutely no wind and we were hot! We dropped anchor and dove in for a swim. We were checking out the hull and I was scrubbing some of the algae off when a man dinghied over to our boat. He was off one of the trawlers we had been around earlier in the day and he brought us two huge fillets of fresh mahi, just caught hours before! He was single handing and there was no way he could eat both of the fish he caught and his buddy had caught two more, so they were happy to be rid of some of it.....our lucky day! We talked for awhile and decided we would all meet on the beach the following morning to go up to the Hermitage together.
We met on the beach at 0900, hoping to beat the heat and were surprised that there were now 7 of us in the group; another trawler had come in and joined the first two last night (Trawlers: "Barbara", "North Star", and "Ibis"). We all hiked up to the top of the highest mountain in the Bahamas (a whopping 206 feet!!) to the Hermitage.
Quick history lesson:
The Hermitage is one of the most well known churches in the Bahamas, built by an architect turned priest from England – Father Jerome. He came over to the Bahamas in the early 1900s to build churches that could withstand hurricane winds. He built many of them throughout the islands, with six of them being on Cat Island. The Hermitage was his final project. He lived in a cave on the top of the hill while building this small cathedral. It is deserted and now just a tourist destination, but the views are incredible and to think he built it by himself is amazing!
The group hiked back down the hill and then we perused the “town” and visited the grocer. On our way back, we stopped by a small shack on the beach that was selling beers and cold sodas. We stopped and rested for awhile and one of the guys in our group decided we should have a fish fry there that evening. He spoke to the owner and she agreed to fry the fish if we would supply it. So, we all went back to our boats and started making the dishes to bring this potluck fish fry together.
It was a great time! The food was great and the company was even better. The owner cooked a great meal and then afterwards a couple of the local men came and formed a pick-up Rake and Scrape band. One man played the accordion, another the saw and another the drum. They let Brad and I play the saw and the drum and we all had a good laugh at how bad our rhythm was. We stayed late into the night, enjoying each other's company and also listening to the locals talk about their island.
Today we woke to a surprise in the weather. The front that was stalled North of the Abacos is bearing down on us and will be here on Friday. Cat Island offers no protection from the Western winds, so we are rushing along to get up to Eleuthra before the big blow.
So, despite the lack of wind yet again, we set off this morning for Little San Salvador. Half Moon Bay is owned by a cruise line and is a stop on one of their Bahamian cruises. We have heard they discourage cruisers from coming there, but it is a mid-point on our trip North, so we are going to stop anyway and see what all the fuss is about.
As I'm sitting here typing this, we are looking out across miles and miles of perfectly flat gin clear water. Since there is no wind, the water is crystal clear – we could read a newspaper on the bottom if we wanted to! We can see all the rocks, crab pots and starfish on the bottom as we pass over them. The sun is bright and there are no clouds in the azure sky. Although it is breathtaking out here, no wind means motoring all day and also no respite from the scorching sun. Looks like we may have to drop the anchor and get in a mid-day swim!
Near Collision
3.27.11
So here we sit, typing these blogs as we sail along on this gorgeous day. Although the weather is perfect, it is perfect only for sitting on the beach, not for sailing. There is no wind today and it looks like we will have to motor the whole 45 miles to Cat Island. We are making good time, but a motor boat we are not. Usually we would wait for the weather to turn and the wind to pick up, but we find ourselves suddenly having the one thing that all sailors dread – a schedule!! We have to make it up to the Abacos so Brad can catch a flight for a wedding, so we are sailing on days we shouldn't and pushing through places we'd like to see at a faster rate than we would prefer.
But, the day is sunny and the fishing line is out and although we are motoring, at least we have clear skies!
Whoa! We just narrowly missed a collision with a trawler! Two trawlers were traveling together when they suddenly started turned erratically, one of them heading straight for us! The other trawler hailed us and let us know that the guy on the other boat was single-handing and had just hooked a fish. He was on the stern trying to reel the fish in and so the boat was going wherever the waves took it. We turned out of his way and scooted safely in between the two of them, watching the guy wrestle with the line as the fished splashed and flew out of the water repeatedly. What a show! We got an apology and an invitation over for dinner if we all happen to end up in the same place tonight. Ahh.....the life of a cruiser.
So here we sit, typing these blogs as we sail along on this gorgeous day. Although the weather is perfect, it is perfect only for sitting on the beach, not for sailing. There is no wind today and it looks like we will have to motor the whole 45 miles to Cat Island. We are making good time, but a motor boat we are not. Usually we would wait for the weather to turn and the wind to pick up, but we find ourselves suddenly having the one thing that all sailors dread – a schedule!! We have to make it up to the Abacos so Brad can catch a flight for a wedding, so we are sailing on days we shouldn't and pushing through places we'd like to see at a faster rate than we would prefer.
But, the day is sunny and the fishing line is out and although we are motoring, at least we have clear skies!
Whoa! We just narrowly missed a collision with a trawler! Two trawlers were traveling together when they suddenly started turned erratically, one of them heading straight for us! The other trawler hailed us and let us know that the guy on the other boat was single-handing and had just hooked a fish. He was on the stern trying to reel the fish in and so the boat was going wherever the waves took it. We turned out of his way and scooted safely in between the two of them, watching the guy wrestle with the line as the fished splashed and flew out of the water repeatedly. What a show! We got an apology and an invitation over for dinner if we all happen to end up in the same place tonight. Ahh.....the life of a cruiser.
Conception
3.26.11
We left early Thursday morning, intent on getting to Conception by lunchtime so that we could fit some snorkeling in before dark. We arrived just after noon, grabbed a quick bite to eat and jumped in the dinghy to explore the reefs.
Conception is an uninhabited island, known for its extensive reefs, sharks, and exotic tropical birds. We had spoken to several people who had snorkeled Conception previously and had told us some good spots to check out. We headed first to the reef just North of the anchorage, a large reef off the Northern tip that stretches for 3miles North of the island. We dropped anchor in the midst of some coral heads and jumped right in. The water was crystal clear, the sun high and we were treated to gorgeous colors of coral – bright purple fan coral waving in the current, brain coral heads larger than Brad, and beautiful unknown coral(to us) of blues and greens. The fish life was unfortunately slim pickings, but we did see lots of brightly colored parrotfish. We kept a wary eye out for sharks, always aware of our surroundings, but didn't see any danger in the area.
We snorkeled for an hour or so and then headed back to the boat, tired from a full day of sailing and swimming. We had gotten an underwater camera brought to us by Chelsea on her visit, especially for our trip to this island. We took some ok pictures that day, but once we got back to the boat, realized that the darn thing wouldn't turn on! After only one use, it had leaked and gotten water inside. Waterproof my ass. So, we took the battery and memory card out and left everything out to dry, hoping it would work in the morning.
Friday morning we woke up to a still broken camera. We were so bummed out! So much for great underwater pictures. We did manage to salvage the pictures we had taken the day before, but it was of no use to us now – Amazon will hear about this!! I would strongly urge against anyone buying a Fujifilm “underwater” camera!
We ate breakfast outside and as we were finishing, noticed about 8 people on the beach with at least 5 dogs running in their midst. We loaded Koa up in the dinghy and headed in to make friends. We were a bit nervous since Koa can be very excitable and has never been off leash around other dogs. But, every other dog was off leash and with so many people around, we opted to give him a chance. He had a blast! It was like doggy paradise for him! All the other dogs were large dogs – a rarity for the boating community. They ran around, played in the water and wrestled in the sand. Everyone was very nice and the dogs all got along great. There was one uncomfortable incident where Koa peed on one of the older dogs, but the owner just laughed and said “I guess she's Koa's bitch now.” Whew – our first dog group encounter was a success! Koa was tired and we had met lots of new friends.
We took Koa back to the boat and then we headed out for some more snorkeling. First, we stopped by the boat that had left us in their dust two days ago. He laughed when he saw and said they had been looking out for us and that we should still come over for that beer later. He told us about some cool must-sees on the island and so we headed out with the promise of sun-downers later.
We beached the dinghy and walked 100yards over the dunes to a secluded beach on the NorthEast side of the island. We were able to swim right out from the beach to some of the shallower coral heads. It was a bit more murky here due to the waves breaking on the shore, so we were a bit more vigilant about our surroundings, but again had a great swim. We snorkeled the length of the whole beach, then went back and had a snack while sitting on the beach. It was around noon now, and we decided to head back to the dinghy and go inland.
There is a series of creeks that wind their way inland with one way in and out from the shore. Due to the shallow depths, we were told to go in an hour before high tide and come out no later than an hour after the tide changes. We made it in through the cut, dragging sand behind us. Once inside, the creeks were a beautiful light blue crystal clear color. We had been told that the creek opened up to a small lagoon where there were dozens of green turtles that lived there. We wound our way back a ways wondering if we were in the right place. Finally we saw another dinghy off in the distance in what looked to be greenish, deeper water. We headed that way and when the area opened up we saw that there were at least 6 dinghies there, everyone had come to check out the turtles! And we were not to be disappointed! There were turtles popping up everywhere! Medium sized turtles (1.5 – 2.5 feet across the shell) had apparently made their homes back there. They were darting in between the dinghies, who all had their outboards off and were just floating around the lagoon. We joined the floating masses and hung out for an hour watching the turtles surface all around us. It was the coolest thing!
When the tide switched, we all headed back out so as not to get stuck in the creeks. On the way out, we stopped and snorkeled a crystal clear deep area along the mangroves. The mangroves provided cover for so many fish – mangrove snappers of all colors and a puffer the size of my head!
After that surreal experience, we headed back up to the reef North of the anchorage and snorkeled for a bit before heading over for sun-downers. We had a great time with the owners of “Ariel” and oohed and aahed over their nice boat. As the sun was about to set, we had visitors of the dangerous sort – a lemon shark perused the anchorage, swimming circles around all the boats. He was at least 6feet long and although it was cool to see him from the safety of the boat deck, it was a bit unnerving knowing he was there.
The following day we joined the dog chaos on the beach again and then dinghied around to the Eastern side of the island for more snorkeling and more secluded beaches. We snorkeled right at noon, with the sun high overhead and saw the most beautiful coral we have ever seen! Conception has elkhorn coral (one of the few places in the world where it is found) and it was gorgeous – and looked just like elkhorns, go figure! It was a beautiful orange with white tips. The coral heads here were huge, coming from 20-30 feet of water all the way to the surface. We snorkeled in and around the heads for an hour, enjoying the vibrant colors and the beautiful reef fish. We were near the edge of the reefs and the open water beyond was a bit ominous – I now know what shark bait feels like. But, we were not to see any sharks today either. We did see an extremely large barracuda staring at us menacingly, so we high-tailed it back to the dinghy and spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the white sand of our own private beach.
When we got back to the boat, we borrowed a hacksaw from “Ariel” and Brad made us two conch horns – now we can feel like real boaters! The tradition is to blow a conch horn every night as the sun sets; the majority of boaters have them, especially if they cruise in the Keys or the Bahamas.
We readied the boat for sailing tomorrow and then had a relaxing dinner in the cockpit while we watched the sunset. Our conch horn wasn't clean yet, so we enjoyed the sunset in silence. And then watched as the men in gray suits came back in full force – another large lemon shark and a nurse shark swam in lazy circles around our boat. We had heard they were prevalent there and we were not disappointed!
We left early Thursday morning, intent on getting to Conception by lunchtime so that we could fit some snorkeling in before dark. We arrived just after noon, grabbed a quick bite to eat and jumped in the dinghy to explore the reefs.
Conception is an uninhabited island, known for its extensive reefs, sharks, and exotic tropical birds. We had spoken to several people who had snorkeled Conception previously and had told us some good spots to check out. We headed first to the reef just North of the anchorage, a large reef off the Northern tip that stretches for 3miles North of the island. We dropped anchor in the midst of some coral heads and jumped right in. The water was crystal clear, the sun high and we were treated to gorgeous colors of coral – bright purple fan coral waving in the current, brain coral heads larger than Brad, and beautiful unknown coral(to us) of blues and greens. The fish life was unfortunately slim pickings, but we did see lots of brightly colored parrotfish. We kept a wary eye out for sharks, always aware of our surroundings, but didn't see any danger in the area.
We snorkeled for an hour or so and then headed back to the boat, tired from a full day of sailing and swimming. We had gotten an underwater camera brought to us by Chelsea on her visit, especially for our trip to this island. We took some ok pictures that day, but once we got back to the boat, realized that the darn thing wouldn't turn on! After only one use, it had leaked and gotten water inside. Waterproof my ass. So, we took the battery and memory card out and left everything out to dry, hoping it would work in the morning.
Friday morning we woke up to a still broken camera. We were so bummed out! So much for great underwater pictures. We did manage to salvage the pictures we had taken the day before, but it was of no use to us now – Amazon will hear about this!! I would strongly urge against anyone buying a Fujifilm “underwater” camera!
We ate breakfast outside and as we were finishing, noticed about 8 people on the beach with at least 5 dogs running in their midst. We loaded Koa up in the dinghy and headed in to make friends. We were a bit nervous since Koa can be very excitable and has never been off leash around other dogs. But, every other dog was off leash and with so many people around, we opted to give him a chance. He had a blast! It was like doggy paradise for him! All the other dogs were large dogs – a rarity for the boating community. They ran around, played in the water and wrestled in the sand. Everyone was very nice and the dogs all got along great. There was one uncomfortable incident where Koa peed on one of the older dogs, but the owner just laughed and said “I guess she's Koa's bitch now.” Whew – our first dog group encounter was a success! Koa was tired and we had met lots of new friends.
We took Koa back to the boat and then we headed out for some more snorkeling. First, we stopped by the boat that had left us in their dust two days ago. He laughed when he saw and said they had been looking out for us and that we should still come over for that beer later. He told us about some cool must-sees on the island and so we headed out with the promise of sun-downers later.
We beached the dinghy and walked 100yards over the dunes to a secluded beach on the NorthEast side of the island. We were able to swim right out from the beach to some of the shallower coral heads. It was a bit more murky here due to the waves breaking on the shore, so we were a bit more vigilant about our surroundings, but again had a great swim. We snorkeled the length of the whole beach, then went back and had a snack while sitting on the beach. It was around noon now, and we decided to head back to the dinghy and go inland.
There is a series of creeks that wind their way inland with one way in and out from the shore. Due to the shallow depths, we were told to go in an hour before high tide and come out no later than an hour after the tide changes. We made it in through the cut, dragging sand behind us. Once inside, the creeks were a beautiful light blue crystal clear color. We had been told that the creek opened up to a small lagoon where there were dozens of green turtles that lived there. We wound our way back a ways wondering if we were in the right place. Finally we saw another dinghy off in the distance in what looked to be greenish, deeper water. We headed that way and when the area opened up we saw that there were at least 6 dinghies there, everyone had come to check out the turtles! And we were not to be disappointed! There were turtles popping up everywhere! Medium sized turtles (1.5 – 2.5 feet across the shell) had apparently made their homes back there. They were darting in between the dinghies, who all had their outboards off and were just floating around the lagoon. We joined the floating masses and hung out for an hour watching the turtles surface all around us. It was the coolest thing!
When the tide switched, we all headed back out so as not to get stuck in the creeks. On the way out, we stopped and snorkeled a crystal clear deep area along the mangroves. The mangroves provided cover for so many fish – mangrove snappers of all colors and a puffer the size of my head!
After that surreal experience, we headed back up to the reef North of the anchorage and snorkeled for a bit before heading over for sun-downers. We had a great time with the owners of “Ariel” and oohed and aahed over their nice boat. As the sun was about to set, we had visitors of the dangerous sort – a lemon shark perused the anchorage, swimming circles around all the boats. He was at least 6feet long and although it was cool to see him from the safety of the boat deck, it was a bit unnerving knowing he was there.
The following day we joined the dog chaos on the beach again and then dinghied around to the Eastern side of the island for more snorkeling and more secluded beaches. We snorkeled right at noon, with the sun high overhead and saw the most beautiful coral we have ever seen! Conception has elkhorn coral (one of the few places in the world where it is found) and it was gorgeous – and looked just like elkhorns, go figure! It was a beautiful orange with white tips. The coral heads here were huge, coming from 20-30 feet of water all the way to the surface. We snorkeled in and around the heads for an hour, enjoying the vibrant colors and the beautiful reef fish. We were near the edge of the reefs and the open water beyond was a bit ominous – I now know what shark bait feels like. But, we were not to see any sharks today either. We did see an extremely large barracuda staring at us menacingly, so we high-tailed it back to the dinghy and spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the white sand of our own private beach.
When we got back to the boat, we borrowed a hacksaw from “Ariel” and Brad made us two conch horns – now we can feel like real boaters! The tradition is to blow a conch horn every night as the sun sets; the majority of boaters have them, especially if they cruise in the Keys or the Bahamas.
We readied the boat for sailing tomorrow and then had a relaxing dinner in the cockpit while we watched the sunset. Our conch horn wasn't clean yet, so we enjoyed the sunset in silence. And then watched as the men in gray suits came back in full force – another large lemon shark and a nurse shark swam in lazy circles around our boat. We had heard they were prevalent there and we were not disappointed!
Leaving Georgetown
3.23
Yesterday we moved the mothership closer to town so that we could restock our stores (water, fuel, groceries) without having to dinghy across the harbour multiple times. After being in the harbour for so long, it took quite a while to get the mothership back in sailing condition. We secured everything in the cabin and on deck, loaded the dinghy motor on deck and then headed for the southern area of the harbour so that we could leave early the following morning.
We had a good night sleep and woke up at 0700 to get a jump start on our 40mile journey to Conception. We were not the only boats leaving that morning; the winds that had been raging for the past two weeks had finally let up and all the boats that had been waiting out the weather were itching to get back out on the water. There was a mass exodus as we all headed out the cut to points South.
Once out of the cut, we all hoisted our sails and split off in different directions. After about an hour, we could tell there were two other boats that were on the same course as us, obviously also heading to Conception. We hailed the boat closest to us, who at the time, was racing past us closer to the wind than we could hope to go.
The boat is one of only three ever made, an Aerodyne 50ft, and he was smoking us. We made some good natured jokes at our expense and he invited us over for a beer when we all reached Conception.
As we sailed on that day, we soon realized that the wind as not in our favor and we would not be making it to Conception without motoring. We opted to continue under sail only and stop in Long Island for the evening, leaving only 15 miles of travel the following day.
We were tired from a day of slow sailing and eager to anchor for the night. As we were approaching the anchorage, suddenly the fishing line starting paying out! We were so excited we both jumped for the reel! Since I was already at the helm, I let Brad reel the fish in. He saw it jump out of the water and reported back excitedly that it was not a barracuda! We were already discussing how we were going to cook the fish and what a great ending to the day this was! As he reeled it in, the fish dove and took off in the opposite direction. And then, suddenly, the line went slack. Dagger! We lost the first fish we ever hooked! What a disappointing end to an otherwise boring day.
So, with heavy hearts, we had hotdogs for dinner, watched another perfect sunset and turned in for the night.
Yesterday we moved the mothership closer to town so that we could restock our stores (water, fuel, groceries) without having to dinghy across the harbour multiple times. After being in the harbour for so long, it took quite a while to get the mothership back in sailing condition. We secured everything in the cabin and on deck, loaded the dinghy motor on deck and then headed for the southern area of the harbour so that we could leave early the following morning.
We had a good night sleep and woke up at 0700 to get a jump start on our 40mile journey to Conception. We were not the only boats leaving that morning; the winds that had been raging for the past two weeks had finally let up and all the boats that had been waiting out the weather were itching to get back out on the water. There was a mass exodus as we all headed out the cut to points South.
Once out of the cut, we all hoisted our sails and split off in different directions. After about an hour, we could tell there were two other boats that were on the same course as us, obviously also heading to Conception. We hailed the boat closest to us, who at the time, was racing past us closer to the wind than we could hope to go.
The boat is one of only three ever made, an Aerodyne 50ft, and he was smoking us. We made some good natured jokes at our expense and he invited us over for a beer when we all reached Conception.
As we sailed on that day, we soon realized that the wind as not in our favor and we would not be making it to Conception without motoring. We opted to continue under sail only and stop in Long Island for the evening, leaving only 15 miles of travel the following day.
We were tired from a day of slow sailing and eager to anchor for the night. As we were approaching the anchorage, suddenly the fishing line starting paying out! We were so excited we both jumped for the reel! Since I was already at the helm, I let Brad reel the fish in. He saw it jump out of the water and reported back excitedly that it was not a barracuda! We were already discussing how we were going to cook the fish and what a great ending to the day this was! As he reeled it in, the fish dove and took off in the opposite direction. And then, suddenly, the line went slack. Dagger! We lost the first fish we ever hooked! What a disappointing end to an otherwise boring day.
So, with heavy hearts, we had hotdogs for dinner, watched another perfect sunset and turned in for the night.
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