Georgetown -- finally!

3.11.13 Yesterday, we pulled up anchor before dawn and motored out towards Little Farmers. The wind was supposed to be nonexistent that day, but had decided that after the many mishaps we had been having, an uneventful day of motoring was just fine with us. We made good time and had hit the cut out into the Ocean by 0900. We had a very boring day of motoring ahead of us - it would take about 11 hours to get there. We were both anxious to get there, and the motoring proved more boring than we had anticipated. Luckily, around 1100, we had a fish hit one of our poles! It was a mad scramble to get to the pole, get the dog downstairs and get everything cleared out of the cockpit so that we could bring the fish on board. While I was taking care of all that, Brad was reeling the fish in. In our excitement, we had stopped communicating and suddenly, we were spinning in circles because neither one of us was at the helm! Luckily, we made a quick recovery and Brad made short work of bringing the fish to the boat. I took over the pole and Brad gaffed the fish and brought him in to the cockpit. It was a beautiful 3 foot mahi! We were so excited! We have been dying to catch a mahi since we first started fishing on our boat. I took over the helm while Brad filleted him and and then I was on cleanup duty - somehow I think I got the worse end of that deal. We had so much fish! We decided not to even put more lines back in because we didn't even know how we were going to eat what we already had! The rest of the day was slow going and uneventful, but we made it to Georgetown before nightfall and had the anchor down in our favorite anchorage off Monument Beach just in time to head over to St Francis for drinks with friends! We had a great night and were so excited to be back with friends. Today, we met up with our friends on Necesse, who have two young daughters. We had agreed that we would bring the fish if they would cook. We had a great dinner together and then the boys went to poker night while the girls stayed home and hung out on the boat. Brad came in second in the tournament! He was so excited! It has been a great start to our Georgetown time and we are glad to finally be back.

Sailing the Bank

3.10.13 We left Warderick Wells early this morning to head South along the Exuma bank. We realized this morning that the sail had torn below the first reef, so as long as we kept the first reef in, we could still use the mainsail. So, with the wind on our beam we made a speedy passage down to Black Point. It was an enjoyable day and we made great time. We were so relieved to be in Black Point that we opted to stay there for a few days and relax and enjoy the town. We unloaded the dinghy and enjoyed a day tooling around the town. We dinghied over to some nearby islands and enjoyed the pristine beaches all to ourselves. We planned to head South to Little Farmers one day, but the wind was on the nose and we were slamming in to waves. We opted to stay and enjoy one more day in Black Point and make a long day of it and go all the way to Georgetown the following day.

Warderick Wells, Exuma

3.9.13 We left early this morning to head to Warderick Wells, Exuma - FINALLY! The wind was strong, but it was on our stern so we barely felt it. The waves were relatively calm and were also on our stern so we were anticipating a great day! The first part of the day was just that - we enjoyed an easy sail and were making good headway towards Exuma. When the wind died down halfway through the day, we raised the mainsail to increase our speed a bit. Things started to go downhill from there. We snagged a fish on one of our poles, but by the time I made it to the pole, he was gone. We had also put a preventer line on our mainsail to prevent it from jibing and slamming across our boat to the other side. When the wind shifted, Brad went to remove the preventer line with a boat hook. It proved easy enough, but while he was untying the line, the boat hook slipped right off his lap into the water. By this time, the waves were more than we had bargained for and we were not up for turning around the retrieve it. That makes boat hook number 2, lost to the sea this trip. By now, the wind and waves had piped up considerably and we were within sight of land, about 5 miles from the cut. We were jibing in to try to make it there under sail, meaning we were crossing with the wind on our stern, which is a bit tricky, as you have to make sure that when the wind catches the sail, you don't allow it to slam across the boat, possibly tearing the sail. We had done a few controlled jibes and were steadily making our way to the cut. We did another, normal jibe but on this one, the sail protested and tore almost completely down the seam - from bow to stern. We both just started at it for a good minute, not seeming to comprehend what had happened. We had done everything correctly, controlled jibes, easy turns - but in the end, the old sails sealed our fate. We had yet another ripped sail on our hands. So, 3 miles from shore in 3-5 foot seas, we had to turn in to the wind and try to get the sail down. It was a bit bouncy and set us back about 2 miles, but we finally got it all hauled down. We were both extremely disheartened and loped in to Warderick Wells just before sunset. We got the anchor down and both collapsed. Tomorrow we will figure out the sail issue and hopefully head South towards Georgetown.

Great Sail and a Sick Pup

3.6.13 Today was a great sailing day! We left early this morning at first light and headed South. With the dinghy still turtled on deck and the wind directly off our beam, we sliced through the water at a speedy 7 knots. We had to cover 40 miles today and at this rate, we would be there by lunchtime. Luck was on our side today and we held firm at 5-6 knots all day, making excellent time and having a smooth sail, with the waves off our stern. We made it to Rock Sound by 1pm and had the anchor in by 1:30. We were tucked up close to the western shore, along with about a dozen other boats. We were planning on heading in to town, but the waves from the west wind changed our mind. Hopefully it will lay down tonight and we will be able to go in tomorrow to stretch our legs. On a side note, Koa spiked a sudden fever of 104.0 degrees last night for no apparents reason. We didn't even suspect he was sick until he suddenly wouldn't eat - an emergency situation for our mutt! With some fluids and close monitoring, he is back to normal today with what we believe to be a case of kennel cough (like a cold for dogs) possibly obtained from the stray dogs on these islands.

Hatchet Bay

3.5.13 Much to our chagrin, we sat in Royal Island for three days waiting out a blow from the North. We were very concerned about dragging anchor in such a confined space, but were relieved when our new Rocna anchor held tight through the whole thing. We finally crawled out of Royal Island when the wind died and motored our way SouthEast towards Current Cut. Here the water rushes through a narrow 50 yard cut in the land, all the water from the bank draining and flowing from the ocean through this cut. The cut is usually only passable when the current is going with you and even then should be taken when the current is slack. We made it there earlier than the tide shift, with the current on our stern. Fortunately, the current that day was weak due to the tides and we were pushed through with a modest 2 knot addition to our stern. We were quickly sucked in and pushed through the other side with any drama. We made it a few hours later to Hatchet Bay, another narrow cut through high cliffs (this one only about 20 yards wide) and into a small bay on the inside. We had hoped to pick up on of the free city moorings, but that was not to be as they were all taken. We were bummed, but loped over to the shallows and dropped anchor for the night.

The Neverending Day

3.1.13 After a week of tooling around the Abacos, we are more than ready to head South. The weather has been great this week and we have trekked around to Lubbers Quarters, Hopetown , Man O War and Marsh Harbour enjoying the sailing, sunny skies and beautiful waters. But, finally, after a ten day wait we got a phone call yesterday saying that our sail was ready. And it couldn't have come at a better time as a window for the crossing is in our sights. We hauled anchor early this morning, eager to collect our sail as soon as possible. Unforunately, the day was grey, rainy and cold. We made it to Man O War under motor and pulled into the protected, albeit overcrowded harbour and picked up a mooring. We excitedly dinghied over to Jay Manni's dock to retrieve our headsail. It was a beautiful sight to see, folded and corded neatly at the entrance to his workshop. We couldn't have been happier! We ferried the sail home, I mean back to the mothership, and immediately set about hauling her back into position. Once up, and inspected, we rolled her back up, released the mooring lines and headed back out into the sea of Abaco. It seemed as if everything was going our way - finally! We were heading South to stage at Lynyard Cay and tomorrow was looking like the perfect day to cross. The day, although cold and rainy was a great sailing day and gave us a chance to check the jib and make sure it was performing well before the crossing. We made it to Lynyard Cay by early afternoon and dropped the hook. We hauled the dinghy and outboard up on deck and stowed everything in preparation for the crossing. As is our habit, we checked the weather once we were anchored and saw that, much to our chagrin, conditions for tomorrow seemed to be deteriorating. The wind was going to be stronger than we had anticipated and out in the open ocean, that was the last thing we wanted. After much discussion and hemming and hawing amongst ourselves, we decided that the best time to go would in fact be right now. Although we were tired, we didn't want to miss this window! So, we had a quick dinner and took off for Eleuthra an hour before sundown. The crossing was great! We had perfect conditions and great wind, sending us at a brisk 6-7 knots towards Eleuthra. We would be there before dawn and the trip would only take about 10 hours. We were ecstatic! Of course, as this trip had proven, the good can only last so long. About 3 in the morning, the wind shifted and then died and brought with it a barrage of freezing cold rain. Of course, I was at the helm at this point, as always seems to be the case when it is pouring down rain in the pitch black dark. I told Brad to stay below - no sense in both of us being miserable. We arrived at the bank around 4am and motored in to anchor just outside of Royal Island. Royal Island is an encloed anchorage, protected from all sides and was perfect for the upcoming blow. Unfortunately you have to pass through a narrow channel and without light, that was not something we were up for. We anchored just outside in the lee of a hill and took a three hour nap. Despite being freezing cold and utterly exhausted, we hauled up the anchor and headed in to Royal Island where we dropped hook and lazed around for the rest of the day. Finally, after weeks of waiting, we had finally left the Abacos! Although the end of the crossing hadn't gone smashingly and we were utterly exhausted from the day that never seemed to end, we were happy to be in Eleuthra.