1.12.11
Our first day here we had another front roll through the area. It appears that in the winter, fronts come through every 3-4 days. We opted not to go into the marina and instead spent the day bobbing up and down out in the harbour. Although it was annoying and slightly uncomfortable, it was not unbearable. We were definitely welcoming the idea of a calm harbour and dry land though! We also encountered our first water spout while here – luckily it was from the safety of about 3 miles away. It was eerie how you could see it forming high in the clouds and then it just suddenly appeared, connected to the water. I got chills just watching it and sent up a silent prayer that we would never be in the near vicinity of one of those things.
We made it into Chub Cay yesterday. The boats before us had told us there was nothing there, but since it was our first Bahama anchorage, we wanted to see a small Bahamian town with our own eyes. Well, “nothing there” was a very adequate description. There was a very nice marina that had been recently bought and turned into a power boat marina – complete with pool, beach volleyball courts, small restaurant and bar area and laundry facilities. But, there were maybe 5 boats there, the restaurant didn't open until 1pm for lunch and the only Bahamians that lived there worked at the marina. We walked around a bit for the fun of it and then headed back out to the mothership.
We decided Koa had waited long enough to go ashore so we dinghied over to a neighboring deserted island and let him play on the beach for an hour or so. This was our first encounter with “gin clear” water and we were amazed by how shallow everything looked. You could see the same in 40 feet of water as you could in 4 feet. It was amazing! And there are conch shells EVERYWHERE! It seems that every Bahamian “conchs.” Conchs are found in about 20 feet of water, so they dive for them, load up their boats with their findings and then on the trip back into shallower water, they shell them and toss the shells overboard. So all of the conch shells that are on the beaches are deserted and empty shells that have been cracked by the Bahamians. It's a “don't shit where you eat” mentality – if other conchs see empty, broken shells around them they will not live there. So, they leave the conchs to their deep water and throw their ill-fated relatives' shells in the shallows.
The next morning we got up at 0400 and headed down to Nassau. Although the trip was only an easy 30 mile day sail, there was a front coming through that we were racing. We made it to Nassau by 1300 and were greeted by the overwhelming size of Atlantis resort and 5 large cruise ships. We motored right by the cruise ships and it was a bit daunting as their 20 decks towered over our one. Koa was undeterred and barked at them to tell them they were too large to be close to us – he likes to make sure everyone knows who is boss.
We attempted to anchor in a small, tight anchorage where the current was ripping, but we couldn't get the anchor to hold and when we weighed anchor to try another spot, we realized we had hooked an old canvas. Apparently the whole harbor is wrought with old trash and leftovers from previous boats and hurricanes. We finally settled on a great anchorage on the North side of the harbor and looked forward to an early evening.
Unfortunately that was not to be...
Around 9pm, we were watching a movie with all the lights out in our cabin, when a large spotlight caught our ship, blinding us through the windows. We both jumped up to see what was going on – a LARGE ferry boat was going by not 30 feet off our stern, spotlighting us as if we were in the channel. Which, as it turns out, he thought we were as he yelled to us as they passed by.
We decided to ignore him for the evening since boat traffic would be slim to none overnight and we would re-anchor in the morning. We like living on the edge, what can I say?!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Crossing the Bank
1.9.11
We left Bimini yesterday in a rush. We were supposed to buddy boat out with Mike and Terry, but they left in a big hurry a bit earlier than we had planned. So we were hurrying to catch up with them. We finally launched and headed out the channel towards the ocean, both of our hearts pounding as the waves outside seemed to be about the same as they were when we arrived. We were definitely more prepared this time around though. We knew what path we had taken on the way in and we could see a bit better through the water to determine the safe depths. There was also a large power boat that went out of the inlet ahead of us. He got stuck on a sandbar while trying to cut across too early, so we knew not to make that mistake!
Despite the fact that the current and winds were again raging, we had a very successful exit. We had no problems getting out and raising the sail before we were off again! As we were coming out, we saw a catamaran lowering their sails preparing to enter the channel. We thought the boat looked familiar but were too busy getting our sails up and getting on track that we didn't have time to hail them. We set off on our 10 miles ocean trek up to North Rock, our cutover point to cross the Bank. The waves were again around 6 feet and the wind was blowing in strong 15-20 knot gusts. We had the lowest amount of sail out possible and were still slicing through the water at 6-7 knots. It was an uncomfortable sail since the waves were hitting us off the beam and rocking us over onto our side with each new set of waves.
Before we made it around Bimini, the catamaran we had met at the entrance hailed us on the VHF. It was one of the boats we had met in Marathon, “Bluewater Cat” and were keeping in contact with as we were supposed to be crossing the Stream the same day. We had lost touch with them once we crossed over, having no way to contact them, but it seemed our paths had once again overlapped.
We could see the Hylas about 5 miles ahead of us and just stayed on her course, eventually making it onto the Bank and into calmer waters. The Bank is a large 70miles across body of water that is 20 feet deep all around. It was smooth sailing for the rest of the day, and while we couldn't catch up to the Hylas with her hull speed, we kept her in sight all day. We stayed in radio contact with Mike and decided to anchor near each other. Since the Bank is so wide, you cannot cross it in one day and it is not recommended to cross in the dark due to coral heads close to the surface that you can only see during the day. So, we finally caught up to the Hylas as the sun was setting, anchoring in the middle of nowhere, and dinghied over to their boat for dinner. It was nice having them get there ahead of us, because when we arrived, they had already prepared all the food and set the table and all we had to do was show up and enjoy a nice hot meal! And, to top it all off – in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around us, we were able to watch the Saints/Seahawks game on the satellite TV!! HA! We were in heaven, if only for the night! Talk about roughing it...
We arrived at Chub Cay around 4:00pm today and set anchor. Upon our arrival, we found the other boat that we had kept in contact with already anchored there! “Quality Time” with a wonderful Canadian couple onboard had been our original “buddy boat” but had left before us since we had encountered some technical issues. It was nice to see we were on the same travel track and what a small world the sailing community is!! We had a nice dinner of chicken fettucine and enjoyed the sunset. We hope to make it into the town of Chub Cay within the next day or two, then travel on to Nassau to have our macerator fixed.
We left Bimini yesterday in a rush. We were supposed to buddy boat out with Mike and Terry, but they left in a big hurry a bit earlier than we had planned. So we were hurrying to catch up with them. We finally launched and headed out the channel towards the ocean, both of our hearts pounding as the waves outside seemed to be about the same as they were when we arrived. We were definitely more prepared this time around though. We knew what path we had taken on the way in and we could see a bit better through the water to determine the safe depths. There was also a large power boat that went out of the inlet ahead of us. He got stuck on a sandbar while trying to cut across too early, so we knew not to make that mistake!
Despite the fact that the current and winds were again raging, we had a very successful exit. We had no problems getting out and raising the sail before we were off again! As we were coming out, we saw a catamaran lowering their sails preparing to enter the channel. We thought the boat looked familiar but were too busy getting our sails up and getting on track that we didn't have time to hail them. We set off on our 10 miles ocean trek up to North Rock, our cutover point to cross the Bank. The waves were again around 6 feet and the wind was blowing in strong 15-20 knot gusts. We had the lowest amount of sail out possible and were still slicing through the water at 6-7 knots. It was an uncomfortable sail since the waves were hitting us off the beam and rocking us over onto our side with each new set of waves.
Before we made it around Bimini, the catamaran we had met at the entrance hailed us on the VHF. It was one of the boats we had met in Marathon, “Bluewater Cat” and were keeping in contact with as we were supposed to be crossing the Stream the same day. We had lost touch with them once we crossed over, having no way to contact them, but it seemed our paths had once again overlapped.
We could see the Hylas about 5 miles ahead of us and just stayed on her course, eventually making it onto the Bank and into calmer waters. The Bank is a large 70miles across body of water that is 20 feet deep all around. It was smooth sailing for the rest of the day, and while we couldn't catch up to the Hylas with her hull speed, we kept her in sight all day. We stayed in radio contact with Mike and decided to anchor near each other. Since the Bank is so wide, you cannot cross it in one day and it is not recommended to cross in the dark due to coral heads close to the surface that you can only see during the day. So, we finally caught up to the Hylas as the sun was setting, anchoring in the middle of nowhere, and dinghied over to their boat for dinner. It was nice having them get there ahead of us, because when we arrived, they had already prepared all the food and set the table and all we had to do was show up and enjoy a nice hot meal! And, to top it all off – in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around us, we were able to watch the Saints/Seahawks game on the satellite TV!! HA! We were in heaven, if only for the night! Talk about roughing it...
We arrived at Chub Cay around 4:00pm today and set anchor. Upon our arrival, we found the other boat that we had kept in contact with already anchored there! “Quality Time” with a wonderful Canadian couple onboard had been our original “buddy boat” but had left before us since we had encountered some technical issues. It was nice to see we were on the same travel track and what a small world the sailing community is!! We had a nice dinner of chicken fettucine and enjoyed the sunset. We hope to make it into the town of Chub Cay within the next day or two, then travel on to Nassau to have our macerator fixed.
Bimini
1.7.11
We are finally rested up from our journey over. We have explored Bimini a bit and gotten a bit of the local flavor. We ordered fresh baked Bimini bread (sweet bread) right out of someone's kitchen. After walking the beach, we saw an amazing old wreck washed onshore; when the waves came onto the beach they crashed into it spraying upwards of 50 feet in the air. We walked through several old graveyards with headstones dating back to the early 1800s.
But, sadly, we have mostly spent our time here on the boat fixing our macerator. This is the one piece of equipment that you do not want to malfunction while out cruising – this is the thing that expels our black water from the holding tank. In the US every marina has a pump out system, where they literally pump out the black water into large tanks that are emptied weekly. In the Bahamas, they hadn't even heard of a pump out system. There is so much water around them, deep ocean water, that you don't have to go that far to be out in open water where you can discharge your black water yourself. That is, if you have a pump that works. Which we do not. I will spare everyone the gory details and just suffice it to say we have had a really shitty week.
In between working on that and other minor repairs, we met our neighboring sailboat – a kid of about 30 who is actually a Captain for this large 54 foot Hylas sailboat. The owner, Terry, sold some sort of microsoft company and now Mike, the Captain, singlehandedly sails this boat around, meeting Terry in various places around the world. There are only about 5 Hylas boats made every year and each one can be made to specific specs designed by the owner. The boat Terry owns now is a 54 Hylas, year 2009 but Terry has already been eyeing a newer Hylas, this one a 70 foot that is waiting in dry dock until he can sell his current Hylas. Since there are so few of these boats made, Mike has each of the different mechanics on speed dial and can call them anytime he is having a problem and get help from them. Hylas has specialized guys that only work specific parts of Hylas boats, so they are each experts in their division.
We were invited over for drinks and cocktails and given the grand tour – it is straight out of a boat show magazine. Plush interior, suede cushions, 125hp inboard, diesel generator, 3 berths, 2 full baths, washer and dryer, and satellite TV. But to meet Terry and Mike, you wouldn't know it. They are both very down to earth and friendly and have been more than generous towards us. Mike even came over to help Brad with our macerator!
We are all planning on crossing the Grand Bahama Bank tomorrow and will buddy boat across. Brad and I are a bit nervous since we had such a hard time getting the mothership in the inlet. But they have a 7'2” draft on their boat, so if we follow behind them, we shouldn't touch bottom again. We are all geared up and ready to continue over to the east side of the Bahamas where the relaxation can begin!
We are finally rested up from our journey over. We have explored Bimini a bit and gotten a bit of the local flavor. We ordered fresh baked Bimini bread (sweet bread) right out of someone's kitchen. After walking the beach, we saw an amazing old wreck washed onshore; when the waves came onto the beach they crashed into it spraying upwards of 50 feet in the air. We walked through several old graveyards with headstones dating back to the early 1800s.
But, sadly, we have mostly spent our time here on the boat fixing our macerator. This is the one piece of equipment that you do not want to malfunction while out cruising – this is the thing that expels our black water from the holding tank. In the US every marina has a pump out system, where they literally pump out the black water into large tanks that are emptied weekly. In the Bahamas, they hadn't even heard of a pump out system. There is so much water around them, deep ocean water, that you don't have to go that far to be out in open water where you can discharge your black water yourself. That is, if you have a pump that works. Which we do not. I will spare everyone the gory details and just suffice it to say we have had a really shitty week.
In between working on that and other minor repairs, we met our neighboring sailboat – a kid of about 30 who is actually a Captain for this large 54 foot Hylas sailboat. The owner, Terry, sold some sort of microsoft company and now Mike, the Captain, singlehandedly sails this boat around, meeting Terry in various places around the world. There are only about 5 Hylas boats made every year and each one can be made to specific specs designed by the owner. The boat Terry owns now is a 54 Hylas, year 2009 but Terry has already been eyeing a newer Hylas, this one a 70 foot that is waiting in dry dock until he can sell his current Hylas. Since there are so few of these boats made, Mike has each of the different mechanics on speed dial and can call them anytime he is having a problem and get help from them. Hylas has specialized guys that only work specific parts of Hylas boats, so they are each experts in their division.
We were invited over for drinks and cocktails and given the grand tour – it is straight out of a boat show magazine. Plush interior, suede cushions, 125hp inboard, diesel generator, 3 berths, 2 full baths, washer and dryer, and satellite TV. But to meet Terry and Mike, you wouldn't know it. They are both very down to earth and friendly and have been more than generous towards us. Mike even came over to help Brad with our macerator!
We are all planning on crossing the Grand Bahama Bank tomorrow and will buddy boat across. Brad and I are a bit nervous since we had such a hard time getting the mothership in the inlet. But they have a 7'2” draft on their boat, so if we follow behind them, we shouldn't touch bottom again. We are all geared up and ready to continue over to the east side of the Bahamas where the relaxation can begin!
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