May 28, 2012
We made the 50 mile trip from Miami down to Rodriguez Key near Key Largo today where we are currently anchored. The wind was 10-15 knots from the south which put it on the nose, but we were able to motor-sail with a little pure sailing and made pretty good time. It has been a while, however, since we have had 15-20 degrees of heel, so that took a little adjustment.
We started out leaving Miami two days ago, but had low sea-water cooling flow before we had gotten out of Biscayne Bay; the engine was not overheating, but the flow just wasn't right. We have been having a lot of sea grass (Sargassos grass I think) and I had cleaned the strainer (filter) the day before after we got fuel. Well we stopped and I checked the strainer - no significant contents. When we opened the sea cock with the strainer top open, however, it was clear that the flow was restricted before the strainer. We put down a quick anchor in the Bay, and I proceeded to pull a hose from the sea cock; the water was flowing, but definitly light. I tried to clear it from inside the baot, but was unsucessful.
So we headed back to Coconut Grove. There I dove under the boat and found and removed a nice clump of grass lodged in the thru-hull. After that I changed the sea-water impeller for good measure (it was about 15 months old).
We then had a healthy flow of cooling water!
Tomorrow we have a long day continuing down the Hawk Channel to Channel 5, and then across Florida Bay via the so-called 'Yacht Channel' to Cape Sable and then Little Shark River ( no internet there!).
We then plan an overnight to Boca Grande either Wednesday or Thursday night.
Tom
Rodriguez Key, FL
http://goo.gl/maps/HRgz
Note on the map - Places we are revisiting on our return trip are shown in green.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Leaving Coconut Grove (Miami)
May 25, 2012
We have spent the last week comfortably tucked in on a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami. This has allowed us to get a few boat chores done (laundry, provisions, a few repairs, etc), enjoy the amentities of Coconut Grove, and wait out some more squally weather.
On the weather, a wave of low pressure formed south of Cuba and is being monitored for tropical storm development (Invest 94). It has not yet been declared a tropical storm, but it passed through Miami yesterday with wind gusts up to 50 knots! We were glad we were in a protected mooring field. It may yet become a tropical storm off the North Carolina coast and head towards the Florida-Georgia border. We will be heading in the opposite direction tomorrow, but will be keeping an eye on it. If it is named, it will be the second named storm in the Atlantic before the 'offical' start of hurricane season on June 1!
We plan to leave Miami tomorrow morning and head down the Hawk Channel to Rodriguez Key (40 miles) where we will anchor for the night. On Sunday we plan to continue down the Hawk Channel to Channel 5, where we will cross over into Florida Bay and up to the Little Shark River via the so-called 'Yacht Channel'; this will be a long 75+ mile day. Little Shark River is a very secure anchorage, so we will be safe if the tropical storm remnants come calling, but it will be very buggy (biggest risk is that the bugs will pick the boat up and carry it deep into the mangroves) :-).
After clarifying the weather situation and resting a bit, we plan to head up to Boca Grande (Cayo Costa) via a 100+ mile overnight. We then hope to spend a few days relaxing in Pelican Bay, where our winter cruise began in December, before our final leg up to Bradenton (75+ miles). We hope to arrive in Bradenton about 6/4.
It has been a great trip, but the weather is starting to get a bit frisky with the tropical storm development, and it is getting hot, so it is time to head back to the dock, air conditioning, and getting the boat ready for the summer season.
Tom
Moored at Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Coconut Grove (Miami, FL)
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
We have spent the last week comfortably tucked in on a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami. This has allowed us to get a few boat chores done (laundry, provisions, a few repairs, etc), enjoy the amentities of Coconut Grove, and wait out some more squally weather.
On the weather, a wave of low pressure formed south of Cuba and is being monitored for tropical storm development (Invest 94). It has not yet been declared a tropical storm, but it passed through Miami yesterday with wind gusts up to 50 knots! We were glad we were in a protected mooring field. It may yet become a tropical storm off the North Carolina coast and head towards the Florida-Georgia border. We will be heading in the opposite direction tomorrow, but will be keeping an eye on it. If it is named, it will be the second named storm in the Atlantic before the 'offical' start of hurricane season on June 1!
We plan to leave Miami tomorrow morning and head down the Hawk Channel to Rodriguez Key (40 miles) where we will anchor for the night. On Sunday we plan to continue down the Hawk Channel to Channel 5, where we will cross over into Florida Bay and up to the Little Shark River via the so-called 'Yacht Channel'; this will be a long 75+ mile day. Little Shark River is a very secure anchorage, so we will be safe if the tropical storm remnants come calling, but it will be very buggy (biggest risk is that the bugs will pick the boat up and carry it deep into the mangroves) :-).
After clarifying the weather situation and resting a bit, we plan to head up to Boca Grande (Cayo Costa) via a 100+ mile overnight. We then hope to spend a few days relaxing in Pelican Bay, where our winter cruise began in December, before our final leg up to Bradenton (75+ miles). We hope to arrive in Bradenton about 6/4.
It has been a great trip, but the weather is starting to get a bit frisky with the tropical storm development, and it is getting hot, so it is time to head back to the dock, air conditioning, and getting the boat ready for the summer season.
Tom
Moored at Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Coconut Grove (Miami, FL)
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Cruisers Guide to the Abacos - What Works and What Doesn't
May 20, 2012
This post is intended to share some of the some things we learned about what works well and what doesn't while cruising the Northern Bahamas.
Most of our blog posts have been intentionally low on technical sailing/boating issues as we wanted it be readable by sailors and non-sailors alike. This post, however, is targeted specifically to cruisers. I will mention many things without a lot of elaboration, so if you are a non-cruiser, you might want to skip this post.
Charts
We used Navionics charts on our Raymarine chart plotter and found them excellent. A nice feature is that they show the 'Explorer Charts' rhumb lines.
I (Tom) also had the Navionics iPhone Application. It is a great value (About $35 for US, Canada, and Bahamas). I was surprised how much I used it. I could use it as a chart plotter when away from the helm; I used it somewhat for anchor watches (just make sure your position has been updated); and I can not tell you how many times I was talking to someone away from the boat about a place or a channel and I was just able to whip out my phone and we could look at it.
We carried the Explorer Chart Book - Near Bahamas - 5th Edition and liked it very much. It has great detail, a rich set of waypoints, and suggested rhumb lines.
Warning - Physical features on the charts were very accurate; the Explorer charts even note areas with 'shifting sands'. Aids to navigation (buoys. markers, etc) are notoriously unreliable in the Bahamas and the charts sometimes show non-existent or changed aids to navigation.
Guide Books
We carried two and had reviewed several others.
By far, our favorite was Cruising Guide to Abaco Bahamas 2012 by Steve Dodge. It had very up to date information. One feature that I especially liked was that for many entrance channels he had a series of photographs from decreasing distances that made it very easy to locate features.
We also carried A Cruising Guide to the Northern Bahamas by Stephen Pavlidis. This guide has a tremendous amount of information (reminds me a bit of Don Street's Guides), but we found it fairly dated and hard to use.
Weather Information
From early in my investigation of cruising in the Abacos I was concerned about the availability (or lack thereof) of weather information on VHF radio. This turned out to be a very real concern. Within the so called 'Hub of Abaco' (Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, etc), you can get weather from the Cruiser's Net on VHF 68, but it can not be reliably received in the northern or southern parts of the area. Internet availability is also very limited in these areas, so you can't get weather that way either.
We subscribed to Chris Parker's weather by email before leaving the States and found it very helpful, but of course we needed internet availability to use it in the Bahamas.
If you are SSB equipped, you can listen to Chris Parker in the morning, however, we are not equipped with permanent SSB equipment on Barefoot. I am a licensed amateur radio operator and brought a very good portable SSB radio and an antenna. I had planned to try to listen to Chris and receive weather fax information over the radio - both were very unreliable.
We ended up getting set up Ocens satellite phone email at Green Turtle Cay and found that it worked very well to receive Chris's weather and GRIB files from SailDocs.com. After using these sources for a season, I really feel that it is the way to go. The transmission times are short, the sat phone can be used virtually anywhere, and you are not tied to getting information on someone else's schedule.
Satellite Phone
We got an Iridium 9555 phone before we left the states for emergency communication. We were very happy with it for email; we were disappointed with the voice quality. I will be installing a permanent antenna for the sat phone on our arch before next winter and hope that that will improve the quality. With the built-in antenna on the phone above decks, or the small 'hockey-puck' external antenna on a side-deck or cabin top, voice communication is difficult with significant delays and dropped content.
Internet
In the States we have Verizon iPhones with unlimited data plans and a Verizon MiFi hotspot device that generally provide pretty good internet access on the boat. International data and voice roaming are very expensive and Verizon has limited coverage in the Abacos, so we suspended our service on these devices.
Two companies offer extended area wifi service in the Abacos: Out Island Internet and Bahamas WiMax. We found that generally service was poor on both. We first subscribed to WiMax and then later added OII to see if it was any better. Sometimes one is available where the other isn't, and the service is sometimes better on one than the other, but in general they both suck. Also it typically is NOT the wifi signal that is the constraint, but rather band-width or reliability within their support infrastructure. Both are better than nothing, but have low expectations as to the internet you will get through them.
Marinas often have wifi, but we rarely dock, so we can't opine on that access.
Money Issues
The Bahamian dollar is at par with the US dollar and the two currencies are used interchangeably.
There are very few ATMs in the Northern Bahamas. Marsh Harbour has several and we understand that Treasure Cay also has one. Most of the out-islands have a bank, but it is typically only open once a week.
Credit cards are widely accepted, but typically there is a foreign currency transaction fee and many establishments 'upcharge' credit sales. A typical upcharge was 5%.
Bottom line - bring lots of cash!
Provisioning
First everything is more expensive - bring as much as you can.
Selection in the out-island stores varies but is generally very limited. Produce and other perishables typically arrive once a week on the supply boat. Shopping out island is typically more like buying what they have, as opposed to shopping from a list.
Meats outside of Marsh Harbour are almost always frozen. It is difficult to get a great hamburger in a restaurant in the Bahamas - you need fresh ground meat (IMHO). Seafood is typically excellent, but also typically fried in Bahamian cuisine.
Marsh Harbour has several large supermarkets (Maxwells most notably) that are excellent - you can get just about anything you are willing to pay for.
Customs
Clearing Bahamian customs in West End was painless. They gave us a 90 day cruising permit as requested ($300).
Clearing US customs coming back into the States was great with the Small Vessel Reporting System (formerly Local Boater Option). It is a bit of a pain to get registered, but clearing in was one quick phone call.
Water/WaterMaker
We have a Spectra watermaker and used it extensively in the Bahamas. Supply water quality is typically excellent outside of inner harbours - we used the same prefilters for the entire time we were there.
Water is available at most marinas at 20-50 cents a gallon; some marinas charge a daily fee. We only used dock water at West End and Marsh Harbour and the quality was fair to good.
You certainly do not need a watermaker to cruise the northern Bahamas, but it sure is convenient.
Crusing Area
We found that you can roughly divide the Northern Bahamas into the areas north and south of the 'Whale' - the area of the Sea of Abaco, where all but shoal-draft vessels must poke out into the Atlantic to continue south.
North of the Whale is generally less developed and offers more opportunities to see typical Bahamian life. South of the Whale is much more developed and focused on tourism; described by one person as Americanized. Which you will prefer is really a matter of style.
The northern section offers several uninhabited or lightly inhabited islands that you can have largely to yourself - our favorite was probably Manjack Key. There are several opportunities to see typical non-tourist oriented African-Bahamian towns (West End Settlement, Foxtown, Coopers Town). You will find friendly people and good food and drink if you look. New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay is a Loyalist town with some good stores and restaurants, that retains an authentic feel.
South of the Whale you will generally find Loyalist towns that are heavily oriented to tourism. Beach bars and restaurants abound. That said, they are typically very quaint and attractive (HopeTown very notably).
Warning - Probably the most opinionated section of this blog follows:
We found that if you reached out to them, the African-Bahamians were typically warm and friendly. We also found that the English-Bahamians were often a bit cool and reserved. My experience is that you can break down this coolness, but that it takes more time than you typically have.
The Northern Bahamas have a wide range of experiences available and what you will like depends on your style.
Tom
Coconut Grove Sailing Club\
Coconut Grove (Miami), FL
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
Crusing Area
This post is intended to share some of the some things we learned about what works well and what doesn't while cruising the Northern Bahamas.
Most of our blog posts have been intentionally low on technical sailing/boating issues as we wanted it be readable by sailors and non-sailors alike. This post, however, is targeted specifically to cruisers. I will mention many things without a lot of elaboration, so if you are a non-cruiser, you might want to skip this post.
Charts
We used Navionics charts on our Raymarine chart plotter and found them excellent. A nice feature is that they show the 'Explorer Charts' rhumb lines.
I (Tom) also had the Navionics iPhone Application. It is a great value (About $35 for US, Canada, and Bahamas). I was surprised how much I used it. I could use it as a chart plotter when away from the helm; I used it somewhat for anchor watches (just make sure your position has been updated); and I can not tell you how many times I was talking to someone away from the boat about a place or a channel and I was just able to whip out my phone and we could look at it.
We carried the Explorer Chart Book - Near Bahamas - 5th Edition and liked it very much. It has great detail, a rich set of waypoints, and suggested rhumb lines.
Warning - Physical features on the charts were very accurate; the Explorer charts even note areas with 'shifting sands'. Aids to navigation (buoys. markers, etc) are notoriously unreliable in the Bahamas and the charts sometimes show non-existent or changed aids to navigation.
Guide Books
We carried two and had reviewed several others.
By far, our favorite was Cruising Guide to Abaco Bahamas 2012 by Steve Dodge. It had very up to date information. One feature that I especially liked was that for many entrance channels he had a series of photographs from decreasing distances that made it very easy to locate features.
We also carried A Cruising Guide to the Northern Bahamas by Stephen Pavlidis. This guide has a tremendous amount of information (reminds me a bit of Don Street's Guides), but we found it fairly dated and hard to use.
Weather Information
From early in my investigation of cruising in the Abacos I was concerned about the availability (or lack thereof) of weather information on VHF radio. This turned out to be a very real concern. Within the so called 'Hub of Abaco' (Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, etc), you can get weather from the Cruiser's Net on VHF 68, but it can not be reliably received in the northern or southern parts of the area. Internet availability is also very limited in these areas, so you can't get weather that way either.
We subscribed to Chris Parker's weather by email before leaving the States and found it very helpful, but of course we needed internet availability to use it in the Bahamas.
If you are SSB equipped, you can listen to Chris Parker in the morning, however, we are not equipped with permanent SSB equipment on Barefoot. I am a licensed amateur radio operator and brought a very good portable SSB radio and an antenna. I had planned to try to listen to Chris and receive weather fax information over the radio - both were very unreliable.
We ended up getting set up Ocens satellite phone email at Green Turtle Cay and found that it worked very well to receive Chris's weather and GRIB files from SailDocs.com. After using these sources for a season, I really feel that it is the way to go. The transmission times are short, the sat phone can be used virtually anywhere, and you are not tied to getting information on someone else's schedule.
Satellite Phone
We got an Iridium 9555 phone before we left the states for emergency communication. We were very happy with it for email; we were disappointed with the voice quality. I will be installing a permanent antenna for the sat phone on our arch before next winter and hope that that will improve the quality. With the built-in antenna on the phone above decks, or the small 'hockey-puck' external antenna on a side-deck or cabin top, voice communication is difficult with significant delays and dropped content.
Internet
In the States we have Verizon iPhones with unlimited data plans and a Verizon MiFi hotspot device that generally provide pretty good internet access on the boat. International data and voice roaming are very expensive and Verizon has limited coverage in the Abacos, so we suspended our service on these devices.
Two companies offer extended area wifi service in the Abacos: Out Island Internet and Bahamas WiMax. We found that generally service was poor on both. We first subscribed to WiMax and then later added OII to see if it was any better. Sometimes one is available where the other isn't, and the service is sometimes better on one than the other, but in general they both suck. Also it typically is NOT the wifi signal that is the constraint, but rather band-width or reliability within their support infrastructure. Both are better than nothing, but have low expectations as to the internet you will get through them.
Marinas often have wifi, but we rarely dock, so we can't opine on that access.
Money Issues
The Bahamian dollar is at par with the US dollar and the two currencies are used interchangeably.
There are very few ATMs in the Northern Bahamas. Marsh Harbour has several and we understand that Treasure Cay also has one. Most of the out-islands have a bank, but it is typically only open once a week.
Credit cards are widely accepted, but typically there is a foreign currency transaction fee and many establishments 'upcharge' credit sales. A typical upcharge was 5%.
Bottom line - bring lots of cash!
Provisioning
First everything is more expensive - bring as much as you can.
Selection in the out-island stores varies but is generally very limited. Produce and other perishables typically arrive once a week on the supply boat. Shopping out island is typically more like buying what they have, as opposed to shopping from a list.
Meats outside of Marsh Harbour are almost always frozen. It is difficult to get a great hamburger in a restaurant in the Bahamas - you need fresh ground meat (IMHO). Seafood is typically excellent, but also typically fried in Bahamian cuisine.
Marsh Harbour has several large supermarkets (Maxwells most notably) that are excellent - you can get just about anything you are willing to pay for.
Customs
Clearing Bahamian customs in West End was painless. They gave us a 90 day cruising permit as requested ($300).
Clearing US customs coming back into the States was great with the Small Vessel Reporting System (formerly Local Boater Option). It is a bit of a pain to get registered, but clearing in was one quick phone call.
Water/WaterMaker
We have a Spectra watermaker and used it extensively in the Bahamas. Supply water quality is typically excellent outside of inner harbours - we used the same prefilters for the entire time we were there.
Water is available at most marinas at 20-50 cents a gallon; some marinas charge a daily fee. We only used dock water at West End and Marsh Harbour and the quality was fair to good.
You certainly do not need a watermaker to cruise the northern Bahamas, but it sure is convenient.
Crusing Area
We found that you can roughly divide the Northern Bahamas into the areas north and south of the 'Whale' - the area of the Sea of Abaco, where all but shoal-draft vessels must poke out into the Atlantic to continue south.
North of the Whale is generally less developed and offers more opportunities to see typical Bahamian life. South of the Whale is much more developed and focused on tourism; described by one person as Americanized. Which you will prefer is really a matter of style.
The northern section offers several uninhabited or lightly inhabited islands that you can have largely to yourself - our favorite was probably Manjack Key. There are several opportunities to see typical non-tourist oriented African-Bahamian towns (West End Settlement, Foxtown, Coopers Town). You will find friendly people and good food and drink if you look. New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay is a Loyalist town with some good stores and restaurants, that retains an authentic feel.
South of the Whale you will generally find Loyalist towns that are heavily oriented to tourism. Beach bars and restaurants abound. That said, they are typically very quaint and attractive (HopeTown very notably).
Warning - Probably the most opinionated section of this blog follows:
We found that if you reached out to them, the African-Bahamians were typically warm and friendly. We also found that the English-Bahamians were often a bit cool and reserved. My experience is that you can break down this coolness, but that it takes more time than you typically have.
The Northern Bahamas have a wide range of experiences available and what you will like depends on your style.
Tom
Coconut Grove Sailing Club\
Coconut Grove (Miami), FL
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
Crusing Area
Friday, May 18, 2012
Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the USA
We have returned from our time in the Bahamas and are currently moored at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami.
The trip back took 5days, over 250 miles, 200 of which were open ocean. The winds were light or on the nose, so no sailing, just motoring, but our trusty 50 HP Yanmar never missed a beat. In spite of the lack of wind, the weather was very squally and we had a LOT of rain.
The weather forecast called for little gradient/synoptic wind for the next week, but squally (rain with wind in storms) weather was forecast. After this week, the weather pattern did not seem favorable for a return passage for at least another week, so we decided to take this window in spite of the squall challenges.
Monday May 14
The trip started in Hopetown with a 20 mile hop down the Sea of Abaco to Lynyard Cay, just north of Little Harbour. We had hoped to visit Little Harbour - but time, tide, and weather did not allow it on this trip. On this day we explored the two cuts that we might use the next day to exit the Sea of Abaco and enter the Atlantic Ocean. North Bar had rolling waves of about 8-10', but no breaking waves; Little Harbour cut had much smaller rollers, but was much more confused. We decided to try Little Harbour the next day.
Tuesday May 15
We got underway from Lynyard Cay a little before 7 AM under heavy overcast skies. Little Harbour Cut was a bit more lively than yesterday. Although the ride out was bumpy, we safely entered the Atlantic Ocean; we both said that we would not have wanted to enter the Sea of Abaco via the cut today. This leg takes us down the largely uninhabited and hostile southeast coast of Abaco, through the so-called 'hole-in-the wall' and then out across the Northeast Providence Channel, a heavy shipping lane. The forecast called for 'scattered squalls with decreasing coverage as you go further south'. Well I guess 'scattered' can mean continuous, because the weather was rainy and windy all morning. Our crossing of the NE Providence Channel was uneventful seeing only two large ships. We arrived at Stirrup Cay in the Berry Islands around 7 PM after about 75 miles of ocean sailing.
Wednesday May 16
We had planned to leave this morning to go halfway across the Bahama Bank, anchoring on the Bank tonight, and then continuing on to Bimini the next day. Because the previous day had been much harder than anticipated due to the squalls, we decided to change the plan, rest up for the day and then cross the Bahama Bank in one night leg of about 85 miles.
First, however, a word about Stirrup Cay. It is one of the 'private' islands used by large cruise ships. The cays are actually Great and Little Stirrup Cay, and the harbour formed by the two is called Slaughter Harbour. Well, these names are, of course, unsuitable for the 'private' islands, so they are called Coco Cay by the cruise lines. I feel sorry for the passengers trying to find their 'private' island in a map or atlas*. They have several man-made beaches and a lot of toys (jet skis, kayaks, etc) for the passengers to use. I do have to say that the barbecue smelled wonderful. We considered seeing if we could bribe one of the jet skiers to bring us a couple of pork sandwiches :-).
We left Stirrup a little after 6 PM. The night passage was very dark, between the cloud cover and the lack of a moon. After being clear for most of the night, we got plastered with very heavy rain as we approached Bimini. Other than the darkness and the rain, the passage was uneventful. Crossing the bank is different. It is very much like an open water passage, but rather than being in thousands of feet of water, you are in 15-75 feet.
Thursday May 17
We arrived at Bimini at around 8:30 AM in a blinding rain squall - much rain, thankfully little wind. We anchored in Nixon's Harbour on the south side of South Bimini. We failed to get the anchor set well on our first try - very hard bottom - but stayed there until the rain died down some. On our second try we found some sand and the anchor set OK - not great. It was not an ideal anchorage, but gave us a quick and easy departure the next day. We rested for the remainder of the day.
Friday May 18
We weighed anchor at around 7 AM and set out across the Gulf Steam to Miami. The weather was nice and the trip very uneventful. We only had to dodge around one freighter early in the trip. We nailed the 'current sailing' this time, arriving almost perfectly at Miami, with one constant course! (We did not handle the current sailing that well on our Gulf Stream crossing from Miami to West End to start our trip).
After arriving at the Biscayne Bay channel and transiting across Biscayne Bay under threatening skies, we were able to get a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club - the same one we had in March.
Clearing customs with our Small Vessel Reporting System registration and float plan was one easy phone call.
Sitting in the cockpit enjoying a drink after arrival, the setting seemed so familiar, I asked Joyce, "Did we really go to the Bahamas for two months, it wasn't just a dream here in Miami was it?" Of course it was true and we have now crossed our wake!
Tom
Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Coconut Grove (Miami) FL
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
* PS I must make a minor correction. As I was more accurately placing my pins on the Goggle map tracing our trip today, I was surprised to see that Goggle names Little Stirrup Cay as 'CocoCay Island', so I guess the cruise ship passengers can find their 'private' island afterall. I still chuckle at the name - I guess they want to make sure that folks know it is an island - Cay and Island basically mean the same thing.
The trip back took 5days, over 250 miles, 200 of which were open ocean. The winds were light or on the nose, so no sailing, just motoring, but our trusty 50 HP Yanmar never missed a beat. In spite of the lack of wind, the weather was very squally and we had a LOT of rain.
The weather forecast called for little gradient/synoptic wind for the next week, but squally (rain with wind in storms) weather was forecast. After this week, the weather pattern did not seem favorable for a return passage for at least another week, so we decided to take this window in spite of the squall challenges.
Monday May 14
The trip started in Hopetown with a 20 mile hop down the Sea of Abaco to Lynyard Cay, just north of Little Harbour. We had hoped to visit Little Harbour - but time, tide, and weather did not allow it on this trip. On this day we explored the two cuts that we might use the next day to exit the Sea of Abaco and enter the Atlantic Ocean. North Bar had rolling waves of about 8-10', but no breaking waves; Little Harbour cut had much smaller rollers, but was much more confused. We decided to try Little Harbour the next day.
Tuesday May 15
We got underway from Lynyard Cay a little before 7 AM under heavy overcast skies. Little Harbour Cut was a bit more lively than yesterday. Although the ride out was bumpy, we safely entered the Atlantic Ocean; we both said that we would not have wanted to enter the Sea of Abaco via the cut today. This leg takes us down the largely uninhabited and hostile southeast coast of Abaco, through the so-called 'hole-in-the wall' and then out across the Northeast Providence Channel, a heavy shipping lane. The forecast called for 'scattered squalls with decreasing coverage as you go further south'. Well I guess 'scattered' can mean continuous, because the weather was rainy and windy all morning. Our crossing of the NE Providence Channel was uneventful seeing only two large ships. We arrived at Stirrup Cay in the Berry Islands around 7 PM after about 75 miles of ocean sailing.
Wednesday May 16
We had planned to leave this morning to go halfway across the Bahama Bank, anchoring on the Bank tonight, and then continuing on to Bimini the next day. Because the previous day had been much harder than anticipated due to the squalls, we decided to change the plan, rest up for the day and then cross the Bahama Bank in one night leg of about 85 miles.
First, however, a word about Stirrup Cay. It is one of the 'private' islands used by large cruise ships. The cays are actually Great and Little Stirrup Cay, and the harbour formed by the two is called Slaughter Harbour. Well, these names are, of course, unsuitable for the 'private' islands, so they are called Coco Cay by the cruise lines. I feel sorry for the passengers trying to find their 'private' island in a map or atlas*. They have several man-made beaches and a lot of toys (jet skis, kayaks, etc) for the passengers to use. I do have to say that the barbecue smelled wonderful. We considered seeing if we could bribe one of the jet skiers to bring us a couple of pork sandwiches :-).
We left Stirrup a little after 6 PM. The night passage was very dark, between the cloud cover and the lack of a moon. After being clear for most of the night, we got plastered with very heavy rain as we approached Bimini. Other than the darkness and the rain, the passage was uneventful. Crossing the bank is different. It is very much like an open water passage, but rather than being in thousands of feet of water, you are in 15-75 feet.
Thursday May 17
We arrived at Bimini at around 8:30 AM in a blinding rain squall - much rain, thankfully little wind. We anchored in Nixon's Harbour on the south side of South Bimini. We failed to get the anchor set well on our first try - very hard bottom - but stayed there until the rain died down some. On our second try we found some sand and the anchor set OK - not great. It was not an ideal anchorage, but gave us a quick and easy departure the next day. We rested for the remainder of the day.
Friday May 18
We weighed anchor at around 7 AM and set out across the Gulf Steam to Miami. The weather was nice and the trip very uneventful. We only had to dodge around one freighter early in the trip. We nailed the 'current sailing' this time, arriving almost perfectly at Miami, with one constant course! (We did not handle the current sailing that well on our Gulf Stream crossing from Miami to West End to start our trip).
After arriving at the Biscayne Bay channel and transiting across Biscayne Bay under threatening skies, we were able to get a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club - the same one we had in March.
Clearing customs with our Small Vessel Reporting System registration and float plan was one easy phone call.
Sitting in the cockpit enjoying a drink after arrival, the setting seemed so familiar, I asked Joyce, "Did we really go to the Bahamas for two months, it wasn't just a dream here in Miami was it?" Of course it was true and we have now crossed our wake!
Tom
Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Coconut Grove (Miami) FL
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
* PS I must make a minor correction. As I was more accurately placing my pins on the Goggle map tracing our trip today, I was surprised to see that Goggle names Little Stirrup Cay as 'CocoCay Island', so I guess the cruise ship passengers can find their 'private' island afterall. I still chuckle at the name - I guess they want to make sure that folks know it is an island - Cay and Island basically mean the same thing.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hope Town
May 12, 2012
On Monday (5/7) we traveled a short distance from Man-O-War Cay to Hope Town on Elbow Cay. As we mentioned in our last post, destinations are quite close in the so-called 'Hub of Abaco'.
Hope Town has an extensive set of moorings in a well-protected harbor, so it is very secure and comfortable. We have ended up staying a few more days than originally planned because of weather.
The village is quaint with a lot of houses in classic Bahamian colors. The harbour is overlooked by the picturesque Hope Town, or more properly Elbow Reef, lighthouse.
Hope Town is definitely the most touristy destination we have been to in the Bahamas, with the exception of Old Bahama Bay in West End (which was an actual resort, but adjacent to West End, a Bahamian settlement). The village seems to have fully embraced the tourist economy. Most of the houses are rentals or tourist lodging of some type and several restaurants vie for the food and entertainment dollars.
More on the light house. It was built in 1864 by the Imperial (British) Lighthouse Service. You can climb to the top and see the kerosene-fueled lamp and hand-wound rotation mechanism which needs to be wound every two hours. Its construction was originally opposed by the local residents of the cay, who made a living 'wrecking' or salvaging ships that came to grief on the reef. It still is lit nightly, but is now mostly a tourist attraction. This is true of most lighthouses these days, which have been largely pushed aside by more sophisticated means of navigation. This became clear to me one night when I was up in the cockpit at 1 AM. The light was not rotating, so it had as navigators would say, an 'improper characteristic'. The characteristic of a light is one of the primary ways that a light is positively identified by mariners. Mentioning this to a friend the next day, he said that happens all the time. Oh well, so much for a serious aid to navigation.
Our stay in Hope Town, however, has been been comfortable and enjoyable. The Hope Town Coffeehouse (http://hopetowncoffeehouse.com/) has good coffee and Internet and is a great place to hang-out. We had several great lunches at the Harbour's Edge Restaurant.
We got a chance to get together with William and Judy of Optimystique, friends from our home marina in Bradenton. We also made some new friends of Ken and Sara from Tintean, a sister Island Packet 40. We enjoyed several conversations with Ken and Sara and found that we have much in common with regard to cruising style (a traveler not a tourist). We hope to cross paths again some day.
On Monday (5/14) we essentially begin our trip back to Bradenton. We will be returning to the states via a 'southern' route that will take us around the rugged and sparsely populated southern tip of Abaco, across the Northeast Providence Channel (a busy shipping lane) to the Berry Islands, across the Bahama Bank to Bimini, and then finally across the Gulf Steam to Miami.
Tom
Hope Town
Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/vfvnn
On Monday (5/7) we traveled a short distance from Man-O-War Cay to Hope Town on Elbow Cay. As we mentioned in our last post, destinations are quite close in the so-called 'Hub of Abaco'.
Hope Town has an extensive set of moorings in a well-protected harbor, so it is very secure and comfortable. We have ended up staying a few more days than originally planned because of weather.
The village is quaint with a lot of houses in classic Bahamian colors. The harbour is overlooked by the picturesque Hope Town, or more properly Elbow Reef, lighthouse.
Hope Town is definitely the most touristy destination we have been to in the Bahamas, with the exception of Old Bahama Bay in West End (which was an actual resort, but adjacent to West End, a Bahamian settlement). The village seems to have fully embraced the tourist economy. Most of the houses are rentals or tourist lodging of some type and several restaurants vie for the food and entertainment dollars.
More on the light house. It was built in 1864 by the Imperial (British) Lighthouse Service. You can climb to the top and see the kerosene-fueled lamp and hand-wound rotation mechanism which needs to be wound every two hours. Its construction was originally opposed by the local residents of the cay, who made a living 'wrecking' or salvaging ships that came to grief on the reef. It still is lit nightly, but is now mostly a tourist attraction. This is true of most lighthouses these days, which have been largely pushed aside by more sophisticated means of navigation. This became clear to me one night when I was up in the cockpit at 1 AM. The light was not rotating, so it had as navigators would say, an 'improper characteristic'. The characteristic of a light is one of the primary ways that a light is positively identified by mariners. Mentioning this to a friend the next day, he said that happens all the time. Oh well, so much for a serious aid to navigation.
Our stay in Hope Town, however, has been been comfortable and enjoyable. The Hope Town Coffeehouse (http://hopetowncoffeehouse.com/) has good coffee and Internet and is a great place to hang-out. We had several great lunches at the Harbour's Edge Restaurant.
We got a chance to get together with William and Judy of Optimystique, friends from our home marina in Bradenton. We also made some new friends of Ken and Sara from Tintean, a sister Island Packet 40. We enjoyed several conversations with Ken and Sara and found that we have much in common with regard to cruising style (a traveler not a tourist). We hope to cross paths again some day.
On Monday (5/14) we essentially begin our trip back to Bradenton. We will be returning to the states via a 'southern' route that will take us around the rugged and sparsely populated southern tip of Abaco, across the Northeast Providence Channel (a busy shipping lane) to the Berry Islands, across the Bahama Bank to Bimini, and then finally across the Gulf Steam to Miami.
Tom
Hope Town
Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/vfvnn
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Man-O-War
May 6, 2012
Last Thursday we left Marsh Harbour and made the 'long' (5 mile) trip to Man-O-War Cay. Once you are in the so-called 'Hub of Abaco', most of the locations are only a short distance away, no long passages between destinations.
Man-O-War is very much a Loyalist Cay, and is largely populated with people of English descent who came here during or after the revolutionary war. Albury is a family of early settlers on the Cay and you see the name everywhere: Albury's Boat Yard, Albury's Ferry, Albury's Harbour Store (very nice by the way) , etc.
One of the distinctives of the cay is that no alcoholic beverages are sold on the island. This and the fact that they do not embrace the tourist economy as much as many of the other islands gives it a much quieter and laid-back feel. After having a slip in Marsh Harbour near Snappas restaurant and bar with entertainment at least two nights a week, it has been a nice change. We have been on a mooring near Man-O-War Marina and it has been very quiet.
In addition to Albury's boat yard that largely makes new boats, Edwin's Boat Yard is a full-service and busy yard here. The jobs must be pretty good, because the workforce is largely made up of African-Bahamians that commute over and back from Marsh Harbour every day.
The houses here are well kept and have landscaping that is nicer than any we have seen so far (with the possible exception of the Prime Minister's house in Cooper's Town). The people here have been nice, but generally fairly reserved.
The cemetery was interesting. Many of the graves in an earlier cemetery were washed away in various storms - a common island problem. In the new cemetery, the graves are cut out of coral rock and sealed with cement tops. Following is a picture of a grave being prepared.
Today we went to the morning service at the Man-O-War Church Of God. Bob Cornea, father of the owner of Harbour View Marina that we stayed at in Marsh Harbour, has been serving as an interim pastor of this church. Bob was a missionary to the Bahamas and has been involved in ministry here for many years. We sat behind Lolla, the 'famous' baker on Man-O-War and her husband Martin. Bob gave a spirited sermon on enduring through tough times.
Tomorrow is election day in the Bahamas. We have tried to figure out the positions of the various parties, but really have not come to any understanding of the differences. We hope the Bahamians make a wise choice.
Another beautiful beach:
Tomorrow we plan to head to Hopetown and its iconic lighthouse.
Tom
Man-O-War Cay
Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/gs9cv
Last Thursday we left Marsh Harbour and made the 'long' (5 mile) trip to Man-O-War Cay. Once you are in the so-called 'Hub of Abaco', most of the locations are only a short distance away, no long passages between destinations.
Man-O-War is very much a Loyalist Cay, and is largely populated with people of English descent who came here during or after the revolutionary war. Albury is a family of early settlers on the Cay and you see the name everywhere: Albury's Boat Yard, Albury's Ferry, Albury's Harbour Store (very nice by the way) , etc.
One of the distinctives of the cay is that no alcoholic beverages are sold on the island. This and the fact that they do not embrace the tourist economy as much as many of the other islands gives it a much quieter and laid-back feel. After having a slip in Marsh Harbour near Snappas restaurant and bar with entertainment at least two nights a week, it has been a nice change. We have been on a mooring near Man-O-War Marina and it has been very quiet.
In addition to Albury's boat yard that largely makes new boats, Edwin's Boat Yard is a full-service and busy yard here. The jobs must be pretty good, because the workforce is largely made up of African-Bahamians that commute over and back from Marsh Harbour every day.
The houses here are well kept and have landscaping that is nicer than any we have seen so far (with the possible exception of the Prime Minister's house in Cooper's Town). The people here have been nice, but generally fairly reserved.
The cemetery was interesting. Many of the graves in an earlier cemetery were washed away in various storms - a common island problem. In the new cemetery, the graves are cut out of coral rock and sealed with cement tops. Following is a picture of a grave being prepared.
Today we went to the morning service at the Man-O-War Church Of God. Bob Cornea, father of the owner of Harbour View Marina that we stayed at in Marsh Harbour, has been serving as an interim pastor of this church. Bob was a missionary to the Bahamas and has been involved in ministry here for many years. We sat behind Lolla, the 'famous' baker on Man-O-War and her husband Martin. Bob gave a spirited sermon on enduring through tough times.
Tomorrow is election day in the Bahamas. We have tried to figure out the positions of the various parties, but really have not come to any understanding of the differences. We hope the Bahamians make a wise choice.
Another beautiful beach:
Tomorrow we plan to head to Hopetown and its iconic lighthouse.
Tom
Man-O-War Cay
Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/gs9cv
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Marsh Harbour
May 1, 2012
We have remained docked at Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour for about a week and a half. While we dock seldomly, it seems that when we do, it is for a longer period. We have stayed for a variety of reasons: the weather has been very unsettled over the last week or so - a lot of wind and rain; I (Tom) somehow strained my left knee and this stay has allowed a bit of rest and rehab (it is doing much better); and we have been enjoying our stay in the 'big city' of Marsh Harbour.
Harbor View Marina ( http://www.harbourviewmarina.com/index.html) ) is very nice. It is run by Troy Cornea who was born and raised in the Bahamas by missionary parents, who we have had the pleasure of meeting. Troy runs a first class operation and it is very easy to get comfortable here.
Marsh Harbour, with a population of about 5,000 is the big city of the Abacos and has shops and services that you will not find anywhere else.
It has several supermarkets including Maxwells, which will rival your average store in the states with respect to selection. Prices are, however, high due to the cost of shipping to the islands.
Marsh Harbour also has several large hardware stores, bakeries (Island Bakery recommended) and restaurants (Junovia's - next to Island Bakery - great Bahamian fare).
Last Sunday, we returned to worship at Grace Baptist Church in Dundas Town and had a great time. After the service we went to a restaurant near the marina for lunch. As we were getting ready to leave, Pastor Shawn Robins of Grace Baptist, his wife Jacquie, and two of their children (VaShon and Joshua) came in to the restaurant. This is not as much of a coincidence as you might think, because very few businesses outside the harbour 'tourist' section are open on Sunday. We invited them to join us for coffee on the boat after their meal. Both Jacquie and VaShon had been wearing very fashionable and very high stiletto heels in church, and Joyce was worried about their footing on the boat. I had just happened to notice that they had changed into very comfortable flat shoes so that was not a problem. A high tide and dropping our lifelines made boarding easier for both women who were wearing long skirts. We had a great time getting to know them a little better.
Well, it looks like the weather will improve by mid-week and we hope to be off to Man-O-War Cay and then Hopetown and its iconic lighthouse.
We leave Marsh Harbour with a little sadness. We have greatly enjoyed Harbour View Marina, but most of all we will miss the folks at Grace Baptist Church. They have been so gracious and made us feel so at home that we want to go back - hopefully on another trip we can visit them again.
Tom
Marsh Harbour
Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/ngfkk
We have remained docked at Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour for about a week and a half. While we dock seldomly, it seems that when we do, it is for a longer period. We have stayed for a variety of reasons: the weather has been very unsettled over the last week or so - a lot of wind and rain; I (Tom) somehow strained my left knee and this stay has allowed a bit of rest and rehab (it is doing much better); and we have been enjoying our stay in the 'big city' of Marsh Harbour.
Harbor View Marina ( http://www.harbourviewmarina.com/index.html) ) is very nice. It is run by Troy Cornea who was born and raised in the Bahamas by missionary parents, who we have had the pleasure of meeting. Troy runs a first class operation and it is very easy to get comfortable here.
Marsh Harbour, with a population of about 5,000 is the big city of the Abacos and has shops and services that you will not find anywhere else.
It has several supermarkets including Maxwells, which will rival your average store in the states with respect to selection. Prices are, however, high due to the cost of shipping to the islands.
 |
| Produce at Maxwells |
 |
| Dairy at Maxwells |
Last Sunday, we returned to worship at Grace Baptist Church in Dundas Town and had a great time. After the service we went to a restaurant near the marina for lunch. As we were getting ready to leave, Pastor Shawn Robins of Grace Baptist, his wife Jacquie, and two of their children (VaShon and Joshua) came in to the restaurant. This is not as much of a coincidence as you might think, because very few businesses outside the harbour 'tourist' section are open on Sunday. We invited them to join us for coffee on the boat after their meal. Both Jacquie and VaShon had been wearing very fashionable and very high stiletto heels in church, and Joyce was worried about their footing on the boat. I had just happened to notice that they had changed into very comfortable flat shoes so that was not a problem. A high tide and dropping our lifelines made boarding easier for both women who were wearing long skirts. We had a great time getting to know them a little better.
Well, it looks like the weather will improve by mid-week and we hope to be off to Man-O-War Cay and then Hopetown and its iconic lighthouse.
We leave Marsh Harbour with a little sadness. We have greatly enjoyed Harbour View Marina, but most of all we will miss the folks at Grace Baptist Church. They have been so gracious and made us feel so at home that we want to go back - hopefully on another trip we can visit them again.
Tom
Marsh Harbour
Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/ngfkk
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