Friday, March 7, 2014 Still Strong Winds

Swan, notice his anchor out back

We slept all night to the howling winds whistling through the shrouds of about 15 sailboats on the docks.  We woke up to more of the same!  It doesn't seem like the winds are ever going to lessen in strength.  This morning is when we actually find out about the two sailboats that got into trouble last night.  We walked over to the jetty with Billy, Eileen, and Bobby to see how close to the rocks the Swan really was.  No one was around....the captain had to be sleeping.  There's no way I could have slept knowing how dangerously close to the rocks my boat was!!  We walked to the end of the jetty to check out the still angry ocean and the condition of the inlet.

      Other views of the swan!

Camper-Nicholson looking safe at the dock

Not much wider than Geneva

         Inlet and Ocean

Looking into the marina from the basin

Since it's Friday, Eileen thought it would be nice to get all the cruisers together at 5:00 for a little 'Happy Hour', BYOB and appetizer. She went around to all of the boats to invite everyone.  Her plan was to gather at the picnic tables on the north end of the marina.  Rita and I got to talking .  What if the winds continue blowing at this strength?  It could get very uncomfortable this evening. So, we went to the office and asked if we could use the nice room that's going to waste storing bikes!  The manager gave her okay and said they would move the bikes out and sweep the floor...wonderful!

Bobby, Billy, Chuck, Keith

Bobby, Billy, Keith, Chuck

In the meantime, Billy and Bobby decided it's playtime today!!  They got the go ahead to use the Hobie Cat sitting on the beach. After going back to Circe and getting more hardware, Bill rerigged the Hobie to make it easier to sail.  The guys were flying across the Banks.  Each time they got a little braver. Chuck even went out with Billy!   Eileen, Keith, and I declined their offer for a ride because we didn't want to get wet.   Wet today means cold because of the cool winds.  We have fun just watching them! They were having a ball and played from morning to mid afternoon! As the afternoon wore on, the two guys became more daring...they even flipped the Hobie a few times.

Billy, Bobby

Bobby, Billy

Billy, Bobby

Chuck, Billy

Chuck, Billy

Billy, Chuck

Chuck

With the direction of the winds, the beach side of the resort was the warmest place to spend our day.  Soon it was time to shower and make my Buffalo Chicken Dip.  Chuck and I were the first ones to arrive at our 'happy hour'...but soon we had a large number of cruisers show.  It's always fun to meet new boaters and find out where they are from, where they've been, and where they're going.  Once couple that stands out are Teresa and Greg and standard poodle, Winston.  They have a 49 foot Katie Krogan called Sea Quill and their homeport is Oregon Inlet, NC>  They previously owned a home for years at Pirate's Cove, Manteo but decided to sell their house and move onto their boat.....cool

Thursday, March 6, 2014 Let the Winds Begin!

We woke up to a cloudy morning so we all thought it would be a good day  to  explore the Settlement. Eileen went up to the office to see about using the free bikes.  Since the temperatures were still cool and a bit drizzly, Eileen, Billy, and Bobby decided to ride into the Settlement to check things out.  Rita and I didn't want to ride the bikes in the rain so we went to the office to see if they have a courtesy car that we could use....better yet...they had a van with a driver.  We set a time for 10 am and Tarran was

waiting for us at the front of the office....Keith, David, Rita, Chuck, and I.  None of us knew what to expect, except for Keith.  He's been here before.   Tarran drove us into the settlement on the road that runs beside the water....Little Bahama Banks or the flats.  He acted as our tour guide, pointing out the police department, various churches and bars. He stopped at the 2 convenience stores just to let us check them out before we decided on which one to do our grocery shopping.  There really isn't much to the Settlement....dilapidated buildings, people standing or sitting along the road, a lot of

potcakes(homeless dogs)...a very depressed area.  It didn't take us long to get from one end of the Settlement to the other.  Tarran took us to the packaging store, Butler &Sands,  and then back to the D & V Convenience
store.  When we got done shopping, Eileen and crew were outside on their bikes.  Eileen was in desperate need of a ride back.  The sun came out and she was looking very overheated.   Tarran was able to fit her bike in the back of the van and Eileen was able to cool down before we were delivered right to our dock.  We made arrangements for him to take us back into town at 1:00 to eat lunch at the Coffee on the Bay Sports Bar and Grill.  Tarran recommended this eatery and said it has the best food in the Settlement.   We'll see!!

Before we took off for lunch, Chuck and I were able to take a walk around the resort and along the beach!

Fishing with hand lines

Shells for sell!

The gang

Invernia

The food was very good and very inexpensive!  The beer drinkers in our group loved Coffee on the Bay because after paying $5-$6 for a bottle of Kalik or Sands beer everywhere in the Abacos, they cost only $3 a bottle here.

Outside deck of Coffee by the Bay

After lunch we  decided to walk to the Triple Play Sports Bar and Grill to visit with Douglas, the bartender and owner. With all the poverty in this area of the island, everyone we met was very friendly and generous.  A good example  is when Douglass, the bartender from this Sports Bar and Grill, drove us back to the marina in his SUV when we couldn't get Tarran on the cell phone.   He left his bar wide open and unattended saying that 'there are no thieves in the Settlement'!

cleaning a barracuda

a little bit of beauty in this poverty stricken Settlement

Let the winds begin!!
We got back to our boats just in time.  Dark clouds were moving in quickly from the southwest.  The edge of the front was definitely bringing rain as well as heavy winds.  We all stood on the dock and watched the clouds...I'm so thankful we're at a dock!   All of a sudden a funnel started to form and drop out of the clouds....a water spout was forming but luckily it soon dissipated.  Billy warned me not to get too far away from my boat.  All of a sudden the winds slammed us with 35-40 mph winds and the rains came with some small hail right at the start.  Chuck jumped on the boat but the winds had us pushed so far away from the dock, I couldn't get on HHII.  With the force of the winds, he couldn't pull our boat in close to the dock.   I could hear Chuck zippering our panel, leaving me to fend for myself...what's with this?  Billy told me to get inside Circe with Eileen.  Actually Billy told me to get on his boat before Chuck did his zippering because the winds had his boat jammed up next to our dock and it was an easy on!  By the time we got  below deck, Eileen and I  were both soaking wet.  Not only were we dripping water onto the floor from our clothes and our hair, but there was a river of water running along the floor from their keel stepped mast!   Once Billy came below deck, he decided it was time to have a drink celebrating this 'so wester'.  LOL.    As soon as there was a lull in the wind and rain, I thought I better high-tail it over to my boat.  It was a good thing because even though the rains were finished, the winds continued to blow like a banshee through the night and there was no way that I could get on or off our boat.

Around 7:30, we could hear people talking on the dock.  When we popped our heads out, we could see a rather large yacht circling in the outer basin.  I was worried for the people on the boat and concerned that the captain would try to hover there all night long.  The 78 foot Lazarra had crossed over from Florida earlier today and motored around one storm but couldn't outrun this weather!  Finally, the captain(not the owner) and one crew member(his wife) motored in to the face dock at the end of our dock. The guys all went to help with the lines.  Later we found out from the capt. that one of the entrance lights was missing.  It was bad enough entering the channel during the day with 4 foot  swells in the ocean.  I can't imagine the stress coming in after dark, one entrance light out, and the waves, current, and winds working against your boat!!  Yikes...and this was just the beginning for the wild night.

The Lazarra Yacht

Since most of us on our docks went into our boats after all of the excitement with the Yacht, we didn't find out about the 2 sailboats that entered around 10-11:00 pm. After talking to the people on these sailboats, we found out the first to arrive was a 44 foot Swam  owned by Brian, a solo sailor.  He came into the basin and anchored only to soon drag anchor because of the force of the wind.  He told me that this was the first time that his 8 foot keel worked in his favor.  He got grounded in the sand just within feet of the rocky jetty.  The other sailboat that came in about an hour later had two young couples aboard.  They were in a 35' Camper-Nicholson.  They too anchored but when they started to drag, they started their engine and their tow line to their inflatable catamaran wrapped around their propeller.  All the while their boat kept being pushed closer to the rocks.  The four of them jumped out of their boat. While 3 of them fended the sailboat off the rocks, the captain dove under the water to cut the tow rope off  their prop.  They then somehow carried the catarmaran up onto the land....their adrenaline must have been in overdrive....big time!  They then managed to motor to another available face dock but where having difficulty pushing the boat away from the dock to place their fenders.  This is how strong the winds were blowing....and the winds continued with the same force throughout the night and into the next day.....I'm so glad we stayed in Old Bahama Bay Marina and didn't take off for the states  this morning.......

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Little Bahama Banks to Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End

I slept good last night until 11:30 pm. Those light and variable winds didn't happen!  We had much stronger winds and all four of our boats hobby-horsed all night.  At 1 am, I heard an unusual noise and woke Chuck up.   He gingerly made his way to the bow of the boat to find that our snubber came off.  The metal hook could have hit the side of the hull and made the noise that I heard.  We found out in the
morning, that David's snubber came off his chain too!  We also heard from Keith in the morning to tell us that our anchor light went out sometime after midnight....not again....this is getting frustrating! The only reason that Keith knew our anchor light wasn't on was because he couldn't sleep and sat in his cockpit reading all night...no one slept good except the Circe crew.

Because of our restless night, all four boats were ready to haul anchor and get to a dock at the Old Bahama Bay Marina.  Our anchors were up at 8 am and we were headed to Barracuda Shoals and then out through the skinny water at Indian Cut.   I think we all were a bit nervous about motoring through this narrow cut but excited at the same time. We need to get to the shoals one hour before high tide and we're hoping there is plenty of water to navigate through. I think I might have said this in yesterday's blog, but this passage is going to save us approximately 2 hours and this will enable us to get to the marina before the predicted bad weather....which didn't come!  Oh well, better to be safe than sorry! And the four captains got us through without any trouble....Billy 5',  Chuck 5', Keith 5.5', and David 5'!

The water was an aqua color in the Banks but as soon as we spilled out into the ocean, it became blue, blue, blue!   It looked like someone dumped blue food coloring into the water.  Of course we also had a change in wave height.  The ocean came at us with about 3-4 foot swells. The Indian Cut opens up so close to the tip of the West End that we were  approaching the channel to the marina at 11:30 am....a 3 1/2 hour trip.  Once we got settled into our dock, we all eventually walked over to the beach and Straw Bar which faces the Little Bahama Banks.  Rita told me to take my camera because there are so many pictures to take.  After successfully making it through the Indian Cut, we wanted to celebrate with  a cold drink and lunch...beautiful view, good friends, and good food!

Straw Bar

After lunch, some of us headed to the pool, while the others went back to their boats to sleep!!  We didn't want to waste any of our precious time at this resort and Chuck and I knew we would sleep well tonight! After dinner, everyone got together at a picnic table to bring up the weather and discuss if and when we might be heading west.  Billy wants to leave tomorrow morning at 5 am.  We looked at Passage Weather, Wind Finder, and Weather Alert, and the other 3 boats said we're staying put!


It was an interesting evening on the dock.  First a woman and her two
kids came on our dock selling cinnamon and white bread...still hot. Then a guy came over to our boat trying to sell us a conch shell with its end cut ready to blow. Could he blow the conch! The best that I've ever heard.   He said he should get $20 a shell but would give it to me for $6 and then $5!  I already have two, so I sent him next door to see Bobby. Next, a boat load of conch came in and they were making conch salad to sell.  Then another Bahamian guy on a bike with a basket wanted to sell us lobsters.  What a night!  Finally the winds and rains came and everyone hunkered for the night in their boats!                                                      

The beautiful grounds of the Old Bahama Bay Resort

Tuesday, March 4, 2014 West End Cay to Anchoring in the Middle of the Little Bahama Banks

Keith listened to Chris Parker early this morning.  The weather for Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, and Friday is not looking good.  So, all 4 boats have agreed to go to Mangrove Cay for tonight and West End on Wednesday morning....hopefully before the winds and thunderstorms hit that area.   There was talk last night about just leaving our anchorage in the morning, head toward Great Sale Cay, and then cross over from there to Fort Pierce.  Our problem with this plan is, we needed to fill our fuel tank before heading across the stream.  Why would we be in this predicament? Originally we were going to the West End and Chuck was planning on getting diesel there!

Billy seemed disappointed and suggested we leave this morning and travel straight to Fort Pierce....28 hours!  Ugh!  The other 3 boats felt uncomfortable about this plan because of the narrow weather window.  We wanted 2 days of good weather, not 24 hours!  West End it is for Wednesday!

What a beautiful day out on the Little Bahama Banks.  We couldn't ask for a
more perfect day.   We passed through 2 big areas of water where the bottom looked stirred up...milky.  But in the rest of the Banks, the water was so clear it was like looking down into an aquarium.  I can see coral, sea fans, sand dollars, grass, and some small fish as we sail by.  Guys on a small fishing boat are conching!  We just passed Mangrove Cay at 4:00 pm which is where we agreed to anchor as of this morning.  Change of plans! All the captains talked on channel 69 and we're going to push on and anchor somewhere on the Banks. Our anchors were all dropped out on the Banks about 10 miles from Indian Cut.  It was like being in the middle of the ocean.  You couldn't see land anywhere!!!  By anchoring here, we can get to the Barracuda Shoals and out through the Indian Cut one hour before high tide.  The water is very skinny here but passing through this cut will save us time and miles and put us into the marina before the predicted storm.

We've  been trying to hail Old Bahama Bay Marina all day.  We wanted to make sure that they could accommodate four sailboats.  If not, we're in trouble!!  None of us had any cell phone connection on the Banks and we were too far to reach the marina by VHF radio. Rita is going to try later.....  Yeah, she finally got through to the dockmaster and we have 4 slips reserved for tomorrow morning.   Around 5:30, we all dropped our anchors.  Anchoring was so easy tonight because of the sandy bottom.  Another long day...9 1/2 hours....and the winds tonight are suppose to be light and variable. Once it gets dark, the skies are loaded with stars and we can see the lights from the Settlement on the West End. What a perfect day!

Monday, March 3, 2014 Marsh Harbour to West End Cay

We got up at 6:30 am to begin the next chapter of our journey.  It's been 6 months that we've been gone and now it's time to journey home.  The only thing left to do this morning is to roll and stow the power cord and to take the lines off the pilings.  A few of our early bird friends were on the dock to see us off: Jim from mv/Mollie, Ed from mv/ Southern Pilot, and Catherine and Martin from mv/ Mohee.  When we backed away from the dock, Ginger from sv/Grace popped her sleepy head out of the foreward hatch to wish us a safe journey.  We are going to miss everyone!!! Leaving is so bitter sweet.  One of the favorite boater sayings is "take some sand in your shoes" and you will return someday.....heck, we're leaving with sand in our boat, so that must really mean we'll be back!  LOL

Motoring out of the harbor, we have Rising Sun in the lead, Whisper close behind him, Happy Hours II,

and Circe II picking up the rear.  The sun is on the rise, the water and winds are calm, and we are heading for Baker's Bay where we'll pick up the channel which leads out to the ocean. The ocean has some good size swells this morning.  Chuck measures them to be 5-6 footers with and occasional 8-10 footers.  Our four sailboats are looking good and handling the large ocean swells without any difficulty! A Moorings 39 foot charter sailboat falls in behind us at Baker's Bay.  We motor sailed around Whale Cay and through Whale Cut by 10 am.   The ocean was crashing into Whale Cay and the swells followed us back into the Sea of Abaco until we got further away from Whale Cut.  From here we found water with just a little chop on the surface.

It's a nice day.  Temperatures are to get to 78 degrees.  We have some clouds but it's mostly sunny. The forecast isn't calling for any rain, but you never know if a squall might pop up.  The winds are out of the SE at 5-10 mph.  We already had high tide at 9:30 am which is 3.1 feet above MLW.
Ah ha....change in plans already!  since it's so nice, we're thinking about trying to make it to Great Sale Cay and pass Allans-Pensicola Cay.  Yes, let's do it!  I liked that little cove when we anchored there our very first night on the Bahama Banks.   No! Change in plans again and again.  We all agreed that if we went to Great Sale Cay, we couldn't arrive until 9 pm.....in the dark.  No one wanted to attempt that. So, we finally settled for anchoring on the north side of the West End Cay.  This is the very western end of Little Abaco Island.  We end up in the lead because Billy's Ipad went on the fritz.  When we got to our destination, everyone was tired....a 11 hour day...and oh so ready to set anchor and relax. Circe and Whisper set their anchor on their first try.   Not the case with Rising Sun and HHII!  We both had a terrible time!  The bottom here is  rock or coral.   We had to raise and drop our anchor six times before we were successful.  Our anchor finally grab onto a rock.  We seem to be secure for the night. Finally! We are able to relax at 6 pm.  Keith is still moving his boat around trying to hold bottom.  I can just imagine the frustration he must feel.  Believe me,  Chuck and I were getting to that point also!  It's just a good thing that the winds are to be light and variable tonight.

I'm ready for bed!  What a gorgeous sunset!!