Movin’ On - January 6 to 9,2012

A month in the Abacos was longer than we had anticipated. But hey, we were having fun.

Nevertheless it was time to move on. Amokura and Sunday’s Child were on a similar schedule and we started movin’ on together.

Having a nice sail down the Sea of Abaco.

We did an overnight anchorage at Buckaroon bay on the west side of the Sea of Abaco before our last stop in the Abacos at Little Harbour, one of my favorite place in the Bahamas. The water was so clear we could see the individual blades of grass on the bottom in fourteen feet of water. The entrance to Little Harbour is only three feet deep at low tide and a maximum of six feet at high tide. With their seven foot draft, Amokura was not able to enter the harbour but they came in by dinghy to join us for lunch. Sunday’s Child also came in by dinghy and waited for high tide to come in and anchor for the night.

Chessie (in the red harness), number one dog on Sunday’s Child, found a pal to play tag-team fetch with at Pete’s Pub.

 Little Harbour speed bump.

This Prout Snowgoose has been at Little Harbour for at least two years.

The alarm was set for 5:30 AM in preparation for crossing the Northeast Providence Channel to Eleuthra. We would need to start out at first light. The sound of waves crossing on the shore just outside of the harbour did little to convince us that the cut that would take us out into open water would be calm enough for safe travel. The pitch black sky made it seem that much more menacing. By 6:30 we had finished our coffee and the eastern sky over Pete’s Pub was starting to show some light. There was absolutely no wind and our common sense as opposed to our ears told us that it was time to go.

Once outside the cut we experienced comfortable three foot ocean rollers with about an eight second period and six inches of chop on top. The sky was clear except for some scattered clouds on the eastern horizon. There was no wind. We motored all day.

Calm seas for the crossing.

The main shipping lane through the channel was busy with as many as five large ships crossing in front of us at once, the largest of which was 900 feet long. Tom made contact with one of the ships that showed on our AIS as having a CPA of .75 nautical miles, meaning that if we both maintained our speed and direction of travel that would be the closest that we would come to each other. That is not a large distance when you are on the water with something that has the potential to squish you like a bug. The captain advised us that he would change his course a little and put the CPA gap at a more comfortable distance.

All three boats had fishing lines out. As we approached the shallower water at the northern end of Eleuthra flying fish scattered in front of us indicating the presence of sea life and potential dinner. Sunday’s Child was rewarded for their youth and patience with a good size barracuda that was promptly returned to its watery home.

The sun was setting as we rounded Egg Island looking for a spot to drop anchor. The wind was expected to remain light from the east. Meeks Patch was home for the night and would give us a good starting point to pass through Current Cut in the morning en route to Governor’s Harbour. We did not expect much to be open in Spanish Wells on a Sunday and passed on a visit to the settlement.

We later learned that a dark hulled Canadian sailboat in the area had been hit by a local fishing boat the previous morning in the dark just before sunrise. Fortunately no lives were lost although we heard that two passengers on the fishing boat were air lifted to hospital in Nassau. It was a poignant reminder to all of us that there are no designated anchorages in the Bahamas and the use of adequate anchor lights is a must.

 Sunday’s Child launches the dinghy.

Suspecting that the days fishing venture would not be successful, lobster tails had been taken out to thaw for a group dinner of lobster curry.

Easy Lobster Curry

Saute onions, garlic, green peppers and celery in oil/margarine or butter.

Add curry powder or paste to taste.

Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add enough liquid to make a sauce.

The liquid can be a combination of milk, coconut water or coconut milk .

Some coconut component will give better flavor.

Cook lobster in a pressure cooker for 2 minutes on high pressure.

Let the lobster cool enough to handle then peel and cut into bite size chunks.

Add lobster chunks to the sauce and reheat.

Serve over plain or jasmine rice.

More by luck than planning we transited Current Cut at near slack tide with less than a one knot current against us.

Commuter parking at the Current Cut Ferry terminal. Hurricane Irene has done a number on the roof.

We set a course for Governor’s Harbour but the wind soon shifted to our forward port quarter, so much forward that that we were crashing and banging into the two foot waves and having a very uncomfortable ride. We took a lot of water over the deck and few things had a salt water shower. I had forgotten to check the small hatch over the starboard berth to make sure it was closed tightly and the slow leak over my pillow had not yet cured itself. The conditions called for a change of destination. The route to Rock Sound was a little smoother and once we got closer to the island the waves flattened out and we were able to cut the engine and have a nice sail to the entrance of the harbour.

Just in front of the government dock we were able to find deep enough water to accommodate all three boats.

We had front row seats to watch the beehive of activity when the mail boat arrived with supplies in the wee hours of the morning.

After taking care of boat keeping chores we went ashore to stretch our legs and do some provisioning. Reminder to self: The last green peppers I bought only lasted two days before they were completely rotten and had to be tossed overboard. Fresh fruit and vegetables do not have a long shelf life in the Bahamas. Eat them if you’ve got ‘em.

A few things have changed in Rock Sound since our last visit. Dingle Motors, supplier of all things one might need according to the Explorer chart book, now sports a sign identifying it as The Lumber Shed. The bakery, Grandma’s Goodies, is no longer in operation and the species of fish in the blue hole have changed.

 An abundance of something that looked like a member of the snapper family has been replaced by this single queen angelfish.

There is also this bit of evidence that some attempt being made to control the amount of garbage on the island.

The first grocery store we stopped in did not have much selection. The only fresh produce was a pair of wooden bins containing onions and potatoes. The cans and boxes on the shelf were the standard emergency fare – canned peas and peaches and Cheerios. We decided to walk to the “supermarket” north of town where we found a nice selection of fresh fruits and vegetables that were better quality and lower prices than the giant new Maxwell’s in Marsh Harbour.

The long walk back to the dinghy dock with full bags and backpacks required a refreshment stop at Pascal’s, the waterfront bar whose music had woken me up during the night.

 We arrived just as a noisy tour group had just finished their lunch and was being treated to a taste of junkanoo before they boarded the bus for their next Eleuthra attraction.

Once they were gone we had the place to ourselves for an enjoyable lunch on the second floor deck with a great view of the sound and our boats bobbing at anchor.

After a beach walk on the far side of the bay where we found dinner plate sized sea sponges and an assortment of debris deposited by Irene, Sunday’s Child hosted happy hour on their Tartan 30. Drinks and appetizers were enjoyed in their roomy cockpit (no wheel!) while plans were made for the next day’s crossing to the Exumas.