The Third Crossing

The Third Crossing – December 7, 2011

Waiting in the anchorage at Peanut Island gave us time to check off the last few things on our pre-departure check list. The Net 10 phone was still active and had enough unused minutes, after calling our credit card providers to give them updates to our travel plans, that we could still make some last minutes phone calls to let our families know that we would soon be leaving for the Bahamas.

I also called US Customs and Border Patrol to let them know that we were leaving and was told that there was no need to check out. Last year when I called the same phone number they took down my cruising permit details and gave me a departure number. Go figure!

The alarm was set for a 4 AM departure but no one really got much sleep. After triple checking the weather forecasts and comparing the predictions from Chris Parker, Passage Weather, NOAA , Weather Underground and as many other sources as we could find there was still a certain amount of trepidation in our minds. Until you are actually out there you can’t be sure that you have made the right decision. We knew many of the boats that were staged at Peanut Island with us although most had slightly different schedules or routes planned than us. A number of boats departed before us and reported back that the wind was on the nose and the seas were lumpy with well-spaced waves. Amokura’s plans were the same as ours but we expected that they would be able to travel more quickly and arrive at Great Sale Cay ahead of us.

We needed to rely on light pollution from the buildings on shore to make our way out to the lit shipping channel. The wind in the inlet was light and variable and we had three foot waves on our nose from the incoming tide giving us a bit of a bumpy ride. Compared to the last two exits it was pretty mild.

We began by steering a course of 90^o. By 6:15 AM we started feeling the northward push of the Gulf Stream and our course over ground shifted to 63^o while our autopilot was set to steer 106^o. Our intention was to leave the Gulf Stream in the area of Little Bahama Bank, about 12 miles north of Memory Rock then carry on to Great Sale Cay. We would arrive in the dark but were familiar with the area and knew that there were no hazards.

By 6:30 AM the eastern sky was getting quite light and the Palm Beach skyline was visible to the west.

There was not much chance of catching any fish in the Gulf Stream but without a line in the water the possibility was zero. Tom let out lines on two rods and one Cuban yo-yo using ballyhoo with skirts on two plus a cedar plug and a bird on the third one. (I am starting to catch on to the fishing lingo.) He then proceeded to make himself comfortable in the cockpit while eating bagels in his underwear. I think you get the picture of the stress this crossing caused.

With both freezers already packed full anything edible we might have caught would have to have been consumed quickly. What a hardship that would have been.

Once we reached the banks we started to see large mats of weeds that fouled our fishing lines and drive leg and got caught on the bulbs on the front of our keels.

After catching a 30 inch barracuda on the banks Tom gave up and brought the lines in.   

We were welcomed back to the Bahamas by a pod of six dolphins that played between Ploar Pacer’s bows. I think they could tell by our yellow ‘Q’ flag that we were just arriving back in Bahamian waters. They are such fascinating creatures and we never tire of seeing them.

Sunset on the banks. You can’t get water much calmer than this.

We reached Great Sale after dark. There were already at least a dozen boats at anchor and a couple more came in behind us. It had been a long day. We took showers on the back deck, had dinner consisting of a glass of red wine each and a small triangle of brie and went to bed.

We were both up again just after midnight. Outside it was eerily quiet, not a ripple on the water, not a breath of air moving, not a sound. After remarking on the silent state of our surroundings we went back to bed. Three hours later things had changed. The wind was back and blowing about 20 knots, just enough to stir up some rolling waves through the anchorage and my stomach. After a Gulf Stream crossing without any problems it was annoying to be feeling seasick while snug in my bed in a protected anchorage.

In the morning we were still experiencing 20 knot winds from the north. We had good protection in the lee of Great Sale Cay but Chris Parker advised that they would stay that way all day then clock around to the east and stay that way for several days. We would have to move on quickly or stay put at Great Sale for several days. We could sail in the north wind and if we could make it as far as Powell Cay or Manjack Cay we would have protection from the east and would be in easy range of Green Turtle Cay where we would go to check in with Customs.

We fought the north wind and waves up the west side of Great Sale, rounded the corner and had a great sail with the wind on our beam all the way to Manjack Cay.

Island Hopping in the Abacos

Island Hopping in the Abacos – December 10 to 24

Great Sale Cay

Having caught up on a few hours sleep Tom decided to dig out the snorkel gear and check the anchor. Much to our surprise the compartment under the bed where the fins and snorkel were stored was half full of water! The leaks were worse than we thought.

The rest of the day was spent sopping up about 5 gallons of seawater, taking the wet labels off of cans of food (they were already labeled on the ends with permanent marker), rinsing everything with fresh water, wiping out all the compartments and the foam liners and then putting it all back together like a jigsaw puzzle to make it all fit again. Except for a few rolls of toilet paper and a battery tester nothing was completely lost. Some spare bedding needed to be laundered where the zip lock bags leaked. The clean up job put a bit of a damper on our excitement of having finally arrived in the Bahamas but we were able to cure that by looking out at the beautiful blue water and the palm trees on the island.

We stayed at Great Sale Cay for three nights waiting for the winds to subside. Thanks again to Linda and Ian for the champagne to toast the Gulf Stream and make our offering to Poseidon.

Hawksbill Cays

To find your way into the anchorage at Hawksbill Cays the guidebooks tell you to watch for the tire on a post. Yes, the tire on the post really is there and is the only marker of any kind to tell you where to turn in.

An unusual aid to navigation

Our stop at this collection of small rocky islands was brief. Although we were only a short dinghy ride from the settlement of Foxtown we were still not legal to go ashore. Thanks to Donna and Howard and their Portuguese water hounds Storm and Zephyr for hosting a wonderful dinner. The night sky was absolutely clear and we had a great view of the milky way complete with a show of shooting stars.

Sunset at Hawksbill Cays

Green Turtle Cay

This was our first opportunity to clear customs since we entered Bahamian waters. We put down our anchor just off the Government Dock at New Plymouth, dropped the dinghy, and Tom went ashore with the captains off of Malolo and Decibelle to find the customs office and wait until the person in charged returned. The sign said “back in 15 minutes”. Two hours later one of the locals came by, made a quick telephone call and the lady was there in 10 minutes. The next day when we passed the office on our walk around town another group of boaters waiting to check in told us that they had once waited for three days to clear customs at that location. I guess we were lucky. With our one year cruising permit we were set to explore the Bahamas.

The ownership of mooring balls in Black Sound is a little vague. We paid “Donnie” for two nights and on day two were approached by another gentleman who advised us that we were on his mooring ball and owed him $20 for the two night stay. After Tom told him a few times that we had already paid, he eventually agreed to go and see Donnie about it. He did come back and tell us that he got his money from Donnie.

View from the mooring in Black Sound

Sightseeing in New Plymouth does not take long. These were our highlights.

Bougainvilla on the street

The old jail with stairs to nowhere

Miss Emily’s fine dining– great place for conch fritters and cracked conch

Poinsetta for Christmas

Great Guana Cay

As we approached the harbor at great Guana Cay we passed over a bed of starfish. The water was about 8 feet deep and quite clear.

Starfish in the Sea of Abaco

This island’s greatest claim to fame is a beach bar called Nipper’s. We missed the Sunday pig roast but enjoyed the beach on the ocean side and the sunset over the Sea of Abaco.

We used the water maker here for the first time. It seems to work well. It’s amazing that a machine so small can take in the sea water and turn it into pure drinking water.

Man-O-War Cay

The dry island. That means no alcohol sales anywhere on the island. Be prepared. Bring your own. The marina gave us a great rate and was well protected from the wind in all directions.What better place to get some work done, wait out the thunderstorm and go for walks.

What is it?

The puffy flower tree ?

The Queen’s Highway on Man-O-War

One big bug!

The Atlantic side of Man-O-War

Bahamian wattle.

It seems that everyone has a collection of fishing floats

Tom got a start on replacing some of the damaged tabbing. I got out the Sailrite machine and made a Sunbrella cover for the windlass and a Phifertex cover for the front window.

A yellow crested night heron at the dock

Great Abaco Island

Busy Marsh Harbour was a bit of culture shock. After being on the small out islands where the main modes of motorized transportation are boats and golf carts it was strange to see so many cars and trucks. The streets are actually paved and there is a street light.

Marsh Harbour has all of the modern conveniences; banks with ATM machines, an ACE Hardware, a well stocked grocery store and taxis.

The airport is within walking distance if you don’t mind a good walk. We did it one way to meet the first arrival of our Christmas visitors and called the taxi for the second trip.

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Crossing the Gulf Stream – December 9 -10, 2009

We were ready and waiting at North Palm Beach on Lake Worth for Chris Parker’s weather service to confirm that we would have a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas. We waited for winds that were not from any northerly direction and preferably not too much from the east. North winds against the Gulf Stream would make big waves and east winds would be pushing us back to Florida. We got a forecast of wind from the south and southwest at 15 to 20 knots for a short window of about 20 hours which was about the length of time we needed. The closer we got to Christmas the weather windows would likely be shorter and less frequent so we decided to head out.

We charted a course that would take us to Memory Rock then mangrove Cay and on to Great Sale Cay where we could anchor for protection from the weather front that was expected to move into the area shortly afterwards. The distance straight across is about 65 miles. We planned to follow an S-curve pattern for our crossing heading south to counteract the northerly flow of the Gulf Stream as much as possible then changing to a more northerly direction once we reached the Bahama Banks. Our distance to travel would be around 100 miles.

The Bounty at Peanut Island as we left Lake Worth Inlet

We left Lake Worth Inlet with Decibelle at 4 PM hoping to arrive at Great Sale Cay by noon the next day. The wind was from the south at 20 knots as we left the inlet with gusts to 30 knots. The wave height was about 4 feet with a few 6 footers thrown in.

The crossing was like being inside a giant washing machine with Polar Pacer pounding through the waves and taking waves over the bow almost into the cockpit. Tom had the foresight to take some Bonine (sea sickness preventer) before we left but I needed to use the bucket a couple of times during the night. It was my first time to get sick since we started the trip in August. I may not have succumbed this time either except I spent too much time down below when I found out that the bilge was almost full and there was water sloshing around on the floor in the head. It was not too big a surprise asa we had water come in that area before and we really did take a lot of water over the bow. We also knew there was some loose tabbing in the forward anchor locker that needed fixing. We should have sealed it with duct tape like we did for the last overnighter on the ocean! Not a big problem, just keep pumping out the bilge, wipe up the salt water and rinse it with fresh water in the morning.

The next surprise came when I checked the starboard bilge and found it full too. We had never had any leaks on that side before and were a little annoyed. There was not much we could do about it in the middle of the Gulf Stream in the middle of the night but keep pumping.

It was too rough to sleep down below so we took turns napping in the cockpit while the other kept watch. I was in no condition to do any cooking so we both skipped dinner.

We had a visitor sometime during the night. It was too late to save this little flying fish by the time we found him lying on the back deck.

Once we reached the Bahama Banks the wind and seas died down. The stars were spectachlar. I watched Orion as he traveled from our port bow to directly overhead and down over the starboard stern quarter. A half moon came up and gave us a little more light for the passage. I have not seen a night sky that beautiful since we lived in northern Alberta. Even better – the temperature did not drop below 82^o F/24^oC all night. So sorry about the cold and snow back in Canada.

By daylight the sea conditions were much tamer and we were in Bahamian waters. Down came our American courtesy flag and up went the yellow Q (for quarantine) flag we needed to fly until we cleared customs and immigration which would be a few days yet.

Our first Bahamian sunrise over Mangrove Cay, our first sighting of land in the Bahamas

By noon we were anchored at the uninhabited island of Great Sale Cay, well protected from the squalls that Chris Parker assured us would be coming our way over the next few days. The temperature was 92^oF/34^oC. We set up the lawn chairs on the back deck and enjoyed a couple of ice cold beer before going to bed for some well needed sleep. We had arrived.

Our view of Great Sale Cay from the back deck