Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Royal Island and Spanish Wells
Monday, January 10, 2011
Weekend Update
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday January 10, 2011
Catch up time! We rode out the storm in Royal Island with no troubles, but woe to some of the others in that anchorage! Several boats had trouble with their anchors holding and had middle of the night worries doing the re-set. Knock on wood for Endurance.
We left Royal Island Saturday morning on a lazy-day schedule planning to go only as far as Spanish Wells, all of about 6 nautical miles. The wind was still blowing, but it would be blowing behind us, so we pulled the anchor and motored through the cut. And THEN, we had a sail that makes sailors keep their boats. I wanted to capture the feel of the wind, the sound of the gentle slapping of the water on the hull, the perfect heel of the boat. It’s not often I complain about not wanting to stop this db (damn boat) but that sail was near perfection. 15-20 knots behind us; sails trimmed to a set even Charlie would have approved; Disney-esque colors, scenery, and comfort.
We arrived at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven docks to be received by other anchorage mates from Royal Island, with a grand welcoming at tie up. Messenger and Painkiller had arrived an hour before us.
The island here looks as if Nova Scotia and Bermuda got together to have a baby. The island is tiny – half mile wide, three miles long. The houses are mostly one story, concrete construction, with rainbow color paint…aqua marine, seafoam green, peach, turquoise, emerald blue, raspberry, tangerine….and Bermuda white rooftops. Each house has a carefully manicured lawn, most with cactus near blooming, bougainvillea, orange trees heavily laden, coconut trees and so many more. There seems to be a 50/50 split between golf carts and small cars as island transport, with a healthy mix of cyclists and walkers. Spanish Wells is the fishing capital of the Bahamas. We’re told all the Red Lobster lobster is supplied from here. The fishing fleets are remarkable – sparkling clean, no rust, no worn areas where nets or cables have worked away at the vessel, absolutely no mud or dirt or grime. There aren’t even flies at the fishing docks.
The local folk sound much like the Newfoundlanders, with a distinct accent so thick it’s difficult to understand at first. Most of them are cradle to grave Spanish Wells residents and the economy is alive. The last two fishing years ‘have been rough’ but ‘it’s getting better this year and we’re hoping it stays’. They are a friendly, kind, proud and proper bunch.
Sunday morning’s first adventure was of a personal nature. Tony’s first try-on of his new stocking stuffer: an electric Remington hair clipper set! We compromised with the “Number 4” setting (Tess found number 3 from Charleston quite Unacceptable) and let her rip. All went well until Tony insisted Tess NOT use the earguards provided and “just use the clipper with no attachment” to do around the ears. I was ¾ of the way around the first ear when I realized I was doing it on the wrong angle. SO, if Tony needs a permanent blue-tooth implant, the space is all prepared!
After our grooming excitement I packed a picnic and we headed off first to the local Methodist Church for the morning service (options: Methodist, People’s Church, or Gospel Church). Although we were distinctly under-dressed, we’re from St. Matt’s and proud of it so we asked permission before entering and tried to stay on the sidelines so as not to offend with our shorts and best shirts. They didn’t bat an eye. We toured the island by bicycle after church and had our picnic at the town park at the northern end, continuing our bike exploration. It’s a hilly place! The story of the naming of the town is that old Spanish boats came in to port here to re-fill their water tanks with the sweet water from wells they had found here. The hills would suggest there were certainly better chances for fresh water detainment and filtration than on most of the low-lying cays nearby.
After our biking, we took books to the beach and wandered out on the sand bars in crystal clear ocean water. We ended our day with an evening’s stroll after dinner to watch a fishing boat come in. They go out for 4 days to lay lobster “Condo”s – open crates lobster can walk in and out of – they will go back to pull the condos and cull the catch for the right size in a month. This boat pulled in at 9:30 pm, so clean we thought it was a private charter boat. The crew disembarked and would return on Monday at 8:00 to leave for another 4 days of setting condos. With the little time they had in their home port, they were each eager to talk to us about their work, their boat, their family, their island.
Monday morning we cast off lines for Painkiller and Messenger. Fairwinds, I hope we meet up again. Tony set out to try to conquer telecommunications with BahamaTelCo and Tess did the usual household chores – laundry, a grocery store sweep, re-sort and stow. We might have a data plan set?!? We have picked up some frozen lobster and grouper to add to the on-board provisions, and we’re ready to make our way through the weather news to set our next course!
Three and a half hours at BTC and I have a new Blackberry with a data-only plan (unlimited). I now have on board every conceivable telecommunications device known to man. Let’s see if it works.
Based on Tess’ narrative above, we may stay in the Ba
hamas forever.
Thursday, January 6. 2011
Magnificent Weather! The front comes through….
We left Nassau on predictions of a Thursday/Friday frontal system coming through. Thursday morning weather (via Charlie in New Orleans), predicted winds of 40 and 45 overnight. Richard and Virginia had warned us to pick a spot to wait out the fronts. We picked Norman’s Cay Pond for the Christmas front and are here in Royal Island for this one.
While the day was blowing in the high teens and gusting to 24, at 10:00 P.M. we were treated to a magnificent spectacle. Winds of 30 gusting to 40 with lightening far off to the North. By 11:00 we had winds of 40 gusting to 45 with a pelting rain and our own lightening. Subsided at a 30 knot rainstorm, but back with a vengeance at 3:00 A.M. So the front passes through.
Learned that Messenger dragged anchor at 9:00 P.M. just as it really started to pick up. Managed to move and re-secure for the worst of the storm.
This was one CRAZY storm – the most intense I can recall aboard Endurance…loud, howling wind, driving rain, crashing thunder and blinding lightening. We were tucked up closer toward the end of the pond, but we were dancing on that anchor!
Welcome to the Bahamas….
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011 leaving Nassau on a hot, sunny and windless day. Filled water tank and fuel tank before leaving Nassau Harbour Club Marina. $4.299 for diesel. A premium price which is 25 cents more than when we left on Christmas and 25 cents more than the Marina next door (deeper into the harbor by about 100 yards). When I was there yesterday filling a gasoline jerry can ($4.14 per gallon), the local guy pumping said that you should expect the price of fuel to rise the further you go East. But, Nassau Harbour Club is only a stone’s throw away, I says. It’s still East of here he says. Yes; an extra 25 cents East. We only took 24 gallons to fill up (a $6.00 premium). As we left, a boat pulled up asking for 800 gallons (a $200 premium over the place next door!!). Good to be a sailor!
An uneventful motor to Royal Island, just West of the town of Spanish Wells and the island of Eleuthera, about five miles distant. We did see a green turtle just before we went from a 5,800 foot depth to a 54 foot depth at SW Reef. Anchored now in the “pond” at Royal Island, we are in 9 feet of water and again surrounded by a protective set of cliffs. This time, unlike Norman’s Pond, we don’t have a treacherous cut and channel. A nice 14 feet of depth and well marked 35 foot cut (knock on wood).
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Potters Cay Conch Shack
New front end...
Nice work.
Potters Cay
They have everything here!!!Leaving Nassau (again)
Wednesday was a big work day aboard Endurance. In addition to re-provisioning, we added port and starboard sailboards to the forward stanchions. This allows us to tie down the bikes and two 5 gallon jerry cans of gas on deck. Also makes us look like real cruisers.
The big event of the day was dinner prepared by Mary Clare Davis’s nephew Kevin. A former sous chef for Eric Ripare, Kevin is now executive chef at Mahogany House on (ou-la-la) Lyford Cay. (If I hear one more time that Sean Connery lives there I’ll scream!). Kevin did let us know that we would be “outside the gates”.
Nevertheless, we had a fantastic dinner among the rich and probably famous (how would we know?). Everyone looks like they are from Hollywood (Nantucket). We were among the dozen folks over 50 in the place. At one point, the woman at the table next to Tess leaned over and asked if she knew us, since we looked so familiar. Tess responded that we were just visiting, to which I added “We are famous, but not around here”. I guess we even looked like we belonged. The restaurant has the ambiance of a high end neighborhood joint for that Larry David crowd on HBO. Maybe I’ll dig out my screenplays and make a pitch. (Mr. Sarcasm himself doesn’t do justice to this place. It is beautiful; cool music, casual yet elegant interior with rich wood tones and open spaces; quiet enough for a good conversation at our table not to be heard at the next. Tables on a veranda outside under trees, great bar, wine cellar which will soon host a special dining service…this is the “It” place. The menu is comfortable and creative at the same time – and the food was out of the world…sauces that were light and layered with flavors…omg!)
But, most importantly, Kevin looks great. Works seven days a week from six p.m. to midnight, has nothing to do thereafter since everything closes up early on his side of the Island, so suffers more from exhaustion and boredom than anything else. We really saw the Lyford Cay – Cable Beach area for the first time on the drive in (by the Marina Manager, Peter, who lives on Lyford Cay - did I mention, that’s where Sean Connery lives!?). As a result, plenty of hotels near by, but away from the exclusive Lyford Cay gates. Come out and visit Kevin. We’d be happy to join you for dinner there anytime!
Monday, January 3, 2011
George Wins First Contest!!
Claiming that our picture is of a Sea Robin, George Marts may have won the fiirst Identification Contest. A bit of research shows that it may likely be a Bandtail Sea Robin, but his entry is close enough.
George's prize, a week's cruise in the Bahamas aboard s/v Endurance. You pick the time, we'll pick the place (and suggest a close airport).
Consolation prizes will be awarded to those who dispute the Judges' decision with appropriate documentary evidence.
In Nassau till Wednesday. Then, we head South....
George's prize, a week's cruise in the Bahamas aboard s/v Endurance. You pick the time, we'll pick the place (and suggest a close airport).
Consolation prizes will be awarded to those who dispute the Judges' decision with appropriate documentary evidence.
In Nassau till Wednesday. Then, we head South....
Sunday, January 2, 2011
What's this?
Christmas Week in the Exumas!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Had a wonderful Christmas Week in the Bahamas with Charlie, Tabby and Katie arriving on Christmas Eve. We celebrated Christmas officially with a roast and Yorkshire pudding and opening of stockings on Christmas Eve in order to accommodate the sailing schedule – leave on Christmas or be stuck in Nassau for three days of weather. We missed Alison sorely all week.
Set off from Nassau on Christmas day for Norman’s Cay in the Exumas. It was a beautiful sail, an easy reach, flat seas with good wind and everyone enjoying the cockpit and decks. Norman’s Cay is infamous having been a drug lord’s den in the 1980’s, but all that’s left of that history are a few beaten up buildings and stories. Spent a night at anchor off the West side of Norman’s, but in the morning we expected a cold front to move in, so we moved to Norman’s Pond. The Pond is a great big anchorage, about 200 acres, fully enclosed with only one narrow (and shallow) entrance. We arrived at high tide and saw no depths less than 6 feet (we need 5). We “walked” into the Pond, slowly, carefully, with inch by inch course corrections – it was a moment to be so proud of father-son tag-teaming. It was a daring move in; only one chart gave a sense of possibility, but once through the cut we saw a dozen other boats peacefully anchored. As the front arrived we had winds gusting to 40 and 50 knots, but barely a ripple in the water. The result was a comfortable night and a cozy second day and night as the front passed and the weather subsided. The Pond was beautiful, if the weather was not. Katie and Tony did our first swim off the deck; Charlie began the first of his week of sea-water bathing after a swim. The snorkels came out, board and word games were played, we ate well, enjoying being together, and waiting for Alison’s evening call.
On Tuesday, we intended to leave Norman’s Pond on the rising tide and figured we were at mid-tide for our 10:00 A.M. start. This time, as we skirted the channel close to shore, with one more left hand turn to put us in the cut, our depth sounder read 4.6 (did I say we needed 5?). We stopped. Or, more appropriately, we were stopped. Rising tide. No worries. We let out the staysail to push us off. No movement. We let out the big headsail to grab that forward breeze. No movement. Finally, we put up the mainsail and caught a big gust which lifted us up and over the shallow bank. But, our turn to the cut was immediate, so we need to quickly drop the sail and stay off the rocks. Flawlessly done. Only an hour’s delay. And where were Katie and Tabby during these tense moments. Recognizing danger, they retreated below to chit-chat and ignore the drama in the cockpit. Did he say ‘drama’? Let’s picture this: we have run aground between rocky piles looking more like a mogul run at Sunday River than a passable cut. We have Tony, Tess and Charlie above deck with lines going out and coming in and eyes peeled watching for both positive movement (to port and forward), negative movement (to starboard and aft to the 2’ stake), and inertia with just sand kicking up beneath and around us. Getting us off the spit was certain, but the technical requirements were intense. Charlie loaded the main and the jib and immediately upon getting the load needed to dump it to execute the turn through the pass…it was Awesome when it worked; a little tense in the lead in, especially when Tess mistook the word “No” for “Go” and began to release a sheet early which I’d been clearly asked to leave alone. Oops, my bad.
But, rewarded we were. A great sail South in Exuma Sound (back to the 1000s of feet of depth) to Warderick Cay and the Exuma National Maritime Park. We had been granted a mooring so we were tucked in close to Park Headquarters. This gave us an opportunity to take a long hike which ended at Boo Boo Hill; the highest point on the Cay. The next morning we did it all. Hiked. Snorkeled. Kayaked (Tess’ Christmas gift from the kids). Lazed on the beach. Dove on a wreck. A really amazing place.
Off we were on Thursday for Highborne Cay. A great anchorage on the western beach. The high pressure system which arrived after the cold front past has been paying off. Great weather. Warm water. Great beach. And snorkeling at a reef called Octopus’ Garden. Great chance to practice with my new dive mask camera (another Christmas gift from the kids). Check out the pictures that follow.
What we’re not telling you is that we get to each of these places, and see perhaps 10 people, maybe a dozen…and they’re not really near us, we simply see them, or walk past them, or wave. We’re alone in paradise with most of our kids. Pretty cool. Alison was taking pictures of the snow in Brooklyn while we were rinsing the sand off our feet before going aboard……
But alas, knowing we had flights to catch on New Year’s Day, we sailed the next morning to Nassau. I caught a fish en route, thanks to my schooling from George earlier this month (used that green grass skirty thing, you suggested). (he looked so CUTE in it) It was about 14 inches, smooth and silvery. I think it was some kind of Jack, a Bonito or a Great White Shark. I dropped it on the deck and it escaped before Charlie could get the camera set up for the big picture. I’ll get another, I’m sure.
New Year’s Eve, we took a cab to Atlantis and saw all the things the tourists see. The “Dig” which is an amazing and huge aquarium. The Predator Aquarium filled with sharks. And all of the grounds. It seems we went in the wrong door and all of a sudden had access to everything the paying guests get to see. Not bad. Like a free trip to Disney World.
Dinner at the Poop Deck, back toward home was followed by Sailor’s Midnight (9:00 P.M.) at which time we all said good night. But in Nassau, we were awoken by the Midnight fireworks. An amazing spectacle, though we each merely glanced out our respective portholes and then covered our ears with pillows until the explosions stopped. Too much of a good thing, I guess.
The only downside of the trip was sharing a family flu/cold. We each took a turn going to bed before dinner one night, using up a box or two of tissues a piece, discussing the merits of Nyquil v Sudafed v Mucinex and drinking hot tea with honey to ease our throat and chills. For this one thing, Alison joined us. I’m sorry honey; I wish I could have made you some tea and listened to you cough and try to breathe with the rest of us! I hope you’re feeling better, too.
Sadness on the departure of the family. Now we feel that we are here. Left to explore the rest of the Bahamas. After the clean up and re-provisioning, we sail South….
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