Southern Abacos

All kinds of cruisers had to find shelter from yesterday’s storm

The Saturday April 16 trip from Current Settlement Eleuthera to Lynyard Cay Abacos couldn’t have been better. A dozen times we touched 8 knots, boat heal was low and waves were less than expected. This is 50 nm of open Atlantic so picking the best time is key. Monohull Fiona, our neighbor in the storm, was beside us to start and we were three miles ahead of her when we crossed the bar near Little Harbor. We passed on going into the Little Harbor mooring field since it was low tide and I need mid tide or higher for my 5’ draft to cross into the harbor. At Lynyard Cay we hunted around for a patch of ground with less grass than sand far enough from any opening so no ocean swells would reach us.

After dark and by the light of the full moon we set a second anchor. Our location tracking alarm showed us moving over 10’ backwards so no need to take chances. I deployed the Fortress from the dinghy so the two anchors made a V shape. By the time we were done with anchor drills the tracking software had placed us back in original position but it was good practice and peace of mind = sleep.

Statue honoring Bohemian motherhood. The full-size one is at the cruise terminal in Nassau

Sunday was Easter and after Sheri located her hidden chocolate egg we attended online Camden church and went into Pete’s Pub for dinner as we did last Easter. We arrived early enough to greet our friends and visit the metal sculptures in the gallery of artists Randolph Johnson, current owner son Pete and his son. The artistry in these metal sculptures certainly passed down. I enjoyed spending time with the works as the intricate details were fun to explore. We gathered for lunch and to catch up. These acquaintances travel differently (mooring balls and docks) and though we speak of next stops together we know that crossing paths like this is somewhat rare. We said our goodbyes had a dinghy ride around the harbor. Another blessing happened as we were leaving the harbor when a 25 foot center console was also leaving and going in the same direction. For 2.5 miles he plowed the rough sea occasionally gazing back to see us at top speed in his wake. 

Monday April 18 and are we moving 8 miles north and past the snorkeling site of Sandy Cay which is by a cut to the ocean and too rough again this year, for an enjoyable swim.

As we go around a large shallow area we are in watching a storm over Great Abaco produce a funnel cloud. Just a day earlier two tornados were reported to this area but today we are spared as it doesn’t fully form. We anchored a mile south of the cut into Tavern Cay up close to Tiloo Cay and used the look bucket to see that the 2nd set held. We planned a movie night on the TV so we got everything ready and after dinner settled in for our evening. Sailing and the clouds means no power production so we ran the generator to have sufficient power for the movie and the night. After and hour the generator just shut down in a way that sounded like it ran out of fuel. After a few attempts to restart failed we put that on the to fix/not critical list went back to the movie. Our night ended sitting on the stern watching a distant thunderstorm.

Eleuthera crazy weather

A word about the chart snap shots
Boat is pink, North is top and you can tap on it to make it easier to see 

As you have seen when living on a boat we spend a lot of time moving so that we can be comfortable in extreme weather. Such is the case at Governors harbor where we anchored in the north east corner in anticipation of NE winds coming Saturday.

First we enjoyed a night of food, fluid and shenanigans at the Friday fish fry. It is good when you are traveling places and there are people you know because it makes the festive atmosphere more enjoyable.

We watched as our new friends enjoy the festivities. The mostly gringo crowd thinned out by nine and the Bahamian’s kept going into the night. Grilled fish and chicken with a rum punch or beer were very good. A DJ that’s engaging and lots of smiles made a successful night. The next day the wind picked up from the south to north and as the anchor turned 180 we were dragging. In harder packed or soft grassy bottoms a rotating anchor can come free. The reset was successful and we stayed put for 2 more nights.

Later Saturday afternoon I went to the grocery store for milk. From our calm anchorage to the beach  the waves became big enough to surf the dinghy into the beach and I had them crashing over the bow on the way back. I was soaked and had 6 inches off water in the dinghy. 

Things settled down Sunday so after online church we went on an outing to the ocean side pink beach and then out to dinner. We had been here twice before and saw a lot of new development on the way. It is nice to see good projects providing jobs and improvements that seem overdue.

On Monday we followed two of the boats to Hachet Bay which is an protected harbor 7 miles north.

 A boat anchored in hatchet

We had avoided this anchorage because stories of dragging anchors and theft. I wanted to go in and experience the place in case I needed a well protected refuge some day. We set the anchor and it held but feeling too close to another boat we pulled up and tried 2 more times. The water was dirty or murky so picking a sandy spot rather than grass or seeing if it was set well was impossible. We told our friends to go explore as we were taking our time setting and a half hour later to the joy of my crew I pulled up our sliding anchor

The new spot was definitely better 

and went another 7 miles north to a secure beautiful spot where we stayed for 3 nights.

At that location we could leave the boat (knowing it would be there upon returning) and explore. The first day we snorkeled with Leslie and Gary from sv Happy Together then hosted them on our boat for dinner. They had passed on Hatchet Bay because other boat friends had said not to go there.

Near the snorkel area was a swing that made a good photo stop. It was a very nice day and night.

Gary salutes the sunset 

Wednesday morning we said goodbye to Gary and Leslie as they began their trip back to the states. 

 

Brace

Smash

Repeat 

Glass window bridge separates the Atlantic from the Eleuthera bank 

We went off to the glass window bridge and the queens
 baths.

Since the experience is affected by tides each time we go it’s a little bit different.

Thursday morning we sailed up to Current Cut and going though the fourth time was as exciting as the first as we rode the tidal flow at over 10 knots.

This ferry boat just goes back-and-forth across the cut. Note the water rushing by

We anchored less than a mile up and went into the little settlement of Current to get food. The very small variety store had ham and eggs but no milk. Canned milk is we not our favorite but it works. Our afternoon was spent sitting on the beach and snorkeling.we have to remind ourselves to take advantage of these opportunities.

I spent Friday morning making a new batch of English muffins. We had a big lunch of eggs, potatoes, bacon  and fresh muffins.

We were keeping an eye on a big storm that was slowly making its way to us and from 6 to 8 this monster thunder and rain storm came right over us then reversed back over. The flat sea with offshore winds became a 0 visibility, 4’ seas from the unprotected north, thunder and lightning with howling winds topping 35. The half a dozen boats around us tossing about with waves breaking over their bows. We heard many reports of boats being struck by lightning that fried all electronics and engines. The good news is that it didn’t come in the middle of the night and by 10 pm the wind and waters returned to a good sleeping state.

The harder it would rain the more the seas would get knocked down. 

The next morning we are off to the Abacos.

Southern Eleuthera

 

The Bridge 

The early morning hours brought the expected wind shift to more west than south. We left at 8 AM Sunday April 3rd and the wind angle was perfect for a great fast sail. Our trip from north Cat Island, behind Little San Salvador brought us over an area called the bridge. It is  between Little San Salvador and Eleuthera and the water goes from several thousand feet deep to less than 50. For less than a mile the surrounding water is forced up and over the shallow area creating an exciting turbulent ride. It was close to slack tide when we went through but when the current is running I imagine it’s a very difficult place to pass. At one point a wave broke over the enclosure and got the boom wet 12 feet above the surface. We hit our high speed for the day there at 8.2 probably riding a wave.

Checking out the cruise ship at 
Princess Cays Eleuthera 

An hour later the water and wind settled and the asymmetrical spinnaker came out to assist us heading north. We followed a boat called Happy Together and closed a 2.5 mile gap to about a half as we neared Rock Sound. 

At anchor Gary and Leslie from Happy Together stopped by on their way to dinner and we talked about what a nice sail we had. Over the next couple of days we would get together with them and several other boaters who were visiting Rock Sound. This is a reprovisioning stop so we scheduled time for the supermarket, hauling diesel and water tanks in between the fun. 

On Tuesday, April 5 we went to the Ocean Hole. First we tied up to the new dock. What a plus for the boaters.

The trapped version of the Ocean  Hole

This hole is a saltwater fed pond a 1/2 mile inland from the beach.

Experienced spelunkers Andrea and Brett with Sheri
 

There weren’t bats here last year 

There we met Andrea and Brett from Happy Jack and we all went together to the Cathedral caves. We invited them to the boaters gathering later that afternoon. On the way back Sheri and I stopped by Glorea’s fruit and vegetable stand.

One proud Lady

It was one of those simple moments that turned out extraordinary because of Glorea and a friend of hers Warren. He explained the local vegetables and took 

Sesame plant

Sheri to show her the plant that produces sesame seeds. This plant had reseeded from Glorea’s garden along a wall. We even picked wild dill there.

We got together with 11 new boaters from 5 boats. We share a lot of common topics and then there is always finding out how they came to be here. We got together  Monday night at Wild Orchard’s happy hour,

The group enjoying comradely 

Gary piping the
sunset 

 Tuesday afternoon/evening a gathering onshore with everyone bringing appetizers and Wednesday we were focused on laundry and water so we missed the gathering but we had a great dinner at Wild Orchards then back to the boat prepping for our morning departure to Ten Bay.

Once again we caught the wind right and had a quick 24 mile sail. We reached the fastest sailing speed ever for us briefly at 8.8 knots by surfing the crest of a wave. Not normal but fun. We anchored just off the Ten Bay beach and had to side tie the anchor in order to keep our bow pointing into the swells.

We packed our chairs and dinner and went to the beach for the late afternoon. Walking and swimming we met a young man from Vancouver and I questioned him on what to do when we visit there in August. A couple walked over who were traveling in a large trawler. They had spent years traveling by sailboat in the Bahamas and Carribean and are enjoying driving their trawler slowly through these islands. 

Friday is baking day at Eleuthera Farm Market so we anchored off the Beach at South Palmetto Point and walked just over a mile to get some bread, cheese and amazing gooey cinnamon buns.

Almost worth the danger 

The winds whipped up 3+ foot swells that lifted the stern over 2 feet above the dinghy making getting on and off dangerous. Soon we were back on our way to Governors Harbor for Friday night fish fry festivities.

Cat part 2ish

We sailed  from the top of the harbor to this spot

 In anticipation of a wind change we sailed on Tuesday the 29th 3 miles and anchored near the protective shore of Rollezz Villas resort. As in most of the anchorages a row of Australian pines line the beach and provide us extra protection from the offshore wind.

Road from beach to the settlement

We had a busy  day Wednesday confirming our Thursday night dinner reservation at Rollezz, taking a 3 mile walk into the settlement 

Old foundation using conch shells

Plants will grow out of walls and windowsills

Plants will grow out of walls and windowsills

He wanted to know what we were doing there

One flower many colors

and spending a couple of hours at the beach swimming and reading.

Sometimes after sunset is prettier 

We get a lot of great sun rises and settings. 

 A good portion of the day Thursday was spent re-caulking pads on the outside steps. It involves spreading nasty black permanent caulking material in the voids of the steps. No matter how careful we are there’s always clean up to do for days later.

Heading for dinner early gave us a chance to walk around the resort property. It’s rustic and peaceful and we enjoyed having a beer on their beach chairs.

 

Dinner was an unexpected pleasure. When we made our reservation we said we wanted fish and I said that I would like to have some sides and we got a ya ok.   How the food arrives and if you are the only ones there are the unknowns. However  once choosing your main course conch soup, salad, and dessert arrived automatically and were all wonderful. Amongst the 28 diners was an older couple from Massachusetts. They had sailed in the Bahamas years before and we’re enjoying being well cared for here.

The highlight was a local guitarist and singer named Rocky. One of the owners Carl passed out small plastic eggs with beads in them so that we could provide percussion to the music.    It was a very pleasant evening and a short dinghy ride home.

Friday April 1st we were underway mid morning for the opposite end of Cat.

We sailed almost all of the 33 miles. Passing anchorages we had visited in prior years and arriving at a beautiful new spot by mid afternoon. On our first trip to Cat we met a man Allen who gave six of us a ride several miles to and from Shannas restaurant. This time we anchored near the the restaurant and headed out to see if they would be open for lunch Saturday. I left Sheri in the dinghy while I met the new owners at at the Restaurant and a couple from Swampscot Massachusetts who had recently arrived to their AirB&B for their vacation. They said their connection to the Bahamas stems from their 30 Yr ownership of a timeshare on Cable Beach. We talked about how my Cable Beach timeshare had folded years earlier and their Westwind 1 property was going well.

Too rough to land the dinghy

Saturday exploring the bay, seeing caves and snorkeling gave us some needed physical activity and filled the morning allowing us time to shower and dinghy in for a late lunch. 

On the beach we talked with J and Cindy from Massachusetts who were talking with Allen and his wife Sheri. I recognized Allen as the one who drove us around years earlier and he remembered as well. His fondness for this island is evident in framing Cat as the place void of Senior Frogs, and noise. A laid back retreat that he arrives and departs from in his twin engine plane.

A bright airy hill side restaurant.

We met another couple at the restaurant who arrived in their single engine plane and were departing tomorrow as we were.

Bob and Ann sat with us at lunch and we talked of planes, and boat life. She had just retired from the EPA and her role in the Woburn Mass Grace Chemical super fund site was featured in the movie civil action. Lunch, the views and the new owners were all great. Glad we were able to stop here to relive old memories and make some new ones. 

The top picture is from 2020 and the bottom picture is 2022 under new ownership… Can you pick out the funny signs that changed?

 

Just enough day remaining to prepare for the morning sail to Rock Sound Eleuthera.