We traveled the Bank from Little Hall's Pond Cay to an anchorage in Staniel Cay. The 'path' out was narrow, but the fifteen nautical miles was soon covered and we were anchored very close to the Thunderball Grotto. When we went into the spectacular skylit underwater cave, slipping in was easy, swimming out another story. The thousands of colorful fish and marine life have no problem though. We brought a squeeze bottle filled with cous cous and we were covered with fish with every squeeze. Sweet.
Piggy Beach on Big Majors Spot was even better this year with piglets everywhere. We took turnips, carrots, and cabbage. They ate it, but they probably had their hearts set on Hamburgers and Fries.
Lots of dingy rides and beachcombing. Time spent at Staniel Cay Yacht Club enjoying Bahama Mamas, Kalik, Cracked Conch, and Fresh Mahi Mahi Burgers and also playing a little pool. Our last night on Lapidus was Surf and Turf, with Georgia shrimp and grass-fed beef-steak. But all too soon, Saturday morning came knocking. It was time to take our precious cargo to the Staniel Cay airport where they would spend too much time in Nassau, then Miami, and finally, a long flight to L.A.
We miss them.
This lovely little beach is another picture from Norman's Cay. It's also a good picture of our two Honda motors for Lit'l Lap. We bought the small one at the Annapolis Boat Show. It's nice to have a backup, but we really bought to have a lighter motor to get down for those one-night anchorages and/or short dingy rides.
After two nights at the Chub Cay Marina, we sailed across the Northwest Channel in the Tongue of the Ocean into Nassau Harbor Club Marina, again for protection from another approaching front with strong wind.Being in a marina allowed us easy access for shopping, laundry, and meeting ourdaughter Kenya and son-in-law Nathan.After an overnight flight from L.A., they arrived in Nassau February 14. The next morning, Solar Eclipse and Lapidus left Nassau for a stop in Norman’s Cay, close to 50 nautical miles.
Crossing the Yellow Bank is necessary on routes from Nassau to the Northern Exumas.Our new crew was on the bow, enjoying the sun and turquoise water, but also keeping an eye out for large black coral heads off our bow that seemed too close to the surface.We had no problems and a great day of sailing, though we did have to motor sail part of the way. Norman's cay is popular, and we dropped anchor in a large group of other boats. The water is beautiful, the sand is white, and McDuff’s (great hamburgers and conch) is fun.
Weighing anchor Tuesday morning, we set sail for another adventure.We entered Exuma Sound through Norman’s Cay Cut, very narrow with 2.5 meters over rock.Though the cut is challenging, we were soon in the deep cobalt-colored Sound, for a 22 nm run to Little Hall’s Pond Cay, a private island owned by Johhny Depp, but also a dingy ride from a natural sea aquarium.The light wind became strong and gusty as we put down our sails and inched our way through Soldier Cut, described in the Chart Book as “use only in excellent conditions.”The thought crossed my mind that maybe we should have picked destinations that we had already previously visited, but Kenya and Nathan helped us pick our way through and didn’t seem to notice the sound of our hearts (or way it just mine?) pumping.
We snaked along three nautical miles of avoiding shallow coral and sliding sand bars took a while, but we did take pictures of Captain Jack’s Sparrow’s place as we slowly made way through the beautiful area. We saw masts from the mooring in Cambridge Cay a mile away, but as we motored around the end of Little Hall's Pond Cay, we and Solar Eclipse had a private anchorage. We skipped the anchorage noted on the chart to gain a little protection from the gusty northeast wind behind a small, unnamed island, which gave us a great place to explore, along with the Sea Aquarium, nice snorkeling short dingy ride away.
Though privately owned, Little Hall’s Pond Cay, as well as four other neighboring private islands are part of the Exuma Land & Sea Park, a no-take marine conservation park that covers 176 square miles of cays, rocks, and reefs.Many Bahamians are voicing concern about the development on these privately owned cays causing harmful effects on the Park.I think their fears may turn out to be justified, though, at least for now, the development seems modest.
When not underway, we enjoyed just being together. Snorkeling and beachcombing are great activities, but enjoying great meals and rum cocktails are high on our list as well.
Another one-night anchorage and Lapidus and Solar Eclipse set sail for Staniel Cay and Big Major's Spot, islands we visited last year, and loved!
We are in the Bahamas, Chub Cay Marina in the Berry Islands to be exact. With all the fronts arriving this winter, weather windows have been few. After listening and talking to Chris Parker (weather guru) Monday morning, we, as well as Doug and Marlene on Solar Eclipse, changed our Tuesday departure to Monday to catch a new forecast for a better weather. Our plan was to sail overnight with arrival in Nassau Tuesday afternoon, a 220 nm trip. We expected a really mild NE wind of 5-10.But, it was always 10-15 and turned East by afternoon.We knew we would be heading into the wind, thus the light wind would be better.We motor sailed from Marathon into the Gulf Stream, hoping for a lift to South Riding Rock.We didn’t get much push from the current, but at least, the wind was not causing confused seas against the current’s NE flow.
The wind clocked SE as expected, but, again, was stronger than expected, in the 20’s, with higher gusts.The SE wind put a little air in our sails, at least, though we were close hauled. By mid-morning Tuesday, the seas on the Great Bahama Bank were big, wet, and rolly. We left the Bank moving into the deep Northwest Channel knowing that it can be a slog with a SE wind, and it was, keeping our speed 4-5 knots.
We also knew that we would not make the last 49 nautical miles to Nassau by dark, and we we needed a protected place to stop for the night.The forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday was S/SW/NW 20-25 knots with 30+ knot squalls.The Berry islands have a few choices. But finding a spot that offers protection as a strong wind clocks is difficult.
We decided on a mooring at Frazier’s Hog Cay, if we could contact them and if they had any left. Then the large trawler in front of us said on the VHF that he was going into Chub Cay, a well-protected marina on our route and 35 nm closer than Nassau and 7 nm closer than the mooring at Frazier’s.Both cays are part of the Berry chain. We had not considered Chub Cay because we had been told that it was closed.The wind picked up and started clocking to the south, giving us a better sail for the last five miles. The trawler, Solar Eclipse, and we were in and secured in a slip by 4:30. Other boats came in for shelter as well.We are glad this beautiful marina is open, though the club house is not.Sure, one reason is that we needed shelter.But marinas and other businesses in the Bahamas have felt the results of the poor economy of the United States and other countries. We all benefit when they stay in business. We get to visit hundreds of beautiful cays and gain access to marinas, fuel and supplies when the need arises. And, of course, they benefit from tourism and business.
Another front, much stronger than this one, is forecast for Friday night and Saturday. So, we may only get as far as the Nassau area for a few days.
We were in Boot Key Harbor too long. We worked on the boat, caught up with cruiser friends, and met new boaters. We also nearly froze for a couple of weeks. I understand that those of you who have experienced blizzards and extremely cold temperatures are probably not going to offer much sympathy, but traveling across the Harbor in our convertible (dingy -no ragtop) on a day with a stiff north wind and a temperature in the 20's (including the wind chill) is just not fun, plus it's usually wet. Moderate weather returned, with temperatures usually in the 70's.
Larry, all bundled up while getting water.
As always, the dingy dock is crowded.
The days went by really quickly. Working on projects always involves needing another tool or a part, so a trip in the dingy to the Marina and a walking trip of two or three miles to Home Depot or West Marine is required and them back to the boat in the dingy. Publix and Winn Dixie are cose to each other and about three miles from the marina, round trip. Just carrying two or three boat bags at a time means lots of grocery trips and plenty of exercise. The best hardware store, Walgreens, Office Depot, and a great Cuban Restaurant are five miles one way, so that's a Taxi. Everything just takes longer. It's the cruising lifestyle.
Marlene, Larry, and Doug just hanging out.
Stone crab, one of our favorite foods from the ocean, is in season.The claws are filled with delectable sweet, white meat. A quick walk from the marina is Keyes Fishery, a great seafood/bar restaurant that serves stone crab during happy hour for a dollar for each crab claw.The Florida stone crab loses its limbs easily to escape from predators or tight spaces. And their limbs grow back. For food purposes, the crabs are caught in cages and one claw is removed (none on egg bearing females). The crab is then returned to the water and the claw regenerates.
We'll miss the stone crabs, but we are glad to finally have made it back to the Bahamas; even though we're seeing little good weather this week, next week sounds great.
Along with good friends, we brought in the New Year listening and dancing to a great blues band at a local restaurant/bar known for its wings, which we also enjoyed.
The walk from the marina to the bar and back was lit by that gorgeous 'blue' moon!
We wish you a great day today and every day this year.
Larry and Paula
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas We wish you Peace, Health, and Happiness this Holiday Season. From Larry in the beautiful Florida Keys.
I am visiting my Mom and family in Ponca City, OK. A blizzard yesterday insured a white Christmas for most of Oklahoma.
We left our Lake Worth anchorage late in the afternoon, Thursday, December 10; soon we were viewing this gorgeous sunset over downtown Palm Beach. We had a great overnight sail past the bright lights of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. We sailed past the Key Biscayne channel and into the Hawk Channel around 8:00 a.m., with lots of sunshine -just as we planned. Nice when the plan works.
With 15-20 knots of wind, sailing was still great. By Friday afternoon, we turned off the course to anchor just off Rodriguez Key, well-past Key Largo, but about forty miles from Marathon. We anchored in about eight feet of water. We were off again before 8:00 Saturday morning. The wind dropped to 8-12 knots and the water was smooth. We just relaxed and enjoyed the slow ride and the clear blue water. Hawk's Channel is well-marked and is mostly 13-20 feet deep. It runs between the ocean side of the Keys and a line of natural reefs, so the seas are smaller than outside the reef.
We motored into Boot Key Harbor and picked up a mooring ball. The Christmas Light Boat Parade was later that evening, so we had a nice show. In addition to slips, the Boot Key Harbor City Marina boasts a large mooring field, with about 225 moorings. It's used primarily by sail boaters, both seasonal visitors and live aboards.
We're getting adjusted to living without being plugged in to electricity at a dock. We'll see how well our new solar panels work for us. We're still working on projects, and still adding to the list. Most importantly, we have new places to explore and new cruisers to meet.
From the Deep South of historic Brunswick, Georgia to cosmopolitan Palm Beach, Florida, a 305 nautical (350 statute) mile jump.
Our two-night run down the coast started at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, December 6. Going out with the tide on a chilly, cloudy day, we had a fast trip out the fifteen-mile Saint Simon channel, well under two hours.In the Sound, the fast ride was rough, due to a stiff northeast wind meeting the strong east traveling current.Out of the channel, the seas were more comfortable than in the sound, but not much. With a forecast for wind and temperature changes as well as possible rain and a slight chance for squalls, weather conditions were not great. Knowing this, our plan was to stay within three nautical miles of land when possible; seas just get bigger the further away from land that you sail.
But even close in, the waves were six feet and rolly.The wind was NE, then East @ 20 with sustained gusts of 25. We were on a beam reach and heeled over enough that moving around was accomplished only by holding on to handrails. We had complete cloud cover and rain showers, then the moon and stars joined us for a while as we continued our fast voyage.
By Monday, the wind was mostly north and the ride more comfortable. The wind continued to change often, N, NE, and E. Like the wind direction, the wind speed was just as unpredictable, from light and variable to 20 and gusty. Monday night brought the right wind and weather. With a good point of sail, we had the perfect sailing night. We thought we would go in either the Ft. Pierce Channel or the Lake Worth Channel, depending on how many miles we covered.We passed the Ft. Pierce Channel around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, so of course, we continued to Lake Worth, fifty-some miles further south.South wind was forecast for Tuesday night, but it arrived earlier.As long as it was southeast, we kept our speed up as we motor-sailed, but when it changed to due south, we were making less than five knots.We still made it to the Lake Worth Inlet in time to travel in the short inlet and have the anchor set by 2:30.
We had wanted to leave Wednesday afternoon for a one-night trip to an anchorage just south of Key Largo, a distance of seventy-five miles.The last thirty-three miles are in shallow Hawk’s Channel and should only be done in daylight.But the forecast was still South wind and 20 knots, so we stayed at the anchorage in Palm Beach for one more night, which gave us another night to rest. We'll leave early this afternoon to make that next leg.
We are Larry and Paula Waller. Over the next few years, we plan to sail the East coast, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean aboard Lapidus, our Valiant 42 sailboat. Then, we’ll see what destinations are next.
We will be sharing our time on the water in our blog. We hope you’ll check in often.
You can make comments on the blog entries or email anytime: larryandpaula@sailinglapidus.com
Piggy Beach on Big Majors Spot was even better this year with piglets everywhere. We took turnips, carrots, and cabbage. They ate it, but they probably had their hearts set on Hamburgers and Fries.
Lots of dingy rides and beachcombing. Time spent at Staniel Cay Yacht Club enjoying Bahama Mamas, Kalik, Cracked Conch, and Fresh Mahi Mahi Burgers and also playing a little pool. Our last night on Lapidus was Surf and Turf, with Georgia shrimp and grass-fed beef-steak. But all too soon, Saturday morning came knocking. It was time to take our precious cargo to the Staniel Cay airport where they would spend too much time in Nassau, then Miami, and finally, a long flight to L.A.
This lovely little beach is another picture from Norman's Cay. It's also a good picture of our two Honda motors for Lit'l Lap. We bought the small one at the Annapolis Boat Show. It's nice to have a backup, but we really bought to have a lighter motor to get down for those one-night anchorages and/or short dingy rides.
