Enjoying George Town

Last season, George Town was our first destination.  After finally getting a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream, we left Fort Lauderdale for an overnight passage to Nassau, where we checked in and spent the night, and then another overnight passage to George Town. We slowed our speed so that we had daylight to read the water and follow the waypoints through the cut and into the harbor. The varying depth of the water requires several direction changes. We arrived Sunday morning and our daughter Kenya and friends Pam and Shari arrived in Georgetown late Sunday afternoon.  We spent the next week exploring and discovering this beautiful area.  With its many crescent shaped white sand beaches surrounded by magical waters, gin clear to turquoise on the Harbor side to cobalt on the Sound side, this is an extraordinary place.  

While the beauty of the area is without question, George Town dominates as a Bahamas cruising favorite for many reasons.  Most cruisers anchor off Stocking Island, a small island several miles long that helps define the mile-wide Elizabeth Harbor, with Great Exuma Island and the town George Town on the other side of the Harbor.  The Kid Cove is another anchorage option located just outside George Town.  In all, the large, spacious Harbor can, and often does, accommodate 300+ boats at one time. Cruisers come for the winter or just visit a while.  

We like the beaches, the hikes up to the Monument, and socializing with other cruisers.  Of course, we’re always involved in boat projects, maintenance, restocking, planning.  And then there’s reading and DVD time.                               We are currently anchored just off Volleyball Beach, near Chat and Chill and the Conch Salad Stand.

Our new Spectra water maker makes living aboard much easier.  We began to notice that our tank level was going down faster that we thought we were using water.  When you have to fill water jugs to have water, you have a pretty good idea about your water consumption.  We had no extra water in the bilge and we checked and rechecked every hose and connection.  Larry discovered the water was going out a thru hull because of a bad solinoid on the water maker.  We just received a new one yesterday and should have it on by tomorrow.

Our wind generator also quit, even though it had been upgraded with a new kit last summer. After completing several troubleshooting tests, Larry was able to order replacement parts at no costs, but installing the new kit and parts will be time consuming and not easy while at anchor.

Daily, on the Cruisers's Net, boaters request information, advice, help, tools, etc.  And, usually immediately, someone comes back with a reply.  We all benefit from this great network. 

A hike up the trail to the Monument offers a grand view as well as a close up view of the osprey next.

Good to Go!

Our creative plan to receive the custom manufactured bell-housing worked - more or less.  Shipped to Ft. Lauderdale, then flown to Staniel Cay on Watermakers Air, the part was stuck at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. With no one available on this island to pick it up by boat, we made arrangements with Flamingo Air to fly it to Little Farmer's, but the only flight with the correct flight plan was for Friday, four days later. At Terry's suggestion, we had it put on the mail boat when it stopped by Staniel Cay Thursday.  But, when the mail boat arrived here, the captain mistakenly included the part with another order bound for another island, and off went the bell housing to the Research Center on Lee Stocking Island.  But cruisers came to the rescue!  The sailing catamaran, Nike, departed the Research Center Friday morning with our bell-housing.  A few hours later, the boat was on the mooring by us and we had our part.

Then, the fun began for Larry.  Several days later, he had the new bell-housing in and everything back together.  It didn't always go smoothly. Had this happened in the States, we would probably have used a boat yard (and Tow Boat US to pull us in), but that's not really an option in the Bahamas.  No boat yards in this area and certainly no Tow Boat. 

When it was time to start the engine and check for alignment, the engine wouldn't start, but eventually that problem was solved by repairing a wiring problem.  Then the engine over-heated and now that problem is solved (well, it seems to be).

While awaiting the part, we had two anchors out as well as being on a mooring.  This mooring field is in a little leg of water close to a shallow sandbar on the south west corner of Great Guana Cay, across the bay from Little Farmer's Cay.  With fronts containing strong winds (35knots +) and unable to start our engine, we put two anchors out.  To get out of this arrangement, Larry brought the CQR in by hand; then at high tide, we untied from the mooring and brought in the big Bruce anchor with the windlass (touching bottom several times). That's when the engine started overheating, but before we turned off the engine we were able to move to a bigger mooring ball in deeper water. 

After those really windy fronts, the weather is now nice and boats are on the move (other boats!).  We've met new cruisers and caught up with past acquaintances. We were glad to have a nice visit with Jim and Nancy on Solitaire.  Ocean Cabin is a popular gathering place daily at 5:00 for cruisers, many of whom stay for the best lobster, cracked conch, and conch fritters in the Bahamas. The restaurant is so well known that boaters stop here going down the Exuma chain and again when going back up the Exuma chain.  Not only is the food delicious, but Terry and Ernestine are great hosts and island treasures.  After dinner, they lead the group in singing the Little Farmer's theme song.  Guests are made to feel special.  Last year, we were there for my birthday.  Lots of friends (some new), great food, birthday song and cake!  Thursday night, a couple was celebrating their 43th birthday.  Of course, Terry had found a Happy Anniversary song that everyone sang, or at least tried to.

Beautiful Little Farmer's is one of our favorite stops.  All the island residents are friendly and helpful.  Little Jeff and the other local fisherman are back at the docks everyday about one, cleaning their fish, conch, lobster and selling it to those of us looking forward to a very fresh dinner.  They are also always available to take people out to fish or dive. Today we purchased a grouper and a lobster to grill for dinner tonight.  All very delicious.

 Saturday morning - leaving for Georgetown, about 40 nautical miles.

Little Farmers Cay

One of the most picturesque islands and a truly Bahamian community, Little Farmers Cay is a special place.  Our idea was to stop here for a short time, continue south down the Exumas to the Research Center for a visit, and then sail on to George Town to regroup and plan our next passage.

We've been here a week, with no date of departure set. But our reason for staying so long is mechanical.  We are having a bell housing manufactured; it will then be sent to Watermakers Air in Ft. Lauderdale, and next flown to Staniel Cay, which is about fifteen miles north of here.   One of the island boaters from here will pick it up for us. Then comes removing the current bell-housing that has broken away from the motor mounts and installing the new one. 

As said, this is a special place and we are among friends.  During our nearly week-long stay here last March, we became well-acquainted with many of the local residents on Little Farmers as well as retired cruisers living on Big Farmers.  Terry Bains, a driving force behind the success of Little Farmers, knows our circumstances, and we appreciate him checking on us daily, plus he and all the residents are willing to lend a tool or give a helping hand as needed.

We've been here through two fronts, one with 35+ knots of wind.  Today is nice, so we'll be off the boat, getting in some hiking on 'paths' of rock and shrub (yes, low elevation, but higher than most islands) and beachcombing.  The N/NE wind is clocking, bringing stronger SE/SW winds tomorrow and then NE/NW 20+ with 30-35 gusts and with possible squalls Wednesday.  We'll probably stop by Terry and Earnestine's Ocean Cabin Restaurant (home of delicious lobster, conch fritters, cracked conch, etc.) today, since Tuesday and Wednesday will be boat chores and projects plus reading, while we're rockin' and rollin' on our mooring ball and anchor.

Terry gave us this noni fruit. The small tree with elliptical leaves, white tubular flowers, and yellow fruit goes well with the colorful houses, flowing palms, and blazing shrubs in this Polynisian-looking settlement (pics next time).  Following Terry's directions, I blended the fruit (the fruit has a rather an unpleasant odor) with a little water and strained it to remove the seeds.

I had read about the health benefits of noni and even once brought home a small bottle from the health food store.  It was colorless and odorless, obviously a very diluted second-cousin to this whitish pulp.  We added it to our breakfast smoothie, which is always a one-of-a-kind concoction made in our powerful Blendtec machine. This version included fresh cabbage, carrots, sprouts, apples, and frozen blueberries with a good dose of noni.  This morning, we added the pulp to cranberry juice.  Larry liked it better than I did.  We have one more fruit.  Any suggestions?

Staniel Cay & Big Major's Spot

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.

For more about this trip, visit http://http://www.bewellgroomed.com
For more pics, visit http://gallery.me.com/natecreates#100160  
For video, visit http://devoutdabbler.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/devoutdabbler


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.

Bahama Fun with Family & Friends

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 our daughter 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!

To be continued……..

Return to the Bahamas

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.

We wer

Happy New Year

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