Eleuthera and beyond

We departed Warderick Wells in the Exumas Saturday morning as soon as we had enough light to see the channel out of the park.  We were a little apprehensive about getting through the cut but only a little - the tide and wind seemed to be right.  It was a little bouncy but the wind was perfect for a fast passage into the ocean and 35 miles across to Rock Sound in Eleuthera.  Once we hit the banks next to Eleuthera we had to pay attention to the channels through the shallow sand and coral for 10 miles.  We only had to dodge a few coral heads.  Our Furuno Navnet 3D Chartplotter gives us a clear picture of where to steer the boat through the channels.  If we had to do it all without the electronics we would have an incredibly difficult job.

We anchored in Rock Sound in about 8 feet of water.  The entire harbor is very shallow.  We dinghyed in to Pascal's restaurant where we had a fabulous meal.  Maryanne's vegetable quesadilla has set the bar for all future vegetable quesadillas.  We were concerned enough with the lack of business that we and one other couple who happened to be dining there the next night offered to publicize the restaurant to the other cruisers.
Pascal, the chef/owner, volunteered that he would do a happy hour the next day with free appetizers.  The next morning Maryanne made an announcement on VHF radio to the other cruisers about lunch at Pascals and about the happy hour.  From our boat we could see a good crowd at the restaurant for lunch.  We had a nice gathering at the happy hour where we were able to met a number of interesting people who were anchored in the harbor.

After our first night at the restaurant we decided to take a short walk to the local grocery store just to see how far it was.  When we got there it was closed but I went up to the door to check out the hours.  As I turned to leave one of the several employees who were closing up opened the door and asked if we needed any items.  It was 7:20 - 20 minutes after closing.  I was sure they wanted to go home but we mentioned that there were a couple items we would like to buy before the store closed until Monday.  We were invited in to do some quick shopping.  I couldn't believe they were willing to open up for a couple of strangers well after their store hours!

On Wednesday we left the harbor for Hatchet Bay.  We had a wild ride with very strong winds and some chop.  The entrance to Hatchet Bay, a man made harbor, was different.  The entrance was cut through cliffs and was supposedly 90 feet wide.  It looked a lot narrower.  We aimed at the middle of the channel, watched the cliff walls on either side of us and held our breath as we glided into a perfectly calm pond-like harbor.  Once again, like our experience with Cave Cut, we felt like we were entering a different world.

Jon of Langeline, one of the cruisers we met at Pascal's happy hour was incredibly helpful to us.  He met us in a dinghy at a mooring near his boat and threaded some lines through the mooring for us.  The mooring was  well coated in bird poop but he didn't hesitate to string our lines.  Later we had a good time aboard his boat with his co-skipper, Nancy and with Alan of "Unabated."  Jon and Nancy's boat is an immaculate Tartan 43 in showroom condition.  I wanted to volunteer to toss a little clutter around but I resisted the impulse.  Alan had been sailing his Pearson 424 single-handed from the Caribbean and through the Bahamas.  This is also his first time in the Bahamas.

We sailed with Alan the next day to Current Cut while Jon and Nancy hitchhiked to Governors Harbor for the day.  We arrived at Current Cut well ahead of time.  The current is very strong so we had to wait a coule hours for the tide to change.  We turned off the engine and sailed at 1.5 knots or less for a couple hours until the tide change.  While we drifted toward our destination I replaced a noisy fan in our berth and rewired a quieter fan.  At least I got something done during the wait.

We arrived in Spanish Wells on Thursday and decided to spoil ourselves with a couple nights on a dock at Yacht Haven.  Spanish Wells is a picturesque fishing community that produces at least 50% of the lobsters from the Bahamas.  This town is different than any of the others we have seen.  All of the homes are well kept and painted all different pastel shades.  In all the other communities we have visited many of the homes and buildings looked care worn with some real poverty evident.  This community has enough water so that there are lovely gardens and lawns around most of the homes.

For a little change of pace we decided to take the high speed ferry to Harbor Island - supposedly the hangout of the rich and famous.  The ferry took us across the infamous "Devil's Backbone."  This is an area of shoals that cruisers are advised to cross only with a pilot.  The ferry zoomed across the shoals - at one time close enough to the beach that I could touch it if the windows opened.

A Blue Hole: The water in this pond comes through caves from the ocean.   In
some of the caves above water there is graffiti from the 1700's.  This Blue Hole
is just outside of town in Rock Sound

We rented a golf cart with Alan and toured Harbor Island.  We visited the famous pink sand beach which looked pretty much like any other beach to me but there were a few grains of reddish coral that gave wet sand a slight hint of a pink hue.  Lunch was at Valentines - and was excellent.  As we ate outside in the shade we could see "Happy Destiny," another Tartan 43 arriving with a pilot aboard - pulling his boat behind them.  Cindy and Pete hired "Bandit" as a pilot.  We spoke with him as we finished our lunch.  He explained that for him piloting isn't difficult.  He's been driving boats around here since he was a young kid.  Born in Spanish Wells, he is no young kid now.

Big Majors Spot and Warderick Wells

We did get to spend a second day anchored in high winds near Thunderball Grotto.  We did some more snorkeling and saw even more varieties of fish the second time.  Thunderball has become our favorite snorkeling spot.  After Thunderball near Staniel Cay we  went to Big Majors Spot.  No one seemed to be on the beach - no pigs - no nothing.

We heard a call from Andrea Cay, a megayacht next to us, for anyone who would trade some benadryl for a bottle of wine.  We were all over that but on second thought we declined the wine.  The skipper of Sunrise took some benadryl over to Andrea Cay before they were able to come over to us to pick it up.  Bill, the skipper of Sunrise, said he was concerned when he heard the request.  Since he had some special medical training it was good that he checked out the situation.  (It turned out not to be serious.)  He explained to us that the pigs would come out when we sent ashore.

We set off to the beach and were quickly approached by two extremely enthusiastic swimming pigs.  One of the pigs snorted and repeatedly butted our dinghy with his snout.  These pigs were gourmets.  They rejected the carrots we offered.  They obviously expected something better.  Oh well.  We departed munching on our carrots. They seemed fine to us.

Hey, I  didn't swim out here for some lousy carrots
from a cheap ass sailor!  Give me a break

After our visit with the pigs we had a fast downwind sail to Warderick Wells.  Our autopilot started acting up again.  As we tried to make a U-turn to grab our mooring, the steering seemed balky.  It got stuck and released in time for us to slowly approach the mooring to pick it up in the strong current.  Once again I found the autopilot in the bilge and a box holding the rudder sensor ripped off the bulkhead.  I spent some more time in the engine compartment trying to get a large bolt deeper into the autopilot than I had before.

The next day we headed to Boo Boo Hill to see if Maryanne could summit this time.  She got way ahead of  me and was ready for the final assault when I reached her.  Up, up and away she went - all the way to the top. She found our driftwood sign at the top and spent some time searching for Chad's 2010 Sabbatical sign.  No luck with Sabbatical but she did find Alesto from our friends Lee and Sherry.

Chuck & Maryanne atop Boo Boo Hill

Since we had so much fun snorkeling at Thunderball we decided to try Exuma Land and Sea Park's coral garden again this time.  Last time we saw only one or two fish.  This time as we were climbing into our dinghy next to Symphony's transom we saw two schools of good sized fish.  Some of them hung around as though they were expecting a handout.  We headed out to the dinghy mooring at the coral garden.  We were a little concerned because last time we were unable to climb back into our dinghy.  That time we swam the dinghy to Alesto to climb out of the water on their ladder.  This time there was no catamaran for us to board.  We planned to swim the dinghy to a sand bar to climb back in.  The coral garden surprised us.  There were many more fish than we had seen last time and they were bigger than the fish that we had seen at Thunderball.

When it came time to move the dinghy I decided to try a strategy that Al from Windancer had suggested.  He told me to push myself underwater straight down and then kick my swim fins hard to get as much altitude out of the water as possible.  I tried.  It worked!  I was able to tumble into the dinghy and figured I could tow Maryanne into the sand bar.  I suggested she try the technique.  She was less than enthusiastic about receiving lengthy instructions.  She was getting pretty cold.  She also tried the technique - and with a little help  she, too, was able to scramble into the dinghy.  We now know that we can snorkel from the dinghy and do not need to be able to stand  next to it in order to climb in.

Today Monday, March 26 we are sitting in Rock Sound Harbor with barely a breath of wind at 9:30 p.m.
We arrived here from Warderick Wells on Saturday after a beautiful full day of sailing.  We moved across the harbor yesterday in anticipation of strong winds and squalls from the west.  The squalls arrived this morning and did a great job of washing the salt off of the boat.  Fortunately, the winds were not too bad.  We will probably spend some more time here waiting out strong winds associated with a secondary front due here tomorrow evening.  It's ironic that we are in a sailboat and that most of our delays have been from too much wind!

Thunderball

We were very happy to find that the autopilot works fine.  We used it to sail from Black Point on Guana Cay around Harvey Cay to Staniel Cay.  We topped off our fuel and water tanks at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  Water is 40 cents a gallon.  The Bahamas would be virtually uninhabitable without RO water.  Reverse Osmosis water is seawater that has been squeezed through a membrane at high pressure.  The membrane allows only water molecules to pass through.  Salt molecules are too big to pass through the membrane.  RO water is very pure but expensive to make.



We sailed through a very narrow passage between two rocky islands to an area on the chart that said: "Good holding."  I hope so because as I write this the wind is howling again through the rigging as a squall passes over us.  I'm seeing a pretty consistent 25 knots, the rain is pounding us, and we are pitching up and down a bit.  Chris Parker says expect 36 hours of this.  We hope to go back to Thunderball Grotto tomorrow but if it gets too rough we will pull up anchor, thread our way back to the channel, and head over to Big Majors Spot, home of the swimming wild pigs.

Entrance to Thunderball Grotto

Today was our absolute best snorkeling experience.  We are anchored not far from Thunderball Grotto (of James Bond fame).  Both Maryanne and I were able to swim into the Grotto and out.  The grotto was impressive with sunlight streaming through a hole in the roof.  Near the entrance it felt like we were swimming in an aquarium with all kinds of fish swimming with us.  We saw beautiful blue fan coral and fish of every hue and color!  The fish hang out at the entrance to the cave because people feed them there.

After our swim we celebrated with supper from the bar menu at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  The Yacht Club was a great people watching spot.  Tommy Lee Jones and his brother were spotted there the day after our last visit.  No celebrities were in evidence today but it was fun people watching anyway.

After freeing up the autopilot yesterday I wondered all night if I would be able to put it back together.  I hoped that I had put all the bolts back in their respective holes and had not dropped anything essential into the bilge.  I also wondered if a large bolt had broken off the left side of the autopilot because I could only see a short shaft sticking up from the bottom stringer that supported the autopilot.  The shaft looked like part of a bolt that might have sheered off.  I find myself regretting that mechanical work was not a big part of social work school.  There doesn't seem to be much overlap between social work education and working with tools.  Who knew?

Dealing with first things first I went through a number of contortions to try to unscrew the box that had half ripped off a supporting wall.  It is really hard to use one hand to unscrew and use the other one to support your upper body at the same time.  Working in the lazarette and engine compartment is a little cramped.  If you imagine what it would be like for a mechanic to work on your car engine from under the dashboard you'll get a good image of what it's like to try to fix something down there.  I don't know how many parts of my body I bruised and strained to reattach the box to the wall but I did manage to get some large screws into it.  I tried to put it in as close to the original position as possible - but I really couldn't tell.

Next I tried to see what was going on with the support on the left side of the autopilot.  The shaft that I had seen was part of a very thick bolt that looked like it went into the autopilot.  After taking apart a hinged plate I was able to fasten the bolt through the plate into the autopilot.    I then reattached the other end of the autopilot to the rudder. With Maryanne turning the wheel I was able to guide the plate and bolt back into position to receive a shaft and pin to hold everything in place.  Did I mention that all of these parts were covered with thick black grease - and that the latex gloves I used were too old and broke when I put them on?  Messy.

I had Maryanne turn the wheel with the autopilot attached.  It worked!  We then turned on the autopilot and pushed the 10 degree left button.  An alarm sounded.  The alarm was letting us know that we had no boat speed for the autopilot to function.  The good news is that the autopilot did start turning the rudder.  I think it is working.  We'll test it out for sure when we next move the boat.  Phew!  It was really hot down in that compartment!  The autopilot better work - there aren't many mechanics on this island - and I know for sure that parts are not available down here.  

I heard some poor guy in Georgetown skyping with someone.  He was saying "but I told you to send it UPS - if you sent it through the mail it may not get here for a month if ever!"  He told me it was medication that he was waiting for.  We know several cruisers who are waiting for parts that are being held up in Nassau by Customs.  I know we wouldn't be able to wait for parts even if they were available.

What a day!  We finally got a weather window to get out of Georgetown.  We loved it there and found the well organized community to be friendly, fun and helpful.  We made new friends who we know we will see again.

Conch Cut leading out into Exuma Sound from the harbor had less than ideal conditions.  If wind is blowing into the cut you want the current to be flowing with the wind.  If the current is flowing out of the cut into the wind you can get some very steep nasty seas.  Today despite Chris Parker's assurances that there would be less wind today than yesterday we had 20 knot winds with gusts to 25.  We did hobby horse in steep 5 foot seas leaving the cut.  We had been forewarned by a boat that went out a half hour before us that the seas were rough but "not a problem for a good boat."  We felt good about our Caliber 40 and she handled the incoming waves well.  There were significant wind driven waves on top of some rollers for about 30 miles.  With the wind blowing as hard as it was we barreled along at 7 knots under sail - about one knot faster than we could go under power.  On the VHF radio we heard more than one skipper commenting on the rough conditions.  Finally, we came within sight of Cave Cay Cut.  It was difficult to make out the cut as we approached but our chart plotter led us  in the right direction until we could make out the entrance to the Cut.  The water changed color from a deep indigo to a lighter blue as we approached.  The channel was narrow but not difficult to follow.   We emerged from the cut between Cave Cay and Musha Cay (owned by David Copperfield) into another world..  The water  was flat and brilliant turquoise.  We had doused our mainsail outside the cut and now were comfortably cruising at 7 knots with only half of the jib unfurled.  We were feeling pretty accomplished.  

Approaching Black Point we had an unhappy sequence of events.  Maryanne noticed that a halyard was swinging free in the breeze.  I looked up to identify it and lost my "Around Long Island Race" hat.  It clung to the rail and our plastic enclosure for a few seconds before flying overboard.  I told Maryanne to keep her eye on the hat while I went forward to secure the errant halyard.  I got back to the cockpit as quickly as I could and tried to turn the wheel hard to starboard to make a U-turn.  The wheel wouldn't move.  A half second later I realized I had to disengage the autopilot to make the turn.  I disengaged the pilot and headed back for the hat.  Maryanne had lost sight of it but we retraced our track on the GPS chart plotter to search for it.  No luck.  I turned the wheel to head back to Black Point.  The wheel would only turn a quarter turn.  I tried the other direction.  Again it wouldn't turn far enough back to change our direction.  I tried again several times making sure that the autopilot was disengaged.  Again - the wheel was stuck.

Maryanne used the VHF to call a boat that had been sailing behind us.  She informed them that we had no steering.  They asked if we needed help.  Maryanne replied that we weren't sure and that we would anchor to try to figure out the problem.  Immediately, a boat anchored in Black Point Harbor called to let us know that they had a 15 horsepower engine on their dinghy and could pull us in if we needed help.  Another boat chimed in that their dinghy was up on their davits but they, too, would put it in the water if we needed help.  We let them know that we were anchoring and would see if we could fix the problem.  It was 5:10.  Windstar IV, the first boat, reminded us that we had limited daylight.  The anchor set quickly in about 20 feet of water.  This was one time that we were very happy that the Exuma Banks are so shallow.

I pulled out all the paraphernalia that is stored in our lazarette.  Out came 3 large fenders, a milk crate full of lines and a dinghy anchor - more crates, large jugs of oil, a cart and just plain stuff.  I removed a board that separates the engine compartment from the lazarette - held in place by 4 deadbolts.  Wishing that I hadn't grown so much in 9th grade, I bent my 6'5" frame into as small a shape as I could and put my head under the cockpit sole.  I could see that the autopilot arm had broken free and was getting caught in the bottom of the compartment.  I couldn't see where the left side of the arm had been attached.  As I moved a life preserver I could see a small object disappear deeper into the compartment.  I searched and found a little plastic and metal pin.  Maryanne sent down a pair of needle nose pliers to me to help me remove a cotter pin from the linkage holding the autopilot to the rudder.  I was able to free the cotter pin and bolt.   After I removed the bolt I found another linkage that was holding the autopilot arm and motor to the rudder post.  A few quick turns with the vice grips freed up that linkage.  As I freed up the second linkage I could see that a box that it had been attached to had ripped off the wall.  

I asked Maryanne to turn the wheel.  She said it felt very stiff but turned all the way both right and left.  Phew!  When I was able to get out of the lazarette we called the boats that had offered assistance to let them know that we were OK and getting under way.

When I pulled up the anchor I realized that the reason the wheel was so stiff was because the lock was partially tightened on it.  Maryanne released the lock, I pulled up the anchor and we were on our way by 5:45.  Tomorrow I get to see if I can repair the autopilot.  Just another day in Paradise!  And despite all of this we are still having a good time.  It is very reassuring to know that the cruising community is comprised of individuals who are so ready to lend a hand to fellow cruisers in need.  

The last of yesterday's squalls made for a
dramatic sunset

We're getting the boat ready to move tomorrow morning.  We'll head through Conch Cut onto Exuma Sound tomorrow morning and try to get back onto the Exuma Banks through Cave Cut tomorrow.

We have been busy:  Last night we visited the Exuma Bahamian Art and Music Festival in Regatta Park.  18 of us hired "Elvis", the harbormaster and water taxi captain, to take us over to the Festival and to a barbecue with Rake 'n Scrape music.  Making the most of Georgetown before tomorrow morning we went for a walk on Stocking Island, came over to St. Francis Resort for internet, and will head over to Volleyball Beach for a last few games of volleyball before we head back to the boat to hoist up the 9.9 hp Tohatsu outboard and the dinghy.

Maryanne with the artisan, Arizona, and the basket Maryanne
selected to bring home with us.

Good weather and internet finally!

Sign post on Volleyball Beach, Georgetown.
Bottom sign points to Today Show, 1080 miles

We have been having fun in Georgetown but the wind has been very strong almost every day.  Our most difficult night on anchor was when the winds started gusting over 40 knots.  We think the anchor may have slipped a little but ultimately our 45 lb Manson Supreme anchor held our 24,000 lb boat securely for the night.  Now when it's blowing 25-30 knots we are much more relaxed when we hear the loud whistling of the wind through the rigging!

Maryanne's happy to finally swim and snorkel
off a beach.

We participated in the fun and games at the Georgetown Cruisers Regatta Week.  Maryanne was happy to discover that she could do a creditable job of playing bocce in the tournament.  I got lucky with a good partner and made it through the initial match ending up in the semi-finals and the championship match.  I am now the proud owner of a Georgetown Regatta first place flag and a fifth of rum - prizes for a first place bocce finish!

We have been taking hikes across Stocking Island.  Maryanne finally got a chance to swim off a beach after one of our hikes.  All our swimming prior to this has been off the boat.

Maryanne at Chat 'n Chill with Hugh, a talented local cruiser,
giving a concert on the deck behind her.

We had a nice surprise today.  For only the second time since we arrived here the wind was mild.  We moved our boat over to the other side of the harbor and filled our water tanks using our five 5 gallon water jugs.  Our tanks hold about 160 gallons of water - that means we have to make many, many trips to fill our tanks!  We bought groceries at the Exuma Market and carried 5 gallon diesel fuel jugs from the gas station to our dinghy to fuel up Symphony.

Maryanne on the jungle path to the other side of Stocking Island.
You should see her climbing up the rocky path!

Chuck standing in a heart on the "Table" a rock formation on
Stocking Island below Monument Hill

Our other good news for the day came from Chris Parker who is forecasting a break in the strong winds this weekend.  We'll have some rough weather tomorrow but this weekend we should be able to sail out Conch Cut into Exuma Sound and up to Cave Cay or Galliot Cut to get back onto the protected Exuma Banks.  Ultimately, we're hoping to sail back up to Warderick Wells and then back out onto the Sound to Eleuthra.   If all goes well we should be able to sail north to the the Abacos.

Look back -- I'm gradually adding some pix to the old Posts

Hole One, Georgetown Harbor

On entering Georgetown Harbor I immediately recognized Jay of Merrimar Yacht Basin climbing off his boat into a dinghy and heading over to Eleanor M.  He welcomed us to Georgetown, pointed out a possible anchoring spot, and invited us to a barbecue on the beach that night.  Keeping up with social commitments at Georgetown can be a full time job!

The Atlantic from atop the dunes outside Georgetown Harbor

That night on the beach he invited us to partner with Marsha & Jeff, his newly arrived guests, in a game of trivial pursuit.  The next morning our neighbor, Tom, aboard an Oyster 47, was kind enough to draw us some maps and give us an orientation to the area.  We also explored holes number one, two, and three – small harbors for small groups of boats.  The shallowest harbor had catamarans and houseboats.  Hole number one has a “blue hole” in it but we couldn’t find it.  Tom told us that Jacques Cousteau had dived in the blue hole and had emerged from a grotto on the other side of the island.   Using Tom’s map we went for a hike up some high dunes overlooking the harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.

Our first official Georgetown Regatta event took place at the St. Francis Resort.  We had dinner with Jay, Debra, Marsha and Jeff and then settled down to the serious business of competition.  We quickly determined that our team had no business participating in a Trivial Pursuit contest that was geared to the theme of Georgetown Regatta Week:  Cowboy Boots & Bathing Suits.  We missed relatively easy questions like: Who wrote 27 novels about the Old West.  (Zane Grey)  I offered up Truman Capote as the answer.  We were heartened when we did get some right but we got a good laugh about most of the questions that were way beyond our limited abilities.  It turned out to be a fun night.

Georgetown

I have momentary internet access at the only table in a small restaurant in Georgetown today.  We had a nice passage to Georgetown - passing through 2 cuts on the way. There are potential difficulties when trying to pass through a cut with winds and tides opposing.  It's called a "rage."  High steep waves can roll your boat on its side.  Fortunately, the two cuts we traversed were calm.  We have been having a blast in Georgetown at their 2012 Regatta.  I will post more when time and internet permit.  We are awaiting arrival of a very difficult weather system with high winds Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  We will be pinned down to the boat for a while.  Hopefully our anchor is pinned down as well.