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Friday, January 29, 2016

January 22-29: Veronica visits; A quick trip to the Jumentos

Friday Jan 22: we made our final preparations for our first on-board guest.  Willie Dawes is only 30 feet and we’ve been living aboard for the last seven months so there was some scrambling around to find new storage places for things we’ve been complacent about leaving out in the salon.  We had brought along a full compliment of guest bedding, and we unearthed it from deep storage.  My cousin Veronica’s plane came in around noon.  We dinghied in around twelve-thirty to be there when the taxi brought her to town.

     Veronica was awesomely prepared for boat life.  She had packed all she needed in two small bags and carried everything on the plane, ‘everything’ including a blanket, towels, toiletries, clothes, and snorkel gear.  I haven’t spent much time with her since she was a teenager; it was a real treat to have her aboard and catch up with her.  
     We spent our first night in Kidd’s Harbor just off George Town and went in on Saturday to take a walking tour and to visit the shops and the open air market.  There was a very creative woman at the market who makes beautiful jewelry out of shells, sea glass, and gem stones; Veronica and I spent a fair amount of time examining her wares while Dan took the camera to the nearby boatyard and took pictures of Bahama dinghies.  


     Later we moved the Willie to calmer waters in the Red Shanks district of George Town harbor.  We were expecting a major wind shift to the North with twenty-twenty-five knot winds and Kidd’s Harbor was a little choppy.  Red Shanks proved to be the right place.  We spent Saturday night and Sunday night there as well.
     Sunday we broke out the snorkel gear and went exploring.  The water, for some reason, was only 74 degrees, so Veronica and I used the two wetsuits we had and Dan stayed put in the dinghy ‘spotting’ us.  She’d never been snorkeling before; it was a real treat to see her excitement as we came upon a small grotto loaded with different kinds of fish.  We also saw a large Southern stingray.  Veronica was a natural at snorkeling.  When we were done, Dan rigged the dinghy and sailed off for his own brand of exploring.
Veronica snorkeling & Dan sailing.


Monday: we had got up early to get through Hog Cay Cut to the Bank side of Little Exuma Island.  Our original goal was to spend time on the West side (winds were scheduled to blow Easterly), maybe even circumnavigate the island.  It was so beautiful and so calm on the West side of the island, Dan proposed we head South instead, to the Jumentos, a string of Cays the make up the Northern section of the Ragged Islands.
     This is a remote chain of islands arcing down toward Cuba.  There is one town at the very Southern end of the chain, otherwise there are no settlements, no people, nothing but beaches and jagged limestone shores.  The guidebook warns that you must be self-sufficient and there must be good weather to cruise the Jumentos.  We had a beautiful, calm cross from the Exumas to the Jumentos, cruising below the Tropic of Cancer which runs through the Southern end of Little Exuma.
Veronica and me hangin' out on the bow.

     We got to Water Cay a little after noon and dropped the hook to do a little snorkeling.  It was a little too strong a current to snorkel the reef we’d had our eye on, band Veronica opted to return to the boat while Dan and I continued toward shore.  He really wanted to gather some conch for supper.  We came upon a few small cluster of rocks here and there where different fish were hanging out, but saw no conch.  We were just about to give up when suddenly they were everywhere.  It was as if we had stumbled into their neighborhood.  Big, little, young, old, you couldn’t swim five feet without finding one.  When you enter the Bahamas on a boat, your entry fee includes a fishing permit.  We are allowed six conch per day, but the regulations stipulate they must have a “well-formed lip.”  Well, we still aren’t sure exactly what a well-formed lip looks like, but we selected five of the most likely candidates, filled our mesh bag and brought them back to the Willie for supper.
Next was the process of banging out a small hole to get at the meat.  Conch shells are might hard and those snails inside are pretty good at retreating into them.  The first shell was a test case.  After than, Dan was a pro.  We had plenty of conch meat to pound into lace (it’s really tough meat) for fritters for supper.



Tuesday: we moved the Willie to the next beach where the fishermen hang out and went ashore for some excellent shelling.  The guide book also mentions good ‘beaning’ and we think we know what that is, but it was the shelling that caught our attention.  There was good snorkeling in this harbor, and we enjoyed doing that for a little while, but as it is a place where fishermen clean their fish, there are also sharks.  We had one come circle our boat.  Dan had caught a couple small fish - enough for an appetizer - and it wasn’t long after he’d cleaned them that we had our shark come visit.  That did it for snorkeling for us!  
     On Wednesday we just took the dinghy to another beach and did some more shelling.  What a beautiful, wild place the Jumentos are.  We would have stayed longer, but the wind was shifting again (to the South and Southwest) and it’s not a good place in the Westerly winds.  And we had to get back to George Town for Veronica to catch her flight out on Friday.  So Thursday we headed back to the Exumas.  The water was an extraordinary color, the sun was hot, and the South wind was humid as we made the five-six hour trip back. 


I want this color on the walls in my house!!
     We stopped at Tropic of Cancer Beach on Little Exuma to have welcome swim.  These waters are where scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed.  We had the place to ourselves for a lovely swim and beach walk before taking the Willie back into Elizabeth Harbor/George Town where we dropped the hook off what’s locally known as Volleyball Beach where the cruiser’s bar/restaurant Chat ‘n Chill is located.  The winter cruisers that drop anchor in this large harbor have quite a social scene, much of which is centered at this beach.  They have volleyball games, yoga, water aerobics, and even Sunday services here, all organized and attended by the transient cruisers who call this area their home every winter and spring.  Chat ‘n Chill is a small, friendly bar with a simple menu (burgers, fish) and a Sunday pig roast.  The three of us enjoyed our last meal together in front of a beautiful sunset (sorry, Veronica has that picture) just inside Chat ‘n Chill’s deck.

     Friday morning we crossed the harbor to anchor once again in Kidd’s Harbor and around eleven dinghied in to George Town to put Veronica in a taxi.  She’s going back home to Wisconsin, and we will miss her very much.  There were tears.  A big thank you to her family and friends who supported her and outfitted her for her trip with us.  Ronnie - you are welcome to come back anytime!!
19 and 20, Jan 2016

Wednesday:  the wind is still 25 from the NE so no trip to Georgetown.  We need to be there by Friday to meet Cousin Veronica. The only entrances to Georgetown are on the Sound Side (East) and the NE wind is making quite a sea.  It was noticeably cooler today with the passing of the front, so no swim today.  Kathy did some computer work and I switched out the anchor rodes, adding some new chafe gear in the process.
     We decided to get underway after lunch and make another shallow draft passage on the bank side while the tide was up.  This time our route brought us zig-zagging several miles West of the island chain, far enough away to give us a 2-3 foot chop in the shallows.  We did manage to get into 4 feet of water for several parts of the trip, so I doubt many of the sailing vessels will use this route.  Eventually we rounded the weather side of Normans Pond Cay and came down the lee side of Lee Stocking Cay passing the main anchorage where there were a dozen sailors anchored, to a quiet cove halfway down the island, where we anchored alongside a sloop called “Beans”.  We accomplished two things, a new anchorage and 8 miles less to travel tomorrow, when the conditions sound better for transiting the sound.

Thursday: underway for breakfast, back to the Northeast end of Lee Stocking to the cut to the sound. All but one of the boats anchored in the lee of Lee Stocking had already departed.  We hoped the tide had stopped ebbing thru the cut, but no, we were early, which meant strong current against strong wind and sea, rough conditions in the cut.  We slowed down and took them easy. Big but easy. Things moderated as we got away from the cut and away from the ebb current.  
Bahamian 'lighthouse' at Adderly Cut, moving from Lee Stocking into the Sound.

     It was still a sloppy ride, but with our double reefed mainsail we faired better than some.  One boat lost their anchor and all their chain and line exiting a cut.  We were briefly with a 40 foot sloop that was carrying no sail.  That didn’t look fun at all, boy did he roll.  Several boats talked about cleaning up the mess after they got in.  Not so today on the Willie Dawes.
     Today was definitely the day of choice to make the trip as we had lots of company ahead and behind us.  From noon until almost dusk there was a steady stream of boats entering Elizabeth Harbor, Georgetown, in the lee of Stocking Island.  We found an anchorage snugged right up to Stocking Island, Willie can almost always find a spot to tuck in shoreside of the bigger boats.
A forest of masts in George Town.


     We had made a milestone today, and 2 days ahead of our first scheduled date in a long time, maybe since Prince Edward Island, when we met my folks in Charlottetown last summer.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

18 January 2016: Rudder Cut Cay
      Underway at 1030, we followed Solana  out Big Cut into the Sound once again.  Another spectacular day with a light following wind.  About 18 miles down the Sound we turned in at Galliot Cut.  Solana was making a stop at Galliot Cay, but we decided to continue on to Rudder Cut Cay, via the shallow draft route on the Bank side, following the Visual Piloting Rules.  We continued on for 6 miles, with Kathy spotting from the wheelhouse roof, getting the depth sounder down to 6 feet in several spots..  Eventually we came into the lee of Rudder Cut Cay and had the whole anchorage to ourselves and most importantly no current.  It would be our anchorage in the Exumas without some form of cross current to deal with.  What a relief!  Not to mention good sleeping.
     We dinghied over to explore a deep cut in the island that led to a small pond.  Complete protection there, we will keep it in mind if we ever need protection from a big storm.  (Nevermind the PRIVATE!  TRESSPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED! sign.)  We also explored a big cavern carved by wave action.
Galliot Light  (Bahamian light house)
Cavern at Rudder Cut Cay


19 January: Lee Stocking Island
     The NE wind was blowing 20 - 25 knots today, so no trip to GeorgeTown.  We need to be there by Friday, as Kathy's cousin Veronica will be joining us for a week, but it was 32 miles and the only entrance is from the Sound.  20-25 knots makes the Sound quite rough.  It was noticeably cooler today with the passing of the front, so no swimming or snorkeling today.  Kathy did some computer work and I switched out our anchor rodes, adding some new chafe gear in the process.
     After lunch we decided to make another shallow draft passage on the Bank side.  This time our route had us zig-zagging several miles West of the island chain, far enough away from from the main islands that we had some 2-3 foot seas in the shallow water.  We did manage to get the depth sounder down to 4 feet on this passage, so probably no sailboats are going to follow us along this route.  We rounded Normans Pond Cay and came down alongside Lee Stocking Island to a cove about halfway down.  We anchored there with a sloop called Beans that we've seen before in the Keys.  Our Bank passage managed to knock off about 8 miles from our trip to GeorgeTown planned for tomorrow.

January 16: Staniel Cay
     0900 underway from Hog Cay into our first voyage on the Sound side of the Exumas.  The wind and sea had moderated nicely and we had a good motor-sail downwind along the coast.  We decided since we were finally out of the no-take zone that we should make some use out of the fish poles we had carted around for the last 7 months, and within twenty minutes we had our first strike!  We had to round up and stop the boat to land our first 30 inch barracuda.  What a toothy fish, and not considered edible in these parts so back he went, pretty much none the worse for wear.
Dan ties on the lures.

Barracuda - catch and release
     Only about 12 miles down we pulled into Big Rock Cut, the entrance to the anchorages at Staniel Cay.  We followed our buddy boat Solana in and anchored right in the shadow of Thunderbolt Grotto, the grotto used in the filming of the James Bond movie of the same name.
Thunderbolt Grotto
     Kathy and I swam over to the grotto after we anchored, but it was high tide and you have to swim under the rocks to get into the grotto, so we passed and decided to try again in the morning.  The next day we did enter the grotto, a cave within the island, with several holes thru the top of the island, which light the cave from above.  Very cool to swim into this cave, having to duck under the shoreline at the entrance, and to enter the subdued light of the cave rooms within.  It was like swimming inside an aquarium.  I wore a knife strapped to my leg so I could feel more Bond-ly.
     On Sunday we dinghied ashore at Staniel to see if one of the two groceries was open.  Only in the afternoon, they said, because of Sunday morning church.  We decided to come back at 1300, have lunch at the Yacht Club bar, watch some NFL playoffs, then hike up to the store.  I had a burger, Kathy had the fish tacos.  At the store, the owner had to come out of her house next door to open up for us and we met her daughter, the cutest little girl who was entertaining us with singing "Wheels on the Bus."   She and Kathy played Patty-Cake, then for some reason she wanted Kathy to slap her hand as hard as she could.  We ended with her slapped my hand as hard as she could.  Then we taught her the game where you hold your hands just over another person's, then try to pull them away before the other person slaps the backs of your hands.  After a few tries she got the idea.  Poor girl will probably get expelled from school on Monday.

     When we got back to the Willie, the wind had shifted, making our anchorage quite rough, so we got both anchors up and steamed around to the East side of nearby Big Majors island, where it was quite calm in the lee.  It remained so until the wee hours, when the wind died out and allowed the swell to roll un thru the Cut, giving us a good rolling.  Not a pleasant night.
     Sometime during the football game the previous day, one of our flopper-stoppers (Gordon calls them Capt. Dan's Roll Cans) came loose and was lost.  So Monday morning I dinghied back over to the grotto to look for the lost orange tub.  Since it was lined with lead, it had sunk right where we had been anchored and was an easy retrieval.  While I was there, I tried to get some photos of the inside of the Grotto, in which I failed miserably, taking them with my smart phone inside two waterproof cases!  Can you say blurry?
     Big Major Cay is home to a wild herd of swimming pigs, but while we were there we didn't see any.  The weather wasn't very nice, perhaps they were holed up in a mud hole inside the island somewhere.  We will have to look for them next time we come through.
January 10th 2016: Norman's Cay

     Our anchorage in Norman's Cay was just outside the cut, one of the many channels between the Bank and the Sound.  We are learning that in these cuts it is rare to find an anchorage free of a strong tidal current.  We are learning to anchor, however, in very shallow water.  In the afternoon, we made a trip to a coral reef and did some snorkeling.  We are just starting to get a handle on the names of the small portion of fish that we see.  And there are lots!  And a shark, ok, a little out of our comfort zone, even if it was a nurse shark and they are supposedly harmless, still it was six feet long, and, a shark.  We moved out onto the Sound side of the cut and swam around another small island, mostly shallow, sandy bottom, not too much to see except the vivid blue colors.  Once back in the dinghy, we saw a shadow in the water, zooming back and forth, it came right under the dinghy, got a good look, a spotted eagle ray, at least five feet across.  (You can tell Dan is writing this...)  They may also be harmless, but we were happy to see that one from the boat.
'Deserted' island in Norman's Cay

Monday - Friday Jan 11th - 15th: Exuma Park

     We decided to move on to the Exuma Land and Sea Park, centered around Warderick Wells Cay.  This was a three hour trip for us down the shallow Bank side of the island chain.  We first thought we would anchor on the West side of the island but the good anchorage areas were filled with Park rental moorings.  We picked one of them up but it was clear this would not be a calm anchorage and we overheard another boater say that if they were going to Warderick Wells, they would get a mooring at Hog Cay, which is on the Southeast side of Warderick Wells.  How to get there?  One way, back out around the three mile long sand bore and around the North end of the Cay, or cut across the shallows to the South end and follow the VPR (visual piloting rules) route.  Easy choice: short cut.  It was mid-day, so we had plenty of sunlight, and had fun meandering between the shallows and some stunning, small cays.  We arrived at the mooring area (five moorings) and took the first one in line as instructed by the Park guy Andrew on the radio.  As no other moorings were used that night, we had our own gorgeous, private, secluded anchorage.  We made a dinghy ride around Hog Cay, which forms the cove against Warderick Wells and watched several "roaring spouts", one U-shaped cove that had fascinating wave action which at high tide spills over the low spot on the island into a cascade of water into our cove.  One narrow spot on the island had a hole worn beneath the tideline so every few waves sent a burst of water under the island into a quiet little cove.  We spent a nice quiet night.


    Tuesday the radio was abuzz with talk about the upcoming weather event.  A new arrival into our Hog Cay harbor, the Solana, said it looked pretty good to them and they may stay put until Saturday.  Bruce and Jo on Solana have many sources of weather data and we went over for drinks and a little conference.  Some strong winds were due in, much of it Westerly, and the Exuma island chain has few protected areas from that direction.  We also decided to stay awhile to see how things developed.  Three other sailors joined the 'Hog Cay Yacht Club' that afternoon, taking up all the other moorings.
     There is a waiting list for these moorings, reservations made one day in advance, so we were lucky we snagged one when we did.  Once you are tied to a ball you can stay as long as you want.  Twenty dollars per day.  For an extra twenty dollars, we also joined the Exuma Park Support Fleet, which gives us priority if we come back this way.
     We went ashore to try to walk across to the Park headquarters, but could not find the trail.  We did find the Pirate's Lair, which where hundreds of years ago pirates made camp and took advantage of a natural water supply and were able to hide their boats from other marauders.  We also filled a huge contractor trash bag with plastic that had washed up on the beach.
This is - we think - supposed to be the trail map.
     Later we went snorkeling and found a neat coral reef several hundred feet from the boat.  Lots of fish there, including the non-native, invasive lionfish which the Bahamas encourages you to kill, and eat if you want.  As the whole Park is a no-take area, we asked if lionfish were fair game, but they said no, no-take includes lionfish.
     Wednesday it was still windy, and we took the dinghy around the Southern point of Warderick Wells about a mile of the Western side.  With the dinghy painter in my hand, we snorkeled, drifting with the current, back around the point and all the way to the Willie.  We drifted about a mile and a half for over an hour, saw lots of fish, stingrays, and a sea turtle, and two large patches of coral along the way.  We met on the beach - first meeting of the 'Hog Cay Yacht Club' - Solana, Gratitude, Sanity II, Living Well, and Willie Dawes - no minutes taken but lots of problems solved.  We met again the next day when I swam shore to pay for the mooring, and we all decided Saturday was definitely the day to leave.  We would buddy up with Bruce and Jo from Solana and continue South, the other three boats would probably stay in the Park but at a different mooring field.  We spent our last days in Hog Cay as we had the first several - snorkeling and just hanging out with new friends.
2nd meeting of the Hog Cay Yacht Club
   

Saturday, January 9, 2016

January 8 & 9: to the Exumas!
Sunrise - Athol Island
    Friday we took the Wille Dawes back over to Nassau to top off the fuel tanks and pick up the propane tank.  It was a beautiful day - clear blue skies and placid water.  Perfect for our journey to the Northern cays of the Exumas.  I wish I could accurately describe the colors of the water; it just doesn’t come through in the photographs.  It’s so beautiful.    For a little while we were almost completely surrounded by water.   It wasn’t very deep and it was very clear, which gave us some good experience watching for coral heads.  
Exuma Bank horizon.
This is how Dan steers and keeps watch for coral heads.

     We arrived at Allen’s Cays around four in the afternoon, joining a small fleet of boats anchored in one of three spots.  We chose to anchor off the beach in SW Allen’s Cay where we could watch the iguanas come out to greet anyone coming to the beach.  The iguanas have been around long enough to associate the sound of motors with people bringing food for them.  They come right out to wait for it, and we’ve read that some iguanas can get aggressive and bite.  
Iguanas on Allen's Cay



     Saturday we hung out at the same anchorage.  Our 3 hp outboard has been acting up and Dan spent a good part of the day taking it apart and cleaning it up.  After the third carburetor tear-down he decided to find the fuel filter, which was inside the fuel tank, was obviously clogged.  Third time’s the charm.  Now the engine runs just fine.  We took it around the entire anchorage here, meeting people on other boats and checking out the ragged coastline for possible snorkeling sites.  We even spied a Devil Ray, a smaller version of the black Manta Ray.  Dan did go out snorkeling for about an hour and Kathy held down the fort with Tommie, hoping he’d bring home a conch for dinner.  While he saw some, they were too small to harvest.  Maybe next anchorage.
Small engine repair.
Snorkeling off the dinghy.


January 5 - 7: Nassau

     We spent the night of our arrival in Nassau in Bay Street Marina.  The people there were incredibly friendly, the showers were excellent, and the place was handy to everywhere we needed to go.  It was showery but warm, and the winds were starting to pick up as we walked the half mile or so to the BTC store - the Bahamian equivalent of Verizon, except it is the only telephone/wireless service in the country.  We purchased sim cards for my phone and for our Mifi, a wireless hotspot device that promised internet access anytime, almost anywhere in the Bahamas.  (We have since found out that it does work well, but only if the cell towers are working...)  The part of Nassau we walked through is definitely the ordinary working neighborhood:  grocery stores, gas stations, the occasional strip mall with salons and small boutiques.  The cruise ships - there were six in port during our stay there - must have a different destination for their busloads of passengers.  We never got to see the more upscale shops, which are located in the Western section of the island.
     Because the weather was forecasting some strong winds, we decided to stay in Nassau, but left the marina for an anchorage.  We know first hand now why they are not really recommended.  Our second night in Nassau was quite a ride, with the winds really picking up, the waves slapping us around, and passing wakes from all size pleasure and commercial vessels rocking us.  There was a pretty steady driving rain, too, which found its way into the boat in more than one place.  Neither of us got much sleep that night and as the day wasn’t looking any different, we just stayed put, with two anchors out, to ride out the storm.  Dan puttered with water collection.   We found we can filter the rain water through coffee filters and add it to our water tanks.  
     Mid-afternoon Dan realized a nearby catamaran was adrift.  We launched the dinghy and he brought a line out to it, securing it to our boat and its anchor seemed to work its way back into the sand.  The owners, David and Lori, were ashore with their daughter Kashara.  When they came back, they returned our line, re-anchored, and invited us over for dinner.  It was excellent - curry with sweet potatoes, plantains, potatoes, and kale - with Indian flatbread and saffron rice.  They have been cruising for at least eight years and were filled with advice and encouragement for our journey.  During the course of our evening with them, the winds died down, the temperature had dropped to a very pleasant and much less humid 65, and the skies cleared.  Our third night in Nassau was   quiet and cool - great sleeping weather.
Tying the line to Ubuntu.  We cruisers have to look out for each other!


     We went ashore in Nassau again the next day - Thursday - for some more errands.  Dan went in search of propane refill and I walked to the post office to get some stamps.  We also visited BTC again because the Mifi needed some tweaking.  We ended up having to leave the propane tank for the night but decided to change our anchorage for one a little further out, away from the hustle-bustle of Nassau harbor.  There are several small cays and islands on the Northeastern side of East Providence Island (where Nassau is) and we anchored off Athol Island.  From there we could see the more affluent section of Paradise Island, and beyond it Salt Cay where ocean waves were pouring over the top of the short cliffs.  The winds had died considerably but the open seas were still active.  We had hoped to do some snorkeling but it was too rough on the side of Athol that had a few reefs, so we just made do with our side where the water was clear enough to see that there was little but sand and occasional discarded engine parts. 
Salt Cay.  The white is water, from the waves crashing over the island.

Monday, January 4, 2016

December 30 - January 4:  Bahamas!!!

Dec 30-31: Staging

     Staging is the term - and we very recently read about this - given to the preparation for a passage.  Some of the preparation we already understood, such as topping off the fuel and water, and reprovisioning.  Some things are common sense to do for any cruising voyage: stowing your dinghy and securing all things on deck, for example.   We did our staging slowly, as the weather conditions kept changing, and for a little while, we weren't even sure we'd even try for the crossing.
    Without a fridge, we made a few more ice runs, reminding us what a pain that had been all summer in Canada.  It's much warmer in the South; ice just doesn't last very long.  Still, we had food that needed to be kept until we could eat it up, giving us some pretty creative meals and snacks.  (Chips and leftover mole sauce...)  Then on Wednesday we hauled anchor and headed back North a bit toward Angelfish Creek, where we would begin our crossing.  Thursday.  Or possibly Thursday night.  Or maybe Friday.  Maybe even Friday night.  Depending on the weather.  We dropped the hook in Blackwater Sound for the night.
     Thursday - New Year's Eve - we decided a crossing time:  4:00 am tomorrow morning, New Year's Day.  We went to a marina close to Angelfish Creek to top off the fuel, and were surprised by the $10 water charge.  The dock attendant seemed embarrassed to charge us, and urged us to "take as much as you want."  So we filled everything we had - jugs, bottles, as well as shower bags and water tanks - I even did a couple loads of hand laundry and Dan took to the hose around to wash off the deck and windows.  Then we moved over to join the growing fleet at anchor outside Angelfish Creek.  Friday morning at 4:00 seemed like the best time for a lot of vessels.  It was good to know we would have company.
     We stowed and tied down and Dan pulled off the sail cover and made sure the reef was secure and turned in early, setting both our alarms for 3:30 am.  We had lights out at the unheard of time of 7:30 pm but got up again at 8:00 to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks display from a nearby marina.  I remarked to Dan that it was considerate of them to do that early.  I spoke too soon - they had another, longer and bigger display at midnight.  When our alarms went off a few hours later, we hadn't had much sleep, but we were more than ready to go.
 
January 1, 2016 New Year's Day in the Bahamas!

     We were the second of four boats out, and it didn't take long before we lost sight of all the others.  One had started well ahead of us, and the other two just couldn't seem to catch up, even though we weren't cruising very fast.  Two hours later at sunrise we could just barely make out everyone's masts, and then we were alone.  It was an uneventful crossing, a little lumpy, but spectacularly devoid of sea life save for the little flying fish fleeing on both sides of us and the lazy fin of one mola mola.  No whales, no dolphins, not even any birds.  We were surprised; we'd expected to see more activity.  The air temperature was in the eighties, as was the seawater, which just seemed so abnormal for deep seas!  We got to Cat Cay about 1:30 in the afternoon and tied up at the yacht club there for customs and immigration check in.  I don't know why we hadn't thought of it, but we were a bit dismayed to find that the yacht clubs and marinas all charged a $100 fee to dock for customs.  It's waived if you spend the night, but this being a holiday weekend and them being a yacht club, it was closed to non-members and spending the night wasn't an option, even if we had wanted to.  Chalk it up to needing to do a little more research.  Check in didn't take more than forty minutes or so (and they barely looked at all that paperwork we'd amassed for the cat!) and we were on our way again.  We pushed on another ten miles through crystal clear aquamarine waters before just tossing the anchor over.  Not another boat in sight, no land nearby, just us and the beautiful sea and sky.  We were very tired but managed a proper celebration of both New Year's and our successful crossing with a small bottle of champagne and a spaghetti dinner.
New Year's celebration - Ocean Reef Marina, Key Largo
Gun Cay, Bahamas
Q Flag up for checking in.
Sunset in the Bahamas, New Year's Day.
Jan 2-4

    We went swimming and snorkeling just after breakfast, got underway for a few hours, shut off the engine and drifted to swim and snorkel some more, and then cruised some more.  No other boats in sight that Saturday.  We did have a couple of dolphins come play along our bow and they were pretty much our only company.
Dolphins!  See how clear the water is.
What a lovely place this is - so calm, and so beautiful.  We anchored again in the middle of nowhere, just stopped and tossed over the hook.  So funny to see it lying there on the bottom.
     That night we were in bed when we heard a thump and a splash.  Of course our first thought was: Tommie!!  I ran up on deck calling her name and yelled for Dan to get a flashlight.  I could hear splashing but couldn't see anything.  Dan came up on deck and played the light around, both of us calling for her.  "Look!"  He said, his light picking out something large and pale.  Later he admitted his first thought was that something had eaten our cat.  "A turtle!"  It was indeed, a large green turtle, just astern of us, acting a little dazed.  It must have banged into our boat while swimming.  We kept looking for the cat, and when we looked back into the boat, there she was, sitting on the pilothouse floor, staring at us with an expression that clearly showed she figured the day had finally come: we'd lost our minds.
     Sunday there was more boating activity.  Many, many large yachts came speeding by, traveling from East to West.  Holiday weekend over?  We made it to the Berry Islands just after noon, and anchored off Chub Cay.  I went in for my daily swim and snorkel while Dan took a nap.  There was a large engine block quietly rusting off our stern and several colorful fish were hanging around it.  Otherwise, the bottom there was a massive conch graveyard.  We'd gotten a fishing license along with our cruising permit, and there was a daily limit of 6 conch listed on it.  "Any good ones down there?"  Dan asked when I told him about the thousands of conch shells.  I wasn't sure, and didn't want to dive down to paw around.  A short while later, two Bahamian fishing vessels pulled into the area and we could hear steady hammering as they harvested conch shells for the meat, tossing the broken shells overboard.  Turns out it really was a conch graveyard.  Dan thought between the hammering and the growing swells we should move around the corner of Chub Cay to Frazer's Hog Cay, and he also wanted to get away from that engine block, in case parts of it stuck up enough to brush our hull if the tide dropped.  So we raised anchor and moved to a quieter location.
Conch fisherman.
Sunset, Frazer's Hog Cay
     Monday dawned lowery.  It had rained on and off in the night and we made good use of the water for laundry and washing.  The winds had picked up and the water, which had been fairly placid since New Year's Day, was now pretty choppy.   We've been spoiled by all the calm water!!  We raised the sails and headed for Nassau, on New Providence Island.
     Nassau is a very busy harbor.  One must call the Harbor Control Officer to request permission to enter or leave the harbor.  There are several marinas, two large cruise ship docks, one commercial dock, anchorages, and seaplane landing areas.  As soon as we entered the harbor (with permission), a patrol boat came right out to warn us off to the side as a behemoth of a cruise ship was getting ready to leave.  We pretty much hugged the shoreline and inched forward, leery of their prop wash, trying to get out of their turning basin, while the patrol boat and guide boat kept an eye on us, the cruise ship, and all the rest of the activity in the harbor.  Meanwhile, the tourists on board the cruise boat leaned over the railings and waved to us, oblivious.  The ship came within fifty feet of us, and we were but ten feet from the shore.  I can't imagine anchoring in this harbor, although people do.  We took a slip at a marina for the night.
Nassau - waiting for the cruise ship to pass.