Cat Island

George Town to Cat Island

12 March

It was with mixed emotions Monday morning that we raised the anchor as the sun peeked over Stocking Island.  On the one hand we were happy to be moving on, having spent an unbelievable 12 days on the anchor in George Town.  On the other hand we were leaving alone, saying good bye to Aquila who we traveled with for over four months.  They had decided to go to Long Island before heading north, and at the last minute had outboard engine troubles that needed to be fixed in George Town.  With daylight savings time, sunrise is now around 0700 and we wanted to get away early to have slack tide passing through Conch Cut on our way to Cat Island. 

Michael and Bill

 I was prepared for a motor across to Cat Island because the forecast was for fairly light winds on our stern, but once out of the cut we were able to raise sails and with a bit of judicious tacking downwind (where you head a little closer to the wind to get a better angle, increasing speed, but going a little farther), we were able to sail all the way!

Our first stop in Cat Island was Hawks Nest Resort, located on the extreme southwest tip of the island.  Active Captain reviews warned of a strong current in the Hawks Nest Creek leading to the marina that the dockmaster assured me a couple of times was no problem.  Notwithstanding, we timed our arrival for what we thought would be a rising or slack tide, meaning the current would be in the same direction as the waves pushing  us up the creek.  We arrived to waves crashing on the shore all around the entrance, but with the dockmaster’s “it’s no problem man” echoing in my mind we headed in.   The good news was that the marina had five red buoys and 3 white marking the channel however the channel was very narrow, and once in between the buoys a wave rolled in behind us kicking our stern hard to port pointing us directly at the rocky reef to starboard.  Hard to port on the wheels, Trekker didn’t initially seem to be responding … then around she came, surfing straight down the middle of the channel!  Definitely the hairiest entrance we’ve had to date!

Once in our berth at the marina, we got talking to our neighbours Gil and Sharlene on First Love.  This is their third year cruising the Bahamas, so of course between chatting on the dock, happy hour and dinner at the resort we learned as much as we could from them about Cat Island. 

Tuesday, First Love left the marina to head over to New Bight but we decided to treat ourselves to a marina day, not having to worry about the weather, anchor, power or water!  We biked around the resort including down the middle of the airport runway (probably illegal),

Bicycling down Hawks Nest runway

walked the beach, sat at the resort connected to the internet (checking all the weather models to plan our next steps) and spoke to both Alyssa and Trevor.  We even treated ourselves to another meal at the resort!  Interestingly, we spoke to the 80 year old Texan owner of the resort, Gerry, a couple of times, and apparently the runway was originally built to service the drug smuggling trade! He was a real character and full of stories about the resort, which he has owned for 23 years, and his colorful life.

Hawks Nest Resort

Wednesday morning we left Hawks Nest and had a nice relaxing sail over to New Bight on Cat Island.  Once anchored by First Love, we hiked up Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas at 63 metres/207 feet. On top is The Hermitage, built by architect /Roman Catholic Priest Father Jerome in 1939. Using local stone, he built the small medieval monastery where he could get away from the world. He was also a skilled sculptor and as you climb the stone staircase you can see his hand carved stone reliefs of the Stations of the Cross. It was very awe-inspiring.

Mount Alvernia Monastery 

After the walk back down we explored the shoreline in the dinghy, looking for a grocery store. We went ashore and asked at a local restaurant/bar where the grocery store was and were told that it was a fair walk away. We were offered a drive over, but we decided it wasn’t that urgent, so we had a beer instead! She also had fresh garden picked tomatoes and red peppers for sale, so we bought a few of those.

Hidden Treasures restaurant New Bight

Tomorrow, we will sail over to Little San Salvador Island. This tiny island has been bought by Holland America Line and is used for excursions for their passengers. Our guides advise to stay away until after the ships leave, following which you can enjoy this lovely bay in peace. So our plan is to arrive there about 5ish so we don’t have to worry about the cruise ships.

We are slowly making our way north to the Abacos, where we will pick up Trevor and Kate for a week’s visit, then head on to Florida, where we will leave Trekker for the summer.

Our adventure is slowly coming to a close, but we still have a few weeks left to enjoy these wonderful islands … one day at a time