Trekker's travels conclude for 2019

For those who follow Trekker's Travels, sorry for leaving you hanging at Treasure Cay!

We did get a slip at Mangoes.  Much to our surprise quite a few folks that we met last year were there, which was great fun.

I made it to my meeting in Kelowna, although I'd rather not repeat that trip anytime soon.  Marsh Harbour to Nassau, Toronto, Vancouver and Kelowna are too many flights for one day! 

Alyssa and I met in Nassau and she carried on to meet Karen for the week in Marsh Harbour. They walked Marsh Harbour, took the ferry to Hope Town for the day and snorkeled with some other marina guests.

Karen and Alyssa on Elbow Cay

Karen and Alyssa snorkeling 

When I got back we had a good weather window and took Alyssa through the "Whale", seeing a water spout on the way.

Waterspout

After a few days based in Green Turtle Cay we put Alyssa on the ferry back to Treasure Cay and high tailed it for Spanish, then Great Sale Cay and then an overnight sail across the bank and Gulf Stream to Fort Pierce.

Hugh Alyssa and Karen at Bluff House

Unfortunately the wind ran out around 0400 so we weren't able to sail all the way from Great Sale.  

Beautiful full moon that lit our way across the Gulf Stream

In Fort Pierce we put the boat away, deciding to leave everything aboard this year.  We drove to Lake Placid FL and met Bob, Sheila, Bill and Michael for lunch and enjoyed swapping stories.  

Hugh Michael Karen Sheila Bob and Bill

Then we hopped in Karen's trusty Subaru Outback and headed home.

Trekker put away for the summer

For those that haven't heard, Trekker is for sale. What ... ??!! There are a number of reasons, listed not in any particular order of importance.

After two winters in the Bahamas, we decided that as much as we like them, there are too many other places to see to spend every winter  in the Bahamas.

We feel like we experienced climate change first hand, hiding from a big blow, it seemed, every week.  Maybe that's the new normal ....

As anyone who owns a boat (Bring Out Another Thousand) knows, it's not cheap to own and maintain a boat, especially in Florida.  We think we could take some nice winter vacations with just the amount we spend on summer storage.

While you can't beat crystal clear blue Bahamian water, nothing is better than diving into the fresh water of Georgian Bay! We're excited at the thought of getting a slightly smaller boat that we can keep at Midland Bay Sailing Club, and cruising the Great Lakes.

Since arriving home at the end of April we have been focused on two things; selling our Kitchener condo (check) and building our new house in Midland (well under way)!  With any luck we'll be moving mid September.

Loughborough's new Midland house

In the meantime we're looking forward to welcoming Bob and Sheila (Her Diamond) to Kitchener and showing them Waterloo Region and Midland and to taking a tour of the southern Thirty Thousand Islands on the Miss Midland tour boat.

Then it's off to PEI to spend a week with Karen's sister Janette and her husband Rob at a cottage in Cavendish. After that we will spend a couple of weeks in Newfoundland including a meeting in St. John's. 

When we get back we have two weeks to pack for our move! Can't wait to experience life in Midland, one day at a time!

The Abacos

The Famous Hope Town Lighthouse

 We have been playing in the Abacos for the last couple of weeks, and time is slowly disappearing, before we return to Florida and home. We have been taking our time, and visiting a few of the islands that make up the Abacos, including one of our favorite places from last year, Hope Town, on Elbow Cay.

We were able to snag a mooring ball in Hope Town, going over from Man’O’War early one morning and grabbing the only one available in the harbour. One of our complaints regarding the mooring field is that there will appear to be many open balls, only to get close to one and see a “reserved” sign on it.  And it may sit empty for a week, as the renters are off somewhere and since they have paid for it for the time away, they can hold it. There must be some way to let people know they can have it for a few days while they are gone. We discussed an app for this ... lol … or a business of coordinating empty balls. We watched lots of boats, especially charter boats, coming in at the end of a day expecting to see an open ball, picking one up, then being chased off by a neighboring boat telling them its reserved. We had another blow while we were sitting there, and watched the chaos as boats tried to get secure before it arrived. We felt very lucky to have picked one up when we did!

Hope Town, much like the rest of the Bahamas, didn’t hold the same magical appeal for us this year. Maybe because it wasn’t all new this year. We also found that, even though we have met up with a lot of different boats and travelled together for a few days, we missed having a constant buddy boat. We were joined by Janice and Harley (Folly) in Hope Town for a couple of days, which was great fun. We even convinced them to go to Monday night JACKS (bingo) at Captain Jacks Restaurant, which was as crazy as ever. We enjoyed a drink and a game of euchre while waiting for it to start. Like last year, we had to get there by 4:30 to get a table for the 6pm game! After bingo we walked over to our favorite restaurant, Wine Down Sip Sip for a great dinner.

Hugh, Janice, Harley, Karen

We also had a great afternoon on the (empty) beach hunting for sea glass. The secret (we discovered) is to go at a calm low tide, and to search out pebbly sand, not hard sand, that hides these wonderful treasures. We got quite the handful in all shapes, sizes and colour.

One day of sea glass bounty!

Folly left Tuesday morning to start their trip back to Florida, and their ball was quickly taken by Lynn and Pat (Adamant I from Midland Bay Sailing Club)) who joined us for a night.  They are also on their way north now, but are taking their boat back to Midland, so they still have quite a journey ahead of them! We spent most of our mornings going into town and having a coffee at Hopetown Coffee House, which has great coffee and a lovely porch to enjoy it on.

We also climbed the 100 steps up the famous Hope Town lighthouse to enjoy the wonderful 360 degree view up there. Can you pick out Trekker in the mooring field?

Trekker is lower right boat!

There weren’t any golf carts available for rent the whole time we were there, so we did not go as far afield as last year. Lots of walking and exploring in the town, and along the beach kept us busy. We rode out another blow (sigh) which ended sea glass hunting expeditions, with the big waves crashing ashore.  We also had the pleasure of meeting up with another couple, Phil and Michelle on Mariposa, whom we met last year. They live in B.C., and had decided to take a year off working, sold their Café, and bought a boat in New Brunswick and sailed it down to the Bahamas. We met them practically the first day we arrived in the Bahamas last year, and kept bumping into each other throughout the Abacos, spending a few fun days together. They loved the Bahamas so much that they came back for another season, and we have been trying to catch up to them. Finally, there they were in Hope Town, so we had dinner together one night on Trekker, and a game of euchre one afternoon. We said another good-bye as they headed north back to New Brunswick to sell the boat and work for a few years to build up their cruising kitty for a bigger boat. We stayed in Hope Town for nine days, and really felt like it was time to move on and see some other spots in the area. We motored up to Great Guana Cay and our thought was to spend a couple of nights on the anchor while it was calm, and then move over to Treasure Cay for yet another “blow”. Since it had calmed down so much we decided to try to snorkel off the beach on the east side (Atlantic) of the island, as we had heard there was a great reef to swim out to. We were disappointed with what we saw, and wonder if we didn’t go out far enough, but it’s pretty creepy snorkeling in the Atlantic when you really don’t know where you are going! We had a nice lunch at the famous beach bar Nippers and then headed back to the boat. The wind had already started to pick up and it was blowing from the southwest, a direction from which our anchorage provided no protection. So we quickly decided to up anchor and go over to Treasure Cay and get a mooring ball (hopefully!) for the night. We entered to harbour with bated breath, after our experience in Hope Town, but were pleased to see quite a few open balls.  The mooring field is right beside the marina, where we have reserved for a night (or more) to get fresh water, and get ready for Alyssa to come!

Treasure Cay Beach

The next challenge is where we are going to stay while Hugh is away. We called Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbour about a month ago to book a slip, but because it is small, and people don’t leave when they say they will, they will only tell us we are on the “reservation list” and to call the day before we want to come in, to see if they have a slip for us! We have also called all the other marinas in Marsh Harbour with either the same answer, or told they are full! So, tomorrow we will find out if we have a slip. If not, we will stay in Treasure Cay. There are worse places to stay for a few days!!

Treasure Cay Resort and Marina

Once Alyssa heads back home we will head to Florida to tuck Trekker away for the summer and head north for our next adventure, building a house in Midland! Crazy!

The adventure continues … one day at a time.

Cape Eleuthera to the Abacos

Sunset at Lynyard Cay

We spent three days tucked in Cape Eleuthera Marina alongside Touch of Grey, riding out the next weather system. Similar to last year it seems we have been chased by weather systems a lot lately, moving from one anchorage to another then waiting out the big winds. We were nicely protected in the marina, and they had great laundry and shower facilities. On the Thursday, Alan and Linda rented a car to try to find an Immigration office to lengthen their visitor’s visa, which expired the next week, and asked us if we would like to join them for the ride. Of course! We had explored the top half of Eleuthera last year, so this was a great chance to see the rest of the island. Our first stop was the Rock Sound Airport where there was an Immigration office. Not a big airport, but we were told they were expecting two charter flights that day from Nassau. While we walked around the grounds and terminal, Alan and Linda found the office only to discover that the Immigration Officer was not there that day, and probably wouldn’t be for a few days. They did take all their information and copies of documents and said if they couldn’t get to another office in time because of weather they could vouch for them coming there to extend it. They had been told you could get fined up to $5000 if you don’t extend your visa in time!

Rock Sound Airport

So with that done, we drove up the island to explore. Our first stop was a small town called Tarpum Bay, and we were quite excited to see a coffee shop with a Starbucks sign! How exciting! So after walking around the small town of 2000 people, we stopped into the coffee shop and all ordered coffees. Unfortunately the “barista” had not been trained very well, and the coffees were more like very weak lattes.

Tarpum Bay Starbucks

Heading further north we crossed the island to the Atlantic side and drove through the nice community of Palmetto Bay, ending up at a restaurant called Tippys, which is where we had lunch last year on our tour of the northern part of the island! We had closed the loop!

On the drive back we stopped in Rock Sound at their great grocery store where we were able to find some lovely fresh produce, always a treat!

With a calm weather window, we and Touch of Grey decided to jump from the bottom to the top of Eleuthera Friday and then hop up to the Abacos Saturday. Two long days, but with the end result being that we were in the Abacos. Our goal this year has been to spend the last part of our trip exploring and enjoying the Abacos. Both days were fairly long, about 10 hours each, with Friday starting out with a nice breeze so we could sail, then slowly dropping until we could put out the spinnaker, and then dying until we had to motor. Saturday was dead calm (no similarities to the movie), so we motored the whole way. A couple of boats that were doing the same saw some whales jump, but despite my lookout, we saw none.

One of the benefits of putting in two long days was that we finally caught up to a couple of boats we had been “chasing” most of the season. Janice and Harley on Folly, are friends from Midland Bay Sailing Club (MBSC) who have been down here since November and always seem to have been a few days ahead of us. The same with Phil and Michelle on Mariposa, a couple we crossed paths with a few times last year spending some fun days. So as we all anchored at Lynyard Cay, drinks on the beach were planned so everyone could finally see each other. It was a great reunion!

L-R Allan, Linda, Hugh, Janice, Phil, Harley, Michelle and Chica

Once again, we are being chased by another front where big winds are predicted to come in today, Tuesday, so everyone headed for safe harbours for this blow. We booked into Mangoes, a marina we stayed at a few times last year in Marsh Harbour, and were told we were on “the reservation list” and to call the day before to confirm a slip. Not thinking this sounded very promising, we booked Treasure Cay Marina as back up. Treasure Cay is quite far from Marsh Harbour, but has been recommended by a few people as a great resort. So Monday morning we called Mangoes and were told that no, they did not have a slip for us. Meanwhile, Folly had gone to Man’O’War (MOW) Cay, a great hurricane hole and had found a mooring ball. Another boat from MBSC, Lynn and Pat on Adamant I, spends the winter at MOW. Harley and Janice gave us a phone number of a man who manages quite a few mooring balls and we were told that we could have one of his.  Hurray! So we quickly motored over to MOW (after cancelling Treasure Cay) and picked up a mooring ball right beside Folly and close to Adamant I. A MBSC reunion! Lynn invited us all for over for a ham dinner last night and we all had a great time catching up and meeting another MOW resident, Dan.

So here we sit, waiting out the front, with winds howling and rain pouring, having a quiet day on Trekker. 

After this passes, we hope to get a mooring ball in Hopetown, one of our favorite places from last year, and spend a few days (weeks?) there. We have to be in Marsh Harbour by April 5^th as Hugh is flying up to Kelowna for a meeting for a few days. Alyssa is flying down to keep me company while he is away, and then we will take her sailing for a few days.

Once she leaves, we will be heading for Florida to put Trekker away for another summer!

But we still have a few weeks to enjoy the Bahamas … one day at a time!

Goodbye Exumas and Hello Eleuthera

I’ll admit that sailing from George Town to Black Point last Saturday wasn’t the best choice I've made lately.  The forecast wasn’t bad. Easterly winds 15 gusting to 20 knots, but we were going northwest, so the apparent wind we would feel on the boat would be less because it would be slightly behind us.  Waves were supposed to be 3 feet or less and again, on our stern quarter. As we prepared to raise the anchor Karen asked if this was a day we should say “maybe not" because it was gusting over 20 knots in the anchorage. “No" I said,” we'll put a reef in and we'll be fine", and off we went. Heading out the cut was fine, slightly bigger waves than expected but we were going to change course so they would be farther toward our stern. Plus there were a few boats ahead, and I saw more AIS  markers out on the sound. How bad could it be?  Suffice to say it was a very uncomfortable, long day.  The wind kept building, I saw 27 knots at one point and with the wind the waves grew so that they were a good 6’, and with a very short period between them. Helmut our autopilot really did a great job steering but every once in a while he would steer a little into the wind and a wave would push us a little farther resulting in our being beam on to the waves, and our getting laid over, the rail nearly in the water. Nearly everything stayed where it was stowed except when the locker under the stove opened and our Yeti thermos flew across the cabin snacking into the head door with quite a crash. Karen was none too pleased with me, spending most of the trip on the cabin sole wedged between the table and the settee feeling sick. However, we made it, nothing broke and we were very happy once the anchor was down in Black Point and we had Dark and Stormy's in hand to sooth our nerves! But I digress.

After saying goodbye to Sue and Randy on Wednesday, we motored into a short chop from Staniel Cay 1 ½ hours south to Black Point. As soon as we arrived we grabbed the laundry bag and headed for Rock Sound Laundry. While the machines were running we walked down to Adderly's grocery to see what they had, but true to form this year the boat was expected soon, so no fresh produce was available.

Thursday my brother Kevin and Sheryl on Quantum Leap II and Mike and Julie on Blue Train arrived at Black Point.  It was great to catch up with Kevin and Sheryl over swizzles on Trekker.

Hugh & Kevin

Friday Ida from the laundry cut Karen’s hair and after a walk around town we had swizzles with Mike, Julie, Kevin and Sheryl aboard Quantum Leap II (QL2). Saturday we all decided to move around to Little Bay, snorkelled with Mike and Julie and had sundowners on the beach until the no-seeums drove us back to our boats.

Mike, Julie, Sheryl, Kevin & Hugh

Early Sunday the wind shifted to the south east and when we woke we were bouncing and rolling in the anchorage so we made a hasty retreat back to Black Point for more protection.

Monday looked like a reasonable day to move south to Lee Stocking, a cay that we have heard is beautiful, so QL2 and Trekker raised anchors and headed out Dotham Cut from the bank into the sound.  We knew we would be about 1 hour after high tide when we exited the cut but thought that the current opposing the wind and waves wouldn’t be too bad.  We were wrong!  In fact there was a little rage going on that we watched QL2 pound through, and then it was our turn.  Thankfully after about 4 waves where we felt like the boat was standing on its stern going up the waves we were able to veer south out of the worst of the waves and current and head south. After about an hour we noticed that we were quickly gaining on QL2 following which they called to say their engine had stopped.  We stood by while Kevin got it going again and at their insistence carried on south.  Nearing Lee Stocking we made another change of plans, to go straight to George Town so that we could have a calm day Tuesday to cross Elizabeth Harbour in the dinghy to provision.  So on we pushed, arriving George Town after a 9 hour day of motor sailing. As usual George Town was really busy with about 250 boats anchored and after cruising up and down the harbour dropped the hook nearly where we had last year.

Elizabeth Harbour (George Town) anchorage

Tuesday we made a couple of runs across the harbour, first for groceries and a coffee at a new café, and then to fill my water bladder with free fresh water provided on the dinghy dock by Exuma Markets. After pumping the water into our tanks we dinghied to St. Francis resort where we shared a pizza for lunch.

Wednesday the wind blew as predicted so we stayed on the boat just in case we or someone else nearby dragged anchor. Thankfully once we settled to the new wind direction we didn't move.

Thursday the wind continued to blow but I was pretty confident in our holding by then so we dinghied to Stocking island and walked across to the beach. A couple of kite boarders playing in the waves provided great entertainment!

Friday we bought some more groceries, had lunch at Lumina resort on Stocking Island and prepared for our Saturday run north as previously described!

Sunday we spent a lazy day in Black Point enjoying a walk and a 4 hour lunch with Allan and Linda on Touch of Grey, another Hanse 415 that we met in Jersey City in 2017.

Touch of Grey

Monday we had a lovely sail up the bank to Highbourne Cay at the top of the Exuma chain. Touch of Grey took a bunch of fantastic photos of Trekker under full sail, including some with our spinnaker flying.

Trekker from Touch of Grey

Trekker under spinnaker

Today we motored across to Eleuthera and tucked into Cape Eleuthera marina for a couple of nights while another blow comes through.

Next it's up Eleuthera and then across to the Abacos, one day at a time!

Showing Off the Exuma Cays

We have talked about living aboard the boat, the different challenges that we have, including limited water, power and cell coverage when we are off the dock and into the beautiful waters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP).  We get by on what we have purchased before leaving the U.S and by topping up on fresh food in some of the small towns.  Last year we were very lucky that our visits to the stores happened to be right after the delivery boat had been in, so there were lots of fresh fruits and vegetables available. Not so much this year.

We arrived in Staniel Cay Marina on Tuesday, a couple of days before our guests, Sue and Randy, arrived so we could get ready. Laundry, boat cleaning, fueling, filling water tanks and groceries were on the list. The delivery boat arrived Wednesday, instead of Tuesday as expected because it had apparently gotten stuck on a sandbar and needed to wait for high tide to get off. Once it was at the government dock the deck cargo of building supplies had to be unloaded before the fresh food below. The Bahamas waiting game I call it!

Sue and Randy arrived 9 am Thursday morning on Flamingo Air, a 14 seater plane that they could not even stand up in. The flight came in from Nassau, along with three other flights, all landing one after another. When they deplaned, they went to get their luggage, only to find one of their bags was on another plane that had landed right after them!

Flamingo Air

With baggage in hand, we started walking back to the boat, stopping in two of the three food stores, only to find nothing fresh on the shelf and a promise that it would be there in the afternoon.  Our plan was to leave right away and sail up to Warderick Wells in the ECLSP, and that was about a four hour sail. So, we could either wait for food, and go up the next day, or leave with the few things I had on board and make do.  I was able to get a cauliflower, some pears and a couple of yellow peppers, as well as a loaf of Bahamian coconut bread. So we decided to be on our way and as Hugh says, we never starve on the boat.

We had a beautiful sail up to Warderick Wells, and arrived mid-afternoon and picked up our assigned mooring ball. One of the best things about having Sue and Randy on board was watching their reactions to the incredible views as we motored into the mooring field. Warderick Wells north mooring field is one of our favorite places and we were very excited to share it with them.

Trekker (closest boat) at Warderick Wells

We spent three nights, hiking, snorkeling, swimming and just relaxing on the boat and watching for eagle rays and turtles to swim by the boat. One of the spotted eagle rays actually jumped out of the water right beside us! Spectacular! We also walked up to BooBoo Hill to make a new offering to Neptune. And Sue found our offering from last year, it was still there!

2019 offering to Neptune on Boo Boo Hill

Saturday nights the ECLSP host Happy Hour on the beach, and all the boats in the anchorage gather together with the staff of the ECLSP to share stories, appetizers and libations. Always a fun time to meet other cruisers (a lot with their plus 2s = guests) and compare notes!

Warderick Wells beach

Sunday we motored down to Cambridge Cay, also part of the ECLSP, and sat on a mooring ball for two nights. It’s another great spot, with amazing snorkeling, hiking  and beaches. When we arrived there was already one megayatch on one of three balls designated for large boats up to 150 feet long. As we sat and ate lunch, another one arrived, and it was great entertainment to watch it pick up the mooring ball.  Just before dusk, another one entered the anchorage and took up the third ball. This is the first time we have seen three mega yachts in one anchorage, and needless to say we felt pretty small beside them!

Trekker surrounded by mega yachts

The ECLSP host boat, who stay at Cambridge Cay, for a month to be the representative for the Park, collect fees and make sure everyone behaves, arranged another happy hour Sunday night, and everyone gathered to watch a beautiful sunset.

Cambridge Cay sunset

We had a great couple of days exploring the area, including a whole morning visiting four different snorkel spots, including one Hugh and I had never been to. The weather was amazing, and with calm winds we were able to see places you can only get to when it’s calm.

Sue and Karen

Reluctantly we brought them back to Staniel Cay for their flight back to Nassau, where they are staying with Randy’s cousin for another week. They were wonderful guests, willing to do anything we suggested, and embraced our cruiser lifestyle with no questions. They got very good at showering on the swim platform too!

And we didn’t starve!!

Karen, Sue, Randy and Hugh

We are now sitting in Black Point, starting our journey south towards George Town, where we will decide our route back north. It sounds crazy, but we are half way through!

And so the adventure continues, one day at a time!

Nassau and the Exumas

Saturday February 9 we left Nassau at 0845 bound for Highbourne Cay.  The route between Nassau and the Exumas passes over the Yellow Bank that the charts and guidebooks say have coral heads that can be less than 1.5m deep at low tide. We draw 1.7m. Leaving at 0845 was designed to get us to the Yellow Bank at high tide so that there would be more water over the coral heads. Winds were 15 – 20 knots out of the east resulting in a 3’ chop that would every once in a while find its way on deck. And then, as we were motoring into the anchorage at Highbourne Cay, protected we thought from waves, we caught a wave just right so that it literally broke over the entire boat soaking all the canvas and finding its way into the cockpit!  Where did that come from?! Poor Trekker was covered in salt when we got to Highbourne.

Shooting Star anchored in the foreground at Highbourne Cay

We stayed a couple of days in Highbourne Cay while the winds blew. Sunday we snorkeled with Ruth-Ann and Fred. Another adventure with Fred!  Monday we bid farewell to Shooting Star who were headed for the Cruisers’ Regatta in Georgetown, and Karen baked her first loaf of bread this season.

From Highbourne we headed to Hawksbill Cay, a cay we didn’t visit last year.  We arrived just behind a couple of other boats (one of which left later), anchored and marveled at the incredible crescent of  white sand ahead of us.  

Hawksbill Cay beach

We dinghied around the shoreline and then onto one of the many deserted beaches and hiked up to Russell’s Ruins, a couple of walls dating back to 1785, staring down a small snake on the way up the path. I think we won!

Russells Ruins

View from Russells Ruins

 When we returned to the dinghy we realized that we had lost one of our oars on the dinghy. Another part to be ordered!  All was calm in our anchorage until about 2:00 am when the wind shifted to the south-east and we began a wicked roll.  By 6:00 all was calm again … very odd.

From Hawksbill we motored down the bank side of the cays to Warderick Wells, one of our favorite stops last year, and were assigned the same mooring ball! There is little to no cell service in the ECLSP (Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park) but thankfully, standing by the fire hydrant at the park office one can get 1 to 2 bars of cell service, so I was able to order a replacement oar for our friends Sue & Randy to bring when they visit. We spent a couple of quiet days hanging around the park, one of which was overcast with occasional showers. We hiked up to Boo Boo Hill where cruisers leave their offerings for Neptune and found Her Diamond’s from last year but Trekker’s seemed to be buried.    

Her Diamond's 2018 Boo Boo Hill offering

Thursday dawned calm again with a forecast of more of the same.  Karen suggested moving to Hogg Cay, a narrow and quite secluded anchorage between Hogg Cay and the southeast shore of Warderick Wells.  It was a perfect time to try it out as the entrance to Hogg Cay, which is exposed to the Exuma Sound and is usually pretty rough, was as calm as we had ever seen it.  After letting the park office know that we were moving we motored down to Hogg Cay, picked up one of the two mooring balls in a couple of knots of flooding current and enjoyed yet another idyllic tropical scene! We had it all to ourselves!

Trekker in the background at Hogg Cay

We dinghied around the cay and found “stromolites” which were noted on the chart and look like little rock posts, and then went snorkeling on a reef the park calls Pieces of Eight.  The different types of coral and fish were amazing.

After a quiet night we headed down to Cambridge Cay, another favorite spot, via the Exuma Sound.  In the afternoon we headed over to a snorkeling site called the Sea Aquarium, but were disappointed to find two tour boats there dumping French fries and other food into the water to attract the fish for the tourists that didn’t appear to want to snorkel.  We did snorkel for a short time but left.  We headed over to the sunken plane but the mooring ball at the plane was occupied by yet another tour boat. We had obviously picked a bad time to go snorkeling!  On the way back to the boat we detoured to the beach on Cambridge Cay and walked across the island to the sound side to look for sea glass and sea beans, finding only one piece of sea glass, plus of course ubiquitous plastic.   Sunday we snorkeled the Rocky Dundas caves, which are caves in this little island that can only be accessed at low tide and in calm waters, and to our delight we had both! The caves contain these amazing stalactites and stalagmites, and the reef adjacent to the entrance to the cave had a huge elkhorn coral.

Rocky Dundas Cave

Elkhorn coral

We then went back to the sunken plane for a quick swim and called it a morning.

Sunken plane near Cambridge Cay

 Karen baked her second loaf of bread in the afternoon and we sat and enjoyed the soft breeze, stunning water and the wonderful island scenery.

Tuesday morning we left Cambridge Cay and had a boisterous sail (our new word for windy) over to Staniel Cay Yacht Club. We had decided to book a slip for a couple of nights to get ourselves and the boat ready for our guests. Poor Trekker was pretty crusty from all the salt water and needed a good cleaning. Laundry, water, fuel and groceries were also on the to-do list.  This marina is not our favorite, as we had quite a bad experience here last year. So it was with some trepidation that we approached the marina, especially since it was low tide and not an easy place to get into. However, all went well and we were put on an outside dock, behind several of the mega yachts that come in here, and one of two sailboats in the whole place. The first thing we did was empty the garbage and then walk over to one of the three grocery stores, only to find out that the delivery boat had not been in from Nassau for nearly two weeks and there was no fresh fruit or vegetables to be had! The rumour is that it will be in tonight and fresh food in the stores tomorrow morning. We hope so as we aare down to our last two apples!

Sue and Randy fly in tomorrow morning from Nassau and then we will leave Staniel Cay and take them up into the ECLSP for a few days and show them some of our favorite spots.

And so the adventure continues…one day at a time!

Exploring the Berrys and Nassau

On our final day at Great Harbour Cay we decided to go for a dinghy ride and explore some of the island. There is a creek not too far from the marina that goes right across the island, and the brochure from the marina said to go at high tide. So with Fred in the lead again, off we went, but before high tide, thinking that we would get there as the tide would be going up and we would be fine. We found the bay where the Shark Creek started, and headed in, only to find that is was really shallow, and we were stuck! The water was only inches deep so Hugh quickly lifted the engine up before it got too stuck in the mud. Hugh got out of the boat to push us out of the shallow, and immediately sunk up to his thigh in muck. So back in the boat, the oars came out and he slowly rowed us back into deeper water. I guess they really meant it when they said high tide.  Another “Misadventure with Fred”.

With the weather calming down, we decided to leave Great Harbour Cay Marina and take a couple of days to explore the Southern Berry Islands. They are mostly deserted and have a few protected anchorages that you can tuck into for a night, as long as the weather is right. A few other boats had the same idea, so we all left Sunday morning heading up over the top of Great Harbour Cay and past Great and Little Stirrup Cays. These two islands are owned by Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruises respectively and have little villages for the passengers to spend a day at. There were two huge cruise ships anchored there that day, which we sailed past.

The first night we decided to go to Soldier Cay, which is a little island at the top of the southern chain. We anchored off a little sandy beach with no one in sight, and went for our first chunky dunk in the Bahamas! The wind direction was not as we had hoped, so it was a little bumpy, but all in all pretty awesome!

Imagine the dock is our swim platform ... 

Soldier Cay

The next morning we decided we would move further south down the chain so that the passage to Nassau would be a little shorter. We had originally decided that the next stop would be White Cay, but we noticed that a few of the boats from the marina had gone there. So as we sailed by, we counted five masts, and kept going further to Alders Cay. Again we found a lovely little bay, with no one around. There was a house on the island around the point, but it looked like no one was there. We were very excited and pleased with ourselves that we were alone again, until we looked behind, and there was another boat coming in. Darn!  We toured around the bay in the dinghy, and since it was a privately owned island, did not go to shore. We had a lovely quiet night, and the stars were unbelievable.

Trekker anchored off Alders Cay

Nassau was our destination for the next day, so we set off fairly early and had a wonderful sail over. We came across Nassau Harbour with little trouble, including going under the two 69 foot bridges (lots of room!). 

Atlantis viewed from Nassau Harbour

We are docked in Nassau Harbour Club Marina and have been here a few days now. We have had a slight delay here because while we were getting ready to anchor the first day in the Berrys, our remote control for the anchor windlass (the thing that brings it up and down) broke. So we ordered one from Florida and had it shipped “overnight” by UPS.  However, just because it got to Nassau overnight doesn’t mean we get it overnight. Two days later, it is still sitting in customs, with a possible date of arrival of next Tuesday (its Friday today). Sigh…..

However, one of the good things was meeting up again with Blue Train, who are also in the marina, so yesterday we had an adventure day, and took a local bus into downtown, then onto another bus to Compass Point, which is quite a ways across the island. We had a wonderful lunch right beside the water, and as we were walking around the resort before leaving we realized we had been at the same restaurant with the CCDC group in 2010. Great Memories of a fun trip!

Lunch with Julie and Mike at Compass Cay

So today Hugh found a marine electronic repair shop where they fixed the old remote. So now we can leave tomorrow and have our friends, who are stopping in Nassau on their way to visit us, pick up the new one and bring it with them.

And so the adventure continues ... one day at a time.

We made it to the Bahamas … finally!

We left Kitchener on January 2^nd, and in our innocence and inexperience we thought we would be across to the Bahamas by mid-January. With all good intentions we got ready to go, only to be delayed by battery issues, and Mother Nature, both beyond our control.

We were starting to get a little worried about when we might cross once we were ready to go, and with our friends’ visit looming in the near future, slight panic set in. But, a small window of opportunity appeared, two days of pretty calm winds and waves. So, with Mike and Julie on Blue Train from Toronto, we decided to set off on Tuesday at noon to cross the treacherous Gulf Stream and the Bahamas Bank to the Berry Islands during an overnight sail. We didn’t make it to the Berrys last year, but Blue Train did and with a two day window of good weather, the thought of getting as far possible was definitely appealing.

The forecast was for good winds and swells up to 9 feet (yikes) but with an 8-10 second period between the waves. This means that although the swells are high, you really don’t feel it, as you float up and down over them. I found it was best not to look behind, as when you saw one coming it looked huge, but if you looked forward it was no big deal! Hugh exclaimed a couple of times “wow, that was a big one”! I preferred not to know! 
Follow this link to an animation of how we felt in the waves ... https://media.giphy.com/media/3mfxDl4SRFN6cfDAHr/giphy.gif

We reached the other side of the Gulf Stream about 10pm, and suddenly the waves were gone, and instead of depths in the thousands of feet, we were in 15 feet. Unfortunately is was dark, so we were unable to see the beautiful blue waters we had just entered, but were happy to have a calm sail for the rest of the night. We took two hour shifts, and during each watch looked out for other boats coming or going our way. The sunset was wonderful, and the rising moon was the coolest I have seen in a long time. When it first peeked up it was the shape of a crescent, but it looked like it was something sitting on the water. I was on watch, and at first it looked like a boat on fire, it was so red and bright. Then I realized it was the moon, and as it slowly rose up it really was a beautiful sight. We also had a great sunrise, so all in all a good passage!

Sunrise compliments of  Julie

We arrived in Great Harbour Cay Marina about 11am, tired and hungry but so excited to be in the Bahamas. The marina is tucked inside the island, and to get in you have to go through a narrow blasted channel, through a bay, then turn left and there it is.

Great Harbour Cay entrance

A great hurricane hole if ever needed! Just as we had finished getting settled on the dock we heard Shooting Star calling in to the marina. We really enjoyed the time we spent last year in the Exumas with Fred and Ruth-Ann, including when Hugh and Alyssa competed against them in the blindfolded dinghy rowing competition at the Cruisers Regatta in Georgetown!

Once we were ready, the marina called the customs officer at the airport and he drove over to check us all in. What service! After we were official, we invited Mike and Julie from Blue train over to toast our successful crossing with Champagne and OJ. I think we will make that a yearly tradition!

With a good nights sleep we were all feeling ready to explore. After lunch, we went for a bike ride with Shooting Star’s, Ruth Ann and Fred, down to the “shell beach” which was beautiful, empty, and lacking shells because we had missed low tide and the water was filling in. We will try and time it better another day.

Shell beach

We also managed to find The Beach Club along the way and rewarded ourselves with a beer on the way back! Traditions or hard to ignore!

The Beach Club

We found a local fisherman selling fish and lobster tails at the marina, so for $15 I got three nice size lobster tails for our first dinner in the Bahamas. Delicious!

Yesterday afternoon we rode bikes into town. There wasn't much there other than a couple of stores and bars that didn't look too appealing. Last evening there was “Chill and Grill” at the marina gazebo where, for $10, you get your choice of chicken, ribs or pork, with two sides, so the six of us went and had good conversation and laughs.  What a deal!

Grill and Chill at the Gazebo

We will stay here until Sunday, when the front that blew in last night dies down, and then the plan is do a couple of days exploring and anchoring in the Berry Islands, then head to Nassau for a night then down to the Exumas.

Trekker docked at Great Harbour Cay Marina

And so the adventure continues … one day at a time!