Allans Cay and Lobster Cay

 As I have written many times before, the weather dictates what we can do and what we can't do much more than a land based lifestyle. That is even more the case in the Exumas. There are much fewer places to hide from strong winds, especially if they are coming from the west. We had been lucky the first few days we had been in the Exumas, but I saw in the forecast that was about to change. We had two more decent days and then we would see some strong wind coming from the North. We had arrived in the Exumas and anchored at Ship Channel Cay on March 5th. We had until the 7th to get some place with northern protection. 

We decided to move on March 6th a grand total of 5.5 nm to Allans Cay to see the famous Iguanas. The Iguanas live on the island and will come to beg from any and all boaters that come ashore. 

Allans Cay is made up of two lagoons that are surrounded by the very rocky island. The water is unbelievably clear and beautiful.

We took the dinghy over to the famous beach with the Iguanas on it. 

Kim on a beach photo op.

It was not long before these big guys came out for the free food. We did not feed them.

This guy looks like a dinosaur. 

After spending some time with the Iguanas we cruised around the island in the dinghy. The anchorage got a bit rolly that night, but we slept ok. 

This was our sunset at Allans Cay. We finally had sunsets with no land in the picture.

The following day it was time to find that protection. I saw a small Cay on the chart that looked like it would have good protection. The name of that small island was Lobster Cay. The guide book did say that the snorkeling was good there, so we would give it a try before the weather turned bad. The trip was only 5.6 nm, but it required me to make some turns trough some rocks in some very fast moving current. We cruised right by the famous Highborne Cay, but maybe we would stop by on our way back. 

Our view of Lobster Cay. We never found out the situation on the island, but there were a series of small cottages on the island. We saw some some guys working up there, but we are not sure if it is open for business or not. 

I got in the water and went for a snorkel. I took my spear, but did not see anything that was worth shooting.  

When we arrived, we were the only boat there. After a while, we were joined by 4 other boats, all looking for the same protection. The weather arrived as expected and the water got rough. We rocked and rolled a bit, but it wasn't too bad. We saw winds that peaked at 30 knots.

The picture does not show how rough it was, but the good news it only lasted one full day. 

After the bad weather cleared out, we had two good days to enjoy. Our next stop was Shroud Cay. I can tell you now, it was one of our best days in the Exumas. I will write all about it in my next entry. 

On to the Exumas

 We had an awesome time at Royal Island. We tried to go visit the town of Spanish Wells, but we unable to get a spot in a marina. We don't feel that we really did a proper job visiting Eleuthera, but we really don't have time on this trip to see all of the sites. Our Visas only have 90 days, and it was March 4th. We only had about 6 weeks left before we had to be out of the country. We really wanted to get down to the chain of Cays in the center of the Bahamas called the Exumas. This 100 nm chain of islands, include some of the clearest water and most beautiful beaches in all of the Bahamas. I have been reading about it, and watching videos about it, for many years and we just couldn't miss it. So, we decided to chart a course directly south. This would bypass the infamous Current Cut and head south through the Pimilico Islands. My course then would head out into a large open area of shallow water (12 to 14 feet) that has hundreds of Coral heads lurking just below the surface. They show up on the chart, but the accuracy is suspect. The only way to do this safely is to wait for a settled weather day and do it with a high sun. The water is so clear that you can see the coral heads as you approach them. Then you just have to steer around them. The entire trip was only 44 nm from Royal Island to Ship Channel Cay at the top of the Exumas. 

I really had to trust the forecast when we departed. The wind was out of the south at close to 20 knots. We were heading directly south, so we had to motor right into it. We had large waves that were very close together. The good news is that the wind was supposed to die off as we made the 11.1nm trip down to the Pimlico's, where we were going to anchor that first night. The forecast was spot on and we were able to anchor in a great spot on flat water. When we arrived there was one other boat, but they soon left, and we were out there all by ourselves. 

Sunrise over the Pimlico anchorage. The day before we had 6 foot waves.

Here we are cruising to the Pimlico cut. It was a beautiful morning and the forecast for no wind was accurate. 

We have a set of wireless headsets that we use to communicate when we are doing anything that requires accurate, fast information. We put them on and I headed to the bow. As we approached the field of coral heads, Kim was at the helm and I was able to easily see down into the water. I found it very easy to see the heads in plenty of time to give her directions. I would just say 10 degrees port or starboard and she called it back to me. Just like in the Navy. The worst part was only about 10 miles long and then I was back at the helm and I could see what I needed to see from there. The entire trip was only 33 nm. It felt great to get the hook down at Ship Channel Cay. The water was beautiful and we were very happy to be there. 

As you approach Ship Channel Cay, you can see the remains of a lighthouse on Beacon Cay.

I wanted to get a few shots of SHIFT in the clear blue water. The scene was amazing.

This is 12 feet of water. It looks like a swimming pool. Someone really needs to clean the bottom.

That is the limestone rock of Ship Channel Cay

We had a very restful night at Ship Channel Cay that night. There is not much to see there, so we were moving again the next day down to Allans Cay, which has some very famous inhabitants. I will write about our continuing journey down the Exumas in my next entry.  

Royal Island, Eleuthera

 We arrived at Royal Island, Eleuthera on February 24th. Our plan was to stop there for the night after our crossing from the Abacos, and then move on to see the rest of the normal stops along the island. That did not happen. The anchorage was so protected and pretty, that I decided I wanted to do some exploring under water. I spent most of the 25th snorkeling around the lagoon checking out the many fish. I saw a small lobster and was able to catch it by hand, but it was much too small to keep, so I let it go. I saw a Lion Fish, but I did not have my spear with me, so I did not shoot it. They are a beautiful, but invasive species and should be shot. I also saw rays and eels and hundreds of other fish. The snorkeling was awesome. 

When I went back to the boat, I dove down to check on the bottom. I was surprised to see 5 large Remoras under the boat. They are the fish that attach themselves to sharks and feed on whatever scraps are left over. I cleaned the bottom of the boat with a rag. We had some minor soft growth after the 4 months since we painted the bottom. It all looked great. Just as I was finishing up, a large Barracuda showed up. That was the first of many I saw. 

These are the Remora that were hanging out under the boat

Kim threw out some food scraps and they went crazy. 

Another beautiful sunset

This is a boat called, "Just Us" with Bob on board. We met him last year in Virginia. 

I am just a sucker for a sunset over the water.

While I was snorkeling around the basin, another couple that were anchored on the other side of the basin came by and asked us if we wanted to go out to Egg Island Reef. I declined because I was a bit tired at that point. Later, they came back and gave me one of the lobsters they had caught. It made a very tasty dinner. I cooked it on the grill. We decided to go out to the reef the following day. 

We went over to their boat and talked for a while. I knew that these two awesome people were put in our lives for a reason. Beuth and Pris on Miss Pris are very experienced cruisers from Arkansas. They have been coming to the Bahamas for more than 20 years. The first lesson that they taught me was to slow down and if you like where you are, stay for a while. And so we did. We went out to the reef two times with them and had some luck. I was able to get my first lobster that I could eat. We went to their beautiful boat (A Grand Banks MY), and had drinks and Pris fixed us a Conch Salad and Lobster Stew. Both were amazing. She formerly owned a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. They also came to our boat to try out some of Kim's home made Ice Cream. It turned out great!

That is Miss Pris, Beuth and Priscilla's boat. Beuth used to install wood work at lawyers offices, the wood work on Miss Pris is amazing.

Many boats of all sizes came and went while we were there. 

Our trips to the reef were amazing. I have never seen water so clear and so many fish. Kim and I both snorkeled for hours. I hunted and kept missing fish, but finally got that lobster. Kim shot a bunch of GoPro footage. It did not turn out great, but I will probably include some of it in the YouTube edits I have been doing. 

While we were at Royal Island, we had some strong wind come in from the south. That made our location on the east end of the basin a bit rough, so we picked up the anchor and moved to the west end. It was much better. While the wind was blowing, I decided to do some fishing. I still had some frozen shrimp. Before long, I was catching some nice Bonefish. They are not good eating, so I was throwing them back. The 4th one I caught felt like a bigger one and then something very strange happened. It went from a bit stronger pull to ripping line off of my reel. Then it just quit. I reeled in a Bonefish with no head or tail. Clearly a predator fish wanted it more than I did. Kim suggested that I cut it up for bait. I did that and before long, I caught an nice Blue Runner. They are edible, so I decided to have it for dinner. I kept fishing and that is when it got very interesting. The next thing I had on the line was a 4 foot Nurse Shark. I was able to cut the line and let him go. Then came the most violent. I caught a 3 foot reef shark. That was the best fight I have ever had with a fish. I was fishing with about 15lb test line and that shark was strong! I got him right up to the boat and the line broke. That was enough excitement for one day. I cleaned the Blue Runner and fried him up in Cajun seasoning. He was ok, but not great.

 

That is the reef shark

That is the Nurse Shark

Another shot of the Nurse Shark

That is a Blue Runner, just about the right size for dinner for 2 of us.

That is a Bonefish

The boat on the left is a Nordhaven. The boat on the right is a Hallberg Rassy, built in Sweden, they were a couple from Connecticut 

I forgot to take a picture of my whole lobster, this is just the tail. I sauteed this one up in chunks. It was very good. 

I would have to say that our time in Royal Island was our favorite time so far in the Bahamas. We were looking at our options for moving south to the Exumas. The Exumas are the most famous part of the Bahamas for cruisers. In my next entry, we will get moving south. I will tell you how that all worked out. 

The Crossing to Eleuthera

 We had plans with our buddy boat, Encore, to be moving at 6am on February 24^th. I was up around 5 and raised our mainsail while we were still at anchor. It was a very calm morning with almost no wind, but the forecast was for some wind as we moved south. We led the way through the cut in the reef. There was very little current and almost no swell. I was glad to have the cut behind us. Now it was a beautiful sunrise and open ocean.

The sunlight just starting over the calm Atlantic Ocean

I really don't know how to describe how beautiful it is at this time of day.

OK, just one more shot.

As we made our way south we could see Great Abaco Island to our starboard side. There are not any great anchorages or marinas on that part of the island, so we decided to make the 50 mile crossing from Little Harbor. We had some 3 foot swell on our port aft side, but it was a very comfortable ride. We raised all of our sails to catch as much wind as we could, but when I tried to sail without the motor, we dropped down under 3 knots. We decided to just motor sail. We were making about 6.5 knots over ground with both the sails and the engine at 2000 RPM.

There were a number of other boats along with us and Encore. We had Bees Knees, with just Ann and her Springer Spaniel aboard. There was also another boat that joined us during the trip.

As we cruised along, I thought about our time in the Abacos. We really enjoyed our time there. We knew that it was winter and we would see a number of weather systems move through from the north, but there a 4 harbors that have great protection and mooring balls that make that safe and comfortable. We were told that the Abacos are the “kiddy pool” of the Bahamas and I now see why. It is a great place to get your feet wet and learn the way of the Bahamas without feeling like you are all alone out there. We were now heading to a place that promised more seclusion, less boats and less services. We will see how that plays out.

During this trip we crossed over a very deep ocean trench. The water was over 15000 feet deep. That amazes me. The water was the deepest blue I have ever seen. We trolled our fishing lures the entire trip, but did not catch anything except seaweed.

This picture does not show how deep blue the water was. It was stunning!

About 8 hours into the trip, the wind started to pick up out of the east. I shut the motor off and we were under sails alone. We had made such good time in the first 8 hours that it was fine to now sail at about 5 knots. At the 9 hour mark I spotted the Island of Eleuthera. We skirted the island to the west and went down to the end of Egg Island. Once coming through the cut onto the bank we were in 15 feet of water. What a change! We said our good byes to Encore and wished them well. We decided to stop at a place that Ann on Bees Knees had told me about called Royal Island. We pulled in through a narrow inlet and found paradise!

That is Bee's Knee's anchored in front of the inlet. Ann moved on the following day to Spanish Wells. 

It was very calm in there. You can see the rocky shoreline in this shot.

Another nice sunset on this night. It felt so good to have the crossing behind us and be in a calm, safe spot. Life is good!

Royal Island is a private island, so you are not allowed on shore, but this little bay has almost 360 degree protection. The water is very clear and is surrounded by limestone rock formations. The only question now was: How long would we stay?

I will answer that question and tell you about our wonderful time at Royal Island in my next entry.

Marsh Harbor to Little Harbor

 We left Hope Town on Monday, February 20. We were in need of provisions. Mainly Fuel for SHIFT and water for our main tanks. We carry 100 gallons of water and we had made it almost 3 weeks. We also wanted to restock some food items. We had heard from other cruisers, that Marsh Harbor was the best place to do all those things. Marsh is on the mainland of Great Abaco Island. They have much more infrastructure than the islands, so they get supplied more often. 

We came out of the Hope Town Harbor and unfurled our Genoa for the short trip south and back east about 8.3 nm to Marsh Harbor. 

The water was so clear and beautiful

You could see the shadow of our sail on the bottom. It was a very lazy sail. In a little over 2 hours we were dropping the anchor.

   We got the dinghy down and asked some other boats how to get on land. We found the dock and climbed up about 8 feet because it was low tide. It became obvious very quickly that this area has not recovered from Hurricane Dorian nearly as much as the islands. There are a few marinas that have been rebuilt and a few other buildings, but there are more that are in ruins. We made the half mile walk up to Maxwells Grocery. We walked in and were amazed. The store was just as big as an American supermarket and just as well stocked. The name brands were there, but they were about 1.5 times the cost of Florida. There were store brands that were close to the price of items in Florida for name brands. We ended up spending about $100, which is about all we could put on the cart we had brought for this type of trip. We also hit the ATM to restock our cash. We returned the following morning to do a second hit on the ATM. I was astonished when I got my bank statement at the end of the month and it only cost me $2.00 for the ATM fee and that came from my bank. We love Maxwells!

We had a nice sunset in Marsh Harbor. There were lots of other boats there doing exactly what we were doing.

Honestly, Marsh Harbor looked pretty depressed. I don't know what it will take to bring it back, but it obviously hasn't happened in the past 3.5 years. 

On February 21, we were ready to move along. I had been looking for weather windows to make the jump south to Eleuthera. That is an open ocean sail of about 50 miles and I wanted to do it in good weather. I was seeing a weather window for the 24th, so we started setting up for that plan. 

The first order of business was to go to a marina and get fuel and water. The wind had come up to about 15 knots and the current runs strong in the harbor. It was a bit tough to get us on the dock, but with the help of a great dock hand we got it done. We ended up taking over 100 gallons of water by the time we refilled some extra jugs. We were almost out of water. Fuel was $6.00 a gallon, but we only took on 9 gallons. We then left Marsh Harbor and headed south. We decided to stop at a spot just south of Hope Town called Tahiti Beach. It is a cool sand spit that uncovers at low tide. We arrived late enough in the day that we decided to stay on the boat and relax. 

A nice evening with a few other boats at Tahiti Beach

I tried to take a picture of the sand spit, but it does not show up in this shot. It is just the other side of those boats by that small island.

That boat just behind us is Skyler and Miranda on As You Wish

On the 22nd we motored down the Sea of Abaco, zig zagging through a number of reefs. It was a trip of about 12.6 nm to Little Harbor. We had to time our arrival to get in there at high tide. The entrance is very shallow. Our timing worked out well, and we went in and picked up a mooring ball. Little Harbor is a very cool place. It was founded back in the 1950's by an artist named Randolph Johnston. He did his sculptures in Bronze. He built a foundry and became quite famous in the art world. His son, Pete is there and runs the mooring field and a beach restaurant/bar called Pete's pub. It is a very cool place and a beautiful little harbor. We went to the restaurant and had a Mahi Mahi taco and a Wahoo Taco. It only took about 2 hours to get our food, but the setting was idyllic. We met another couple there named Sam and Jerri on a boat named Encore. We made plans to make the crossing together in two days on  the 24th. 

The approach to Little Harbor looked a bit tough, but turned out to be pretty easy. 

The view of the beach from the top of the restaurant was very nice.

Looking north to the tip of the island

Kim enjoyed the views

There are many of Johnston's Bronze sculptures around the island. This is a bird and a mahi mahi and some flying fish

An eagle, fish and cougar

Hammerhead shark, check out the background. 

We walked around the coast and enjoyed many views

The harbor is very protected and stays very calm. SHIFT is right behind all of those charter Cats

Legend has it that Johnston stayed in this cave when they first arrived on a wooden sailboat. They used the wood from the boat to build their first home. 

The harbor at sunset. That boat with the lights on is an interesting story. Karma's owners are John and Robin. They invited us over to talk about Eleuthera. They were leaving the next day and needed an early morning ride to shore. I was happy to help, but they gave us a bunch of fresh food that would have just gone bad while they were gone at their son's wedding. 

We left Little Harbor on the 23rd to get staged for an early departure south the following morning. We wanted to leave at first light and the tide restrictions in Little Harbor would not allow that to happen. We first took a long walk all over the area. which was very needed. High tide was at 10 AM, so we headed out and went two miles to Lynyrd Cay and anchored in front of a beautiful beach. I took a nice swim to shore and enjoyed the beautiful water before going to bed early. 

This huge ray swam under the boat right before we left Little harbor, this picture is not great, but that is what the black blob is.

At anchor at Lynyrd Cay. Encore is the Cat in front of us. 

Nice beach in clear water. I made the swim over and looked for Conch. I found one, but didn't keep it. 

Sunset at Lynyrd Cay

Encore and another boat that would join us named Bees Knees. Ann is a single handed woman. It is just her and her dog, a 13 year old Springer Spaniel. 

The beach became a party at sunset. We did not participate. We were all ready to depart.

Final sunset in the Abaco's. We loved it there. Thanks for teaching us the ropes in the Bahamas. Now it was on to another island group.

I checked the weather forecast again before going to bed and all looked good for the crossing the following day. We would be going though a section of the Atlantic Ocean that is over 15000 feet deep. That is three times as deep as the Grand Canyon. I will tell the story of the crossing, and what happened when we arrived, in my next entry.