February 24, 2016: Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

We finally got water today.  The reserve tank ran out a couple days ago and we've been carefully rationing our last six gallon "emergency" jug.  I've never been so happy to pay $0.40 per gallon for water.  Showers at last!

We've been anchored the last three days near Staniel Cay, in the central Exumas.  The 100 or so residents here scrape a living together selling diesel fuel, very meager groceries, and very expensive alcohol (I refuse to pay $35 for a 12-pack) to passing sailors.  And water, when they have it.  Until this morning, they haven't had it.  The pump, which supplies the whole community, has been broken since we arrived on Sunday.

Except for the worsening stench that has been following me around lately, we've been enjoying our stay here.  A nearby island is populated only by feral pigs and chickens.  The pigs swim out to approaching dinghies looking for handouts.  Meeting for sundowners on the beach involves mingling with pigs.  I blame them for the smell.

Thunderball Grotto is also nearby, where they filmed a scene for the James Bond movie about 50 years ago.  (That long ago?  Really?)  By all accounts, it's a great snorkel, so we're heading there this afternoon.

We arrived in the Exumas on Valentine's Day after a rowdy sail in 25 kt ENE winds.  We celebrated our anchorage at Allan's Cays with steak and veggies on the grill.  We spent four days in  Exumas Land and Sea Park, first off Warderick Wells, and then at Cambridge Cay.  It is a gorgeous place.  The water is every conceivable shade of blue and clearer than any swimming pool.  The islands are covered with cabbage palms (aka palmettos.)  Trails lead to untouched beaches and high scenic ridges.  Birds and lizards abound; no snakes, and very few insects.

The wind has been unusually strong this winter.  The Bahamians say they've never seen it like this.  We've  spent many days pinned down, and many nights on anchor watch.  So far, we've had no trouble.  (Ground tackle was the best investment we made, by far.)  Our wind generator produces more electricity than we can possibly use in these heavy blows.  So I've taken to keeping the instruments turned on all night.  I call it "watching the arc."  A quick glance at the chart plotter confirms we're not dragging.

The Exumas are a fabulous cruising ground.  The water is amazing.  There's a gazillion anchorages.  The scenery and wildlife is beautiful.  The winds have moderated in recent days, and the sailing is excellent.  We have resolved to get to know the area, so we're committing a month to it.  We'll dawdle on the trip down south to Georgetown.  When the wind blows from the south, we'll sail back north to see things we missed.  We might even do some boat maintenance if we get motivated, which seems doubtful at the moment.  Molly's flying into Georgetown in mid-March for 10 days.  We can't wait to show her some Exuma highlights.

In late March and into April, we'll head towards Mayaguana or Providenciales or Matthew Town. 

We hope all is well back home.  We're looking forward to your visit.

La Peregrina at Allan's Cays, Exumas

February 12, 2016: Nassau, Bahamas

We arrived yesterday in Nassau, the big city of the Bahamas.  I'll confess right away that I'm tempted not to like this place.  The economy here is built completely, it seems, on separating cruise ship passengers from their money.  Several thousand arrive each morning on 3 enormous ships.  They crowd the sidewalks, their t-shirts and sundresses stretched by healthy American bellies.   Attractive and determined young women, many not quite as thin as they imagine, hang out of their bikinis, even when it's 60 F and the locals are wearing long pants and jackets.  Some shriek and laugh unnaturally, carrying huge plastic cups filled with neon liquid, or wearing knots of balloons on their heads.  It must be easy work for the booze and trinket sellers. 

But at 5 o'clock, the business day is over.  The passengers dutifully queue up to re-board their ships.  The shopkeepers sweep the sidewalk.  Tranquility and sanity arrive.  A quiet dinner out can be had.  

The Bahamians of Nassau are gracious, generous, forgiving.  Some are beautiful.  They earn their profits.  I have been frustrated by friends who, after a walk down Bourbon Street, condemn my beloved New Orleans as "Sodom and Gomorrah on the Mississippi."  I have not spent much time here, so I will reserve judgement on Nassau.

Getting here took much longer than we had hoped.  Stuck by high wind, we spent four days at the marina in Alice Town, Bimini.  It's a one-day kind of place. 

Finally, we had one day of tolerable weather.  So, after spending half a day repairing the solar cover on the genoa, we made a quick sail south 9 miles to Gun Cay.  La Peregrina's knucklehead captain managed to run the poor girl hard aground on the way.   Fortunately, it was low tide.  I threw out the anchor and we settled down with sandwiches and waited for the tide to rise.  Two hours later, we were sailing again, and we arrived in a rising wind at Gun Cay before sunset.  

The wind blew like stink that night, and all day the next day and night.  The anemometer showed winds above 30 for hours and hours.  The rigging howled and rattled and squeaked.  And it was cold.  Gun Cay at this spot is only 30 feet wide and 2 feet high.  At high tide, the waves crashed on the west side of the island, and water poured down the east side.  But we were 100 yards to leeward, in 8 feet of water, with our 44 pound Rocna anchor and 120 feet of chain out, and we felt secure.  We listened to music, played cards, prepared and consumed a feast, and checked the weather forecast obsessively.  

We awoke at 5:00 a.m. after our second night at Gun Cay.  The wind was down to 18 knots from the west.  It was 80 miles east across the Great Bahama Bank to the Berry Islands.  So we raised anchor and eased out the genoa in the dark.  

It was a glorious sail.  The wind was behind us, the water was an amazing light turquoise, and the featureless Bahama Bank slid effortlessly beneath us.  The sun set shortly after we passed the Northwest Channel Light.  It was a new moon, and it was pitch dark.  We relied totally on the chart plotter to guide us to 7 feet of water off Frazer's Hog Cay, where we set the anchor and collapsed into our bunks about 9:00 o'clock.

The wind turned out of the north overnight, and the next day's sail to Nassau, 35 miles to the SouthEast, was fast.  7.8 kts at one point!  Great fun.

Very early tomorrow morning, Cousin Cindy boards an airplane and leaves us.  We never got her to the Exumas, as we had hoped.  But we had a great time.  She taught us most of the words to American Pie.  And we taught her how to survive on a boat without a microwave.  

With another weather problem forecast for Sunday, Maribeth and I are hoping to make an early start for Allan's Cay tomorrow.  It's about 36 miles to the SouthEast, and the winds are forecast to be 15 kts from the North.  We must cross the Yellow Bank, an area of shallow coral heads, so it may be a tedious crossing.  We'll let you know how it goes.  

Somehow it has gotten to be the middle of February already.  We are excited that Molly is joining us in about a month.  Otherwise, we have no scheduled visitors.  When are you coming?

February 5, 2016: North Bimini, Bahamas

I finally put on shorts when we reached Marathon on Monday, February 1.  What a relief to be warm at last!  

And what a scene before us! There were 500 boats in Boot Key Harbor, and as many masts extended into the sky.  Dozens (hundreds?) of little dinghies darted around among the motherships in a chaotic but purposeful manner.  We rode our own rubber dinghy to the municipal dock and got our first up-close look at the harbor's human population:   bearded, tattooed, sunburned, poorly groomed, one-eyed, hunchbacked, short a finger or limb... It was disturbing to realize I fit in perfectly.  I returned to La Peregrina and shaved for the first time in a month.

My cousin Cindy joined us in Marathon.  We re-provisioned, had two dinners out, shipped home a box of winter clothes, and raised anchor mid-day on Wednesday, the 3rd.  It was 116 nautical miles from Marathon to Bimini, and we were close-hauled the entire way.  Apparent wind was 45 degrees to starboard, at 18 to 25 kts.   Seas were as high as 8 feet.  La Peregrina handled it quite well.  Her crew, not so much.  We were grateful to arrive in the protected waters of North Bimini yesterday afternoon, 26 hours after leaving Boot Key Harbor.  Because another cold front, with strong northwest winds, was scheduled to arrive overnight, and because I was too weary for a stressful night at anchor, we tied up at Bimini Blue Water Marina, where we remain tonight.  

And it has gotten cold again!  I still have my wool sweater, but warm clothes are otherwise scarce.  So we are fighting the cold with higher blood alcohol levels.  So far so good.  

So we have arrived in the Bahamas!  From Bimini, we plan to head for the Exumas.  The weather looks favorable for a crossing of the Great Bahamas Bank in a couple days.  We'll miss the Super Bowl party, but we hope it is an excellent game and your team wins.  (Go Denver!)

We miss you.  Come join us.