Feb 18/08
Well, it's been ages since I've added to the blog - my apologies, but we haven't had internet much since Graham and I returned to the boat on Jan 28.
Graham's ear surgery went well and the nasty polyp thing appears to be gone for good (lets hope so!) We had fun visiting friends and family, but the snow I could have done without! It seemed like it snowed every day, especially when we had a big drive to make...and there were plenty of those days! And of course, we have been following the weather "back home" and know that Ontario has been having one heck of a winter. Sorry about your luck! (oh, that was cruel!)
Anyway, Graham and I had a reasonable flight back to Fort Lauderdale (only one crying kid to contend with) and we arrived in the early evening. It was so nice to be back in the warm weather! We spent the next day doing fun stuff like laundry, grocery shopping and last minute provisioning as we planned to make our crossing to the Bahamas on Jan 30.
We set out as planned on Jan 30, leaving Port Everglades (where the huge cruise ships depart from) and heading to Cat Cay/Gun Cay in the Bahamas. This entails crossing the gulf stream, which can be a harrowing experience...but luckiy for us, it was a good crossing. We had to motor sail the whole way, but we are getting used to this concept of the wind always being on the nose! The trip took about 9 or 10 hours, and we arrived at Cat Cay and Gun Cay just as the sun was setting. We had to cruise around a bit to decide where we were going to anchor for the night. We ended up on the east side of Gun Cay and anchored with a couple other boats. It was a bit of a rolly night, but we managed! The next day, we walked around the island and decided that it might be calmer on the west side. So we moved the boat around and got anchored. Unfortunately, there was a nasty swell coming from the south which caused the boat to rock from side to side, quite annoyingly!! Larry made a "bridle" to get the boat to head into the swell, but it did not really help. So at about 2 am we found ourselves having to make a decision...do we move or do we stay? We opted to move, and weighed anchor. Of course, these middle of the night adventures always have to have some system failure, and this time was no exception...the anchor windlas (the thing that pulls the anchor up) malfunctioned, and we had a heck of a time getting the anchor up. Once done, we headed out into the swells and it was immediately more comfortable. We considered just staying off the shore until daylight, but then decided to see what the water was like through the cut between the islands. To our surprise, it was quite calm and we proceeded to begin crossing the Great Bahama Bank to the Berry Islands, where we would "check in" with customs. It was a lovely trip - flat calm. We watched the sun come up on a gorgeous Bahama day. The water is quite shallow and we could see the bottom...lobster traps, sharks (little ones), starfish and other creatures entertained us throughout the day. We had a hit on the deep sea fishing rod and caught a barracuda - fierce-looking! - which we threw back!
We were headed to Chub Cay and we had to go into the "tongue of the ocean", where the water gets DEEP again. So of course it was time for another problem! This time it was the fuel filter clogging and it had to be changed underway. Once solved, we headed into the marina at Chub Cay. It is a gorgeous marina, and it should be because it costs $2.80/ft of boat length! Plus extra for electricity and water! Ah well, it was a lovely spot, with a swimming pool, beach, little shop, laundry and showers. We got checked in with customs with no trouble and then had to decide where to go from there.
We decided to head to nearby Frazers Hog Cay, as some folks we met at the marina told us it was a very nice, peaceful and secure anchorage. We caught another barracuda on our way (which we again let go) and got safely anchored up at the top part of Frazers Hog Cay. We were there for about 4 or 5 days as the winds were strong and the passage to Nassua (our next stop) would be nasty. We were basically on our own, as there were only a couple other boats, and none were nearby. The water was rather rough for pleasure dingying so we pretty much stayed on board except to take Beau ashore. Larry and Graham did some snorkeling and fishing, and we had our first taste of Bahamas fish for dinner. We had 2 or 3 ramora camped out under our boat eating scraps we tossed overboard. They must have thought we were some BIG shark! Larry used our time there to fix our fuel polishing problem, so hopefully we won't have further issues with clogged filters at inconvenient times!
We headed for Nassau Feb 7 and arrived without incident. We decided to stay at a marina since we needed water and provisions. We spent 2 nights there and had a great visit with "Werplayin" who we met first in St. Augustine. They were in Nassau waiting for family to visit, and were going to the big, snazzy resort "Atlantis" for several days. We promised the kids we would stop there on our way north, as there is a huge water park and aquarium there that is supposed to be awesome! Something for all of us to look forward to later this spring. In the meantime, the boat got washed (much needed) and Beau got a bath (REALLY needed!) and the water tanks got filled.
It was funny to see all these American stores in Nassau - Starbucks, KFC, Dairy Queen, Subway etc. They drive on the opposite side of the road in Nassau, and you took your life in your hands to cross the road! People drive fast and the roads are busy! There didn't appear to be any traffic lights or stop signs, so you just walk out into the road and hope the cars will slow down for you!!! We walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner on our first night, and Larry walked downtown to find some parts, but otherwise we stuck faily close to the marina. We didn't get to the Rum Factory (much to Clare's disappointment! - maybe on the trip north...) There were lots of boats we had come across so far in our travels, so we got to catch up with some, and also to meet some new cruisers. I sure needed that!
From Nassau we headed towards the Exuma chain of islands and went to Allan's Cay, where wild iguanas fill the beaches and wait for handouts of grapes or apples! It was a lovely little group of islands and Clare kayaked through the anchorage, spotting rays and other fish. Larry and I circled one of the little islands by dingy in the morning and climbed to the top of the island with the dog to check out the view. Awesome white sand beaches, palm trees, aquamarine water - truly paradise!
From Allan's Cay we went to Norman's Cay for a couple of days, and enjoyed a rather expensive, but tasty, lunch at the Normans Cay Beach Club (aka MacDuffs). The atmosphere there was so friendly, with a screened in dining area and open air veranda, I could have spent forever just hanging out on the veranda. Norman's Cay was notorious as the lair of Columbian drug runners some many years ago, and there is the wreck of a downed plane in the south end of the island. Nowadays, it is lovely and safe and has an awesome beach to stroll along.
We then made our way down to Shroud Cay where we dingyed down a river through the mangroves and to the fantastic beach on the Exuma Sound side where we snorkeled, swam, built sandcastles and had a picnic lunch. It was amazing there!
Shroud Cay is in the Exuma Land and Sea Park, a wildlife/nature reserve where there is no fishing allowed, so the fish and lobsters etc all snub their noses and blow raspberries at the snorkelers! From there we proceeded south to Warderick Wells, still in the park and surrounded by reefs and coral heads to explore. We have been here for 3 days and are loving it. Saturday evening the park hosts a Happy Hour on the beach, where people bring an appetizer to share and their beverage of choice, and they have a bonfire on the beach. It was great fun, and we met some great folks!
Today we piled into the dingy and went to a nearby reef to snorkel (I stayed in the dingy to rescue anyone swept away by the current!) The others said the coral was amazing and there were lots of fish - BIG Nassau Grouper - to goggle at. There is the wreck of a boat just close to where we are moored and Graham had a look at it today and said it was really cool. After lunch we went ashore to hike on some of the trails that crisscross the island. We had spectacular views of the island, the anchorages and the ocean! We climbed to the top of Boo Boo Hill so named because of it's reputation of being haunted, then headed to the Blow Holes to experience the amazing gusting wind and water being plunged up through holes in the limestone from the ocean hundreds of feet below! It makes the most freaky sound - if you happened upon them in the night I'm sure they would scare the devil out of you! After the Blow Holes, we proceeded to Boo Boo Beach in search of Clare, who had wandered off on her own... We didn't find her, so thought she'd gone back to the beach and the dingy. However, when we got there, no Clare! It was getting late in the afternoon, the sun was starting to go down and it would be dark in another hour and a half...We headed back to the boat, thinking that perhaps she had borrowed one of the sea kayaks and gone back ahead of us...but no, when we got there, the only one to greet us was the dog! I was just radioing the Park Headquarters to be on the lookout for a tired 15 yr old, when we spotted her at the top of Boo Boo Hill. She made her way down to the shore and Larry picked her up in the dingy. She had gone further past Boo Boo Beach to explore the Pirates Lair (she didn't get there sadly) and she stubbed her toe quite severely along the way! We spent the next hour or so performing first aid on the damaged digit, and the patient should make a full recovery!
Well tomorrow, we head on south to Sampson Cay for a night or 2 of pampered marina life! Wahoo - electricity, showers, shopping....can't wait!
Will continue to try to post pics, but don't hold your breath!
