Back in the Bahamas!

Hello from sunny George Town, Exuma Island, in the Bahamas. We had every good intention of being here for Christmas but the weather gods thought otherwise, so we spent the holidays amongst friends in good ol’ Vero Beach. The new year continued to bring northeast storms, and we finally headed south in the ICW to get positioned for any good chance to cross the Gulf Stream.

Traveling with Shank’s Mare, we made a 2-day run down the ICW from Peck Lake to West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale. We had skipped the section from WPB in the past because it entails the opening of 21 bridges (!) but the ocean was not cooperating for an outside run. We gave Mar a Lago our one finger salute and headed south. This section of the waterway is walled in many places, and boat wakes reverberate between them, making for a rolly ride. We were fortunate that it was mid-week and boat traffic was minimal. We pushed the engine to make the 30-minute timings between bridges. While it was interesting to see the beautiful homes and other sights, we think that this was a “one and done” thing. We were very happy to exit the channel at Ft. Lauderdale and make an outside run to Key Biscayne and No Name Harbor!

It was fun to have our friend Barb join us in Key Biscayne for the Bahamas crossing. Long days are always better with crew – especially sailors! Since Barb had a car we got to explore a bit more of the area and run down a few small parts and other items. We especially enjoyed Coconut Grove where we celebrated Lisa’s birthday and Barb played a polka on a street busker’s accordion!

Finally a weather window opened, and we hauled anchor at 5 am, Jan 28^th, following several other boats out into the dark channel to cross to Bimini. A south wind enabled us to sail most of the way on a rollicking reach. Winds were building into the afternoon, and we welcomed the calm at Brown’s Marina. By mid-afternoon we were cleared into the Bahamas, and celebrated with a Kalik!

We decided to make an overnight passage to Chub Cay resort to continue south. Leaving Bimini at 5 pm in very light winds, we motored over the calm Great Bahama Bank, and watched a giant full moon rise to keep us company all night. Winds built into the morning, and we arrived at Chub Cay at 8 am, looking forward to tying into a slip. Alas, the harbormaster controls all entry and ordered us to wait until 11 am – their “check-in” time! We dropped the hook and sat for almost 3 hours in a 2 foot chop before getting a slip assignment.

Chub Cay is a self-contained resort and marina, owned by a Texas oilman. The clubhouse and pool area sit on a pretty beach, and villas and private homes encircle one side of the well protected and fairly new marina. They obviously cater to large cruisers and fishing boats, but many smaller sailboats stop in here on their way to other destinations. There is a nice housing area for the workers, a solar array, and a garden which supplies the restaurant. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub, and made use of the laundry and showers. Lunch at the big restaurant was lovely and not as expensive as we had feared, and we really liked the food and drink at the bar in the workers village – the Nauti Rooster.

Barb was beginning to think about a return flight, and instead of Nassau, we decided to head for Spanish Wells at the north end of Eleuthera. It is a lovely village with easy access to the airport, and we could get a mooring ball in the harbor to ride out the next forecasted storm. We rented a golfcart for the ride to Russell Island and lunch at the Sand Bar and Grill, walked the beach, and poked in the little shops. Barb got a flight out on Monday, before the projected Tuesday storm. At sunrise she boarded the little ferry which connects right to the airport shuttle. We were glad she would not have weather complications, and missed her company once she was gone.

The storm moved in Tuesday afternoon. We were glad to have one of the five moorings and were sitting pretty as the winds clocked from southeast to northeast overnight at 30 mph. The front moved through with heavy rain, and by Thursday we were out and about on the island again. We rented another cart for grocery shopping, propane refill, and parts procurement for our head (toilet) holding tank pump. Boat parts, especially replacements for old parts, are almost impossible to find in the Bahamas. Even calls to Nassau resulted in orders from the States that would take at least two weeks. We were able to get the island sewage truck to meet us at the dock and pump out our tank, and we bought a new pump from the local boatyard at 3 times the US price. And so it goes…

Clearing weather got us headed south again. We had hoped for an anchorage near the Glass Window, where the ocean meets the Sound under a rock bridge, but there was too much surge for our comfort, so we went on to Hatchet Bay. Here, a hole was blasted in the rock to open a small lake into the Sound. Once inside there is 360 degree protection. We had a burger on the patio at the Boaters Bar and Grill, where the proprietor, Emmette, sings his Eleuthera song, among others. “No other island, will keep you smilin’, like Elootra”!

Since we had explored Eleuthera in detail last winter, we continued south for a night at Rock Sound, and then crossed west to the Exumas, entering Wax Cay Cut and anchoring at Shroud Cay, the northernmost island in the Exuma Land and Sea park. This island of mangroves has several creeks which can be explored by dinghy to see rays, birds and sea turtles. The water is “gin clear” and we saw three sea turtles. The creek ends in a pool behind a short dune, and a pristine ocean beach greets you on the other side. Pristine, except for all the plastic flotsam and jetsam, which we have mentioned before.

With yet another winter blow forecast with strong west winds, we headed for the protection of Pipe Creek, just south of the park. Inside Compass Cay the water runs in deeper channels, surrounded by sand bars which go dry or almost dry at low tide. It was here we met up with Nica and Jeremy on Mischief! We had been in the boatyard together the summer of 2022 while they completed work on their Bristol Channel Cutter Calypso, and now they were sailing her sistership Mischief, which they have also been restoring. Some of you may know Nica from her podcasts on The Boat Galley, and her Fit2Sail blog. We have followed her for several years and it is so fun to share a little time with her and Jeremy.

Once the west winds abated, we headed just a couple hours south to Black Point, a favored cruisers anchorage. There is a small store, a couple restaurants, and the best laundromat in the Bahamas! In true Bahamian fashion, the laundromat office/store was closed and the sign said to get tokens at the grocery store down the street. The store was out of tokens and directed us across the street to Stick’s house. As we called for him, a passerby hollered that he was at the Yacht Club. We walked to the Yacht Club, but he had just left there. We ordered Kaliks while someone volunteered to find him. Beers in hand, we returned to the laundromat and finally encountered Stick, with tokens. It took 45 minutes to get tokens, but we did have a cold beer and a pretty view from the deck!

With clean undies and full stomachs, and after a very calm nights’ sleep, we passed out the Dotham Cut into the ocean and the long days’ run to George Town and Elizabeth Harbor. We arrived during Cruisers Race Week, and 410 other cruising boats here attest to its popularity! We have met up with Mischief once more, and will recap the week in our next issue, which (hopefully) will not take 3 months to publish!

Fair winds – Fred and Lisa