The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure Mar. 16-31, 2009
Mar. 16th:
Another super fantastic day weather-wise predicted today with a high of
78F. We are waiting for our appointment
on Wed. re the cutlass bearing, so we have definitely decided to take the Albury
Ferry to Hope Town at 1030hrs. for the day.
When we were just about to leave we were hailed on VHF by Sandcastle, a
boat that we have not seen since Jan. but have maintained contact with via
email when at all possible. They were on
their way from Lynyard Cay to Hope Town.
We made arrangements to meet them there at 1300hrs., stay with them
overnight & the next day they would take us back to our vessel in Marsh
Harbour. Celtic Cross agreed to look
after Sweet Chariot ie running the motor & refrigeration during our absence. They even took us to shore where we then
walked to Crossing Beach to caught the ferry; one way ticket per person =$15.00
for the 20 minute trip, return fare= $22.00; there is a ferry every few hours
from 0715 to 1830hrs. It was a very
warm, light breeze day, so when we arrived we first walked the south end of the
island including South Beach & a number of people were swimming in the
Atlantic Waters. We walked Queens
Highway (one must see photos to appreciate such a name), in & out of shops,
built & gaily painted in the normal Bahamian architecture &
colours. After finding are friends we
hugged & chatted over beers &
lunch ‘till the cows came home’. When in
Hope Town I had been advised to go to Vernon’s Grocery & purchase a Key
Lime pie; not cheap, but the best one has ever tasted I’m told. And so we did, to have with supper tonight. Before returning to Sandcastle, we dinghied
over to the lighthouse side; built in 1863, can be seen for 17 mi. & run by
kerosene . We climbed the 101 circular
staircase to the top viewing deck. On
such a beautiful day as this, the view was breathtaking. Again photos are necessary to appreciate the
panoramic view, the colours of the homes, the vegetation, & the seas with
the spectrum of aqua, teal, light & dark blues. A beautiful evening, reacquainting with
friends & getting caught up with their adventures in Eleuthera &
the Exumas, & a magnificent calm,
quiet, clear, star filled sky.
Mar. 17th:
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! A
brilliant sunny, hot day (80F). After
breakfast we went ashore & walked part of Queens Highway to North Beach
& along its shoreline. We attempted
to cross private property from the beach to the road instead of back tracking,
when a caretaker explained this was not kosher, but then invited to give us a tour
of a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom , 3 yr. old gorgeous beach house with a spectacular
view of the Atlantic as well as the Sea of Abaco & meticulous gardens &
yard, that rents out from a mere $9000.00 to $16,000.00 per week. After lunch we detached from our mooring ball
& motored to Marsh Harbour as there was minimal wind. Happy Hour was planned at Snappas (beer &
well drinks= $3.00). St. Patty’s Day feastivities were well
publicized on Cruisers Net this morn throughout the Abacos. Suddenly, very dark clouds, threatening skies
& gusting winds + rain blew up as predicted at Happy Hour--- a weak cold
front. At the gathering I learnt that the Cost Right (equivalent to Costco back
home) closed down mid Feb., so that leaves basically one grocery store in
Marsh. It was a cool trip back to Sweet Chariot for
supper, & a windy night.
Mar. 18th:
E wind blew all night long & right into the morning. High, gusting winds 20-25K were predicted for
several days. Today is the day though
that we have an appointment to have the cutlass bearing repaired. Due to the keel depth & Marsh Harbour
Boatyard’s shallow harbour, it is necessary for us to arrive on a rising &
near high tide, which today is at 1400hrs.
We up anchored & with the jenny half deployed we sailed the 10.7nm
distance first on a beat, then beam reach as we rounded the land mass &
finally a run towards the boatyard. The
journey was better than the conditions were described in the am on Cruisers
Net. The sea chop was only 1-2ft. Gingerly, we entered the boatyard’s channel
right to the travel lift channel & Sweet Chariot was lifted to have the
cutlass bearing replaced; a tow line from the rescue had jammed so tightly in
the shaft, that the bearing was pushed out & bent from the normal round
circumference to an oval, with a scant remnants of the rope still present. Graeme had done quite a good job at scraping
the hull, but we went ahead & had the bottom pressure washed. Sweet Chariot has been through so much &
has withstood some harsh treatment, that she deserved some pampering to make
her look pretty from the bottom up! The
job took 1-11/2hrs. only, but the bill was expensive. We wished this problem was detected in
Spanish Wells where the repair prices were very reasonable. We did not want to take a chance & leave
the boatyard now on a dropping tide, so we asked to stay overnight tied up to a
dock. The skies had opened up when we
arrived & continued on & off the rest of the day & night.
Mar. 19th:
An ugly grey, very rainy day with thunder & lightening in the
am. The locals are very happy to see
this rain as they have had nothing for months & there is still 2 months
left in their dry season. We hope that
the weather improves when we plan to depart this afternoon; high tide today is
1522hrs. We had cleaned out the boat’s
water tank & cleaned the water filter, so refilled the water tank ($0.10
per gal.) & dieslled up before we ventured back to Marsh Harbour at
1430hrs. Winds were decent & we were
on a beat at 4.5K in less than 1ft. chop, but that soon died rendering us to
motor into the anchorage at Marsh Harbour at 1730hr. The rains had slowed down with only an
occasional sprinkle; in fact before sunset the sun poked its head out. The night was calm, quiet even humid & some
stars were out.
Mar. 20th:
Sunny morning with a few clouds, but NE winds at 20-25K predicted for
next 2 days. It was laundry day today
& at the same time we picked up a few groceries in anticipation of a
departure to start heading north then across the Gulf to the Florida. The boat looked like a Chinese junk with the
laundry hanging from everywhere. Winds
had now increased from the NE to 8-10K driving the humidity out of the air
& by sunset they were blowing 15-20K & cool. We had a plastic insert sewn into our solid
connector since we lost our see-through connector in the Feb. mishap &
picked up some emails at the internet café.
Then we hit Happy Hour at not one, but two boats; I guess we are making
up for lost time. So it was a very late
supper tonight. Lots of stars in a clear
night sky. First day of Spring came in
at 2347hrs.
Mar. 21st:
First full day of Spring & not a nice day at all. Winds howled from the wee hours of the morning
throughout the whole day & evening, & heavy rain during the noon
hour. Lots of spray (salt) as one
journeyed in the dinghy across the harbour to shore. Celtic Cross was called an internet café at
one point this afternoon as a few of us gathered & sat on the boat working
away at our computers, because Ian & Sharon were tied up at Mangoes Marina
with internet access & shore power to boot.
I received a lesson on how to copy & paste compositions created on
Word 2007 & sent out as an email rather than as an attachment, so it is
easier for people to open on their computers, as I have Vista which complicates
things for my recipients. Thank you Anne
Wallace & Jim for the instructions; they worked! We watched the DVD Benjamin Button this
evening; it was good or well done, but very solemn & sad; I cried a lot
thinking of my Dad, not an uncommon reaction for me most days.
Mar. 22nd:
A cool sunny Sunday morning with NE winds at 15K as I went to shore to
get the bus at Mangoes for Church.
Graeme cleaned & polished the stern combing, then rearranged the
water & diesel & gas jerry cans tied to the lifelines after lunch. A couple from Toronto came & introduced
themselves to us & asked us if our boat was a Viking 34. We were surprised someone recognized Sweet
Chariot as a Viking, but corrected them on her size. They had a Viking 34 in the past, & were
impressed on Sweet Chariot’s condition.
In the mid afternoon we dinghied to shore so I might call Mom on Skype,
do some internet stuff & clean out some stuff on my laptop. It remained cold & windy all afternoon,
evening & night.
Mar. 23rd:
Repeat---cool, ENE 15-20K winds with sun & cloudy periods today, but
still enough chop in the harbour. I
promised to serve Donald & France (Alto) a French toast with bacon
breakfast & they supplied real maple syrup.
We chatted away the morning, I particularly interested in the
communication system & the supporting power supply system they have
installed on their vessel. They have SSB
(ICOM HF Marine IC-M802), computer hook-up to SSB with a modem & printer
(Canon IP 100---ink cartridge is good & lasts a long time & produces
good photos), 1-12V battery dedicated to engine only & 4-12V batteries for
house ( they would like to change to 6V), Xantrex Battery Status Monitor, solar
panel, 2000 watts generator, 2 inverters, 2 AC battery chargers, & a 11
gal. Webasto ST 90 water heating system that also provides warm heat into the
cabin via 4 heat vents on rheostats
(they feel a 6 gal. is sufficient). Alto
gave us a hands-on tour of the systems this afternoon. It looks as if Treasure Cay is where we will
move on to tomorrow, so picked up fresh milk & breads & lettuce. Fuel tank & one water tank was topped
up. We had a final gathering for Happy
Hour at Snappas from 1700- 1900hrs.
& said our good-byes. A very cool
night, but at least the wind & harbour chop have finally settled down some.
Mar. 24th:
A quiet & calm night until just before sunrise when the ENE cold
wind increased, but the sun was in & out.
The weather forecast & the sea conditions are not sounding good for
several days. I am getting more &
more anxious to be home. I miss my
family, I miss my friends, I miss my work-outs, I miss skiing, I miss my bike…
I MISS OTTAWA! Ten months is too long
for me to be away. On a positive note, we did make our way up to Treasure Cay,
a distance of 14.7nm with the jenny fully deployed on a beam reach at about 6K
then broad reach at about 4K, leaving Marsh at 1000hrs. & arriving at our
destination at 1315hrs. at low tide, but soon to rise. On anchoring we went aground once again; it’s
these small sand humps that we seem to find everywhere. Until the tide came up
enough we had lunch & attempted to get on the internet but unsuccessful;
others were successful, so I guess it depends on your location in this harbour. Once we
dropped the hook, we venture to shore & walked the long 3 mile semi-circular powdery white
sand beach for a few hours looking for shells & sand dollars, but the tide
was already coming in where the sand dollars are normally found; maybe tomorrow
at low tide. The economy has hit this
famous & popular tourist destination as everywhere in the Bahamas & the
USA. This is the common comment from
everyone this year. Normally these beaches are packed with tourists especially
at this prime time of the year, but the beach was virtually all ours; only a few swimmers. A beer at the bar & we were the only
customers, then back to the boat to cook up a pot of chili. Some reading & some journal writing then
off to bed. The wind continued to blow
all night 15-20K.
Mar. 25th:
The day started off very cloudy & windy & unfortunately my mood
matched the day. We filled the boat’s
water & diesel tanks from the jerry cans, then refilled the jerry cans
onshore in preparation tomorrows probable departure north. After lunch the sun slowly started to poke
it’s head through the clouds. I needed
to renew my laptop virus protection subscription & since I can’t get
internet access here we went to shore.
After frustrating session with virus renewal reverted to their chat line
& then left Graeme use the laptop as he so wished while I walked the
wonderful beach once again at low tide with the ladies. Emotionally I needed this. On walking toward the beach we past some very
lovely condos for rent & magnificent homes & their yards & gardens;
sure there is a nice price tag attached
to these places. There were more people
on the beach today even though it was windy & cool. The tide was a rising low tide. It would have been a perfect day if the wind
wasn’t so strong to have one’s bathing suit on & walk the shallows way, way
out into the aqua waters looking for the infamous sand dollars that are in
abundance. On returning I was provided a
quick but confusing computer lesson on saving emails into Word. The best was the long awaited shower that
followed; it was just too quick. We
BBQ’d tonight since the winds had subsided some. Clear skies & millions of stars prevailed
all night.
Mar. 26th:
It was an early start this sunny morning as we were definitely leaving
Treasure Cay on high tide to cross the Whale Cut. Many boats had the same plan, but some took
the short route in very shallow waters through Don’t Rock taking advantage of
their shoal draft keels. The cool winds
were from the E at 10-15K with 5-6ft. rollers & the occasional 8 footer
pushing us through the Cut (deep Atlantic waters meeting the shallow Abacos
Sea). We made the pass by 0915hrs. then
had a run in 2-3ft. chop past Green Turtle Cay to tuck in behind Crab Cay by
Manjack Cay at 1120hrs. The nice thing
about this location is the fact that the residents here maintain free
WiFi. Distance=18.1nm. After lunch & some internet work we were
off in the dinghy at a low rising tide to the beach on Crab Cay & the
Atlantic coast for shell & sea glass hunting. There were tons of sea muffins, conch of very
size imaginable & starfish; you had to be careful where you stepped! Lots of sea glass as well. A very pleasant couple of hours spent in the
warm sun. After supper we were invited
over to a boat that we had just met to play several fun rounds of Mexican
Dominoes (4 couples). A light &
short rain shower had us disperse to our respective boats about 2200hrs. A quiet & fairly calm night.
Mar. 27th:
A rather lazy day. It was sunny
with cloudy periods & cool SSE winds at least 15K & higher in the afternoon
as predicted. Another cold front with
high winds is expected to pass Sat. & Sun.
Since this will be my last internet possibility till somewhere in
Florida, I took advantage of the situation & did a lot of email
writing. After lunch we got together
with Celtic Cross & made tentative plans for moving on to another Crab Cay
past Powell Cay tomorrow, then onto Great Sales Cay on Sun., Memory Rock on
Mon. & crossing the Gulf to Lake Worth on Tues. weather permitting. Then it was time to do some more exploring to
the Atlantic beach on Manjack Cay, through trails cut , provided & well
marked with colourful directional signs made from palms by the same residents
who provide WiFi to us cruisers. It was
a nice hike to a wide, pink, mostly powdery sand beach with high rollers of
aqua coloured waters crashing over the reefs, & large, eroding coral rocks
at one end. Ian & I found sea
beans---travel from Africa across the Atlantic.
We had a well needed, quick shower from the shower bag to rinse off the
salt. A few people blew their conchs at
sunset, but none were as good as Ian.
Mar. 28th:
Sunny & warm with cool SSW winds in the am blowing 20-25K. Before we up anchored at 0915hrs., I tried
Mom on Skype as this is the last internet ability until sometime in Florida;
great, I got her, so she is well aware
of our schedule etc. We had a good &
fast sail with the jenny alone heading W on a beam reach & averaging 6-7K.
We picked one of few anchorages that would provide us with some protection from
SW winds, that being Crab Cay on Little Abaco Island, past & across the Sea of Abaco from Powell
Cay. We travelled the 17.1nm distance
anchoring in a strong 25+K winds at
1245hrs. The SW winds blew all afternoon
& evening with gusts as high as 30K.
It was a little spooky at night here; very windy, no nearby settlements
except a slight glow from Cooper Town & anchor lights from the 6 anchored
sailboats here(Celtic Cross & Sandcastle travelling with us), therefore
very black, but lots of stars in the sky.
Mar. 29th:
A cloudy, warm, humid day with threatening skies, only an occasional
sunny break but very windy---SSW at 25-30K & 1-2ft. chop. The anchor was up at 0900hrs. & we
deployed about 1/3 of the jenny averaging a speed of 4-6K. We inched our way under motor only, through
the shallow shoals into the east side of Great Sales Cay & hoping the winds
will clock more to the W as predicted at 1900hrs. This location is not good for a SW wind &
the westward clocking is not to occur until very late. It took us 5 tries to get the anchor to hook;
there must be a shallow layer of sand over coral because others had difficulty
as well. Alto joined our little
contingent here. Distance= 35.9nm. All
night it remained warm & humid; the sheets felt damp getting into bed. The
winds continued to blow 20K from the SW so all the boats rock & rolled;
some did not sleep well. At 0200hrs. there was a sudden onset of
lightning & thunder--- scarry in a sailboat, followed by a good downpour of
rain (good for washing the salty sailboats down). Graeme told me the next day that he stood in
the rain to rinse the salt off himself until he got too cold.
Mar. 30th:
It is still warm & humid.
Alto is well equipped with a ham radio, a modem & a printer, &
so they have been able to provide extensive weather forecasts for us boaters
including wind directions & speed, & waves on a near hourly basis for a
7 day period. This morning was no
exception. Graeme has now decided to put
the dinghy on deck as Celtic Cross & Sandcastle have already up anchored.
We depart an hour later. Alto has
planned to cross the Gulf Sream to Cape Canaveral today & through the night,
were as the rest of us are overnighting at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama
Bank, then will move on to Lake Worth Inlet tomorrow. So we bide good-bye to our dear friends, wishing
them a safe & good sail, hoping that our paths will cross in the near
future. It was cloudy at sunrise but in
no time the sun shone in all it’s glory.
Winds had clocked W during the night & by dawn they were from the
N. Main & jenny were fully deployed in lightish winds
that picked up to 8-10K from the NW as time went by. We were hailed by a 51ft. trimaran with twin
masts heading south & had a nice conversation with him over VHF (we are
monitoring 16 now); he has a sailing vessel on the west coast as he resides in
the state of Washington & keeps this trimaran on the east coast---such a
pity! Winds are decreasing so we need to
rely on the the engine for some speed in order to make our destination in
daylight hours. Approximately 6 miles
from Memory Rock waypoint we are hailed by Alto. They changed their plans due to weather
predictions for the Cape Canaveral are---lightning & thunder. Anchor was down at 1845hrs. in 8-10 ft. of
water. Distance= 49.2nm. At 2000
hrs. Graeme checked the anchor before he
put his head down & discovered that the anchor was directly behind us yet
we are not drifting . So what is happening here? Well, the current is stronger than the wind
& all four of us are experiencing the same thing. As night approached, the winds picked up to 12-15K & in the
middle of nothing we were rolling back & forth, so little sleep for all. Again tonight because of the complete lack of
light, it is black & eerie but the stars are phenomenal in a clear sky.
Mar. 31st:
This is the big day of our crossing!
Last night at 0340hrs., I heard a
conversation from 3 sailboats that were doing a night crossing, knew that the 4
of us were a small community here at Memory Rock, identified by our mast anchor
lights & doing the crossing as soon as there is some daylight. At 0630hrs. the anchors came out easily as
the anchors straightened out a decrease in current & we headed in a
westerly direction on a broad reach. SE
winds were only 5-8K but the seas were calm with less than 1 ft. of chop &
minimal swells; this is a very good thing.
The sun was in & out & the humidity was high. Shortly after noon, the winds became more
south & thus are boat speed increased.
But by 1400hrs. the clouds rolled in & the sky over the Florida
coast became ominous. On the VHF 9 a weather warning signal blurted out the
onset of a sudden rain storm with possible winds up to 60mph, heavy rainfall
& possibility of tornado until 1645 hrs.
We donned our foul weather gear, life jackets, knives, flashlights. We furled the jenny in a little, refueled the
diesel tank just in case, prepared the strobe lights, the flares & safety
equipment . Lightning & thunder on
the mainland; yuk! VHF transmissions
very staticky. By 1700 hrs. the north
was clearing & dark ugly clouds now over the south, but still little to no
increase in wind & only slight raindrops for us way out to sea. Inland the rain was very heavy causing
flooding & zero visiblilty with 35-50K winds in Lake Worth, causing boats
to spin 360 on their anchors. The
weather gods were with us as the winds & the seas remained the same. By 1900 hrs. we spotted the bifurcation mark
& the red/green channel markers into Lake Worth. Winds now were SW & increased to 15-20K,
the sea chop increased to 3 ft. & hitting us at our port quarter, so we
downed the sail. We rock & rolled
our way into the channel & thankfully no freights or big cruise ships were
coming out of port. Dark was fast
approaching as we anchored well down the anchoring field at 2000hrs.
Distance= 67.4nm. It was a hotdog
supper at 2100 hrs. then to bed. The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure Mar. 16-31, 2009
Mar. 16th:
Another super fantastic day weather-wise predicted today with a high of
78F. We are waiting for our appointment
on Wed. re the cutlass bearing, so we have definitely decided to take the Albury
Ferry to Hope Town at 1030hrs. for the day.
When we were just about to leave we were hailed on VHF by Sandcastle, a
boat that we have not seen since Jan. but have maintained contact with via
email when at all possible. They were on
their way from Lynyard Cay to Hope Town.
We made arrangements to meet them there at 1300hrs., stay with them
overnight & the next day they would take us back to our vessel in Marsh
Harbour. Celtic Cross agreed to look
after Sweet Chariot ie running the motor & refrigeration during our absence. They even took us to shore where we then
walked to Crossing Beach to caught the ferry; one way ticket per person =$15.00
for the 20 minute trip, return fare= $22.00; there is a ferry every few hours
from 0715 to 1830hrs. It was a very
warm, light breeze day, so when we arrived we first walked the south end of the
island including South Beach & a number of people were swimming in the
Atlantic Waters. We walked Queens
Highway (one must see photos to appreciate such a name), in & out of shops,
built & gaily painted in the normal Bahamian architecture &
colours. After finding are friends we
hugged & chatted over beers &
lunch ‘till the cows came home’. When in
Hope Town I had been advised to go to Vernon’s Grocery & purchase a Key
Lime pie; not cheap, but the best one has ever tasted I’m told. And so we did, to have with supper tonight. Before returning to Sandcastle, we dinghied
over to the lighthouse side; built in 1863, can be seen for 17 mi. & run by
kerosene . We climbed the 101 circular
staircase to the top viewing deck. On
such a beautiful day as this, the view was breathtaking. Again photos are necessary to appreciate the
panoramic view, the colours of the homes, the vegetation, & the seas with
the spectrum of aqua, teal, light & dark blues. A beautiful evening, reacquainting with
friends & getting caught up with their adventures in Eleuthera &
the Exumas, & a magnificent calm,
quiet, clear, star filled sky.
Mar. 17th:
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! A
brilliant sunny, hot day (80F). After
breakfast we went ashore & walked part of Queens Highway to North Beach
& along its shoreline. We attempted
to cross private property from the beach to the road instead of back tracking,
when a caretaker explained this was not kosher, but then invited to give us a tour
of a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom , 3 yr. old gorgeous beach house with a spectacular
view of the Atlantic as well as the Sea of Abaco & meticulous gardens &
yard, that rents out from a mere $9000.00 to $16,000.00 per week. After lunch we detached from our mooring ball
& motored to Marsh Harbour as there was minimal wind. Happy Hour was planned at Snappas (beer &
well drinks= $3.00). St. Patty’s Day feastivities were well
publicized on Cruisers Net this morn throughout the Abacos. Suddenly, very dark clouds, threatening skies
& gusting winds + rain blew up as predicted at Happy Hour--- a weak cold
front. At the gathering I learnt that the Cost Right (equivalent to Costco back
home) closed down mid Feb., so that leaves basically one grocery store in
Marsh. It was a cool trip back to Sweet Chariot for
supper, & a windy night.
Mar. 18th:
E wind blew all night long & right into the morning. High, gusting winds 20-25K were predicted for
several days. Today is the day though
that we have an appointment to have the cutlass bearing repaired. Due to the keel depth & Marsh Harbour
Boatyard’s shallow harbour, it is necessary for us to arrive on a rising &
near high tide, which today is at 1400hrs.
We up anchored & with the jenny half deployed we sailed the 10.7nm
distance first on a beat, then beam reach as we rounded the land mass &
finally a run towards the boatyard. The
journey was better than the conditions were described in the am on Cruisers
Net. The sea chop was only 1-2ft. Gingerly, we entered the boatyard’s channel
right to the travel lift channel & Sweet Chariot was lifted to have the
cutlass bearing replaced; a tow line from the rescue had jammed so tightly in
the shaft, that the bearing was pushed out & bent from the normal round
circumference to an oval, with a scant remnants of the rope still present. Graeme had done quite a good job at scraping
the hull, but we went ahead & had the bottom pressure washed. Sweet Chariot has been through so much &
has withstood some harsh treatment, that she deserved some pampering to make
her look pretty from the bottom up! The
job took 1-11/2hrs. only, but the bill was expensive. We wished this problem was detected in
Spanish Wells where the repair prices were very reasonable. We did not want to take a chance & leave
the boatyard now on a dropping tide, so we asked to stay overnight tied up to a
dock. The skies had opened up when we
arrived & continued on & off the rest of the day & night.
Mar. 19th:
An ugly grey, very rainy day with thunder & lightening in the
am. The locals are very happy to see
this rain as they have had nothing for months & there is still 2 months
left in their dry season. We hope that
the weather improves when we plan to depart this afternoon; high tide today is
1522hrs. We had cleaned out the boat’s
water tank & cleaned the water filter, so refilled the water tank ($0.10
per gal.) & dieslled up before we ventured back to Marsh Harbour at
1430hrs. Winds were decent & we were
on a beat at 4.5K in less than 1ft. chop, but that soon died rendering us to
motor into the anchorage at Marsh Harbour at 1730hr. The rains had slowed down with only an
occasional sprinkle; in fact before sunset the sun poked its head out. The night was calm, quiet even humid & some
stars were out.
Mar. 20th:
Sunny morning with a few clouds, but NE winds at 20-25K predicted for
next 2 days. It was laundry day today
& at the same time we picked up a few groceries in anticipation of a
departure to start heading north then across the Gulf to the Florida. The boat looked like a Chinese junk with the
laundry hanging from everywhere. Winds
had now increased from the NE to 8-10K driving the humidity out of the air
& by sunset they were blowing 15-20K & cool. We had a plastic insert sewn into our solid
connector since we lost our see-through connector in the Feb. mishap &
picked up some emails at the internet café.
Then we hit Happy Hour at not one, but two boats; I guess we are making
up for lost time. So it was a very late
supper tonight. Lots of stars in a clear
night sky. First day of Spring came in
at 2347hrs.
Mar. 21st:
First full day of Spring & not a nice day at all. Winds howled from the wee hours of the morning
throughout the whole day & evening, & heavy rain during the noon
hour. Lots of spray (salt) as one
journeyed in the dinghy across the harbour to shore. Celtic Cross was called an internet café at
one point this afternoon as a few of us gathered & sat on the boat working
away at our computers, because Ian & Sharon were tied up at Mangoes Marina
with internet access & shore power to boot.
I received a lesson on how to copy & paste compositions created on
Word 2007 & sent out as an email rather than as an attachment, so it is
easier for people to open on their computers, as I have Vista which complicates
things for my recipients. Thank you Anne
Wallace & Jim for the instructions; they worked! We watched the DVD Benjamin Button this
evening; it was good or well done, but very solemn & sad; I cried a lot
thinking of my Dad, not an uncommon reaction for me most days.
Mar. 22nd:
A cool sunny Sunday morning with NE winds at 15K as I went to shore to
get the bus at Mangoes for Church.
Graeme cleaned & polished the stern combing, then rearranged the
water & diesel & gas jerry cans tied to the lifelines after lunch. A couple from Toronto came & introduced
themselves to us & asked us if our boat was a Viking 34. We were surprised someone recognized Sweet
Chariot as a Viking, but corrected them on her size. They had a Viking 34 in the past, & were
impressed on Sweet Chariot’s condition.
In the mid afternoon we dinghied to shore so I might call Mom on Skype,
do some internet stuff & clean out some stuff on my laptop. It remained cold & windy all afternoon,
evening & night.
Mar. 23rd:
Repeat---cool, ENE 15-20K winds with sun & cloudy periods today, but
still enough chop in the harbour. I
promised to serve Donald & France (Alto) a French toast with bacon
breakfast & they supplied real maple syrup.
We chatted away the morning, I particularly interested in the
communication system & the supporting power supply system they have
installed on their vessel. They have SSB
(ICOM HF Marine IC-M802), computer hook-up to SSB with a modem & printer
(Canon IP 100---ink cartridge is good & lasts a long time & produces
good photos), 1-12V battery dedicated to engine only & 4-12V batteries for
house ( they would like to change to 6V), Xantrex Battery Status Monitor, solar
panel, 2000 watts generator, 2 inverters, 2 AC battery chargers, & a 11
gal. Webasto ST 90 water heating system that also provides warm heat into the
cabin via 4 heat vents on rheostats
(they feel a 6 gal. is sufficient). Alto
gave us a hands-on tour of the systems this afternoon. It looks as if Treasure Cay is where we will
move on to tomorrow, so picked up fresh milk & breads & lettuce. Fuel tank & one water tank was topped
up. We had a final gathering for Happy
Hour at Snappas from 1700- 1900hrs.
& said our good-byes. A very cool
night, but at least the wind & harbour chop have finally settled down some.
Mar. 24th:
A quiet & calm night until just before sunrise when the ENE cold
wind increased, but the sun was in & out.
The weather forecast & the sea conditions are not sounding good for
several days. I am getting more &
more anxious to be home. I miss my
family, I miss my friends, I miss my work-outs, I miss skiing, I miss my bike…
I MISS OTTAWA! Ten months is too long
for me to be away. On a positive note, we did make our way up to Treasure Cay,
a distance of 14.7nm with the jenny fully deployed on a beam reach at about 6K
then broad reach at about 4K, leaving Marsh at 1000hrs. & arriving at our
destination at 1315hrs. at low tide, but soon to rise. On anchoring we went aground once again; it’s
these small sand humps that we seem to find everywhere. Until the tide came up
enough we had lunch & attempted to get on the internet but unsuccessful;
others were successful, so I guess it depends on your location in this harbour. Once we
dropped the hook, we venture to shore & walked the long 3 mile semi-circular powdery white
sand beach for a few hours looking for shells & sand dollars, but the tide
was already coming in where the sand dollars are normally found; maybe tomorrow
at low tide. The economy has hit this
famous & popular tourist destination as everywhere in the Bahamas & the
USA. This is the common comment from
everyone this year. Normally these beaches are packed with tourists especially
at this prime time of the year, but the beach was virtually all ours; only a few swimmers. A beer at the bar & we were the only
customers, then back to the boat to cook up a pot of chili. Some reading & some journal writing then
off to bed. The wind continued to blow
all night 15-20K.
Mar. 25th:
The day started off very cloudy & windy & unfortunately my mood
matched the day. We filled the boat’s
water & diesel tanks from the jerry cans, then refilled the jerry cans
onshore in preparation tomorrows probable departure north. After lunch the sun slowly started to poke
it’s head through the clouds. I needed
to renew my laptop virus protection subscription & since I can’t get
internet access here we went to shore.
After frustrating session with virus renewal reverted to their chat line
& then left Graeme use the laptop as he so wished while I walked the
wonderful beach once again at low tide with the ladies. Emotionally I needed this. On walking toward the beach we past some very
lovely condos for rent & magnificent homes & their yards & gardens;
sure there is a nice price tag attached
to these places. There were more people
on the beach today even though it was windy & cool. The tide was a rising low tide. It would have been a perfect day if the wind
wasn’t so strong to have one’s bathing suit on & walk the shallows way, way
out into the aqua waters looking for the infamous sand dollars that are in
abundance. On returning I was provided a
quick but confusing computer lesson on saving emails into Word. The best was the long awaited shower that
followed; it was just too quick. We
BBQ’d tonight since the winds had subsided some. Clear skies & millions of stars prevailed
all night.
Mar. 26th:
It was an early start this sunny morning as we were definitely leaving
Treasure Cay on high tide to cross the Whale Cut. Many boats had the same plan, but some took
the short route in very shallow waters through Don’t Rock taking advantage of
their shoal draft keels. The cool winds
were from the E at 10-15K with 5-6ft. rollers & the occasional 8 footer
pushing us through the Cut (deep Atlantic waters meeting the shallow Abacos
Sea). We made the pass by 0915hrs. then
had a run in 2-3ft. chop past Green Turtle Cay to tuck in behind Crab Cay by
Manjack Cay at 1120hrs. The nice thing
about this location is the fact that the residents here maintain free
WiFi. Distance=18.1nm. After lunch & some internet work we were
off in the dinghy at a low rising tide to the beach on Crab Cay & the
Atlantic coast for shell & sea glass hunting. There were tons of sea muffins, conch of very
size imaginable & starfish; you had to be careful where you stepped! Lots of sea glass as well. A very pleasant couple of hours spent in the
warm sun. After supper we were invited
over to a boat that we had just met to play several fun rounds of Mexican
Dominoes (4 couples). A light &
short rain shower had us disperse to our respective boats about 2200hrs. A quiet & fairly calm night.
Mar. 27th:
A rather lazy day. It was sunny
with cloudy periods & cool SSE winds at least 15K & higher in the afternoon
as predicted. Another cold front with
high winds is expected to pass Sat. & Sun.
Since this will be my last internet possibility till somewhere in
Florida, I took advantage of the situation & did a lot of email
writing. After lunch we got together
with Celtic Cross & made tentative plans for moving on to another Crab Cay
past Powell Cay tomorrow, then onto Great Sales Cay on Sun., Memory Rock on
Mon. & crossing the Gulf to Lake Worth on Tues. weather permitting. Then it was time to do some more exploring to
the Atlantic beach on Manjack Cay, through trails cut , provided & well
marked with colourful directional signs made from palms by the same residents
who provide WiFi to us cruisers. It was
a nice hike to a wide, pink, mostly powdery sand beach with high rollers of
aqua coloured waters crashing over the reefs, & large, eroding coral rocks
at one end. Ian & I found sea
beans---travel from Africa across the Atlantic.
We had a well needed, quick shower from the shower bag to rinse off the
salt. A few people blew their conchs at
sunset, but none were as good as Ian.
Mar. 28th:
Sunny & warm with cool SSW winds in the am blowing 20-25K. Before we up anchored at 0915hrs., I tried
Mom on Skype as this is the last internet ability until sometime in Florida;
great, I got her, so she is well aware
of our schedule etc. We had a good &
fast sail with the jenny alone heading W on a beam reach & averaging 6-7K.
We picked one of few anchorages that would provide us with some protection from
SW winds, that being Crab Cay on Little Abaco Island, past & across the Sea of Abaco from Powell
Cay. We travelled the 17.1nm distance
anchoring in a strong 25+K winds at
1245hrs. The SW winds blew all afternoon
& evening with gusts as high as 30K.
It was a little spooky at night here; very windy, no nearby settlements
except a slight glow from Cooper Town & anchor lights from the 6 anchored
sailboats here(Celtic Cross & Sandcastle travelling with us), therefore
very black, but lots of stars in the sky.
Mar. 29th:
A cloudy, warm, humid day with threatening skies, only an occasional
sunny break but very windy---SSW at 25-30K & 1-2ft. chop. The anchor was up at 0900hrs. & we
deployed about 1/3 of the jenny averaging a speed of 4-6K. We inched our way under motor only, through
the shallow shoals into the east side of Great Sales Cay & hoping the winds
will clock more to the W as predicted at 1900hrs. This location is not good for a SW wind &
the westward clocking is not to occur until very late. It took us 5 tries to get the anchor to hook;
there must be a shallow layer of sand over coral because others had difficulty
as well. Alto joined our little
contingent here. Distance= 35.9nm. All
night it remained warm & humid; the sheets felt damp getting into bed. The
winds continued to blow 20K from the SW so all the boats rock & rolled;
some did not sleep well. At 0200hrs. there was a sudden onset of
lightning & thunder--- scarry in a sailboat, followed by a good downpour of
rain (good for washing the salty sailboats down). Graeme told me the next day that he stood in
the rain to rinse the salt off himself until he got too cold.
Mar. 30th:
It is still warm & humid.
Alto is well equipped with a ham radio, a modem & a printer, &
so they have been able to provide extensive weather forecasts for us boaters
including wind directions & speed, & waves on a near hourly basis for a
7 day period. This morning was no
exception. Graeme has now decided to put
the dinghy on deck as Celtic Cross & Sandcastle have already up anchored.
We depart an hour later. Alto has
planned to cross the Gulf Sream to Cape Canaveral today & through the night,
were as the rest of us are overnighting at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama
Bank, then will move on to Lake Worth Inlet tomorrow. So we bide good-bye to our dear friends, wishing
them a safe & good sail, hoping that our paths will cross in the near
future. It was cloudy at sunrise but in
no time the sun shone in all it’s glory.
Winds had clocked W during the night & by dawn they were from the
N. Main & jenny were fully deployed in lightish winds
that picked up to 8-10K from the NW as time went by. We were hailed by a 51ft. trimaran with twin
masts heading south & had a nice conversation with him over VHF (we are
monitoring 16 now); he has a sailing vessel on the west coast as he resides in
the state of Washington & keeps this trimaran on the east coast---such a
pity! Winds are decreasing so we need to
rely on the the engine for some speed in order to make our destination in
daylight hours. Approximately 6 miles
from Memory Rock waypoint we are hailed by Alto. They changed their plans due to weather
predictions for the Cape Canaveral are---lightning & thunder. Anchor was down at 1845hrs. in 8-10 ft. of
water. Distance= 49.2nm. At 2000
hrs. Graeme checked the anchor before he
put his head down & discovered that the anchor was directly behind us yet
we are not drifting . So what is happening here? Well, the current is stronger than the wind
& all four of us are experiencing the same thing. As night approached, the winds picked up to 12-15K & in the
middle of nothing we were rolling back & forth, so little sleep for all. Again tonight because of the complete lack of
light, it is black & eerie but the stars are phenomenal in a clear sky.
Mar. 31st:
This is the big day of our crossing!
Last night at 0340hrs., I heard a
conversation from 3 sailboats that were doing a night crossing, knew that the 4
of us were a small community here at Memory Rock, identified by our mast anchor
lights & doing the crossing as soon as there is some daylight. At 0630hrs. the anchors came out easily as
the anchors straightened out a decrease in current & we headed in a
westerly direction on a broad reach. SE
winds were only 5-8K but the seas were calm with less than 1 ft. of chop &
minimal swells; this is a very good thing.
The sun was in & out & the humidity was high. Shortly after noon, the winds became more
south & thus are boat speed increased.
But by 1400hrs. the clouds rolled in & the sky over the Florida
coast became ominous. On the VHF 9 a weather warning signal blurted out the
onset of a sudden rain storm with possible winds up to 60mph, heavy rainfall
& possibility of tornado until 1645 hrs.
We donned our foul weather gear, life jackets, knives, flashlights. We furled the jenny in a little, refueled the
diesel tank just in case, prepared the strobe lights, the flares & safety
equipment . Lightning & thunder on
the mainland; yuk! VHF transmissions
very staticky. By 1700 hrs. the north
was clearing & dark ugly clouds now over the south, but still little to no
increase in wind & only slight raindrops for us way out to sea. Inland the rain was very heavy causing
flooding & zero visiblilty with 35-50K winds in Lake Worth, causing boats
to spin 360 on their anchors. The
weather gods were with us as the winds & the seas remained the same. By 1900 hrs. we spotted the bifurcation mark
& the red/green channel markers into Lake Worth. Winds now were SW & increased to 15-20K,
the sea chop increased to 3 ft. & hitting us at our port quarter, so we
downed the sail. We rock & rolled
our way into the channel & thankfully no freights or big cruise ships were
coming out of port. Dark was fast
approaching as we anchored well down the anchoring field at 2000hrs.
Distance= 67.4nm. It was a hotdog
supper at 2100 hrs. then to bed. The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure Mar. 16-31, 2009
Mar. 16th:
Another super fantastic day weather-wise predicted today with a high of
78F. We are waiting for our appointment
on Wed. re the cutlass bearing, so we have definitely decided to take the Albury
Ferry to Hope Town at 1030hrs. for the day.
When we were just about to leave we were hailed on VHF by Sandcastle, a
boat that we have not seen since Jan. but have maintained contact with via
email when at all possible. They were on
their way from Lynyard Cay to Hope Town.
We made arrangements to meet them there at 1300hrs., stay with them
overnight & the next day they would take us back to our vessel in Marsh
Harbour. Celtic Cross agreed to look
after Sweet Chariot ie running the motor & refrigeration during our absence. They even took us to shore where we then
walked to Crossing Beach to caught the ferry; one way ticket per person =$15.00
for the 20 minute trip, return fare= $22.00; there is a ferry every few hours
from 0715 to 1830hrs. It was a very
warm, light breeze day, so when we arrived we first walked the south end of the
island including South Beach & a number of people were swimming in the
Atlantic Waters. We walked Queens
Highway (one must see photos to appreciate such a name), in & out of shops,
built & gaily painted in the normal Bahamian architecture &
colours. After finding are friends we
hugged & chatted over beers &
lunch ‘till the cows came home’. When in
Hope Town I had been advised to go to Vernon’s Grocery & purchase a Key
Lime pie; not cheap, but the best one has ever tasted I’m told. And so we did, to have with supper tonight. Before returning to Sandcastle, we dinghied
over to the lighthouse side; built in 1863, can be seen for 17 mi. & run by
kerosene . We climbed the 101 circular
staircase to the top viewing deck. On
such a beautiful day as this, the view was breathtaking. Again photos are necessary to appreciate the
panoramic view, the colours of the homes, the vegetation, & the seas with
the spectrum of aqua, teal, light & dark blues. A beautiful evening, reacquainting with
friends & getting caught up with their adventures in Eleuthera &
the Exumas, & a magnificent calm,
quiet, clear, star filled sky.
Mar. 17th:
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! A
brilliant sunny, hot day (80F). After
breakfast we went ashore & walked part of Queens Highway to North Beach
& along its shoreline. We attempted
to cross private property from the beach to the road instead of back tracking,
when a caretaker explained this was not kosher, but then invited to give us a tour
of a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom , 3 yr. old gorgeous beach house with a spectacular
view of the Atlantic as well as the Sea of Abaco & meticulous gardens &
yard, that rents out from a mere $9000.00 to $16,000.00 per week. After lunch we detached from our mooring ball
& motored to Marsh Harbour as there was minimal wind. Happy Hour was planned at Snappas (beer &
well drinks= $3.00). St. Patty’s Day feastivities were well
publicized on Cruisers Net this morn throughout the Abacos. Suddenly, very dark clouds, threatening skies
& gusting winds + rain blew up as predicted at Happy Hour--- a weak cold
front. At the gathering I learnt that the Cost Right (equivalent to Costco back
home) closed down mid Feb., so that leaves basically one grocery store in
Marsh. It was a cool trip back to Sweet Chariot for
supper, & a windy night.
Mar. 18th:
E wind blew all night long & right into the morning. High, gusting winds 20-25K were predicted for
several days. Today is the day though
that we have an appointment to have the cutlass bearing repaired. Due to the keel depth & Marsh Harbour
Boatyard’s shallow harbour, it is necessary for us to arrive on a rising &
near high tide, which today is at 1400hrs.
We up anchored & with the jenny half deployed we sailed the 10.7nm
distance first on a beat, then beam reach as we rounded the land mass &
finally a run towards the boatyard. The
journey was better than the conditions were described in the am on Cruisers
Net. The sea chop was only 1-2ft. Gingerly, we entered the boatyard’s channel
right to the travel lift channel & Sweet Chariot was lifted to have the
cutlass bearing replaced; a tow line from the rescue had jammed so tightly in
the shaft, that the bearing was pushed out & bent from the normal round
circumference to an oval, with a scant remnants of the rope still present. Graeme had done quite a good job at scraping
the hull, but we went ahead & had the bottom pressure washed. Sweet Chariot has been through so much &
has withstood some harsh treatment, that she deserved some pampering to make
her look pretty from the bottom up! The
job took 1-11/2hrs. only, but the bill was expensive. We wished this problem was detected in
Spanish Wells where the repair prices were very reasonable. We did not want to take a chance & leave
the boatyard now on a dropping tide, so we asked to stay overnight tied up to a
dock. The skies had opened up when we
arrived & continued on & off the rest of the day & night.
Mar. 19th:
An ugly grey, very rainy day with thunder & lightening in the
am. The locals are very happy to see
this rain as they have had nothing for months & there is still 2 months
left in their dry season. We hope that
the weather improves when we plan to depart this afternoon; high tide today is
1522hrs. We had cleaned out the boat’s
water tank & cleaned the water filter, so refilled the water tank ($0.10
per gal.) & dieslled up before we ventured back to Marsh Harbour at
1430hrs. Winds were decent & we were
on a beat at 4.5K in less than 1ft. chop, but that soon died rendering us to
motor into the anchorage at Marsh Harbour at 1730hr. The rains had slowed down with only an
occasional sprinkle; in fact before sunset the sun poked its head out. The night was calm, quiet even humid & some
stars were out.
Mar. 20th:
Sunny morning with a few clouds, but NE winds at 20-25K predicted for
next 2 days. It was laundry day today
& at the same time we picked up a few groceries in anticipation of a
departure to start heading north then across the Gulf to the Florida. The boat looked like a Chinese junk with the
laundry hanging from everywhere. Winds
had now increased from the NE to 8-10K driving the humidity out of the air
& by sunset they were blowing 15-20K & cool. We had a plastic insert sewn into our solid
connector since we lost our see-through connector in the Feb. mishap &
picked up some emails at the internet café.
Then we hit Happy Hour at not one, but two boats; I guess we are making
up for lost time. So it was a very late
supper tonight. Lots of stars in a clear
night sky. First day of Spring came in
at 2347hrs.
Mar. 21st:
First full day of Spring & not a nice day at all. Winds howled from the wee hours of the morning
throughout the whole day & evening, & heavy rain during the noon
hour. Lots of spray (salt) as one
journeyed in the dinghy across the harbour to shore. Celtic Cross was called an internet café at
one point this afternoon as a few of us gathered & sat on the boat working
away at our computers, because Ian & Sharon were tied up at Mangoes Marina
with internet access & shore power to boot.
I received a lesson on how to copy & paste compositions created on
Word 2007 & sent out as an email rather than as an attachment, so it is
easier for people to open on their computers, as I have Vista which complicates
things for my recipients. Thank you Anne
Wallace & Jim for the instructions; they worked! We watched the DVD Benjamin Button this
evening; it was good or well done, but very solemn & sad; I cried a lot
thinking of my Dad, not an uncommon reaction for me most days.
Mar. 22nd:
A cool sunny Sunday morning with NE winds at 15K as I went to shore to
get the bus at Mangoes for Church.
Graeme cleaned & polished the stern combing, then rearranged the
water & diesel & gas jerry cans tied to the lifelines after lunch. A couple from Toronto came & introduced
themselves to us & asked us if our boat was a Viking 34. We were surprised someone recognized Sweet
Chariot as a Viking, but corrected them on her size. They had a Viking 34 in the past, & were
impressed on Sweet Chariot’s condition.
In the mid afternoon we dinghied to shore so I might call Mom on Skype,
do some internet stuff & clean out some stuff on my laptop. It remained cold & windy all afternoon,
evening & night.
Mar. 23rd:
Repeat---cool, ENE 15-20K winds with sun & cloudy periods today, but
still enough chop in the harbour. I
promised to serve Donald & France (Alto) a French toast with bacon
breakfast & they supplied real maple syrup.
We chatted away the morning, I particularly interested in the
communication system & the supporting power supply system they have
installed on their vessel. They have SSB
(ICOM HF Marine IC-M802), computer hook-up to SSB with a modem & printer
(Canon IP 100---ink cartridge is good & lasts a long time & produces
good photos), 1-12V battery dedicated to engine only & 4-12V batteries for
house ( they would like to change to 6V), Xantrex Battery Status Monitor, solar
panel, 2000 watts generator, 2 inverters, 2 AC battery chargers, & a 11
gal. Webasto ST 90 water heating system that also provides warm heat into the
cabin via 4 heat vents on rheostats
(they feel a 6 gal. is sufficient). Alto
gave us a hands-on tour of the systems this afternoon. It looks as if Treasure Cay is where we will
move on to tomorrow, so picked up fresh milk & breads & lettuce. Fuel tank & one water tank was topped
up. We had a final gathering for Happy
Hour at Snappas from 1700- 1900hrs.
& said our good-byes. A very cool
night, but at least the wind & harbour chop have finally settled down some.
Mar. 24th:
A quiet & calm night until just before sunrise when the ENE cold
wind increased, but the sun was in & out.
The weather forecast & the sea conditions are not sounding good for
several days. I am getting more &
more anxious to be home. I miss my
family, I miss my friends, I miss my work-outs, I miss skiing, I miss my bike…
I MISS OTTAWA! Ten months is too long
for me to be away. On a positive note, we did make our way up to Treasure Cay,
a distance of 14.7nm with the jenny fully deployed on a beam reach at about 6K
then broad reach at about 4K, leaving Marsh at 1000hrs. & arriving at our
destination at 1315hrs. at low tide, but soon to rise. On anchoring we went aground once again; it’s
these small sand humps that we seem to find everywhere. Until the tide came up
enough we had lunch & attempted to get on the internet but unsuccessful;
others were successful, so I guess it depends on your location in this harbour. Once we
dropped the hook, we venture to shore & walked the long 3 mile semi-circular powdery white
sand beach for a few hours looking for shells & sand dollars, but the tide
was already coming in where the sand dollars are normally found; maybe tomorrow
at low tide. The economy has hit this
famous & popular tourist destination as everywhere in the Bahamas & the
USA. This is the common comment from
everyone this year. Normally these beaches are packed with tourists especially
at this prime time of the year, but the beach was virtually all ours; only a few swimmers. A beer at the bar & we were the only
customers, then back to the boat to cook up a pot of chili. Some reading & some journal writing then
off to bed. The wind continued to blow
all night 15-20K.
Mar. 25th:
The day started off very cloudy & windy & unfortunately my mood
matched the day. We filled the boat’s
water & diesel tanks from the jerry cans, then refilled the jerry cans
onshore in preparation tomorrows probable departure north. After lunch the sun slowly started to poke
it’s head through the clouds. I needed
to renew my laptop virus protection subscription & since I can’t get
internet access here we went to shore.
After frustrating session with virus renewal reverted to their chat line
& then left Graeme use the laptop as he so wished while I walked the
wonderful beach once again at low tide with the ladies. Emotionally I needed this. On walking toward the beach we past some very
lovely condos for rent & magnificent homes & their yards & gardens;
sure there is a nice price tag attached
to these places. There were more people
on the beach today even though it was windy & cool. The tide was a rising low tide. It would have been a perfect day if the wind
wasn’t so strong to have one’s bathing suit on & walk the shallows way, way
out into the aqua waters looking for the infamous sand dollars that are in
abundance. On returning I was provided a
quick but confusing computer lesson on saving emails into Word. The best was the long awaited shower that
followed; it was just too quick. We
BBQ’d tonight since the winds had subsided some. Clear skies & millions of stars prevailed
all night.
Mar. 26th:
It was an early start this sunny morning as we were definitely leaving
Treasure Cay on high tide to cross the Whale Cut. Many boats had the same plan, but some took
the short route in very shallow waters through Don’t Rock taking advantage of
their shoal draft keels. The cool winds
were from the E at 10-15K with 5-6ft. rollers & the occasional 8 footer
pushing us through the Cut (deep Atlantic waters meeting the shallow Abacos
Sea). We made the pass by 0915hrs. then
had a run in 2-3ft. chop past Green Turtle Cay to tuck in behind Crab Cay by
Manjack Cay at 1120hrs. The nice thing
about this location is the fact that the residents here maintain free
WiFi. Distance=18.1nm. After lunch & some internet work we were
off in the dinghy at a low rising tide to the beach on Crab Cay & the
Atlantic coast for shell & sea glass hunting. There were tons of sea muffins, conch of very
size imaginable & starfish; you had to be careful where you stepped! Lots of sea glass as well. A very pleasant couple of hours spent in the
warm sun. After supper we were invited
over to a boat that we had just met to play several fun rounds of Mexican
Dominoes (4 couples). A light &
short rain shower had us disperse to our respective boats about 2200hrs. A quiet & fairly calm night.
Mar. 27th:
A rather lazy day. It was sunny
with cloudy periods & cool SSE winds at least 15K & higher in the afternoon
as predicted. Another cold front with
high winds is expected to pass Sat. & Sun.
Since this will be my last internet possibility till somewhere in
Florida, I took advantage of the situation & did a lot of email
writing. After lunch we got together
with Celtic Cross & made tentative plans for moving on to another Crab Cay
past Powell Cay tomorrow, then onto Great Sales Cay on Sun., Memory Rock on
Mon. & crossing the Gulf to Lake Worth on Tues. weather permitting. Then it was time to do some more exploring to
the Atlantic beach on Manjack Cay, through trails cut , provided & well
marked with colourful directional signs made from palms by the same residents
who provide WiFi to us cruisers. It was
a nice hike to a wide, pink, mostly powdery sand beach with high rollers of
aqua coloured waters crashing over the reefs, & large, eroding coral rocks
at one end. Ian & I found sea
beans---travel from Africa across the Atlantic.
We had a well needed, quick shower from the shower bag to rinse off the
salt. A few people blew their conchs at
sunset, but none were as good as Ian.
Mar. 28th:
Sunny & warm with cool SSW winds in the am blowing 20-25K. Before we up anchored at 0915hrs., I tried
Mom on Skype as this is the last internet ability until sometime in Florida;
great, I got her, so she is well aware
of our schedule etc. We had a good &
fast sail with the jenny alone heading W on a beam reach & averaging 6-7K.
We picked one of few anchorages that would provide us with some protection from
SW winds, that being Crab Cay on Little Abaco Island, past & across the Sea of Abaco from Powell
Cay. We travelled the 17.1nm distance
anchoring in a strong 25+K winds at
1245hrs. The SW winds blew all afternoon
& evening with gusts as high as 30K.
It was a little spooky at night here; very windy, no nearby settlements
except a slight glow from Cooper Town & anchor lights from the 6 anchored
sailboats here(Celtic Cross & Sandcastle travelling with us), therefore
very black, but lots of stars in the sky.
Mar. 29th:
A cloudy, warm, humid day with threatening skies, only an occasional
sunny break but very windy---SSW at 25-30K & 1-2ft. chop. The anchor was up at 0900hrs. & we
deployed about 1/3 of the jenny averaging a speed of 4-6K. We inched our way under motor only, through
the shallow shoals into the east side of Great Sales Cay & hoping the winds
will clock more to the W as predicted at 1900hrs. This location is not good for a SW wind &
the westward clocking is not to occur until very late. It took us 5 tries to get the anchor to hook;
there must be a shallow layer of sand over coral because others had difficulty
as well. Alto joined our little
contingent here. Distance= 35.9nm. All
night it remained warm & humid; the sheets felt damp getting into bed. The
winds continued to blow 20K from the SW so all the boats rock & rolled;
some did not sleep well. At 0200hrs. there was a sudden onset of
lightning & thunder--- scarry in a sailboat, followed by a good downpour of
rain (good for washing the salty sailboats down). Graeme told me the next day that he stood in
the rain to rinse the salt off himself until he got too cold.
Mar. 30th:
It is still warm & humid.
Alto is well equipped with a ham radio, a modem & a printer, &
so they have been able to provide extensive weather forecasts for us boaters
including wind directions & speed, & waves on a near hourly basis for a
7 day period. This morning was no
exception. Graeme has now decided to put
the dinghy on deck as Celtic Cross & Sandcastle have already up anchored.
We depart an hour later. Alto has
planned to cross the Gulf Sream to Cape Canaveral today & through the night,
were as the rest of us are overnighting at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama
Bank, then will move on to Lake Worth Inlet tomorrow. So we bide good-bye to our dear friends, wishing
them a safe & good sail, hoping that our paths will cross in the near
future. It was cloudy at sunrise but in
no time the sun shone in all it’s glory.
Winds had clocked W during the night & by dawn they were from the
N. Main & jenny were fully deployed in lightish winds
that picked up to 8-10K from the NW as time went by. We were hailed by a 51ft. trimaran with twin
masts heading south & had a nice conversation with him over VHF (we are
monitoring 16 now); he has a sailing vessel on the west coast as he resides in
the state of Washington & keeps this trimaran on the east coast---such a
pity! Winds are decreasing so we need to
rely on the the engine for some speed in order to make our destination in
daylight hours. Approximately 6 miles
from Memory Rock waypoint we are hailed by Alto. They changed their plans due to weather
predictions for the Cape Canaveral are---lightning & thunder. Anchor was down at 1845hrs. in 8-10 ft. of
water. Distance= 49.2nm. At 2000
hrs. Graeme checked the anchor before he
put his head down & discovered that the anchor was directly behind us yet
we are not drifting . So what is happening here? Well, the current is stronger than the wind
& all four of us are experiencing the same thing. As night approached, the winds picked up to 12-15K & in the
middle of nothing we were rolling back & forth, so little sleep for all. Again tonight because of the complete lack of
light, it is black & eerie but the stars are phenomenal in a clear sky.
Mar. 31st:
This is the big day of our crossing!
Last night at 0340hrs., I heard a
conversation from 3 sailboats that were doing a night crossing, knew that the 4
of us were a small community here at Memory Rock, identified by our mast anchor
lights & doing the crossing as soon as there is some daylight. At 0630hrs. the anchors came out easily as
the anchors straightened out a decrease in current & we headed in a
westerly direction on a broad reach. SE
winds were only 5-8K but the seas were calm with less than 1 ft. of chop &
minimal swells; this is a very good thing.
The sun was in & out & the humidity was high. Shortly after noon, the winds became more
south & thus are boat speed increased.
But by 1400hrs. the clouds rolled in & the sky over the Florida
coast became ominous. On the VHF 9 a weather warning signal blurted out the
onset of a sudden rain storm with possible winds up to 60mph, heavy rainfall
& possibility of tornado until 1645 hrs.
We donned our foul weather gear, life jackets, knives, flashlights. We furled the jenny in a little, refueled the
diesel tank just in case, prepared the strobe lights, the flares & safety
equipment . Lightning & thunder on
the mainland; yuk! VHF transmissions
very staticky. By 1700 hrs. the north
was clearing & dark ugly clouds now over the south, but still little to no
increase in wind & only slight raindrops for us way out to sea. Inland the rain was very heavy causing
flooding & zero visiblilty with 35-50K winds in Lake Worth, causing boats
to spin 360 on their anchors. The
weather gods were with us as the winds & the seas remained the same. By 1900 hrs. we spotted the bifurcation mark
& the red/green channel markers into Lake Worth. Winds now were SW & increased to 15-20K,
the sea chop increased to 3 ft. & hitting us at our port quarter, so we
downed the sail. We rock & rolled
our way into the channel & thankfully no freights or big cruise ships were
coming out of port. Dark was fast
approaching as we anchored well down the anchoring field at 2000hrs.
Distance= 67.4nm. It was a hotdog
supper at 2100 hrs. then to bed. The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure Mar. 16-31, 2009
Mar. 16th:
Another super fantastic day weather-wise predicted today with a high of
78F. We are waiting for our appointment
on Wed. re the cutlass bearing, so we have definitely decided to take the Albury
Ferry to Hope Town at 1030hrs. for the day.
When we were just about to leave we were hailed on VHF by Sandcastle, a
boat that we have not seen since Jan. but have maintained contact with via
email when at all possible. They were on
their way from Lynyard Cay to Hope Town.
We made arrangements to meet them there at 1300hrs., stay with them
overnight & the next day they would take us back to our vessel in Marsh
Harbour. Celtic Cross agreed to look
after Sweet Chariot ie running the motor & refrigeration during our absence. They even took us to shore where we then
walked to Crossing Beach to caught the ferry; one way ticket per person =$15.00
for the 20 minute trip, return fare= $22.00; there is a ferry every few hours
from 0715 to 1830hrs. It was a very
warm, light breeze day, so when we arrived we first walked the south end of the
island including South Beach & a number of people were swimming in the
Atlantic Waters. We walked Queens
Highway (one must see photos to appreciate such a name), in & out of shops,
built & gaily painted in the normal Bahamian architecture &
colours. After finding are friends we
hugged & chatted over beers &
lunch ‘till the cows came home’. When in
Hope Town I had been advised to go to Vernon’s Grocery & purchase a Key
Lime pie; not cheap, but the best one has ever tasted I’m told. And so we did, to have with supper tonight. Before returning to Sandcastle, we dinghied
over to the lighthouse side; built in 1863, can be seen for 17 mi. & run by
kerosene . We climbed the 101 circular
staircase to the top viewing deck. On
such a beautiful day as this, the view was breathtaking. Again photos are necessary to appreciate the
panoramic view, the colours of the homes, the vegetation, & the seas with
the spectrum of aqua, teal, light & dark blues. A beautiful evening, reacquainting with
friends & getting caught up with their adventures in Eleuthera &
the Exumas, & a magnificent calm,
quiet, clear, star filled sky.
Mar. 17th:
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! A
brilliant sunny, hot day (80F). After
breakfast we went ashore & walked part of Queens Highway to North Beach
& along its shoreline. We attempted
to cross private property from the beach to the road instead of back tracking,
when a caretaker explained this was not kosher, but then invited to give us a tour
of a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom , 3 yr. old gorgeous beach house with a spectacular
view of the Atlantic as well as the Sea of Abaco & meticulous gardens &
yard, that rents out from a mere $9000.00 to $16,000.00 per week. After lunch we detached from our mooring ball
& motored to Marsh Harbour as there was minimal wind. Happy Hour was planned at Snappas (beer &
well drinks= $3.00). St. Patty’s Day feastivities were well
publicized on Cruisers Net this morn throughout the Abacos. Suddenly, very dark clouds, threatening skies
& gusting winds + rain blew up as predicted at Happy Hour--- a weak cold
front. At the gathering I learnt that the Cost Right (equivalent to Costco back
home) closed down mid Feb., so that leaves basically one grocery store in
Marsh. It was a cool trip back to Sweet Chariot for
supper, & a windy night.
Mar. 18th:
E wind blew all night long & right into the morning. High, gusting winds 20-25K were predicted for
several days. Today is the day though
that we have an appointment to have the cutlass bearing repaired. Due to the keel depth & Marsh Harbour
Boatyard’s shallow harbour, it is necessary for us to arrive on a rising &
near high tide, which today is at 1400hrs.
We up anchored & with the jenny half deployed we sailed the 10.7nm
distance first on a beat, then beam reach as we rounded the land mass &
finally a run towards the boatyard. The
journey was better than the conditions were described in the am on Cruisers
Net. The sea chop was only 1-2ft. Gingerly, we entered the boatyard’s channel
right to the travel lift channel & Sweet Chariot was lifted to have the
cutlass bearing replaced; a tow line from the rescue had jammed so tightly in
the shaft, that the bearing was pushed out & bent from the normal round
circumference to an oval, with a scant remnants of the rope still present. Graeme had done quite a good job at scraping
the hull, but we went ahead & had the bottom pressure washed. Sweet Chariot has been through so much &
has withstood some harsh treatment, that she deserved some pampering to make
her look pretty from the bottom up! The
job took 1-11/2hrs. only, but the bill was expensive. We wished this problem was detected in
Spanish Wells where the repair prices were very reasonable. We did not want to take a chance & leave
the boatyard now on a dropping tide, so we asked to stay overnight tied up to a
dock. The skies had opened up when we
arrived & continued on & off the rest of the day & night.
Mar. 19th:
An ugly grey, very rainy day with thunder & lightening in the
am. The locals are very happy to see
this rain as they have had nothing for months & there is still 2 months
left in their dry season. We hope that
the weather improves when we plan to depart this afternoon; high tide today is
1522hrs. We had cleaned out the boat’s
water tank & cleaned the water filter, so refilled the water tank ($0.10
per gal.) & dieslled up before we ventured back to Marsh Harbour at
1430hrs. Winds were decent & we were
on a beat at 4.5K in less than 1ft. chop, but that soon died rendering us to
motor into the anchorage at Marsh Harbour at 1730hr. The rains had slowed down with only an
occasional sprinkle; in fact before sunset the sun poked its head out. The night was calm, quiet even humid & some
stars were out.
Mar. 20th:
Sunny morning with a few clouds, but NE winds at 20-25K predicted for
next 2 days. It was laundry day today
& at the same time we picked up a few groceries in anticipation of a
departure to start heading north then across the Gulf to the Florida. The boat looked like a Chinese junk with the
laundry hanging from everywhere. Winds
had now increased from the NE to 8-10K driving the humidity out of the air
& by sunset they were blowing 15-20K & cool. We had a plastic insert sewn into our solid
connector since we lost our see-through connector in the Feb. mishap &
picked up some emails at the internet café.
Then we hit Happy Hour at not one, but two boats; I guess we are making
up for lost time. So it was a very late
supper tonight. Lots of stars in a clear
night sky. First day of Spring came in
at 2347hrs.
Mar. 21st:
First full day of Spring & not a nice day at all. Winds howled from the wee hours of the morning
throughout the whole day & evening, & heavy rain during the noon
hour. Lots of spray (salt) as one
journeyed in the dinghy across the harbour to shore. Celtic Cross was called an internet café at
one point this afternoon as a few of us gathered & sat on the boat working
away at our computers, because Ian & Sharon were tied up at Mangoes Marina
with internet access & shore power to boot.
I received a lesson on how to copy & paste compositions created on
Word 2007 & sent out as an email rather than as an attachment, so it is
easier for people to open on their computers, as I have Vista which complicates
things for my recipients. Thank you Anne
Wallace & Jim for the instructions; they worked! We watched the DVD Benjamin Button this
evening; it was good or well done, but very solemn & sad; I cried a lot
thinking of my Dad, not an uncommon reaction for me most days.
Mar. 22nd:
A cool sunny Sunday morning with NE winds at 15K as I went to shore to
get the bus at Mangoes for Church.
Graeme cleaned & polished the stern combing, then rearranged the
water & diesel & gas jerry cans tied to the lifelines after lunch. A couple from Toronto came & introduced
themselves to us & asked us if our boat was a Viking 34. We were surprised someone recognized Sweet
Chariot as a Viking, but corrected them on her size. They had a Viking 34 in the past, & were
impressed on Sweet Chariot’s condition.
In the mid afternoon we dinghied to shore so I might call Mom on Skype,
do some internet stuff & clean out some stuff on my laptop. It remained cold & windy all afternoon,
evening & night.
Mar. 23rd:
Repeat---cool, ENE 15-20K winds with sun & cloudy periods today, but
still enough chop in the harbour. I
promised to serve Donald & France (Alto) a French toast with bacon
breakfast & they supplied real maple syrup.
We chatted away the morning, I particularly interested in the
communication system & the supporting power supply system they have
installed on their vessel. They have SSB
(ICOM HF Marine IC-M802), computer hook-up to SSB with a modem & printer
(Canon IP 100---ink cartridge is good & lasts a long time & produces
good photos), 1-12V battery dedicated to engine only & 4-12V batteries for
house ( they would like to change to 6V), Xantrex Battery Status Monitor, solar
panel, 2000 watts generator, 2 inverters, 2 AC battery chargers, & a 11
gal. Webasto ST 90 water heating system that also provides warm heat into the
cabin via 4 heat vents on rheostats
(they feel a 6 gal. is sufficient). Alto
gave us a hands-on tour of the systems this afternoon. It looks as if Treasure Cay is where we will
move on to tomorrow, so picked up fresh milk & breads & lettuce. Fuel tank & one water tank was topped
up. We had a final gathering for Happy
Hour at Snappas from 1700- 1900hrs.
& said our good-byes. A very cool
night, but at least the wind & harbour chop have finally settled down some.
Mar. 24th:
A quiet & calm night until just before sunrise when the ENE cold
wind increased, but the sun was in & out.
The weather forecast & the sea conditions are not sounding good for
several days. I am getting more &
more anxious to be home. I miss my
family, I miss my friends, I miss my work-outs, I miss skiing, I miss my bike…
I MISS OTTAWA! Ten months is too long
for me to be away. On a positive note, we did make our way up to Treasure Cay,
a distance of 14.7nm with the jenny fully deployed on a beam reach at about 6K
then broad reach at about 4K, leaving Marsh at 1000hrs. & arriving at our
destination at 1315hrs. at low tide, but soon to rise. On anchoring we went aground once again; it’s
these small sand humps that we seem to find everywhere. Until the tide came up
enough we had lunch & attempted to get on the internet but unsuccessful;
others were successful, so I guess it depends on your location in this harbour. Once we
dropped the hook, we venture to shore & walked the long 3 mile semi-circular powdery white
sand beach for a few hours looking for shells & sand dollars, but the tide
was already coming in where the sand dollars are normally found; maybe tomorrow
at low tide. The economy has hit this
famous & popular tourist destination as everywhere in the Bahamas & the
USA. This is the common comment from
everyone this year. Normally these beaches are packed with tourists especially
at this prime time of the year, but the beach was virtually all ours; only a few swimmers. A beer at the bar & we were the only
customers, then back to the boat to cook up a pot of chili. Some reading & some journal writing then
off to bed. The wind continued to blow
all night 15-20K.
Mar. 25th:
The day started off very cloudy & windy & unfortunately my mood
matched the day. We filled the boat’s
water & diesel tanks from the jerry cans, then refilled the jerry cans
onshore in preparation tomorrows probable departure north. After lunch the sun slowly started to poke
it’s head through the clouds. I needed
to renew my laptop virus protection subscription & since I can’t get
internet access here we went to shore.
After frustrating session with virus renewal reverted to their chat line
& then left Graeme use the laptop as he so wished while I walked the
wonderful beach once again at low tide with the ladies. Emotionally I needed this. On walking toward the beach we past some very
lovely condos for rent & magnificent homes & their yards & gardens;
sure there is a nice price tag attached
to these places. There were more people
on the beach today even though it was windy & cool. The tide was a rising low tide. It would have been a perfect day if the wind
wasn’t so strong to have one’s bathing suit on & walk the shallows way, way
out into the aqua waters looking for the infamous sand dollars that are in
abundance. On returning I was provided a
quick but confusing computer lesson on saving emails into Word. The best was the long awaited shower that
followed; it was just too quick. We
BBQ’d tonight since the winds had subsided some. Clear skies & millions of stars prevailed
all night.
Mar. 26th:
It was an early start this sunny morning as we were definitely leaving
Treasure Cay on high tide to cross the Whale Cut. Many boats had the same plan, but some took
the short route in very shallow waters through Don’t Rock taking advantage of
their shoal draft keels. The cool winds
were from the E at 10-15K with 5-6ft. rollers & the occasional 8 footer
pushing us through the Cut (deep Atlantic waters meeting the shallow Abacos
Sea). We made the pass by 0915hrs. then
had a run in 2-3ft. chop past Green Turtle Cay to tuck in behind Crab Cay by
Manjack Cay at 1120hrs. The nice thing
about this location is the fact that the residents here maintain free
WiFi. Distance=18.1nm. After lunch & some internet work we were
off in the dinghy at a low rising tide to the beach on Crab Cay & the
Atlantic coast for shell & sea glass hunting. There were tons of sea muffins, conch of very
size imaginable & starfish; you had to be careful where you stepped! Lots of sea glass as well. A very pleasant couple of hours spent in the
warm sun. After supper we were invited
over to a boat that we had just met to play several fun rounds of Mexican
Dominoes (4 couples). A light &
short rain shower had us disperse to our respective boats about 2200hrs. A quiet & fairly calm night.
Mar. 27th:
A rather lazy day. It was sunny
with cloudy periods & cool SSE winds at least 15K & higher in the afternoon
as predicted. Another cold front with
high winds is expected to pass Sat. & Sun.
Since this will be my last internet possibility till somewhere in
Florida, I took advantage of the situation & did a lot of email
writing. After lunch we got together
with Celtic Cross & made tentative plans for moving on to another Crab Cay
past Powell Cay tomorrow, then onto Great Sales Cay on Sun., Memory Rock on
Mon. & crossing the Gulf to Lake Worth on Tues. weather permitting. Then it was time to do some more exploring to
the Atlantic beach on Manjack Cay, through trails cut , provided & well
marked with colourful directional signs made from palms by the same residents
who provide WiFi to us cruisers. It was
a nice hike to a wide, pink, mostly powdery sand beach with high rollers of
aqua coloured waters crashing over the reefs, & large, eroding coral rocks
at one end. Ian & I found sea
beans---travel from Africa across the Atlantic.
We had a well needed, quick shower from the shower bag to rinse off the
salt. A few people blew their conchs at
sunset, but none were as good as Ian.
Mar. 28th:
Sunny & warm with cool SSW winds in the am blowing 20-25K. Before we up anchored at 0915hrs., I tried
Mom on Skype as this is the last internet ability until sometime in Florida;
great, I got her, so she is well aware
of our schedule etc. We had a good &
fast sail with the jenny alone heading W on a beam reach & averaging 6-7K.
We picked one of few anchorages that would provide us with some protection from
SW winds, that being Crab Cay on Little Abaco Island, past & across the Sea of Abaco from Powell
Cay. We travelled the 17.1nm distance
anchoring in a strong 25+K winds at
1245hrs. The SW winds blew all afternoon
& evening with gusts as high as 30K.
It was a little spooky at night here; very windy, no nearby settlements
except a slight glow from Cooper Town & anchor lights from the 6 anchored
sailboats here(Celtic Cross & Sandcastle travelling with us), therefore
very black, but lots of stars in the sky.
Mar. 29th:
A cloudy, warm, humid day with threatening skies, only an occasional
sunny break but very windy---SSW at 25-30K & 1-2ft. chop. The anchor was up at 0900hrs. & we
deployed about 1/3 of the jenny averaging a speed of 4-6K. We inched our way under motor only, through
the shallow shoals into the east side of Great Sales Cay & hoping the winds
will clock more to the W as predicted at 1900hrs. This location is not good for a SW wind &
the westward clocking is not to occur until very late. It took us 5 tries to get the anchor to hook;
there must be a shallow layer of sand over coral because others had difficulty
as well. Alto joined our little
contingent here. Distance= 35.9nm. All
night it remained warm & humid; the sheets felt damp getting into bed. The
winds continued to blow 20K from the SW so all the boats rock & rolled;
some did not sleep well. At 0200hrs. there was a sudden onset of
lightning & thunder--- scarry in a sailboat, followed by a good downpour of
rain (good for washing the salty sailboats down). Graeme told me the next day that he stood in
the rain to rinse the salt off himself until he got too cold.
Mar. 30th:
It is still warm & humid.
Alto is well equipped with a ham radio, a modem & a printer, &
so they have been able to provide extensive weather forecasts for us boaters
including wind directions & speed, & waves on a near hourly basis for a
7 day period. This morning was no
exception. Graeme has now decided to put
the dinghy on deck as Celtic Cross & Sandcastle have already up anchored.
We depart an hour later. Alto has
planned to cross the Gulf Sream to Cape Canaveral today & through the night,
were as the rest of us are overnighting at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama
Bank, then will move on to Lake Worth Inlet tomorrow. So we bide good-bye to our dear friends, wishing
them a safe & good sail, hoping that our paths will cross in the near
future. It was cloudy at sunrise but in
no time the sun shone in all it’s glory.
Winds had clocked W during the night & by dawn they were from the
N. Main & jenny were fully deployed in lightish winds
that picked up to 8-10K from the NW as time went by. We were hailed by a 51ft. trimaran with twin
masts heading south & had a nice conversation with him over VHF (we are
monitoring 16 now); he has a sailing vessel on the west coast as he resides in
the state of Washington & keeps this trimaran on the east coast---such a
pity! Winds are decreasing so we need to
rely on the the engine for some speed in order to make our destination in
daylight hours. Approximately 6 miles
from Memory Rock waypoint we are hailed by Alto. They changed their plans due to weather
predictions for the Cape Canaveral are---lightning & thunder. Anchor was down at 1845hrs. in 8-10 ft. of
water. Distance= 49.2nm. At 2000
hrs. Graeme checked the anchor before he
put his head down & discovered that the anchor was directly behind us yet
we are not drifting . So what is happening here? Well, the current is stronger than the wind
& all four of us are experiencing the same thing. As night approached, the winds picked up to 12-15K & in the
middle of nothing we were rolling back & forth, so little sleep for all. Again tonight because of the complete lack of
light, it is black & eerie but the stars are phenomenal in a clear sky.
Mar. 31st:
This is the big day of our crossing!
Last night at 0340hrs., I heard a
conversation from 3 sailboats that were doing a night crossing, knew that the 4
of us were a small community here at Memory Rock, identified by our mast anchor
lights & doing the crossing as soon as there is some daylight. At 0630hrs. the anchors came out easily as
the anchors straightened out a decrease in current & we headed in a
westerly direction on a broad reach. SE
winds were only 5-8K but the seas were calm with less than 1 ft. of chop &
minimal swells; this is a very good thing.
The sun was in & out & the humidity was high. Shortly after noon, the winds became more
south & thus are boat speed increased.
But by 1400hrs. the clouds rolled in & the sky over the Florida
coast became ominous. On the VHF 9 a weather warning signal blurted out the
onset of a sudden rain storm with possible winds up to 60mph, heavy rainfall
& possibility of tornado until 1645 hrs.
We donned our foul weather gear, life jackets, knives, flashlights. We furled the jenny in a little, refueled the
diesel tank just in case, prepared the strobe lights, the flares & safety
equipment . Lightning & thunder on
the mainland; yuk! VHF transmissions
very staticky. By 1700 hrs. the north
was clearing & dark ugly clouds now over the south, but still little to no
increase in wind & only slight raindrops for us way out to sea. Inland the rain was very heavy causing
flooding & zero visiblilty with 35-50K winds in Lake Worth, causing boats
to spin 360 on their anchors. The
weather gods were with us as the winds & the seas remained the same. By 1900 hrs. we spotted the bifurcation mark
& the red/green channel markers into Lake Worth. Winds now were SW & increased to 15-20K,
the sea chop increased to 3 ft. & hitting us at our port quarter, so we
downed the sail. We rock & rolled
our way into the channel & thankfully no freights or big cruise ships were
coming out of port. Dark was fast
approaching as we anchored well down the anchoring field at 2000hrs.
Distance= 67.4nm. It was a hotdog
supper at 2100 hrs. then to bed. The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure Mar. 16-31, 2009
Mar. 16th:
Another super fantastic day weather-wise predicted today with a high of
78F. We are waiting for our appointment
on Wed. re the cutlass bearing, so we have definitely decided to take the Albury
Ferry to Hope Town at 1030hrs. for the day.
When we were just about to leave we were hailed on VHF by Sandcastle, a
boat that we have not seen since Jan. but have maintained contact with via
email when at all possible. They were on
their way from Lynyard Cay to Hope Town.
We made arrangements to meet them there at 1300hrs., stay with them
overnight & the next day they would take us back to our vessel in Marsh
Harbour. Celtic Cross agreed to look
after Sweet Chariot ie running the motor & refrigeration during our absence. They even took us to shore where we then
walked to Crossing Beach to caught the ferry; one way ticket per person =$15.00
for the 20 minute trip, return fare= $22.00; there is a ferry every few hours
from 0715 to 1830hrs. It was a very
warm, light breeze day, so when we arrived we first walked the south end of the
island including South Beach & a number of people were swimming in the
Atlantic Waters. We walked Queens
Highway (one must see photos to appreciate such a name), in & out of shops,
built & gaily painted in the normal Bahamian architecture &
colours. After finding are friends we
hugged & chatted over beers &
lunch ‘till the cows came home’. When in
Hope Town I had been advised to go to Vernon’s Grocery & purchase a Key
Lime pie; not cheap, but the best one has ever tasted I’m told. And so we did, to have with supper tonight. Before returning to Sandcastle, we dinghied
over to the lighthouse side; built in 1863, can be seen for 17 mi. & run by
kerosene . We climbed the 101 circular
staircase to the top viewing deck. On
such a beautiful day as this, the view was breathtaking. Again photos are necessary to appreciate the
panoramic view, the colours of the homes, the vegetation, & the seas with
the spectrum of aqua, teal, light & dark blues. A beautiful evening, reacquainting with
friends & getting caught up with their adventures in Eleuthera &
the Exumas, & a magnificent calm,
quiet, clear, star filled sky.
Mar. 17th:
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! A
brilliant sunny, hot day (80F). After
breakfast we went ashore & walked part of Queens Highway to North Beach
& along its shoreline. We attempted
to cross private property from the beach to the road instead of back tracking,
when a caretaker explained this was not kosher, but then invited to give us a tour
of a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom , 3 yr. old gorgeous beach house with a spectacular
view of the Atlantic as well as the Sea of Abaco & meticulous gardens &
yard, that rents out from a mere $9000.00 to $16,000.00 per week. After lunch we detached from our mooring ball
& motored to Marsh Harbour as there was minimal wind. Happy Hour was planned at Snappas (beer &
well drinks= $3.00). St. Patty’s Day feastivities were well
publicized on Cruisers Net this morn throughout the Abacos. Suddenly, very dark clouds, threatening skies
& gusting winds + rain blew up as predicted at Happy Hour--- a weak cold
front. At the gathering I learnt that the Cost Right (equivalent to Costco back
home) closed down mid Feb., so that leaves basically one grocery store in
Marsh. It was a cool trip back to Sweet Chariot for
supper, & a windy night.
Mar. 18th:
E wind blew all night long & right into the morning. High, gusting winds 20-25K were predicted for
several days. Today is the day though
that we have an appointment to have the cutlass bearing repaired. Due to the keel depth & Marsh Harbour
Boatyard’s shallow harbour, it is necessary for us to arrive on a rising &
near high tide, which today is at 1400hrs.
We up anchored & with the jenny half deployed we sailed the 10.7nm
distance first on a beat, then beam reach as we rounded the land mass &
finally a run towards the boatyard. The
journey was better than the conditions were described in the am on Cruisers
Net. The sea chop was only 1-2ft. Gingerly, we entered the boatyard’s channel
right to the travel lift channel & Sweet Chariot was lifted to have the
cutlass bearing replaced; a tow line from the rescue had jammed so tightly in
the shaft, that the bearing was pushed out & bent from the normal round
circumference to an oval, with a scant remnants of the rope still present. Graeme had done quite a good job at scraping
the hull, but we went ahead & had the bottom pressure washed. Sweet Chariot has been through so much &
has withstood some harsh treatment, that she deserved some pampering to make
her look pretty from the bottom up! The
job took 1-11/2hrs. only, but the bill was expensive. We wished this problem was detected in
Spanish Wells where the repair prices were very reasonable. We did not want to take a chance & leave
the boatyard now on a dropping tide, so we asked to stay overnight tied up to a
dock. The skies had opened up when we
arrived & continued on & off the rest of the day & night.
Mar. 19th:
An ugly grey, very rainy day with thunder & lightening in the
am. The locals are very happy to see
this rain as they have had nothing for months & there is still 2 months
left in their dry season. We hope that
the weather improves when we plan to depart this afternoon; high tide today is
1522hrs. We had cleaned out the boat’s
water tank & cleaned the water filter, so refilled the water tank ($0.10
per gal.) & dieslled up before we ventured back to Marsh Harbour at
1430hrs. Winds were decent & we were
on a beat at 4.5K in less than 1ft. chop, but that soon died rendering us to
motor into the anchorage at Marsh Harbour at 1730hr. The rains had slowed down with only an
occasional sprinkle; in fact before sunset the sun poked its head out. The night was calm, quiet even humid & some
stars were out.
Mar. 20th:
Sunny morning with a few clouds, but NE winds at 20-25K predicted for
next 2 days. It was laundry day today
& at the same time we picked up a few groceries in anticipation of a
departure to start heading north then across the Gulf to the Florida. The boat looked like a Chinese junk with the
laundry hanging from everywhere. Winds
had now increased from the NE to 8-10K driving the humidity out of the air
& by sunset they were blowing 15-20K & cool. We had a plastic insert sewn into our solid
connector since we lost our see-through connector in the Feb. mishap &
picked up some emails at the internet café.
Then we hit Happy Hour at not one, but two boats; I guess we are making
up for lost time. So it was a very late
supper tonight. Lots of stars in a clear
night sky. First day of Spring came in
at 2347hrs.
Mar. 21st:
First full day of Spring & not a nice day at all. Winds howled from the wee hours of the morning
throughout the whole day & evening, & heavy rain during the noon
hour. Lots of spray (salt) as one
journeyed in the dinghy across the harbour to shore. Celtic Cross was called an internet café at
one point this afternoon as a few of us gathered & sat on the boat working
away at our computers, because Ian & Sharon were tied up at Mangoes Marina
with internet access & shore power to boot.
I received a lesson on how to copy & paste compositions created on
Word 2007 & sent out as an email rather than as an attachment, so it is
easier for people to open on their computers, as I have Vista which complicates
things for my recipients. Thank you Anne
Wallace & Jim for the instructions; they worked! We watched the DVD Benjamin Button this
evening; it was good or well done, but very solemn & sad; I cried a lot
thinking of my Dad, not an uncommon reaction for me most days.
Mar. 22nd:
A cool sunny Sunday morning with NE winds at 15K as I went to shore to
get the bus at Mangoes for Church.
Graeme cleaned & polished the stern combing, then rearranged the
water & diesel & gas jerry cans tied to the lifelines after lunch. A couple from Toronto came & introduced
themselves to us & asked us if our boat was a Viking 34. We were surprised someone recognized Sweet
Chariot as a Viking, but corrected them on her size. They had a Viking 34 in the past, & were
impressed on Sweet Chariot’s condition.
In the mid afternoon we dinghied to shore so I might call Mom on Skype,
do some internet stuff & clean out some stuff on my laptop. It remained cold & windy all afternoon,
evening & night.
Mar. 23rd:
Repeat---cool, ENE 15-20K winds with sun & cloudy periods today, but
still enough chop in the harbour. I
promised to serve Donald & France (Alto) a French toast with bacon
breakfast & they supplied real maple syrup.
We chatted away the morning, I particularly interested in the
communication system & the supporting power supply system they have
installed on their vessel. They have SSB
(ICOM HF Marine IC-M802), computer hook-up to SSB with a modem & printer
(Canon IP 100---ink cartridge is good & lasts a long time & produces
good photos), 1-12V battery dedicated to engine only & 4-12V batteries for
house ( they would like to change to 6V), Xantrex Battery Status Monitor, solar
panel, 2000 watts generator, 2 inverters, 2 AC battery chargers, & a 11
gal. Webasto ST 90 water heating system that also provides warm heat into the
cabin via 4 heat vents on rheostats
(they feel a 6 gal. is sufficient). Alto
gave us a hands-on tour of the systems this afternoon. It looks as if Treasure Cay is where we will
move on to tomorrow, so picked up fresh milk & breads & lettuce. Fuel tank & one water tank was topped
up. We had a final gathering for Happy
Hour at Snappas from 1700- 1900hrs.
& said our good-byes. A very cool
night, but at least the wind & harbour chop have finally settled down some.
Mar. 24th:
A quiet & calm night until just before sunrise when the ENE cold
wind increased, but the sun was in & out.
The weather forecast & the sea conditions are not sounding good for
several days. I am getting more &
more anxious to be home. I miss my
family, I miss my friends, I miss my work-outs, I miss skiing, I miss my bike…
I MISS OTTAWA! Ten months is too long
for me to be away. On a positive note, we did make our way up to Treasure Cay,
a distance of 14.7nm with the jenny fully deployed on a beam reach at about 6K
then broad reach at about 4K, leaving Marsh at 1000hrs. & arriving at our
destination at 1315hrs. at low tide, but soon to rise. On anchoring we went aground once again; it’s
these small sand humps that we seem to find everywhere. Until the tide came up
enough we had lunch & attempted to get on the internet but unsuccessful;
others were successful, so I guess it depends on your location in this harbour. Once we
dropped the hook, we venture to shore & walked the long 3 mile semi-circular powdery white
sand beach for a few hours looking for shells & sand dollars, but the tide
was already coming in where the sand dollars are normally found; maybe tomorrow
at low tide. The economy has hit this
famous & popular tourist destination as everywhere in the Bahamas & the
USA. This is the common comment from
everyone this year. Normally these beaches are packed with tourists especially
at this prime time of the year, but the beach was virtually all ours; only a few swimmers. A beer at the bar & we were the only
customers, then back to the boat to cook up a pot of chili. Some reading & some journal writing then
off to bed. The wind continued to blow
all night 15-20K.
Mar. 25th:
The day started off very cloudy & windy & unfortunately my mood
matched the day. We filled the boat’s
water & diesel tanks from the jerry cans, then refilled the jerry cans
onshore in preparation tomorrows probable departure north. After lunch the sun slowly started to poke
it’s head through the clouds. I needed
to renew my laptop virus protection subscription & since I can’t get
internet access here we went to shore.
After frustrating session with virus renewal reverted to their chat line
& then left Graeme use the laptop as he so wished while I walked the
wonderful beach once again at low tide with the ladies. Emotionally I needed this. On walking toward the beach we past some very
lovely condos for rent & magnificent homes & their yards & gardens;
sure there is a nice price tag attached
to these places. There were more people
on the beach today even though it was windy & cool. The tide was a rising low tide. It would have been a perfect day if the wind
wasn’t so strong to have one’s bathing suit on & walk the shallows way, way
out into the aqua waters looking for the infamous sand dollars that are in
abundance. On returning I was provided a
quick but confusing computer lesson on saving emails into Word. The best was the long awaited shower that
followed; it was just too quick. We
BBQ’d tonight since the winds had subsided some. Clear skies & millions of stars prevailed
all night.
Mar. 26th:
It was an early start this sunny morning as we were definitely leaving
Treasure Cay on high tide to cross the Whale Cut. Many boats had the same plan, but some took
the short route in very shallow waters through Don’t Rock taking advantage of
their shoal draft keels. The cool winds
were from the E at 10-15K with 5-6ft. rollers & the occasional 8 footer
pushing us through the Cut (deep Atlantic waters meeting the shallow Abacos
Sea). We made the pass by 0915hrs. then
had a run in 2-3ft. chop past Green Turtle Cay to tuck in behind Crab Cay by
Manjack Cay at 1120hrs. The nice thing
about this location is the fact that the residents here maintain free
WiFi. Distance=18.1nm. After lunch & some internet work we were
off in the dinghy at a low rising tide to the beach on Crab Cay & the
Atlantic coast for shell & sea glass hunting. There were tons of sea muffins, conch of very
size imaginable & starfish; you had to be careful where you stepped! Lots of sea glass as well. A very pleasant couple of hours spent in the
warm sun. After supper we were invited
over to a boat that we had just met to play several fun rounds of Mexican
Dominoes (4 couples). A light &
short rain shower had us disperse to our respective boats about 2200hrs. A quiet & fairly calm night.
Mar. 27th:
A rather lazy day. It was sunny
with cloudy periods & cool SSE winds at least 15K & higher in the afternoon
as predicted. Another cold front with
high winds is expected to pass Sat. & Sun.
Since this will be my last internet possibility till somewhere in
Florida, I took advantage of the situation & did a lot of email
writing. After lunch we got together
with Celtic Cross & made tentative plans for moving on to another Crab Cay
past Powell Cay tomorrow, then onto Great Sales Cay on Sun., Memory Rock on
Mon. & crossing the Gulf to Lake Worth on Tues. weather permitting. Then it was time to do some more exploring to
the Atlantic beach on Manjack Cay, through trails cut , provided & well
marked with colourful directional signs made from palms by the same residents
who provide WiFi to us cruisers. It was
a nice hike to a wide, pink, mostly powdery sand beach with high rollers of
aqua coloured waters crashing over the reefs, & large, eroding coral rocks
at one end. Ian & I found sea
beans---travel from Africa across the Atlantic.
We had a well needed, quick shower from the shower bag to rinse off the
salt. A few people blew their conchs at
sunset, but none were as good as Ian.
Mar. 28th:
Sunny & warm with cool SSW winds in the am blowing 20-25K. Before we up anchored at 0915hrs., I tried
Mom on Skype as this is the last internet ability until sometime in Florida;
great, I got her, so she is well aware
of our schedule etc. We had a good &
fast sail with the jenny alone heading W on a beam reach & averaging 6-7K.
We picked one of few anchorages that would provide us with some protection from
SW winds, that being Crab Cay on Little Abaco Island, past & across the Sea of Abaco from Powell
Cay. We travelled the 17.1nm distance
anchoring in a strong 25+K winds at
1245hrs. The SW winds blew all afternoon
& evening with gusts as high as 30K.
It was a little spooky at night here; very windy, no nearby settlements
except a slight glow from Cooper Town & anchor lights from the 6 anchored
sailboats here(Celtic Cross & Sandcastle travelling with us), therefore
very black, but lots of stars in the sky.
Mar. 29th:
A cloudy, warm, humid day with threatening skies, only an occasional
sunny break but very windy---SSW at 25-30K & 1-2ft. chop. The anchor was up at 0900hrs. & we
deployed about 1/3 of the jenny averaging a speed of 4-6K. We inched our way under motor only, through
the shallow shoals into the east side of Great Sales Cay & hoping the winds
will clock more to the W as predicted at 1900hrs. This location is not good for a SW wind &
the westward clocking is not to occur until very late. It took us 5 tries to get the anchor to hook;
there must be a shallow layer of sand over coral because others had difficulty
as well. Alto joined our little
contingent here. Distance= 35.9nm. All
night it remained warm & humid; the sheets felt damp getting into bed. The
winds continued to blow 20K from the SW so all the boats rock & rolled;
some did not sleep well. At 0200hrs. there was a sudden onset of
lightning & thunder--- scarry in a sailboat, followed by a good downpour of
rain (good for washing the salty sailboats down). Graeme told me the next day that he stood in
the rain to rinse the salt off himself until he got too cold.
Mar. 30th:
It is still warm & humid.
Alto is well equipped with a ham radio, a modem & a printer, &
so they have been able to provide extensive weather forecasts for us boaters
including wind directions & speed, & waves on a near hourly basis for a
7 day period. This morning was no
exception. Graeme has now decided to put
the dinghy on deck as Celtic Cross & Sandcastle have already up anchored.
We depart an hour later. Alto has
planned to cross the Gulf Sream to Cape Canaveral today & through the night,
were as the rest of us are overnighting at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama
Bank, then will move on to Lake Worth Inlet tomorrow. So we bide good-bye to our dear friends, wishing
them a safe & good sail, hoping that our paths will cross in the near
future. It was cloudy at sunrise but in
no time the sun shone in all it’s glory.
Winds had clocked W during the night & by dawn they were from the
N. Main & jenny were fully deployed in lightish winds
that picked up to 8-10K from the NW as time went by. We were hailed by a 51ft. trimaran with twin
masts heading south & had a nice conversation with him over VHF (we are
monitoring 16 now); he has a sailing vessel on the west coast as he resides in
the state of Washington & keeps this trimaran on the east coast---such a
pity! Winds are decreasing so we need to
rely on the the engine for some speed in order to make our destination in
daylight hours. Approximately 6 miles
from Memory Rock waypoint we are hailed by Alto. They changed their plans due to weather
predictions for the Cape Canaveral are---lightning & thunder. Anchor was down at 1845hrs. in 8-10 ft. of
water. Distance= 49.2nm. At 2000
hrs. Graeme checked the anchor before he
put his head down & discovered that the anchor was directly behind us yet
we are not drifting . So what is happening here? Well, the current is stronger than the wind
& all four of us are experiencing the same thing. As night approached, the winds picked up to 12-15K & in the
middle of nothing we were rolling back & forth, so little sleep for all. Again tonight because of the complete lack of
light, it is black & eerie but the stars are phenomenal in a clear sky.
Mar. 31st:
This is the big day of our crossing!
Last night at 0340hrs., I heard a
conversation from 3 sailboats that were doing a night crossing, knew that the 4
of us were a small community here at Memory Rock, identified by our mast anchor
lights & doing the crossing as soon as there is some daylight. At 0630hrs. the anchors came out easily as
the anchors straightened out a decrease in current & we headed in a
westerly direction on a broad reach. SE
winds were only 5-8K but the seas were calm with less than 1 ft. of chop &
minimal swells; this is a very good thing.
The sun was in & out & the humidity was high. Shortly after noon, the winds became more
south & thus are boat speed increased.
But by 1400hrs. the clouds rolled in & the sky over the Florida
coast became ominous. On the VHF 9 a weather warning signal blurted out the
onset of a sudden rain storm with possible winds up to 60mph, heavy rainfall
& possibility of tornado until 1645 hrs.
We donned our foul weather gear, life jackets, knives, flashlights. We furled the jenny in a little, refueled the
diesel tank just in case, prepared the strobe lights, the flares & safety
equipment . Lightning & thunder on
the mainland; yuk! VHF transmissions
very staticky. By 1700 hrs. the north
was clearing & dark ugly clouds now over the south, but still little to no
increase in wind & only slight raindrops for us way out to sea. Inland the rain was very heavy causing
flooding & zero visiblilty with 35-50K winds in Lake Worth, causing boats
to spin 360 on their anchors. The
weather gods were with us as the winds & the seas remained the same. By 1900 hrs. we spotted the bifurcation mark
& the red/green channel markers into Lake Worth. Winds now were SW & increased to 15-20K,
the sea chop increased to 3 ft. & hitting us at our port quarter, so we
downed the sail. We rock & rolled
our way into the channel & thankfully no freights or big cruise ships were
coming out of port. Dark was fast
approaching as we anchored well down the anchoring field at 2000hrs.
Distance= 67.4nm. It was a hotdog
supper at 2100 hrs. then to bed.