After a night of HEAVY drinking at the Jib Room, Marsh Harbour Marina, Abacos, Bahamas and then back aboard while playing Mexican Train, I woke to my first hangover in years and a guilty feeling that I haven’t updated the blog in months. So …
We left, hopefully for the last time this time, Titusville, FL on 1/14/2010. It was 69⁰ and sunny with the wind out of the NE for a lovely sail south to Port Canaveral. From there we sailed down to Ft. Pierce where we anchored and waited for four days for the weather to moderate. We met our Canadian friends, Bill and Jose Andersen on Caper, at Port Salerno (Manatee Pocket)and headed straight for Memory Rock and Great Sale Cay. We beat the next weather front anchored over night and then checked in (Customs and Immigration) at Spanish Cay where we waited out another front. Sadly the marina had only five boats and no fuel for us or their own electric generator. Tough economic times continue for the Bahamas, too. Next stop was White Sound, Green Turtle Cay where there were a lot more boats, but more evidence of the poor economy: the Bluff House Marina was empty and on the verge of bankruptcy. While trying to get into the pocket off the E side of the anchorage there, we had our first bottom encounter and had to wait for the tide to lift us off; thankfully no real damage. From there we made an aborted try to round the Whale, turning back when Caper developed engine trouble and encountered the Atlantic swells. Our second attempt was fine with 18-22k winds out of the NE and four foot swells. We sailed through Bakers Bay, a huge resort with multi-million dollar LOTS (40% sold would you believe!), to Fishers Bay, Great Guana Cay, home of the Guana Grabber (a very sweet rum drink) and our first Wi-Fi hotspot. This is the place we had our dingy “grabbed” the last time we were here. We found it with the help of the Cruisers Net in Marsh Harbour the next day. For the next blow, we shifted off the anchor and went into Orchid Bay Marina, a lovely, sheltered and mildly expensive spot. The number of boats and Canadians has been increasing as we move E, but the atmosphere is still that of hard times. Today we are in Marsh Harbour Marina at 65¢/ft. plus $4/day for water, metered electric at 65¢/Kw, and $3 laundry tokens (one per wash and one per dry). We are still having front after front roar through every three or four days: the one for tonight (2/12/2010) is suspected to have sustained gale force winds (34-40 mph) and gusts to 50!. The Harbour has pretty much emptied out with everyone seeking shelter in the various marinas.
The current plan is to stage to Little Harbour SE of here on Sunday, cross the Northeast Providence Channel and tuck in at Royal Island, Eleuthra, near the site of Bill’s near drowning. From there, weather permitting, we’ll go through Current Cut, and cross the shallow flats at the top of Exuma Sound to the Exuma island chain.
If anyone is using Google Earth or similar program to follow us, let me know and I’ll put the lat/lan back in.
All the boats at Spanish Cay
Looking N at Great Guana on a typical morning
Caper and her new sails off the Whale Cut
