15 Dec 2016 Sailing to the Exumas

We have had a couple of relaxing days in the Berry Islands after leaving the Great Harbour Cay Marina. We had to motor around the top of the islands and in through a cut to nestle behind Cabbage Cay and Little Harbour Cay. There were two other boats already at anchor and we dropped the hook a reasonable distance from them in about 3 metres of water at low tide. Taking the dinghy to explore the waters between the islands we negotiated our way through shallows and deep channels, with turtles and stingrays galore scooting out of our way. It's surprising just how fast turtles can go when they want to, but equally refreshing to see so many in such a small area.

By the time we had returned to Tumi, another catamaran had dropped anchor next to us so we had company for the night at least. The couple on the catamaran next to us invited us over for sundowners, and Jane was playing her steel drum when we went across. Debra had a go, and did very well at it, with Tom and me accompanying on a scraper and rattle. Surprisingly a good sound!

We found a restaurant on the island (total number of inhabitants:3) called Flo's Conch Shack and we had lunch there yesterday with Tom and Jane from the catamaran next to us. As we tied up at the dinghy dock, three sharks (one adult, 2 juniors) started circling around the dock, obviously used to being fed with the conch and fish scraps.

When we booked the meal we were offered the choice of fish (snapper) lobster or conch. We both chose lobster, but when we polled up to eat, the choice was conch or fish only, so that's what we ate with coleslaw and rice and beans, true Bahamian fare.

We ate far too much, and then as tradition demands left our legacy on the walls of the shack.

Back on board, there was no wind and it was really hot, so we both jumped in the water to cool off, a first for this season, now we just have to top up the tans!

Getting a signal to access the Internet has proved somewhat challenging and we have to try every angle possible to succeed ...

10/12/2016 : BBC on Great Harbour Cay

That's baking, bread-making and cycling, all part of today's activities.  Whilst it's very beautiful here and somewhat off the beaten track, buying groceries isn't straight forward so we decided to open the Tumi bakery and successfully produced a loaf of bread and some bran muffins ... very proud!  The French lady on the boat moored next to us even gave me a lesson in baguette making so we'll be putting that to the test in the near future.

The marina provides complimentary bikes to explore the island so this afternoon we headed out for some fresh air and cycled around 8 miles on bikes with no gears nor brakes .... hard work on some of the hills I can tell you!  They also arrange social events so last night about 20 of us dined on the dockside and put the world to rights, all good fun.

The previous evening we were lucky enough to be given three freshly caught lobster tails and, after looking up how to cook them, produced a very attractive plate of food which tasted absolutely delicious.  Accompanied by a glass of white wine, we dined like kings.

It's pretty windy this weekend and so unusually for us we've opted to stay in the marina for a week ... at least this way we can get off the boat easily.  Tomorrow morning we're off for Sunday brunch at the only hotel on the island .... a small boutique place on the beach run by an English couple.  We called in today to book a table and we're welcomed with complimentary drinks .... all very civilised!

Up Shark Creek without a paddle ... 7 Dec 2016

We went kayaking today, up Shark Creek (sounds somewhat proverbial, doesn't it?) into the mangroves and back again without any mishaps, capsizes or loss of paddles, contrary to the title (although it probably got your attention!).

Once Debra got the hang of paddling (this was her first time) she did very well, although our shoulders now feel the benefits of the exertion of effort and we will probably both be in need of a massage tonight. However, despite the exertion, we both really revelled in the peace nad tranquility of not having to listen to a four stroke outboard engine as we glided up through the main channel of the creek as far as we could go and still turn the kayaks around. Shallow waters with carpets of sea grass swaying in the current a few inches below us, exchanging places with deep pools where swimming would be so welcome (if it wasn't for the sharks .... actually, we didn't see any, disappointingly).

Having done the creek, we then ventured out into the Atlantic Ocean (or at least a bay of it) to get to a beach club for a late lunch and a few well earned beers.

We borrowed the kayaks from Steve, the manager of the marina we are staying in, a really nice guy, and so helpful. In fact, we would heartily recommend anyone visiting here, it is go nice. We will happily ride out the coming storm here.

6 December 2016 Great Harbour Cay

We set off from Key West at 2:30pm with great expectations that the weather was going to play ball and allow us to sail all the way to Great Harbour Cay. Hmm. As we left Key West we expected the winds to veer from East to southeast so that as we headed east we would be close hauled but able to sail relatively easily. Well, the winds decided not to move as predicted and we were really pushing the envelope sailing too close to the wind, but also into the waves. Not a comfortable sailing situation. By the time we got to midnight, we had had enough and diverted into Marathon Key to an anchorage that is deep enough to take our draught to get some sleep and see what the weather was doing in the morning.
At 6am, we got up, checked the weather forecasts yet again to see that the winds had shifted round to the south east, we could go. We changed our approach this time and took the Hawk Passage (inside the reef) as far as some shoals, then branched outside into the main Gulf Stream waters. As we got further round the Keys, we started to head northeast and the sailing really started. The first part of the Gulf Stream was rather bouncy, the result of days of wind over tide, but once we got out into the deeper water things calmed down a bit and we were blistering along and it turned out to be a great sail. As we approached the North Rocks near Bimini we calculated that our average speed for the last 4.5 hours was 10 knots - not bad at all!
We turned into the Bahama Bank as the winds moved to the south, meaning that we should have had a good sail onwards across the bank, however, the short punchy waves on our bow had other ideas and it turned out to be something of a slog with the bow being pounded by every other wave coming towards us, no sleep for either of us last night so we arrived pretty jaded at high water today. The tally for 24 hours sailing - 180 miles, a pretty good average speed of 7.5 knots.
We are now tucked up in the cosy marina we like here on Great Harbour Cay, planning to stay for a week to allow a severe weather pattern to blow through and we will remain in our hurricane hole while it exhausts itself.

4/12/2016 : Readying to set sail to the Bahamas

By lunchtime today the winds will swing from the nort-east to south-east enabling us to start the one and a half day sail to the Berry Islands in the Bahamas.  The trip basically breaks down into 3 parts : 12 hours sailing just outside the reef along the length of the Florida Keys; 12 hours crossing from Florida to Bimini, including the Gulf Stream and then 12 hours across the Bahama Bank where the water will be between 3 and 6 metres deep and the most amazing turquoise colour.  We're hoping the forecasters have got it exactly right this time ..... it looks almost perfect sailing conditions for where we want to go, and that doesn't happen too often!

We've enjoyed being in Key West and to some extent are sad to be leaving the US where everything we need, be it food, spares, entertainment, facilities, is readily avaliable but are looking forward to the beauty of the Bahamas. We've used the extra few days here to undertake a bit of boat maintenance (something neither of us particularly enjoys so we tend to avoid) but also to enjoy the local colour, brew and Christmas preparations, all in all making it a fun place to be.