January 2018

In which we make our way down the Out Islands and sit out some unseasonable weather.

We started 2018 anchored of the gorgeous beach stretching west from Orange Creek, at the northern end of Cat Island, Bahamas.

Checking the anchor cable.

Motoring through the calm.

We had motored back to here after a disappointing trip to Arthurs Town on New Years Eve in the expectation of having a good sailing wind the following day. This did not materialise, so we had to motor 15 miles down the coast, past Alligator point. We anchored off Pigeon Creek, dinghied ashore to a small beach and walked the mile or so to the next settlement down, passing a closed food store. We had hoped to find a water tap, but didn't. The following morning, we went ashore again and stocked up a little on provisions, but didn't find any fresh fruit or vegetables as they arrive by boat on Thursdays so we picked up anchor and continued down the coast to New Bight. Again, the forecast wind failed to materialise, but we drifted slowly for a few hours before giving up and motoring the rest of the way. The plan was to stay here a couple of days but the forecast wind changed from Northerly to Westerly with gusts up to 30 knots and we would not get any protection on this coast so, instead, we picked up on the morning of the 3rd and beat down to the South East tip of the island in a SWly F3 then reached back along the Southern coast passing through a small gap in a coral reef to anchor at Reef Harbour. The wind steadily increased and veered. The coast gave us good protection from the wind waves but, unfortunately, the swell from the West came over the reef causing us to roll more than was comfortable. We were, however, safe and stayed here for nearly 2 days, leaving on the morning of the 5^th to sail, once again into a fickle wind, back to New Bight. Strong winds were again forecast, this time from the East, and I was keen to provision while we could so, after an early lunch, we dinghied ashore only to discover the the Westerly winds had prevented the supply boat from coming. We walked the mile or so up to the food store anyway and got enough to tide us over. We also discovered a water tap and did a couple of runs to top up the aft (washing water) tank. Ashore again in the morning, this time to walk up to the top of Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas at all of 206 feet. Here there is a 3/4 scale hermitage, built by Father Jerome, who seemed to have got about a bit, as we have found refences to him on other islands.

Hermitage

Thence back to the food store in time for the late arrival of the weeks fresh supplies. It was a walk of over a mile back to the dinghy, so we hung out a thumb and were immediately picked up by a passing local. Sunday was damp and dismal, so we stayed on board doing the occasional little job to keep us entertained and tried to work out a strategy for the coming week as the wind was, once again, forecast to box the compass with cloud and rain for much of the time. At least it was going to be warmer than the high teens we had been experiencing for the past few days.

On Monday, 8^th, We decided that we were bored of sitting in one place and started a series of hops. We had an earlyish start, initially downwind, under just the genoa, to hawks nest point then, with 2 reefs in the main and variable headsail, it was a beat to windward for 30 miles to Conception Island. Had we moved back to our anchorage at Reef Harbour on Sunday, we would have shortened the distance considerably and also had a better angle on the wind. The anchorage is not particularly difficult to enter but I wanted to do it in good daylight and we ended up motoring the last couple of miles into wind. Conception Island had been one of our favourite places earlier in the year and, once again, we had it entirely to ourselves. Without the sun, however, it wasn't quite the same and we were happy to move on the following morning. The wind was forecast to be South Easterly and, in a straight line, we only had about 35 miles to go so it shouldn't have been any problem. Foolishly, however, I decided to save a mile by going North initially round a 4 mile reef rather than South. This changed our angle on the wind such that we were, once again, hard on it all day, rather than having a pleasant reach. At times, as the wind veered then backed, it seemed that we would miss our destination altogether and have another motor into wind to finish the day but, with a bit of good fortune and a lot of hard work, we finished up off Cockburn Town, San Salvador at 15:00 and anchored just south of the town. Unlike most of the Bahamian islands, San Salvador has no deeply indented bays to shelter in so we were relying on its sheer bulk to protect us from the Atlantic swell. The wind was as good as it could be for this - just South of East – but it was still far from comfortable. We dinghied ashore in the morning, initially into the government harbour but, finding no-where to safely leave the dinghy, we retreated and landed on the beach instead. It was Independence Day and very quiet but we had a good walk, sheltering from a couple of rainstorms and then getting thoroughly soaked on the trip back by a third. Thursday started bright and we enjoyed a swim before the rain returned. It got progressively heavier and we gave up the idea of having another trip ashore. Elsie decided to have another go at collecting rainwater, this time by rigging a bed sheet from the spray hood and back to the binnacle. The first hour provided a few litres and we wondered whether it was worth the effort. Later, however, the heavens really opened in true tropical fashion and, over the space of an hour or so, we collected about 50 litres, enough to top-up our ‘washing water’ tank. It was surprisingly cloudy so we didn’t add any to the drinking water tank. Although Friday still gave us South Easterly winds, a swell was building and setting us rolling. Seizing a gap in the weather, we heaved up and headed South West, initially heading for the South of Conception Island. The wind was fluctuating between 10 and 25 knots, hindering progress and I didn’t think we could make it back to Conception before nightfall so instead headed for an anchorage on the North side of Rum Cay. We made the entrance to this by 15:30 but the overcast conditions meant that we couldn’t ‘read the water’ and, as it is an infrequent anchorage and not properly surveyed, I was not willing to risk running into an uncharted rock. So, back to plan ‘a’ and head for Conception. This was now 10 miles directly downwind so we just put the sails away and motored, arriving at twilight but I knew my way in here and we anchored safely at 18:10. Saturday dawned fair and the only other yacht in the anchorage left at first light so we, once again, had the island to ourselves and had a very pleasant walk ashore. The tide was lower than we had seen it before and, at the Southern end of the beach we found an old wreck. There was the remains of a windlass with anchor chains still threaded through hawse pipes and nearby what can only be described as ‘mashed ship’ - tortured metal beaten together and welded into pieces of rock. An awesome reminder of the power of the sea. Soon after we returned to Ruby, a large motor yacht appeared and moored for a few hours but the rain had returned and the guests obviously didn’t wish to linger in an area with no shops or restaurants. While we lunched another two sailing yachts anchored so we no longer had the island to ourselves.

The wind changed to South-Easterly and we moved to the Southern end of the bay and then, the following day, back to the North end as the wind, and swell, changed again. More yachts arrived that evening and, as it was time to stock up on provisions, we moved on the following morning, heading to Rum Cay. The wind was just East of North, giving us a good close reach, marred only by occasional showers. We anchored close to where we had in April and dinghied ashore. A walk to the Eastern end showed us that the entrance channel to the Marina had been dredged and the sand spoil from this was being made to good use in repairing the government jetty in the bay. The marina itself was still in a bad way, with bad silting up of the, still un-repaired, docks. The little grocery was as we remembered – as long as we were not too picky, there was food enough to keep us going for a few days. On Tuesday, we went for a longer walk round the settlement, finding the school and chatting with a few locals, including a resident American. We topped up a little on food and swapped a few books with the library at the store.

Obligatory sunset picture.

We had resolved to give a little back on our travels this year and had brought some stationery items for the school. Having discovered that, with a total island population of 60, there were only 5 pupils, we chose a selection and presented ourselves on Wednesday morning and were made very welcome. After a chat with the teacher, we were invited to take the reading lesson with the year 6’s allowing her to concentrate on the year 3’s. Farewells at mid-day, and a continuation of the walk to a small-holding run by the marina owners for another nice chat and some hen-fresh eggs. Despite the wind being North of East, the anchorage was rolly with a southerly swell and other yachts arrived that afternoon to disturb our isolation so, on Thursday we heaved up and headed West to Long Island. It was close hauled up to the tip and then broad reach 8 miles down the other side before gybing and heading for the inside passage. On my Navionics charts, the logical route appeared to be outside of a sandbank. We would be almost directly downwind, so we put away the main and continued under jib alone. My chart showed that we should have 8-9 metres of water all the way but it soon decreased to less than 6. A concerned dolphin came to look at us, as Elsie has written. 4 metres and I started the engine. I now saw breaking water, where no shallows were shown and made a rapid 180, furling the sail as we went round. As we motored back North, I calculated that we would now not reach our destination before sunset so planned on our fall-back, the lee of a small island. The cruising guide gave basic directions and these tied in with my chart so a route was planned though, as I expected less than 0.5 metre of clearance in places, we proceeded at low speed. The strong Northerly wind had stirred and clouded the water making things even more tricky. We touched and then held fast. The tide was rising, so we put out the anchor and waited in hope. I contacted a local marina who put us in touch with someone with a power boat to give us a tow if all else failed but, after a nail-biting hour, we floated free and proceeded to our chosen anchorage. Not totally smooth, but safe. I dug out other charts overnight and found where we should have gone. In the morning, we proceeded, initially under engine until we were confident in the new chart then under genoa alone with a following wind down to Thomson bay, arriving at 11:00. An early lunch, then ashore for a walk and a little light shopping. The local bar advertised a happy hour at 16:00 and we felt we needed a little relaxation so, after stowing away the groceries, we went ashore again and socialise for an hour or two.

On Saturday morning, ashore again to visit a farmers’ market only to discover that at 09:30, we had missed all the fresh fruit and veg so back to the store for a bit more of a stock up from them. In the afternoon, we took the dinghy in the other direction for a walk on a, not terribly attractive, beach. Sunday was wet, so we stayed on board. Monday was brighter, so we decided to explore a little. Ashore earlyish and down to the tourist office to pick up a little information, then out with the thumbs and hitched, in 4 goes, down to Clarence Town, the island capital. We passed several stores, schools and government buildings on the way down but in Clarence town, very little. There was a twin towered Catholic church, built by Father Jerome who also built the hermitage on Cat Island but it was unfortunately locked. There was a twin towered Anglican church, also locked and a marina, geared to sport fishing boats. There was also the ‘Slave Canal’ a narrow cut from the harbour through to what is now a mangrove swamp but had been a shallow pond used as a salt pan. Cut by hand, it allowed sea water to flow in and was then dammed to allow evaporation and salt collection. We then hitched back north. The sight-seeing wasn’t spectacular but we had some great conversations with the drivers, including the primary school principle, learning of the effects of hurricane Joaquin, 2 ½ years earlier, and the recovery from it.

 Fr Jerome's church

Slave canal

Tuesday was another lazy day, with just a dinghy trip ashore in the afternoon for a little social gathering with other cruisers. Wednesday was busier: there was weather heading our way and we had a couple of things to do before it hit. First we went for a top-up of fuel and, more importantly, water. The previous fuel dock had been destroyed by Joachim and there was conflicting information as to depths available, so we made sure to approach on a rising tide. It transpired that there was plenty of depth until very close. We were disappointed with the water, however: although it was R.O. (reverse osmosis) and chargeable, it was mixed in a tank with rain water and a bit cloudy, so we elected to only fill the aft ‘washing’; tank and not the forward ‘drinking’ tank. We still have about 60 litres of bottled water from our crossing and are loath to contaminate the forward tank. Back to our anchorage and then dinghy to a bar with laundry attached. We lunched while a month’s worth of washing was done. Seafood pizza was available at $45, but we elected for a sharing platter of conch fritters at $8. The last job of the day was erecting the cockpit tent. We hadn’t used it in over 2 years but we could see waves of foul weather heading our way and, if we were going to be trapped on board for a week, a 10 ft square sun room sounded like a useful extension. On Thursday, we stocked up on provisions and battened down the hatches for a gale, which blew for more than 48 hours. Books, music and board games kept us entertained.

Tent

Our electricity generation was working well: we have the 2 solar panels and the wind generator and the batteries had their longest ever period of being fully charged with a steady voltage of 13+ volts. On Sunday, the wind gennie suddenly started making a different noise from what we had heard before and, a few hours later, seized solid. Monday, the wind was too strong to deal with it but on Tuesday, a gap in the weather allowed us to take it down and start an on-line conversation with the manufacturer. Subsequent dismantling showed that a carbon brush had jammed in its holder, causing it to lose contact with a slip ring and the result was an over-heated and destroyed generator. It was still under warranty but several thousand miles from a service centre. We had a little provisioning trip ashore later before the next weather hit us on Wednesday. So, the latter half of January was spent in one anchorage, with little entertainment. It was our decision to slow down this winter, but the unseasonable weather has meant that we have not enjoyed it as much as hoped. Never mind – looking ahead, the weather looks set to be more to our liking and we are planning on moving on and seeing some new islands.

Monthly distances:

Logged          354 miles
Over ground  301 miles

Never underestimate the intelligence of a dolphin - by Elsie.

Never underestimate the intelligence of a dolphin. Two days ago we set out from Rum Cay to Long Island with a northerly force 4 to 5. Two reefs in the main and one in the jib we bombed along to the top of Long Island. There is a huge reef right along the top of the island so we stood off nearly 4 miles until we could turn and under jib alone we started to sail down the west coast. Our chart plotter uses Navionic charts, which are pretty much useless close to land in The Bahamas. Lionel has Navionic sonar charts loaded on his phone which we use in tricky areas. They are usually good but never spot on as there is a lot of shifting sand banks in this area. He had identified a good channel to follow down towards Thompson Bay, a settlement about half way down the west coast which had everything a cruiser needed after three weeks in the Out Islands – food, laundry, liquor store, social interaction with other yachties, did I mention food. By now it was mid afternoon and we were not sure if we would get to Thompson Bay before the sun went down. Lionel is always quite apprehensive about going into a new anchorage without good light. He had identified another potential anchorage about ten miles away which might be OK at a push (which means it will be very rolly and no real shelter from the wind but we would be safe).

At this point we were joined by a single dolphin. This is unusual as dolphins are very sociable creatures and usually travel in pairs if not whole shoals of up to 20 or 30. They love to play with the water stream coming of our bow and it is great fun watching their antics, coming alongside the boat to make sure you are watching then doing some acrobatics in the slip stream of the bow, then ducking down and appearing at the stern to wallow in your applause and praise. This can go on for an hour or more depending on whether they have fed already or if the boat is going fast enough for them to be kept amused. This single dolphin behaved oddly from the start. He was not interested in the bow slip stream and he kept on coming up each side of the boat making sure we could see him clearly. This behaviour went on for about ten minutes then he started to drop back behind us, appearing at the side of the boat then dropping behind us again, getting further and further behind each time. Eventually he disappeared.

Not thinking much more of the incident we carried on. About ten minutes later Lionel started to look worried. Both of the electronic charts indicated we should be in 9 metres of of water but the depth sounder was saying three. The minimum depth Ruby can sail in is about 2 metres but we like to have a metre above that in case of rocks or other hazards on the sea bed. The conclusion was we were going through a little shallow area and the depth would rise in a few minutes. It didn’t and we started to notice breaking water to our port side which indicates very shallow water or a reef. There was no reef indicated on either chart so we concluded it was shallow water. The sail was hastily put away and the engine, which we had started as soon as we had identified a potential problem, was brought into use. Lionel quickly turned Ruby round and back tracked along the same track we had come in on knowing that although it was shallow it was deep enough for Ruby.

After the initial shock had worn off we started to look around for other potential overnight anchorages in the area. There was a marina close by but the reviews indicated it only had 5 foot depth in the approach channel so we couldn’t go there. The decision to try on the lee shore of a tiny island near Dove Cay was made and we cautiously headed that way. About a mile into the journey we suddenly went aground in 1.2 metres of water. We were stuck fast. The good news was the tide was rising so all we had to do was wait. We stuck out the anchor to stop the current pulling us further onto the sand bank and waited. After about an hour the depth started to go up and we floated off. I hauled up the anchor then became lookout on the bow as we inched forward to our destination. We did get there eventually and anchored in 2.9 metres of water, a little skinny for my liking but we were safe.

After a very large rum we started to talk about what had happened and what we should have done. Of course we should have turned back much sooner, when we say that the depth on the chart and the depth on the sounder were miles apart. In fact we should have turned back when the dolphin appeared. Was he trying to tell us something? Are these mammals so attuned to their environment and everything that is going on in it that they know when other creatures, including men in big boats, are in danger? In hindsight the dolphin was definitely warning us about the shifting sand. He knew the boat and we were in danger. The fact he made sure we were aware of his presence and started to drop back as we got nearer and nearer the danger is enough proof to me.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to us. The first time was many years ago in Scotland. We were approaching Gairloch after a very long wet beam reach across from Harris. There is a beautiful little anchorage tucked away in a corner of the Loch which we heading for. As we were about to drop the sails and start to motor in a single dolphin appeared and started playing with the bow slip stream. He was doing all the usual things, swimming along beside us then went of to do some acrobatics, dancing with the water in front of us then back to make sure were paying attention. This continued for about five miles as we approached the anchorage. He stayed with us right to the anchorage then watched us as we put the sails away and tidied up. As we sat down and opened our first can of the night he had one last look and off he went. His duty had been done. He had seen us safely into a safe anchorage and we weren’t about to move. I still swear when he heard the first can pop open he left. A few days later we were in a pub in Mull with loads more sailors and I told my quirky little story to the group. Another sailor piped up saying the same thing had happened to him.

Well, what do you make of these two stories, coincidence or are we dealing with a creature far more intelligent than man? I us the word intelligence not in the sense of being able to solve huge mathematical problems or build great structures. I use the term meaning they are at one with nature and know what is good and what is bad and try to help others who don’t. Maybe there is hope for the world. Maybe man is not the future and Darwin was right. The next evolutionary step is already developing and it will be that step that will save the world from disaster not man. We have had our moment of glory but now it’s a matter of survival of the fittest and man is not stepping up to the plate and proving their worth so we will eventually die out and in another million years man will be referred to as the dinosaurs are now. Dolphins will ask “I wonder what natural disaster killed them, was it a meteor hitting earth and changing the climate so drastically that they could not survive?” No, we know it was our own stupidity and selfishness that ruined the planet for our species and we have to accept the inevitable. We are on our way out!!!!

December 2017

In which we start our winter cruise of the Bahamas.

We started December anchored off Green Turtle Cay. To progress further down the Abacos, one has to briefly exit the shelter of the fringing islands. Unfortunately, the exit channel Whale Cay, has a fearsome reputation in North Easterly swells, so there was a great deal of inertia.

Green Turtle Cay

Eventually, on the 1^st, we seized the bull by the horns and, with a flood tide to avoid wind-over-tide, we motor sailed out, travelled 3 miles in the almost-open sea and re-entered, anchoring in Bakers Bay. Following our new policy of stopping to smell the roses, on the 2^nd we sailed over to Treasure Cay to enter via a winding channel. Our timing could have been better and we had to slow down to avoid arriving on low water. We crept in with engine at idle revs and never saw less than 1.9 metres. The harbour is private and a charge of $20 is levied to even anchor so we paid the extra $10 (+tax) to pick up a mooring ball. Late lunch, and ashore, mainly for laundry only to discover that they were closing in 40 minutes. Rapid decision to do a wash and let nature do the drying. I did a couple of water runs later and, in the morning, Elsie had a long luxurious shower while I did a little shop and a book swap to justify the expense. On exit, we stopped off to top up on diesel and then sailed back towards Bakers bay. Spotting, on AIS, a couple of friends from earlier in the week at Delias Cay, we continued east for a few more miles and joined them, dinghying ashore for a convivial afternoon at Grabbers beach bar. On return to Ruby, I took a dip in the clear, warm water. The anchor was nicely set, the hull was clean but, horror, the propeller anode was almost completely gone. It had been replaced in Rhode Island and usually they last 6-9 months so, possibly, the fresh water we had been sailing in over the last few months had increased to erosion rate. I carry a small SCUBA set on board but had been unable to get the cylinder topped up in the States as it didn’t have a U.S. stamp and it only had a few minutes of air remaining. So, in the morning, I drained it completely and it was then round round to settlement harbour to get it topped off. We had a pleasant walk round the village and along the ocean shore while it was being done and returned to bad news: there was a fault with the valve and air was leaking. He had half filled it for me but…

Great Guana Cay

Our anchorage was fine for the existing wind but that was due to change to south of east so we picked up and headed off on the 12 miles to Marsh Harbour, the commercial centre of Abaco. Sails up, stop engine – no. The bowden cable connecting the stop handle to the fuel pump had failed, requiring me to put my hands on a running engine (theoretically banned by Elsie after last years incident) to stop it. A temporary solution of a length of cord rigged through the maintenance hatch in the shower room was rigged and tested and we continued on our way. Once again, we had managed to time our arrival for low water and, it being full moon, this meant that depths were 20 cm less than charted. It was a very slow chug round the harbour, with the depth sounder showing just inches below the keel before we found a spot where we could swing safely. Slightly annoyingly, the deepest spot was occupied by a catamaran which could probably have been safe anywhere. The following morning, we debated whether we needed to go ashore for anything. No. The water was a little murky and I wanted to change the anode so we picked up and motored the few miles to an anchorage in the lee of Matt Lowes Cay. We found a spot that gave us good protection from the wind and swell but there was a current running so we moved ½ a mile to the north of Jack Cash point. I reckoned that I had about 5 minutes useful air in the SCUBA pack, enough to tidy up if there was a problem with one of the anode bolts, so decided to give it a go using snorkel. I am not the world’s most confident snorkeller, so only get about 20-30 seconds useful time on each dip but, after about an hour, I managed to complete the 2 minute job and the prop was once again protected.

On Wednesday, we were joined by friends on Touterelle and Aura. We joined them for sun-downers but otherwise had a thoroughly lazy day. We did stir ourselves sufficiently on Thursday to dinghy ashore and walk the mile or so into town finding a dive shop which reckoned that they could repair the leak on my tank, so did an extra run to take that ashore. I also went up the mast to investigate our VHF aerial. All looked fine up there so the problem would seem to be inside the mast.

Friday started very wet, with the wind from the south. It was forecast to turn Northerly over the weekend, so we needed to move and, seeing a gap in the weather, we picked up and headed back into Marsh harbour. I dinghied ashore and, at the second attempt, collected my repaired and filled diving cylinder. Then, as the clearance looked more certain, we went ashore for a fairly major shop. The local supermarket, Maxwells, was very well stocked – just 50% more expensive than in the States. We even managed to find Weetabix, which had been eluding us for the past month and also my favourite variation of tea (green, de-caf, lemon). Sun-downers on board, joined by friends from Lady Rebel.

Saturday started with F4 southerlies but with a forecast an active front which would bring the wind round to the north west and, likely, make our current position uncomfortable. So, after another little foray ashore, we heaved up and sailed, motor/sailed then motored for 9 miles, past our previous anchorage, Matt Lowe’s and Sugar Loaf Cays and back to the coast to achieve a straight line distance of about a mile. The protection from the current southerly wind in our new position wasn’t great so we hoped that the forecast was correct. It was. 2 hours later, the wind veered 120 degrees, gusting up to gale force as it did so. Torrential rain and a temperature drop of 5 degrees, accompanied by distant lightening showed what a sub-tropical cold front could achieve. 30 minutes later, Tortourelle and Aura appeared out of the rain and joined us – we felt just a little smug sympathetic.

Our AIS track round Marsh Harbour

Showers were forecast for Sunday, so we sat and did little then, on Monday, we had a pleasant downwind sail down to Little Harbour Bay. We now had a dilemma: our next stop was about 60 miles away; each end would involve passages to the East through unfamiliar, shallow waters – best not done in the dark or into a rising sun. The wind for the following 2 days was forecast to be Westerly, mostly F4 but occasionally dropping to F2. If we left late afternoon and sailed overnight, we would arrive, tired, before sunrise; leave when the sun was high enough in the morning and we might have a late evening arrival. A possible solution was a tiny bay at the south east tip of Abaco: there should be protection both from the westerly wind and the prevailing north-easterly Atlantic swell. So, on Tuesday, we heaved up at 0855, headed out through Little Harbour Cut and down the coast. Full sail, then a single reef, gave us a fine broad reach down to Hole-in-the-Wall (rock arch now sadly demolished by a hurricane). We worked our way in as far as possible, by-passing a wide sandy area, to get maximum protection. Unfortunately, this put us in a mixed and rock bed and although the anchor held well, we were not totally convinced that it was secure. Even more unfortunately, the building westerly sent a swell round the southern tip of the island so we got little sleep. We were glad to get away at 8 in the morning and head across. The wind was now almost directly behind us which made a slowish passage under genoa alone but there was no hurry and we dropped anchor at the western end of Royal Island at 14:20. ‘Follow Me’, last seen in St Augustine was already there and we felt a little guilty as our joining them encouraged 4 other boats to disturb their isolation. They seemed to forgive us and we socialised a little over the next couple of days. This included a close look at their dinghy – a New Zealand catamaran design that incorporates a low, flat, bow. Elsie is unable to recover into our dinghy from the water, which limits snorkelling possibilities and this seems like a potential solution. The chart shows reefs surrounding much of the neighbouring islands and we set off in the dinghy the following morning to explore. Unfortunately, the ‘reefs’ turned out to be no more than thick patches of sea grass but we did find a very small private beach to relax on. Having brought dinghy shoes, I then foolishly went for a paddle and managed to step on a sea urchin, getting a cluster of spines in my foot. While regaining shore attempting not to tread on them, I got some more in my finger…

Somewhere we missed earlier in the year, when going north, was Spanish Wells so, on Friday we headed over, diverting to look at Royal Island Harbour on the way. This is a wonderful little, almost completely protected, bay. Attempts were made to develop it a few years ago and there are some unsightly ruins but it would be a good bolt-hole. Spanish Wells, itself, has shallow approaches and we motored in slowly. A motor yacht ahead of us appeared to pick up a pilot so I followed it, taking a path not clear from my chart but it worked. We intended to anchor close to the entrance but the echo sounder showed only 30 cm under the keel, at low water, and I wanted 50cm. The chart showed that 100 yards further on we would get that so slowly on, and on… Half a mile further, I saw the magic number and we anchored, only to find part of someone’s roof, presumably hurricane debris, right next to us and probably 20cm proud of the sea bed. Lunch, then a long dinghy ashore to explore. A pleasant little town but somewhere for a few days rather than a long stay. Poached a little internet to update aps and load a few guilty episodes of the Archers and other sundry BBC programmes. Found a supermarket that was nearly as good as the one in Marsh Harbour and only a little more expensive. Checked that we could get water if we brought Ruby in the following day.

Saturday morning,we dinghied in again for a good provisioning trip then, after lunch, took Ruby in, on a rising tide. To the Marina, who charged us $32.25 for 60 gallons of water. We are just going to have to live with this and be as economical as possible with it. We exited, then retraced our route back to the West, then South to anchor in the lee of Eleuthera for a night or two. Sunday, the forecast was for light airs and blue skies, so we planned a lazy day of sun-bathing. Naturally, it was overcast with a brisk wind. Monday, forecast to be overcast with 15 knots of wind, was blue with 6-7 knots from the NE. It was time to move anyway, so we picked up at 08:00 and headed south to Current Cut, motoring with a little bit of assist from full main. This cut has a fearsome reputation, with currents up to 10 knots (and we were near spring tides). There was conflicting advice about when slack water could be expected so I went for earlier, rather than later. This worked fine and gave us 2 knots of push through the cut. Even with this, there were strong eddies, pushing us 10-15 degrees off course through a narrow channel. Once clear, we unfurled the genoa and had a fine, stately, beat. Ruby loves these conditions, light winds and flat seas. With an indicated 6 knots of wind, we were making 7 through the water and tacking through less than 90 degrees. We tracked an American yacht, which passed through half an hour before us, going a knot slower and tacking through 110 degrees. They took nearly twice as long to cover the ten miles up to Glass Window Bridge, our destination for the day. This had been a rock arch, dividing the Atlantic from the inner sea but it was demolished by a hurricane a few years back and replaced by a concrete bridge, which was not nearly a scenic. Ashore for a little walk in the afternoon.

Glass window bridge

On the North East coast of Eleuthera is Harbour Island, which is renowned as a scenic holiday resort. There is a passage to it, from Spanish Wells, known as the Devils Backbone, because of the profusion of rocks. Dire warnings are given about attempting to navigate it without a pilot (available for $150 a time) I had looked at it on my charts and, while a little convoluted, was 95% sure I could get through without problem but that 5%… There are no buses on the islands but we had read that hitch-hiking was an acceptable method of travel so, on Tuesday, we dinghied ashore at 10 and hung out a thumb. Elsie has written more about our big day out.

Fish!

 Southerly winds, though not strong, were forecast for Wednesday night and there was only one tiny bay that looked like giving protection from this direction in the area so we decided to ‘bag’ it and headed South 2 miles to Mutton Fish point. It was as we expected, allowing us to get close in to curving cliffs and giving the anchor a good hold on thick sand. Cue 36 hours of doing very little in very calm conditions, just listening to the waves lapping into the hollow the sea has etched into the base of the cliffs. On Thursday, we sailed another 7 miles south to Hatchet Harbour. Like Royal Island Harbour, this is almost totally enclosed with just a 20 metre wide entrance. We anchored at the Eastern end and dinghied ashore for a walk round Alice Town. A quiet, pleasant place but, as with so many that we are seeing here, quite a few large, expensive, houses being built. We fear that if we return in 10 or 20 years time, Eleuthera will have gone the way of the Florida Keys and New Providence to become a rich man’s holiday island. Friday, another 17 mile sail down the coast. We started with just the cruising chute, as we should have been almost downwind, but soon put it away and had a great beam reach with full ‘plain’ sail. We were heading for Colebrook Town, once the seat of government. Elsie had read that there was a ‘fish fry’ on Fridays and, with fond memories of ‘jump-ups’ in Barbados and St Lucia, we were looking forward to it.  We managed to catch a spanish mackeral on the way, big enough to feed us two meals.  To the north of the Colebrook town is Governors Harbour, a wide, well protected bay but this has a reputation for poor holding so, instead, went to the south and dropped the anchor inside Laughing Bird Cay. Ashore for a walk and  reconnaissance, finding good supermarket and liquor store. Full of hope, we went ashore again just after 6 to find that the fish fry was exclusively patronised by American tourists and rather over-pricedfor indifferent food. The music, when it started was by an incompetent DJ mixing jazzed up carols with fragments of rock. Not our idea of Caribbean music so we headed back to the boat for an early night. Ashore again to provision and get an extra couple of cases of beer then we motored a couple of miles south to find a nice secluded bay for the afternoon. Our plan was to be in Rock Sound for Christmas so, on Sunday, we picked up and had a great reach down the coast then beat up to anchor off the town, We are getting used to Bahamian waters now and our pulse rates stay in control sailing at 7 knots in less than 3 metres of water for miles at a time. Christmas day, itself was spent quietly with a walk ashore in the morning, a couple of water runs in the afternoon and a meal roast chicken and veggies in the evening. Ashore again on Boxing day for laundry, a little light shopping and one more water run.

2.2 metres means we only have 60cms undert the keel.

Time for a move so, on the 27^th, we picked up at 09:50 and headed out in an Easterly F3. This gave us a broad reach down Rock sound and up to the start of the Davis Channel. It was near low water so, for much of the way, the depth sounder was only showing 2.2 metres – about 2 feet of clearance under the keel. The Davis Channel itself was directly downwind, and this had decreased to 7 knots, so we motored this bit then had another good reach down to, almost, the bottom of Eleuthera. There is a known anchorage right at the tip but we didn’t fancy it: as our recent experience at Hole-in-the-Wall shows, anchorages at corners tend to attract swell from every direction. Instead, we chose to stop at Bannerman Town, which has a broad shallow bay. There are a number of tiny, almost enclosed bays in the middle of it and, as we approached, their purpose became clear. A huge cruise ship was anchored off and these were artificial beaches for their passengers to have their day of beach fun. We stopped a mile short. Even here, the swell from the Atlantic side worked its way round to set us gently rolling so we were glad we hadn’t continued right to the tip. We went for a dip and had a pleasant surprise. We had been a bit disappointed by the water temperature since returning to the Bahamas. Here, it was noticeably warmer, presumably because the Atlantic was retaining its summer heat while the shallow waters we had been in were cooling down.

Another short hop on the 28^th to Half Moon Bay on Little San Salvador. This island is owned by Holland America Line and the bay is used as a beach resort for their passengers but previous cruisers had reported that the northern end was quiet and that, after the visiting ships leave at 16:00 the whole beach is available. A broad reach for the first 2 miles then, once round the tip of Eleuthera, close hauled across with 1 reef in a NE3-4. Rain was forecast and, with 5 miles to go, a minor front hit us, veering the wind by 30 degrees and giving us a good wash down. Taking advantage of the wind shift, we tacked through 60 degrees and then back again after the front to take us to our anchorage spot. Today, there were 2 cruise ships in, with an aggregate of over 5000 passengers. They mostly chose to stay at the resort end with just a few strolling up to ‘our’ end. To our surprise, we were joined not by another yacht but by a small local cargo vessel, followed by a visit from a Bahamian police launch to check our papers. We later discovered that the cargo boat had run short of fuel – could we help – no. As the police had visited him and were aware of his problem and, presumably, there was some sort of fuel availability ashore, we didn’t see it as our problem. We were a little concerned for our own security with him so close but we figured that, even if he had bad intentions, his police check would give him second thoughts. In any event, he picked up and departed before sunset. We went ashore in the afternoon, to a beach north of the passenger area and had a pleasant swim. As the last of the day’s visitors left, we went ashore again, to the main beach. A security guard reminded us, politely, not to stray off the beach but it was a pleasant stroll, looking at the permanent structures and toys laid on for the visitors – Bournemouth in the Bahamas. Looking at the cruise lines brochure later, we saw the blurb of ‘have you ever dreamt of having your own tropical island?’ Well yes. We manage it from time to time, without having to share with 5000 others and we can manage without beach bars and pedallos.

Cruise ship at half moon bay.

On the 29^th, we woke to find that we were alone but discovered that today’s visitor arrived at 09:30 and wouldn’t depart until after sunset. We dinghied up to a reef, north of the bay, for me to have a snorkel- nice, but not spectacular and I was shadowed by a 4 ft barracuda, which made me just a little uncomfortable. Up anchor at 11:00 and another short sail to Orange Creek, at the north end of Cat Island. We were accompanied for the first few miles by waves of jet-skis but then had the sea to ourselves. We had to curve round a reef and, for once, the wind obliged and backed as we reached the far end if it, allowing us to sail almost to our destination with only a mile on the port tack to get there. Dropped anchor in 3 metres of water so clear that we could see every grain of sand, had a nice swim to round off the afternoon then sun-downers watching a huge Cu-Nim pass to the West stretching to sitting under an almost full moon illuminating the bay. Ashore in the morning to walk along our private 1 ½ mile sandy beach then a lazy afternoon on board. Well, lazy-ish. We were not making enough electricity to keep the batteries charged and a check showed that the solar panel on the bimini was not working, so down it came. Without going into boring details, a couple of frustrating hours had it working – intermittently!

Another stroll along the beach on the 31^st then a motor 3 miles South to anchor off Arthurs Town. The beach access looked a little rocky, so we lunched before going ashore, to allow the tide to rise a little. When we did go ashore, it was very disappointing – deserted with many buildings boarded up and the remaining ones looking the worse for wear. We motored back to our previous spot and decided that we would see in the New Year on U.K. time, so raised a glass to all our friends back home at 19:00 local time.

Monthly stats:

Logged 321 miles

Over ground 295 miles

Annual over ground: 6249 miles

Dunmore Town - by Elsie

“Let’s go on an adventure” announces the skipper on a bright and sunny morning. I thought this whole thing was THE adventure but I listened closely. My definition of “adventure” and his is sometimes very different. It turned out he was suggesting a “good” adventure. I have to be very careful when the skipper suggests things, look where it got me!!!!

One of the places I had wanted to see was Harbour Island, more specifically Dunmore Town, where the rich and famous allegedly holiday far away from the maddening crowds. Harbour Island is a mere hop, skip and jump from Spanish Wells so it should be easy to get there. However, mother nature has been sneaky and put a reef in the way, Devil’s Backbone, and all Water guides and reference books do not recommend the sailing trip from one island to the next unless you are local or got a local pilot on board which costs upwards of $300 dollars. The fast ferry costs about $50 dollars per person one way and on our budget that was a no no. Lionel had looked carefully at the charts and tides and was 90% sure we could do it but there was always going to be that 10% so we gave it a miss and sailed (or drifted) gallantly onwards.

Now today we were anchored off the Glass Bridge. The Bridge used to be a stone arch that linked the narrow north part of Eleuthera to the fatter southern part. A long ago hurricane had blown the arch away and now a bridge stood in its place. It is very impressive. The calm Bahamian Sea on one side and the rough turbulent Atlantic Ocean on the other. All shades of blue you could think of and even more you have never seen. The proposed adventure was to hitchhike to Harbour Island, just a mere 6 or 7 miles away. Ah, my kind of adventure! So, a picnic lunch was made and a bottle of water stowed away in the backpack. We made sure we had money and a camera, how many times have we set off and forgotten these two essential items?

The first part of the journey was easy, dingy ashore and carry the dingy up the beach, past high water and secure it to a rock with a hole in it. Done. We climbed the shore up to the road, Queen’s Highway, no less. Then came a discussion on how best to hitchhike. My thoughts were to walk along the road and stick your thumb out when you hear a car coming from the appropriate direction. The reasoning being, If you kept on walking you get nearer your destination if you don’t get a lift and it makes you look energetic and positive to the would be lifter. Lionel wanted to stay at a safe spot for drivers to stop so we wouldn’t cause an accident. We compromised. We found a safe place for drivers to stop and when we heard a car we started walking and stuck our thumb out. After three minutes of this technique a car stopped. WOW! They were going to the ferry terminal and yes they would take us. We got in and the two ladies regaled us with stories about their lives and the islands. They worked in one of the luxury hotels on Harbour Island and were very busy with Christmas coming up. We were dropped off at the pier while they went to park. The “ferries” were really only water taxis which held a dozen passengers. At $5 dollars a head a very tidy business but we did muse how much they had to pay to actually run the route. The water taxi only took a matter of minutes to gulf the expanse between the islands and before we knew it we were on Harbour Island.

Looking towards the Devil's Backbone.

Lovely tree lined leafy main thoroughfare with posh shops, houses and hotels on one side and a beautiful views over to Eleuthera on the other. Huge motor boats parked at docks. There wasn’t a shortage of money here. We strolled along the street making comments about house prices, house colours and shaded and sunny gardens. I decided my multi million dollar house would be painted sunshine yellow while Lionel favoured light blue. Now, we were down to one working snorkelling mask we were on the lookout for a dive shop which we found. A nice lady sold us a snorkel and mask and we had a conversation with the owner who assured us there was not a jellyfish problem in these waters even though we sailed through a huge quiver (I so want that to be the collective noun for a lot of jellyfish) of them offshore. She also told us we would very unlikely see any hammerhead sharks. If you want to see them head for the Bimimi Islands.

Continuing our stroll we passed the library, the hospital and the graveyard. The skipper looked for a lawyers office on the other corner but the population were not as cynical as he is. Going towards the back streets the houses became smaller and instead of a gardener tending a beautiful garden there were chickens running around the back yards and ladies sitting on the front steps gossiping with their neighbours and passers by, little shacks for shops and men riding old rickety bikes with no brakes. Ah Bahamas, the contrast. We walked down to the northern shore and speculated on where the Devils Backbone was and what entrance an intrepid sailor would use to sail back to Spanish Wells. The skipper got out his Nav App and we were soon informed of all facts we needed to sail back but we didn’t need to. I short stroll back along to the ferry pier and we had seen Dunmore Town. It only took just over a hour. My sole purpose for being here was to get an ice cream, a lovely home made creamy ice. We had only passed one ice cream parlour, we knew what street it was on but if we walked up one of the cross streets we didn’t know which way to turn when we got to the junction. It was hot. It was sunny. It was sticky and really I didn’t have the energy to do it so instead we got the water taxi back.

Dunmore town

My greatest fear was that hitch hiking would not work on the way home. Lionel had estimated the distance to be about 6 miles from Ruby to the ferry pier but the pier was not in the place we thought it was. It was round the corner and beyond the “International” airport. It was International, planes flew to Miami from here! So, add on another 5 maybe 6 miles to our homeward journey. As we got off the water taxi a gentleman in a suit and tie approached us asking if we wanted a taxi. We answered in the negative but I did look longingly at the clean, air conditioned mode of transport he was pointing at. No. We are made of sterner stuff than that. On we went. We didn’t even get to the exit of the car park when our first lift stopped, a man going home to Lower Bogue. He wasn’t very talkative but dropped us off at the corner five miles down the road. Our next lift turned the corner while we were still waving the first off, a young guy who texted and spoke on his mobile phone for the 3 miles he took us. It was a bit unnerving but I don’t think I was in a position to point out that he was endangering his as well as our lives by not paying attention to where he was going. The next and last lift was a dotting grandfather on his way to Hatchett bay to deliver Christmas presents to his 5 year old grand daughter. He dropped us off at Glass Bridge where we wanted to take some pictures of the bridge and others of Ruby in the distance. After another short walk and dingy ride we were home, three hours after we left to have an adventure. We know how to have an adventure AND be home in time for lunch and some serious sun bathing in the afternoon.

The adventure highlighted a few things I have become to take for granted on our travels. The first is never believe what the guide books tell you. Dunmore Town was supposed to be the loveliest town you will ever see in The Bahamas. Nonsense. It was nice. It was tidy in some places. It was ramshackle in others but I have seen lovelier. The most important thing it highlighted tome was human kindness. I am weekly overwhelmed with the kindness strangers show to us. Hitch-hiking on a strange island. Complete strangers, but four people stopped to help us along the way. They showed interest in where we were going and what we are doing and what we had done and shared stories about their lives and islands in a quiet and generous manner.

November 2017

In which we finish our summer sojourn in the United States and head back to the Bahamas for the winter.

November opened with us on a mooring buoy in Annapolis, still waiting for the final fit of our new mainsail. We got a call at 08:30, to say it was ready and could we collect it from the dock – yes. Back on board, it took us an hour or so to fit, including the battens, which seem to be a much better system than our old sail. Apart from it being about 10 cm short in the foot (and nothing can be done about that), all appears now to be in order so Rubette was hoisted aboard, buoy let go and we set off south. Of course, the great sailing winds of the previous days had gone but, once out in the river, there was sufficient breeze for us to hoist the new sail and, with full genoa, sail the 10, miles or so down to Rhode river and another lovely anchorage. Thursday, 2^nd, brought southerly winds. We set off, with full sail, close hauled across the Chesapeake then back, putting a reef in as the wind increased to F4. To make time, we motor sailed for a couple of hours with just the main up but then, with 10 miles to go, we could sail properly again past Solomons Island and back to Cuckold Creek which we had visited a few before. More southerly winds on Friday had us sailing, motor sailing or just motoring as the shape of the bay dictated, but finished in style with 1 reef in at the entrance to Reedville. Here, we took the first right to anchor in Cockrell Creek. The view through 270 degrees was idyllic, so we ignored the direction of the huge fish processing plant. It wasn’t so easy to ignore the following morning as the wind had shifted to the north and it made its presence known. Another early-ish start on Saturday but this time with northerly winds and we broad reached across the bay and back, covering nearly 60 miles to enter the York River and anchor in Sarah Creek, where we had last been back in May.

Now it was decision time. We had hoped to make an off-shore passage round Cape Hatteras and had been rushing down as there appeared to be a window for us to do this. Now, however, the forecast winds has increased to 40 knots and, with no realistic window showing for at least the next 10 days, we decided to sample ‘the Ditch’. We though we deserved a day off so Sunday was taken fairly easy, with just an oil change on the main engine and a little trip to fill up with fuel and water. It was then into the books for Elsie to plan the first few day’s stops. On Monday, we transited down to Norfolk, managing to sail most of the way in a SSW4. Of course, the timing of the tides was atrocious, with a flood up the York River and Chesapeake turning to an ebb down the Elizabeth River. Norfolk is, of course, a huge Naval base. The first section we passed had 3 aircraft carriers and half a dozen destroyers just parked and a large helicopter / troop carrier pulled out as we approached, propelled by 6 tugs. It proceeded up river, pushing us into the margins, so we slowed and followed. Of course its destination was just beyond ours but its deceleration zone rather larger

so we had to dodge back round it to berth at a private dock owned by the local OCC Port Officer. The was a U.S. style slip, with six piles to tie up to and a tiny finger jetty. On advice, we entered bow first and didn’t make too bad a hash of it but it did make access rather difficult, especially for Elsie who doesn't go in for pier head leaps. It was very nice to find old friends here though – Venture Lady, last met in Bequia and Livingstone not seen since La Graciosa.

Glass chess set

Tuesday we spent mostly at the Chrysler museum, which has a huge glassware exhibition and an associated workshop with a lunchtime demonstration of glass blowing. This was unintentionally entertaining as the two demonstrators appeared to have personal issues, possibly regarding whose turn it was to be the star. Somewhat edgy with red hot glass being played with (and the audience being largely made up of a group of ‘learning challenged’ adults) and the denouement of the workpiece being dropped was almost predictable. We finished the day with a provisioning trip with the expectation of an early start. Wednesday was, however, horrible – cold, windy and very wet. We decided that we didn’t need to spend hours in the cockpit so hunkered down to read books and catch up on a few internetty things, blessing the decision to install central heating.

Thursday started not a lot better but there was a forecast of a dry patch in the middle so planned a 10:15 departure to catch the first bridge, 6 miles up, which opens hourly on the half hour. We had a couple of incompetent tugs to dodge (managed to get a floating walkway wrapped round an open bridge support) and a normally open rail bridge closed for no apparent reason but we made our target and transited at 11:30. From here, the industrial and Naval landscape turned rural and it was like being back in an oversize version of the Caledonian Canal. One more timed bridge opening neatly achieved and then on to the only lock on the ICW at Great Bridge. This easily accommodated the 8 yachts of varying sizes and we exited at 13:00 with the intention of just passing the bridge itself and tying up on a free wharf for the night. While we were 3^rd into the lock, we were 7^th out, as the lead boat on our side decided to giver way to the other side. We formed an orderly queue down the ¼ mile stretch to the bridge, with 3 knot speed limit. The bridge opened, told us to hurry up, then closed, leaving us on the wrong side and with an hour to wait for the next opening. We cut our losses and tied up where we were. As the rain was holding off, we took a 3 mile round trip walk to top up provisions.

Sailing down the ICW

The next morning, we were ready at 8 for the bridge and joined a little flotilla heading south. The first 15 miles were along a narrow cut but then the banks opened out. The canal was still only usable for a width of about 120 feet but the wind steadied and increased. With 20+ knots from nearly astern, it seemed a shame not to take advantage so we put out 2/3rds genoa and throttled back; then full genoa and stopped the engine. We were making over 7 knots down the narrow channel and hand steering was required but it felt good to do a bit of sailing. The wind increased to 30 knots and we had to put a bit of sail away and, after 13 miles, we were back to a narrow cut so had to put it all away and motor again. Tonight’s stop was tucked up at the north end of a large shallow lake. We were both frozen and the heating was turned on full blast to th;w us out. Suddenly we remembered our padded suits, not used since we left Ireland so we dug them out and gave them a good airing. Saturday again had a good Northerly, though a little less brisk. We managed to motor-sail with full genoa across Albermarle Sound and the Alligator River, with just the one bridge to negotiate. 4 miles motoring at the end of the day took us to Winn Bay, the start of the next cut and a comfortable anchorage, where we were joined by a few others.

ICW on a calm morning

 The wind died on Sunday, so it was motoring all the way across to the Pungo River, across the Pamlico River and through another cut to the Bay river. 52 miles in 8 ½ hours and we were glad to settle for the night. Monday started wet but we only had 18 miles to go to Oriental, where there was the possibility of a free dock and provisioning for our next leg offshore. We had to hang around for 20 minutes while someone vacated one of the two that we would fit on but tied up at 10:50. The plan was to spend 2 nights here but, on checking the weather, showed that we could depart the following morning and, maybe, get 3 days of good sailing down the coast. Once the rain stopped, we did a little exploring. It seemed a very friendly village with a good little chandler, a fish merchant who sold us a pound of shrimps (king prawns) for $14; a dragon in a pond and a marina which allowed Elsie to use their laundry facilities. There was also, a mile out of town, a Piggly Wiggly supermarket which caters for passing boaters by delivering to the dock. So we shopped, laundered and got quietly exited about doing some real sailing.

Time to find somewhere warmer

Up at first light on the 14^th and motored down Adams Creek (pausing to top up fuel) to Morehead and out to sea. Our weather planning showed us that the offshore trip to St Augustine should take about 2.5 – 2.8 days so we expected to arrive A.M. on the 17^th. We had had a look at the predicted path of the Gulf Stream, which seemed to limit us to no more than 60 miles offshore. The wind was predicted to decrease within 30 miles of the coast so we had an ideal track of 40 – 50 miles offshore a curving coast. We started Goose winged, with 2 reefs in the main and one in the genoa with a N4 blowing us along at 7 – 8 knots. That night, after reefing more of the genoa, we put a 3^rd reef in the main as the wind was up to F6-7, sending us surfing down the building swell at speeds of up to 12 knots. By 0500 on the 15^th, we were 60 miles offshore and changed to a broad reach with 3 reefs in both sails. Calculations at noon showed that, on current rate of progress, we should arrive St Augustine late evening the following day. This was not ideal as the entrance is subject to change and, with a recent hurricane could be tricky to negotiate so a change of plan was made. Jacksonville was both 20 miles closer and, being a major port, has a well maintained channel so seemed a better target. The wind decreased again to F4 so we shook out the 3^nd and, later, the 2^nd reef. The second night was crystal clear with beautiful stars, the moon just rising 2 hours before the sun and showing as a bright thin crescent and paler complete disc of reflected earthlight.

We managed to sail at an average of over 7 knots until within 10 miles of Jacksonville, where the wind dropped and we had to complete using motor, arriving at the channel just as the tide turned to give us a gentle push. 6 miles up the Johns River, we turned to starboard into Sisters Creek and found a deserted free dock to tie up to. This was next to a public ramp, which was well used by small fishing boats the next day. We spent Friday relaxing and doing a bit of tidying up. A stroll ashore was a disappointment as, although we were in a park, the only path lead to a busy highway. We had a dilemma as to how to complete the trip to St Augustine: Offshore was 30 miles but, to do it in daylight, we would be battling a flood current leaving Jacksonville and an ebb on arrival. The wind was light, so we would have to motor all the way. The ICW was reasonably straight, with no locks or opening bridges and the currents would work in our favour. So, although we would rather have gone outside, we decided to do another 30 miles of the ditch. Up at first light and let go at 0730.

The bridge

All the fixed bridges on the ICW have a nominal clearance of 65 ft and have marker boards at water level showing actual clearance. We had never seen less than 65 and most had 66 ft+. I had calculated the top of our VHF aerial at just under 61 ft and we had had no problem. As we approached the first bridge today, the marker board showed 61 ft. The combination of spring tide, easterly winds and rain must have raised the water level. We had 3 knots of current behind us; the tide was still rising, so the clearance would decrease and, if we waited 3 hours, we would have adverse currents all the way. 10 seconds to decide – go for it. Ting, ting, ting, ting, as the aerial hit each of the girders of the bridge deck. Damn. But it was still in place and apparently unharmed.

The rest of the journey down was uneventful, though you may be sure that we checked the clearance on each bridge very carefully – none was less than 65 ft. We arrived at St Augustine at 14:00 and anchored just south of the Vilano bridge. There is a public dock, with free mooring for 4 hours ans a 3 block walk to a Publix supermarket. We needed to do a big provisioning trip to stock up on basics for the winter and considered going at once but decided to leave it until the following morning. So, on Sunday, we were at the dock by 10:00 and, having enlisted the aid of Ian, my local friend, we grabbed 2 trolleys (+1 for the beer) and proceeded to empty shelves. 2 hours and $666 later, we had almost everything on the list: loads of UHT milk, fruit juice, wine, and loads beside, including tissue which is 4 times the price in the Bahamas. Having loaded this all aboard (if we had done it the day before, we might have cleared the bridge!), we headed through the Bridge of Lions to a mooring ball at the municipal marina. The offshore weather did not look inviting for our voyage to the Bahamas, so we paid for a week and settled in for the wait. Ian picked us that afternoon and took us to an open house at a neighbours’. The main theme was an oyster bake. I enjoyed the half dozen that I had but others were gorging. I later discovered that over 1500 were consumed through the afternoon. On Monday, I repaid some of Ian’s kindness by helping him with building a new deck, while Elsie got into some deep cleaning. Tuesday, we went ashore to meet some of the cruising locals and visitors at an informal wings supper. The music was loud but we managed to work out ‘our’ group by the clothing and introduced ourselves. Another couple, similarly attired, arrived, looked lost and were shepherded to a neighbouring table by a ‘local’. At the next music break, I introduced myself to them. ‘What kind of cruisers were we’? Sail boat. ‘O boaters’. Poor people, they must have presumed that we were cruising for quite another purpose but, if they were relieved or disappointed, I didn’t discover. Wednesday, we dingied a couple of miles south and walked to an Aldi and a Walmart to try to fill the gaps in our provisioning. No success at the first but some at the second, including our favourite tea and coffee, but no Weetabix to be found anywhere.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we were invited to Ian and Lauren’s for an excellent turkey dinner and traditional puddings. The weather was foul and we stayed the night. On return to Ruby on Friday, we found Rubette flooded. As 3” of rain had been forecast overnight, I suppose that we should not have been surprised at the amount of water in the dinghy but it took quite a bit of baling. We had been surprised, on arrival in the U.S., if we were serving burgers. There is a restaurant chain called Ruby Tuesday and we had intended to try it out but failed to find a franchise. The internet located one for us so we invited Ian and Lauren to join us for a meal out. Nice, but we probably won’t make a habit of it.

The other Ruby Tuesday

We had been watching the weather and, all week, it had looked that we could leave Saturday afternoon to go direct to the Bahamas or Sunday morning to go down the Florida coast. A decision was made to go direct and, on Saturday morning, we made our final supermarket trip, to buy fresh food and let go our mooring at 12:30. The plan was to head out to the Gulf Stream, cross it at right angles and then head for the Abacos Islands. We knew that we would have to motor for a few hours and, in fact, light winds were best to cross the stream: southerlies would head us and strong northerlies would kick up a nasty chop. Of our 4 weather models, 2 gave the wind remaining light, but useable and the others gave good beam winds most of the way down. In fact we had to motor for almost all of the first 24 hours. I became concerned that, if we continued to do so, we could arrive low on fuel so decided that, if we were making any progress, we would sail and, for the next 24 hours moved very slowly and achieved less than 75 miles, possibly our slowest ever. One benefit was very calm seas and clear skies. On my morning watch, I was not only able to watch Venus rise, but observe a ‘path’ of its reflection in the water. Finally, on Monday afternoon, a sailing north-easterly sprang up. We needed to arrive in daylight and, having travelled so slowly, we now had the frustration of wasting good wind to try to limit our speed to about 4 ½ knots. We still arrived early and, at 0300 on Tuesday, Elsie heaved to 10 miles north of Moraine Cay Channel and we killed a couple of hours, making our entrance in good light at 08:00. We still had nearly 30 miles to go, just too close to the wind to be able to sail so motor-sailed and dropped anchor off New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, at 13:20. Ashore, to clear in and pay the $300 for our cruising permit. Unfortunately, the Bahamas TeleCom office only opens on Thursdays, so we were unable to re-activate our local number but we did find a nice bar with internet and conch fritters so were able to contact the wider world.

50 kinds of rum.  Elsie's heaven

We had a very lazy day on Wednesday, with just a little wander ashore and then over to ‘Lady Rebel’ for sun-downers with couples from 3 other boats. Thursday, we had a slightly longer walk, round Black Sound and got a new BTC SIM so that we could contact the world over the coming months. We also had our first sea dips for several months in crystal clear water – bliss. So ended November.

Monthly stats:

Logged 1125

Over Ground 1057

America - by Elsie

 Happy Thanks Giving

I think that’s the correct greeting on this day of celebration in USA. We are now days away from sailing back south to the Bahamas after spending six months in USA. It can’t come soon enough for me, not that I want to leave this country but I do want to escape the weather. I left Scotland to sail to sunnier climes but even in Florida it’s cold enough for long trousers and fleeces.

Well, what are my lasting impressions of the land of the free? First of all I am not going to make political or social statements, enough is said on both these issues. All I will say is like Europe, UK and most of the rest of the world America has problems which are not going to be easily fixed. Enough said.

I came here with press and media ringing in my ears. We have sailed from St Augustine in Florida to Seguin Island in Maine and have loved every minute. OK, the sailing could have been better, the sailing could have been much better. The winds were not kind to us and we reckon 50% of our time was spent motoring instead of sailing or sitting on the hook waiting for sailing winds. We did not make it to our target of Halifax in Nova Scotia. The main reason was the weather was very favourable for going there but we thought we might get stuck coming south again and have to spend the winter, not good, so we turned just North of Seguin Island.

Going north we managed to sail the complete way offshore, visiting some iconic places on the way, and some not so iconic but still great. St Augustine in Florida was a good introduction. Lots of history but a bit too touristy for my liking. The next stop was Charleston, South Carolina. I loved everything about this place, the beautiful houses, the wide tree lined streets, the parks, the people and most of all their honesty. They showed off their huge houses, the opulence, their beautiful city but they also admitted how this huge wealth came about. How their ancestors not only kept slaves they also traded slaves, they actively encouraged ships to bring them more captured Africans so that they could sell them and make more money. Their honesty was refreshing. It was out in the open and not hidden. We visited a former slave market which is now a museum and nothing was held back. The conditions and lives of the inhabitants were well documented. The guide talked about her ancestors with pride. She talked about their work, their faith and the strength it took to endure what life and white people threw at them. It was an enthralling but harrowing morning. How could human beings do that to each other? And of course it’s still happening.

Service with a smile

Our next stop was Chesapeake. This bay was amazing and what made it even more “awesome” was the people. Everywhere we went we were greeted like long last family. We shared our history and they shared theirs. The great excitement for us was the Ospreys. They are a very rare bird in Scotland. In the Chesapeake they nest on every navigation beacon. They fish yards away from the boat. They eat their dinner in trees over hanging the anchorage. It was wonderful for us to see them up close. In one anchorage I even saw a racoon on the muddy river bank at low tide.

From Chesapeake we sailed up to Atlantic Highlands and New York. This was a high light of my sailing life, sailing into the Hudson, past Liberty and Ellis Island, seeing that skyline for the first time. I’m a country girl at heart. I love open spaces and rural scenes but I defy anyone not to be impressed by New York. There was a lump in my throat as we sailed past Ellis Island knowing the millions of people who were processed in these buildings and walked out into a new life in the USA. We were told the Northerners are not as friendly and open as the Southerners. They have busy lives and no time to stop and watch the sun set. These people could not do enough for us. Even in rush hour a couple of ladies helped us find the correct train back to Ruby in Penn Station AND waited until we were safely on it before they went back to their busy lives. In New York we did everything that a tourist does in the Big Apple – Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, Wall Street, Met Art museum, Twin Tours Memorial, Yankee Stadium – everything!! But we also took time to walk around this busy, bustling city and watch everyday life, sit in a park and watch the world go by.

Iconic Skyline

 It was good but exhausting and I must say after a week I was glad to head up Long Island Sound back to our normal quiet life. There were some beautiful anchorages between New York and Rhode Island. We took time to recuperate before we hit “the sailing capital of America”, Newport, Rhode Island. This was a great place. A fantastic mixture of boats and people. I could have spent hours just sitting on deck and watching all the different boats coming and going. A real nautical place and the Clam Chowder was to die for. Great mix of boats and recent history, beautiful restored summer mansions of the rich and famous of another era and lots and lots of boats. Boats to “ah” at. Boats that made your eyes water knowing what speeds they could get up to and of course annoying boats that went too fast through the anchorage. Lots of restored wooden boats that just shone with the owners pride, tall ships giving the tourists a taste of nautical life and a fleet of 120 foot racing boats that proudly went out every morning anticipating the trophies to be won that day and every night slunk back into the bay with hard luck stories. We loved it.

Eleonora ready to race

Next was Block island and Marthas Vineyard then round to Cape Cod and up to Portland in Maine meeting great people on the way and seeing lots of the east coast. Maine was the country of crab pots, crab pots everywhere, a sea of crab pots, so many navigation was about how we got through them. The decision was made if we were sailing we just went over them. It meant we got some scraped paint on the hull sometimes but it came off easily. Motoring was another story. We do have a rope cutter on the prop but one thing we are always aware of is that it is somebodies livelihood and we didn’t want to make it more expensive than it was already so we tried to avoid them. The people in Maine were a different breed. They worked hard for their living. I’m not saying everyone doesn’t work in their own way but these fishermen are out in all weathers and live remote and solitary lives. The people were friendly enough but more wary of strangers. Maybe the difference is they do not depend on the tourist dollar or they are more independent and view strangers as a threat to their way of life. We respected them. I saw how hard they worked in all weathers and how much they valued family.

Seguin Island was our turning point. I wanted to visit because we seriously were thinking applying for the summer lighthouse keeper volunteer position next summer. I had talked to Tara on messenger who with her husband Brian was doing the job this summer but I wanted to see for myself. It was a great location and it still appealed to me but after talking to Tara and Brian for a considerable amount of time we decided it wasn’t for us. Lots of factors for and against but the main one was the commitment. I suppose we had got so used to hauling up the hook and moving onto new adventures when we got fed up.

Seguin Island

The decision was made and we turned South to escape the ever increasing temperature drop. Salem was a must but it was a disappointment, everything was set up with tourists in mind. A local told us to take a stroll down Chestnut Street where each side was lined with beautiful period houses. The street had featured in many films and dramas and we played spot the house. Next was Plymouth, the second landing of The Pilgrims happened here. See, I have been paying attention. This was a very interesting area with lots of history. It’s funny how the Americans have a different definition of old than we do. Next we sailed over to Province Town, the first landing site of The Pilgrims. This must rank as one of my favourite offbeat places we have ever visited. I’m not saying any more. Go yourself. Grab a coffee and sit and watch the world go by!

Proviencetown

 Through the Cape Cod canal, where we got beat up a bit with current and wind opposing, back to Rhode Island where we got hauled out for a bottom and paint scrub in a lovely little marina near Providence. This was an eye opener. Usually once your lifted out your on your own. The staff ignore you and if questions are asked or help requested you are treated like an inconvenience. Not here. The boss popped round every couple of hours checking we had everything we needed. The paint we had stored had gone solid. This guy dug out buckets, stirring devices, basically anything he thought might help. The staff moved the stands so Lionel could paint under them without a moan or a groan. Nothing was an effort to these people. Great place, great people.

Once Ruby was a spic and span again we set sail down Long Island Sound and back into Port Washington where we thought we would spend some more time visiting New York. It was not to be. After a couple of days friends messenger that there was to be a closure on route because the United Nations were meeting and the building is right next to the river. So, on the one hand we had to get through here to continue our way south. On the other hand there were two, yes two, hurricanes lurking threatening to come up this way and we would be much safer in Port Washington. We made the decision to go for it and find a lovely scenic anchorage beside the New York sanitation department building to wait out the bad weather. The best laid plans of mice and men. It so happened the friends who had alerted us to the closure stayed in Port Washington but ended up only a day behind us gaining Cape May.

Bye Bye

This time instead of sailing round to Chesapeake we decided to go up Delaware bay, through the C and D Canal and down Chesapeake. Delaware Bay must have been my least favourite of my travels this summer. Nothing to do with the people, more to do with weather, fishing pots and general bad manners. There is no speed limit on the C and D canal but it would be nice to think all boaters would be courteous of each other. No. We watched as large and small speed boats raced around swamping sailing boats and smaller speed boats. It was a lesson in selfishness as I watched a small boat trying to right itself as it took the full force of a huge speed boats wake. Not a coast guard in sight. Once we were out of the mayhem and had time to think it made sense. Boaters buy these fast boats but the open sea is far to rough for them to go at any speed so they go inland and race around on the still water.

At last we were back in Chesapeake. These people must be some of the friendliest we have ever met. Examples are, lifts back from the grocery store to the dingy, bus drivers making unscheduled stops so you get on the correct bus and just genuine friendly people. At this point we had decided we are going back to the UK for six months next summer. As we do not have a home to go to we were looking into the possibility of house and pet sitting. Lionel had registered on a site and two sits came up in Washington. The people were lovely. Susanne, our fist host, eventually decided to take Ben with her to Canada but still let us stay in her apartment when she was away. Starla and Fred took us round the aviation and space museums and had us for dinner so we could meet the puppies. We hope to meet them back in Scotland next September and show them some Scottish hospitality as a thank you. I think the reader will have got the message by now, the Chesapeake must be one of the friendliest places on earth. Reluctantly we kept on heading south to Norfolk and made the decision to go down the ditch as far as Morehead City. A new concept to us. It was four days of motoring and a bit of sailing with the head sail on some of the open water. Four days too long for me. I was so glad when we could get back out offshore from Morehead City to Jacksonville. But yet again great people were met, stories were exchanged and friends were made. There’s going to be one helluva party in the Bahamas at some point if we all meet up at once.

Here we are back where it all began. Officer Terry has been telephoned to make sure we have the check out procedure. We have yet again stocked up with food and drink for the five months we will be away and we are waiting for a break in the rain to go ashore and spend Thanksgiving with old friends. Back to my original question, what have a thought of my six months in the USA?

It has been

awesome.