Bellatrix: January 2016

25 January 2016

Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas

We left Staniel Cay and sailed to Blackpoint entering through Dotham Cut another entrance through two rocky coral heads, always exciting. We spent one night to do laundry, get the best pizza in the Bahamas at DeShamon’s, and had cocktails with Donna and Grant from the trawler “Prima

Donna”. We left Blackpoint and sailed on the banks side to Cave Cay to wait for the wind to lay down a little before going outside (the sound side, actually the ocean). We anchored in a protective cove within sight of Moosha Cay, owned by David Copperfield. We watched to see if it might disappear, but it was there in the morning.

The Exuma chain of islands lay from northwest to southeast. As we sail down the Exumas we can either use the banks side, shallow, averaging about 12 feet or the sound side, actually the Atlantic Ocean which averages about 5000 feet. You choose by wind and wave. The fishing is on the sound side, though I’ve been bragging too much about our cedar plugs and we haven’t caught a thing.

We had a “spirited” sail to Stocking Island and Georgetown. The wind averaged about 20 knots and the seas were from 4-8 feet, we made good time.

We decided to get to Georgetown for protection from a looming northeaster and we had heard about a concert called “Exuma Unplugged”. We anchored and went to town to catch up with many friends and acquaintances from last year.

We met up with “Jillie” at a bar and she invited us to an afternoon “tea” at the Peace and Plenty. Alcohol and free food sponsored by the Exuma’s Ministry of Tourism to welcome the winter cruisers. We partied there for awhile and went back to the boat to take Bella for a walk then back to town to “Redbone” for Rake and Scrape. Redbone is a outside shack eatery by day. Rake and Scrape bands play a lot of 50’s and 60’s music to a Bahamian beat. There is often a guitar, a bass guitar, a keyboard, a (one) drum (often a 55 gal drum with a skin over one end) and a guy with a saw he strums with a screwdriver. What they lack in talent they make up for in volume (large speakers). It is amazing these people can carry on a conversation and aren’t deaf. It became quite a party and we got in late. The next night was “Exuma Unplugged, different performers from Canada who did country music and a Blues Guitarist, Stacy Mitchhart. I really enjoy blues and this guy played a regular guitar, a steel slide guitar, and a couple of “Cigarbox” guitars. If you like Blues Guitar look him up on the internet and listen to some of his stuff.

After the concert there was a Junkanoo band and we danced through the street following their hypnotic beat. Robin loves Junkanoo!

In Georgetown there is a large bay, about a mile and a half wide and about 6 miles long, you can move to different anchorages determined by the wind and weather or your preference of scenery. On one side is the island of Great Exuma and the other is Stocking Island. The town is on Great Exuma, has restaurants, bars and groceries, and free water. The other side is Stocking Island with beaches, the “Chat and Chill” beach bar, volleyball, dominos, and get togethers. It is a place you can enjoy, meet many cruisers and locals and use as a base to explore other islands. The temperature averages about 80 degrees daytime and 68 at night during the winter. Gin clear warm water and white sand beaches.

We may sail around for the next few days, Robin’s Mom is coming to visit next Tuesday, we and she are anxious for the visit.

These ladies had homemade herbal teas, I can tell tell you the Kamamane and Fives Fingers tea works!

Doc, mixologist extraordinaire he WILL get you happy

Jillie

Katie Shortes lookalike, you had to see the beautiful smile and Eric Clapton lookalike

Canadian Country

This guy is a dancing machine, comes dressed in a different outfit to anywhere there is music, once a dance partner of Robin's Mom

Stacy Mitchhart

Junkanoo madness

17 January 2016

Rainbow and Waterspout

Hello again! Greetings from Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas. Beautiful day, Gin clear water, white sand beaches, a beautiful wife, a good boat, and a good boat dog.

I know what happened between Fort Lauderdale and here?

If you’ll remember, we were biding time, cruising south in Florida, waiting for a new rudder to be built and shipped to Stuart, FL.

We had Thanksgiving on the boat in North Lake Worth with all the trimmings. It was fun watching the wake boarders out having fun in 80 degree weather while their Thanksgiving dinners were being prepared.

We arrived in Stuart on Saturday the 28th and the boat was hauled on Monday. We rented a house and a car for the two weeks of boat repair, new rudder and new bottom paint. “Dirt Dwellers” again. We saw Bev and John Stehman numerous times and they helped us with things to see and do while in Stuart. We spent days on Jensen Beach, buying provisions (14 cases of beer), and shopping. We were walking, looking for a pub and ran into Dale from “A” pier and her friend. Her boat was in Palm Beach. A few days later we were visited by Barbara and Charlie Wright, they were boat shopping on their way to their condo in Port Charlotte.

Just before we got to Stuart I started having back pain that radiated around my right side and to my chest. Shortly a rash appeared and I realized I had “shingles”. A most unpleasant experience. If you have ever had Chicken Pox and are over 60 think seriously about a booster vaccination, talk it over with your doctor. It lasts about 3 weeks, pain, itching, difficult to sleep and can linger for much longer.

The boat repairs were completed on time, we loaded our supplies and were launched. We tried to wash the boat from the black bottom paint dust and it wouldn’t all come off. We spent another day in the Hinckley Marina waxing the topsides. While we were working the marina office called to say we had surprise visitors, Belinda and Dallas, they were on a cruise and rented a car to sight see and stopped in to see us.

Heading south again to reach Lauderdale for a crossing weather window.

The window wasn’t perfect, we weren’t as far south as we would have liked but we left Fort Lauderdale at 0200, 23 December, for Bimini. Because of the northerly flow of the Gulf Stream we would have liked to be further south because the stream pushes you north at about 2.5 knots. The 47 mile crossing took 14.5 hours. It was not as rough as last year to West End, but it wasn’t nice either. We arrived in Bimini around 1630, salt covered and tired, but the water was beautiful, the seas calm and the day sunny. It was like we arrived in a different world. We tied in Brown’s Marina, washed the boat, took showers, had dinner and crashed. The next day we met new neighbors on the pier, Dan, Judy, Stephanie, Dan’s son Steven, his friend Kyle. Kyle is a distance horse racer, a modern version of Frank Hopkins and the movie “Hildago”. Other characters were Bob on a Kady Krogen trawler and others who came and went as we waited a few days for the wind to calm so we might be able to sail to Nassau.

We went to mass on Christmas and back to the boat to open presents then where else “to the beach” of course.

Dan was most generous, asking us to join him and his family on excursions to beaches, dinner, and the resort. Which leads me to New Years…

Robin an I had a drink at a locals bar then to Bimini Big Game Yacht Club where we met up with Dan and family. His sister had flown in from California and we had been warned she was a lot of fun. Dan, Jan, his sister, Robin and I decided to go to the Bimini Resort at the other end of the island. We were told there would be music, dancing, cocktails (of course), and fireworks. We hitched a ride and thought we would be able to get a bus back. We had a ball, Jan came up with some party hats from somewhere. We danced, rang in the New Year, watched the fireworks, and went to the casino. About 0200 we decided to head back, much to our surprise there were no buses. Dan took a look around at the many rental golf carts parked near by, actually asked a security guard if we could “borrow” one. He borrowed a key from somebody starting their cart. It seems one key will start all and he started one, took the key out and gave it back, tipped his New Years top hat to the security guard and told us, “it’s alright, get in” and we did. We giggled all the way back to our end of the island and Dan decided the right thing to do was to leave the golf cart in the police parking lot. Well, you can’t turn it off without a key so we headed back to the marina to get a screw driver, parked the cart at a bar, turned it off with the screw driver and escaped to our boats undetected.

New Years day dawned with light winds and fair skies, so we decided to head off to Nassau before our pictures showed up on a wanted poster. We said our goodbyes to our new friends and sailed off to Nassau. To get to Nassau you cross the Great Bahama Banks, almost 50 miles of beautiful clear 8-12 foot deep water then through the Northwest Channel another 50 miles to Nassau, where to bottom drops to around 8-9000 feet. Some sailors will drop anchor and go to sleep while on the banks, it is peaceful. We elected to continue on to Nassau.

Sailing across the Banks and Northwest Channel at night is almost a religious existential experience. When making long passages, Robin and I will take 3 hour turns at the helm and sleeping. Sailing on flat water at night, no moon, more stars than you would believe possible, as you look back in the wake you see green bits of photoluminescence, alone with your thoughts. No other boats within 20 miles.

We arrived in Nassau around 1000, topped off fuel and water, cleaned the boat, took showers, went grocery shopping then to a restaurant we found last time here. Athena is a Mediterranean restaurant where the owner Peter, his daughter Anna Marie and his son Christopher, will visit with you while you dine, and our excellent waiter Keith who is an Eddie Murphy lookalike. It has tables on a balcony over looking the busy shopping district of Nassau. It is fun to have a leisurely meal watching the many cruise boat tourist bustle about. The food and service is fantastic, an experience. One more drink at the Poopdeck bar and then sleep.

The next morning we left Nassau for a 38 mile sail to Highbourne Cay in the Exumas. We anchored one night off Allen’s Cay, An Iguana island, then to Highbourne Cay Marina for a few days of bad weather. We had winds in the 50 knot range, further south they had 80. While on Highbourne we met Richard and Theresa from the yacht Gazelle and their crew Captain Scott, engineer Oscar, and Marjorie. We had dinner with them a few nights and many drinks and conversation, we hope to catch up with them again.

Highbourne Cay is the cleanest island we’ve found, beautiful beaches and a friendly, caring staff.

We anchored 2 nights in a cut behind Saddle Cay, swimming and snorkeling. Another breath taking and new location. We had not visited here last year.

This area of the Bahamas was the center of drug smuggling in the 80’s and there is much evidence of it, wrecked planes and buildings that were used by the smugglers.

We are now in Staniel Cay ducking to anchor behind different islands as the wind shifts. Tomorrow we will move south to Blackpoint, an excellent place to do laundry and obtain free water. We paid $0.40/gal. in Bimini, Nassau and Highbourne and $0.50 here.

We have been snorkeling often and still in search of that BIG lobster.