Week 13:
Wed. Dec. 26, 2012—Day 85:
Destination:
Warderick Wells
Winds: S 5-10K
Weather: glorious, warm sunny with scattered clouds, H= 82F, L=70F
We rose this
morn for some weather report on SSB 4045 at 0630hrs. but Ed was not loud enough
to understand; no other reports heard.
There was a large exodus of boats to mostly places close by from here to
Staniel Cay. The enclosure windows were
washed from the saltiness from the salt just in the air & wind. We dinghied to the office to pay Jen for
today’s stay. Also for our internet
problems she gave us a new username & password free of charge for “ECLSP”;
we sat outside the office & caught up on emails (50+), then we dinghied
over to The Rangers Garden, between the headquarters & Narrow Water
Cay. After lunch we dinghied to a
sandbar exposed at low tide just slightly west of our mooring location, to the
dock by Fuel Cay (apparently some good snorkeling there), then to Emerald Rock,
the many sand beaches & trails on Warderick Wells, passed Emerald Rock
(South) mooring field & anchorage to Beryl’s Beach. On our way home later in the afternoon we
stopped in at ‘Truansea’ & made tentative plans for departure & our
destination including options for the next few days; I guess exploring
Hawksbill Cay has to wait again. We were
all aiming to be in Staniel Cay Fri. or Sat. till New Years & the
celebrations & because a cold front is approaching Sunday afternoon. I had internet for good while again this
evening. A most lovely sunset with red
rays radiating out like the spokes on a bike.
As the night progressed, a light cloud cover moved in, although the near
full moon was still visible. It remained
very warm & muggy; in fact when I stepped out into the cockpit it was like
stepping into dense fog, but it was the enclosure windows that were so heavily
laden with moisture.
Thurs. Dec. 27, 2012—Day 86:
Destination:
Warderick Wells to Cambridge Cay
Departure: 1120 hrs. Arrival: 1355 hrs. Distance: 13.81 NM (chart)
Winds: NW to N <5K
Seas: clam, no chop, flat to ripples
Weather: not really nice lookingà heavy grey clouds especially to the S & SW, few sprinkles of
rain now & then
Sunset at Cambridge Cay |
The Gang |
Fri. Dec. 28, 2012—Day 87:
Destination:
Cambridge Cay to Staniel Cay, Big Majors Anchorage by Pigs Beach
Departure: 0820 hrs. Arrival: 1145 hrs. Distance:
Winds: E 10K+ or - & S 10K at
night Seas:
nothing to speak of
Weather: superb, magnificent sun,
blue sky, scattering of clouds & aqua water
Ray & Nurse Sharks |
Sat. Dec. 29, 2012—Day 88:
Destination:
Staniel Cay
Winds: S 5K
Weather: very warm, sunny, blue
skies & few clouds that at noon increased to thin cover that gave us welcomed
shelter from the hot sun while walking in town
A goodly
breeze came up last evening & stayed with us throughout the night;
everything still felt damp but the breeze made it more doable. No SSB again this am, but Graeme discovered
that the fine tuning button was not doing much, so did some problem solving
& discovered the SSB button was not on & P9 also was not up on the
screen; we will check out the corrections in the am. The weather we received from June on ‘Blue
Yonder’ at Staniel Cay on VHF 16à12 at 0800 hrs. stated that the cold front
was still on course for late Sun. & Mon. with improving conditions on Tues.
& supposedly not as bad as 1st predicted; let’s hope! The Mailboat had arrived this morning (days
late apparently) with fresh fruits & vegetables & supplies. The Blue Wing Grocery store announced on VHF
that they would open until 1130 hrs.
Just as we were preparing to go ashore Gail & Eric (‘Viking’s
Dream’) kayaked up; we quickly learnt of their travels after separating at
Fraser’s Hog Cay. They recommended West
End on New Providence as a good anchorage.
We landed the dinghy on shore behind the man-made rock breakwater. A number of us walked to Blue Wing (still
pricing) & Pink Pearl (coconut bread $6.00, tomato, & green bananas,
total= $9.00) Grocery stores. Bread can
be ordered & purchased at the yellow house as you walk to these 2 grocery
stores & in front of the police station.
The group walked to Isles General Store (by the airstrip & bridge
over a creek) which had more of a selection of fresh fruits & vegetables
& an assortment of sliced bread & buns & steak ($4.50 each). We walked back looking to eat at a local spot
but they were closed on weekends, so Staniel Cay Yacht Club it was; food was
good but probably more expensive that the other joints. We ate & talked with Louiselle & Ken
who
apparently we passed on the Cape Fear River before Southport. We also met Gail & Eric again & Phyllis
& Tom ( Krogan 42-Cocoon ll) who we met 2 years ago from Tofino, B.C. They said that Sampson Cay Marina may be
under different management & in any case the restaurant is closed & no
$2.00 Tuesdays last year; a pity. I did
purchase internet for $10.00 for a 24 hr. period but will have to use it on
land as I have poor reception in Big Majors anchorage. ‘Truansea’ dinghied back after their
snorkeling excursion with 2 lobster, 1 squirrel fish & 1 good size conch;
have a great feast guys! Clouds
accumulated in the west, so the sunset was obscured but the sky afterwards was
quite red. A couple of people in the
anchorage blew their conch horns at sunset, a Bahamian custom, of cruisers at
least. The thought was to return to
shore for the Pirates Party at 1900 hrs. at SCYC but we didn’t like the thought
of dinghing all that distance back home in the dark. A calm evening & the night sky was filled
with a full moon, stars & some cloud.
Sun. Dec. 30, 2012—Day 89:
Destination:
Staniel Cay
Winds: SWàNWàN & NE suddenly & quickly 17-20K +
gusts Seas: 1 ft. chop
Weather: cloudy but by mid am blue
skies & sun
Bougainvilla |
Mon. Dec. 31, 2012—Day 90:
Destination: Staniel
Cay
Winds: E 18-23K, decreased to
12-15K but with gusts of 20-25K
Weather: mostly sunny, some clouds
& fair light cloud cover a good part of the day, low humidity & almost
cool
New Years
Eve!
Despite the
howling winds, the clunking & tugging of the anchor & chain & the
slapping of water against the hull when the boat at a particular angle to the
chop, I slept, whereas Graeme seemed to be up all night sleeping &/or
reading. SSB was better this am but Ed’s
voice was still too low & no weather from ‘Blue Yonder’. For several days now we have been listening
to Exuma Park at 0900 hrs. to hear if ‘Moma Cal’ &/or ‘Kathrian’ were in
the vicinity. Mid morning the SCYC held
its annual Class ‘A’ Bahamian Sloop Race between Tida Wave & Lady Muriel,
where the skipper is local & crew is 8-10 cruisers per boat that signed
up. It was blowing 20-25K & on
making it’s 1st tack Lady Muriel litterly lost it’s crew overboard,
the boat heeled over & filled with water & sank. The crew was rescued but the boat will have
to wait some other time. In the meantime
we had headed for shore with foul weather gear on & a good thing; we were
doused pretty good on a number of occasions.
I sat backwards but Graeme was forwards as he was driving of
course. I activated my Exuma WiFi that I
had purchased; the 1st username & password did not work but the
2nd did. I worked away on
emails & found the location of ‘Moma Cal’ & ‘Kathrian’ in Nassau; they
were there because of the cold front & also to see the Junkanoo tomorrow,
then planned to move to Allans Cay to see the iguanas. Graeme thought he would watch some of the
race when he learnt of the sinking incident, so instead filled 2 empty diesel
jerry cans well I worked at emails. We
had a great hamburger (Graeme) & snapper (Laura) meal for lunch at the
Taste & Sea Café. We purchased
butter X 2 for Christine & ourselves + 2 of the smallest potatoes at Pink
Pearl. The dinghy ride home was
drier. A New Years Eve Happy Hour was
held on ‘Truansea’ + 3 other boats including ourselves till 2000
hrs. Graeme slept while I stayed awake
till 2300 hrs. reading until the eyes started slamming shut. I laid down & slept till shortly after
midnight then woke to see the last of the spectacular fireworks from SCYC. The night sky was incredible; moon, stars,
milky way.
.
We knew we
were not moving today & we didn’t think Chris would be broadcasting, so we
slept in. We listened to ‘Blue Yonder’
& her weather report, we watched a few boats leave & listened to
conversations on the VHF between some boats we knew who left; much more wind
than in the anchorage. We dinghied to
shore (not so wet today) to do internet with the remaining 38 mins.; I worked
on a few emails & posted a few weeks of my blog, minus photos unfortunately. Then we walked to the interior of the island
on some remote roads. Meanwhile SCYC the
Cruising Regatta Race was soon to be under way; on Bahamian time—late. While having a beer after our walk &
before heading back home, Phyllis & Tom arrived with their friends, Evey
& Jack. It was on our dinghy ride
home that we learnt of the collision in the race between ‘Glory Days’, a
Canadian 50 ft. catamaran from Ottawa & Tida Wave, an ‘A’ Class Bahamian
sloop; the cat was t-boned & had a huge hole in the port pontoon. Not exactly a great record the last 2 days
for racing. Somehow the cat was brought
to Pig Beach & a rescue team, ‘Amazing Grace’ worked to pump out water in
the boat with divers or snorkelers & applied a plywood patch to the
hole. The boat was floated & rafted
to the rescue boat that anchored not far behind us for the night. We dinghied to Pig Beach to take pics of the
pigs & like so many other dinghies observed the rescue operation on ‘Glory
Days’. You had to feel for the owners
& people aboard with so many onlookers.
No one was hurt & we learnt the next day the outpouring of
generousity of other cruisers.; heart wrenching. We said our welcomed Dave & Mary
(‘Morning Star’, a C&C 48) who were dock mates at the marina in Nassau
& happened to anchor beside us. We
expressed our Happy New Year’s wishes to ‘Viking’s Dream’ as we dinghied to the
Happy Hour invite on Cocoon II & their guests. From the stern deck we all watched a near
perfect sunset, but no green flash & enjoyed an evening of comraderie; a
good time had by all. A very good way to
welcome the New Year. It was another
incredible night sky with moon, stars+++ & milky way.
Tues. Jan 1, 2013—Day 91:
Destination:
Staniel Cay
Winds: E 10-17K, some gusts Seas:
negligible
Weather: partly sunny & cloudy
in am but full sun by midday & very comfortable temp
Happy New
Year! And much health, happiness &
prosperity to all relatives & friends!
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