No.7: Farmers and Sailors

The Atlantic side of Powell Cay - panorama view.

While sailing and living on board Passages, I have often wondered if sailing and farming have similarities. Not the produce of course. The fact that they are very seldom satisfied with the weather conditions. One hears that farmers will often say ‘There has not been enough rain’ OR ‘There has been too much rain’. Sailors will say ‘The wind is in the wrong direction’ OR ‘There isn’t enough wind to sail’.

At the end of our last blog entry, I wrote that I hoped we had been able to sail and are anchored off at one of the many Cays in the Abaco. That is exactly what has happened.

Mangrove Cay
 from the galley/kitchen window
 before we lifted the anchor.

We left West End on Sunday 7 April just after 7.00am, heading north from the Grand Bahamas Island to Memory Rock, which is one of the entry points for the Little Bahama Bank, toward Great Sale Cay.

We sailed, yes sailed, for about 2 hours until we reached Memory Rock, when we turned due east and meandered our way onto the shallow Little Bahama Bank. The wind was on the nose, meaning coming directly in the direction we were pointing, so the engine had to be put on. Something we don’t enjoy as we are a sailboat not a motorboat. We realised that we would not reach Great Sale Cay in time for sunset, so we decided to head for Mangrove Cay, which was about halfway from Memory Rock to Great Sale Cay. Mangrove Cay would give us some protection from the east winds which were not too strong – approximately 15 knots.

Sante – Xavier, Annette and their lovely dog, Jolie, were following us.

We spent a comfortable Sunday night at Mangrove Cay, along with 6 other boats before heading off nice and early the following Monday morning to Great Sale Cay.

When sailing in the Bahamas, one must quickly adjust to the shallow waters. It can be disconcerting only having 0.3m below your keel. However, the one positive is the seabed in most areas is soft white sand with tufts of grass. The waters are beautiful turquoise blue, just like in the photos BUT the prevailing wind is east and of course, we were heading east.

We thought we would spend two nights at Great Sale Cay, Monday, and Tuesday night, but when we

Allens Pensacola Cay -
Passages in the background.

checked the weather the following Tuesday morning, we saw that the sea state and wave height would be significantly higher on the Wednesday. When motoring, we generally only go at 4.5 to 5 knots an hour. When the frequency of the waves, is less than 5 seconds, we find that we can slow down to about 2 -3 knots an hour, thus extending our time motoring by a considerable length of time. So based on the information we had gathered, we decided to leave Great Sale Cay and head for Allen’s Pensacola Cay on the Tuesday morning instead of Wednesday. We realised once we had arrived at Allen’s Pensacola, it was a sensible decision. Phew!

We let Sante know, and they followed suite. They were able to anchor at Allen’s Pensacola Cay before us as their boat is lighter and faster than our dear Passages.

We also knew that from Wednesday evening through to Friday afternoon, the winds would be up to 20 – 25 knots and gusting to 27 knots, as a cold front was approaching the Abaco’s. What generally happens is the prevailing wind blows from the east, and as a cold front from the mainland of the USA forms and starts heading to the Bahamas, the wind starts to clock around from east to south, west then north and back to east. It is during the ‘clocking around’ that the winds/gusts increase and the sea/water state changes and can become quite choppy. It is also tricky finding a suitable anchorage, where you are protected from all directions of the waves. Allen’s Pensacola promised protection from every direction EXCEPT anything with a west component (SW,W,NW). There were ‘safe anchorages’ further down the Abaco chain of Cays, but we knew we would not make it in time before the weather changed, so we stuck it out.

Sharing a bottle of champagne
 with Sante.

Mel dived the anchor again to make sure it was holding, which it was, and we prepared for the next 36 hours. We have the keys in the ignition, ready to start the engine, ‘the marriage savers’ at the ready along with our head lights and safety jackets. Our 'marriage savers' are our headphones which we use when we are maneuvering or anchoring the boat and instead of shouting at each other, we can communicate what needs to be done, clearly and precisely.

Sante decided to leave and head to Green Turtle Cay and the marina there. It is always a bit sad to see our boat buddies leave, but we also realise that every boat has their own agenda and requirements.

So… for the next 36 hours, we just rode out the weather. BTW, this is the second time in a row, we have celebrated our wedding anniversary sailing, far away from any restaurant. Mel knows he owes me BIG TIME!!!!

In the anchorage were 3 other boats who did exactly what we did. There was plenty of room for us to swing round. However, it was quite fascinating to watch as by Friday afternoon when the weather had calmed down and was quite lovely, about 10 boats had anchored in the anchorage by sunset.

While we were at Allen’s Pensacola, we went on the trail to the Atlantic side of the island, to the Naming Tree and left our mark, plus walked along one of the lovely white sandy beaches.

A little bit of information about Allen’s Pensacola Cay – they were two separate Cays until a hurricane filled in the narrow strip between them, hence the combined name.

We left Allen’s Pensacola Cay mid-Saturday morning, in the direction of Powell Cay which was

approximately 12 nmiles away AND this time the wind was with us, coming from the north so we could sail all the way to Powell Cay. It was wonderful as we only had the genoa out and were averaging 5 knots.

Powell Cay is beautiful – in the right conditions. For the next few days, the wind is NE, E with gusts only up to 15/16 knots, so we have great protection. The waters are beautiful and clear, so clear we can see the bottom. There are plenty of birds, turtles, and little fish. There are three trails: One to the Atlantic side of the island, one to the top of the highest point of the island and the other to the open and very shallow bay facing the Atlantic side. The beaches are long and sandy, so we have taken up the opportunity to experience and enjoy all that Powell Cay has to offer.

We were tempted to stay longer at Powell Cay but thought we would be a little more adventurous and head down further south to Green Turtle Cay. The unfortunate thing is heading down to Green Turtle Cay, the winds for the next week are easterlies which means motoring. Oh dear! Never satisfied are we!

This year while sailing, we have been using an app called ‘No Foreign land’ – if you look on the left sidebar of our blog (Where are we?) you will see how we have been using it to keep track of our routes, places we have anchored, etc.

On No Foreign land, one can chat with other boats as well. For example, when we had decided to go to Green Turtle Cay, there was no information about the anchorage we wanted to anchor in, so we sent a message to one of the boats that we could see was anchored there and asked them about the anchorage. We usually like to know how the holding is – basically once we put the anchor down, is the sea floor suitable for holding the anchor in place and not cause us to drag anchor.

We also noticed that a couple, Andrew and Siobhan, who we had met in Cape Town back in 2018,  were close by on their yacht Calypso II. When we met Andrew and Siobhan, they had recently bought their boat and were slowly preparing her for their big adventure. For the past two years they have sailed from Cape Town to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and are on their way to the States.

As Mel and I were putting down the anchor in Green Turtle Cay, I noticed another boat coming into the anchorage, so clicked on the chart which is linked to the AIS and saw that it was Calypso II.

We met up with Andrew, Siobhan and their daughter, Laura for drinks and nibbles on one of the beaches along the anchorage. We also met up with them and walked around the main settlement of New Plymouth. In New Plymouth there is a mixture of beautifully decorated and colourful houses along with some houses that have obviously been destroyed by Hurricane Dorian a few years back. We spent some time looking at the memorial square for the loyalists who escaped from the States after the American Revolutionary war against the British Crown.

To add to the excitement and joys of sailing, our fridge/freezer has stopped working. Mel has tried desperately to get it working again and on inspection saw that when we had it serviced in Fort Pierce about 2 months ago, the incorrect carbon brushes were installed, which have already worn away. We have no fridge/freezer, but luckily, we have a few months’ worth of tinned vegetables and tuna, chicken, and salmon. This has been the deciding factor to not go any further than Green Turtle Cay in the Abaco.

Our plans for the rest of the sailing season are: we will be heading back to the States to put Passages on the hard at Brunswick Landing Marina, Georgia. This is where Passages spent most of her off season sailing days before we owned her and where Mel first saw and sailed Passages from, back in August – December 2013. We realised after our awful sail across to the Bahamas; Passages is not quite ready for the huge journey we have planned for her over the next few years. I must say I am relieved as I am not ready or think I ever will be, to sail out into the Atlantic. We intend having Passages as near ready as possible for the start of the next sailing season – November 2024, so we can get going as soon as we arrive back in the States.

We plan to stay in the Green Turtle anchorage until Saturday, when the wind shifts south, SW and west, so we need to find some protection. We will need to return to Green Turtle Cay to check out of the Bahamas before heading west, back along the chain of Cays towards the States.

Until next time…. Take care, Keep well.

Best wishes, always

Mel and Caryn

👉Abaco Bahamas

No 6: B.O.A.T.

 

West End, - Grand Bahama.

In the sailing/boating world, the word BOAT is an acronym for ‘Bring Out Another Thousand’. Well Mel and I have certainly felt this way since we have been back on Passages, these past two sailing seasons – 2023 and 2024. AND it never seems to stop!

The last time I wrote a blog entry, we were on a mooring ball, in Manatee Pocket, Stuart, waiting for a weather window to cross over the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. I am now writing this blog entry in a quiet, lovely marina in West End, in the Bahamas. HOWEVER, everything did NOT go according to plan.

While we were waiting in Manatee Pocket for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas, Mel was checking all the electronics making sure everything was working when he tried the AIS. The AIS is short for Automatic Identification System. It basically enables other boats, large and small who have an AIS to see us and for us to see them.  Our AIS also had another useful system, the anchor watch. Whenever we put the anchor down, we would mark where it was, set a perimeter and, if the anchor dragged, an alarm would go off and we could then take the necessary action. The anchor had only dragged on a few occasions since Mel put in the AIS 10 years ago.

Well, the AIS was NOT working, it was basically dead. It had been fine in Fort Pierce but obviously it had been dying a slow death. It is an important piece of electronic equipment to have on a boat, as was made aware when we were crossing over the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas – more later.

Thankfully, the person who Mel had been dealing with at a large boat electronic company was efficient and could get a new AIS to us by Tuesday of the following week, at a fee of course. Thankfully, as well, Mel had been looking into possibly getting a new AIS, in the future, so he knew what was available. He thought we had spent SO MUCH on Passages already that he would wait maybe next season to buy a new one. He was also aware that it was important for the AIS to have the anchor watch functionality. There are anchor watch apps for tablets and phones, however they are not as reliable as an anchor watch on an AIS.

Back to Manatee Pocket and another boat, Sante – Xavier and Annette – we met them in Fort Pierce City Marina. They had never sailed to the Bahamas and had only just bought their boat so were keen to tag along with us.

When living on a boat, one of the first things you do after waking and making your first pot of coffee or tea in the mornings, is to check the weather. We had been checking the weather and thought that Wednesday would be a good day to cross to the Bahamas. We used the computer programme, PredictWind, we have for passage planning. This compares the various weather models that are available. We check the wind direction and speed/knots and the wave height and frequency. Everything looked good to leave the coast of the USA for the Bahamas by Wednesday afternoon, 4 – 5.00pm and our estimated time of arrival at West End was 9 – 10.00am the following morning. We had decided to sail to West End and check into the country and the marina there for a few days, as we saw that there was some wild weather coming from the west from late Thursday afternoon/ evening. This sailing window would not give us enough time to sail across the Little Bahama Bank to a safe anchorage, protected from the westerlies that would be blowing hard. What we have learnt since crossing is that we did not give ourselves enough time to reach our destination as the swing in the weather turned much faster than we anticipated. It was an ABSOLUTELY AWFUL sail!!! Passages handled the sail well, but I did NOT! She was surfing down 3 metre waves at 8.4 knots and the wind was gusting at 36 knots. There were a few other issues we had noticed with Passages that we had overlooked, in trying desperately to put in the various new upgrades and equipment. Let’s put it mildly that we were given a very hard wakeup call of our complacency and eagerness to get going.

On writing this entry, 4 -5 days after the sail, I am still shell shocked and a bit nervous about our next sail. We have been reading the weather incorrectly and not allowing the seas to die down and flatten or as I have already mentioned, anticipated the speed at which the weather can clock round from a southerly to a westerly and northerly direction.

To add to this all was the Gulf Stream which can push you further north than what you intend to be. We felt awful for Xavier and Annette on Sante, who were relying on us to give them a bit of guidance. HOWEVER, to be fair, the decision to leave the States and cross over to the Abaco’s, Bahamas, was a combined effort.

After this sail, our plans for the rest of the sailing season may change.

While crossing, we were so grateful to have the AIS, as a boat contacted us to say that we were on a collision course with them. They couldn’t see our navigational lights and we couldn’t see them on our new AIS, which is now connected to our main chart plotter. We put on our anchor light, and they did the same and it was only when they crossed, in front of us, did they show up on our AIS. Phew! We think they did NOT have their transmit function of the AIS on, as with some AIS’s you can been seen by others and they can see you, or you can turn off your AIS and only see others. We have done this when we have been in areas that have had issues with opportunistic boats, near Trinidad and sailing out from Guatemala, near Honduras.

So here we are in the Old Bahama Bay Marina in West End, Abaco’s, waiting for a decent weather window, which doesn’t look soon. We thought our days in a marina, were over, however…… Since being here, we have been for long walks along the lovely sandy beaches, the marina has a swimming pool and the use of free bikes. We’ve cycled into the small settlement to get some bread and a few ‘fresh’ vegetables. Mel has been working on some more boat projects and I have been making new covers for our fenders. The next project I’ll be attempting is a bag for the ropes.  We’ve seen so many huge luxurious boats with crew, come and go. At the time of writing this, there is a beautiful eggshell blue boat next to us on the opposite side of the dock. It’s four times as long as Passages and the highest point of the boat, is higher than our 54-foot mast. The crew are very friendly which is quite unusual.

The owners of the boat have since arrived and, well, it’s interesting to see how the other half live. On
the shared boardwalk, there are gym mats, weights from 2 kgs to over 20 kgs all neatly displayed and an exercise bench. The crew have taken the owner and guests out on their speed boat, for a fishing trip. Who knows what the ladies are doing.

We have also hired a car to go into Freeport and to Port Lucaya Marketplace with the couple on Sante, Xavier and Annette and their adorable dog, Jollie. It was sad to see that business is not booming as many shops and stores are closed. In fact, the whole marina at Port Lucaya is literally falling to pieces as there were many signs say, ‘Do Not walk on the board walk’.

So that’s it for now. Here is hoping that the next time there is a blog entry, we have moved on and are enjoying a bit of sailing and anchoring in the many beautiful cays in the Abaco’s.

Until next time…. Take care, Keep well.

Best wishes, always

Mel and Caryn

 👉B.O.A.T. Bahamas April 2024

BTW, our location is being updated almost daily – and sometimes in real-time. This information can be found on the left side of the blog “Recent Locations”