Author Archives: Faith

Heck of a Storm

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IMG_1492We started back to Maine on Sunday and I had planned our route with much care. We would surely stop at Thunderball Cave where the snorkeling was fabulous but we didn’t have an underwater camera the first time we went. That was a no brainer, then there was Black Point; unparalleled laundry services, the best in the Bahamas without argument. Back to either Wardrick Wells or Cambridge in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park to do a bit more snorkeling before heading out to Eleuthera. Eleuthera would involve no real pleasure stops just overnight anchorages on the way to the Abacos.

That was before Chris Parker announced the Heck of a Storm, Chris is the weather guru that all the cruisers listen to. It was too, a heck of a storm. It came in suddenly and even though we were expecting high winds we weren’t expecting this. We had, in fact changed our plans based on the info that was available, skipped Black Point which is open to the west and did laundry by hand. We anchored instead at Staniel Cay, between Big and Little Major Islands. In the Exumas there aren’t many places that have good protection from all sides and this storm was predicted to clock around and come from the west first and then swing all the way around to the East.

 

IMG_1489Sure enough we went to town in the early afternoon and just after we finished our ice cream and headed for the dinghy I noticed a rather foreboding looking cloudbank moving rapidly towards us. We grabbed the fuel tanks, filled them as fast as we could and jumped into the dinghy. Unfortunately we were already doomed. We’d dawdled too long watching the local fisherman feed nurse sharks and now we were in for it.

The winds were 15-20 directly at us as we hurled across the water towards Passages. We couldn’t even begin to stay dry. The waves were pushed towards us by the wind and broke and sprayed over the dinghy. With each boat length of progress we made the four of us got pelted with water, even with my sunglasses on I couldn’t see in front of us due to the buckets of saltwater that were covering my face. I wondered that Boyd could even see to stay on course. But we were making progress and it appeared to be in the general direction of the boat, until, about half way across the bay the dinghy engine stopped.

Yep, just like that, no more engine. The wind and the waves immediately turned us towards the shore. Ironically we were headed right for the sailboat that was ship wrecked in the bay before we arrived. Boyd tried valiantly to restart the dinghy outboard while Paul grabbed for the oars. Boyd being unsuccessful, Paul began to heave on the oars with all his might, to no avail. We just washed closer to the shore.

I was hoping that we could at least make it to the big catamaran anchored about 100 yards away but it quickly became apparent that there was no way to direct the boat with that much current and wind. Fortunately the owners of the catamaran saw our plight and jumped in their dinghy. They came and grabbed our painter and hauled us to their boat where Boyd was able to get the engine started.

By this time the wind had increased, we were all soaked to the bone and it had started to rain, hard, it felt like little bb’s in the wind. The couple on the cat, named Dances with Dolphins generously offered to let us stay and Nicole and I gratefully accepted. The guys however had to go on, to get back to Passages, in case the anchor dragged someone needed to be aboard to keep her from going aground.

Boyd and Paul returned to Passages with no further engine malfunctions, closed up against the wind, started the engine and stood ready for about an hour until the storm subsided some and the rain stopped. At that point Boyd came back and retrieved Nicole and I. The owners Dances with Dolphins were awful nice, in addition to rescuing us they gave Nicole and I clean dry towels to dry off with, jackets to warm up in and they even made a big bowl of popcorn as a snack.

Nicole played fetch endlessly with their little dog named Bailey and overall it was a nice enough time, considering it was a heck of a storm. Several other boats dragged in the storm but no one ran aground in our anchorage and the boat that was “outside” when the storm came in eventually made it in to safe harbor some time the next morning. I bet they have an even more interesting story to tell about their experience in the “heck of a storm”.

Indefinitely Delayed in Georgetown

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We had planned to receive one more guest in Georgetown so when we left our 2nd guest off on the 14th we were prepared to have one more arrive on the 19th. The idea had been to stay that week for the annual Georgetown Regatta (#52) to be exact. When we found that our last guest of the trip wouldn’t be able to join us as expected we were a bit unsure what we should do.

Should we take advantage of the extra week and leave early to the Abacos and spend the time there? Would we be better served to begin our transit to the US early and use the extra time as a buffer or bad weather contingency for our return trip to Maine? Would we regret not staying and watching the regatta?

As the anchorage began to fill with new boats and the airwaves in the morning began to become even more heavily trafficked we did what any good cruiser would have done, nothing. We thought about moving north but without any significant wind advantage it seemed less appealing than staying. The kids found new friends and old ones that were coming in daily on the incoming boats and each morning the social calendar filled with birthday parties and baby showers, dinners with friends, and trips to town.

We provisioned and filled the water tanks, took “last” strolls on the beaches, collected “last” seashells (I mean it not one more will fit on the boat, except I’m the one with the problem, I can’t leave them alone). It was all very relaxed and yet seemed a swirl of constant activity.

In addition to the 75-100 boats that are here to participate in the races there are now between 300-400 cruisers in all manner of sail and powerboats here to watch the races.  Some of the cruisers even participate in the races if the local boats need more crew.  ??There have been 3 races per day for the last few days.  There are arts and crafts booths, “fair” food Bahamian style, the local band has played music in the street.  The straw market which is usually a relaxed laid back place has been brimming with activity.

Nicole finally learned to plait, which is what they call weaving palm fronds to make the famous local straw handbags.  It’s been really fun and Nicole caught on quite quickly.??We finally got it together enough to pick a day to leave, the last Friday prior to the big Saturday final races was it. We were planning to leave first thing in the morning Saturday but right away when we turned on the radio in the morning there was a call on the VHF radio appealing to the cruisers for some more kids.

On Saturday they have a kids race and apparently the racer have to have to have a minimum of 2 kids per boat to participate. The racers prefer kids that are 14 to 16 but have few locals to choose from as most of the local don’t sail and surprisingly many don’t swim. So come Saturday morning at 8 am they were still short a fair number of kids so Nicole was asked if she’d like to try racing Bahamian sailboats and she said sure so off we rushed without breakfast.

We loaded her onto a boat and then proceeded in following the race around the harbor as the boats beat upwind, rounded the marks and then finally screamed toward the finish line.  There were three races and Nicole’s boat never came in even in the first three but she had a fabulous time! ??Then, Paul, who didn’t qualify as a kid because he is 18 (knife through the heart there) got asked to race in the 1pm adults race so as soon as we got Nicole off her boat we ran her and Paul in to town to eat some lunch and then took Paul out to his assigned boat.

His boat didn’t win either but he also had the most wonderful time and couldn’t stop talking about it when he finally got done with the race.  By the time Paul raced the wind had picked up and accordingly so had the waves, these boats, a bigger variety of the ones that Nicole was on heel over with just a bit of wind and they all have long boards called pikes that the crew all hike out on to keep the boat balanced.  In addition to the increased wind and wave action the course was more challenging and Paul was completely soaked (and beaming) when he got through.

So as you can see we have been indefinitely delayed in Georgetown. Tell me, if you will, how you could possibly say no to birthday parties, Bahamian “fair” food, dinner with friends and still more shells. We for one couldn’t seem to. Hopefully the future will be less interesting, or we may never leave.

VHF Entertainment

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Years ago when my mother was young she tells me that there was no TV and that people sat around the FM radio on Sunday nights after dinner and listened to the stories and music that issued forth from that amazing invention. Still later, in my childhood I remember the telephone lines in Alaska being “party lines”.

For cruisers the VHF radio, while often a powerful tool for communication and safety is also a suitable substitute for the combined purpose of the FM radio and telephone “party line” style. For those of you to young to remember the old radio or party line phone system (or to stubborn to admit you remember it), I’ll refresh you.

The FM radio used to have weekly programs like “The Shadow Knows” and others for entertainment purposes, whole families would (as I’m told) sit around and listen in amazement and amusement as the stories unfolded.

The local house phone came a little later and the first iteration of that invention involved multiple houses on the same phone line. If you were lucky enough to have a phone at home it was likely that you shared the line with others on your block or in your area. This, I remember was sometimes somewhat amusing and could be, from time to time rather annoying.

The party line phone worked like this. Each of 3-4 families, depending on the area, shared the same phone wires. Lines went to each house but none were to just one house. When a call came in to your house it would ring a “special” ring that indicated that the call was for you. At other times when a call was for your neighbor it would ring as well but “their” ring rather than yours. If you had a particularly nosey neighbor there was nothing to stop them from picking up on your incoming call and listening in, thus the “party line”. In fairness, even if you weren’t a nosey neighbor it was impossible to tell whether there was a party on the line without picking it up and listening in.

The VHF is in many ways a combination of these two historical pieces of techknowlegy. In the cruiser community, especially where the cruisers dot the anchorage like here in Georgetown, the VHF is on on most boats virtually all the time. The hailing frequency varies from anchorage to anchorage but for all intents and purposes it is the “phone” of the cruisers. It is also, most definitely a party line. Don’t for a moment be lulled into thinking that this is any way a private form of communication.

As a result the VHF is also a never-ending source of entertainment and, as with the radio stories of old, new and interesting stories unfold each night on the VHF. Some of the funnies ones unfold without our meaning to listen in as this one did.

When calling another boat rather than a ring there is a boat name and the hail goes, “Passages, Passages, Passages this is Taua”. The hailed boat responds “Taua, this is Passages, switch to 69” to indicate the channel that the conversation is meant to continue on (this is done to keep the hailing channel clear for hailing and with the intent of some assurance of privacy) the later is a flagrant and blatant exaggeration as everyone on the radio is equally able to switch to 69 or any other channel named.

Last night we had the radio on, after dinner as it happened to be and on a Sunday night just to make the story better, when a boat called Independence hailed a boat called Lost Marbles. So the hail went, “Lost Marbles, Lost Marbles, Lost Marbles, this is Independence”. Lost Marbles came back, Independence, this is Lost Marbles how you doing?” Independence doing the “right” thing responded, “Pick a channel” to which Lost Marbles said “Okay”. For about thirty seconds there was radio silence as Independence waited for Lost Marbles to communicate the channel he’d picked. Lost Marbles, however, had already changed to the channel he’d picked and was happily awaiting the continued conversations there.

After about 30 seconds the poor boat Independence (who was also now lost) came on again, “Lost Marbles. Pick a channel? Lost Marbles, Lost Marbles?” The kids and I dissolved into giggles. This I assure you is better than standup.

Within a couple of minutes, Lost Marbles, realizing that no one had joined him on the channel he’d picked came back to the original channel and sheepishly shared the channel he’d picked with Independence (and the rest of us) so as to continue the “party” conversation.

 

Magic Beans is Dragging

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The hail heard on the VHF is one no boater wants to hear, Magic Beans is dragging”. Nearly everyone, if they are on board of their vessel, pop their heads out of the companionway hatch to see if they can spot the affected boat. A high percentage of the anchorage who are near enough to spot the boat jump into their dinghies.

There is no coast guard here. Even in the states the Coast Guard, good as they may be, don’t respond this fast. Within seconds the first dinghy arrives with crew who jump aboard the boat that is dragging it’s anchor, yes today it really was a boat called Magic Beans. Within a couple of minutes (at the most) they are joined by a couple more dinghies and in less than 5 minutes the boat is surrounded by dinghies of all sizes and there are more captains than any boat should have.

Even though the boat is relatively close and we can easily see the action we don’t move to leave our boat. We are prepared instead to move our boat should it become necessary. Besides if any more people climb on this little sailboat it might just swamp.

It’s windy today, Chris Parker (the weather guru that nearly every cruiser in the Bahamas listens to has called it a Compression Zone. This term makes the cruisers shutter and put out more scope. It’s an area that is centered between to weather systems, the area between gets squeezed and the wind produced it often very high. That is, in fact. the case today and tomorrow and for the next couple of days we will get wind. It’s supposed to range between 25 and 35 knots, which is quite windy.

Magic Beans dragged anchor and at least a dozen dinghies responded in less than 5 minutes with crew and lines and pushed the offending boat away from the other boats who were still securely anchored but weren’t safe now that there was a boat dragging through the anchorage. In no time they secured the boat and either using engines or dinghy power had the boat turned around and headed back for it’s original spot.

The anchor hauled up and reset someone on the new “crew” donned a mask and snorkel and dove overboard to check the set of the anchor and make certain that the new anchor spot was better than the old one.

Once the boat was re-anchored and all involved were satisfied that the job was done right the crowd of dinghies and make shift crew dispersed and disappeared back into their own boats. All was quite again in the anchorage.

Christopher Columbus Monument

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wpid-DSCN4445.JPG-2010-04-9-19-022.jpgAfter Dean’s blue hole and trip to the southern end of Long Island, which really does seem like a LONG island, we headed home to the boats again. Seeing a grocery store that was still open, Monika and I decided we’d like to grab some fresh veggies before returning to the boats. Our plan was to have lamb curry together on Passages before turning n for the evening. It was after 8 pm when we left the grocery store and fully 9:30 before we ate dinner.

Tired as we were we had a great time and were happy to share yet another full and fabulous day with the crew of Taua.

The Deepest Blue Hole in the World – Dean’s Blue Hole

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So what did we do today? We swam in the deepest blue hole in the world! I’m not sure I can adequately describe the experience but I’ll give it a try.

The first thing I should do is give you a little general information about blue holes and ocean holes. First they come in many different flavors. Most blue holes are simply crater type openings in the ground, somewhere inland of the coastline, which are filled with salt water. Some come with inhabitants such as various sea creatures that have managed to survive in the altered salinity of a blue hole.

The blue hole we went to yesterday had vivid red shrimp and small crabs. The blue hole that we went to at Oven Rock was in a cave and it had shrimp too but they were colorless ghost like creatures with antenna that were longer than their body (because they live entirely in low or no light?). There was a massive blue hole in Eleuthera, which had all manner of fish in it and some of them were huge, that hole obviously had a passage to the ocean or had been “stocked” by the locals.

An ocean hole is different in that rather than being a deep hole filled with salt water on land it is a deep hole in the ocean floor. Often these holes are charted, however, sometimes they are not. Ocean holes are only discernible by the color change on the floor of the ocean. Often the depth will go from 2 meters (about 6 ft deep) to 16 meters (around 50 ft).

Dean’s blue hole is unlike any of those mentioned above. This blue hole is just on the edge of the ocean, not technically on land, as most are, yet not out in the ocean as an ocean hole would be. At Dean’s blue hole you can actually walk to it from the beach. Coming from the beach the water is only between ankle and knee deep. However, when you reach the edge of the hole the depth change becomes evident as the water color changes from a translucent teal color to an incredible deep blue in a matter of 10 ft vertical.

Another unique feature I must describe to you about Dean’s blue hole is that the hole, while on the ocean, is not really open to the ocean. If you imagined walking from the beach into the ocean and out to a blue hole you might well imagine pounding surf (especially as Dean’s blue hole is on the Atlantic side of the island). In most cases you would be correct but in this particular case it would not be true.

Dean’s blue hole is almost entirely surrounded by a high cliff on the ocean side. This creates an unusually calm lake like environment within the blue hole. It also creates a perfect platform for “cliff” diving.

I have to tell you that this was the most incredible environment I can imagine for snorkeling. Actually, prior to arriving at Dean’s I would never have imagined that this amazing layout could exist. Close to the beach and out to the edge of the drop off there are fish of many different types, colors, shapes and sizes, as you might find on a reef. When you reach the edge of the sand where the hole begins to slope at a more extreme rate the sand from the beach literally pours off the bottom of the ocean floor in a seemingly perpetual “waterfall” of sand. It cascades down into the blue darkness of the ocean hole below.

In a matter of 15 feet or so from the shore the depth goes from ankle deep to 663 feet deep. I wish each of you could see and experience this opportunity, as I feel inadequate to describe it. The best I can do is to explain to you how magnificent it seems. While the visual impact of Dean’s blue hole is incredible other senses are stimulated as you step into the water. The temperature of the water is an immediate attention grabber. At the edge of the beach on your approach into the blue hole some of the water is a lot like bath water, surely 80 degrees or higher. As you wade into the water and when you begin to swim it is impossible not to notice the temperature differential. The water temperature must vary 15-20 degrees sometimes in the space of the length of your body.

This wouldn’t be unexpected as you would anticipate that the deeper the water the colder the water temperature. Here, for some reason, probably convection and current, the hot and cold spots are not orderly. Sometimes the coldest water would be right at the shore and as I swam out over the abyss the temperature would go up so dramatically that it took my breath away. At times I found that my face was blasted with hot “bath” water while my feet were assailed by water, which seemed barely half the temperature (I’m sure it wasn’t that dramatic but it felt that extreme).

The kids enjoyed the snorkeling as well and they added another experience to their lengthy list with cliff jumping. Since there was no risk of hitting the bottom the kids both jumped off the high walls of the outside of the blue hole. Oh, Boyd did too. I’m the only one that didn’t, I decided someone needed to stay on shore and take photos. Speaking of photos I hope you enjoy. They say that a photo is worth a thousand words so if I’ve been inadequate in my description, perhaps these photos will make up for it.

 

Long Island and Taua

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Yesterday around 5:30 we arrived at Long Island and reunited with Taua. We also found Liberty and Side by Side, although nearly as soon as our anchor was down Side by Side’s was up and they were off to a dinner reservation a couple of towns over. Liberty apparently has plans to leave today. It was nice though yesterday to get to meet Liberty and their two boys Chris and Jason. Nice, smart, well- behaved kids, like most boat kids we’ve met. It was nice also to talk to their parents Dave and Nancy; I hope that we run into them again up the coast somewhere. They may be headed north about the same time we are or maybe just a week later.

It was also nice to reunite with Taua. Nicole had made a pin for Claudia that said “my best friend” and before we left Georgetown we found it on the beach, apparently it had fallen off one night while we were having a barbecue. Claudia was so relieved to get it back, and of course Nicole was happy to give it to her again. We ended up having dinner on Taua with the Liberty crew as well. It was a record-breaking event with 12 (5 under the age of 18) people on their 44 ft boat. What a nice time, mmm and Spetzle again!

Today we plan to check out one of the many blue holes here on Long Island. It turns out that there is one just across the island from where we are now that we may be able to get to without renting a car. It sounds worth looking into. I also have to figure out how much it will be to rent a car and where we can do it. On the islands everything is so much more expensive that I have to wonder what car rentals cost.

I expect we’ll just end up exploring today and then going to the big blue hole tomorrow. The weather for next week by Tuesday or Wednesday looks like it’s going to turn ugly so we’ll have to leave for Georgetown a little early if that turns out to be accurate. Our guest leaves early Wednesday morning and he can’t miss that flight.

 

Comings and Goings

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We have been in Georgetown now for at least a week. I have to confess that time passes here easily and sometimes I have to check the laptop to see what day it is so it’s entirely possible that we’ve been here more than a week. We have picked up guests at the airport and now we have dropped of the first guest for their return to “civilization” and we are on to our second guest.

We’ll be taking him for a ride to Long Island and all I can do is hope that the trip goes well. He’s definitely the type that gets seasick, I’m not throwing stones I have gotten seasick a fair number of times too but he basically gets seasick looking at the water so this might not be the easiest trip for him. Why do we go then? Well once we get to Long Island we can rent a car and do a day trip to the blue hole and that would be more land based than going anything we could do in Georgetown.

 
Diving in the blue hole should be an amazing experience as it is the largest documented blue hole in the world. It is also the 6th largest cave in the world and 660 ft deep. Even though it is open to the Atlantic Ocean I’m told that it is incredibly calm and an amazing experience. I’m looking forward to it. Okay I’m looking forward to it with some trepidation. Seems like I have some nervousness over things that I haven’t done before nowadays, I can’t remember if that’s something I’ve always felt or if it’s new.

Well I guess perhaps it’s conditional and depends on what the new thing is. Back in Maine, on dry land it’s not so much like this. Here things like anchoring always in new spots that are untested in winds that are close to 30 knots, with tons of boats around makes me nervous. Go figure. I think I’ve gotten better about some of it but there’s still some residual anxiousness when we go someplace new.

I told Boyd just yesterday, “You like the going somewhere, and I like the being somewhere” so at least one of us is always happy. I’ve finally realized that there isn’t much he likes better than going someplace especially someplace new. For me I’m not really happy until I’ve settled in to the some place, then I’m fine.

 

The Inevitable Re-Departure of Taua

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wpid-IMG_1029.JPG-2010-04-3-18-582.jpgToday the worst thing imaginable happened. Taua left again. It was inevitable. We still wish it weren’t. Taua has to continue their travels south. They are now on their way to Long Island and then The Turks and Caicos to put up their boat for the season. Likewise we will soon be turning towards home to exit this area and the “hurricane zone”.

We may try to jump over to Long Island next week if all goes well. Peter and Monica plan to spend at least a week at Long Island and once we have sent off our current guest and received our next guest on Monday we may try to jump over and rent a car on Long Island to go to the blue hole on the Atlantic side of the island.

wpid-IMG_1030.JPG-2010-04-3-18-582.jpgI have read that it is one of the biggest blue holes in the world. It is the deepest and 6th largest cave in the world. Sounds pretty amazing. It might be a good idea since our next guest gets seasick, therefore land excursions makes sense. Besides I’m not just sure how to cook for just 4 people anymore.

Whether we see Taua, Monica, Peter and Claudia any more this trip or not we certainly have enjoyed their company for the last month. The two boats were nearly always together and the girls were together as much as possible even sleeping over and swapping boats for transits when they could.

wpid-IMG_1031.JPG-2010-04-3-18-582.jpgIf we don’t see them again this trip we will all be very sad, we do plan to keep in touch and perhaps the girls can get together again another time and place. We have invited Claudia to come to Maine for the summer and Taua has invited our family to come to France for a visit.

I’d love to think we could make at least one of these opportunities work. Until then, goodbye Taua, safe sailing.

 

Roombas

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wpid-IMG_1206.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgToday, just our first day at Georgetown, we went ashore at “Chat and Chill”. Technically speaking from a correct grammar, parts-of-speech type of standpoint I believe that “chat and chill” should be capitalized since it is the name of an establishment, however since the establishment is also just a small wooden shack with tattered t-shirts hanging from the ceiling that serves as a bar and beach restaurant I think that you should overlook this seeming grammatical faux pas.

While the “chat and chill” may not have much to offer in the culinary, amenities or atmosphere front the “chat and chill” owns one of the prettiest and most popular beaches in Georgetown. Some of the things that make this beach special are it’s white sandy stretches that are uninterrupted by rocks or other blemishes. This in itself would not make the beach unique, as there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of white sandy beaches in the Bahamas with at least a dozen or more scattered around Georgetown.

wpid-IMG_1201.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgAnother thing that attracts cruisers is the volleyball courts. These are more difficult to find in the Bahamas than beaches are and there are two at “Chat and Chill”. Nearly as magnetic a pull (at least for cruising kids) is the collection of tree swings. There are about a dozen in different flavors including one that the kids climb up into the tree with and do this crazy Tarzan thing on. The beach chairs, picnic tables, and easy dinghy tie up also contribute to the pluses at “chat and chill”.

For me though the real pull is the roombas. Before I go any further I should make sure you know what a roomba is. Back home my neighbor has a real Roomba. There it’s round electrical device that’s a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a robot. For a mere couple of hundred dollars you too can have a vacuum cleaner that, once activated automatically negotiates the rooms of your home sucking up all the scraps on the floor. When it encounters a static object it is programmed to reverse slightly, change course by a few degrees and then move forward again. In this way it is able to work its way around chairs, other obstacles, and out of corners and continue on its mission of sucking up all of the pieces of junk on the floor.

wpid-PICT0259.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgHere the roombas I’m talking about are quite similar but most people call them stingrays. Near the chat and chill there is an even smaller and less impressive structure, which is a close cousin to the lemonade stand back home. It is the establishment of the “conch salad guy”. Here a young and enthusiastic Bahamian guy shows up. His schedule seems to have no pattern or rhyme or reason to me but when he shows up he always has conch, onions, peppers, oranges and a couple of baggies with mystery ingredients to make the conch salad.

He is the reason that the roombas come. When “conch salad guy” shows up and starts to prepare the conch he puts the scraps on a big piece of drift plywood nailed to a nearby tree. Those who are brave enough to pick up the slime-covered stuff then hurry to the waters edge (just mere feet away). In come the roombas, better know as stingrays. They glide silently along the waters edge and converge in a collection of 2-3 foot diametered dinner plates at the feet of their mentors. Their long stingers trailing behind make them are distinct and remind us that they are not harmless.

Much like their namesakes, the Roomba these stingray slide along the floor of the ocean coming into the shallow water and hovering over the outstretched conch-filled hands. They suck up the scraps of conch and then slide forward gently bumping against your feet and ankles. As they encounter the barrier of your ankles they reverse change their direction by a few degrees and go forward again. They are for me, “The Roombas of the Sea.