We Made it Back - On the Many Faces of Old Man Sea

(Written yesterday)

If our sail from Cat to Long Island was like a roller coaster at Wonderland, today’s sail back to George Town was a cakewalk! This time the weather prediction was accurate – 4-5 knot winds and flat seas – an easy ride all the way across the Sound for 3 hours, at 7 knots. Amazing how much the sea can change in one day….

We spent yesterday hanging out in beautiful Joe Sound, with 5 other boats – two of which were damaged and aground and three on which no one was aboard. It was almost like being in a boat graveyard, but our neighbours were quiet 😊. 

So I painted, blogged, and rehearsed choir music, and Jeff finished a variety of small boat repairs he’s been wanting to get to. We admired the pink sand bars against the turquoise water – exposed as the tide went down, and grilled lobster tails for dinner.

After 500 miles of sailing over the past two months, we’re delighted to be in our favourite harbour called Red Shanks, about an hour from George Town, where we’ll sit out the predicted big blow for the next few days, along with about 14 other boats, before heading in for the Regatta.

Our only problem now is that we’re running out of food, and there’s nothing here but a beautiful beach. But we’ve heard that you can take a dinghy around the back of the harbour, about 2 miles to George Town – so we might try that later today. Now I’m off to clean the dinghy while my Captain rests.

Next day: the 45-minute dinghy ride to George Town was great, and we totally provisioned the boat. Good thing, because today it’s blowing stink, and we’re just staying aboard!

WOW!

We always pay close attention to the weather, and yesterday, we were particularly concerned, as we were setting out on the longest leg of our journey so far – 5.5 hours on the open Sound, out of sight of land.

After a day spent exploring Cat Island by rental car – mostly interesting for its modern and historic churches and ruins – we consulted our trusty Inreach (no cell phone coverage at the boat) for the weather forecast. At least we thought it was trusty … It reassured us with a prediction of 8-9 knot winds (light) and almost flat seas – perfect for our sail to Long Island!

So off we went, leaving the Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we’d sheltered for two nights, ready for many hours of hand steering in calm seas. NOT!! From the start, the wind was blowing 14-16 knots (not so bad), but the waves were humongous – over 2 metres- 6-7 feet ☹. Sometimes it felt like a tsunami heading for the boat. At first, I was terrified, but then, after I reassured myself that the boat could handle this, I found it exhilarating.

However, it was exhausting, constantly wrestling the helm onto the course against those waves, which were on our bow quarter, with water coming over the deck up to the dodger, and sometimes into the cockpit. We had a well-reefed jib flying to stabilize the boat, and were managing to sometimes motor-sail close-hauled at 6.8 knots – fast, considering the conditions. But it still took 5.5 hours to get to the calm little harbour called Joe’s Sound on Long Island, where we are now recuperating.

A final challenge was getting into the harbor and anchored – it’s a very narrow, rocky entry, and the water in the harbor is extremely shallow. But my Captain negotiated it beautifully. In fact there are 5 boats with us here – three floating with no one aboard, and two completely wrecked and aground. So it’s very quiet – almost like a boat graveyard – but quite beautiful with its turquoise water and uncovered sand bars.

Today, we’ll just rest, and tomorrow, early on the high tide, set out on the last leg of our journey to Red Shanks, near George Town – only about 20 miles. It’s supposed to be calmer tomorrow, but as we discovered, you never really know until you get out there.

A Study in Contrasts and a Dream Sail in Paradise

(written yesterday)

The night we spent on Little San Salvador was truly a study in contrasts! A peaceful 4-hour motor from Davis Harbor Marina on Eleuthera took us to the tiny Island of Little San Salvador, which belongs to Holland America Cruise Lines. We saw a whole lot of nothing as we moved through the waves – the only boat on the water. Then we arrived at the Island’s beautiful white beach, just down from a striking development of multi-coloured cabanas, a horse stable and a replica Galleon, complete with fake cannons and cannon-blast holes!

A huge cruise ship was anchored far off the beach, just preparing to leave for the day. So we were able to peacefully wander the beach at sunset, visit the galleon and have a look at the cabanas. The next morning, another cruise ship showed up and disgorged thousands of people onto the beach, who presumably spent the day sailing, kayaking, walking the beach, riding horses in the water and on land, exploring in a glass-bottom boat, drinking at the bar in the galleon, and probably having a great time. But we left to sail away again, into the calm of blue water and nothing on the horizon. It was a bit surreal!

Last night in a tiny bay on Cat Island, we checked the weather forecast, and were shocked to see that our satellite Inreach was predicting 5-foot waves on the Sound for next day. Not what we were expecting, for our sail to the bottom of the Island. But another check on the internet predicted .5 metre waves – quite a difference, and a relief!

The internet prediction turned out to be correct, thank goodness – and we had a 3.5 hour dream sail in about 14 knots of wind, at a close reach (for non-sailors, just off the front quarter of the boat). We were actually managing 7 knots of speed for a while – fast, even on the motor! Considering the fact that most of the time on this trip we’ve been motoring, with the wind on our nose, this was a special treat 😊.

Now here we are, snuggly tucked into Hawk’s Nest Marina, safe and dry from the rainstorm that just went through – good timing!

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a very happy Valentine’s Day! My captain and I started off with bacon and eggs (heart-shaped, of course 😊) – and a small gift and very loving card exchange.

Then we dinghied over to the Ocean Hole in Rock Sound, where we were anchored, and saw an example of a geologic anomaly – a 600-foot deep hole fed by underground ocean passages. It serves as a swimming hole for the locals, a feeding ground for hundreds of fish of many varieties, and a tourist attraction for the likes of us.

After a quick shop for groceries at the great local store (full of gluten-free products) we boarded our trusty ship and again sailed the turquoise ocean – this time 20 miles to our next destination, Davis Harbour Marina. It’s at the very bottom of Eleuthera, and our last stop before we head off towards Cat Island tomorrow. We’re really enjoying hot showers with unlimited water and the laundromat here! A Valentine’s dinner of spareribs and fresh corn on the cob, accompanied by Bloody Caesars, finished a lovely day.

The seas have  now calmed a bit, and the next few days will involve a stop at Little San Salvador, and then sailing down the coast of Cat Island to Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we hope to sit out another big blow for a couple of days, and maybe rent a car to explore the 50-mile Island by land. As much as we love sailing, it’ll be good to get off the boat for a while.