Bahamas 2013

We left Palm Coast for the Bahamas on January 15, 2013.  Our stops included New Smyrna, the Indian River, and Vero Beach.  Danette had lunch with an old friend from Michigan, Barbara Dunn, while Jim did maintenance while at Vero.  We then anchored at Palm Beach, just south of Flagler Bridge.  The anchorage is wonderful as there is a city dock with restaurants, grocery, and shops within walking distance.  Saturday there was a city market.  On Sunday, January 20, we decided to head to Miami and cross to Bimini as there was a weather window the next day.

Starfish in Berry Islands

Miami to Bimini is about a 50 mile trip.  The seas were calm until we reached just south of Bimini when the seas got a little lumpy.  We spent three uneventful days at Bimini as the winds were high to make a move.  We crossed the Great Bahama Bank to the Berry Islands, which is about 85 miles.  The interesting fact of the bank is that 90% of it is less than 10 feet deep, and the bank is one of largest under water plateaus in the world.

From the Berry Islands we headed toward Nassau on New Providence Island.  We crossed the Northeast Providence Channel, which is the start of the Tongue of the Ocean.  The depth quickly changes from 10 feet or less to between 1,000-4,000+ feet deep.  The crossing was rough only to be complicated by fuel problems.  About 12 miles out of Nassau our starboard (right) engine and generator stopped.  We limped into Nassau on one engine, dropped the anchor near the cruise ships and Paradise Island, and proceeded to have a couple cold beers.  Spent five days in Nassau with most days being consumed by having our fuel thoroughly cleaned and filtered, along with a deep clean of the two fuel tanks.  Of approximately 250 gallons of fuel we had 75 gallons of sludge that had built up in the tanks over the boat’s 30+ years of use.  The workers said that it was a blessing that our port (left) engine did not also give out when the starboard did.  While Jim worked with the technicians, Danette saw the sites of Paradise Island, the straw market, the docks to buy fresh conch, and the liquor store to buy rum.

After spending a few “boat bucks” we left Nassau and proceeded to the Exuma Cays.  We made stops at Allen’s Cay and Highborne Cay.  Allen’s Cay is known for a species of iguanas that live only on this island.  Our intent was to head further south to other islands, but with the relentless northerly winds, and no place to hide, we decided to move north to areas with more sheltered anchorages. 



Spanish Wells toward Harbour Island

We cruised about 50 miles north to Current Cay near Eleuthera.  Made a stop at Meek’s Cay and then moved to Spanish Wells, which is on the north tip of Eleuthera, on St. George Island.  We stayed five nights there due to strong winds.  Spanish Wells is not a big tourist destination but it has the largest fishing fleet in the Bahamas and supplies more than 75% of fish caught in the Bahamas.  The heritage of Spanish Wells is English.  We took a fast ferry to Harbour Island.  This area is known for their beautiful pink sand which is caused by pulverization of coral.  

Winds shifted to the south and there was a one day window to head north.  We took off at 7 a.m. Tuesday, February 12, for a 50 mile trip north through the Northeast Providence Channel.  Seas had 3-4 foot rollers.  For PEACE, it was an eight hour journey to the southern end of Great Abaco Island.  We entered Little Harbor Cut into the sea of Abaco where we anchored.  As is typical, after we anchor we have a cold beverage.   At this point it felt like old home week as we were back in our favorite cruising grounds where depths average 20-30 feet deep.  There are a multitude of places to anchor in the open in good weather, and many places to hide during high winds.  We went to Marsh Harbour to do laundry, cleaning, and boat maintenance.  Our friends, John and Pam Mitchell, winter here so we connected with them.  We did some island hopping to Hope Town on Elbow Cay, took the ferry to Man O War for their annual school fair, and anchored in Fisher’s Bay at Guana Cay. 

When we left this year, we were to travel with our friends Greg and Corinne Backhouse, on GORMA, from Canada.  The day we were to meet, January 18, they had a “run-away engine” and had to get their engine replaced in Stuart.  We are happy to report that on February 19, we were reunited with them after our and their issues.  We celebrated with wine, food, and great stories. 

Greg, Corinne, Danette, Jim at Guana

Junkanoo

We bounced around the Abacos with Greg and Corinne over the next few weeks.  We travel well with them and had a wonderful time. This is our fifth time to the Bahamas and it was the windiest ever.  We spent a lot of time in protected harbors. We were able to snorkel once at Fowl Cay. We were at Guana, Hope Town, Treasure Cay and Marsh Harbor where we saw the Junkanoo. 

Hope Town

Pat and Bill Drumm came to the Abacos the first week of March.  We did a full week of island hopping. We went to a singer’s songwriter festival two nights where eight song writers were at Hope Town from Nashville.  We enjoyed having Pat (PK) and Bill as they are long time friends.  Our grand finale with them was going to the Jib Room along with Greg and Corrine where we drank, ate, and danced the night away. 

Our last week in the Bahamas was spent with Greg and Corrine.  The winds were strong so we could not get around “the Whale” to get to Green Turtle and home.  We enjoyed our days around the pool at Treasure Cay and then went to the Barefoot Man concert at Nippers on Guana Cay.  On Saturday, March 16, we left Guana Cay on PEACE and traveled for 36 hours where we anchored at Cocoa, FL.  It took us from 8 a.m. to midnight to cross the banks of the Bahamas, another 9+ hours to cross the ocean, and then up the ICW (intracoastal waterway).  We arrived at our dock Monday, March 18, at 6 p.m.  As always, it is good to be home.  

Guana Cay

Tahiti Beach