Our friends Bill and Lynn arrived last Thursday, February 19, as scheduled. Because of the high winds, they took the water taxi to CS'ta Time, rather than taking our dinghy across the harbour. Smart move as Jorge and I got soaked by the waves crossing the harbour, getting back to the boat!
What a coincidence, Bill and Lynn's neighbours from across the street in Parry Sound arrived the same day in George Town for two weeks! The six of us had lunch on Friday at Fish Fry Village to celebrate their anniversary.
Friday was also the official opening of Regatta 2015. As the winds were still high, we opted to take the water taxi to opening night, along with more than half the boats in the anchorage. Again a good move to avoid getting wet, but the lineup for the taxis was long and a bit of water rage occurred as cruisers were getting restless, wanting to get "home", also it was a cool night, not at all Bahamian weather.
We've been chillin' the last few days, visiting Chat and Chill, hiking Monument to the ocean side, sitting on the beach and enjoying happy hours. The guys also took in the small boat races (blind dinghy racing, kids kayak races, etc.), as part of the regatta events. The first big boat race scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to the high winds. Bummer, it would have been great to see the boats racing up and down Elizabeth Harbour.
Today is Monday, February 23, and we were at Exuma YC at 0900 to water and fuel up, as were 4 other boats. The gas attendant showed up at 1000, complaining of food poisoning (aka a hangover I'm sure). Oh well, it is what it is, lol. It is giving me a minute or two to blog.
The plan is to start our way up the Exuma Cays with Bill and Lynn, first stop being Lee Stocking Island. The winds have certainly calmed, from the forecast 25+ over the weekend to 8 - 10 kts today.
(It is now 1100, we are watered up and are presenting fueling up.)
Monday, February 23, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Clarence Town, Bahamas and beyond.
February 2, 2015
Jim and Sue picked us up and we dinghied into town with them, arriving at 1000. We rented a car and "did the island". It was really a business day. We visited an autobody shop as Jim needed something for a boat job, then it was off to a liquor store before visiting the airport where Jorge and I tried to clear in. The marina informed us that we needed to clear in at the airport, a 1-1/2 hour trip up the island. Upon arriving at the airport, the authorities informed us that the marina should have called them and requested an official visit us at the anchorage and clear us in! What a fiasco, I'm sure the marina has cleared in a gazillion boats in the past. What was up? Anyhow, we had to meet the official back at the government dock at 1700 as he was clearing in a cargo ship and would clear us in at the same time. We had an extremely late lunch but one of the best burgers we have tasted in a long time.
We met the government official as scheduled at 1700, paid our $300.00 and were cleared into the Bahamas.
February 3, 2015
As we still had the car until noon today, Jim and Sue again picked us up in their dinghy, at 0800 this time. This was a tourist day. We visited Dean's Blue Hole, a momument to Christopher Columbus, and toured around Clarence Town, visiting first the Anglican Church and then the Roman Catholic Church where were had an interesting conversation with the priest.
Jim and Sue visited with us on CS'ta Time for happy hour (and it really lasted only an hour this time) as we were getting ready to leave Clarence Town the next morning. We said our good-byes as they were planning on leaving for TCI in a couple of days.
February 4, 2015
We were up and out of the anchorage by 0640. We had an awesome sail up the east side of Long Island, around Cape Santa Maria and anchored for the night in Calabash Bay. We sailed the entire way, right into the anchorage. Winds were 13 - 16 kts and seas 3' - 4'. Skies were sunny and temp was warm. We set anchor at 1500.
February 5, 2015
We were up at 0600 and left Calabash Bay at 0625. We had good winds from a good directionw and we sailed to North Channel Rocks at the south end of Elizabeth Harbour using the genoa only. As the going got tricky through here, we brought the sail in and motored to George Town and anchored in Kidd's Cove, setting anchor at 1130. It was good to be back in George Town!
We stayed in Kidd's Cove for a couple of days before moving to the anchorage in front of Chat and Chill, necessary because of a change in direction of the wind. We stayed there a couple of days before moving to Goat's Cay againn because of a change in direction of the wind. We have been in Goat's Cay since but will be moving tomorrow because . . . a change in the direction of the wind again! We are still getting used to the winds clocking with the fronts moving in, lol. As Jorrge put it, we are always hiding behind rocks.
We reconnected with some friends we met and travelled with last year, namely Dave and Rose on Cloud 9, Annie and Tom on Makani Olu, Anne on Crazy Lady and Bill on Providence to name a few.
We have also been doing some major spring cleaning over the past few days, long overdue.
The George Town 2015 sailing regatta starts this weekend and promises to be a good time. Our good friends, Bill and Lynn from Parry Sound, are arriving on Thursday so they will catch the opening of regatta. Unfortunately one of the races has already been canceled due to high winds (25 to 30+ kts) forecast for this weekend!
Grrrrrr . . . I need a 10 year old to help me with my problems uploading pictures! Until then, my blog will remain picture-less.
February 2, 2015
Jim and Sue picked us up and we dinghied into town with them, arriving at 1000. We rented a car and "did the island". It was really a business day. We visited an autobody shop as Jim needed something for a boat job, then it was off to a liquor store before visiting the airport where Jorge and I tried to clear in. The marina informed us that we needed to clear in at the airport, a 1-1/2 hour trip up the island. Upon arriving at the airport, the authorities informed us that the marina should have called them and requested an official visit us at the anchorage and clear us in! What a fiasco, I'm sure the marina has cleared in a gazillion boats in the past. What was up? Anyhow, we had to meet the official back at the government dock at 1700 as he was clearing in a cargo ship and would clear us in at the same time. We had an extremely late lunch but one of the best burgers we have tasted in a long time.
We met the government official as scheduled at 1700, paid our $300.00 and were cleared into the Bahamas.
February 3, 2015
As we still had the car until noon today, Jim and Sue again picked us up in their dinghy, at 0800 this time. This was a tourist day. We visited Dean's Blue Hole, a momument to Christopher Columbus, and toured around Clarence Town, visiting first the Anglican Church and then the Roman Catholic Church where were had an interesting conversation with the priest.
Jim and Sue visited with us on CS'ta Time for happy hour (and it really lasted only an hour this time) as we were getting ready to leave Clarence Town the next morning. We said our good-byes as they were planning on leaving for TCI in a couple of days.
February 4, 2015
We were up and out of the anchorage by 0640. We had an awesome sail up the east side of Long Island, around Cape Santa Maria and anchored for the night in Calabash Bay. We sailed the entire way, right into the anchorage. Winds were 13 - 16 kts and seas 3' - 4'. Skies were sunny and temp was warm. We set anchor at 1500.
February 5, 2015
We were up at 0600 and left Calabash Bay at 0625. We had good winds from a good directionw and we sailed to North Channel Rocks at the south end of Elizabeth Harbour using the genoa only. As the going got tricky through here, we brought the sail in and motored to George Town and anchored in Kidd's Cove, setting anchor at 1130. It was good to be back in George Town!
We stayed in Kidd's Cove for a couple of days before moving to the anchorage in front of Chat and Chill, necessary because of a change in direction of the wind. We stayed there a couple of days before moving to Goat's Cay againn because of a change in direction of the wind. We have been in Goat's Cay since but will be moving tomorrow because . . . a change in the direction of the wind again! We are still getting used to the winds clocking with the fronts moving in, lol. As Jorrge put it, we are always hiding behind rocks.
We reconnected with some friends we met and travelled with last year, namely Dave and Rose on Cloud 9, Annie and Tom on Makani Olu, Anne on Crazy Lady and Bill on Providence to name a few.
We have also been doing some major spring cleaning over the past few days, long overdue.
The George Town 2015 sailing regatta starts this weekend and promises to be a good time. Our good friends, Bill and Lynn from Parry Sound, are arriving on Thursday so they will catch the opening of regatta. Unfortunately one of the races has already been canceled due to high winds (25 to 30+ kts) forecast for this weekend!
Grrrrrr . . . I need a 10 year old to help me with my problems uploading pictures! Until then, my blog will remain picture-less.
Monday, February 9, 2015
South Side Marina, TCI to Clarence Town, Bahamas.
January 27, 2015
We departed South Side Marina at 1515 with a high tide. Last time we left South Side, heading south, we left on a low tide and bumped a couple of times getting out. This time all was good, no bumping! It took us 3 hours to get to the west side of the Caicos Banks - Sandbore Channel. We anchored about 2 miles from the mouth of the banks, just north of the channel, in the safety of a reef. There was little swell and the winds were calm. It was a bit eerie though, like anchoring on the Bahama Banks. Other than a few lights of Providenciales there was nothing but 360 degrees of water.
January 28, 2015
We weighed anchor at Sandbore and were underway at 0615. Destination - Mayaguana, Bahamas, some 50+ miles away. We motored all day, winds were on the nose 10-15 kts and seas 2' to 3'. An uneventful day. At 1640 the anchor was set in Start Bay (aka Deans Bay), just to the west of Abraham's Bay. We had decided not to go behind the reefs into Abraham's Bay as the charts advise getting in and out of the bay in good light. As it was late in the day and we were hoping to leave early in the morning, we decided the lighting was not good enough for our purposes. The anchorage was not too bad, a tad rolly but that was to be expected.
January 29, 2015
We left the anchorage at Start Bay at 0700. The winds were good, around 15 kts. We sailed for the first hour with full genoa (150) and a reef in the main. After rounding the SW side of Mayaguana, the winds increased, as predicted, gusting to 27 kts with seas to 6'. Ahhh, sailing in the North Atlantic! The genoa came down fast and we sailed with the reefed main only the rest of the day. We had decided to stop on the west side of West Plana, making it about an 8 hour day. At 1425 we set anchor in the lee of West Plana, an uninhabited island. The anchorage was very rolly, the rigging banging and clanging all night long with the wind and the swells but it was better than continuing in the winds and waves as they were!
January 30, 2015
We got underway from West Plana at 0645. We had a great sail to the top end of Acklins Island. The winds had calmed since yesterday to 10 - 14 kts from a very favourable angle and seas were about 3'. By the time we reached the NE side of Acklins Island the winds had really calmed and because we changed direction to head to Crooked Island, well CS'ta Time was almost bobbing in the water. We fired up the iron sail and motored to Landrail, Crooked Island. We saw the first boat since leaving the TCI today, a sport fishing boat just north of Acklins. As we rounded Bird Rock on Crooked Island we saw a second boat, a sailboat heading south. We set anchor in Landrail at 1515. I remember this anchorage all too well from our trip south. This is where we got caught by weather and had to wait 5 days in extremely rolly conditions! I was really hoping it was not going to be a repeat. There were gentle swells during the night but nothing like last year, thank heavens.
January 31, 2015
The winds were supposed to be quite strong by mid afternoon. At 0400 both Jorge and I were awake with the sound of the wind increasing. Oh boy, were the weathermen that far off? Upon checking with our weather system, the winds were blowing as predicted, they just sounded a lot more than 15 kts. After contemplating the situation, we decided that since we were already awake, we might as well leave. By this time it was after 0500. We were underway by 0555. The keel of the boat hit the water doing 7 kts (like our feet hitting the pavement running!) The winds were 20+ kts but we had a good angle and made excellent time during the first couple of hours. The winds moderated and the seas were good. the sun was shining and live was good. We saw two more boats today, two cargo ships. About an hour before the entrance to Clarence Town bay, we hit a lull and had to motor to the bay and into the anchorage. I think that lull was the calm before the storm. We anchored at 1330 and at 1400 the winds started picking up and did they ever pick up, 20 to 25 kts the rest of the day, the night and all the next day, unrelenting. We decided to sit tight, not even venturing to go ashore even though we had been on the boat for 4 days.
The stretch of water from TCI to Clarence Town was very long and very lonely, referred to as the Far Bahamas. We saw only 4 boats in 4 days.
February 1, 2015
Okay so it was time to get off the boat wind or no wind, waves or no waves! Before heading into town, we introduced ourselves to the only other boat in the bay, anchored in front of us, a very friendly American couple. We agreed to meet them on their boat for happy hour that afternoon at 1700. Jorge and I went to shore and I must admit it was great being on terra firma! We had lunch at the marina restaurant and then wandered around town a bit. Everything was closed as it was Sunday afternoon but it was good to stretch the legs! Unfortunately we were anchored quite a distance from shore and the dinghy ride back was a wet one, lol. Oh well. We stopped at CS'ta Time, picked up a few things for happy hour and then proceeded to Jim and Sue's boat where happy hour lasted until 2130. We agreed to rent a car the next day and "do the island" together.
"Doing the island" will be my next post but just an update on our location. We are in George Town, Bahamas now, and have enjoyed a restful few days.
January 27, 2015
We departed South Side Marina at 1515 with a high tide. Last time we left South Side, heading south, we left on a low tide and bumped a couple of times getting out. This time all was good, no bumping! It took us 3 hours to get to the west side of the Caicos Banks - Sandbore Channel. We anchored about 2 miles from the mouth of the banks, just north of the channel, in the safety of a reef. There was little swell and the winds were calm. It was a bit eerie though, like anchoring on the Bahama Banks. Other than a few lights of Providenciales there was nothing but 360 degrees of water.
January 28, 2015
We weighed anchor at Sandbore and were underway at 0615. Destination - Mayaguana, Bahamas, some 50+ miles away. We motored all day, winds were on the nose 10-15 kts and seas 2' to 3'. An uneventful day. At 1640 the anchor was set in Start Bay (aka Deans Bay), just to the west of Abraham's Bay. We had decided not to go behind the reefs into Abraham's Bay as the charts advise getting in and out of the bay in good light. As it was late in the day and we were hoping to leave early in the morning, we decided the lighting was not good enough for our purposes. The anchorage was not too bad, a tad rolly but that was to be expected.
January 29, 2015
We left the anchorage at Start Bay at 0700. The winds were good, around 15 kts. We sailed for the first hour with full genoa (150) and a reef in the main. After rounding the SW side of Mayaguana, the winds increased, as predicted, gusting to 27 kts with seas to 6'. Ahhh, sailing in the North Atlantic! The genoa came down fast and we sailed with the reefed main only the rest of the day. We had decided to stop on the west side of West Plana, making it about an 8 hour day. At 1425 we set anchor in the lee of West Plana, an uninhabited island. The anchorage was very rolly, the rigging banging and clanging all night long with the wind and the swells but it was better than continuing in the winds and waves as they were!
January 30, 2015
We got underway from West Plana at 0645. We had a great sail to the top end of Acklins Island. The winds had calmed since yesterday to 10 - 14 kts from a very favourable angle and seas were about 3'. By the time we reached the NE side of Acklins Island the winds had really calmed and because we changed direction to head to Crooked Island, well CS'ta Time was almost bobbing in the water. We fired up the iron sail and motored to Landrail, Crooked Island. We saw the first boat since leaving the TCI today, a sport fishing boat just north of Acklins. As we rounded Bird Rock on Crooked Island we saw a second boat, a sailboat heading south. We set anchor in Landrail at 1515. I remember this anchorage all too well from our trip south. This is where we got caught by weather and had to wait 5 days in extremely rolly conditions! I was really hoping it was not going to be a repeat. There were gentle swells during the night but nothing like last year, thank heavens.
January 31, 2015
The winds were supposed to be quite strong by mid afternoon. At 0400 both Jorge and I were awake with the sound of the wind increasing. Oh boy, were the weathermen that far off? Upon checking with our weather system, the winds were blowing as predicted, they just sounded a lot more than 15 kts. After contemplating the situation, we decided that since we were already awake, we might as well leave. By this time it was after 0500. We were underway by 0555. The keel of the boat hit the water doing 7 kts (like our feet hitting the pavement running!) The winds were 20+ kts but we had a good angle and made excellent time during the first couple of hours. The winds moderated and the seas were good. the sun was shining and live was good. We saw two more boats today, two cargo ships. About an hour before the entrance to Clarence Town bay, we hit a lull and had to motor to the bay and into the anchorage. I think that lull was the calm before the storm. We anchored at 1330 and at 1400 the winds started picking up and did they ever pick up, 20 to 25 kts the rest of the day, the night and all the next day, unrelenting. We decided to sit tight, not even venturing to go ashore even though we had been on the boat for 4 days.
The stretch of water from TCI to Clarence Town was very long and very lonely, referred to as the Far Bahamas. We saw only 4 boats in 4 days.
February 1, 2015
Okay so it was time to get off the boat wind or no wind, waves or no waves! Before heading into town, we introduced ourselves to the only other boat in the bay, anchored in front of us, a very friendly American couple. We agreed to meet them on their boat for happy hour that afternoon at 1700. Jorge and I went to shore and I must admit it was great being on terra firma! We had lunch at the marina restaurant and then wandered around town a bit. Everything was closed as it was Sunday afternoon but it was good to stretch the legs! Unfortunately we were anchored quite a distance from shore and the dinghy ride back was a wet one, lol. Oh well. We stopped at CS'ta Time, picked up a few things for happy hour and then proceeded to Jim and Sue's boat where happy hour lasted until 2130. We agreed to rent a car the next day and "do the island" together.
"Doing the island" will be my next post but just an update on our location. We are in George Town, Bahamas now, and have enjoyed a restful few days.
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