Breeze On

The squalls subsided and the sun finally appeared again yesterday. Hooray!  We plan to leave Black Point tomorrow morning so we did laundry today. There is no other place more convenient to do laundry (outside of a marina) in the Bahamas than Rockside Laundry in Black Point. As usual, we met a few cruisers at the laundromat. George ran the water maker after spending two hours fixing the pull cord.  We thought we had a plan for our destination when we leave here but the most recent forecast predicts west wind all over the Bahamas this weekend. Now we are discussing other options. We always have to be flexible! Black Point Harbour Exuma Sound There are numerous roosters at Black Point and they are quite vocal at all hours.

We woke up yesterday morning in Little Bay to squalls and a rainbow. The wind had shifted just south of east so it began to get a little bouncy in the anchorage. We decided to move back to Black Point where there is more protection from southerly winds. At mid-day we went for a walk with Jean and Michael. We stopped at the blow hole which was happened to be putting on a show. Another squall rolled in so we stood under a shelter at a small cemetery. When it stopped we continued our walk. The skies really opened up on our way back so we stood on the porch of a cottage to stay dry. We walked back to our dinghies between squalls but another started so we were soaked by the time we returned to Breeze On. The squalls continued off and on all night and all day today. We finally put up the awnings so we could at least keep the hatches open for air circulation. We were convinced that the squalls would stop once we had put them up but they have not.  Rainbow at Little Bay Blow hole Awnings i...

We left Cambridge Cay yesterday morning for a delightful, leisurely downwind sail to Black Point. We were very grateful to have the comfortable, safe Cambridge Cay to ride out the west wind but we were more than ready to move on. When we arrived at Black Point there were already a few other boats anchored in the harbor. We took a brief walk with Jean and Michael before heading to Lorraine’s Cafe for the buffet. Before dinner we chatted with friends and met a few new people. Lorraine served turkey and ham along with Bahamian specialties. They were all delicious. After dinner Lorraine turned on the Junkanoo music, passed out Junkanoo hats, and we danced.  This morning George and I raised the anchor and sailed north to Staniel Cay to get fuel. While we were in town we walked to the Pink Store and the Blue Store to check out the fresh produce. They didn’t have a great selection but we did get a few things. After dinghying back to Breeze On we raised the anchor again and sailed south ju...

It has been a week and we are still at Cambridge Cay. The cold front came through last night and shifted the wind to the southwest, then west with several gusty squalls. Although in hindsight we didn’t need to arrive here as early as we did, we were very happy to be here as the front rolled through. Our friends on Desiderata,  Jean and Michael, arrived in the mooring field today and we had a brief chat with them. Although we have been very close to each other at various times since November, this is the first time we were close enough to talk in person. We plan to leave here tomorrow and sail back to Black Point for Christmas dinner at Lorraine’s.  Bell Rock Sunbeams

The only other boat in the mooring field left this morning, leaving us alone for a few hours. The wind dropped below 20 knots so we put the dinghy in the water and visited a nearby sandbar since it was low tide. Cruisers had built cairns on the small island next to the sandbar and George added a rock to the top of one. We found numerous small live conchs on the beach. Fishing of any type is prohibited in the park, allowing the conchs to thrive. After visiting the sandbar we dinghied over to another beach and walked over to the Exuma Sound side of the island. Exuma Sound didn’t seem as rough as we expected, considering all of the wind we have had.  After we returned to the boat George ran the portable generator to charge the batteries. We have quite a bit of cloudy weather and squalls are predicted for tomorrow. A small boat came in and, after failing to pick up the mooring, anchored instead. Now there are two.  Sand bar Cairns with Breeze On in the background.  Small conc...

There is not much to report over the past few days. The wind is still blowing 20-30 knots so we are staying on board. The mooring lines are looking good. George finished replacing the steering cables. When he removed the cable from the starboard side he found that three wire strands in the cable had broken. It is a good thing he replaced all of the cables.  Yesterday I used the SailRite to mend our tattered American flag. Before we left home I reinforced all of the seams (usually the first thing to go) and we hoped might get another year out of it. However, the fabric is falling apart. Today I baked a coffee cake. Other than that, we have been doing a lot of reading. We are hoping for calmer wind tomorrow and a chance to get off of the boat. 

Last evening, just after sunset, we spent an hour untangling the mooring lines. George had walked to the bow to check on them and found our lines (the black ones) wrapped around the large white mooring ball. It must have happened earlier in the day when the wind was light and the current pushed the boat close to the ball. George spent most of the day replacing the steering cables. His goal was to get the job done before the heavy winds and squalls arrived in the mid afternoon. He almost made it. He will finish that job once conditions improve.  It was important to get the mooring lines sorted out to reduce the chances that they would chafe through. The wind, up to 28 knots, put a lot of tension on the lines and made the job difficult. We put the marriage savers on so we could communicate and I started the engine. On George’s direction I would idle forward so he could pull the lines up and get them untangled. After an hour it was finally done.  Untangled lines Our neighborhood....

As I mentioned yesterday, we have been obsessing about the weather. We had hoped that we could ride out the forecasted back-to-back cold fronts in Black Point. However, the forecast for the second front includes a long stretch of high winds from the west. We decided after hearing this morning’s forecast that we would move to a location with better protection from the west. So, here we are back at Cambridge Cay. The conditions were calm today but we came here early in the hopes we would find a spot. We needn’t have worried, there were no other boats here when we arrived. Two other boats have since joined us. After we got settled we went for a brief walk on the beach and then snorkeled at the nearby reef. The park rules prohibit anchoring your dinghy at the snorkel spot to prevent damage to the coral. They suggest that you drift dive—meaning snorkel with the dinghy drifting nearby. George went into the water first and I stayed in the dinghy while it drifted. Then we switched. The snorkel...

The steering cables have arrived on Breeze On. This morning George found out that they were waiting for him at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Several staff members of the yacht club live at Black Point and commute by boat. Matt, on Runaway, suggested that George ask a staff member to pick the cables up and bring them when they come home this evening. That is exactly what George did. The pick up was even easier than usual.  We (and our fellow cruisers) are obsessing about the weather. There are back-to-back cold fronts predicted which may affect our ability to stay here through Christmas. 

If we are in Black Point it must be laundry day. Yes, we were the first customers at Rockside Laundromat this morning. We met a few other cruisers there and made plans to join some for lunch at De Shamon’s. We also stopped at Lorraine’s Cafe and added our names to the list for her Christmas buffet. The current weather forecast for early next week looks bad, meaning we might have to leave here to find a place to hide from west wind. We are hoping that the forecast either changes before then or the wind eases enough on Christmas Day for us to make it back here. Meanwhile, the anchorage is starting to fill up.  Black Point anchorage

This morning we released our mooring lines and motor sailed to Black Point. We like being on a mooring when the winds are strong but when they are light, as they were last night, the current can cause the mooring ball to bang up against the hull.  Yesterday we took the dinghy a few miles north from Cambridge Cay and snorkeled at one of a favorite spots, the Sea Aquarium. There are so many fish there as well as a variety of types of coral. The current was really ripping so we were careful not to snorkel near either end of the small island. George took some good photos with the new camera and even got one of a Queen Angelfish.  On our way to Black Point George called the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to see if our steering cables had arrived. They had not but we expect them any day. Once they do we will travel to Staniel Cay to pick them up. While we are here at Black Point we will do laundry. We would like to stay here through Christmas but that all depends on the weather forecast....

We left Cat Island before dawn this morning to make the 60 mile trip across Exuma Sound. We had good wind and sailed the entire distance. The wind caused the seas to be a bit lumpy, but not too horrible. Our original destination was Staniel Cay but when we heard Chris Parker’s weather forecast this morning we decided to go to Cambridge Cay instead. Chris’s prediction for tomorrow’s SW winds was higher than we had been expecting. Cambridge Cay has well-maintained mooring balls and good protection from west wind. We arrived just after low tide and saw a depth of 6.2 feet at the narrow, shallow entrance. Not much room to spare under our 5’ 8” draft! It is surprising how much this reef cuts downs the waves from the west. 

George figured out how to upload the photos he took while snorkeling yesterday. We are happy with them. Last evening, before sunset, we moved Breeze On 4 1/2 miles north to New Bight in anticipation of a wind shift. This afternoon we dinghied to shore to have lunch at the Bluebird Restaurant and Bar. We had a choice of chicken or a pork chop. I chose the chicken and George chose the pork chop. They were both served with peas and rice, cole slaw and a spicy potato salad. Everything was delicious and the price was quite reasonable. 

While we are in the Bahamas I keep a list of sewing projects to complete once we get home. One of the projects I made last summer was a bag to hold the dinghy oars. We are quite happy with the results. I made the strap with two pieces of overlapping fabric that attach to each other with Velcro. They go over the seat and hold the bag in place. In addition to the oars and oar locks the bag holds a pump, flashlight and navigation lights. Today, after George ran the watermaker and defrosted the refrigerator, we put our wetsuits on and set out in the dinghy to find a snorkeling spot. Carl had described a spot with five coral heads at the entrance to Joe Sound, about 1 1/2 miles away. We dinghied all over the entrance to Joe Sound and even into the very shallow sound but could not find any coral heads. We gave up, took our wetsuits off (we did have bathing suits on) and went for a walk on the beach instead. While we were heading back to Breeze On we happened upon the five coral heads. So, we...

Old Bight has a beautiful, extremely long beach. This morning we took a walk on just a part of it. Halfway through our walk we found a tree where we could sit a rest for a bit. Later we came back to shore for a lunch of fish, fries and salad at the Rollezz Resort. After we finished lunch the owner of Rollezz, Carl, joined us for a long chat. He told us the resort is fully booked for the holidays. Overbooked, in fact. He has even rented out his own place and that of his sister-in-law. He is very welcoming to cruisers and told us that he tells the guests staying in the cottages that boaters are part of the experience. He asked if we were going to find the bakery. We hadn’t planned on it but decided to give it a try. So, off we went on a 1 1/2 mile (each way) walk into the settlement to find the bakery. Carl promised that the coconut bread is even better than Olive’s. We will find out at breakfast tomorrow. 

The first item on today’s agenda was a haircut for George. His last haircut was two months ago and his hair was a bit shaggy. I got out the electric clippers we bought last spring and went to work. We did the haircut on swim platform and it was quite breezy. As soon as I would cut any hair it would blow away but I ended up wearing a lot of it. I think his haircut looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Next we dinghied to shore for a walk to the New Bight Food Store and Olive’s Bakery. Before we set out on our walk we stopped to chat with a man, named Duke, who was cleaning fish on the beach. We talked about Cat Island and how it struggles financially, in spite of all of the natural beauty. Duke blames government mismanagement.  We walked a mile north on the main road to the food store. It looks modest on the outside but is surprisingly large and well-stocked. On our walk back to Olive’s Bakery we passed a goat tied to a boat. Not something we see every day. At the bakery w...

One reason we decided to stay an extra night at Bennett’s Harbour was to take advantage of better wind for sailing south to New Bight. Shortly after we left Bennett’s Harbour there was an abrupt change in depth from 13 feet to 30. You can see the color change near the horizon in the photo below.  Breeze On is the only boat currently anchored at New Bight. After an early dinner this afternoon we dinghied to shore for a short walk. We will return tomorrow to visit the bakery and food store then go out to eat. 

Toward the end of the season last year we heard about a new service, My Island WiFi, that enables you connect to the internet. We didn’t have much time left in the Bahamas at that point so we made a mental note to check it out this year. The service allows you to rent a small hotspot device that provides unlimited 4G data. You can link as many as six devices to it through WiFi. We have linked our iPhones, iPads and Kindles. Since the data is unlimited we can stream videos, download documents, and update apps, things we didn’t do before unless we were somewhere that provided WiFi. In prior years we purchased data from BTC two gigabytes at a time and we were very stingy with the data. We have been delighted with My Island WiFi. The cost is $75.00 per month and is well worth it to us.  We liked the anchorage here at Bennett’s Harbour well enough to stay another night. The water is incredibly clear and beautiful. This morning we dinghied over to the harbour but it got very shallow very...

We left Rock Sound before sunrise to start the 60 mile trip to Cat Island. The wind was fairly light so we motored all but one hour of the ten hour trip. As we passed the southern tip of Eleuthera we saw the spot where Princess Cruise Lines moors their ships, although there was no ship there today. When we were running our errands yesterday we tied our dinghy to the dock at the Frigate restaurant. We stopped to ask the bartender if that was okay—he said it was—then we stopped for a drink when we returned. Princess used to offer land excursions to Rock Sound and the Frigate was one of their stops. I asked the bartender what day the cruise ship customers were coming and he said they don’t come anymore. He told us there had been an excursion bus accident a few months ago and Princess has cancelled the excursions. I feel so sad for the people injured in the accident and also for the people of Rock Sound who have lost the business. The people of Rock Sound work so hard and are so welcoming ...

After staying on the boat for three days it was quite a treat to dinghy over to Runaway last evening for happy hour. Kris and Craig from Tilt were there as well. The winds calmed down in the evening so this morning we raised the anchor and motored back to the east side of Rock Sound. I am happy to report that the steering system worked just fine.  After dropping the anchor we took our laundry to the laundromat where Showboat helped us get started with our laundry. We met Matt, Marty, Kris and Craig for lunch at a new restaurant, Louis Delights. I tried a Bahamian pea soup for the first time. It was a lot like pea soup from home but also contained ribs and conch.  It was quite good. After lunch we went to the grocery store then waited for the auto parts store to reopen after their lunch hour. George was able to find a set of deep sockets there that he can use for the steering system so he won’t have to borrow a socket next time. He also found some eye bolts (to be used to make ...