Breeze On

We left Bimini Sands Marina yesterday morning just before high tide at 8:30 am. When George was at the office checking out he was told the fuel barge was coming in but we should be able to get around it to exit the marina. The barge had not arrived by the time we pulled out of the slip but we saw it approaching as we went into the exit. We made it through the exit-the shallowest depth was 7’1”- and decided to turn toward North Bimini to get out of the way of the barge before going around the sandbar. The barge went around the sandbar then, instead of going into Bimini Sands, it also turned toward North Bimini. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for us to pass him. After getting around the sandbar we raised the sails and sailed around the northern tip of Bimini to anchor on the east side. The wind was from the east so, although we had no protection from the wind, a large sandbar provided nice protection from the waves. We found it to be a much better choice than the rolly anchorage w...

Yesterday we walked south from the marina and, after a short distance, came upon a lovely nature trail. It was a beautiful walk and very well done, with numerous informative plaques. We especially got a kick out of the one identifying the Gum Elemi aka Gumbo Limbo aka Tourist Tree. It is called a tourist tree because the smooth red bark resembles the skin of tourists who have spent too much time in the sun.  Today we again walked south from the marina and passed under a beautiful canopy of whispering casuarina trees. We continued past the nature trail and found the Shark Lab. They give tours there but that will have to wait for another visit. There is a good chance we will be crossing to Florida tomorrow. We have been preparing to leave and will do a final check of the weather tomorrow before we go. Our biggest concern is the sea state. Due to the shoaling at the entrance we will leave during high tide in the morning. We will anchor somewhere for a few hours before we set out for F...

We spent the day on Thursday doing laundry, putting the dinghy away and cooling off by taking a dip in the pool. Afterwards we walked to the nearby restaurant, Thirsty Turtle, which is just outside the marina property. As we were walking there we commented that, although this was our third time at the Bimini Sands Marina, this was the first time was had left the property. During our first visit three years ago we stayed just 24 hours and spent the time getting ready for our next passage. George was sick during the next visit two years ago, in fact he never left the boat in two days.  The kitchen at the Thirsty Turtle was closed between lunch and dinner but they agreed to serve us something from the lunch menu anyway. So nice! I enjoyed my lobster salad sandwich and George said his cracked conch melt was delicious.  Yesterday morning we took the ferry to North Bimini. Along the ten minute walk to the ferry landing we saw a few huge piles of sand. We assume they are from dredgin...

We raised the anchor early yesterday morning and left Normans Cay just after a squall passed with another one close behind it. The wind was in the 14 to 20 knots and we were zipping along at seven knots. We planned on taking 27-32 hours to get to Bimini but at that point, George was afraid we would get there too early (before daylight). No need to worry, the wind dropped and we slowed down. We even dropped the main in the late afternoon because the rocking motion caused by the seas led to the main collapsing then slamming as it filled with air again. Just before my seven pm watch we raised the main and, once again, the wind picked up and we were zipping along again. George saw three shooting stars on his 12am to 6 am watch, one of which was spectacularly bright.  We arrived at Bimini just after 9:30 am but when George called the Bimini Sands marina office he was told that the tide was dropping and we wouldn’t be able to get over a shallow bar at the entrance with our 5’8” draft. We...

Uncertainty is a word that Chris Parker uses a lot when forecasting the weather. We know that a front is coming the end of the week, possibly bringing strong west wind, then very strong north wind, but there is a lot of uncertainty with the forecast. The possibility of adverse wind was enough to lead us to decide to head to Bimini. We raised the anchor and are sailing to the northern Exumas. Tomorrow we plan to sail from there overnight to Bimini. The wind is behind us and light so, with a great deal of effort, George unearthed and raised the gennaker, allowing us to turn off the motor and sail. 

We stayed two nights at Little Bay before returning to Black Point harbor. Yesterday we spent a good bit of time analyzing the weather forecast and developing contingency plans for the arrival of our friends, Doug and Laura. Our weather app, Windy, forecast strong west winds just after their arrival. We had planned to have them fly into Black Point but that isn’t practical if we have strong west winds. We made plans to make our way up to Bimini, but by this morning the forecast suggested lighter west winds so we are staying in the area for the time being. After we worked on our plans George looked at the connection of the autopilot to the steering quadrant. We had heard a clonking noise when we were using the autopilot in heavier seas the other day. After discovering the frayed steering cable a few months ago we are extra sensitive to noises coming from the steering system. Everything seemed to be in order but George is communicating with someone at Jefa to make sure it is okay.  A...

We left Thompson Bay, Long Island early yesterday morning and sailed 60 nautical miles by way of the Sou’ Side—south of Great Exuma Island—to Rocky Point. We had plenty of wind for sailing but also surprisingly large following seas causing the boat to roll and twist. It was reminiscent of sailing out in the ocean, even though we were in shallow water. This morning we left Rocky Point and sailed 40 nautical miles to Black Point. The conditions were much calmer and we had to do a few hours of motoring when the wind dropped. We didn’t see another boat until we were almost to Black Point, although we did hear quite a bit of radio chatter from the more traveled northeast side of Great Exuma Island. The photo below shows what we see when traveling the Sou’ Side, miles and miles of shallow water, ten to twenty feet deep. At the edge of the horizon there is a dark stripe which is the deep water of the Tongue of the Ocean. It is thousands of feet deep and so named because it looks like a tongue...

Our daughter and son-in-law left this morning after visiting aboard Breeze On. They are delightful company and we so enjoyed spending time with them. We picked up a rental car yesterday and drove to Chez Pierre for dinner. We had talked about it so much that we were afraid they would be disappointed with the actual experience. They were not disappointed. I had forgotten how large the portions were at Chez Pierre and we were all stuffed when we left, and we brought leftovers back. It was dark when we returned to the dinghy and the tide was extremely low (because of the full moon). I managed to jump down into the dinghy and George brought me back to Breeze On before returning for Pam and Brad. On the way out of the cove the dinghy went aground and George hopped out to push it through the mud. When he returned for Pam and Brad he couldn’t find the entrance to the cove in the dark—the moon was not yet up—so he flashed a light hoping they would get the message to flash a signal in return. T...

Our daughter and son-in-law flew from Boston to Nassau then Long Island a few days ago. Our original plan was to have them fly to Deadmans Cay toward the southern end of the island since we planned to do laundry—as long as we had a rental car—nearby. It turns out that the plane lands first at Stella Maris airport at the northern end and, if there aren’t many passengers continuing on to Deadmans, takes passengers by taxi from Stella Maris to Deadmans. We finished up our laundry fairly early and decided to go back to the boat to put it away before going to the airport. Their flight was delayed and we decided to pick them up at Stella Maris since we were halfway between the airports anyway.  We sailed up to Hog Cay the next day and then back to Thompson Bay yesterday. The wind is pretty brisk and the Hog Cay anchorage had become rolly. Our sail back yesterday was gnarly. We were traveling at 6 to 7 knots, and heeled over with just the jib. Pam and Brad enjoyed the sailing and are grea...

Yesterday morning we raised the anchor and sailed-tacking all the way-back to Thompson Bay. There are just a few boats here now. We have a list of things to do before our daughter and son-in-law arrive for a visit. This morning we put the dinghy in the water so we could go to shore for a short walk down nearby Indian Hole Point Road. The wind is from the southeast,  making the harbor choppy, so we pulled the dinghy out as soon as we got back to Breeze On. After taking a break we cleaned the cabin and did some rearranging.Tomorrow we will dump our trash, buy some groceries and do some baking.  Sailing. The camera isn’t crooked, we were heeling quite a bit.  Indian Hole Point Road

Just after sunset last night we heard the rare West Indian Whistling Ducks that live on Hog Cay. We had a relatively calm night at anchor, with an occasional gentle roll.  This morning we put our wetsuits and snorkel gear on and swam from the boat to a reef about 800 feet from where we are anchored. We happened to go at the cloudiest time of day so the photos aren’t the best but we did see interesting fish and coral. This afternoon we took a wet three-mile dinghy ride north to Calabash Bay and the Cape Santa Maria Resort. The resort is welcoming to cruisers and we went to their restaurant for lunch. Just before our food arrived Matt and Marty, who had anchored Runaway in Calabash Bay, came into the restaurant after taking a long walk and joined us at our table. After lunch George and I went for a walk along the boardwalk of the resort. Tomorrow we plan to sail back down to Thompson Bay.  Brain coral and fan coral Cape Santa Maria boardwalk Cape Santa Maria Resort

“Maybe it will come back to us” was George’s response to my “I don’t remember how to do this.” We have been at Thompson Bay for two weeks and it felt like I had forgotten how to get the anchor up and sail the boat.  We were grateful to have a good anchorage to hide in during all of the clocking winds and frequent cold fronts over the past two weeks but were very itchy to get moving. We are taking advantage of a few days of more settled winds to visit the northern end of Long Island before we return to get ready for a visit from our daughter and son-in-law. Yay! By the way, it did come back to us and we are now enjoying a pleasant sail.  The photo of Breeze On below was taken by Eric from Flight Risk on one of the calm evenings in Thompson Bay.