Breeze On

Well…we didn’t make it. After sailing 61 miles N and dropping the anchor at Water Cay, we received a call that my uncle had passed away. His partner said that, now that my uncle was gone, this would not be the best time for us to go to Albany, so—after considering all the options—we decided to sail S to the Ragged Islands again. It has been a very long two days and we haven’t been sleeping well. We are both sad and exhausted, but also grateful to have had Uncle Don in our lives.  Uncle Don sailing on Breeze On. 

Our new friends here in the Ragged Islands showed us how to make our way into the anchorage known as Between the Raggeds or “The Cut.” It is an area between Ragged Island and Little Ragged Island with a very shallow entrance. It used to be inaccessible to all but very shallow draft boats but recent hurricanes have washed away some sand and made it more accessible. Although it appears to be wide open to the Atlantic—and one would think there would be a lot of surge (waves)—the water is surprisingly calm. There are rocks and reefs that protect the area from the waves but there is not much to block the wind. There is a fair amount of current, but we have been told that the current matches the wind, so we do not get the wind against current effect. The shallowest area is right at the entrance and we saw 5.8 feet as we were entering. Breeze On draws 5’ 8” but we did not touch bottom. It is possible that our depth reading needs to be recalibrated.  It is beautiful here with the nearby be...

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas by sharing a Christmas potluck on the beach with cruisers from the four other boats in the harbor. It was lovely and the food was delicious. Just the right number of people to make it festive yet intimate.  Today was haircut day. We took our clippers and bucket—to use as a chair—to a small nearby beach and cut each other’s hair. We are pleased with the results and no cleanup was necessary.  Quite a nice spread for our Christmas potluck.  A great group of people.  Our bucket chair with my styrofoam booster seat (found washed up on the rocks.) The wind was blowing our hair so it is hard to appreciate the haircuts, but we are quite happy with them. 

Yesterday morning we sailed from Raccoon Island ten miles S to Hog Cay. We love the anchorage at Hog Cay for a few reasons. It remains relatively calm even in windy conditions, making it easy to get to shore. Also, there is a tiki hut where cruisers gather in the late afternoon. Today there were six of us at the tiki hut and tomorrow we will gather for a Christmas potluck dinner.  There are several trails on Hog Cay and this morning we hiked on one of them across the island to the beach on the ocean side.  Panoramic photo of the anchorage with four boats spread very far apart. Breeze On is on the far left.  Beach on the ocean side. 

…we could have made our destination yesterday in an hour and a half instead of seven and a half hours. We raised the anchor in George Town yesterday morning and sailed 44 miles to the S side of Little Exuma Island. As the crow flies, though, we were just eight miles from where we started.  This morning we left Little Exuma Island at 4:30 am and motored/motor sailed to Raccoon Cay in the Ragged Islands. We had hoped to have enough wind to sail the 67 miles but the wind didn’t fill in until we arrived at our destination. The Ragged Islands are as far S as we go in the Bahamas and we plan to stay in the area for about a week.  Yesterday we had lovely conditions for sailing.  George during his watch. The autopilot is doing the work. 

Elizabeth Harbour—the harbor at George Town on the island of Great Exuma—has a lot to offer. It is 7 nautical miles long and over a mile wide. The bottom provides great holding for the anchor and there are numerous anchorages, where boaters can find protection from any wind direction if they are willing to move. There is an active social scene and a daily cruiser’s net on the VHF radio. There is a decent grocery store, two laundromats, several restaurants and bars, a gas station, and an airport that has flights directly to the US. There is a very nice dinghy dock behind the grocery store and access to free water. All of these advantages make the harbor—usually referred to as George Town—a very popular place. There might be a few hundred boats in the harbor during the busiest time later in the winter. The crowds count as a disadvantage for us. As does the large size of the harbor. It is so large that wind can make it very choppy. A dinghy ride across the harbor can be quite wet and wild...

Today is our last day at Cat Island, at least for the time being. We plan to sail SSW to George Town, leaving early tomorrow morning. The wind shifted to the S a bit today so we moved back to Old Bight. As an added bonus we were able to take another walk on that gorgeous, long beach—successfully timing our walk between squalls.  Yesterday we joined Dee and Ron at Gippy’s for ice cream. We walked over to Olive’s bakery for a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and had a chat with Duke at his conch salad stand. Duke also makes furniture from native Bahamian wood and we were able to see some of his work in progress.  A bench and table made by Duke. If you zoom in you can see the “feet” on the bottom of the table legs.  Table legs in progress. 

Two days ago we had the privilege of attending a Christmas celebration in New Bight. The highlight was watching and listening to the Cat Island Community Band perform in the street. The maneuvers they were able to perform in the tight space of the narrow street were impressive.  We arrived onshore in the late afternoon and met a couple on one of the other boats in the harbor.  We walked with Philippe and Cendrine to Hidden Treasures and shared drinks and stories with them before watching the band perform.  The Christmas celebration continued on into the night but we returned to Breeze On in the early evening.  Yesterday brought squalls throughout the day so we did not go ashore. This morning we took the dinghy to shore and walked a mile to the New Bight Food Store. Our timing was good—a few hours after we returned to Breeze On a line of strong squalls rolled through.  The Cat Island Community Band marching under a full moon. They performed several Christmas caro...

Last week we were afraid our time at Cat Island would be short. As it turns out we expect to be here almost two weeks. With no W wind in the forecast we decided New Bight would be a good place to be during the strong E winds we are experiencing. Mt. Alvernia provides great protection, keeping the harbor calm enough for excursions to shore without getting too wet in the chop. Yesterday we ventured ashore with Dee and Ron and walked to Olive’s Bakery. Chris, who was manning the shop, gave us free samples of freshly baked tarts—a pineapple tart as well as a coconut tart. They were delicious and we bought two of each.  Today we plan to go ashore for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It is supposed to go from 3-11 pm. We certainly don’t plan to stay until the end and are not sure how much we will actually see. We have enjoyed listening to the Junkanoo band practicing Christmas music each day—it sounds like a marching band. We are not as fond of the thumping electric base we hear eac...

The weather forecast changed—and changed, and changed again—so we decided to stay at Cat Island through the weekend when we are expecting windy conditions. Yesterday we raised the anchor and moved 4 miles S to Old Bight. This anchorage offers better protection from the SE winds that we had last night and early today. After getting settled we walked on what we consider to be the nicest beach in the Bahamas. It is long, clean, and beautiful—with firm sand that is good for walking. In the late afternoon we went to dinner at the Rollezz Resort. They don’t have a lot of guests right now and we were the only customers in their dining room. The four course lobster dinner—prepared and served by Beverly!—was outstanding. After dinner we chatted for a while with Beverly and the owner, Carl, before returning to Breeze On. This morning we took another walk on the beach with Dee and Ron, clocking over four miles.  Beach at Old Bight.  Rollezz Beach Resort. These are just some of the colorf...

We love Cat Island and we love the settlement of New Bight. It is beautiful, unique, and has a friendly, laid back vibe. We had hoped to be able stay in the area for about a week, moving between here, Old Bight, and Fernandez Bay. The forecast for early next week keeps changing and, at times, shows wind directions which would not be good for this area. If we do leave we hope we can return later in the winter.  Yesterday we hiked up Mt. Alvernia—the highest point in the Bahamas—to the Hermitage with Dee and Ron for a stunning view of the harbor. It is a steep and challenging walk but well worth it. Afterwards we walked around the “Fish Fry” cultural area and then down a newly cleared road. In the afternoon we returned to shore for some of Duke’s delicious tropical conch salad.  Today we did laundry at Gilly’s Laundry Depot, our favorite laundromat in the Bahamas or the US. Although our new clothes spinner makes doing laundry on board more efficient, when we are in New Bight we ...

This morning—well before dawn—we raised the anchor and set sail to New Bight, Cat Island, a trip of 77 nm. The conditions for sailing were quite nice and we used the engine only at the beginning and end of the trip. The dreaded overheating alarm did not sound today, nor did it sound the three times we used the engine on our way to Rock Sound (I was too superstitious to mention it then.) Dare we hope that the problem is fixed? Stay tuned… Yesterday we walked to the grocery store and, on the way there, detoured a short distance to see the new art studio in town. I couldn’t resist the invitation for a photo op.  We came within a half mile of the Carnival Sunrise ship as its passengers were being loaded on tenders for a trip to shore.  A great day of sailing. 

We raised the anchor yesterday morning to sail S to Rock Sound, stopping briefly along the way so that we could walk to Eleuthera Island Farm. As we were nearing Rock Sound we heard from Dee and Ron that they were meeting Michael from Desiderata II at Louis Delights and we were welcome to join them. We dropped the anchor, dinghied ashore and joined them for a good meal and great conversation. George was so happy with the milkshake he had that we went back today for another.  This morning George spent some time sanding the engine block where the negative battery terminal attaches. One possible reason for the overheating alarm sounding even when the engine is cold is a bad ground connection. Cleaning up the area where the negative battery terminal connects to the engine could take care of that. While he was working on that I was adding insulation to the inside of the cockpit cubbies. We recently discovered that we are almost at the end of our ship logbook and don’t have another blank...

As I mentioned a few days ago, I washed a few bucket-loads of laundry on the boat and hung the clothes on the lifelines to dry. I used a clothes spinner to spin the clothes as dry as possible before hanging them on the lifelines. I had heard another cruiser rave about her clothes spinner a few a years ago. She said the clothes were practically dry when they came out of the spinner. I toyed with the idea of purchasing one since then but held back when I thought of all of the precious room it would take up. This year George assured me we could make room, so we bought one and put it on board.  When I used the spinner a few days ago I was amazing by how many clothes it could spin and also how much water was removed, making the time to dry clothes much shorter. I am officially a fan.  We have spent the past two days anchored behind Levi Island, near Governor’s Harbour, hiding from strong NNW winds. We have stayed onboard and worked on chores and plan to move further S tomorrow....

Glass Window—just 30 feet wide—is the narrowest part of the island of Eleuthera. It used to be a natural land bridge but, after a hurricane broke through, it was made into a one-way man-made bridge. The contrast of the deep blue water of the Atlantic Ocean on one side with the shallow turquoise water of Eleuthera Bight on the other make it a popular place for tourists to visit. We last saw it eight years ago during our first trip to the Bahamas. Yesterday we had the right conditions for a delightful sail from Spanish Wells to Glass Window.  The bridge is so narrow that pedestrians take their lives in their hands to get there. It is worth it, though. On our walk there we stopped to see a blow hole and later walked further S to see a series of shallow pools known as the Queen’s Baths.  After visiting those sights we raised the anchor again and had another delightful sail to Rainbow Cay, where we stayed for the night. This morning we motored S to Governor’s Harbour where we had l...