N is for Never Leave before a Good Weather Window

The waves were 10 feet plus on our trip down from Mayaguana to Great Inagua.After a week in Mayaguana we were getting anxious to leave but it is never good to leave before a good weather window. The weather was a window in terms of wind 17-22 knots and the direction was good; however we learned just how big 10 foot plus seas are. We had moved to the other end of Abraham's Bay and anchored behind the reef in preparation to leave for Great Inagua...a distance of ninety miles. We had planned to get into Great Inagua in the early morning but we sailed so fast that we were anchoring at five am in the dark. At least we knew that we could get safely in to anchor even if we had to do it in the dark. Celebrian was amazing in the waves and kept us safe; however we were exhausted from steering, the extreme motion of the boat and it was difficult to rest off watch. The good thing was that we had planned on stopping at Great Inagua and the passage was only sixteen hours. Once anchored we slept for several hours and spent the day recovering. We have decided that we will press onward to the Dominican Republic but we will wait for the sea conditions to be a little milder. This winter has been difficult for moving east and south and the windows have been short and not wonderful. In between the times we have been able to move the winds have been so strong that we have not been able to get off the boat as much as we would like. Needless to say it has been frustrating but spring is coming in the Bahamas and Caribbean too and that should mean some lighter winds and some bigger weather windows.

Great Inagua's claim to fame is its 60 thousand pink flamingos and the Morton Salt Company, the second largest solar salt operation in the world producing over a million tons of salt every year. The company employs 104 people and operates some 80 odd salt ponds covering 12 thousand acres. Henry Nixon, warden of the Inagua National Park (also policeman) drove us on a 43 mile loop through the salt operation and along the miles and miles of salinas and mangroves that are home to thousands of sea birds including the pink "fillymingos" as they are affectionately called. In 1964 the Bahamas National Trust convinced the government to set aside 287 square miles as a preserve for the flamingos complete with warden to protect them. Evidently they were hunted for "fillymingo steak" prior to those days and the numbers were being decimated. As you can see from the pictures it is difficult to get up close to these birds but it was still wonderful to see them in the wild. According to Henry they fly to Crooked and Acklins and Cuba from here....isn't nature amazing?

We returned to the dinghy with two full diesel cans, a take out of grouper fingers, a great haul of sea glass and with big smiles on our faces after our trip with the warden. Much to our delight there was a Haitian sailing ship in the government basin taking on scrap metal. Evidently these vessels come up to trade quite frequently and often bring charcoal to sell. It is about a 120 miles to the north coast of Haiti from here but keep in mind they are on a 50 foot wooden boat with no engine and no GPS....just a compass. Customs and Immigration were there and the police to make sure that none of the men jumped ship. We couldn't understand their concern as there is no place for anyone to disappear on an island with a population of 300. We watched the boat leave the harbour with no engine and no wind. You can see from the pictures that they have to use what they can to maneuver the boat. The Haitians are amazing sea men.

Today is Thursday March 15th and the mail boat "done reached" Mathew Town so we are on our way back into town in quest of fruit and vegetables. We will also return to the best sea glass beach we have ever found. Lynn, on First Edition will be very jealous when she hears this. I will post this blog and then our plan is to sail the two nights and one day to Isle a Vache in Haiti and then along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic leaving here tomorrow night. Chris Parker and the National Weather Service are promising us lighter winds and smaller seas so we will venture onward to new and exciting places.

And I thought I was the only person who had a solar flip flap in their car?!? A post script on the mail boat....the dry goods mail boat and not the lettuce and fresh veggie boat :(

Here is a picture of Henry in his police uniform. That day he had to drive the Governor General around to see the "fillymingos"!

M is for Mayaguana

It is the people that we meet that make things fun. The fellows at the gazebo helped me do that last blog entry?!?

Getting diesel and a take out conch dinner are high on the priority list of a town visit. We have spent the last week in Mayaguana pinned down by squalls and relentless winds. We have almost given up getting to the Dominican Republic; however today we are pushing on to Great Inagua in hopes of getting our momentum back. It is going to be a challenging passage for us with NE to E winds of 20-25 and seas upwards to 8-10 feet. We have 90 miles and an overnight sail ahead of us in these conditions. We are both a bit nervous but we either wait for another week in hopes of less wind or see how we do in these conditions. It has not been easy this year.

We did manage to get to shore on Saturday the 9th as the wind was down to about 15. It is frightening watching the dinghy bob up and down as Rob hoists the motor over the transom and onto to Goldberry. We do it together but the timing with the waves has to be just right. At least all of our efforts paid off and we had a lovely day getting to know Mayaguana. The local ambassador/ greeter/tour person by the name of Sculley Cartright met us at the beach and welcomed us to Mayaguana. We hired Sculley to take us the 18 miles over to Pirate's Well to fill our jugs of diesel. We went along with him to learn about the island and the people. Sculley spends most of his time taking people bone fishing; however from what we could see we were about the only white folks on the whole island...population 350 in three tiny settlements. There was one couple at a small hotel in Pirate's Well and we hope that they like being alone because the place was deserted. This island could be called the very very out island. Much to our disappointment the mail boat did not "done reach" Mayaguana this week because of the weather around Nassau. However we did find a head of lettuce that didn't look too bad and some cheese but narry a carrot or a piece of fruit to be had. I hope you can keep scurvy at bay with fruit cups??!!

On the more positive note we did find Mrs. Emmeline Morris who made us take out conch dinners. Two dinners fed us to two nights...even Rob? We also made several friends at the gazebo in town where you can pick up the local restaurant's wifi signal. The little restaurant wasn't open so we were just going to sit and wait for mrs. Morris to make our take out and we were invited by the fellows at the gazebo to come and sit down. Before we were through they helped me get on line with the password and I was off to the races. When I send my blogs out you just never know where I will be?? Before we were through we had five locals all sitting around having a great old chat with us. Rob and I both felt very lucky to have spent a little time with these hospitable folks. As Freeman said, "It is better in The Bahamas"!

L is for Landrail

The Bird Rock lighthouse that guards the reef as you approach Crooked Island.

This picture of Bird Rock was in Gibson's Restaurant. We are glad that the ocean was calmer when we arrived at Landrail Point. The last trip to Crooked and Acklins we hadn't had the opportunity of visitng Landrail Point on Crooked Island. After many days of waiting for a break in the weather and taking Stugeron (sea sick medicine) while at anchor we motor sailed up to this tiny settlement of 50 people. What they lack in numbers they make up in friendliness. Shawnelle who runs the local gas station pumped our diesel for us and gave us a ride in her jeep to the beach where we had Goldberry pulled up. Then she proceeded to give us a ride around the little community and dropped us off at Gibson's Restaurant. Willemina or Willie told us that she would make us conch dinners for pick up after lunch and we were pleased to hear that. Her daughter-in-law and new four month old baby boy chauffered us around (me holding the baby in the front seat of her car) from one tiny grocery store to the next with narry a vegetable to be found. After three stops we had 6 onions, three oranges and two small yoghurts!?! Once again it is a good thing that we are well provisioned on the good ship Celebrian. After two trips for diesel and our big shop we returned after lunch to Gibson's Restaurant to pick up our dinners and I was able to do the last blog entry....twice in a matter of speaking. Nothing is easy or ever works quite the way you expect it will. Nonetheless we had had a good day and were treated very well in Landrail; however we had to leave the anchorage because of the nasty surge that the point gets. We were picking our way through the coral heads just before sunset but once we were safely anchored and we opened our dinner we found not only our conch meals but a plate of chicken wings and two pieces of roll cake. It had been worth the effort to visit the good folks in Landrail.

We had planned on leaving Crooked and sailing south to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The window of weather that we needed slammed shut by 36 hours and it was no longer possible for us to get to our destination in time. Chris Parker forecast one of the nastiest cold fronts this winter so we had to decide where to go where we could be safe and comfortable. We are presently in Mayaguana in Abraham's Bay. Mayaguana is the most eastern Bahamian island and still offers us a chance to get to the Dominican Republic if the weather ever cooperates. We had another long and arduous 26 hours of motor sailing to get here but at least we are safe and reasonably comfortable. I now know why sailing to windward is called the thorny path? Today, Tuesday March 7th we have been told by Chris Parker to expect winds of 20 to 35 plus and more in squalls and that we are here for at least a week? We were going to try and put Mr. Johnston on Goldberry and get to town today but it is just too rough and not safe to do. We are hoping that we might be able to paddle the kayaks to shore with a change of clothes in our dry bags and walk to town. If we don't do it today we won't get off the boat for at least another five days. Just think about that....five long days boat bound with your partner in a space the size of most people's bathroom ensuite?! I am writing today before I become a little stir crazy and while it is not too rolly below decks. Does anyone wish they were here?

The captain needed a little nap with Sea Bear after our overnight passage. Today is Saturday March 11th and we are still in Mayaguana after having several days of squalls with winds gusting to 40. We have had to take our sea sick medicine for a couple of days as the waves were close to three feet in our reef protected anchorage. We haven't had the dreaded corkscrew death roll but we have had a lively boat nonetheless. Before the winds really picked up we managed to paddle to shore and walk to town but when we got to the little dock area we couldn't get across the channel because of a mangrove creek and thick brush...so near yet so far away. We have tried to stay busy doing a few boat jobs, reading and baking; however it isn't easy being below decks when the boat is rocking. Today the wind is down a little so we have launched the dinghy and are going to motor over to the tiny settlement of Abraham's Bay.

We are feeling somewhat thwarted by the weather forecast as Chris Parker has just told us the next week will be steady 20 knot winds with little change. Three years ago when we sailed to the Dominican Republic with First Edition we had such an easy time and this year it has been a struggle with very few decent weather windows. We haven't given up but we are losing our momentum and at some point we have to decide whether to push onward or turn back to The Abacos. We are still hoping to sail to Great Inagua and the windward passage to the DR but we have to have the right conditions to do so.

The squalls have been constant this week.

K is for Keeping Out of the Way

This big freighter wouldn't even answer our security call letting him know our position. Some boats are just very big bullies!?

The Bird House Lighthouse is 112 twelve feet tall and made of local limestone. It marks a huge reef on the north side of Crooked Island. Before it was built the people of Crooked made their living as wreckers (salvaging what was on board ships that foundered on the reefs).

Thompson Bay, Long Island is usually a one stop shop place to stay for a few days...internet, groceries, laundry, diesel, book swap, and a meal out; however Long Island Breeze was out of water and there were no laundry facilities available. They use water collected in cisterns for part of the year and then the government trucks in water for the remaining months. This year has been particularly dry so getting water on a large scale has been a challenge for Mike who runs Long Island Breeze. We did however spend a morning at The Breeze doing internet, picking up a few things at the grocery store, trading books and having lunch out. The forecast for the next week was strong easterlies so we had to decide whether we could get to Crooked Island before the trades ramped up and pinned us down. We decided to leave Thompson Bay in the early afternoon and sail overnight to Crooked and Acklins. The forecast was for less than 10 knots overnight, east to southeast going more easterly the next morning. This was not an ideal forecast but we were faced with waiting another week if we did not leave. It was a slow and arduous passage but after almost 28 hours we were anchored on the western shore of Crooked Island. During the night watches we saw two cruise ships, three pleasure craft, and a large freighter. During the day we had several ships including the one in the picture which would not answer our securite call. Ships are moving so fast compared to us that if they are within a couple of miles we want them to know where we are. At night a ship two miles away feels like it is close enough to run you over. We were grateful for our radar which displayed how close the ships were. There is a new program called AIS (Automatic Identification System) which tells you the name of the ship, its position, bearing and speed. It enables you to call the ship on the VHF radio rather than issue a securite with your position. It is definitely on Celebrian's wish list for next season's cruising. Needless to say we were exhausted after our passage and slept over eleven hours the next night. Today is Monday February 27th and we are anchored in the lee of Crooked Island. The winds as forecast are 25 plus knots and Hal is breaking records with his amp output. We used to run Harry the Honda generator if we had been sitting at anchor for a couple of days; however now we can watch a movie, eat with more than one light on and keep the fridge cold without worry. We even tested short blasts with the microwave and the low battery indicator did not come on. We wished we had put a wind generator on the boat before we had left Bayfield. Better late than ever as they say. Celebrian is evolving into quite the cruising boat. Today is February 29th...leap year...and we are still waiting out the winds. We have done a few boat jobs including our laundry. As you saw from the picture the only place we can safely hang things in this wind is along the side decks and I think I counted 16 pegs on our sheets including the massive flamingo pinchers that Lynn and Peter gave us last year for Christmas. How I appreciate my new washer and dryer at the cottage after doing all our laundry in ammonia. Did I mention that yachting is elegant? We have managed to paddle to shore in these winds but it is a good work out; however once along the shore the island gives enough of a lee that we could paddle along the beach and do some exploring. As you can see from the one picture there are trees down all along the beach as a result of hurricane Irene. Crooked and Acklins got hit harder than some of the other islands. Tomorrow the wind is forecast to go down so we are hoping to go to Landrail Point to buy diesel, I am not sure whether there will be any place available to do internet, but you will know if you get this blog before we get to the Dominican Republic. Landrail is a tiny community of Seventh Day Adventists so it is a good thing that we don't need any wine or beer; however we are really hoping that they have diesel and maybe something green and crunchy but I won't get my hopes up. If we get our Sunday weather window we may leave here and sail the 250 miles in the windward passage to Ilse A Vache on the southern coast of Haiti. It is the only safe harbour for cruising yachts in Haiti these days. Three years ago we went to the Turks and Caicos on the way to the DR; however this is a new option that we have been reading about and allows for cruising the south coast of the DR rather than fighting the trade winds on the north coast. Time will tell but we are excited about seeing some new places and continuing our cruising in the Caribbean.

Sixteen pegs managed to keep our sheets on the life lines in 25 knot winds!?

The sky over our French Wells anchorage ...a few miles south of Land Rail Point.

Hurricane Irene did some damage along the shore lines in Crooked and Acklins. For the most part the damage in Land Rail was not too extensive. There are only 50 people who live here so it is a tiny settlement....very much an out island.

K is for Keeping Out of the Way

This freighter would not even answer our Security calls on the VHF radio. Some boats are just big bullies. Thompson Bay, Long Island is usually a one stop shop place to stay for a few days...internet, groceries, laundry, diesel, book swap, and a meal out; however Long Island Breeze was out of water and there were no laundry facilities available. They use water collected in cisterns for part of the year and then the government trucks in water for the remaining months. This year has been particularly dry so getting water on a large scale has been a challenge for Mike who runs Long Island Breeze. We did however spend a morning at The Breeze doing internet, picking up a few things at the grocery store, trading books and having lunch out. The forecast for the next week was strong easterlies so we had to decide whether we could get to Crooked Island before the trades ramped up and pinned us down. We decided to leave Thompson Bay in the early afternoon and sail overnight to Crooked and Acklins. The forecast was for less than 10 knots overnight, east to southeast going more easterly the next morning. This was not an ideal forecast but we were faced with waiting another week if we did not leave. It was a slow and arduous passage but after almost 28 hours we were anchored on the western shore of Crooked Island. During the night watches we saw two cruise ships, three pleasure craft, and a large freighter. During the day we had several ships including the one in the picture which would not answer our securite call. Ships are moving so fast compared to us that if they are within a couple of miles we want them to know where we are. At night a ship two miles away feels like it is close enough to run you over. We were grateful for our radar which displayed how close the ships were. There is a new program called AIS (Automatic Identification System) which tells you the name of the ship, its position, bearing and speed. It enables you to call the ship on the VHF radio rather than issue a securite with your position. It is definitely on Celebrian's wish list for next season's cruising. Needless to say we were exhausted after our passage and slept over eleven hours the next night.

Today is Monday February 27th and we are anchored in the lee of Crooked Island. The winds as forecast are 25 plus knots and Hal is breaking records with his amp output. We used to run Harry the Honda generator if we had been sitting at anchor for a couple of days; however now we can watch a movie, eat with more than one light on and keep the fridge cold without worry. We even tested short blasts with the microwave and the low battery indicator did not come on. We wished we had put a wind generator on the boat before we had left Bayfield. Better late than ever as they say. Celebrian is evolving into quite the cruising boat.

Today is February 29th...leap year...and we are still waiting out the winds. We have done a few boat jobs including our laundry. As you saw from the picture the only place we can safely hang things in this wind is along the side decks and I think I counted 16 pegs on our sheets including the massive flamingo pinchers that Lynn and Peter gave us last year for Christmas. How I appreciate my new washer and dryer at the cottage after doing all our laundry in ammonia. Did I mention that yachting is elegant? We have managed to paddle to shore in these winds but it is a good work out; however once along the shore the island gives enough of a lee that we could paddle along the beach and do some exploring. As you can see from the one picture there are trees down all along the beach as a result of hurricane Irene. Crooked and Acklins got hit harder than some of the other islands. Tomorrow the wind is forecast to go down so we are hoping to go to Landrail Point to buy diesel, I am not sure whether there will be any place available to do internet, but you will know if you get this blog before we get to the Dominican Republic. Landrail is a tiny community of Seventh Day Adventists so it is a good thing that we don't need any wine or beer; however we are really hoping that they have diesel and maybe something green and crunchy but I won't get my hopes up. If we get our Sunday weather window we may leave here and sail the 250 miles in the windward passage to Ilse A Vache on the southern coast of Haiti. It is the only safe harbour for cruising yachts in Haiti these days. Three years ago we went to the Turks and Caicos on the way to the DR; however this is a new option that we have been reading about and allows for cruising the south coast of the DR rather than fighting the trade winds on the north coast. Time will tell but we are excited about seeing some new places and continuing our cruising in the Caribbean.

There will be more pictures in the next blog. Stay tuned from the Dominican Republic.

J is for Just Another Boat in George Town

George Town has a magnificent harbour for cruising boats. There is always room for one more here and the day we left the boat count was 231. We anchored off the town so that we could do our town jobs but most of the boats were anchored behind Lee Stocking Island.

This is the high tech computer shop where I did my internet work in George Town. This local gentleman said that he was my colour two years ago so we had to do a picture skin comparison shot.

The straw market is always a fun place to visit. This lady was happy to show me her plaiting and weaving work.

I is for Impressive

We anchored in Rudder Cut Cay and found ourselves next to two very impressive caves that we could paddle into.

The last blog entry was sent fromn Deshemon's in Black Point where we always order a conch pizza. Today's blog is being posted from a little internet shack in George Town in the southern Exumas.

The people in Black Point make their living by plaiting palm leaves. They send them to Nassau where they are made into purses and other straw goods.

We found a new anchorage on our way south at Jack's Bay with beautiful beaches and stunning cliffs.

I is for Impressive We had a thoroughly enjoyable pre-Valentine's dinner at Deshemons....our usual...conch pizza. I was able to do some internet and call my mom and the captain did the laundry. It is like old home week at Black Point because we know the folks who run the little store, laundromat and restaurant. There are always hugs and lots of smiles to greet us from the very gracious people who live here. Our stop was brief but a very pleasant one. It is Thursday February 16th and We are presently anchored in Rudder Cut Cay, south of Black Point and an area that we have not visted before. The only time you can come through this area is at high tide as the water is very skinny in places. There are a couple of very impressive caves along the coast of this cay. They are actually grottos as they are open to the sky in places. We did some paddling and explored the coast after we anchored. The island is private; however there are no buildings to be seen from this anchorage. We were hoping to keep moving south to Georgetown; however the wind is not at a favourable angle for us and we are still about 40 miles away. It looks like we are here until Sunday. Rob is re-bedding the chain plates on the deck this morning. We had some sea water come into the lockers on the sail down from the Abacos as we were heeled over on the starboard side. Needless to say it makes a mess but since everything is stored in plastic bags or jars things are not ruined and it just requires patience and clean water. We seem to be having our challenges with salt water this season; however I am happy to say that our tank water is tasting fine and we are back to normal operation. The PUC (Private utilites Company) is operating at one hundred per cent. From Rudder Cut Cay we motored eight miles in the ocean to Lee Stocking Island. We are seldom without our sails but the wind was light and on our nose so the sails were not going to help us. We had been to Lee Stocking before with Lynn and Peter; however there are many new spots to anchor and explore. We anchored in William's Bay behind Lee Stocking and William's Cay. We spent a wonderful afternoon paddling in the calm air and exploring the ocean cliffs. It is not often that we get to paddle in calm conditions. The next morning we left while the tide was high so that we could work our way south behind the cays rather than go out in the ocean for a short trip to Rat Cay. Rat Cay is the closest anchorage before you get to George Town for a boat with a deep keel. The catermarans can do a lot of exploring in the areas we have been sneaking through at high tide but since we draw close to five foot six we have to plan our skinny water adventures to coincide with a rising tide. Rat Cay is a good place to kayak, walk beaches and explore. The only consideration is timing of the tidal current which is fierce here. As it happened we were able to paddle with an ebbing current in the late morning, have lunch at the beach, do some exploring and beach combing and paddle back to the boat on the flood current. Our find of the day was an exquisite hawk wing shell. It is the best one we have ever found. Today is Sunday February 19th and we are soon to haul anchor and sail to George Town, third largest settlement in The Bahamas, population about one thousand. We spent some time in George Town the first year that we cruised but not since. We need diesel and some fresh food as well as internet so we are going to the big city?! As it happens Chris Parker, the weather guru is spending the week here doing some weather seminars so we may get a chance to attend one of his seminars and buy his book. He lives in Key West and provides a daily weather update on the single side band radio and we depend on his forecasts to plan our moves. You can sign up for several hundred dollars a year and get personalized forecasts and email, but so far we have found the general forecast information all we have needed.

The anchorage at Lee Stocking Island was another great stop with good paddling and great ocean views.

At times we were very close to sand banks as we made our way through the cays and islands.

Rat Cay was another new anchorage for Celebrian.

We found a real treasure on the ocean beach at Rat Cay. It is the nicest hawkwing shell we have ever found.

Many of you have received sand dollars as gifts from us over our sailing years. Those of you who saw our Christmas tree this year will have seen our tree decorated with them. This is what they look like when they are alive. Notice the little fuzzy legs around the outside of the shell and how brown they are. They don't move at a blistering pace by any means but we watched this one move along the bottom making a little trail. Today we are very busy in down town George Town. We have groceries to pick and diesel for Mr. Yan. This entails three trips back and forth between the boat and the Shell Station. In between trips I am scrambling to post this blog. The weather may let us sail to Long Island this week and then there might be a chance for a passage to Crooked and Acklins. We were to Crooked and Acklins the year that we sailed to the Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic.