Post #96: Great Harbour Cay

Monday, January 10 to Monday, January 17, 2022

One of the main reasons boaters like to get to port before dark is that it’s really difficult to know what’s ahead of you.  Sometimes that’s true even at dusk as in this photo.  Can you see the entrance to the marina?  Nope? Neither could we.

How about now?

Thank goodness for charts, though.  We proceeded cautiously and were rewarded with a manmade cut that opened up into the Bay of Five Pirates and a dredged channel that took us right, then left, then right again to one of the best protected marinas in all the Bahamas.

Mike and Sheri on Fantasea had sailed in from St. Petersburg, FL and were waiting for the four boats. They had received our dock assignments from the office which closed 45 minutes before we arrived.  How wonderful to see them again and to share a big hug after so many months.  Now four of the six boats from last year were together again.  I can’t help but reflect that in 2020 when our trip began, we were focused on visiting new places. This time around, it’s more about the people and being with our friends again.

After a quick dinner, Sheri told us everyone had been invited to an impromptu jam session aboard Valkyrie, a 75’ luxurious Fleming motor yacht. Anyone with an instrument was encouraged to bring it along.  We just brought our voices and appreciation for the talent and hospitality of our newly introduced hosts, Val and Ray.  They are from Pensacola, FL and fly in and out on their private plane to live on Valkyrie for about half the year. They also keep a 35’ center console boat as their tender and use it for day fishing trips. (More about this later.) The songs were mostly new to David and me but we joined in on the choruses like everyone else! Here are links to two of our new favorites: Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat,” and Brandy Clark’s “Stripes.” 

The next day eight of us headed out to explore the island on foot.  It was cool and a little drizzly but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Once out of the marina, it began to feel more like the authentic Bahamas. Here’s Bonner Drop Off which appeared to be a conch shack but we never saw anyone there.

Upon further investigation, we learned we could also buy coconut trees—but only with cash or credit card.

We soon came upon our desired destination, a beach bar for lunch with a view.

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of looking at that water.

Another day we explored the ruins of the once very chic Clubhouse, part of a $38 million development that began in 1969.  We were told that the “exclusive hideaway” attracted the rich and famous —Cary Grant, Brigitte Bardo, Jack Nicklaus, Ingrid Bergman, the Rat Pack— and other glitterati. It lasted only about 10 years, however, and now only remnants remain.

There’s quite a history to how the development happened on this island.

Five families of ex-slaves settled here back in the mid-1800’s, making their living as sponge fishermen and eventually lobster trappers. By the 1920’s the population had grown to 400 but dwindled as folks left to pursue opportunities elsewhere (mostly Nassau and the US). By the 1960’s only about 150 people still lived on Manalapan Island, as it was then called. But in 1966 Lou Chesler arrived with his partner Meyer Lansky, whose dream of a gambling empire began with a hotel you might have heard of, The Sands in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s just say, these men were used to getting what they wanted.

Meyer Lansky’s gambling holdings in Cuba were crushed when Castro brought Communism to the island. He set his sights on the Bahamas as the next location to build his casinos. Lansky and Chesler built the Lucayan Beach Hotel, golf course, and marina in Freeport in 1964 in anticipation of a lucrative casino license from the Bahamian government.  They also set up a real estate company, Roberts Realty, which brokered the historic land deal that made the development of this island possible.  In effect, most of the island was sold to Lansky and Chesler and they changed the name to Great Harbour Cay. The scrub growth was bulldozed for an 18-hole golf course, a 3,000 foot airstrip was built, The Clubhouse was constructed on the highest point of the island, the Beach Club was built on a beautiful stretch of sand (where we ate lunch) and a marina (where we stayed) was developed with townhouses lining its docks and a channel (see video above) was blasted through the rocks, giving direct access to the ocean.  So, in some part, I guess we have the Mafia to thank (?) for such a special spot.

We had two more Adult Day Camp adventures while waiting for good weather to sail further south.  One day 10 of us jumped in the back of the marina manager’s pick-up and he drove us out to  a beautiful beach.  He gave us directions to walk at low tide to the “little cay over here,” and then something about returning by way of a path through the water “back over there.”

I think we all left our adult sensibilities at home that morning because this has to be one of the stupidest things we’ve done in a while. Basically, when we got to the “little cay over here,”  the tide had come in and we really had no idea how to get back to where he was to meet us. We waded through waist high water for over an hour and a half, slogging our way back to shore.  David and I ached where we didn’t even know we had muscles…..well, at least the water was warm.

The next day we thought it better to ride on top of the water rather than try to walk through it. Off we went to go snorkeling and visit a blue hole near Rat Cay. Some of our friends had brought their depth meters, nifty little flashlight-like gizmos that read the water depth.  They’re great fun when zipping along in the dinghies, especially when the depths go from 24” to 36’ to 75’ to, well, too deep to measure in a just a few seconds.  While snorkeling around, Sue called out that she’d found an anchor buried in the sand. Then she said that she thought it might be a Rocna (a rather expensive brand). Now that got everyone’s attention!  Fins were on, masks deployed, and the hunt was on.  Turned out to be just a piece of bent stainless tubing but it sure was fun to be 9-years-old again, hunting for treasure!

We’d been in Great Harbour Cay for almost a week, waiting for skies like this to pass by (we’re the blue dot in the screen shot. The squall line went all the way to Cuba.)

With another Saturday night came another invitation to sing along on Valkyrie. Twenty of us gathered in Val and Jay’s boat to enjoy guitar, ukulele, and keyboard renditions of sea shanties, cowboy ballads, folk, rock, and bawdy tunes. A good time was had by all!

But tomorrow the weather looks good and we are sailing south to anchor off Little Harbour Cay and then sail again to West Bay near Nassau. From there we will head to the Exumas Land and Sea Park and be off the grid for a while. I’ll pick this up when we have connectivity again.

Post #95: Back in the Bahamas!

Thursday, January 6 to Monday, January 10, 2022

By 2 p.m. on January 6, we made landfall at West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island, better known as the home of Freeport. We entered the dredged cut that led us to the very protected Old Bahama Bay Marina where we checked in at Customs and Immigration.

Actually, David, as captain of our vessel, was the only one allowed off. I raised the yellow quarantine or “Q” flag and had to stay on board.  Once Onward was cleared in by the authorities, we took down that flag and raised the Bahamian courtesy flag.

We enjoyed our first Bahamian fish at the Dockside Bar & Grille and made plans to leave together the next day. We sailed 30 miles to Lucaya, the tourist development just east of Freeport.

Freeport Harbour is a vast commercial port. It is a stopover for large ships to unload their cargo for transfer to freighters and smaller cargo vessels. There were offshore oil jetties (quite controversial, we later learned),

while cruise ships, container ships and tankers hovered around the refueling docks like hungry newborn pups.

Port Lucaya, on the other hand, was developed for tourists and the many ways they can be tempted to exercise their credit cards: marinas, shopping, entertainment, golf, casinos, restaurants and tours (on kayaks, on jet skis, on bikes, on horseback, etc.). There are caves for exploring, eco-tours of the natural preserves, beautiful beaches to relax on, places to scuba and snorkel, a chance to swim with dolphins, and even a brewery to tour. We’ll have to come back some other time to try some of them out.  Our activities on this two-day visit to “paradise”consisted of getting our 72-hour rapid test in order to be able to stay in the Bahamas, provisioning in the last large grocery store we’ll see for weeks, dipping our toes in the marina’s swimming pool (a tad too chilly for me still),

and a water taxi ride to the Port Lucaya Marketplace (“Bahamas’ largest open-air complex with over 40 stores and boutiques and more than a dozen restaurants and bars, etc., etc.)  Due to Covid and the diminished number of visiting cruise ships, there were only a handful of shops and only a couple restaurants open. Their economy is really suffering from the pandemic. 

We’d read about the straw market and did stop to watch one of the women embroider a Disney princess on what would become a little purse. Most of the rest of the goods were made in China.

Flags were flown at half mast for the week of January 6 to honor Sir Sidney Poitier, Oscar-winning Bahamian actor, director and diplomat, and son of Cat Island.

It rained hard and the wind was very strong two of the nights we were in Port Lucaya and we were feeling very fortunate to be tied up securely in the marina. A couple from another boat, Anna Christina, joined us for games and other activities and decided to come along with us to our next stop, Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands. The only question remaining—when to leave?

The four couples poured over every weather forecast at our disposal and finally came to the consensus that we would leave at 6:30 a.m. on the 10th—but only after consulting the updated forecasts available then.  We also set 7:30 a.m. as the absolute latest hour we could safely leave. We woke at 5:30 a.m., started the coffee, and got ready to go.

But the weather radar looked ominous: a front coming from the west would pass right over us bringing rain and lightning. We applied the brakes and started to plan different options for spending the day together. Still, we kept an eye on the clouds and rain in the distance…and watched the squall line go to the north of us—hurray! Quickly, and I mean really quickly, we cast off lines at 7:25 a.m. I even heard Sue on Miss Adventure call out to her husband Rick, who was heading out of the slip, “Come back!! I’m still on the dock!!!!”

We had ten hours of daylight to book it 65 miles to Great Harbour Cay so off we went!!

Post #94: It’s Time to Get Movin’!

Friday, December 31 to Thursday, January 6, 2022

With the new year came changes in lots of plans, especially since the Bahamian government imposed stricter entry requirements due to the explosion of Omicron cases. Our original hope was to spend New Year’s Eve with my brother and his wife on a Great Gatsby-themed cruise on the Potomac, tuxedos and flapper dresses for all. But those plans were dashed when the Bahamas announced that all travelers needed to have a negative antigen test within three days of arrival (last year it was a PCR test five days beforehand) or would be denied entry.  In addition, as of January 7, the Bahamas would no longer accept antigen tests and would require PCR tests. Since we would need a good weather (wind from favorable direction, gentle waves, no storms) window for at least 10 hours to cross the Gulf Stream and sail to West End on Grand Bahama Island, we had to be able to take our rapid test, well, rapidly.  Fortunately, David had purchased a set of “proctored” tests—i.e., self-administered while we were on the boat but observed by a health care professional via Zoom. These tests would be accepted by the Bahamas. 

We went back to DC, cleaned and closed up the house we’d been staying in, and flew back to Cocoa.  It took us two days to provision Onward with more food for the trip, clean off any mildew that had taken up residence in our absence, and headed back down the ICW towards Vero Beach and finally Lake Worth/West Palm.  We had hoped to go outside after Vero and sail the Atlantic to Lake Worth but the seas were too rough. Instead we had to take the inside route. Drat.

There were 8 bridges to get past on the last 18 miles, two opening on request and four opening only at specific times.  This is tricky for us as we need to time our arrival perfectly or else try to stay in one place while fighting the current as it pushes us toward the unopened bridge. (I wish it were like driving a car where you can simply put on the brakes and stay put!) As you can imagine, such a passage is nerve-wracking. But (and this is the reason we love the sailing community) a friendly sailor in the boat ahead of us hailed us on the radio, “Onward, Onward. I see you’re from Boston. I am a local and familiar with the bridge opening times. I’ll call ahead to the bridge tenders for both of us and let them know we are two boats. Just follow me and it’ll be stress free for you. I’ll take care of you from here to West Palm.”  “I’ll take care of you” has to be one of the kindest, most reassuring phrases in the English language.

We made it to Lake Worth/West Palm without a hitch.

We took our proctored antigen tests, uploaded them to the Bahamas authorities, received our Health Visas, filled out all the paperwork for our Cruising Permit and crossed our fingers that all our administrative ducks were in a row.  Then we waited for two of the boats from last year to join us.

The friends we planned to cross with had a difficult time finding an appointment slot to take an antigen test.  Finally, they found a clinic in Jensen Beach that would administer the test ($125 each!!) so they took an Uber, got out of the vehicle and stood in the line of waiting cars. The attendant told them this was OK but soon a supervisor arrived who told them they had to wait inside a vehicle and that the test would be administered through the car window. So they had to call back the Uber driver and pay him to wait with them for an hour and a half during which they exchanged life stories. They now know the guy so well that they have been invited to have Thanksgiving at his house next year!  Adding to their frustration, they didn’t receive their “rapid” results until the next day which delayed their ability to apply for their visas. And gave them only one day to get to the Bahamas or they would have to start the process all over again—and the rules would change on January 7th!

Fortunately for all of us, they joined us at anchor in Lake Worth on the afternoon of the 5th. And the weather held.  Added reassurance was sent by the heavens as we were blessed with this “red sky at night, sailors’ delight.”  We agreed to weigh anchor at 5:30 a.m. and head out the channel to the great Atlantic on January 6, 2022.

We knew that if we maintained an average speed of 6 knots, we would be able to reach the West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island in ten hours.  But we needed to get there before the Customs and Immigration offices closed at 5 p.m. (Our health visas were no longer valid on January 7th due to the new testing rules.) This meant leaving before daylight, and watching out for any tankers, cargo ships, or any other vessels at sea. We can see them on our radar system and identify them with AIS (Automatic Identification System).

The new electronics we installed this summer show us their position, direction, speed, and where/when we would intersect courses.  For example, we can see that the vessel above is named STI Grammercy (a 183’ long oil tanker) with a COG (Course Over Ground) of 298 degrees True and an SOG (Speed Over Ground) of 12.7 knots. If we both maintained our direction and speed, we would come within .73 nautical miles (CPA=Closest Point of Approach) in 5.21 nautical miles or 24 minutes, 37 seconds.

These are all invaluable tools in the dark of night for we surely would lose if we ever bumped into this guy:

Post #93: Holiday Traditions

Tuesday, November 23 to Thursday, December 30, 2021

This blog entry has nothing to do with sailing. I’d just like to capture the 2021 holiday season because we were finally able to celebrate with family and friends again.  I hope you did, too. Staying apart from each other, whether on a boat or in a house in the country or apartment in the city, has taken a mental and emotional toll on all of us. But the experience has also made me appreciate more fully those little moments we are able to share with others.

Such as:

Baking pies for Thanksgiving dinner.

Making mini cheese balls as “appetizing appetizers for our appetite.”

Visiting the outdoor train display at the National Botanical Garden.

Driving through the dazzling Winter Lights Festival in Gaithersburg, MD.

Oohing and aahing at the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights in Alexandria, VA.

Stringing the lights we used on Onward last Christmas on our DC porch.

              

Baking and decorating molasses cookies from David’s mother’s recipe.

Finding the Boppa Monster in the 150,000-pound Ice Maze at CityCenterDC.

Hearing the Messiah in our glorious National Cathedral, overcome by the resilient power and majesty of Handel’s music which transcends the centuries.

Building our 9th (?) all-candy gingerbread house with help from Sarah’s high school, college, and DC friends—the tradition continues!

Enjoying Christmas Eve with the Bensons and the Andrews, celebrating a friendship between two families that began in the mid-1800’s!

And finally, celebrating Christmas in our own home with presents underneath the little tree we bought last year to use aboard Onward!

Post #92: Home is Where the Toothpaste Is

Post #91: Hitchin’ a Ride

Saturday, November 13 to Thursday, November 18, 2021 

We’ve just mailed our Christmas cards and invited everyone to read this blog. David keeps reminding me that now I actually need to write an entry(!) and my cousin Sharon (a beloved retired teacher) has prodded me gently as well. I’m a tad bit embarrassed that I haven’t written anything since mid-November so let me catch you up…..

We left the ICW on November 13, going out St. Simon's Sound inlet just north of Jekyll Island, GA. It was 50 miles in the open Atlantic with a freshening breeze, a light rain, and the current in our favor.  There wasn't a lot of sight-seeing to do since we were about 5 miles offshore so I didn’t think I’d have much to tell you.

But we were entertained for over an hour by a hitchhiking little yellow finch!  She hopped on board and flitted from line to railing, aft to the dinghy and forward to the anchor chain, all the while taking sips of rainwater that had accumulated on the deck and fittings.  After about half an hour, a second finch joined her.  Where did they come from and why were they flying so far from shore? And where did they go after departing our boat?  (Perhaps you’ll see them at your bird feeder in early spring and you can ask.) Throughout this trip, we have been constantly astonished by the mysteries of wildlife behavior!

Surely influenced by all the pirate lore and treasures we learned about in Beaufort, I was easily convinced we’d traveled back in time when we spied this vessel bearing down on us:

Well, shiver me timbers, if’n it weren’t the privateer Lynx out o’ Nantucket Town! The original Lynx, a topsail schooner, ran the Royal Navy blockade once during the War of 1812. Unfortunately for the nascent U.S. Navy, she was captured by the British in 1813 at the beginning of only her second voyage. The replica cruising today serves as a sailing classroom and offers students a glimpse of early American history and the rigors of seamanship. You can take a day sail on her out of Nantucket in the summer or visit her at her winter dock at St. Simon’s Island.

The entrance to Cumberland Sound and St. Mary’s River was our route back to the ICW and a mooring ball for the night at Fernandina Harbor Marina in Florida. But first we passed Fort Clinch to port, strategically sited at the mouth of the inlet. Following the widespread destruction during the aforementioned War of 1812, a series of forts was built along the coastline of the United States to defend against foreign invaders. Construction of Fort Clinch was begun in 1847. At the start of the Civil War the still unfinished fort came by default under Confederate control. By 1862 the Union started to gain control of coastal and southern Georgia, and Union troops took it over. Today Fort Clinch is part of Florida’s state park system and provides wonderful opportunities for biking, birding, hiking, camping, and fishing as well as access to historical interpretations, reenactments and a museum.

We left early the next morning, retracing our track out St. Mary’s inlet and headed south to St. Augustine, another 60 miles.  No feathered hitchhikers this time so the hours passed rather slowly but at least the sun was shining!

Our three days in St. Augustine were filled with walks through this fun town, great breakfasts at the Maple Street Biscuit Company,

fabulous people (dog?) watching,

dinner with new friends we’d met in North Carolina… and many hours replacing our aft macerator pump. Trust me, you do not want to know the details.  Suffice it to say that we never want to do that again. Ever.

We went back through the St. Augustine inlet and headed out to the Atlantic once again, intentionally avoiding the ICW and its 6 difficult (for us) bridges around Daytona. It was another long 10-hour day of sailing but we were anxious to get to Cocoa Village Marina by the 20th so we could get ready to fly back to DC for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As we neared New Smyrna, our anchorage for the night, we were treated to the site of a pod of dolphins feeding together near the shore. (I’m not sure, but you may need to read this blog on a web browser in order to see the video.)

Next stop Cocoa Village!

Post # 90: Sunrise, Sunset

Friday, November 12 to Saturday, November 13, 2021

One of the reasons we like to dock at the Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah is for its bucolic setting. I want to share these iPhone photos of the radiant aurora created as first light broke. The second photo was taken 3 minutes after the first and I have not altered them in any way.

From Savannah we motored down the Skidaway River, past Moon River near the Mercer’s summer home, “Vernon View.” It’s not really “wider than a mile,” but it is wide enough to be able to listen to Andy Williams sing Moon River as you cross it.  What a voice…

We were following creeks and rivers, and crossing marshes and sounds as we motored behind more of Georgia’s barrier islands: Ossabaw, St. Catherine’s, Sapelo, Altamaha and St. Simon’s. We’re itching to get out onto the Atlantic and really sail again.  But here are some watery photos from the two mornings we trundled along, entirely alone for hours at a time.

The mists of Avalon…

When we reached our final anchorage, it was just us and a bald eagle.

And then the sun set.