We left Jamaica with a pretty good weather window to head north through the Windward Passage, as the gap between Haiti and Cuba is known. Given the chaos in Haiti and the resulting flood of people trying to leave the island on rickety boats, we wanted to stay as close to Cuba as possible while keeping in mind the standard 12-mile rule for a country’s international waters. I recall growing up how Cuban gunboats would shoot first and ask questions later when unauthorized vessels got too close. We had planned on a three-day passage to Great Inagua, the closest Bahamian island where we could check in. However, as with our trip to Jamaica, the strong easterly current had a lot more north in it than planned and that slowed us down quite a bit. When we got close to Cuba we found the Venturi effect of the wind funneling through the gap to be much more of a Windward Wall than a Windward Passage. We watched a bunch of commercial vessels come south but nothing going north–for a reason! We were moving forward so slowly that we crept closer and closer to Cuba, eventually staying within three miles of the coast as we beat our way up. (The land partially blocks the wind.) It took an extra 10-12 hours to get through. Meanwhile, friends on SV Via, told us that their anchorage on Great Inagua was untenable so, with a big blow coming in two days, we decided to continue on to Georgetown on Great Exuma, which has good protection.
On the way, our jib furling line had broken. So, before dark on the last day, we had wrestled it down on deck and lashed it to the lifelines and jacklines. We also kept finding water in a particular bilge compartment, but more on that in a moment… Around 2300, Tess heard a US Coast Guard conversation with a vessel in distress. Wow, back in the world of modern rescue resources! It’s been two years since we heard that. Anyway, things took a turn when the USCG helicopter called us to ask if we could assist. We replied that we were down to our last few gallons of fuel, had a water ingress issue and had a sail lashed to the deck. The pilot immediately asked if we were going to need assistance as well! No sir, we’ll be fine but we have very limited fuel to go help another vessel. The USCG issued a pan-pan for any other vessel in the area to assist but no one responded. I found this troubling as I could see eight other vessels ahead of us on AIS. Some were definitely anchored for the night but the busy hub of Georgetown was also nearby, with literally hundreds of boats present. Obviously, the vast majority turn off their radios at night.
Anyway, as no one else responded, I asked for the exact location of the vessel and it turned out that we would likely have run into it on our way into Georgetown. It wasn’t out of the way at all. As we had not heard any of the vessel’s transmissions, we asked for the nature of the trouble and other pertinent info. It seems the vessel in distress was a 60′ power catamaran with no power and three souls on board. The USCG helo had to return to base for fuel and we finally arrived on scene about three hours later. The vessel had drifted a couple of miles away and was just a tiny spec on radar that appeared to be weather and we had real trouble finding it. It didn’t respond on radio either but we followed the current direction and finally found it. The captain had managed to get one engine working by then but said he could not steer. We offered to take his crew but he declined and just asked us to try to contact a specific gentleman “at the concrete pier in the morning as he has a trawler and will come tow me in…” Roger that.
We attempted to enter Georgetown around 0300 but quickly abandoned the effort as the pass is very narrow and shallow with many rocks and turns. After dawn we made our run through the North Channel Rocks cut, dropped the hook and relayed the predicament of the vessel in distress on the morning cruiser’s net (radio chat that almost everyone listens to). Before we went into town to check into the country, we saw the boat being towed in by another catamaran so we stopped by and learned that the skipper was a delivery captain, taking the boat to a new owner in Jamaica. The boat was not in great shape, had no working radio or distress signals and he had called for help via a personal locator beacon (tracking device that we have in our lifejackets). So, happy ending to our first encounter with a distress call.
The water ingress problem we figured out was from inside our transom garage. There used to be a compressor mounted on the side wall but we removed it when it turned into a block of rust. I’d left the cover in place but it was not really waterproof and in the big seas of this passage, water that splashes into the garage was working it’s way past the cover and pooling in a rear bilge compartment. That has now been remedied with a proper water-proof cover. We also bought and installed a new jib furling line in Georgetown.
The waters of the Bahamas are famous for a reason. We have never seen anything like these shades of blue and the “gin clear” water is a spot-on description. Looking down into the ocean is just like looking into a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin with its blue tint. It is also incredibly shallow on the “banks.” Each group of islands has a bank of shallow sand that extends far to the west. The east side of each group is deep ocean. To get through to the leeward side and onto the bank there are many cuts which tend to be very narrow and are thus subject to very strong tidal currents as vast amounts of water are funneled through a few small gaps four times a day. Timing the crossing of these cuts is imperative as you want to cross at slack water, preferably at high tide. And of course moving anywhere on the banks can only be done safely during peak daylight. The charts are excellent but sand bars move all the time. Bottom line–it has been exciting moving around on a keel boat! We often have just inches under the keel.
During our time in Georgetown, we got to watch the National Family Island Regatta, a series of races on hand-made wooden sloops unique to the Bahamas. No fancy stuff like winches, fin keels or electronics. The four classes (12′ to 28′ long) have very tall masts, enormous booms that are nearly twice as long as the boat itself and crew members who sit on wood planks out over the water that are moved to the high-side of the boat on each tack, making for some very dramatic turns around each mark. We sat in the dingy at one mark watching the big boats race and one lost control, quickly leading to it sinking! Two crew were injured while tumbling off the planks as they suddenly rose to vertical in the crash. We were told that this happens often and sure enough, it was raised within a couple hours to race another day. Each of the larger islands produces a “family” boat or two and the after party each night went until 0600. It is THE event on the social calendar of the Bahamas so very fun to get to see it.
After Georgetown, we moved north to Black Point, best known to sailors for its top-notch laundry right at the dock. We dined at the Black Point Yacht Club, did boat work and moved to Staniel Cay after a couple days.
Staniel Cay is best known for its swimming pigs. We also happened to be there for both the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo so we enjoyed the Staniel Cay Yacht Club on consecutive afternoons. We fed the pigs a couple times, who are technically wild but well looked after. They come swimming out when any dink approaches, eat whatever you give them and live in a nice little shelter on the beach.
There is also a sunken drug plane in very shallow water nearby and the Thunderball Grotto, where the underwater scenes of the James Bond movie Thunderball were filmed. It is a large cave with entrances on several sides that can be accessed during low tide. Holes in the roof provide beautiful illumination and it’s filled with friendly fish. It is so popular they have strung a couple of safety lines for weak swimmers to hold onto. We managed to get it to ourselves for a while and it really is cool thing to do.
Our next stop was the Exuma Land and Sea Park, a large pristine area with possibly the most photographed single spot in the Bahamas, the north mooring field of Warderick Wells. It is a spectacular horseshoe shaped channel just wide and deep enough to put boats on mooring balls in the center. Traffic is carefully controlled to a single moving vessel at a time. The surrounding sand bars appear and disappear twice a day making for magical water time and beach combing. We hiked up to Boo Boo Hill where cruisers have left their boat name on pieces of driftwood for many years.
Next stop was Norman’s Cay. It was once owned by Pablo Escobar who installed Carlos Lehder as the resident kingpin. Carlos built a large home on the north end and the US DEA famously set up a surveillance post on a small island across from him. Carlos extended the runway by 1000′ but one of his C46 Commando airplanes crashed into the bay and is now a cool snorkel spot.
There are no stores on the island and only one restaurant, MacDuff’s. We stopped there twice for fancy drinks. The island is again privately owned and being developed for the ultra-rich. We rode our bikes 20 miles on a terrible road to see it all. We toured a couple of the finished lots that sell for $25M, for which you get several standalone bedrooms and a kitchen/living area with pool, all just steps from the beach. Very nice indeed. The marina is also very modern and catering to the giant vessels that we see everywhere. We then celebrated Mother’s Day (and Valentine’s, our anniversary and Tess’ birthday) with a very special dinner at the fabulous Norman’s Cay Yacht Club. Easily the best view from a restaurant ever-anywhere. Just a magnificent place with great staff and food. $$$$ I ordered a shot of 2003 Plantation Rum from Trinidad just because the bottle was attractive. Turned out it cost me $70.80 with tax – but worth it!
We are heading west in the coming days so stay tuned…
