2 December 2006  A lazy day of jobs onboard.  We can now recite the watermaker manual, but still have a popping circuit breaker.  Hazel mended the sail cover, batten car and dodger zip.  Its not all fun!  Working the boat is a fulltime job and there are always routine jobs to do.  We have adopted the adage 'Do it when you see it' if not, the jobs list just gets too long.  Chafe is going to be our biggest enemy, particularly if our luck holds and we keep sailing downwind, which we sincerely hope we do.  Everything is constantly in motion and it takes a heavy toll, new running rigging is already showing signs of chafe after only four days offshore.  You need constant vigilance in securing lines and checking the deck to stay ahead. 

3 December 2006  We reluctantly left Green Turtle Cay, and New Plymouth, which made an idyllic first landing in the Bahamas with friendly people and a laidback atmosphere, just like we expected island life to be.  We weighed anchor to catch slack water in Whale Passage as we had to go out through the reef, into the Atlantic, before returning to the Sea of Abaco and passage South.  After two weeks of steady NE winds we met with a steep chop that made for slow progress against the wind and sea.  It was still a bit disconcerting taking our home that close to breaking water, but both she and we coped.  The twenty miles down to Marsh Harbour turned out to be head to wind, as the wind veered to the South for the first time in two weeks.  Sods law comes in to play even in the Bahamas!  A pretty trip in water in every imaginable shade of blue, however, the navigation cannot be taken lightly as the shallow water leaves no margin for error.  We arrived in Marsh Harbour just after low water amongst a growing fleet of cruisers who seem to make Marsh Harbour home for the Winter.  

4 December 2006  Marsh Harbour has an active 'Cruiser's Net' on VHF Channel 68 at 08:15 each morning and we were welcomed as 'New Arrivals' in the anchorage.  We went ashore and made contact with the shipping agent who confirmed our spares were in the Islands and should be in our hands tomorrow morning.  The traffic, hustle and bustle of this small town, the largest in the Abacos, came as a bit of a disappointment after the outer Cays.  However, needs must, and we need to re-supply, but probably won't linger before we head off to a more remote spot again.  We've also been reminded that Christmas is not far away, but Christmas decorations and Christmas music in shops, when its 80 degrees and sunny, just doesn't seem right.  Guess we'll have to get used to it in the Southern Hemisphere. 

5 - 6 December 2006  Despite the promises, our spares seemed to be a little illusive.  We went into the shipping agent daily and each time were told that they were either on the plane and coming to the Island or they were on the Island and on the van about to be delivered; but they never materialised.  Guess we'll just have to wait, as there is no way to hurry the process.  FedEx delivered overnight, as promised, to Freeport but its our desire to avoid a whopping 42% import duty, and the need to get our Cruising Permit to the right people seems to have taken time.   For those of you who know Steve, he will be patient!!  Cold front No 1 passed on the 5th leaving us in 25 kt winds from the NE again; cold front No 2 passed on the 6th with showers and still more wind.  All of the passes through the reef now have 'Rage' conditions with heavy breaking seas making them impassable.  Marsh Harbour has pretty well everything you need; however, we are beginning to get cabin fever and are longing to get back out to the more remote cays. 

7 - 10 December 2006  The package arrived!  We made a snap decision to make a run to Man-O-War Cay and escape Marsh Harbour before the next forecast high winds and yet another cold front.  Man-O-War Cay is only 6 miles away, across the Sea of Abaco, but it could be a different world.  The Queen Elizabeth Highway, which is the main road through the settlement, is paved and just wide enough for one golf cart.  The Albury family run the boat yard, ferry, sail loft and pretty anything else in town.  Except for Lola, who makes bread and sells it from the back of her golf cart as she cruises the Island.  Please don't be mistaken, this is not Lola the Showgirl.  The small harbour between Dickies Island and Man-O-War Cay is busy with residential and long-stay boats, but we managed to find a mooring to tie up to.  Its one of the safest harbours in the Bahamas, with a long tradition of boatbuilding.  There is another Tayana in the harbour, Orient Express, from Connecticut.  We have spent the days beach combing and catching up on routine maintenance onboard.  Despite winds gusting to 30 kts the temperature has been in the high 70s, making it very pleasant.  The Island is a very religious one, alcohol is banned, there are no bars and everything is shut on Sundays; the Sabbath is strictly observed.  It is a lovely place, with small wooden houses painted pink, turquoise and blues, not colours that you would normally put together but they work here.  Even the Cemetery is on the beach under the palm trees.  We watched the launch of the space shuttle Discovery from Cape Canaveral, 240 miles to our NW.  We think we saw it lift into the night sky, but the trajectory was to the North, so we can't be sure.  However, it made for a late night as it didn't launch until 20:47!

Queen Elizabeth Highway                    Man-O-War Cemetery

11 December 2006  The wind blew hard again last night as a stationery front over the Yucatan Peninsular gives us cloud and squeezes the gradient with the high pressure still off the East coast of the USA.  We'd planned to move today, but with 25 kts and 'Rage' conditions persisting on the reef, we stayed put in Man-O-War Cay and spent the day reading and Steve even got his paints out.  Steve also started making another box out of some drift wood that he picked up on the beach.  All in all, life onboard is settled and there is little to do but to wait for the weather to improve as we are 'trapped' behind the reef.

12 December 2006  Unsure of what to do as the forecast remains muddled, with uncertainty as to the progress of the front now moving off the Georgia/Florida coast.  We still have 'Rage' conditions in the Man-O-War Cut, so we decided to move South through the Sea of  Abaco to Little Harbour as this gives us two exit options when the weather improves through either the North Bar Cut or the Little Harbour Bar Cut which faces slightly South of East.  The later might open up sooner than the East facing cuts in the reef.  The Atlantic has now had a full three weeks of E/NE winds to build up big seas.  The passage was wet and windy as we were effected by passing showers for the full 35 miles.  We anchored overnight behind Lynyard Cay, with 20 - 25 kts - still!  We passed North Bar Cut on the way which had 4 - 6' breaking seas and an uncomfortable swell, definitely not an exit in its current state.  This is the bigger of the two cuts in the reef and is used by the mail boats.  Let's hope Little Harbour will open first.

13 - 14 December 2006  A change in the forecast!  10 - 15 kts instead of 20 - 25 kts.  However, a windy night with frequent gusts of 25 kts, tucked in about 25 yds offshore behind Lynyard Cay.  Two boats left early and got through Little Harbour Bar Cut reporting 6 - 8' waves, but 'manageable with perseverance'; this should have been a warning!  We watched a third boat depart and make it through the reef and although he pitched around a bit it didn't look too dramatic through the binoculars, so we decided to give it a go.  Once clear of the anchorage the wind was a good 20 kts and the swell could be felt some way back from the Cut.  There was also a great deal of breaking water and the Cut was only just visible.  We pressed on with increasing doubt until it was too late to turn back.  With one reef in the mainsail, we were making a good 6 kts, Hazel called vectors from below, which was pretty wretched for her as we were pitching violently in very steep seas.  We did okay until we took one particularly large wave over the top.  Steve was only wearing shorts and disappeared behind a wall of water that swept away anything that wasn't tied down; luckily, he was holding onto the wheel with very white knuckles.  Green Atlantic water is heavy, cold and wet!  The cockpit filled, but drained quickly as Oasis briefly made like a submarine.  Not pleasant and more than a little scary.  Down below, all the books came off the bookshelves despite their restraints and water can through the dorades.  Once through the reef, we found ourselves in a good Force 6 with 6 -8' swells and 2 -3' crests on the swells - not what we had in mind for our crossing of the New Providence Channel and into the Tongue of the Ocean to cross the banks into the Exuma Sound.  We made Eastings as far as we could, which put us close hauled and into the seas; a wet and bumpy ride.  Once clear of Great Abaco Island and its associated reefs, we were able to bear away and fine reach at 7 kts, briefly.  We were plagued by showers that put us close hauled again as the wind piped up to 25 kts and veered to the SSE.  This continued after dark and the seas were equal to anything the English Channel could throw up in a rising Summer gale.  With no sign of the forecast drop in wind and still close hauled, we decided to put into Nassau and take the inside route SE of New Providence Island after drying out and a rest.  Neither of us are doing this as an endurance test and this was proving to be one.  The approach into Nassau was relatively straightforward and we anchored at 2am, after 78 miles, amidst the Haitian trading boats, just West of the main cruise liner terminal.  Nassau Harbour Control seemed a little surprised that we wished to anchor there; in the daylight we saw why!  This anchorage was not where most cruising yachts stayed and was frequented by well used sailing boats from the island of Haiti that looked as though they had been making the journey for a thousand years.  In the morning, after a few hours sleep, we motored through the Harbour to the anchorage off the Royal Bahamas Yacht Club.  We spent the day clearing up and drying out, ready to make the most of our unexpected visit to Nassau.  Passage casualties - boat hook lost overboard, porthole screen washed away, two broken book shelves and two bruised bodies.  Old lesson, but next time, we wait, we don't follow others and we believe what we see.

15 December 2006  We took the dingy ashore and walked down East Bay St into Nassau.  A seedy end of town, much akin to any other dockyard area anywhere else in the World.  We did manage to find a chandlers and replaced the boathook and pick up one or two odds and ends.  There were two cruise liners in, their passengers filling the duty free shopping area of Bay St with rather pasty looking Americans here for a brief respite from the cold and some Winter sun.  We walked the old part of town which has a post-colonial feel but nothing of the offshore tax heaven we were expecting.  I think we thought we were going to find another town like Hamilton in Bermuda.  We were particularly taken by the Public Library, which is in the old prison.  The books line the walls of the cells.  We phoned the UK from the square and were impressed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in their immaculate white uniforms moving manacled and handcuffed prisoners from the Bahamas Supreme Court back to the Police Headquarters.  Their bamboo canes were particularly effective at quietening one vocal prisoner as they were put on the bus.  We didn't venture over to Paradise Island which has the look of a mini Las Vegas, dominated by two large pink hotels with towers, oriental domes and 6' concrete jumping Marlin.  In all, a useful stop but not really us, and tomorrow we plan to move on into the Exumas back to more sparsely populated islands, clear blue water and wildlife.    

Haitian trading boat                          Paradise Island                              Nassau Public Library
 

16 December 2006  We left Nassau early for the 38 mile trip across the Banks and over the Yellow Bank Shoal to Allans Cay.  Allans' is uninhabited and the only remaining home of the native Bahaman Iguana.  We had a great sail in near perfect conditions, for a change.  It was like sailing in a swimming pool and quite disconcerting as every detail of the bottom was visible in stark detail.  We trailed a couple of Haitian trading vessels as they made there way over to the reef to the Exuma Sound, but other than that we were alone.  We arrived late afternoon at Allans Cay and snorkelled in the crystal clear water, watching multi-coloured fish dart amongst the coral.  A swift tide was running so we put down plenty of scope on the anchor and retired for a solitary night just behind the reef.  Not long after dark the wind returned to its customary 20kts and we had several large showers during the night with gusts over 30kts.  Steve checked the anchor at frequent intervals, but with no visual reference in the total darkness it was hard to say if we were dragging or not!  With first light we were still in the same spot, but decided to move as the swell was becoming uncomfortable with the wind that high against the swift tide in such an exposed anchorage.  So we only got to see the Iguanas from the boat instead of close up .  Hazel seemed disappointed, but given they were about 2' long, not being a retile fan, Steve wasn't.

17 - 18 December 2006  A quick 6 mile sail to Highborne Plantation Cay took us to paradise.  The Cay is privately owned; however, the owner runs a small, exclusive marina.  We came alongside and definitely felt the poor relation as the few other boats visiting are best described as mini mega-yachts, all around 100' long, with uniformed crew.  That said, we were made very welcome by the friendly staff and we set off to explore on foot.  The beach was deserted and we walked its 2.5 mile length completely alone.  On returning to the boat we discovered that the local sharks were also marina residents, but we were assured by the dockmaster that they were friendly!  We contented ourselves with watching them swim under the boat and around the dock, but didn't venture into the water.  We did walk around the headland the following morning though and snorkelled in the Bay with a cautious eye open for approaching shadows.  The reef was small but spectacular, with each coral head home to its own little world of fish and plant life.  We spent a good couple of hours just hovering in the shallow water watching the fish busily going about their business.  Highborne must rate as one of the highlights so far, the Cay is spotless and the water unbelievably clear and teaming with life.  Tomorrow we move on to the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Marine Park at Warderick Wells where we plan to spend a few solitary days (the Warden is the only resident) diving and exploring the Wildlife Sanctuary before heading South to George Town for Christmas.    

         Highborne Plantation Beach              Bahaman Christmas Tree!          Sharks under the boat at Highborne

19 - 21 December 2006 We left Highborne Plantation early on the 19th and ran South along the Banks in very shallow water to Warderick Wells.  We entered the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park shortly after leaving Highborne and we soon felt alone and very privileged to be in the spotless surroundings and the crystal clear waters.  The 38 mile run down was fast under full main and yankee; however, we did have to reef down early afternoon as the wind once again began to blow 20-25kts.  Warderick Wells anchorage is as spectacular as the pictures with the bluest water we have ever seen.  The tide runs through fast from Exuma Sound and Lemon Sharks and large, fast, Horse Eye-Jacks swim under the boat, which looks as if it hovering in air rather than floating in water.  The Park, which was established in 1958, is the first Land & Sea Park in the World covering 176 square miles, beginning at Wax Cay Cut in the North and stretching southward some 22 miles to Conch Cut and extending out approximately 4NM on either side of the Cays.  We are one of only 7 boats in the Park.  It is a 'no take zone' by both land and sea - nothing living or dead, can be removed.  It is a maze of bare rock, reefs, coral heads and tide rips that has never been charted accurately, but if you are prepared to walk or poke the dinghy through the reefs the marine and wildlife is in abundance.  We took the dinghy out to Emerald Rock and dived on the coral heads that surround it and the pictures below are a small sample of the many we took during the afternoon.  The weather forecast is for the wind to continue to blow at 25kts from the East for the next few days and our next passage is the 60NM down Exuma Sound to George Town, so we may well stay a bit longer to wait for the weather to moderate.  Communications are sparse, telephones non-existent and the SSB (HF radio) is keeping us in touch with the rest of the World, so if you don't hear from us you will know why!  It might not be Turkey for Christmas and it certainly won't be fish for us.  

                            Blue Tang                                    Blue Tang                          Queen Angelfish & French Grunts              French Grunts                        Queen Angelfish

                                                 Spotfin Butterflyfish                      Juvenile Queen Angelfish                    Hazel after the dive                  A spot of painting in the afternoon sun!

22 December 2006  After our underwater adventures yesterday, we decided to explore overland today.  We set off around 11 am from Pepper Point and headed South inland and up hill.  What do they say about mad dogs and Englishmen?  As it is a nature reserve you have to keep to the tracks which are marked in various ways from netting in branches, yellow paint marks on the rocks and tree trunks or coloured ribbons tied to branches; on some of the more remote trails, these marks were quite difficult to find.  Underfoot, the ground changed from soft sand to palm-leaf covered avenues to hard, jagged rock.  The rocks were sharp, peaked (like stiff meringue) limestone and full of holes like Swiss cheese.  It was incredibly difficult to walk on, which we did for about 3 of the 4 hours that we were out.  The Stiperstones on the Longmynd Hike will be a doddle after those!  Apart from their appearance, the rocks were quite unusual as if you tapped a loose boulder they rang like a bell although they were not hollow; we nearly managed to play 'Away in a Manger', but couldn't find an F#!!  The tracks wander the length of the Cay, going from one beach to another via a small, inland hill.  On the way we found Beryl's Beach which was a small, secluded beach in its own bay.  After just over two hours, we had reached Loyalists Beach which is where the Loyalists arrived after fleeing the USA back in 1780.  A small group of ruins are still visible on one of the hills, which would have been an excellent vantage point to watch for approaching ships.  The houses are quite small, made from the nearby rocks and plastered on the inside with slaked Conch shell.  We turned back at this point, following roughly the same tracks back, through the thick vegetation.  On several of the beaches we had seen tracks of a four-legged animal, but had only seen lizards of varying sizes; however, part way back, we found the owner of the tracks.  It was a small, brown, fury animal about the size of a rabbit called a Bahamian Hutia.  Once back at the boat, we had a well earned rest with a long, cold drink whilst watching the sun go down.                                                                                                 

                                       Palm-leaf covered avenue

23 December 2006  We had resigned ourselves to Christmas Day at Warderick Wells and a tin of corned beef for our dinner because the winds were still blowing strongly from the SE.  But we woke to calmer conditions and decided, despite the headwinds, to beat our way to Staniel Cay where we could at least get fresh produce.  The seas were about 3' with a short interval, bang on the nose and with little room to tack either side of the wind in the shallow water between the sandbars, progress was relatively slow, but not too bad and far better than it would have been any other day this week.  There were 22 boats anchored to the West, the bank side of Big Major Spot, so we decided to poke our nose round to the Eastern side expecting to find a similar number of boats as there are few settlements beyond Staniel Cay before George Town, some 40 miles South.  To our delight, the anchorage was empty.  The wind is forecast to move round to the NW, with a passing front on Christmas night and this anchorage gives us good shelter.  We took the dinghy the 1.5 miles ashore to the grocery store, past the Thunderball Cave, a spectacular underwater cave where shafts of sunlight illuminate the fish inside the cavern, made famous in the James Bond movie 'Thunderball'.  The grocery store was not well stocked but has at least given us Christmas lunch.  On the way back, we called into Staniel Yacht Club, which was a delightful surprise.  The bar was full of a motley group of cruisers, much like ourselves, and locals and could best be described by picturing a scene from a Hemmingway novel.  Not the blazer and tie yacht club one finds in the Solent.  Several beers and a plate of Conch with people we have met previously and we found ourselves booked in for dinner Christmas Eve and various pre-dinner drinks on other yachts!  Christmas is looking up.  

Christmas 2006  We spent Christmas Eve dinner with about 70 other cruisers at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, which was an eclectic mix of locals and fellow cruisers mainly from Canada and the US.  We started the evening with drinks on 'Catnip', the catamaran we had met at Highborn Cay.  The evening was fun, with lots of boat-chatter, good food (Surf 'n' Turf) and a great atmosphere.  The journey back to the boat was a little un-nerving as we were anchored 1.5 miles from the Club, the other side of an island.  We were the only boat in the anchorage and there was no moon, hence very dark.  Fortunately, the ride home coincided with slack tide, as normally it runs very fast.  We had a vision of being swept out to sea, if the engine failed, firing off flares that people would think were celebration fireworks; next stop would have been San Salvador!  Needless to say, all was well and we awoke to a breezy Christmas morning and brilliant sunshine.  After opening cards and gifts from the UK and going ashore to make calls to family, we cooked as traditional a Christmas Dinner as we could.  With the unexpected addition of a boat-sized Christmas Pudding and Cake that were in the Red Cross parcel from Steve's parents.  We then spent a pleasant evening with Paul and Mary Murphy from Texas on 'Sea Otter', their IP 35, which had joined us in the anchorage ahead of an expected wind shift to take advantage of the shelter the island provided.  Boxing Day morning, Paul kindly came over with his air tank (ours are empty) and Hazel dived under the boat to replace the prop zinc.  We spent the rest of the day prepping the boat for our departure to George Town after a cold front which was forecast to pass through overnight.  Paul and Mary joined us for drinks onboard in the evening.

27 December 2006  We should have woken to 10 kts of wind from the NW.  However, after an unusually still night we woke to gray skies and 15 kts from the NE.  If we were going to make George Town in one hop we had to leave at first light.  We agonised over the weather and decided that the front hadn't passed, but would do very soon to give us the NW winds and therefore shelter from the land for the 68 mile run SE.  We also hoped the wind shift would help lay down the seas which had built after several days of strong Easterly winds.  In essence, we went for it!  Passage through the reef into Exuma Sound was bumpy, but not dramatic; however, once in the Sound we found a full ocean swell running at about 7', but reasonably comfortable with wind on the beam.  We put a reef in after an hour as the wind had freshened to a steady 20 kts and the sea was now covered in white-horses on the swell, which now looked angry.  We took this to be the passing of the front, but the wind didn't shift.  Later the weather charts told us that the front had stalled over our route.  We never did get protection from the land and had another fast run, beam reaching, in big seas.  We arrived off George Town around 1530 at slack tide, which in our plan was ideal.  Unfortunately, we now had to negotiate the reef with a 7' following sea and 20 kts of wind astern.  Needless to say, it was exciting!?!  In the process of dropping the main we were rolled quite violently by one wave which unfortunately broke a blade on the wind generator.  On closer examination when we had got to anchor, we found a fatigue fracture in the stainless steel cross member that supports the wind generator.  We anchored off Hamburger Beach, behind Stocking Island, along with a dozen other boats, which is 1.5 miles East of George Town, but sheltered from the Easterly winds.  

28-31 December 2006  Two days spent dismantling the stainless steel gallows, finding a welder that could weld stainless steel and re-wiring all the aerials that live on the gallows!  Good job we have an engineer onboard!  The repair was done in a tyre yard reminiscent of Steptoe's Yard for those of you familiar of Steptoe and Son.  The work was done at a gentle pace and could not be rushed as work ceased as each passer-by discussed the Holidays with Pat the welder.  That said, the repair is effective and we are up and running again.  Steve also learnt much of Island life whilst sitting in the yard, whilst Hazel did likewise in the laundrette.  The mail forwarded here for us all arrived safely and we collected it from Exuma Markets, who are kind enough to hold mail for passing boats.  George Town currently has a resident population of around 70 boats, which we are told increases to around 400 boats for the regatta held in March.  It seems crowded now, but we told by cruisers that return year on year that there is plenty of room for everyone.  Some boats have been coming each year for over 20 years, a good proportion from Canada.  The cruising community hold volleyball matches each afternoon, there are water colour classes, poker tournaments, bridge games, dominoes and even beach church.  The boats form a community within the community of George Town, which is small, friendly and functional, but lacking the splendour of some of the more remote cays we have visited.  We had good intentions for New Years Eve, but now that we are just on the Tropic of Capricorn it is dark at 1715 - midnight seemed a long way away.  We therefore toasted in the New Year with the UK at 1900 our time, just as well we did because by 2100 we were both asleep!  A sedate end to 2006.

Ships Log January 2007