The Run Turks and Caicos

Run to the The Turks and Caicos Islands
     We left Long Island for the Open Atlantic with numerous possibilities before us depending on the wind and waves.  We could tack this way and that against a the small swells but the wind was not cooperating, too much or not enough again.  I decided that with our fuel tank full and a 3 day window of lite wind that we may as well  point upwind right at the Turks and Caicos Islands and go for 2 nights straight.  The engine droned on hour after hour without skipping a beat.  Steve took the 9 to 1am shift and I took the 1 to 5 am shift.  I had a good book going so the time moved along faster than I thought it would.  The boat steers itself most of the time so being on watch for me means eating or drinking something once in awhile and reading.  After a page or two, get up, look around for ships, check the gauges and the course on the chart plotter and pick up the book again.  Steve is much better at keeping a constant lookout.  He also is the one to spot interesting stuff.  We were cruising along between Rum Cay and Samana Cay when he shouted to look, a 30 ft. Whale cruised right by the boat.  I never would have seen it.  We identified it as either a small Right Whale or a Pilot Whale.
     I had been trolling two lines during the datime.  On the second day my rod with the solid body swimming lure screamed as line was pealing off.  Behind the boat a larged Mahi Mahi was jumping completely out of the water.  I was so damn excited.  I worked it in the to boat slowly.  Every time he pulled hard or took more line I was laughing my head off it was so much fun.  When I got him along side the boat Steve held the rod for me and I tried to pull him into the boat with a gaff hook.  I stuck him pretty good with the hook and tried to haul himover the lifelines.  He was halfway in when he started a good thrashing about.  His tail or something hit my head knocking one of my sunglass lens out and he went back in the water.  I saw the lens floating away but we still had the fish on the line.  The second try worked better and he flopped about a bit on deck but we had him.  He measured 55 inches, the largest fish I've ever caught.  I carved away at him for about an hour ending up with 2 full gallon ziplocks full of thick steaks.  Steve doesn't care for fish so I'm devouring it all 2 meals a day.  Favorite preparation so far is searing it in the wok with salt pepper, and curry powder, then deglazing the pan with pineapple juice.  Yum, can't wait for dinner.
     We passed close to Mayaguana Cay as the sun set on the second night.  I was exhausted and smelly from the fish battle so I took a saltwater shower on deck and put on my jammies.  The stars came out in force with a late moon rise, a precurser to intense star gazing.  Steve, with star knowledge, pointed out the Souther Cross to me low on the horizon.  I couldn't believe it, there it is!  I immediately selected "Southern Cross" on the stereo and listened to all three versions I had while staring at the sky.  "When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, now you understandwhy you came this way....."  That was really cool!
    We pulled into a small bay near Provo, East Caicos and checked into the country.  It is a good place to rest for a day but not much commercial activity on that side of the island.  We found a modern wine shop with internet and beer for $2.50 which gave me a chance to check in with Sheril on Skype, the best use of the internet in cruising history.
     This anchorage was a bit rolly.  Waves make it  around a point and rock the boats side to side.  Its not good but you can can used to it and sleep if you are tired.  I had a dream that I was at big party and for some reason I could not keep myself on the ground.  I kept flying off the floor for no reason, as the boat rocked me up and down in my sleep.  We must have gotten a nice wave through the anchorage as in my dream I slammed my head into the ceiling and broke the crown moulding of the party hosts.  Everyone is looking at me like I'm being rude and I'm trying to explain that I can't explain it.
     Steve checked in with home on Skype and was told he has a job waiting for him in China.  He immediately booked a flight and we said goodbye the next morning.  Steve was a great crewman, a great helmsman, and always ready for adventure.  I think I am ready to handle the boat alone, with an adjustment of focus and adding a layer of safety.
  

Leaving Georgetown

Georgetown is like a giant RV park for the brave retirees willing to cross the Gulf Stream and pay $50 a case for beer.  Because it is the end of the easy sailing across mostly protected waters it is called chicken harbor.  They had the 32nd annual Cruisers Regatta week which was just wrapping up as we pulled in.  It felt like going to someone elses giant boat party (over 400 boats anchored together.  Everyone seems to best freinds with each other and are yakking on the radio all day, "we had the best time last night, come to our boat for breakfast", "After yoga today lets have a meeting of the art club", "could we ride with you in the water taxi for the dinner dance tonight"?  They have boat races, volleyball, tug of war, dance parties, art shows, AA meetings, beach church, music festivals, poker games, bridge games, yoga, and more. There are many people who never leave.
We had our boat anchored off Volley Ball Beach on Stocking Island in Georgetown, Great Exuma for 10 days.  I wish that I could utter words like that for the rest of my life.  The details of the time were another matter entirely.  On the first or second day there my back spasmed while brushing my teeth.  It never happens when I'm hauling in anchor chain or climbing the mast or cranking in the jib sheet (the rope that tensions the front sail, sailors can't say rope).  Normally I can wait out the pain with advil and stretching but not this time.  I spent most of the time laying around for days on end reading and napping.  Steve had to fend for himself for most things but he was undaunted and managed to get by with poker tournaments at the St. Francis bar, or with his computer at the Chat and Chill, one of the worlds coolest beach bars.  Since the laying around wasn't working I hobbled over the the town clinic.  Not wanting to squander beer money on a doctor visit I examined the dog-eared fee notice on the light green wall next to the 4 kids in school uniforms watching cartoons on the tube in the corner. Bahamian charge for doctor visit: no charge, foreigner charge for doctor visit: $30.  I figured that was only 6 beers so I better do it.  The Bahamian nurse did vitals in another room and then sent me back to the cartoon room.  Then I visited the Bahamian doctor in her office.  I had a whole story ready for my family history and when I started getting the problem and how it is that I got here on a boat, etc.  She had some papers in front of her that she was writing in, presumably my  "chart". I stood there until she motioned me to sit with a hand sweep without looking up.  She asked me about the pain while still writing and I started to go on about it when she asked what I take for pain. I told her Advil.  Still writing she said show me the area of pain and I stood up and turned around.  I didn't see her look up from her desk but my back was to her and she pushed my back once where I indicated.  When I turned around  she handed me a paper and said "here".  I asked, "what do I do now"? She said, " Go back there", to the cartoon room.  In the cartoon room another Bahamian waved for me to follow her to another room, the pharmacy, where she handed me 2 brown envelopes with pills.  The envelopes are the prescriptions and it is stamped "Georgetown Clinic, Keep this prescription safe and bring back on your next visit".  She then sends me back to the cartoon room and they ask me for $47 for everything.  I had forgotten my wallet and I appologized but they said just come back when you can.  Steve caught up to me as I was leaving and loaned me the money so I happily paid.  It worked too and my back was back to normal in 2 days. Thank you Dr. Bahamas and thank you Lord, now lets get the boat moving again!
       We sailed all day on one tack to Long Island 35 miles away.  With the sails sheeted in hard we could just make our heading.  The boat moved along at 6 knots under puffy little blue green clouds.  The area shallow water (10 to 15ft ) we sailed over was horizon to horizon.   I never tire of that gorgeous swimming pool blue green as far as the eye can see and the bottom of the low cotton ball clouds reflect the awesome color.  We sailed along next to a sand bar that was 5 miles long.  There are so many desolate beautiful places here.  So many islands and coral patch reefs and very shallow water. It is like a vast desert covered with 3 ft of water.   My boat can get into about 10% of it with a 6 ft. draft.  It can be dangerous like a desert too.  No calling the towboat or the Coast Guard if you get in trouble. There are few navigaton markers or lights or cops to call if you are in trouble.   I saw an old shipwreck through the binoculars on the long sand bar.  We tucked into a protected harbor at Salt Pond, Long Island where we are waiting for a storm to move through the next two days before continuing.
     Our first day on Long Island we walked the 3 miles to town where everything is closed on Sundays.  I was a bit concerned as I forgot to drink anything before we left and I was thirsty.  We wanted to see the Atlantic on the other side of the island so we asked a cop busy loading a barbeque grill in his cruiser.  I said, "Is there a road that goes to the ocean side of the island"?.  He says, " yes".  I look at Steve, shrug, and ask, "which way"?  He points up and down the only road, which we had been walking on and says, " that way or that way".  He wasn't being unfriendly but Bahamians aren't big on details for some reason.  They also don't go swimming or where shorts.  We found the beautiful beach with boulders and reefs and caves in the rock walls.  Steve took pictures of the scene and I swam in my underwear.  It was a perfect Sunday afternoon and there was only one other couple, some pink skinned tourists.  On the way back I found a couple of coconuts which had some liquid in them.  I was so thirsty I started banging on them like Tom Hanks in "Castaway".  It only made me hot and I wasn't getting enywhere so we started our 1 hour walk back. Just hearing the coconut water sloshing around made me feel a little better.

The Exumas

Rushing through the Exumas
Have you ever taken a car trip through The Blue Ridge Mountains and the Skyline drive?  Or perhaps driven through the beautiful mountains and woods or Colorado or Oregon.  I have done this and what I said to myself when I did this is I wish I could take a day or a week or a year to see that trail or go down that dirt road and see what's around the bend.  My Dad was like this too and perhaps it is just human nature.  Well we did the equivalent of that blasting through the unparralleled Exuma's, down to Georgetown in 3 days.
     We motored out of Nassau while I did my favorite thing, watching the bottom through a glassy sea.  Nassau harbor is full of trash, no surprise, but as soon as you get out of the range of a small outboard boat the trash disappears.  5 hours of motoring and sailing (the wind finally piped in) and we anchored at Allans Cay.  The area is a collection of a dozen small islets inhabited by 100 iguannas.  The cool thing about it is the way the tide flows through the little anchorage.  We anchored the boat in 8 ft of water with two 3 ft sand bars on either side.  The colors and the remoteness of the place is magical.  We took off in the dinghy, explored a beach, and snorkelled on several rich reefs.  I can't get enough of this stuff!  "There's a dark area over there, let's check it out". Over the side with mask, the initial shock of the cool water, you focus your eyes and there lyes an intense little world of coral, plants, and the multitudes of colors in the fish and flora.  You could spend the whole afternoon there but we have about an hour before sunset and cocktail hour.
     The act of having your rum punch in hand as the sun sets and you know your anchor is set solid and the weather is fair conjures up some sort of magic.  In that brief moment you are so happy and proud and thankful for everything that got you there.
     We discovered that the high frequency radio works so we can get the awesome weather synopsis from Chris Parker.  This was a giant relief for me as weather is everything here.  We had a beautiful reach for 50 miles to Staniel Cay.  For fellow James Bond fans they filmed much of the move nearby.  The local bar has photos of Connery as a young man.  He must have fallen in love with the Bahamas then as he lives in Nassau now.
     The next day was very windy (the too much/not enough wind problem). Steve wanted to try to sail so we exited Dothan Cut into Exuma sound.  Waves and the wind were too much for me so we aborted mission and anchored at Black Point, a small friendly town with 2 bars.  While searching out an internet connection we discovered that the whole town was anxious for the arrival of the "mailboat", which brings all the stuff on which everyone depends.  Heading to the bar a group of kids were playing baseball happily in the street.  As we passed one kid says, "let the white people pass".
     The next morning we were up and motoring out of the pass.  It was very calm as I like it but the wind direction was not cooperating so we took a tack away from land for an hour to get a better angle on the wind.  I put out two fishing lines and enjoyed the morning.  I looked back at the lines and yelled to Steve as a large dolphin jumped totally out of the water.  A second later the reel with the silver spoon was bent and taking line.  We had caught a 4 ft dolphin.  I filleted about 5 lbs. of meat from the beauty and pulled the fishing lines back in.  That was exhausting.
     We were closing on our destination at about 2:30 so I studied the chart and something wasn't adding up.  I had been through this area before and it didn't look familiar.  After some checking I discovered that we had sailed to Lee Stocking Island, not Stocking Island, as intended.  A quick syphering (Jethro Bodine) with the GPS machine and we disocvered that we had another 25 miles to go.  We throttled up as the wind had died and we were going through the cut at STOCKING island at sunset.  This is not a small thing as there are reefs and sandbars to dodge.  Thank you technology!  The chartplotter machine showed all the hazards which we dodged with no problems.  The anchor went down in 8 ft on a sand bottom amidst some of the 400 boats in this popular anchorage.  As darkness set in and the sounds of friends laughing and playing music on the other boats, I sipped my drink.  Damn that tasted good.

GOOD BYE NASSAU...FINALLY

Got my new crew member Steve who is the husband of Trish who works for my wife Sheril.  We could not leave right away due to high east winds so we waited.  I could have done a better job of exploring the old pirate city but I am single minded and therefore Steve was forced to help me fix and improve stuff on the boat.  We met some nice folks though.  Dennis is a retired Texas resident who has spent more time exploring the Bahamas than anyone I've known.  He worked for the military on Andros retrieving torpedoes used in target testing at the Autec base.  He spends 10 months of the year on his boat tooling around by himself swimming, fishing, and reading.  He doesn't have a fridge so he catches his fish by line and saves them in a holding tank so they stay fresh.  He does this for lobster too, tickling them out of their holes and saving them in a cage.  He treats his precious carrots by dipping them in bleach and wrapping them in newpaper.
      He got me in the mood for fishing one day so I swam around a bit till I found a Conch.  These mollusks are great to eat and they make excellent fish bait.  I put the little fellow in a bucket till the next morning.  That night I refreshed my memory about how to clean them, cutting the "foot" where it attaches to the shell and cutting his face off.  The next morning I looked in the bucket and his little eyes were poking out and I felt for him so he went back in the harbor.  I feel that I have paid off a small debt for our dog Layla being mauled at home in Florida as Sheril walked her.  Layla is OK as well as the conch but the next Conch will probably be put to good use gathering life sustaining protein.
     You know you are in another country in Nassau.  People are kind but not effusive.  They depend on the sea and weather but they do mind trashing the place.  Sort of like New Orleans in the middle of an aquarium.  Many nights there would be music blasting super loud across the harbor at 2 am.  I can still hear the DJ screaming "Whassssaaaappp".  Another night a ferry was converted to a dance floor cruising up and down the harbor at midnight, 100 people dancing and blasting music on the ferry deck.  Most people travelling on small boats consider 8:30 curisers midnight.  Going to the store, getting on and off the boat a couple times, and dealing with the anchor takes it out of you.  I love being tired though. Hitting the pillow and falling dead asleep means I lived a good day.
     Good bye Nassau.  I won't miss the noise, the trash, the prices, and the poor holding ground.  Thank you very much for a safe harbor, the dinghy dock at the Green Parrot, the chicken wing special at Hammerheads, and the friendly people.