A sad trip back to George Town.

We left our anchorage by southern Long Island to retrace the course we had just completed having received somber news Monday evening about Linda's nearly 97 year-old father. With the news about Linda's father we reviewed our options given where we were in the islands and where we were in our overall schedule. We had reservations for a slip in Jamaica beginning the 1st of April and still have our slip at RAM Marina in Guatemala beginning the end of May. We also had a replacement light being flown into the airport at Great Inagua, insurance issues, lack of flight options and a myriad of constraints had to be considered.

There was not really anyplace in Long Island or Great Inagua where we could feel comfortable leaving the boat unattended for any length of time. It would take too long to get to Jamaica and fly to Chicago and we didn't even have our clearance from the Bahamas to get into Jamaica. One option was that I could stay with the boat and have Linda fly back. We decided that we would take the boat to George Town and both fly to Chicago, I would fly back after a period to move the boat to Jamaica where Linda would join me. About mid-morning as we headed back toward the Comer Channel Linda received a text that her father had further deteriorated so she called and got the news that he passed away. With that news the uncertainties were removed and we made definite plans to travel back to the US and return to the boat together but we had to get to George Town.

Heading back under the spinnaker.

Because of the circuitous route it would take us 2 days to get back to George Town and meant that we would have to retrace the route again when we resume our trip to Jamaica. We explored the possibility of going through Hog Cay Cut but reports we had it would have to be exactly at high tide so the time it would waste if we got there and couldn't get through was not worth the risk so we just went back to Thompson Bay for the night where we got to talk with some of our friends again. On the trip from Thompson Bay to Emerald Bay we were able to sail part of it with the spinnaker, motor part and have a beam reach for part of it until the wind died.

We got back to Emerald Bay in the early afternoon and finalized our travel arrangements. We cleaned and secured the boat in anticipation of our leaving.

Thursday we got a cab to the airport and flew to Chicago.

Friday was the funeral and Shiva.

Linda with her Dad and Dan Harrington who sponsored Al for honors at the Blackhawk Game on 18 October 2016.

Al on the ice with other veterans being honored by the Chicago Blackhawks for their service.

Al Lee, May 12, 1920 - March 21, 2017.


Saturday night was a family dinner. From here for the rest of the week will be restocking and meeting with family and friends. Next update when we get back to the boat and are ready to head to Jamiaca.

Long Island that is a million miles from New York

We arrived into Thompson Bay near the middle of Long Island, Bahamas on Sunday 12 March after a motor from George Town. The route was almost due east and of course the wind was easterly so we never really had a chance to sail. The week before there was a rally from George Town to Long Island with about 40 boats and we passed many returning taking advantage of the downwind sail. When we got into Thompson Bay there were still many boats remaining from the rally.

One of the boats headed back to George Town. Spinnaker design colors are the inverse of ours.

Long Island, Bahamas is a long narrow island that runs almost north and south just to the east of the southern tip of the Exumas crossing the Tropic of Cancer. It offers nice protection in it's lea from heavy seas that come into the Exuma Sound and along the south side. Long Island is not heavily populated nor does it have many resorts bringing in lots of tourists and few cruisers go there.

The Tropic of Cancer on Long Island.

We had heard there were amenities for cruisers in Thompson Bay and knew that many cruisers had volunteered time and supplies to help the islanders recover from Hurricane Joaquin a few years ago that severely damaged the islands. Over the week we were there we heard about and saw many projects that the cruiser community had completed for the Island. The Bahamian government did very little to help the island community so the cruisers chipping in really made a significant difference for the residents of the Island.

Looking in to Thompson Bay.

We had heard about some of Thompson Bay's attributes from other cruisers so we decided to make that our stop heading south. Our plan was to spend some time in Thompson Bay, then make the long trip through Comer Channel to the southern end of the island on the way to the Acklins. The waters between the Exumas and Long Island are shallow and follow along the southern end of the Great Bahamas Bank as the deep ocean separates the Bahamas southern islands from the Bank.

Other boats anchored in Thompson Bay when we got there.

When we got to Thompson Bay wind was out of the east with a forecast of it clocking all the way around and building from the north and east so we tried to get up in the northeast corner of the Bay as close-in as we could get. Checking the anchor it was dug in well so we knew we had little concern. Over the next couple days the number of boats in the Bay declined. But then on Tuesday as the wind was gusting out of the south lots of boats came in and by Thursday for the weekend blow there were probably 50 boats in the Bay.

Thompson Bay was reported to have a Cruisers Net, like other places in the Bahamas but we couldn't find it. We were later advised of how to find the net in the morning at 0815 on VHF 18. The net is run by a seasonal resident to promote activities on the island.

Looking toward Salt Pond.

After doing some boat chores on Monday we dinghied in to check out the town of Salt Pond there by Thompson Bay. We rented a car for Wednesday since weather forecast for Tuesday seemed that we probably wouldn't want to leave the boat. When we were in town we met several local people who were very friendly and volunteered lots of information about the goings on around the island. Everyone we talked to was warm and friendly giving us a really good feeling about the island. Later we took the dinghy down to Island Petroleum to fill the tank and scope out the viability of bringing the boat in to top off fuel and water.

For other folks that may visit Long Island, the fuel dock at Salt Pond has been rebuilt and probably well-stocked with fuel and gasoline. There is also a water hose. At the dock the depth is a bit over 5' a mean low water, but it is shallow at both ends so the approach is in the middle and bring the boat alongside. If there is south or west winds it will probably be too rough to go into the dock. The dock is also high adding to the difficulty tying up. Even at high tide our boat was below the dock. While trying to get the boat tied up the dock hand was struggling as I tried to power forward to bring the boat in but the dock hand didn't have control and the bow light went into the top of a piling and broke. I had a spare bulb and lens so was able to jerry-rig a light until I can replace it.

Lobster tacos at Flying Fish Marina.

Tuesday the wind blew from the south and then southwest. As the Bay is open to that direction swell came in making the anchorage rocky. We expected the chop but the forecast was for the wind to keep clocking around and coming down and it actually did so by late in the day the anchorage got much more comfortable. Even at the worst the anchorage was not that bad. Usually in the Bahamas when the wind comes out of the SW it doesn't last long and is not hard to work through.

View of the deck at Flying Fish Marina.

Wednesday we rented our car and drove the island. One of the errands we needed to accomplish was to get some cash. There were 2 banking outlets on the island with ATM's, both many miles away from Salt Pond. We found most of the places on the island didn't accept credit cards so we went through our cash fast. We could have charged our fuel but paid cash instead.  We drove south on the island and visited Clarence Town having lunch at the Flying Fish Marina. On the way back up the

Linda by Dean's Blue Hole.

island we stopped by Dean's Blue Hole which is supposed to be the deepest Blue Hole in the Bahamas. Lots of free divers go there to develop and improve their skills because the depth is over 600'. We drove north to Stella Maris picking up a couple of riders along the way. In the out islands of the Bahamas it is customary to offer rides to people walking along the road.

Stella Maris Marina.

After getting back to Salt Pond we drove out to Tiny's Hurricane Hole, a place we came to know well. But, Wednesday evening we went to Club Washington for dinner with several other cruisers beginning our introduction into the social life at Thompson Bay.

Over the next several days we worked on boat chores and spent time with other cruisers. There was a cruiser happy hour Friday night at the "Sou Side Grill" and Sunday night was a big happy hour at Tiny's. On Thursday we dinghied the laundry over to Tiny's where the only available laundry machines were in Salt Pond and had a pizza and beers while we did the laundry. While there we met several other cruisers and spent hours talking with them.

Tiny's Hurricane Hole.

Cruiser's Happy Hour at the Sou Side Grill on Friday Night.

Cruiser's Happy Hour at Tiny's on Sunday Night.

Saturday was a special day and night. Linda and I planned to walk over to the ocean beach that we had heard about and called our friends Kim and Bryan on Freedom and they invited Linda to go with them to the beach as Kim and her friend Kara on Island Home were headed that way. Bryan and Charlie were heading out to lobster and invited me with them. We spent the afternoon diving several reefs and all we came up with a crab claw. The water was really cloudy because it was rough so visibility was difficult. Afterwards we went by Freedom for drinks and stayed all evening playing a game Cards Against Humanity. What a hoot and a really great time.

We actually planned to leave with the wind on Sunday but we found that our good friends Tom and Sue on Sandcastle were coming in Sunday so we pushed off our departure until Monday and met them along with their buddy boat Kathy and Ron on Stormy Petrol at the Happy Hour on Sunday night. Most cruisers are back on their boats by dark and after that locals show up to enjoy Tiny's. What a wonderful little place with laundry, showers and a nice beach.

Our friends Sand Castle in the light as we prepared to leave.

Having enjoyed life in Thompson Bay for a week it was time to move on. Our course was to head west to Comer Channel then south through the channel and then back east to anchor for the night in Dollar Harbor. The course was about 45 miles but at the end of the day we would only be about 12 miles south of Thompson Bay from where we would depart to the Acklins on Tuesday.

Sailing video of our sailing toward Comer Channel.

We got to Dollar Harbor knowing it would be a challenge because of a shallow bar we had to cross. The area looked totally different from what was on the charts which was not a total surprise considering the hurricane impacts from 2 years ago. We proceeded cautiously with Linda on the bow but we did a soft grounding on the bar that was no more than 4' at high tide. We were able to back off the bar without issue and then began to head further east. I found a tongue of deep water that went in very close to shore so we anchored about 3 miles east of Dollar Harbor (N23.08.890, W75.11.251) in 7-8' of water that was relatively flat and had good holding. On the charts it was marked as unsurveyed but with the exception of a few obvious rocks the entry was very straight forward.

Views of the anchorage. The shallow water and the cays kept down any chop and the wind kept any swell at bay.

During the evening we got some bad news from Linda's sister that their father was not doing very well and that his decline was accelerating. We were now in a difficult position being nowhere close to anywhere that we could securely leave the boat and travel back to the US and Chicago. We had several other considerations that would have to be addressed including slip arrangements in Jamaica and I had a replacement bow light being flown into Inagua. After considerable discussion and research we decided that the next morning we would have to head back to George Town and leave the boat at Emerald Bay and fly back as soon as possible.

The next morning we started back and began to make all the arrangements for our upcoming trip and put our travel on hold. So we left Long Island as we had come and not as we had planned and now some very sad travel days ahead.

Getting ready for the tropics

We ended up spending almost 2 weeks in Emerald Bay. We arrived there with a list of vital tasks to accomplish including getting our immigration status extended, getting our urgent mail and by the time that arrived we were faced with bad weather.

The Office and Clubhouse at Emerald Bay.

There are lots of boaters who have provided negative fodder about Emerald Bay because it has a narrow entrance channel and in extreme bad weather it is difficult to get out the channel seemingly inconveniencing some. But what we've found is that if the weather is that bad we're not going anyplace anyway. We have stayed at Emerald Bay 3 times now and enjoyed it each time we've been there. During the most recent trip there were 2 days that nobody went in or out of the channel because it was blowing 30+ kts and the swells were huge. Given the conditions nobody was interested in going in or out on those days. In fact, except for the large mega-yacht slips the marina was full.

One of the homes by the marina.

Canals for future homesites dug in through rock.

The first order of business we needed to achieve was our visit to Immigration to get our status extended. When we arrived by boat into the Abacos we cleared in through an official who did our customs and immigration clearing. She only allowed us 90 days because we were leaving in a few days to fly back to the US for Thanksgiving. When we returned on December 1 the agent at the airport only gave us 90 days so on 1 March we needed to get an extension. We rented a car and drove into George Town to do that. I called the Immigration Office on Monday and they told us extensions were only conducted in the morning so we drove in with the necessary documentation and got it done.

Since we had rented the car we wanted to drive down to Santana's Beach Bar & Grill which was one of our favorite spots around George Town so we found our old friend Dave Sikes and met him after we completed our immigration affairs and drove down to the tropics on Little Exuma. But, instead of going to Santana's we went to Tropic Breeze Beach Bar which had received lots of favorable reviews. The food was good, the view spectacular and they were very busy. After lunch we drove down to Mom's Bakery at Santana's in Williamstown to buy her absolutely incredible Rum Cake. She sells a chocolate and a vanilla rum cake but the secret is the sauce she ladles on it. Her sauce is rum, butter and sugar which the cake absorbs and becomes fantastic. If you've bought rum cake at a tourist spot you've never tasted rum cake.

Dining at the Tropic Breeze.

Our friend Dave Sikes at the Tropic Breeze.

The next major event was getting our mail at the marina which included new credit cards because our old ones were somehow cloned and being used in South Carolina to buy gas while we were at Staniel Cay. All the connections went well and we got the mail package at the airport on Thursday but now we were looking at a big weather event beginning on Saturday.

We had the option of leaving the marina Friday and anchoring out. The forecasted winds were for primarily east so almost any anchorage would do. But, if we anchored out with the forecasted winds we might not be able to leave the boat so we decided to stay in the marina where we could leave the boat when we wanted, had access to shore facilities and would not have to worry about people that don't know how to anchor.

Beginning late Saturday until late Tuesday the winds blew from the East over 25 knots and for most of the time over 30 knots including gusts over 40 knots. We heard from friends in George Town and other anchorages that they really couldn't get off their boats for most of that time. The seas offshore were 12-15' and while it made it impossible to leave the marina, nobody was going anywhere anyway with that sea state.

Enjoying the beach barbecue dinner entertainment at the Grand Isles Villas Resort.

But while this all raged outside we enjoyed a comfortable existence. I ran almost everyday either outside or in the marina's fitness center, we socialized and went out to eat often. We had access to very nice showers and free laundry. We planned to get lots of inside chores done but actually didn't get as much down as we hoped because our social schedule interfered. We had a happy hour or dinner every night with other boaters. One night we invited some friends over that were not rum drinkers to experience some very good rum and one night some other friends hosted a rum tasting on their boat. So while the winds howled outside we enjoyed good times with great friends. Happy to say that Ron Centenario XX that I introduced to everyone there too was the pick as the best rum.

When the winds finally subsided we almost didn't want to leave. While others cursed the conditions we had no complaints. On our final night we went to the Grand Resort Villas restaurant with our good friend Dave Sikes for dinner to celebrate our departure. We've known Dave for several years and spent a fair amount of time with him over those days. But, as we leave it may be a long time until we see him again so we enjoyed a beautiful night at the Villas. Hopefully, we'll be able to connect in Oxford over the summer.

Rum tasting with crews from 4 other boats.

So with our immediate missions completed and the weather abated we left Emerald Bay on Thursday 9 March to head into George Town to prepare for our departure to Long Island in the Bahamas and eventually to Great Inagua that is our jumping off point to Jamaica.

Exiting the channel was uneventful but rolly and we motor-sailed to Elizabeth Harbor in George Town with the wind on the nose. There had been nearly 400 boats in the Harbor the week earlier with the Cruisers Regatta but boats were leaving everyday so that by the time we got there the number was down to about 300 so we found an open space just off the famous Chat n Chill Beach Grill and ran into town to the market since we were out of just about everything. Over the couple days we were in George Town we were able to replenish our fresh produce and many of our other stores.

Mileage post in the beach outside the Chat n Chill.

Inside the Chat n Chill.

While in George Town we got to visit with our friends Craig and Sharon Penny on Bonavista who invited us to a happy hour and entertainment the first night. The second night we were finally able to spend time with Bill and Sandy Miller on L'Attitude Adjustment and learn about the Acklins Islands

Pic with Bill and Sandy Miller.

we planned to visit. We had planned to leave on Saturday but found out that two other friends of ours were coming in so we delayed until Sunday. So Saturday night we met our good friends Ken and Sara Gross on Alegria for a happy hour and then went back to our boat and our friends Tom and Sue Jones from Sandcastle who helped us close out the night. With luck we will get to visit with them over the summer.

Pic of Ken and Sara Gross in dropping sunlight.

On Sunday morning we left and crossed the Tropic of Cancer on the way to Long Island.

Crossing the Tropic of Cancer.
 

Heading south in the lower Exumas on our way to George Town

We spent 2 nights at Blackpoint settlement but as usual could have spent more. Blackpoint is one of the cruisers "must see" stops for several reasons. There are some grocery stores but usually not much to buy. But you might get some staples like milk or potatoes but not much else. But Blackpoint has 3 popular restaurants, free water and a great bake shop.

Blackpoint anchorage is well protected from the north, east and south although in a south wind swells may come around the point and make the anchorage rockey. The water is relatively shallow with good holding so anchoring is usually fairly easy.

Sunset from Scorpios for happy hour with 4 other boat friends.

We motored the 2 miles from Bitter Guana Cay to Blackpoint and dropped the anchor with about 20 other boats already in the anchorage. We were excited to see several of our friends there and knew some more were coming. Although we missed the Cruiser's Happy Hour at Scorpios on Friday we agreed to meet at Scorpios for a happy hour and we made dinner reservations at Deshamons. In one night we were going to hit 2 of the 3 restaurants in town. The other one Lorraine's Cafe is popular but we decided not to go there this time.

Even though we weren't going to Lorraine's, behind the restaurant is Lorraine's mom's house and bakery. She makes the best coconut raisin bread ever. We love to eat it plain but it is great for French Toast. We bought 1 loaf the first day and had to go back before we left to get another. We probably should have bought 2!

So about 1700 along with our friends from Bonavista, Cabana, Island Spirit and Sea Lyon we met and talked about where we had been and where we were going. Cabana and Sea Lyon will e heading back to the States in the next months; Bonavista is heading to the BVI, Island Spirit is heading to Grenada and we are of course heading to Guatemala. Great to catch up with folks as paths cross.

A wreck on the shore in the creek.

Little Creek view looking toward the north end of the island.

On Sunday we walked to the north end of the island where there is a small creek. Hoping to do some swimming in a protected area but the shores were all rocky and there actually was a sailboat anchored in there. Would probably make a good shelter in a westerly blow.

Monday we left Blackpoint for what we hoped would be a private anchorage. With a nice wind we were able to sail to White Point which is about 5 miles south of Blackpoint and found several boats there and went to the next little cove, Hetty's Land and found a large cat there who after we anchored hauled up and left. So we had the anchorage to ourselves. We went into the beach and snorkeled along the rocks and a huge ray swam by us and swam along for a while. Very exciting to get so close to one swimming.

View of Amekaya from the beach at Blackpoint.

Another blow was forecasted for later in the week so we decided we should get into a place and settled before the anchorage got crowded with everyone else doing the same thing. We opted to go to the channel between Little Farmer's Cay, Guana Cay and Farmer's Cay. The preferred approach was from the south but after studying the charts it appeared that we could get through an intricate channel from the north that would be just a few inches above mean low water (MLW) so we decided to go for it. We were able using visual piloting to find our way through the channel and back into deeper water. Taking the cut save about an hour of motoring.

View from our anchorage at Little Farmer's Cay.

The sunset from Ty's.

An old wreck on the shore.

Farmers Cay Yacht Club.

Ocean Cabin.

 Rain squalls during the big blow.

Overlooking the bay at Farmers Cay.

There were already several other boats in the anchorage but we scouted around and found a shallower location out of the main channel and away from the moorings in the deeper water. When I swam out to check the anchor I saw sand waves on the bottom that were as much as 2 feet above the contour of the bottom and often fairly wide. Looking at them in relations to our keel it seemed like we should be ok since it was not long after low tide.I also noticed our anchor chain had sunk in to several of them between the boat and the anchor so I was confident that if we  bumped into one it would probably brush away. As it turned out the heavy winds and current caused them to dissipate and they were never an issue. Our anchor was well-set and by the second morning it was buried to the top half-inch of the roll bar.

Little Farmer's Cay is very Bahamian with friendly people and a few nice eateries. In past visits we enjoyed ribs and lobster at Ty's so we went there to make reservations and  found they had neither. But it's a beautiful little place right on the beach so we made reservations and left. We also made reservations for the next night at Ocean Cabin because they had lobsters. While walking about we met the couple from the power boat anchored next to us. Paul and Jackie were a great couple and it turns out Paul is a retired navy pilot so we arranged a happy hour for the next evening.

Amekaya at anchor off Farmers Cay.

We walked back to the Farmers Cay Yacht Club and met the owner Mr. Roosevelt Nixon and sat down at the bar to enjoy a cold beer. Shortly after that Paul and Jackie came in and we enjoyed a happy hour at the bar.

The wind blew for 3 days but it was very pleasant on the boat. Besides going ashore we did go over to the beach and walk along it shelling and diving for conch. We had times with the wind and current opposed but I had put our barbell on the chain that kept it down so when we turned we didn't rub on the chain.

Emerald Bay Marina.

Friday came and the weather had moved out. So after the passage of a squall line we hauled anchor and went out the cut headed for George Town, Emerald Bay. At first there was little wind but the wind finally came up on the beam and we had a great sail all the way to the channel at Emerald Bay.

We stopped for fuel since we couldn't get any in Nassau and want to leave here with a full tank before we head to Jamaica. We were able to get a slip on the discount dock where only water is available for $1/ft. The question was how long would we be here. When we had gotten into Farmer's Cay we were contacted by our credit card company wanting to know if we were buying gas in South Carolina. Obviously we weren't so they had to cancel our credit cards and issue new ones. So we would be stuck in Emerald Bay at least until our new credit cards arrived.

Barbecue and bonfire on the beach with Junkanoo dancers at the Villas.

Emerald Bay is not a bad place to be stuck if you have to be stuck someplace. There are nice heads, free laundry, marina services, beaches, good restaurants and the opportunity to get off the boat and exercise. So we will stay here until the weather gives us a window to continue on toward our final destination in the Bahamas, Great Inagua before going on to Jamaica. We are really ready to get to Jamaica.

A nice sunset before the next front comes through.