Sleigh Ride from Long Island to George Town.

West bound with a rising sun

The 0630 alarm was followed by the 0640 tardy bell on Wednesday. The boys were gone and it was time to turn the boat NW toward home.  I ignited the stove to perk some Joe, checked the weather apps, turned on the instruments and went into the cockpit to check things out. We had a brief shower during the early morning and dark clouds lingered in the direction we were headed. At that moment I had second thoughts about leaving; however, we were low on water and potable water in Long Island was only to be had in expensive one gallon jugs. We waited another 30 minutes before pulling up anchor around 0715. The winds were expected to be 15-17 knots throughout the day from the east and would be on our broadside, at approximately 120° off the bow. We headed west until we cleared Indian Hole Point, from Thompson Bay, then changed our course to WNW, toward George Town. Let the sleigh ride begin. When Blake and Chris flew away yesterday I felt they had received the true cruiser experience.  Now I feel that I cheated them, in that they did not experience this down hill sleigh ride.  Under sail alone we bounced between 5.5 - 6.7 knots most of the day.  This is the sailing we have been waiting for.  The fish wacker zinged twice, then stopped quickly with no results.  I believe Blake and Chris might have removed the hooks from the lures.  The waves started small building to about 5 or 6 feet before reaching Middle Rocks Channel leading us into Elizabeth Harbour.

Winged sails fully deployed.

Once we reached George Town, we dropped the anchor at about 1300 in Kidds Cove on the town side.  We needed water and made 3 wet dinghy rides to the dock to secure approximately 75 gallons, in our 5 gallon jerry cans.  This was quite a workout as they weigh about 40 lbs. each.  On the third trip we made one last stop at Sonia's Conch Shack and the Exuma Market gathering minimal supplies.  After returning to the boat the winds had increased to about 20 knots as expected, so we pulled up anchor and headed north towards Stocking Island.  We dropped anchor at 1800 near our usual anchoring spot off Monument Beach.

It seems the Corona Virus concerns have finally reached the Bahamas.  Though Sonia stated that "God's will shall be," the government is starting to step in and close establishments where people gather, such as restaurants.  The Exuma Market is still open but to be safe we've stocked up pretty well for the upcoming weeks and travel.  I might have to get serious with the fish wackers and pole spear.

Southbound sailboat

Our current plans are to head north (toward home) probably Sunday.  Of course we have several weeks of travel in front of us.  The winds are predicted to blow steadily near 20 knots for the next couple days.  Though it is blowing in a favorable direction, east, we'll have to enter the Great Exuma Bank from the Exuma Sound through a small cut, probably Galliot, which can be quite dicey.  With an outgoing tide opposing an easterly wind, the cuts into the Bank can become quite dangerous; thus, we'll take no chances and wait for lesser winds and an incoming tide.  For now we wait.

Overtaken by a fueling ship.

Sonia's became a favorite stop

Blake and Chris' Cruising Experience

Chris having fun at the music festival

Reminder: Click on Pic's to enlarge.

Blake and Chris arrived in George Town on Thursday with their usual flair.  Their buddy, Mr. Taxi Driver, delivered them to Island Boy Bar and Grill where we met them and enjoyed refreshments on the deck.  After a short stay we walked a few blocks to the 2020 Bahamian Music Festival.  I don’t remember much after that, I believe the boys over-served me. During the evening we decided we would shuck the George Town experience and set off for Long Island, approximately 40 NM southeast, the following morning. 

The cruising experience was about to begin!  Ruth would  not allow us to up anchor until a breakfast was served to the crew.We pulled the Mantus out of the sand at approximately 0900 and set our course to the SE.  After exiting Elizabeth Harbour, we adjusted our course toward Thompson Bay at Long Island.  As usual, our heading was directly into the wind, the true cruising experience.  It was a little uncomfortable but mostly aggravating because we were slowed by the wind and waves.  Once we left the boundary of the Moriah Harbour National Park we deployed two fish whackers.  Shortly, the port side reel with a green skirted lure started singing and we captured and released the first of two barracudas for the day.  We dropped anchor in Thompson Bay at approximately 1500.  Several friends, including Darrell and Ann of Alibi, Brett, Kim and Mike of Kitty Hawk greeted us and invited us to Sou’ Side Bar and Grill for the evening.  The boys fit in well and realized just how close the cruising family is.

Barracuda

On Tuesday we rented a car and visited a couple of must-see spots on Long Island.  After a stop or two along the way, we arrived at Dean’s Blue Hole, which drops to 643 feet.  This site is where many freediving records were set.  Fish were bountiful and the geological walls and caves below and above water were spectacular.  It was hard to leave such a phenomenal site.  We then loaded up in the Ford Escape and made our way north about 60 miles to the Christopher Columbus Monument.  It is said that this is the 3^rd Bahamian island Columbus discovered on his trek in 1492.   The monument was nice but the geological landscape was probably the prettiest we have seen in the Bahamas.  The cliffs overlooked the Atlantic Ocean to the Northwest and lagoons and flats of varied blue colors to the east.  In one day we were treated to perhaps the two most beautiful locations of the Bahamas.  We made our way back to Pura Vida, where we were served dinner by Ruth and chatted and laughed late into the night.

Dean's Blue Hole

The following morning (Sunday) we joined Brett and Darrell on a pole spear fishing trip to an old sunken ship a few miles out.  We anchored in about 12 feet of water and made the plunge into the beautiful but somewhat murky water.  It didn’t take long for the boys to adapt to this new way of fishing.  Immediately, we could see a variety of fish.  Most were of a tropical reef variety, not suitable for eating.  The fish were quite elusive, hiding in holes under steal ship metal or just swam away.  There were also a couple reef sharks hanging out but nothing more threatening.  Darrell landed a large Margate quite a distance from his dinghy and had quite a battle returning it.  Blake also landed a Mutton Snapper which was of the petite variety but from a father’s point of view, a bunt base hit is better than a strike out. That evening we turned the dink north and met the cruising community at Tiny’s Bar and Grill. 

Darrell's Margate

There I met a couple of YouTubers (Sailaway) with their young son, Rivers Danger, and dog. I have been following them for a while.  We also met her parents who were cruising on their own boat.  The regular crews were in attendance and our boys fit right in.  Around 2045 the social event ended abruptly as the tide was reaching a shallow level which would have prevented us from leaving the dock.  By this time the boys were buddies with the bartender and other locals who had arrived by land.  When they made it to the dock, where we were waiting in the dinghy, all other dinghies had departed.  We managed to escape the shallows with the motor in shallow-water-drive without a scratch on the prop.   We sang our way back to Pura Vida in the darkness amazed at the beauty of the stars.  The PV party went late into the night but the elder statesman and woman retired to their cabin. 

Blake spear fishing

The following morning we skipped breakfast for an early lunch of Ruth’s boat pizza.  Three pizzas were devoured in a few minutes.  The boys topped off the dinghy tank and with fly rods aboard they took off south for some flats they discovered on Google Earth 12 miles away.  Lucky for them the new super power Yamaha was up for the task.  That evening we went back to Sou’ Side were we met Thomas and Uli, a German couple with Beneteau 44 CC, Oceanis, the bigger sister to Pura Vida.  We were very intrigued with their ventures, crossing the Atlantic, etc., but mostly by their kind demeanors.  We also met Kaden, 12 years old, whose parents owned Sou’ Side.  It seems some of the PV crew slid a few dollars into his pocket. Basically, he tugged at our heartstrings.  We eventually made our way back to the boat but the last night party went into the late night.  I actually had to play daddy to the diaper buddies as they refused to give up their last night in the Bahamas.

Turtle with Remoras

The next morning Chris and I loaded the dinghy with luggage and jerry cans and headed to the dinghy dock. I walked to Seaside and rented a car while Chris watched our stuff.  Then I set off back to PV while Chris loaded the car.  He couldn’t help but take the little right side drive for a spin.  Stay left mon.  When I arrived to the boat we loaded up the remainder of the luggage and set off to the dock.  We made it to the Stella Maris airport around 1045.  Valentino, the pilot, asked the boys to be there by 1115 for the 1130 flight so we made it with time to spare.  The boys boarded the little 6 seater, twin engine aircraft and off they went.  Fifteen minutes later they arrived in George Town.  I couldn’t believe it when they called and said they had arrived.  Ruth and I hadn’t even made it out of the Stella Maris Resort. 

Columbus Monument

The boys chose to add a flight back to George Town on Tuesday to catch their scheduled afternoon flight to Fort Lauderdale instead of sailing back to George Town on Monday.  Though it would have been a downwind experience it would still have taken about 6 hours.  When they left, Ruth and I missed them immediately, just as we did when Bryce and Veronica left, but all good things must come to an end.  The boys went from princess showers to Joy baths and only stopped up the toilet twice.  Ruth blamed me for not giving proper flushing instructions.  Oh, and there was only one daddy butt chewing.  Joy baths include jumping into the water, getting on the transom deck and soaping up with yellow Joy dishwashing detergent, jumping back into the water to rinse, them back on the transom deck for a fresh water rinse.  This trip brought back fond memories of these diaper buddies spending precious moments together, with Bryce, creating a bond which obviously will last forever. 

Dean's Blue Hole