Snorkeling in the Bahamas
     One of the highlights of this trip has been the variety of snorkeling adventures we have had in the various islands. We have found that snorkleling is very wind and weather dependent. We have developed an understanding of currents and locations in order to find the best spots. Each of the island chains have a series offshore reefs that protect them from the sometimes huge Atlantic swells. This is where one finds the most dramatic coral formations. Unfortunately in any type of ocean swell the waves break on these shallow spots. The best way to see them is on a calm day. We anchor in the lee of the island and take the dinghy through the cut out to the reef. They often have moorings set up so divers don't put anchors down into the coral. Then we jump off and swim around near the dinghy. I don't have a Go-Pro or underwater camera but yesterday it was so calm off No Name Cay that you could see the coral underwater.


Nico diving from the moored dingy. He wears his wet suit because even down here one can get cold swimming for a long time. He also wears a weight belt so he can get down and peer into caves, despite my warnings, at grouper and moray eels.


This particular reef had a heathy population of Elkhorn Coral  (the branched formation) and Sea Fans (the purple). Elkhorn has been suffering from disease and climate change. We saw examples of dead and broken Elkhorn in the Exuma Islands.


There were many examples of the spectacular circular Brain Coral.


The massive coral heads are surrounded by sandy patches which might have some small, isolated coral heads with feathery, bush like corals. Each coral head has its own resident fish. We watched a male Sargent Major fish defend his eggs from a school of neon blue fish swimming by. Once they passed he darted out and tried to intimidate me too. What did intimidate me were the barracuda who were aggressive and did not back off. They always looked in a bad mood and I often got out of the water when they came around despite reading that there have been relatively few attacks on swimmers.



Nico likes finding a wall with overhangs that he can dive down to inspect. In Abaco we saw three large Leopard Rays gliding slowly by the base of the wall.


The dark bands are the reefs with the best coral. This is off Great Guana Cay.


Not all dark patches are coral heads however. Many times we were fooled by patches of grass. Those environments had their own sights such as conch, whelks, sand dollars and worms.


Not all good snorkeling spots were off shore. This is Bell Rock on the eastern side of Cambridge Cay, Exuma. We snorkeled all around it and although it didn't have the colorful coral formations, we saw lots of fish.


Sometimes we dove right off the boat such as in the Berry Islands. We found four huge conch on this swim. Nico would also dive after anchoring to make sure the anchor had dug in securely. Sand was fine but sometimes it couldn't get in if there was grass or thin sand over rock.


My favorite spot was a little reef on the west side of Soldier Cay, The Berry Islands. It was calm with no current and I could drift, watching the fish and turtles. Although we saw plenty of Nurse Sharks and rays there were no scary shark encounters.


I borrowed Phoebe's scuba shirt which was a lifesaver from the relentless sun.

Abacos

     We have been making our way north along the chain of cays to the east of Great Abaco. Our 60 mile sail from Eleuthera was glorious, thanks to a 8 - 14 knot southerly breeze all day. 

The beautiful deep blue. The depth was over 13,000 feet at one point.

Boomed out jib, stay sail and main sail carried us along.

      We were here in the Abacos over thirty years ago. The first time was in 1980 when 7 of us chartered an Out Island 41 sailboat during Spring Break from Connecticut College. Needless to say it was a wild time involving bonfires, fire walking, Guana Grabbers, and going where others didn’t dare. Later, we came back around 1990 with Joe and Lisa and had an equally memorable, but not as wild, time. It makes me feel old to say that things have changed. We suffer from “Cruisers’ Midnight” which is 9:00 PM and we are so ready for bed. The area has changed too. There are so many more boats, especially catamarans, and the protected harbors are packed. We are in a marina right now because strong west winds were predicted and we weren’t sure we would find room to anchor or available moorings in the few spots out of the wind. The simple little shack that we had our first Guana Grabbers on Great Guana is now a large complex with VERY LOUD music and $8 Bahamian beers. Another similar place called Nippers had equally loud music and was packed with sunburned, very drunk Americans. They get shipped in by fast boats from Marsh Harbour or Treasure Cay to have a “Bahamian” experience.

     However, there are still lovely, unspoiled spots. Man O’War Cay was still very low key with the economy based on boat building rather than tourism. 

Honoring the boat builders. Just like Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, Man O'War was settled by loyalists in the 1700's. It is still very much a white community. Thirty years ago black workers on the island had to get off by nightfall. This is one case where I hope there has been some change. I don't know what the situation is officially but I know I saw a lot of black workers getting on the late afternoon ferry.

Some boats that are being produced are the older style.

Some are new.

One of the older boats

The Sweeting House. They raised twelve children in it. Now it is a lovely coffee shop and heritage museum.

Typical road on the island. Golf carts are the main mode of transportation.

The Methodist Church

They pre dig the graves because it takes a while. The older ones were in the sand and they got washed away by a hurricane.

Their graves have character. This man was a boat captain.

We got a mooring in the crowded harbor of Hopetown which is another lovely town. Nearly ran aground trying to enter at low tide.

We climbed the lighthouse - the only kerosene lit lighthouse left. It's a pressurized lantern like a giant Coleman lantern. It was brick and then they put another coating in concentric rings when it started to crack.

Climbing up the hundred and one steps.

The view part way up.

At the top, looking down at Far and Away

Looking to the north west towards Man O'War Cay. Our anchorages here have been totally dependent on the direction of the wind and surge from the ocean so we don’t spend all night rolling or pitching. As a result we have been zigging and zagging around.

At the top

The huge fresnel lens like the one in Portland Head Light.

The gears and the pressurized system which float on a circular trough of 1,200 pounds of mercury. It is driven by a clock movement which needs to be hand cranked every two hours by the keepers.

The lighthouse was built in 1864 and the equipment, which is being used today, was made in the early 1900's. 

Custom furniture for lighthouses

Typical Hopetown home

I imagine that was most of the population.

Although I mentioned how much Great Guana Cay had changed, we had a nice time meeting up with other Cabo Rico sailboat owners in a mini rendezvous. We socialized and toured each others' boats. We were the smallest at 34 feet and the largest was a majestic 56 footer.

Lots of boat talk.

So much talk that the dogs got bored.

Ten feet longer than Far and Away

A year ago, when this trip was just a dream, Nico and I watched a series of You-Tube videos produced by a young Australian couple, Riley and Alyana, on board Vagabonde. We mostly watched their adventures in the South Pacific. Imagine our surprise when we found the boat next to us was them! For us it was a major celebrity sighting.

Caves and Blue Holes

I'm taking advantage of a little internet cafe in Marsh Harbor, Abaco, having my first iced coffee in a LONG time. We are now starting our tour of the Abacos. We sailed over two days ago from Eleuthera We stopped in a harbor called Rock Sound for a couple of days to wait out a blow. We visited some wonderful blue holes and caves. The geology of the area, based on coral, is like Swiss cheese compared to Maine. Inland holes can be connected to the sea through underground passages. 

This blue hole is called Ocean Hole and is in the center of town. It is 600 feet deep.

It was filled with oceanic fish although it was half a mile inland.

A mile down the road was a system of coves next to another blue hole.

This cave was called Spider Cave locally although some guide books called it Cathedral Cave. Each hole in the web had its resident spider.

Holes from above let light in.

Tree roots grew down from above in order to reach moisture.

Although blurry, the dark blobs are bats in this picture. You could hear them fluttering as they moved about.

Exuma - Part 3
     Our time in Great Exuma gets its own entry because it was so different from our other anchorages. For one thing, Elizabeth Harbor, which is pretty much protected on all sides by Stocking Island and Great Exuma Island, is a world of its own. It is a sailing mecca. There were hundreds of sailboats and smaller power boats anchored all along the shore and on moorings in three protected harbors on Stocking Island. Many people come for the winter or stay for a week or more. At night it looked like a small city or the Milky Way galaxy with all anchor lights on. Dinghies were buzzing back and forth to town. The cool thing is to stand in your dinghy holding on to the tiller extension or bow line while going full speed. Every morning there is the Cruiser’s Net radio on channel 72 with weather, concerns, equipment swap, departures and arrivals, kid’s corner, community announcements etc. There are organized water aerobics, bonfires, bible study, poker games and A.R.C. (Alcohol Research Parties) on the beach, There is also community service such as fund raising cookouts for local organizations. We met a  man who lived aboard  his boat. He was volunteering in the library and tutoring a student. Despite the multitude of boats there was no pump out service or fuel. (The fuel dock was destroyed by a hurricane.) We took in jerry cans by dinghy and carried them to the gas station to fuel up. We did fill our water tanks for  $.30 a gallon at the marina, although most people filled cans for free at the dinghy dock. There was, however, lots of variety at the market! Small freighters were constantly coming and going from the government dock.


Elizabeth Harbor, looking north from Stocking Island towards Far and Away (4th boat from the end) and Hooper's Bay, where Lisa and Joe rented a house for the week.


Looking southeast from the monument on top of Stocking Island towards Georgetown. Sailors have written their boat names using limestone blocks.


Looking south towards Little Exuma and the protected bays on Stocking.


East from the monument and the outer reef


The lights of the boats at night


 Rough limestone on the east side of Stocking Island  


We hiked to that side looking for a good snorkeling spot


Full moon over the harbor

     The great thing about our week in Great Exuma is that Nico's sister Lisa and her husband Joe rented a house nearby. We anchored right outside of the town, Georgetown, for easy access to shore. Most often we would meet about noon and go off to a gorgeous beach and explore the island or they would come out for lunch on the boat, usually bringing the best take-out barbecue chicken ever, and we would go to a reef to snorkel. Afterwards, drinks or dinner before we headed back to the boat. It was a great time. It has been about 30 years since we have been together in the Bahamas and, as usual, lots of good talk.


Lisa and Joe enjoying some well deserved down time.

  
 The gorgeous beach on Little Exuma helped with the relaxation process


Lunch stop at Santanna's Bar & Grill


The grouper special


Classic rum punch


The colors were out of this world




Rain squall


A salt pond, or salina, from the 1700's. You can just barely see the lines that divided the evaporation ponds.


This monument was built between the ponds and the beach to guide ships in to pick up the salt, hand carried over the sand in baskets. Working in the ponds was brutal - blindness from the sun and sores from the constant salt.


Siblings on the Tropic of Cancer




Arriving at the boat with lunch and cold beers!


The record of our trips in and out of the harbor from our chart plotter

     This would be a good point to add a few comments about the demanding nature of our trip. Lisa texted her siblings when she got back to the States, “The trip they are on is epic and not for the faint of heart.” Hurricane Michael aside, it has not been a trip with extreme hazards but, as Nico likes to say, we exist in a dynamic environment and we cannot comprehend all the variables. We are out of our comfort zone and have to be always prepared for the worst - and that can be taxing. We are always half listening for the anchor alarm to go off, indicating that we are dragging. One night we were anchored close - well, actually IN the channel by Stocking Island - because there wasn't much room with all the boats. We were suddenly awoken out of a deep sleep by a long, angry blast of a horn followed by a searchlight. Nico leapt on deck and turned on the engine to creep forward, out of the way of a tug and very large barge filled with gravel.
      We are also essentially camping for months, luxurious camping I admit, but still we are living in close quarters, occasional damp bunks, a holding tank for sewage that has needed Nico’s constant attention (but which, as of yesterday, may finally be fixed?), no laundry, and a two burner propane stove and no refrigeration. Rum drinks without ice each night can be a real hardship! Plus, I don’t even want to talk about what is happening to my hair and skin.
     More seriously, the reason we took this trip is because of my head injury over two years ago. Teaching became difficult and I needed a break. It was a perfect time to do something adventurous. What I didn’t realize the impact of is that on a boat you never stop moving. The brain has to constantly work to maintain balance and equilibrium. If it rolls all night the brain is working all night and does not get a rest. Unfortunately, this meant that some of my post concussion symptoms came back although I was in denial about it for a long time. It wasn’t until we got to Great Exuma and I had some serious vertigo that I realized what was going on. I took two nights ashore in a lovely guest house (Regatta Point) and took it really, really easy. However, despite that nice break, I was still dizzy and we ended up in the local clinic for much of the day. Unable to reach my doctor (who was vacationing somewhere in the Bahamas!) and unable to get a good exam by the clinic doctor, I remembered that I took Benadryl after my concussion when I got vertigo with a cold. I figured I might have water in my ears from so much snorkeling so I gave it a try. So far, no vertigo. We are now taking care not to travel when it is really rough and not to pound into the wind. We are finding calm harbors and waiting out high winds. Nico has been very good about doing that all along, even though his risk tolerance is light years above mine.
We had a rough couple of days when we thought I might not be able to continue the voyage. Here the boat is so far south and we have thousands of miles to go. We are a team and we both panicked at trying to figure what to do if I had to bail out. So, sadly, we probably won’t reach some islands that don’t have good wind protection but at least we will enjoy traveling to the Abacos. I’ll just listen closely to what my head is telling me.


View from my bedroom terrace where I took it easy for a couple of days. The first night Nico stayed on the boat because it was blowing hard. The second night he anchored by Regatta Point and joined me.


The lovely living area