May 2018:The Berrys to Bimini & Then the USA

Mon, 07-May to Thu, 10-May….The Berrys To Bimini & Then Back to the USA

Early in the Leg to Bimini We Had a Thunderstorm Dead Ahead

On the morning of Monday, 07-May we were up by 0700 and underway at 0800.  We departed on a rising tide, and while we never saw less than a foot under the keel, it was good to get out into the open water of Great Bahama Bank and eventually find depths greater than 50 feet.  Both Mystic Lady and Just Us had departed about an hour earlier just after first light; they were planning to make the run all the way to Palm Beach today to take advantage of good Gulf Stream crossing conditions.  Of course they were moving along at twice our best speed.

Skies were overcast and there were showers in the vicinity but as we departed the docks at Great Harbour we had dry conditions.  Temps hovered in the mid 70’s with humidity in the low 80’s. The overcast persisted a good portion of the day, but sea conditions were very tolerable…as we got out of the lee of Great Harbour initially they picked up to two to three feet out of the south, but within the next two hours laid down to two feet or less.

Same Storm Cell on Radar....You Can See We've Deviated Left
of Planned Course to Give Us Plenty of Separation

Showers and storms came and went most of the morning, but between our XM weather display and the Furuno radar set it was fairly easy to identify range and motion (generally to the north), so avoidance wasn’t a problem.  By around noon the local precip had cleared out and only distant storm clouds were visible.  High cloud cover remained, but some sun filtered through.

We ran the boat’s water maker all day.  With potable water priced at $.50 per gallon at GHC Marina, we had gone through 140+ gallons of our own water while at the dock, emptying both wing tanks.  So while we still had about 100 gallons remaining in the forward and rear water tanks, we were planning on anchoring out once we arrived at Bimini and needed to do laundry and run the dishwasher; thus our goal was to replenish much of what we had consumed during the past week.  

The Weather Improved Considerably Later in the Day and We
Dropped Anchor Here on the Northeast Side of Bimini

As we got closer to North Bimini the breezes died out quite a bit leaving only a light wind ripple on top of a one foot swell, which boded well for our intended anchorage site on the northeast side of the island.  We arrived there around 1800, finding fairly calm water in about 10 feet of water, and dropped the hook about 350 meters from the shoreline, letting out 125 feet of chain and setting the anchor per our normal procedure.  We had a peaceful night at anchor, running the genset all night to stay free of the noseeums and to keep cool in the building humidity.

On Tuesday, 08-May we awoke to some rollers coming in from the east that gave Ghost Rider some mild hobby horse motion, but otherwise had good conditions – already warm in the low 80’s, with partly sunny skies, and NE winds at 10-15 knots.  The anchor was still where we had dropped it.  (See footnote.)  Since the genset was still running we took the opportunity to get some laundry done.  We weren’t planning to move to the marina on the other side of the island until later in the afternoon to take advantage of a high tide and slack current....both of which are pretty much prerequisites to a good docking experience over there.

Ghost Rider Tucked into Our Berth at Sea Crest Marina
With Copious Fendering

Around 1330 we completed our preflight checks, raised the anchor and looped around North Rock at the top end end of North Bimini and headed south down the western coast line.  It was only an 11 mile sortie to the Sea Crest Marina but it required an entry through the cut between North and South Bimini; the current can rip through there, so we were hoping our timing to arrive just after high tide would provide good depths and minimal flow. 

We discovered the charts don’t necessarily match the way the entry channel is currently marked, but still found our berth without drama, although there was enough nervous angst along the way.  The good news was we had finally found a dock low enough to use the normal boarding door; on the other hand its pilings were overly tall, so we had to get creative in deploying our “fender boards” on the starboard side to protect the fiberglass.  Good tie offs and fenders are required here as there does not appear to be any no-wake zone; if there is everyone ignores it.

The Entrance to Bimini Big Game Club

Chelle Enjoys the Signature "Big Game" Drink

After securing the boat (no wash-down today, they charge a lot for water here) and completing post-flight duties we relaxed for a while and Chelle took a quick walking tour of the area.  Later that evening we both got off the docks and walked a bit north to the famed Bimini Big Game Club for dinner.  Rick had the cracked conch (good) and Chelle ordered the Seafood Marinara (also good.)  The portions were hugely generous, so we got a couple meals out of that outing.  Their signature “Big Game” fruity rum drink was tasty, although not nearly as good as our own Goombay Ghost.

Once again we slept in the next morning (Wednesday, 09-May) and enjoyed some relaxing time on the boat while at the dock.  After finishing chores – preflights for tomorrow’s early departure, weather checks, that sort of thing – we grabbed a rental golf cart and toured North Bimini Island.  With a length of seven miles, a width of only 700 feet, and only one real town (Alice Town), there isn’t much here beyond some very nice beaches on the western shore line, a few marinas on the eastern side, and a few clusters of small stores and restaurants.  Its permanent population numbers around 2,000.  Not unlike some other islands in the Bahamas, it first became popular during the prohibition period in the U.S. – a rum-runner’s haven.  Hemingway lived here for a couple of years back in the mid 1930’s.  Tourism, especially centered on sport fishing given the proximity to the U.S. east coast, is its main industry today. 

The Casino at the Hilton's Bimini Resort

At the far north end of the island is Hilton’s sprawling World Bimini Resort, which now includes the obligatory casino, and stands in stark contrast to the modest structures that typify daily life here. Much more appealing are the public beaches south of there, with their gin clear waters, local eateries and bars.  We enjoyed some excellent conch fritters and experimented with more rum drinks at Sherry’s Beach Bar.  Broadly speaking, anything that’s served from a carved-out coconut has to be interesting.

But This is What the Real Bimini Looks Like

One of our more interesting stops on our impromptu tour was the Dolphin House Museum.  Its sole architect and builder (and tour guide) is Ashley Saunders, an island native, who says after he swam with the dolphins he was inspired to build this place.  The three story structure (the third is being added and is a work-in-progress) is an eclectic, klitchy explosion of color and inventive artistry -- all built into the structure by Ashley.  He scours the island and beaches, finds "stuff" that interests him, and melds it all into the building itself.  In addition to at least forty dolphin images in varying forms, there are hundreds of conch shells, crab pot balls, ceramics, sea glass, driftwood pieces, beer and liquor bottles, license plates (from all 50 US states) and all sorts of other odds and ends either molded in or hanging from the walls and ceilings.  And, according to Ashley, the whole thing is hurricane proof.  (It is on relatively high ground and has survived at least six hurricanes we know of.)

And Then There Are Some Beach Bars Always Worth Trying

It was with mixed emotions that we prepped the boat for departure early on the morning of Thursday, 10-May.  But we were underway by 0730 as planned, with a decent tide and only minimal current with which to deal while getting off the dock.  After snaking out of the harbor channel about 15 minutes later we entered the open waters of the Gulf Stream, with partly cloudy skies, temperature around 80F and the typical late spring humidity common at this latitude.

The Dolphin House...There are More Pics at the Bottom of the Blog Entry, So
Be Sure to Check Those Out, Too.

Seas were predicted to be an average of three feet with wind at 15 knots, both from the northeast, and initially that was pretty much what we saw.  The stabilizers got a bit of a workout with the short intervals and as an occasional bigger wave would broadside the boat, and of course the northerly wind component chopped up the Gulf Stream current as the two collided.  But Ghost Rider dutifully held its course as we wallowed our way back towards Florida.

Approximately half way across, however, the seas and winds picked up considerably, with frequent six footers on the beam and a healthier wind chop on top driven by a northeast breeze that had increased with gusts to 20 knots.  Ghost Rider heeled occasionally to some interesting angles as an occasional seven or eight footer rolled in; the lag in the stabilizers provided a healthy snap-back.  You had to be careful moving about the boat, and cautious when opening cabinets and fridge doors as stuff was moving around.  One or two particularly square waves rearranged some furniture in the salon as well as some boxes of spare parts and an air compressor in the lazarette.  We’ll need to find a new bungee cord arrangement back there.

Salon Furniture Rearranged by Some Sideswiping Waves

Still, the boat itself did not seem to care much, it just kept plugging along, averaging 8 knots in the sloppy conditions.  At around 1330 we poked the bow into the Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) entry channel, turned the corner under the bridge, lowered the flag of the Bahamas, raised the yellow “Q” flag, and then backed into our slip at Pier 66 Marina just before 1400.  Ghost Rider then got her most thorough wash down since we’d left the USA over a month ago, and it was surely needed.

Chelle Was Sitting at the Salon Table When it Tried to Tip Over, So
She Laid it On Its Side Before It Could Do So On Its Own

We checked into customs using their new smart phone app, ROAM (very convenient), lowered the quarantine flag, and called it a day.  Chelle got some pool time in before dinner; while Rick updated Wheelhouse and also assembled the latest punch lists for the boat – one for Yacht Tech and one for himself – that would need attention over the next few weeks.  But that was the original plan anyway, as we knew we would be due for some regular service after returning from the Bahamas – bottom paint, zincs, valve adjustments, that sort of thing.  There are also still few lurking annoyances that still need to be tended to, but we’ll provide more detail about that later.

For now the weather looks good for tomorrow's short (six hour / 50 mile) run up the coast to Palm Beach and Old Port Cove Marina.

Our Loop Through the North Central Bahamas Over the Past Month Or So

Footnotes

** We’ve been asked how we monitor our anchor for drag.  At the time that Rick releases the windlass brake to free fall the anchor to the bottom, we also (as simultaneously as possible) activate an anchor alarm using a laptop copy of the Nobeltec TimeZero software; that laptop also has a GPS antenna plugged into it.  The TimeZero software allows us to set a radius for a swing circle (equal to the amount of rode, or chain, we deploy.)  If at any time the boat departs that defined circle it sounds a very loud siren.  We leave the laptop running all night.  You can accomplish the same function using either the Furuno MFD or the TimeZero software on the ship’s PC, but the laptop draws fewer amps when we’re running the boat only on batteries, which is often.  See screen capture below.

This is What Our Anchor Alarm Software Displays to Us...As Long as We Remain in That Circle Then We 
Know All is Good.  A Really Obnoxious Siren Alarm Sounds if We Don't.

Some More Pics from Bimini....

Chelle Trying Out a Beach Bar on Bimini

The View From the Deck of Sherry's Beach Grill

Third Story Being Added to Dolphin House

Entry Way to Dolphin House

More of the Dolphin House....Note the Rows of Embedded Conch Shells

Dolphins Everywhere

Eclectic Decor & Collections Inside Dolphin House

More of the Dolphin House Interior

A View of the Beach on the Southwest Side of Bimini

And the Wreck of a Steel Ship Washed Ashore Long Ago

Tue, 01-May to Sun, 06-May….Hanging at Great Harbour Cay (Berry Islands)

Exploring the Ruins of What Was Once a Thriving Island Getaway

On the morning of Tuesday, 01-May our friends Jerry and Christine guided us on a walking tour of some of the nearby ruins that remain from the glory days of Great Harbour Cay.  Back in the ‘60’s this island had been “discovered” by a large clique of the rich and famous who made it one of their preferred island hangouts during that era.  A mix of Hollywood types and wealthy industrialists comprised the main clientele and drew considerable investments to the island, and a slew of new amenities sprung up:  waterfront townhomes, an expanded and updated marina, an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, and a renovated runway that provided an easy entry / exit for those with access to private aircraft.

It Isn't Hard to Imagine the Luxury This Place Used to Offer

But it didn’t last.  When economies started to crater in the 70’s both the interest and investments in this place dried up.  At the same time drug-running became popular and the proximity of Great Harbour made it a hub for the smugglers.  By the time the various law enforcement agencies had completed their crackdown on the illicit trafficking, the island had completed its total nosedive.  Apart from the cruise ship activity on the northern end (and their private beaches) today this area of the Berry Islands is mostly a stopover for vessels making the transit to other places in the Bahamas.  Its marina, however, remains active, being especially attractive for those needing shelter from the weather.  And the beaches on its eastern shoreline are still some of the most beautiful – although largely empty – strips of sand in the entire island chain.

The Flats Beach....Would Be Great for Shelling if There Were Any Shells There

By the way, Jerry authors an interesting blog of his own, and being something of a history fanatic, there you will find some more intriguing information about this area.  Click HERE to see more of his perspectives.

Following lunch at the marina snack bar – where the hogfish fingers are really good – we rented a car and drove from one end of this seven mile long island to the other.  Apart from a couple of spectacular beaches, along with a handful of fairly new homes and one beach bar perched on their overlooks, there isn’t a lot to see here.  But if you want a gorgeous and deserted beach all to yourself, this is certainly one place you can easily find that.

A View of the "Cave Beach"

Two of the beaches were particularly striking.  The first at the southeastern end of the island is what we called the “flats beach”.  At low tide its sugar white sands reach far out into the ocean waters, and you can literally walk in zero or ankle-deep, gin-clear water for hundreds of meters.  Interestingly the locals call this beach the “shelling beach”….upon which we found absolutely no shells.

Then there is what we called the “cave beach” further north on the island’s eastern shoreline.  Here we found large outcroppings of gnarly looking rock where the pounding surf had carved out concave curves and burrowed out a couple of small caves – which you can access only at a low tide.  Climbing to the top of the rocks provided for some stunning views.

Rick Pausing in Front of One of the Caves

We wrapped up our day back at the marina with some social time among our fellow cruisers, and then a quiet dinner aboard.

The next day, Wed, 02-May, we continued to pester Jerry and Christine by joining them on their dinghy for a spin around the harbor area and a closer inspection of the island’s immediate western shoreline.  It was fairly windy (as forecasted) so we took some occasional spray in some of the open areas, but we enjoyed the company and the tour.  Some of the coves within the harbor area are surprisingly deep – twenty plus feet – especially when compared to the very shallow approach just outside the channel entry.  Using the small, maneuverable dinghy to head back out that channel towards the open waters to the west, and then back in, gave us a chance to take some photos of that narrow waterway without worrying about hitting rocks or going aground.

The Rock-Walled Entry Channel to GHC Marina...the Dinghies Give
You an Idea of How Narrow It Actually Is

Later that afternoon we decided to “swap ends” in the slip….turning Ghost Rider around so she faced bow out.  While that put our port side on the finger pier, thus positioning our only boarding door on the wrong side, it wasn’t doing us much good anyway given how tall the fixed docks are here.  Additionally, we wanted to be able to launch our own dinghy for use over the next few days (which can only be deployed from our boat deck to the starboard side.)  A big thanks goes to Jerry and Dave for helping us with the dock lines in the breezy conditions.  As it turned out, this move actually made it easier to get on and off the boat from the elevated Portuguese bridge port side deck at low tide, and from the cockpit gunwale at high tide. 

Just Us and Mystic Lady Moored Together at GHC Marina

That evening Jerry and Christine invited us aboard Mystic Lady for dinner, and were joined by their boating buddies and marina neighbors Dave & Michele, whose Viking sport fish, Just Us, was moored next door.  The BBQ pork chops were tender and flavorful, and the ample sides and desserts were delicious.  And Jerry’s frozen rum drink – made with papaya juice and a mango rum, and which he calls the “Mystic Marvel” – rivals the Goombay Ghost for flavor and a punch.  It was another good evening.

The winds on the morning of Thu, 03-May had kicked up to 20+ MPH as predicted, and while the offshore waters were churning like a washing machine, inside the GHC marina we were nicely protected.  We launched the dinghy to our newly accessible starboard side and readied it for use.  We wouldn’t be able to wander too far from the protected harbor or the lee of its western shoreline based on wind velocity, but it served as a distraction for Chelle when she tired of being boat or shore-bound – which was inevitable.  She dinghied around the harbor inlets and then over to “Bardot Beach”, a short strip of sand on the western edge of the island and just south of the marina entrance, supposedly made famous by Bridget Bardot as her favorite spot to hang out back in the glory days of the ‘60’s.  It was a peacefully deserted place good for some sunning, shelling and reading.

There Are Some Nice Homes in the Harbor Inlets

Rick in the meantime enjoyed some quiet time on the boat….which included a blissfully quiet napping interval.  Later in the day Jerry stopped by and he & Rick compared weather forecasting notes – which generally synched up, meaning the next several days would likely be occasionally wet, very windy and generally lousy enough to keep us all in port for a few more days.  That was OK, we were in no particular hurry.

Thursdays at the marina feature pizza night – place your order in the morning with preferred delivery time, and later that evening it shows up at your slip at the designated hour.  We took advantage of that, and the meat lover’s edition was pretty good, although here they don't seem to be great believers in tomato sauce.

View of Ghost Rider Pivoted to Stern-in with Dinghy Launched and
Michelle Working on Cleaning & Waxing the Transom

As expected the morning of Fri, 04-May started out very pleasantly, windy but with comfortable temperatures and scattered clouds passing rapidly overhead.  We had left the boat open overnight to enjoy the Bahamian breezes and remained that at least for the morning hours.  We spent the first part of the day messing about the boat handling various chores.  Rick attacked some standard Wheelhouse preventative maintenance – mainly cleaning out the A/C strainer, as well as updating our navigation computers with the latest GRIB file and Active Captain databases.  Chelle went to work cleaning the transom area, as it had accumulated weeks of generator exhaust film that was turning the gelcoat color from grey to black.

Later in the afternoon the shower activity picked up considerably, pretty much washing out the afternoon as the stiff breezes drove the rain in squally fashion.  The marina announced it was postponing its weekly "Chill and Grill" until the following evening in the hope the weather would be more hospitable by then.

The Tender Taskforce Gathers for the Day's Expedition

We kept the boat closed up overnight until the morning of Sat, 05-May, which dawned partly sunny and dry.  The forecast for today looked mostly benign (except for the winds) so after a quick breakfast we jumped into the dinghy and joined three other tenders (including those from Mystic Lady and Just Us) to take a tour of the western side of the island.  We had a few objectives in mind – find the “blue hole”, explore a couple of beaches, and locate a plane wreck that was supposedly nearby.

First we found the blue hole tucked back into a cove just to the north of GHC Marina.  A blue hole is a small, somewhat circular, sudden and deep drop-off in the ocean floor, likely formed during the ice age when sea levels were considerably lower.  The Bahamas boasts several.  Because they are so (relatively) deep, the water appears to be a dark blue color, whereas the shallower waters surrounding it – in this case four to five feet at a mid tide – appear to be light green in color.  We measured 175 feet of depth, and the diameter of the hole couldn’t have been much more than 60 feet across.  It was basically a small vertical cave in the ocean floor.

One of the Two Beaches We Invaded

On the two strip of beaches we found we got the opportunity to try out our “anchor buddy”, which is a second anchor with a bungee-like rode attached to the stern of the tender….shortly before the bow reaches the beach you toss it in the water to get it set, then stretch it a bit while motoring to the beach.  Once close enough to the beach we deploy the bow anchor on the beach; the rubber-band like stretch in the stern anchor’s line keeps the tender sprung off the beach’s shallows.  It’s ideal in outgoing tides, and while it takes some practice it seems to work well.

The beaches were small – perhaps a hundred meters of fine, clean sand bordered on either side by rock outcroppings.  But the gin clear water allowed a good viewing of numerous manta rays that were cruising just above the sandy bottom in less than a foot of water as they strafed for zooplankton meals.  The largest we saw had about a three foot wingspan (although they are reputed to go up to 20 feet.)  Upon departure we also found the location of the small plane wreck just about 100 meters off the shoreline...parts of the aircraft were just visible a few feet below the surface, but about all you could discern was that it was likely a small, single engine craft.

The Outlines of a Small Aircraft Visible Just Below the Surface

To close out the day, later that evening the marina’s weekly “Grill and Chill” event provided another fun social event with the other cruising couples at the nearby picnic pavilion.  The menu choices were BBQ chicken, ribs and steak.  (Hint: avoid the steak, the other dishes were very good.)

On Sun, 06-May the winds finally started to subside and bright sunshine dominated the day’s weather.  Rick and Jerry spent a good portion of the morning checking various weather and forecast sources, and agreed that the conditions would be good enough to support an early Monday departure for the long leg to the Bimini Islands.  So a portion of the day was also used to perform preflights and boat preps to allow a quicker get away the next morning.

Chelle had enjoyed the previous day at “Bardot Beach” so much that she decided to return there today in the dinghy and take advantage of such good weather.  When she returned to Ghost Rider later in the afternoon we gave the tender a quick bath and hoisted it back on the boat deck, latching it down in preparation for a long day of cruising tomorrow.  We got as many other boat preps done so we wouldn't get rushed in the morning.

Our Rental on GHC....a Motorized Roller Skate.  The Wheel is on the Right
Side, You Drive on the Left Side.  Except When Dodging Pot Holes.

Another Relic From the 1960's

But You Find Isolated New Construction on the Eastern Shoreline.

The Airport Consists of a Strip of Concrete and One Building

Another View of the "Flats Beach"

Another View of the "Cave Beach"

There's Always Seems to be a Beach Bar on Each (Inhabited) Island

The Marina's Snack Bar Menu...It's All Good.  The Caribbean Conch Salad is Fabulous.

Another Nordhavn -- N60 My Harley -- at the Marina

A View of Ghost Rider From the Other Shore Before We Turned Her Around

A View of Ghost Rider (from the Dinghy) After We Turned Her Around

The "Chill & Grill" Picnic Pavilion

The Bar at the Chill & Grill....Rum Anyone?

April 2018: More Abacos & Then The Berry Islands

Wed, 25-Apr….From Hope Town to Tavern Cay

The morning of Wednesday, 25-Apr broke with a mostly clear sky, a mild breeze and a mostly dry forecast for the day.  At last!  We rode the dinghy into town to tour the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum, whose namesake is credited with founding the Hopetown settlement back in the 1780’s.  It is a quaint two story, renovated house packed with artifacts and memorabilia whose stories walk you through the Hope Town settlement’s history.  

The Museum Also Chronicles the Islands Boat Building Legacy

It exists primarily because people like Wyannie couldn’t tolerate – and wanted to escape from – the post Civil War conditions in the Carolinas.  We learned that one of the main means of support for these islanders was salvage work – retrieving all sorts of goods from ships that frequently ran aground on the numerous nearby reefs and shoals.  We also learned that they were not too thrilled with the erection of that light house, as it led to a significant shrinkage of the salvors’ line of business.  Their response was to sabotage the light and build bonfires on some of the reefs to attract ships into the shoals.  Fortunately the place was eventually recognized as a great vacation destination and provided them an alternative via a thriving tourism economy.

The View from 'On Da Beach' Restaurant

After that we took a long walk to the south end of the island to have lunch at On Da Beach.  It’s yet another Bahamian eatery that boasts stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and a long sandy beach.  Their Mahi sandwich is quite good.

By then it was time to get back to Ghost Rider so we could depart on the next high tide.  At 1630 We retrieved the dinghy back to the boat deck, released our mooring tethers, and carefully snaked our way out of the harbor channel back into the Sea of Abaco….with just enough water under the keel to keep the boat from bumping bottom.  Despite the circuitous route we had to take to avoid the shallows, it took us less than two hours to reach the Tavern Cay / Tiloo Cay anchorage.  Waiting for us there were Brad and Lorraine Carlton aboard their Nordhavn 55, Adventure.  We dropped the hook nearby in 10 feet of water, got a good set, and settled in for the evening viewing a gorgeous sunset.  Brad and Lorraine joined us aboard Ghost Rider after dinner for some libations and boat / travel talk, and we had a very enjoyable social evening together.

N55, Adventure, Anchored Nearby at Tavern Cay

The next day, Thursday, 26-Apr brought more pleasant weather.  But Chelle had a restless night and wasn’t feeling well, so we just chilled out and relaxed on board all morning.  Rick got a few more chores done, checked weather, and started looking at destination options for the next few days.  By mid-afternoon Chelle’s morning naps had a restorative effect so we took the dinghy out for a tour of the waters around Tiloo and Tavern Cays.  There are some nice properties and upscale homes dotting the shorelines, along with Cracker P’s Bar and Grill further north near Tiloo Cut (which provides a narrow, twisting channel into the open Atlantic.)  The waters were still gin clear providing great visibility of the grassy and sand bottom in depths that varied from a couple of feet up to eight feet, with the typically stunning shades of blue, green and turquoise.

Tooling Around Tavern Key in the Dinghy

We enjoyed another peaceful evening and night at anchor, and while Rick got a good night’s sleep, Chelle did not.

Fri, 27-Apr….From Tavern Cay to Lynyard Cay

By Friday morning, 27-Apr, it was obvious that Chelle still had some kind of stomach bug, likely food-related based on the symptoms.  There were a couple things she had consumed on our last day in Hope Town that Rick had not, so that was our best guess, as he felt fine.  We could not find an oral thermometer in any of the medical kits, so improvised with a digital meat thermometer....she was running a low grade fever, which we treated with Tylenol. Still, by late morning she was able to soldier on, so we picked up the anchor and headed further south.  Based on predicted winds we wanted to check out the bay adjacent to the northwest edge of Little Harbour that promised protection from SSW winds.  But when we arrived there a couple hours later it was pretty obvious the swell from the cut into the Atlantic Ocean just to the east would make that locale most uncomfortable – and there was no way we were going to attempt the very shallow channel into Little Harbor’s basin.

Another Nice Sunset at Anchor

So we back-tracked a mile across to the other (east) side of the channel to Lynyard Cay, and we found the protection from the swell to be excellent.  Although exposed a bit to the SW winds, it wasn’t enough to bother a heavy boat like Ghost Rider.  The depths there held steady very near the shore, so we tucked in pretty close to the shoreline, and found a sandy patch of bottom where we dropped the big Manson Supreme anchor.  It set on the first try, and given the predicted overnight storms we let out some extra rode for good measure.  One of our goals on this leg was to visit Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour, but the wind and swell between here and there made that an unattractive jaunt in the dinghy; besides, Chelle needed to rest, so we spent a quiet evening on the boat, and put Pete’s on our list to try the next time around.

Sat, 28-Apr….From Lynyard Cay to Sandy Point

The predicted front and associated line of TRWs arrived in the wee hours, but nothing approached the severe level. By the time we awoke the morning of Saturday, 28-Apr, only light showers remained in the area….and Chelle was feeling better.  The forecast for the next few days was actually – finally – looking pretty good.  Just before 1100 we retrieved the anchor and got underway, pointing Ghost Rider in a southerly direction.  Three miles later we traversed the cut just north and east of Little Harbour and entered the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Approaching the Southern End of Little Abaco in the Open Atlantic

Sea conditions were as expected, just a tad bouncy with three foot swells out of the east and a two-to-three foot healthy wind chop on top given the 15 knot southwesterly breeze.  The stabilizers did their job in the confused short-interval seas and Ghost Rider happily punched through, with only an occasional “bulbous bow bounce”, averaging 7 knots at a loping 1400 RPM on the big Lugger diesel.  It was actually a nice change of pace to be in open seas and deep water – hardly any traffic with depths measured in the thousands of feet as both sounders lost sea floor contact.

At high noon we had mostly clear skies overhead with small puffy cumulous clouds dissipating in the west, and the remnants of the storm clouds still towering but far to the east.  Outside air temperature hovered in the upper 70’s with the typically high humidity seen in the open ocean after a frontal passage.  By mid-afternoon the winds had tapered off a bit, white caps diminished and the ride smoothed a bit.  Then, as we rounded the southern tip of Great Abaco, the winds and seas picked up again.  It was a see-saw day. 

The Sandy Point Coastline....Not Much There, and Exposed to All But
Easterly Winds

Late in the afternoon, around 1700, we rounded the southern end of the big island and checked out the shallow anchorage on its southwest side, near Cross Harbour Point, but it was rather exposed and rough.  So we continued on another hour or so to Sandy Point…although it wasn’t much better. But we were running out of daylight, so we dropped the hook there anyway, and endured a very bouncy night at that anchorage, generally exposed to the southwest winds and rollers from the open waters of Providence Channel.  The predicted shift of the winds to the north eventually kicked in overnight which helped a little.  It would have been a good time for a flopper-stopper, but this boat doesn’t have one of those.  (See footnotes.)

Sun, 29-Apr….From Sandy Point to Great Harbour (Berry Islands)

The morning of Sunday, 29-Apr was a whole lot calmer than the previous evening with only a fairly gentle roll coming at Ghost Rider from the south.  Weather looked ideal, with clear skies, mild temps and almost flat seas.  We retrieved the anchor and were underway by 0945 and steaming southwest towards Great Harbour in the Berry Islands.

Approaching the Berry Islands....a Popular Stop for Cruise Ships

It was a completely uneventful, peaceful and smooth sortie all the way across the channel; it would be wonderful to be able to bottle and save this kind of cruising weather.  Chelle did most of the driving from the fly bridge (without stabilizers), while Rick handled the first engine room check in between naps; that’s a good definition for a smooth cruising leg.  This one was less than 50 nautical miles and by 1400 we were rounding the northwestern point of Little Stirrup Cay and steering Ghost Rider down the western shoreline of the Berry Islands, avoiding a couple of large cruise ships and several parasail boats along the way.

Just before 1500 we entered the (very) shallow bay that lays just west of the Great Harbor Cay Marina…at low tide.  While the tides only vary by a few feet in this area, we decided then and there that we’d try to depart this place on a high tide when that day came. We saw as little as a half foot underneath the keel before we turned the corner into the (very) narrow entrance into the marina’s basin.  If they were trying to hide or disguise the entry channel to the marina, we have to compliment them on a job well done; you have to idle right up to the rocks before you see where to turn hard to port into what looks like a rock-lined alley.  

The Entry to GHC is Well Hidden As Well As Long and Twisting

Nevertheless we made it into the protected marina basin without bumping bottom, and tucked Ghost Rider into a fixed pier slip bow-first so we could keep the starboard boarding door on the same side as the pier.  As it turned out that really didn’t help much, as the height of the dock’s pier was well above its level….we had to practice gymnastics getting on and off the boat at this place.  But Rick was pleased with it, because it had free fresh water under really good pressure for boat wash downs – an anomaly in the Bahamas – and Ghost Rider badly needed one of those; we were as salty as a Bavarian pretzel by this time.  (But the free wash down water is loaded with minerals….you’re basically trading salt for lots of spots; you definitely don’t want it in your water tanks.)

View of the GHC Marina Basin from our Boat Deck

Rick got to work on the wash down while Chelle handled marina check-in.  And shortly thereafter we were greeted by good friends Jerry and Christine Chafton (and their too cute pup, Annie.)  They’ve been our “neighbors” at the Legacy Harbour docks in Fort Myers for some years now aboard their 53 Navigator, Mystic Lady, and have also been cruising the Bahamas this spring – and we had finally caught up with them.  We’d both had the same idea….with high winds and nasty seas forecast to move in over the next week, this was a good place to hang out for a while.

We got the boat and ourselves cleaned up, had a quiet dinner on board, dipped into a few Goombay Ghosts, and called it a day.

Ghost Rider Sitting Low Tide vs. the Dock at GHC Marina

The weather conditions we awoke to on the morning of Monday, 30-Apr, were excellent, with fair skies, mild temps and a freshening breeze.  Since we would have a whole week here we decided to make this day one for chores.  Chelle wanted to clean the interior of the salty film that inevitably results from ocean crossings with an open boat, as well as scrub down the dinghy, as it was pretty grimy from weeks of usage.  And Rick wanted to knock out several days’ worth of current and forthcoming Wheelhouse maintenance items to allow for off-the-boat exploring the remainder of the week.

Pot Luck Dinner Gathering at GHC Marina

When all that was completed we enjoyed one of the marina’s weekly evening rituals, the Pot Luck Dinner at their nearby picnic shelter.  There was plenty of food and drink, and we got to meet many of the other crews, including Betsy and Hank Knoblock who had their Nordhavn 60, My Harley, here.  And we planned some touring activities with Jerry and Christine as they knew this island very well from previous visits.

We’ll post another update after we’ve accumulated some touring time on this charming island.

Footnotes

** What’s a “flopper-stopper”?  Essentially it is a large folding aluminum plate that is deployed from a boom and secured with several guy wires; the plate is positioned several feet beneath the water’s surface, and the plate’s large surface area provides rolling resistance in surge or wake conditions.  It’s a pain to deploy and retrieve, but it can be quite effective in stabilizing the boat while at anchor in rolly conditions.  You can find more info and pictures HERE.

Our Latest Tracks Down to the Berry Islands and Great Harbour Cay

More Pics to Peruse

Packed in at Hope Town Harbour Moorings

Narrow Streets of Hope Town

The Bar at Cap'n Jacks, Hope Town

Another Shot Around Tavern Cay

View of Cracker P's Bar & Grill From the Bay Side at Tavern Cay

A Charter Sail Boat Anchored Near Tavern Cay

We Eventually Got Lots of Company at the Anchorage at Lynyard Cay

And Eventually the Weather Moved in On Us There