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

April 2018: More of the Abacos, Bahamas

Thu, 19-Apr….From Marsh Harbor to Elbow Cay

We awoke to very warm and calm conditions on Thursday morning and were happy to also find many of the sportfish boats had departed for the fishing grounds.  The resultant decrease in electrical demand on the docks finally gave us enough voltage at the dock’s power pedestal to hook into shore power, charge the batteries and even run one of our A/C units.

Our Track to Marsh Harbor and Then to Hope Town

Sadly this was also the day that Dan and Juli were to fly back to Florida.  We’d had a fabulous time together, but certainly understood they had obligations back home, and a brand new boat of their own waiting for them upon return.  We said our good-byes late morning and they cabbed it over to the airport.

Shortly after that we got back underway, cutting our stay at Marsh Harbor by a day, and pointed Ghost Rider back to the east towards Elbow Cay and Hope Town.  We timed the arrival pretty well, arriving just after high tide around noon.  That gave us just enough water under the keel coming into the harbor’s shallow entrance channel and enter the large – but crowded – mooring field where there were better depths.  We found an empty mooring ball (actually two green floats attached to the bottom), grabbed its two pennants (tether lines) with the boat hook and attached them to our forward cleats.  Later we discovered the two pennants were badly twisted around each other just below the surface and had to spend some time removing and unwinding them to give us a better “fit” that didn’t involve chafing against Ghost Rider’s bulbous bow.

The Mooring Field at Hope Town Viewed from the Lighthouse....They
Pack them in Here

It also took us a while to get accustomed to how close together the boats get here in this mooring field – very different from anchoring where you generally get to pick how close or far you’ll be from other vessels.  Rick measured 75 feet from the two boats nearest us….enough swing room for our 50 foot length as long as nobody drags.  But we would not bring a bigger boat in here.

We launched the tender later in the afternoon and Chelle took it for a spin to make an initial scouting of the harbor area, while Rick tended to some minor boat business and rested a badly pulled back muscle suffered during the mooring line untangling.  But we had a peaceful evening and overnight.

Fri, 20-Apr Through Tue, 24-Apr….Hanging at Hope Town on Elbow Cay

We had decided that the first half of this day would be dedicated to “boat business”; our Wheelhouse maintenance program had accumulated about eleven overdue items that we wanted to knock out before exploring the island.  There were a handful of minor checks (strainers, thrusters and the like) along with changing out both filters on the water maker.  While Rick worked on those Chelle gave the tender some much needed cleaning and waxing attention, and we also got some laundry done and topped off our water tanks.

View of Ghost Rider on Her Mooring...Pic Taken from the Tender
as We Headed to Hope Town Harbour Lodge for Dinner

Unfortunately by the time we completed our day’s assignments the weather turned for the worse a little earlier than predicted.  Showers and storms started popping in the area as a cold front reached down and then just stalled.  So we hung out on the boat the remainder of the afternoon until we found a pause in the weather that looked decent enough to take the tender over to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge restaurant.  It’s one of the more upscale eateries on this end of the island, and the food (Mahi and a seafood medley) were quite good, as were the rum punches.

Chelle with Her Rum Punch at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge

By this time we had also figured out some of the local customs.  The islanders here are known to be a fairly spiritual community, so church bells ring at frequent intervals.  At each sunset you will hear both locals and some boaters blow their conch shells in an uneven sounding ritual (some are good at it, some not so much.)  And they certainly have their own varied definition of “island time”….you can take your trash to shore only once per week during a one hour period; and if you need to mail anything it’s worth knowing the post office (co-located with the police station) is only open Wednesday and Friday from 0930 to 1445; and you cannot rely on the light house lantern being lighted up when you might expect that...it certainly isn't at sunset or even at full darkness, but eventually somebody gets up there and lights the torch.

Racor Drain Repair in Progress....Great Fun

The next day (Sat, 21-Apr) brought overcast skies and intermittent rain showers with brisk winds, so the morning was a good time to attack one more significant maintenance task.  Over the past couple of days a slow leak had developed from one of the main engine’s two Racor fuel filter assemblies at its drain plug.  No amount of adjusting the seeping drain had any impact on it.  So we decided to empty and disassemble the unit for a closer look.  This is one of the older Racor designs, with a two piece plastic drain – quite susceptible to cross-threading which inevitably leads to leaks.  Once removed a close inspection revealed this one was essentially shot; over the years it had been mangled and overtightened, which crushed the internal gasket for the drain orifice and stripped the plastic threads.  We did not have a spare, so for a temporary workaround Rick used JB Water-Weld to plug the two holes at the drain valve’s entry and exit points, and then applied Permatex #2 sealant on the mangled plastic threads.  (No boat should leave the dock without those products onboard.)  We let all that stuff cure for five hours before refilling and leak-testing…and it seemed to be holding for now, hopefully at least minimizing the leak until we get back to the States and obtain a functioning replacement  The bowl can still be drained if needed by loosening the larger drain receptacle, albeit with more of a mess.

The Lighthouse

While the Racor repair was curing we took off in the dingy to tour more of the local sights.  First stop today was the Elbow Reef Lighthouse, which is advertised as the last manned kerosene-fired lighthouse still operational on the planet.  Built in 1864 and standing at 120 feet above sea level, its lamp puts out 325,000 candlepower, making it visible up to a range of 17 miles.  You can climb the stairs to the top (101 steps) and the view from up there is spectacular.

Next we took the dinghy on another side of the harbor to have a late lunch at Harbour’s Edge (we tried Cap’n Jack’s first, but turns out that place is closed on weekends….more “island time” lessons.)  But Harbour’s Edge was just fine, with excellent Caribbean Quesadillas and more tasty varieties of fruity rum drinks.  By the time we made our next intended stop at the local museum it was closed.  We’ll hit that on another day, and besides another band of rain showers were moving in, so we boogied back to the boat.  We concluded the day by making up our own version of the Goombay Smash – three different rums (generously) with orange and pineapple juice (in moderation.)  It was excellent.  We’ve named it the “Goombay Ghost”, as it will haunt you if you have one too many.

View of the Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean to the East
From the Top of the Light Hosue

Early on Sunday morning, 22-Apr, (around 0300) thunderstorms started popping consistent with the forecast.  We closed up the few portals we had open and verified we weren’t dragging in the gusty winds.  The storm cells had died off by sunrise, but we had discovered a rain water leak in the pilot house, leading Rick to conduct an examination of the various things mounted on the roof above.  Based on the location of the drips the first suspect was the flush mount Furuno GPS which had to be disassembled to inspect its cable run. The original caulking around its comm cable hole was deteriorating with some gaps, and there was evidence of water seepage and corrosion on its connecting pins.  Rick dried it out, removed the old caulk, cleaned the connectors with CRC electrical spray, then resealed it all with his favorite Rescue Bond XL1 caulk.

The Pool at Hope Town Harbour Lodge

Since the repair work on the antenna was a one-person job, Chelle took advantage of the same break in the weather to dinghy ashore and relax with some beach time.  The winds were still clocking making snorkeling unattractive, but she was fortunate to get a couple hours of sunning time.  By the time she returned to the boat Rick was finishing up his repair, and then the rain moved in again.  Shortly after midnight the rain became a torrid downpour….and we still had a leak in the pilot house.  Rick removed the instrument panel to keep it dry, disconnecting all the instrument wiring, and placed a bucket under the rapid drip as an overnight stall tactic.

Tearing Into the Pilot House Rain Water Leak....More Fun

The next morning, Monday, 23-Apr, Rick was back on the pilot house roof disassembling the search light.  At this point we were pretty sure that was the leaky culprit, so once again Rick went through a remove-and-recaulk exercise.  This one took several hours as it was apparent someone else had previously attempted the same thing, and there were several old screw holes up there that also required sealing.  We left the pilot house panel in its disassembled state so we could better judge how effective all that was during the next set of rain showers – which were definitely still in the forecast.

That same day our 12KW diesel generator reached bingo hours for its next oil change (every 200 hours, which doesn’t take long when you’re island hopping on the hook), so we tackled that in the afternoon as well.  By 1730 we halted the boat business work and relaxed the remainder of the evening. 

On the morning of Tuesday, 24-Apr, we awoke to more rain showers as yet another squall line moved in from the west.  The good news was that our pilot house roof patches had reduced the rain water leak to a very occasional drip…it would have to do until we got back to the States for some professional FRP work to create a new base for the search light mount.  The bad news this morning was the generator wouldn’t crank; that turned out to be a poor battery connection at the starter solenoid which was a quick fix.  That was a good thing since we were boat-bound until / unless the weather moderated, and it was warm and muggy with the boat closed up against the rain – the air conditioning felt good.

Taking the Dinghy to Cap'n Jack's for Dinner....with a Line of
Storms Moving in From the West

By early afternoon rain was still falling with more storm cells on the horizon; the forecast kept changing, and not for the better.  We gave up on island touring, and Chelle caught a ride on the ferry over to Marsh Harbor for some fresh food shopping while Rick tended to a few more minor chores and then relaxed with a book.  Shortly thereafter the rain stopped and the skies cleared – so much for the meteorology around here.  Rick went up to the boat deck with his book for some much-needed sun and chill out time.

Chelle Relaxing Over Dinner & Rum Drinks @ Cap'n Jack's

Chelle returned from her ferry ride and market run – with lots of fresh fish and some rum refills – around 1700.  And then the clouds moved in yet again, with radar showing more storms on the move and headed our way.  This was getting old.  But we bet we could dinghy over to Cap’n Jack’s for dinner and make it back before that next line of weather arrived, and it turned out we were correct.  And the seafood and salad (and rum drinks) were quite good.

Just before 2200 the rain started again and we called it a night.  Tomorrow our plan is to head south a few miles to the Tahiti Beach anchorage, but will have to wait for a late afternoon high tide and a break in the weather to make that move.

View of the Harbor Entry / Exit Channel from the Lighthouse....the Shoals on the North Side Are Visible
Even at High Tide....the Ones on the South Side and Around the Bend Are Not So Obvious