Rake 'n Scrape, Sister

X-ing File #5_Antigua to Bahamas (perhaps) continues…

Bahamas: Staniel Cay

Although our Stocking Island anchorage at George Town was pleasant (just a bit choppy), we needed to move on.  That meant moving off the bank through Conch Cay Cut again although conditions had settled somewhat.  We had a great sail up Exuma Sound to our next, and narrow cut, Galliot Cut, arriving a few hours before high slack water.  This on-bank flow would, we hoped help to pull us on to the bank.  (The cuts are no place to be when tide is against wind).  Our Cap’n steered us carefully through the deep channel and onto the shallow Exuma Bank with its stunning turquoise waters; seemingly sailing across an endless expanse of beautiful blue molten glass. 

Galliot Cut.  Others joined us entering the Exuma Bank from this cut

As it was only just after lunch, we decided not to anchor off Galliot Cay but make for Staniel Cay where we knew we had a few “friends” waiting; those wonderful, and now famous, swimming porkers.  We set the autopilot to suit the magenta line (proven navigation lines across the banks) and soon made Big Majors Spot anchorage where we tucked in behind Fowl Cay, ready for a few days of fun – something that had been seriously lacking in our itinerary so far.  Rather than write more, here’s a few photos of our visit.

Things to do:

#1. Dive Thunderball Grotto (Yes, James Bond 007 really was here!)

Thunderball Grotto is extremely popular & diving on low slack tide essential.
We missed our chance this time.

#2. Enjoy Lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club

We had conch po'boy & blackened fish.  Yum...
(Rake 'n Scrape is a local musical style)

#3. Feed the Piggies at Big Majors Cay

At Big Majors Cay, the Major and her Majorettes, crack team
of synchronised swimming pigs.  Just having a bad day is all... 

#4. Explore the narrow passage between Big and Little Majors Cays by dinghy; then meet a few friends at the dock

Nurse sharks waiting for the day's offering...  Don't slip getting into the dinghy

Hands on Hips

X-ing File #5_Antigua to Bahamas (perhaps) continues…

Bahamas: George Town

We planned to only stay 3 but 5 nights passed too quickly in the friendly and safe South Side Marina.  Given our boat chores (yet another electrician to see to our electrical woes), a dinner out with other cruisers (organised by Matt, from our dinghy welcome committee), Kiwi’s to chat to and evenings at Bob’s Bar, we lost track of time.  It’s a great place to be. 

Turtle Rock near Sapodilla Bay  anchorage in Turks & Caicos..
Oh come on, use your imagination! 

A nasty weather system (actually a cyclone) to our north kicked up quite a swell and on our way to the supermarket, we caught sight of huge waves crashing over the reef on T&C’s north shore.  GS was not keen to leave, but our Cap’n had little sympathy (the toughen up princess variety), so off we set to slide out of the Funnel into the wild blue yonder to make for the Bahamas.  The Funnel was not too bad an exit all things considered, however the swell, once we were out in it, was almost Pacific Ocean stuff – big rollers giving us an elevator ride.

Looking back over the T&C Bank from The Funnel

For a change of pace, we headed east to come up the inside of Acklins Island and made for the Clarence Town harbour (on Long Island).  Waves crashing into the harbour reminded us of winter storms off the Victorian coast.  Not. Good.  While the Cap’n assessed his chances of surfing in, GS prepared the life raft and her speech for the moment of mutiny.  Fortunately, it did not come to this and we sped on and into the night for an early morning arrival at George Town.  “We” considered the merits of the first protected cut (an entrance across the reef onto the bank) for calm waters and safety.  It too, would have put us side on to swell breaking over the reef – a dangerous sport, so we moved on to the next cut with fingers crossed.  It was wide and deep enough with less challenging breakers and we watched as several boats made early morning departures.  If they could get out, we could surf in. 

Yes, I'm sure we can get in, somehow....

Yes, we did.  In one piece.  Here's proof.

The busy anchorage though calm-ish, held other dangers.  A cranky boat owner asked us (nicely) to move away from him.  We clearly export our best overseas.  Too tired to argue, we moved on and dropped anchor not far from the early morning aqua-aerobics class on the beach.  George Town has a “resident” community of boaters – perhaps 200-300 – who arrive annually to spend a pleasant winter in the tropical paradise that is the Bahamas.  Masthead lights twinkled at night across the broad bay giving it the look of fairyland.  “We could easily do this”, sighed GS…

View from our very nice lunch stop, Blu on the Water

Doesn't every Supermarket have a dingy dock? George Town, Bahamas

Then a Step to the Right

X-ing File #5_Antigua to Bahamas (perhaps) continues…

Turks & Caicos Islands: Providenciales

Oh, for the Open Ocean...maybe

With WJ3 sporting shiny, new guardrails, rigging and a jaunty raked mast (very sporty), and tired of strong katabatics smacking us on the nose in the Lagoon night AND day, we were determined to leave in the next weather window.  Our schedule was also blown out of the water, so we toyed with ideas to catch up a few days.  A dawdle through the reportedly windblown British, US and Spanish Virgin Islands was definitely out, as was the plan to shelter along the south coast of Puerto Rico.  We settled on making for St Croix then staging our leap for Turks Caicos from Culebra.  Even that seemed too complicated in the end, so we agreed on just the one, long (5 day) haul to Providenciales in Turks Caicos.  And a few rest days in a marina, for sure.  With luck, we would beat a strong westerly forecast for the weekend, blowing courtesy of a storm over the US east coast.  Oh well, it really is winter here!

Waiting our turn to exit the Simpson Bay Lagoon yet again!

The conditions were generally very good with the only rough patch after hitting the Atlantic NE Trades exiting the Virgin Passage.  It soon settled and we floated over some “marketing magazine” turquoise waters along the Puerto Rican north coast.  It was still windy enough for us to be the only sailboat out there.  Customs & Border Protection made itself known (in a variety of ways) along the coast however we made an uneventful entry into San Juan Harbour to refuel, toyed briefly with the idea of staying in a slip, only to see sense and continue on.

The old fort marks San Juan Harbour where we refuelled

Once past the Mona Passage and in the lee of the Banks, we made good time with very pleasant sailing conditions under a full moon.  Whales come to give birth in these waters at this time of year (Jan to Mar) but they too must have become fed up with this unseasonable weather and moved off early; we saw not one flipper or fluke! 

An early morning arrival at the Caicos Bank suited us just fine, so we cautiously took the Freighter Channel, hoping it was wide enough for two freighters to pass (it isn’t) and therefore no threat of a grounding over coral heads.  We only had a fine magenta line on the chart to follow, so wobbled our way up to Sapodilla Bay to hover whilst we contacted the marina. 

We made it in.  Just.  Now, can we make it out?

Three men in a dinghy and holding a depth measuring device met us on our way to the marina.  Thanks guys!  Magenta lines offer little comfort - to quote our Cruising Guide (Bruce Van Sant) “think of rice pudding and just avoid the brown bits!”  Only this rice pudding is wafer thin, brilliant turquoise and see-to-the-bottom waters.  It’s a precarious ride and very shallow.  Somehow WJ3 floated in 4.5ft of water (our keel is 5.5ft?) but another sailboat following us in, ground his keel to the metal.  We all needed a stiff drink after that effort.

Tucked up in South Side Marina, we can reflect back to 2007 where it all started in the BVI’s when the Cap’n set eyes on the still lovely, Miss WJ3.  We came to cross our wake, although sadly had to miss floating by Nanny Cay, Tortola, and to celebrate our 11^th year/season of cruising.  Who could believe? 

Even more unbelievable, the Cap'n & his two minute, 3kg Tuna...
The worst part was it tasted awful and we're not sure why?

A Jump to the Left

X-ing File #5_Antigua to Bahamas (perhaps)

Here we go then, frogs in a pond, leaping from island to island, heading north.  As one does.  So, with apologies to "The Rocky Horror Show":

It’s just a jump to the left

And then a step to the right

With your hands on your hips

You bring your knees in tight

But it’s that island time

That really drives you insane…

Let’s do the Time Warp, again; Let’s do the Time Warp, again

First Stop: Antigua: Falmouth Harbour 

Shelter for a few in the mangroves off English Harbour

Yes, we’re back in the Caribbean.  Right here in a well-protected Falmouth Harbour in Antigua at the peak of the cruising season.  Let me tell you that the water is turquoise, ruffled by the Trades (in full swing), the temperature is 28 to 29°C and a swim, off the back of the boat, is just delightful. 

It seems we timed our arrival with predicted unpleasant winds, so both English and Falmouth Harbours were full to the brim with sailors hiding from and waiting out the weather.  Still, we managed to squeeze into a relatively shallow spot (there are times when WJ3’s stumpy, winged keel comes in very handy!).  Apart from resting, we did little else other than try to sort out electrical and generator problems (to no avail).  Having toured the island before (reminisce 2008, see WJ308) with Boy Wonder, we felt the urge to move on with an overnighter to St Martin.

Nelson's Dockyard: a working marina now
 but Georgian features are evident

The anchor had other ideas having developed an attachment to a serious piece of rock encrusted with coral.  It was a testing moment for both the anchor winch and GS.  However, thanks to a Good Samaritan (American flagged Catamaran, WindyChimes) with a trusty hammer and obvious previous experience in coral extraction, our entwined buddies separated.  The coral remained in Falmouth Harbour, the anchor (Bertha) came back on board and we escaped.  It’s great to be back in the Caribbean! 

Second Stop: Sint Maarten

We had high hopes that Sint Maarten, with its duty-free chandleries and thriving yachting service industry, might just offer the chance to resolve WJ3’s ongoing problems - despite its direct hit by Hurricane Irma in 2017.  We arrived early in the morning (true to form – in the dark) to anchor is a somewhat choppy Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of the island.  The Cap’n timed his clearances just before bridge opening so we happily up-anchored and moved into the calmer Lagoon.  Last time we visited we also spent some time here, anchoring on the French side, in order to significantly upgrade WJ3’s electronics, have a stainless dodger frame constructed and filled the lockers & fridges with goodies from very large and well stocked supermarkets. 

Little has changed.  There’s still a fair bit of wreckage in and around the lagoon (Hurricane Irma, 2017) and a new bridge spanning the Dutch side but many businesses are operational and offering even us yachties some chance to find mechanics and electricians.  These floating “gin palaces” that seem to breed here in the lagoon don’t always have it their way. 

A glimpse in most corners of the Lagoon of hurricane damage

So, we now find ourselves at the dock of FKG Rigging having the rigging and guard rails replaced…at great expense.  It’s been 10 years since it was last replaced (in the BVI) and now a hot insurance must, so no arguments.  At least its pleasant being dock-side and close to a watering hole frequented by fellow Aussies.  Whilst breasting the Lagoonies Bar for happy hour, we’ve practised our “strine”, learned the weather is unusually wet & blustery for the Caribbean this year (I think it followed us from the Med) and enjoyed the company of fellow cruisers en masse – something we rarely achieved in the Med.

Windjammer, what have I done to you?

The Mast is going, going...

Oh, it's just too sad...

Accessing the internet is somewhat of a challenge here.  Power & internet comes and goes; rather like living in Delhi..  So, we do what we can, when we can.  Today's a good day, so tomorrow may be better, or not!  Photos as always to follow.  And next report from the BVI (hopefully)...

Your Captain Speaking

X-ing File #4_Cape Verdes to the Caribbean (hopefully!)

To give some balance to the previous less than technical (or enthusiastic) report of our voyage across the Atlantic, the Cap’n has been asked to write a summary of the voyage in terms that those with some nautical experience will appreciate.  Questions at the end…

For those with a sailing bent: 

We poled out the genoa to port on day three and there it stayed for the next 14 days.  The only movement was to reef it and then unreef it as squalls came through and passed on, which were daily occurrences but no problem with roller furling – very easy in fact. We hardly used the mainsail as WJ3 has very swept back spreaders and I don’t like the mainsail rubbing against the spreaders/standing rigging.  

Winds were a steady 15-20 knots and it was a slow day when they dropped to 10-15, which happened on a couple of days.  ‘Bert’, the Hydrovane, steered all the way except when it occasionally became overwhelmed in gusts which could be up to and sometimes over 30knots, and I had to step up and steer us back on course.   I might add here that when Bert is steering, the wheel and boat rudder are locked and Bert’s rudder steers the boat.  It’s a much smaller rudder than WJ3’s so it simply can’t cope in big gusts when the natural tendency for the boat is to round up into the wind.  Anyway, it made for very relaxing sailing, however, it certainly can’t maintain as steady a course as an autopilot but then it doesn’t consume any power and is extremely quiet.  Overall pretty easy sailing but the odd night of vicious and frequent squalls plus the boat’s constant rolling and rocking over 16 days made landfall even more sweet.

“The time gone has been good;

the time to come will be even better.” 

The cry of cabin boys at every Change of Watch on Columbus’s ships. 15^th c.

Westward Drift

X-ing File #4_Cape Verdes to the Caribbean (hopefully!)

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus".  (1484-86)  Source: Wiki

A few will recognise the amazing painting above by Botticelli (in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery).  Meet Miss Venus floating on her craft of a beautiful shell (perhaps it’s an early version of the outrageously expensive Oyster).  Anyway, back to the painting.  Cute zephyrs create a gentle breeze to waft her to shore, where attendants await with a heavily embroidered silk cloak.  Let me tell you, sailing in the Trades is nothing like that.  Even remotely.

The Cap’n suggested that we might have done better if GS had removed a few garments too (Venus does look great, does she not?).  Aside from the obvious nightly wind chill factor necessitating thermals and bruises from being battered as we rocked and rolled along, we always wore our most basic safety gear, a harness and tether.  Sea boots completed the attractive ensemble so there’s no slipping on deck.  So, in all, GS imagined that dressed as suggested, even Venus would have been more suitably attired for an Oxford Street Mardi-Gras, After-Party.  (As we moved further west and into warmer weather, we could generally dispense with the outer armour - heavy duty wet-weather gear bib & brace pants and jacket. We later relished the opportunity to sit in shorts & tees.)

In all, we sailed 2110nm; probably more given Bert’s (Hydrovane) tendency to slew with the swell.  Our initial intention was to head for Barbados but as we were able to maintain a good course, plans changed and we stayed high to make for Antigua.  That decision added a couple of extra days & miles, but would place us further up the Caribbean island chain, saving a few weeks on our float plan at least.  Besides, Antigua has wonderful anchorages.  English Harbour was one of our favourites when we sailed through in 2008.

Initially, conditions out of the Cape Verdes were still subject to strong North Easterlies, which created a bit of turbulence.  After a couple of days, we cleared and caught the E Trades and settled in for the long haul.  In all we had some good winds which helped push us along, especially at night, so managed to make Antigua in 16 days despite the ongoing presence of swell from various directions giving us a constant rock-rolling.  However, the Atlantic decided we were far too complacent so ensured a rugged “farewell” for our last few days.  We flew round the island’s southern tip at dawn and thankfully into easier conditions before flinging out the hook in Falmouth Harbour.

So, what did we do to amuse ourselves? 

#  Sailing through star filled skies at night was a bonus.  Bioluminescence in the breaking crests and wake at night was equally fascinating.

#  Alfa Male flying fish gave us some amusement with their attempts to clear the dodger side-on with a single leap.  We figured they had set bets within the school!  Some of course, didn’t make it (natural selection in action?) and hit the deck.  The Cap’n added fish removal to his daily chore list.  No, we didn’t fish, nor did we cook the flying fish.  We did open some cans of ‘dolphin-free’ fish, however.

#  Given the conditions, cooking was a severely reduced affair; tins of sardines, baked beans or 2 Min Noodles were generally the go.  The Cap’n resorted to his “ration pack” approach whilst GS designated the galley a no-go (or rarely-go) zone.

#  The Cap’n read & GS did not.  But we all know he can read hanging upside down underwater in a hurricane. 

#  Luckily, he also got most of the ship-dodging action on his shifts.  This gave him opportunity to play with his AIS and radar.  I think we saw 4 freighters in all. Two, given the wide expanse of the Atlantic, came within a nautical mile of us.  Much. Too. Close.

We also celebrated Australia Day mid-Atlantic
by wearing shorts, tees & no shoes

Lastly, and most certainly mid-Atlantic, we had a Bermuda Triangle of breakdowns.  First, the generator refused to start.  Keeping the batteries fully charged became an issue given that the new 8V fridge/freezer was using up a lot of WJ3’s generated solar power.  GS had found a leg of NZ lamb deep in a supermarket freezer in Lagos.  It needed to stay frozen until journey’s end for a celebratory dinner (and the Cap’n is being held to his promise of another bottle of Moet!). 

With the generator down for the count, the battery regulator decided not to charge up the ‘house” batteries.  Meaning even less power available.  Charging of essentials only was the order of the day, with the computerised charts accessed only when updating the ship’s log.  

With reduced C-Map charting facilities, the back-up was focused on Navionics on the iPad.  Right there in the middle of the Atlantic, our iPad cried for Internet connection and given that we couldn’t give it one or iTunes*, had a hissy fit and would not allow us access.  At all.  Wasn’t that convenient and so lucky we’d downloaded a ton of e-books for the trip.  Sigh.

We found this Westward Drift far more taxing than our Eastward Glide in 2011.  We’ve since read others describe the east-going route as having stronger winds and heavier seas, recommending previous heavy weather experience and carrying a drogue (we did) before attempting it.  We must have been rather fortunate; very fortunate.

*FYI.  This iPod (his) was lost at sea, along with both the Admiral’s & the Captain’s cups some time ago.  If found, please return.  All is forgiven.

Slow Boat to China

Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands

Farewelled from Mindelo, Cape Verdes by that Yachting Great, Jimmy Cornell. **
With him, to the left, is Greg (SY Sandro) one of 2017/18 Odyssey participants

Our tenth sailing season, 2017, came to a close during our downhill race to the Cape Verde Islands.  We tried to celebrate, we really did but somehow at midnight shift handover, and on an alcohol-free ride, New Year’s didn’t quite bring out the fun side in us…  (Yes children, you see your parents are not (entirely) fuddy duddies.).  Given that the Cap’n has been away from home for 5 months too, this seemed the appropriate occasion to add up the yearly stats: 

From: Lagos, Portugal Lat/Long: 37:06.45N 08:40.27W  Date/Time: 2/11/17: 1510

To: Mindelo, Cape Verdes Lat/Long: 16:53.167N 24:59.447W  Date/Time: 5/01/18: 1505

Time Taken: (this year): 314 hrs  Distance: (this year): 1733nm

Distance Total: (since 2008): 20011.5nm   Congratulations to us for making the big 20K mileage!!  Clearly, we’re not slouches…

Weather: Forecasts must be like rules – made to be broken (or over-complicated).  Very little matched conditions as we dropped south.

Fastest Speed: We had a few wild rides this season but I guess, it is winter here in the Med.

Let the next season, 2018, begin.  On with the show: “A Slow Boat to China”.  Err…let’s make that the Caribbean!

** As we were leaving Mindelo, Cape Verdes, yachts in Jimmy Cornell's Caribbean Odyssey were arriving.  How exciting to meet the man himself, even if only as we cast off docklines.  According to his bio, he has amassed 200,000nm; 3 circumnavigations; voyages to both Arctic and Antarctic; instigated the now famous ARC in 1986; put together that wonderful wealth of information for cruisers, Noonsite; and now runs the Atlantic & Caribbean Odyssey. The Cap'n, among many others at the dock, was star-struck!