Andros and Nassau

We have now been in the Bahamas for 10 days and the 2 ½ months it took us to get here now are a distant memory. After checking in at Cat Cay we left the following morning for a 70+ mile trip to Andros Island. Because we can’t make that much headway during daylight hours we decided to go as far as daylight would take us and anchor out on ‘the banks’. This is essentially a long stretch of water that is about 9-12 feet deep….and get this Kemah folks…you can see the bottom! We had a nice relaxing sail and the winds dropped to 5 knots for the night so a peaceful sleep. The next morning we made our way to the Northwest Channel marker. This marks the top end of the Tongue of the Ocean which is VERY deep. Again the depth meter went to - - - quickly and the water turned that amazing color of blueberries again. We had wonderful wind and amazingly from the right direction so we sailed the whole way to Morgan’s Bluff at the north end of Andros Island.

After anchoring we went inside the breakers to a small commercial fishing harbor of the main harbor. We were immediately greeting by Jim, aka ‘Local Knowledge’. Jim gave us the rundown of what to do in the immediate area as well as a description of all the boat dwellers in the inner harbor. For the most part these boats had some type of issue (waiting for boat parts, lost their cruising partner, or simple just didn’t want to leave the comforts of a snug harbor). There was a bar/restaurant at the end of the inner harbor where we enjoyed an evening of liming with the locals and playing pool.

Mija and Chula enjoyed the beach! They were finally able to run free and get full of sand. Ah, the beginning of battling sand on and in the boat! We spend several days comfortably sitting out some strong southerly wind. We had planned to leave on Tuesday but as the weather often does…the forecast advanced so the north winds were going to be coming in strong by midnight on Monday. We quickly stocked up on water, chatted with our neighbors (Windswept Dreams) and we both weighed anchor and headed across the Tongue of the Ocean to Nassau which has good protection from all winds. At one point the winds clocked up to 34 knots but we had perfect wind direction so were snuggled in nicely by Monday night.

About the water on Andros! There was a ship called Titus that would come into the harbor every day and load 4 million gallons of water for the Nassau area. Andros just happens to have a large supply of fresh water so it is one of those rare instances where you can get fresh water without paying for it in the Bahamas.

As luck would have it, we dropped our hook east of the bridges in Nassau and haven’t slipped or moved yet! We have heard that the holding isn’t that good in the Nassau harbor due to currents/tides but so far…so good! Windswept Dreams (Ann and Ed) took a slip at a marina right next to our anchorage and as it turns out we were anchored right next to friends they had met last year (Wayne and Beth) on Gypsy Moon. The next night we had homemade banana dessert on Windswept and played our first game of Mexican Train (dominoes)!

We have been exploring island and having a good time. One day we dinghied over to the Atlantis Resort to check out how the other half lives! The dinghy dock is at the back end of the channel so we had a chance to pass all the mega-yachts at their marina. You can see that some of them even dwarf Atlantis!

It was decided that we all wanted to explore the rest of the island so Boto, Windswept Dreams and Gypsy Moon rented a van for $59.00 and off we went. Vicky tried to negotiate with some of the scooter vendors but after watching how crazy the drivers are on New Providence we decided it would be best to have some metal armor around us. We took off to the northwest making our way to the southwest part of the island. It is a beautiful area with a lot of hotels and some very nice residences. The beaches were beautiful. It was interesting to actually see how much construction was started but never finished. I bit like Mexico.

We went to the Clifton National Park where you could find old plantation ruins and steps that used to lead to the shore where deliveries were made to the islands in the early days and then later on this is where the slave ships arrived.

Onward to enjoy a true Bahamian lunch of Cracked Conch, beans and rice, macaroni and coleslaw...and of course a Kalik. After lunch we drove to the east end of the island and back home. After sitting in much traffic we can’t really say we miss driving all that much. It is much quicker to get from one end of town to the other in our dinghy!
Monday we will be heading to the Exumas! We will make our way to Allan’s Cay and then down the chain in a leisurely fashion.

More to follow!

Adios and Via Con Dios:We're Leaving Today

Taking liberty with a line from "Toes" by Zac Brown, we are leaving and as we write this we have left. We departed Marathon Key and Boot Key Harbor on Tuesday 1/19/10, after two wonderful weeks of COLD and DAMP weather. The wonderful part is the people we met; it's amazing, meet someone for all of five minutes and you are now pals, more than five minutes and you are part of the family. Something born of being in the same boat, literally and figuratively. While in Boot Key we didn't get a chance to meet everyone, primarily because most folks, us included, spent the period of 1/6-1/15 before the heaters; crowded around the propane stove; wrapped in a blanket or someone elses arms (oops didn't mean to give anything away); in short it was damn (pardon me) cold. All of the sudden the weather cleared, warmed and folks emerged from the hulls in shorts and tees, and started to visit one another. We enjoyed an impromtu concert from the comforts of our dinghy, along with another two or three dozen dinks, broadcast from the cockpit of one of our neighbors: Classical Guitar coupled with Opera Arias and the occasional homespun favorite like "I Don't Know". All in all our stay in Boot Key was fun, capped by a visit from John and Peggy and a wonderful dinner ashore.

Tuesday, 1/19/10 we are off at the ungodly hour of 0900, headed for Rodriquez Key off Key Largo. Winds are forecast at NNW 10k which actually means they will be ENE 10-15k as we are heading in an ENE direction, and thankfully the universe according to the weather forecast holds true as we motor into 15k winds for seven hours, alas, we make a wonderful anchorage before sunset on the SSE side of Rodriquez Key and have a non eventful night on the hook. Oh, by the way this part of the trip saw our first SEA TURTLE, yep a big one too.


Captains Log: Wednesday-January 20, 2010 (Stardate ?????) we're up and at 'em at 0500, anchor up at 0645 after double and triple checking the weather and we are off across the Gulf Stream and the Florida Straights. Talk about a non-event, whatever wind there is, is of course on the nose and the waves are the gentle swells are few and far between. The inky black/blue water begins about 10nm off Rodriquez Key, another 5nm and the depth finder stops working as we move from hundereds of feet to thousands and then who knows. By the by, the depth finder doesn't work again for about eight hours until we approach Honeymoon Harbor on Gun Cay and things go from beep, beep, beep to 50 feet real quick. Oh then they go to 20 feet, then 10 feet, get the picture. Well it wakes you up.



Flying Fish! Tiny, mid-size bird like creatures that create a wake (and kinda scare the hell out of you at first) and actually FLY for a good distance. Well there are many of these happy fish along our route. Other than the inky,rolling blackness of the ocean we are ALL ALONE, there are no other vessels on the horizon.

We anchor in Honeymoon Harbor on the north end of Gun Cay at N25*35.274W79*18.235 in 8 feet of water, a mere 100yds from the beach, this will keep Ed awake. This calls for a toast!However, our crew sleeps the sleep of the just and innocent. Ha. We are up early Thursday the 21st by a rocking anchorage as the wind and waves increase and swing. We pull anchor at 0800 and head around Gun Cay cut looking for a place to drop the hook and wait for the sun to get a little higher before we try to work our way through the coral heads into Cat Cay Yacht Club. Well, the hook just doesn't work! After rounding Gun Cay light and its breakers we figure we are ready for the coral heads and head on into the Yacht Club, we need a break. Tied up and secured by 1100, we cleared customs and immigration and are now flying the Bahamas courtesy flag, officially in the Islands.

It's been two and a half months and a few storms but BOTO and her crew; Vicky, Ed, Mija and Chula are now on Island Time. Chula said,'Ed, Mon! Dude, it is bright here! Give me your shades!'


We'll be in touch.

Ready to leave the States?

Where to begin its been almost three weeks, and we've started a new year. Well, Happy New Year to everyone. We spent two full weeks in Key West, enjoying all that the town has to offer, from its nonstop parties, to the wonderful old neighborhoods with the great houses. When you visit be sure to sample the fun along Duval Street, but make sure to get off the beaten path and see the surrounding neighborhoods.

There are great places to eat and the locales are always friendly, check out the Coffee Plantation on Caroline or have a pint at Finnegan's Wake. However you spend a visit, make a trip to the end of the line.

Celebrating the New Year in Key West has its own appeal, and by the time the party was over we were definitely ready to move on. The weather doesn't always cooperate and although New Years Eve and New Years Day were great, the first night of the new year really cranked up the winds and the waves. Boto drug her anchor resulting in our having to pull up and reset elsewhere, all after dark; this turned out to be fortuitous, as long about 2100hrs there was some excitement when another boat broke free of its mooring and ran helter skelter through the anchorage, directly through where we had been anchored, better lucky.

After several days with our friends Paul and Sharleen it was back to reality for them and time to plan our next leg, jumping off on a nice clear sunny, if cold and windy January 5th, we took the short hop up the east coast of the Keys to Marathon and Boot Key Harbor.

Here is where you will find the flotilla waiting for the perfect weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. Some folks come for a week and stay for a year, others make a month or two of it. We've been here two weeks now waiting for the cold winds to blow out and for the weather to move to the SE to give us a nice smooth ride across to Cat Cay, our choice of gateway to the Islands. As we sit here on a warm (75*) rainy day we are all set with food and drink, fuel and water. There will be a number of boats heading across in the next several days so we will not get lonely out there and it's really a short trip, actually two short trips. A hop north to Rodriquez Key (40nm) then across to Cat/Gun Cays (60nm). With our boat speed of 6.5k and the Gulf Stream at 3+k, well make the trip across in day light and find a nice place to rest up before crossing the Bahamian Bank towards the Berry Islands where we will turn south and head along the Tongue of the Ocean (REALLY DEEP, 2,000+ ft) on our way to the Exumas. After that who knows, but we're sure that after all of this stress and strain of getting here we'll need a vacation, good thing we'll already be in the islands.