The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell is an aptly named narrow passage with lots of shoals and contrary currents. I had transited this before in Daisy, but never at low tide!  The least depth that I recorded going through this time was 4.2 feet. Sirius draws 4 feet. At that moment I decided that since I was passing through the Gates of Hell, it was probably too late to pray for salvation. 

After making landfall at Cape Canaveral, Nina and I hadn't gone very far up the Florida ICW when she got word that her Aunt Annie had died suddenly. Annie lived with Nina's mom, and Nina decided to go to Arcadia to be support for her mom and to help with things that needed done. Within an hour of getting the news, she was packed, we had arranged for a car rental, and I had dropped her off in Daytona. I will miss her for the journey up the coast, but she is definitely where most needed. After taking care of things in Florida, Nina and her mom decided to drive to Michigan to visit with another terminally ill sister of her mom's. 

Here on the boat I have been plugging along northward at a decent pace, it took four more days to reach Georgia, then four to South Carolina. I am presently in Beaufort, SC and getting some needed rest, and shower. 

After passing through Hells Gate in Georgia I came to Moon River which, I believe, is the actual place that inspired the song. 

"Dream maker,

You old heart breaker,

Wherever you're going,

I'm going your way. "

Two drifters,

Off to see the world. 

There's such a lot of world to see. 

We're after the same rainbow's end,

Waiting round the bend. 

My Huckleberry friend,

Moon River, and me. "

Uh Oh, not a good thing. 

A gathering of egrets in coastal Florida

Must be the south land. At least the confederate flag is under the USA flag tho it is also considerably larger. 

I'm reading a very informative book called, The Sixth Extinction, An Unnatural History. It explores the five known mass extinctions that have happened over the history of life on the Earth and makes the case that one is also happening now. The last chapter was about the coral reef ecosystems which are largely expected to be gone by the end of the century due to the acidification of the oceans. Even the protected reef systems such as we have been visiting in the Bahamas can't be protected from changes in the ocean. 

Y'all keep in touch, hear?

Back In the USA

Actually the last posting was sent after picking up 3G off the US coast. For weeks I could not get anything to post from the Bahamas in spite of being hooked to wifi. 

We left Nassau early am three days ago, made a brief 6 hour anchor on the Great Bahamas Banks, to get some sleep, With a fairly short window of fair weather, we were heading for Fort Pierce, but got such a boost from the Gulf Stream (Sirius was going 5 knots through the water, but 7.5 to 8 knots over the ground) that we changed course for Cape Canaveral, and arrived last night. In mid Gulf Stream, a little hitchhiker joined us for a several hour visit. He seemed to have no fear of us and flitted about the cockpit then went down inside the cabin and checked things out, including landing on Nina's leg. She tried feeding him some water and flax seeds, but he had no interest. Several times he flew away, made a circle around the boat, then came back and landed again. At the time he visited, it was nearly fifty miles to land in any direction. 

Nina needs to be back home by April 15, so we are on a fast track for heading north to the Chesapeake. If weather doesn't cooperate, she may need to jump ship somewhere enroute for a flight back. 

Starry Starry Night

"I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies I no longer touch the earth with my feet: I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia."

                     Ptolemy

Being far from the light pollution of cities, we have had many black sky nights in which the stars seem so clear and three dimensional. We first check on Sirius lying down off Orion's belt, then Polaris which does, after all, point the way home. It's impossible to sit under all those stars and planets and not lean at least a little toward philosophy. 

We stayed two days at Rock Sound. One of those days was spent combing beaches on the NE (Atlantic) side of Eluthera. The best sea-bean day yet. It was several miles across the island and we were hesitant to set off on this trek. (The blazing sun has a way of shriveling up your energy when walking.)  A couple from another sailboat told us that it's very acceptable to hitchhike around on the island and that cars almost always stop and offer a ride. We set out down the narrow road and gave a little shake of the hand (the Bahamian method of "thumbing") to the first car that came along. An older gentleman stopped and drove us across to our destination in spite of the fact that there was no room in his car and we had to squeeze our selves in amongst his possessions. We had previous knowledge about Rosie's Northside restaurant, having been told that she is an amazing cook. Rosie's place is perched on a knoll under Palm trees looking out over the cobalt blue water. Her place is decorated entirely with things that have washed up on the beach. Turns out she is an avid beach comber, and offered to drive as a few miles down the way from which we could walk the beach one-way back to her place. I was coughing some from a recent cold, and on the way she stopped at a large bush and picked some branches and leaves. She told us to make a tea with it and that it always stops a cough. I am ashamed to admit that I cannot report on its efficacy as the tea never got made. (I might have sorta' hid the branches in a locker on the boat.). After returning from the beach hike, we had a very Bahamian meal of jerk chicken, peas and rice, and fried plantain. After dinner, Rosie decided to run us back across the island as she wasn't busy. I do believe that this small bundle of energy woman single-handedly does more than any tourism bureau to promote the Bahamas. 

Rosie's beach

The back deck

Nina and Rosie

Ocean hole- in the middle of town

Ocean hole

It was with mixed feelings that we weighed anchor early the next morning enroute to the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park. We really enjoyed our time cruising the west coast of Eluthera Island. Lots of remote beaches, great little towns and settlements, and some of the friendliest people anywhere. 

Oh, I forgot to mention that when we were enroute to Rock Sound we picked up a mayday call on the VHF radio sent out by a frantic sounding woman on a sailboat a couple of miles away whose boyfriend was kiteboarding and was bitten by a shark, tho at the time she thought he was stung by a stingray. Some medical folks headed out from nearby in a powerboat and got to him in 20 minutes. They took him to a waiting van ashore, then to Rock Sound for a med-evac to Nassau. We found out later at Rock Sound that he bled out and died before arriving there. It was with all of this in mind that we headed for the  Land and Sea Park where we do a lot of snorkeling. 

On the way across to the Exumas, Nina caught a large Mahi Mahi while trolling under sail. This fish provided three dinners and lunch sandwiches. Delicious food, but always the sadness at causing the death of such a beautiful creature. 

First stop in the Exumas was at Warderick Wells to check in with the park and join the support fleet which helps a very underfunded park keep going. We snorkled Ranger's Reef, and "son of a gun" saw either 4 sharks or the same shark 4 times which is probably worse. On the last sighting, it made a pass close to us, and we decided we were done snorkeling for the day. From all available info, this was probably a reef shark. We didn't have the presence of mind to get a good close-up photo. 

Hiking up the dreaded Boo Boo Hill

Another summit in the bag

Since then we have been slowly visiting some of the more southern cays in the park; Cambridge Cay, O'Brian's Cay where the beautiful "Sea Acquarium" snorkle site is located, and most recently, The sheltered cove at Hog Cay which was a known hang-out for pirate ships. The cove concealed their ships while allowing them easy access to trade ships coming from the Carribean onto the Bahamas Banks. Ashore is a fresh water well and a large flat area where the Pirates spread their mats and slept and did whatever pirates do when taking a break from plundering. The mats that they used carried seeds from other places that they visited such as Louisana. As a result there is a growth of Palm trees and other plants that that are not found elsewhere. 

Solving the worlds problems with other sailors on the beach

Nina scrubbing growth from the waterline

What's it all about, Alfie?

The Pirates Lair

The well at the Pirates lair

These guys are everywhere

We are getting very low on water (the well at the Pirates Lair did not seem appealing, so will be heading for Nassau in the next couple days. Having refrigeration has been a huge improvement over Daisy for keeping fresh foods, but the down side has been having to run the engine several hours a day when it would not otherwise be needed. Top priority for next year will be the installation of solar panels. 

Since our first encounter with sharks, we have not seen any others in many hours of snorkeling, other than a small nurse shark. Almost every reef that we visit seems to have a resident barracuda who follows us around and keeps an eye on us. 

Next wifi will be in Nassau, will check in then. 

Dances With the Wind

Since leaving Marsh Harbor on 2/22, we have been waltzing with the wind. Good breeze today, step, step, step, strong northerly tomorrow, rest, rest, favorable wind, step, step, step, Swing your partner. Plan where to go, but watch those plans change. 

Snorkled Sandy Cay; the reef was a bit deep for snorkeling, more of a dive site. It was pretty rough, as well. Nina was exposed to some sort of toxic agent on the snorkle. She had quick burning on her leg and arm followed by almost immediate nausea, followed by an intensely itching rash for 5 days. She's ok now and, of course, cannot be kept out of the water. That nite, we anchored next to "Rag Doll" behind Lynard Cay, both of us hiding from the northeast swell. Next morning at 6:30am both boats passed thru Little Harbor Cut into the Atlantic Ocean for the 50 mile crossing to Eluthera Island. We just made it thru the cut at Egg Island before dark, and to a secure anchorage at Royal Island. Next day, crew of Sirius did some dinghy exploration around Royal and Egg Islands, including some snorkeling. 

Next day, we motored into Spanish Wells where we spent a night at the dock, and got a shower ashore. Spanish wells is named for the plentiful water that the Spanish explorers found there. We were kind'a put off by the water's brown color though, and decided to consume bottled water. In Spanish Wells, we continued our quest for the perfect mango sorbet. We have been completely spoiled by the sorbet at "Mo Mo's Sugar Shack" in Green Turtle Cay. None since has been able to measure up. I somehow failed to get a photo of the Sugar Shack or of Mo Mo who, at about 300 pounds, really seemed to have found her niche. 

Next, we moved south to Hatchet Bay where we really enjoyed wandering around the settlement of Alicetown, meeting a few of the very friendly locals, and eating at Twin Brothers ("as seen in the NY Times") I don't know about the NY Times thing, but the Bahamian food was great, and the price very reasonable. I give it 41/2 stars. We were the only ones eating there, and hung out for about 3 hours, charging the computer and watching FOX news😝. Learned that the world was in nearly the same place as several months ago. 

Sirius anchored Hatchet Bay

3/2. Today we beat against the wind about 15 miles south to Governor's Harbor, and plan to hike across to the windward side of the island to beachcomb. We are told that Eluthera is one of the best places to find the elusive sea-bean. Google sea bean for more info. 

3/3. We took a long (and hot) hike across Eluthera and down one of the endless beaches. Shortly after we got to the beach a pooch came out of the bushes and joined us for our hike along the water. A very happy, carefree seeming gal and a welcome addition to our party. (We miss our dogs). She kept digging holes in the sand and sticking her head in them. She disappeared again when we finished walking on the beach. 

Governor's Harbor was a delightful town with large old houses with bright red Bouganvilla crawling along the top of fences and walls. Lots of chickens (many with babies) wander around and scratch in the dirt. Reminds me of Key West. 

3/4. Sailed into about 20 kts wind this am enroute to what we thought was a marina. What we found we have renamed Derelict Harbour. We can find no sign of anyone here, the docks have gaping holes, and the boats that are tied to them are in various stages of deterioration, including a sunken sailboat. (Always disturbing to see leaning masts sticking up out of the water). We have tied up and will spend the night unless someone shows up and tells us otherwise. No water, showers, electric, or wifi to be found here. It feels a little like the Twilight Zone. 

Derelict sailboat; Sirius in background (still floating)

Photographed this boat four years ago in Bimini be caused I liked the name. Seems a bit worse for the wear now. 

We plan an early am departure tomorrow, and hope to make it to Rock Sound which will be our last stop on Eluthera before jumping across to Warderick Wells in the Exumas. Running out of time is preventing us from continuing further south along the outer easterly islands and cays. We must allow a minimum of 3 weeks to get back north to the Chesapeake Bay, so we'll be heading northward by the last week in March. 

I want to critique the Dana and compare it to our previous Flicka. I'll plan on doing this after our longer offshore run from the Bahamas up the US Eastern coast. 

Our dinghy ("Little Dipper"). alongside the sea wall at Governors Harbor. 

Entering the very narrow cut into Hatchet Bay