So…what have I been doing all this time. Well, I liked the Exumas well enough that I stayed there for a couple of months, mostly in the Georgetown, Exuma area. The weather over the winter was quite good. For much of the time I was anchored in the lee of the easterly trade winds off the west side of Stocking Island, which is across Elizabeth Harbor from Georgetown, making the anchorage much quieter. I did a lot of exploring of Stocking Island as it had numerous hiking trails that crisscrossed the island, plus miles of sandy beaches to walk and swim off, both on the ocean side and the harbor side. I found a couple of great Tiki Bars on the island as well, Big D’s and Chat & Chill. It was fun to dinghy ashore for a unique rum punch from each place. Once a week Bid D’s had an evening bonfire on the beach, so groups would get together and drink and have dinner ashore by the fire.
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| Big D's Tiki Bar & Grill |
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| Stocking Island |
But, eventually it came time to leave the Georgetown area and begin to head north. In early March I started the journey back to the Abacos. I spent time at Stocking Cay (as opposed to Stocking Island), which was formerly a research center that had been closed for a couple of years. Did lots of hiking and beach walking for nearly a week as the weather was not particularly suitable for transit in the ocean. The water was still clean and clear, and all shades of blue. Hopefully the center will find funding to continue its work before all the facilities become too run down to be usable. From Stocking Cay, I went to Little Farmer’s Cay and spent a couple of days. This was a small cay with a small settlement, and an airstrip. The people were wonderful and friendly, the drinks cheap, and the food good, with lots of fresh fish. I then went to Black Point settlement for a few days on Guana Cay, Exuma. Among other things, I did laundry there, one of those things that need doing even in paradise. Then it was on to Staniel Cay, known for having a grotto on a small cay just off its shore where the James Bond movies were filmed, to pick up water and diesel fuel. As I continued north, up the Exuma chain, I arrived at the Exuma Land and Sea Park, and spent time on several of the cays in the park, including Cambridge, Warderwick Wells, and Hawksbill Cays. Did swimming and snorkeling at Cambridge and Hawksbill cays, and spent 5 days at Warderwick Wells walking trails, sunbathing on deserted beaches, and snorkeling. A period of good weather was imminent, so I continued north to Highbourne Cay and prepared for a crossing to Eleuthera (bought fuel and water).
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| Land & Sea Park |
A little after the middle of March, I did the crossing from Highbourne Cay, Exuma across Exuma Sound to Rock Sound, Eleuthera in a day. A couple of days were spent walking the settlement of Rock Sound, meeting the people, searching out bars/restaurants, and seeing the sights. Then I took NAVIGATOR to Hatchet Bay, which is surrounded by Alice Town, Eleuthera. Spent another few days here learning about the people and enjoying the bars and restaurants. There are only a few hundred inhabitants in the settlement of Alice Town, but all seemed very friendly and helpful to cruisers, like most everywhere in Eleuthera and the Exumas.
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| Sunset off Eleuthera |
Another weather window was opening for the crossing to the Abacos, so it was time to leave Hatchet Bay and head to Royal Island Sound, Royal Island being off the northwest shore of Eleuthera. Only one night was spent at Royal Island Sound, which was not bad as there is really nothing to do on Royal Island since the resort closed, before heading for the Abacos. The next morning fleet of 6 sailboats left Royal Island Sound at about 5:00 AM in route Little Harbour, Abacos, with NAVIGATOR in the lead. We made good time so I bypassed Little Harbour inlet and took NAVIGATOR into the Sea of Abaco through North Bar Channel, which is a much better inlet than Little Harbour. As I had made good time, I continued on to Marsh Harbour, Abaco for its protection as the wind was expected to become stronger the next day (which it did). It is now the end of March, and I have nearly a month to spend in the Abacos before returning to the States. I did some sailing to the outlying cays, including Great Guana, Elbow Cay, Talloo, and Linyard Cays. Did a lot of healthy walking around Marsh Harbour and the beaches of the cays. Went out to dinner several times to a couple of good restaurants, including Firefly’s on Elbow Cay and The Jib Room in Marsh Harbour. Also did the pig roast at Nipper’s on Great Guana Cay as well. But all good things must end, it seems, so I had to begin my plan to cross the Gulf Stream back to the US. The problem was the weather did not want to cooperate. The wind started to blow, and the seas built, some days to as much as 8-10 feet. So the plan became to go out into the ocean for a short passage round Whale Cay on the first day the seas dropped to 3-4 feet, then spent time at Powell Cay waiting for the seas in the Gulf Stream to die down to 3-5 feet. Powell Cay provided me access to the internet through my cell phone card so I could keep an eye on the weather. I needed to plan three days in advance of a crossing as it takes two days to get to the Gulf Stream from Powell Cay. When I saw a window approaching, I headed out to Great Sale Cay, and spent the first night there. The next morning I made a short run to Mangrove Cay and spent the afternoon and evening there trying to get a little sleep, then took off for the edge of the Little Bahama Bank at 10:00 PM at night to begin the crossing. I had estimated 6 hours to the edge of the Bank, but it only took 5, so I reached the edge of the Gulf Stream shortly after 3:00 AM on Thursday, April 25th and the crossing began, in the dark with 3-4 foot seas. As the morning wore on, the seas built to 3-5 feet, before subsiding to 2-3 feet about 2 hours out from Fort Pierce inlet in Florida.
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| Marsh Harbour |
I made the inlet by noon, and Harbor Town Marina by 1:00 PM. Spent the afternoon checking in with Customs and Immigration with the help of friends from Satellite Beach, Rick and Clayton, driving me to the airport to meet with Immigration. We had dinner at the marina before Rick headed home to Satellite Beach. Clayton stayed on board helping me bring NAVIGATOR up the Waterway to Satellite Beach, with a one night stop at Vero Beach.
We got into the Banana River at Satellite Beach around 2:00 PM and anchored, then took the dinghy ashore to their house on a canal in Satellite Beach. I have been enjoying their hospitality for nearly a week now, but I will head out tomorrow (Friday, May 3) on the journey north up the Intracoastal Waterway.
I hope everyone had as enjoyable a winter as I did. I will let you know when I get into Chesapeake Bay.
Cliff Baker
S/V NAVIGATOR
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