Well we’ve made it to the northern islands in the Exumas. This first week has been filled with beautiful clear water, sunny skies and a whole lot of wind! January seems to be an unpredictable month down here. One day it’s amazing- sunny, hot and fantastic. The next day there will be winds in the 20 knots and higher and storm clouds can roll in with these high winds.
We left Brown’s Marina in Bimini on Thursday, Jan. 24 with a south east wind (lots of it) and that made it very difficult to get out of the Bimini channel. We were also heading out at low tide (big mistake) and we ran aground many times as we pounded into the incoming waves. All I can say is I hope no one was watching! It took us almost an hour to get away from the channel and into deeper water where we could raise our sails and head north around the island! It was very stressful but we made it and finally got on course to cross the banks heading to Chub Cay. Well the prediction was for the SE winds to change to south and south west but that didn’t happen! We did some hard on the wind sailing and got to within 5 knots of the NW channel (a fairly narrow channel that leads from the banks to the deep waters heading to New Providence) when we decided to stop. We could see lightning in the distance and it was dark so we just dropped anchor in the middle of nowhere! Kind of a crazy feeling but it worked out perfectly.
In the morning, we had a great sail into the west side of New Providence (the island Nassau is on). The winds were from the west and we had an actual “fair wind and following seas” sail! It was marvellous! We anchored in a nice little bay for Friday night and had a good sleep.
Saturday morning brought more wind – lots more wind and again we decided to leave our little bay and head to the northern islands in the Exumas. We made this decision because a very big front was moving in from the Gulf of Mexico (the same front that caused a tornado in Havana) and it was predicted that the northern islands would see less of this front. So off we go into rough seas, high winds and sailing hard on the nose again! It was a fast sail and we made it into Allen’s Cay in the early after.
So here we are – sitting in Allen’s Cay caught between current and wind. We are bouncing and rolling and swinging all over the place but at least our lovely anchor has held fast! Today (Monday, Jan. 28), the front came through and it wasn’t too bad. The prediction was correct – we did see some rain and winds peaking in the 25 knots range. It was all over by mid afternoon and now the winds are dying down.
We have had some excitement at this anchorage. Last night a small sailboat came in and ran aground very close to us. Mark went out on the dinghy and tried to pull them off but it was low tide and it just didn’t work. And today (Monday) another sailboat (38ft monohaul) came into the anchorage. I saw them come in and when I went back up into the cockpit a few minutes later, I couldn’t see them anymore. I figured they left but then we heard a mayday call on the radio. That sailboat was on the rocks in one corner of the anchorage. We got in the dinghy and headed over to them. It was crazy! I’ve never seen a boat on the rocks like that – they had picked up some kind of fender or something. It got hooked on their anchor and then the rope wrapped around their propeller. It was awful. The man was in the water when we got there trying to free his propeller shaft of the rope. He didn’t even have a life jacket on or anything. He wanted us to pull his anchor out into the bay to help him get off but we just couldn’t move his anchor line. After 2 hours of trying to help, we left them there being bashed on the rocks. About 30 minutes after we left, a powerboat from a close marina got them off the rocks and towed them into the marina.
It was a very eye opening experience! We could see this rope around the propeller shaft and knew that if it wasn’t removed, there was no way for that boat to get off of the rocks. But the owner was more concerned about the side of his boat hitting the rocks. I’m sure he was in shock over the whole incident and not really able to think clearly. Lots of people came over to help out which was really cool to see.
So, we’ve had enough excitement and bouncing from this anchorage! Tomorrow we’ll make our way south, heading slowly to George Town! Hopefully the January crazy weather gives way to more settled February weather!
Hope you are all keeping warm and safe!
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 