Ambling
in the Abacos: December 28 2018
Yippee
- our cruising season has begun! This
cruising season we plan to travel from the Abacos in the north of the Bahamas
to the Exumas in the south and wrap up with one month in Key West. Our first stop in the Bahamas was Grand
Bahama Island – north of the Abacos and a perfect spot to start. It is a first visit for us but put on our
radar by friends on m/v Mandalay at Riverforest. They are correct – it is a gem. All checked in and tied up so we started our
first morning in the Bahamas with a walk and a cup of coffee around the grounds
of Old Bahama Bay Resort. The exuberant fishermen
from last night were departing and it would likely be just us few cruisers to
wait out the blow (12/19). Sliding in
just before the winds was s/v Wolfhound.
We went over and chatted with them and apologized for getting so close
while anchored back in West Palm Beach.
They were kind and said they were not worried – unlike with the French
who basically lean into you as they anchor – they felt we were miles away. Thanks for the understanding…and we agree
completely about the anchor habits of the French.
Onto
the crane dissection…on a work platform with a nice view. Chris degreased the leaking part and loaded
it up with JB Weld. Heck – it looked
like a silver version of a Maker’s Mark bottle.
Now it needs to be left alone to sit and set. So we took the chance to borrow bikes and
head into the West End Settlement.
“Bikes” is a strong descriptor for the transport; mismatched handle bars
and seats, rusted chains and odd bits missing here and there – like, say, a
pedal. However, they got us into the
settlement and back. West End is the
capital of the island whose original fame came from rum-running during
Prohibition. In the settlement there
were a few small markets that were neat as a pin; a 700 (liquor store);
fragrant (aka stinky), rotting conch shell middens dotted along the shore and a
bit of remaining hurricane devastation.
Freeport is also on this island and it is hard to imagine that its
commercial center was upstaged by sleepy West End but we like its sleepy vibe.
The
day ended with sundowners on the porch of the Old Bahama Bay bar with music by
cruisers; Jim and Bentley (s/v Salty Paws… saltypawsband.com) and Jane (m/v Old
Rosie). The harmonies were wonderful and
often familiar songs for all to sing along (John Denver was popular). It was a relaxed evening but the biting bugs
liked me WAY too much and I finally sought out bug spray. Sadly, the damage was already done and my
thighs were polka-dotted with bites.
Drat! Chris was definitely
smarter with his long pants.
We
woke up and started with double checking lines and fenders in anticipation of
the wind (12/20). At this point the JB
Weld has set so we reassembled the crane and tightened it down. Phew – it is all about being in the right
spot when weather comes. We are happy
not to be out in it; rather, in a marina where we can easily walk off the boat
onto grass covered lawns or sandy shores…and…avoid becoming a human kite. Neighbors Jessica and Brent (s/v Sea Duction)
came over for sundowners. We were on the
top deck where the winds whipped and the full enclosure rattled and flapped…but
our crackers didn’t fly away (and Brent clocked 33 knots on his wind meter –
monitored on his phone). They say that
you can carbon date a cruiser by their means of communication. Well, these guys had some new info for us
about VPNs (virtual private network).
Chris had looked into VPNs a few years ago but the process was
clunky. Today, it is quick and easy at
VPN Unlimited…at just $4/month (https://www.vpnunlimitedapp.com/en). We’ll give it a try in the hopes of getting
televised USA sporting events that are blocked in the Bahamas. Thanks for the tip!
The
winds continued which kept us largely boat bound (12/21). We watched the Duke basketball game via the
VPN (awesome) with a great win. And I
made gingerbread for the Marina office, Customs & Immigration…and Chris
(recipe below). The sun and clouds came
and went. Plus, rainbows appeared and
vanished throughout the day. Neighbor
sailboat windmeters clocked 40+ knot winds and offshore buoys stated 12ft waves
with 7 second periods – yuck. Everyone
is eyeing a Sunday departure (not the originally anticipated Saturday). We walked with a cocktail to the calm side of
the island to watch the sunset - what a difference that makes in wind strength. It was a tough night to sleep as the wind
clocked and new sounds sprouted at each degree change.
It
was a chilly morning but the winds are starting to calm (12/22). The massive storm has been throughout the
Bahamas as well as along the length of the eastern seaboard with winds and rain
and flooding. Okay, it’s time to dive
into the plumbing replacement of the guest shower. Chris squirmed and slithered into a tiny spot
to remove the old plumbing from the back and cap the water lines. What, could it be that the holes of the old
and new will line up?! Not exactly but
the amount of surgery needed is small. Initial
thoughts envisioned a giant cut in the shower wall with fiberglass to repair
and seal. This minimal surgery outcome
is much better.
Looks
like tomorrow is departure day so we walked along the beach, fresh water rinsed
the boat and filled the water tanks. All
cruisers have the same thought and decided for a no-more-blow sundowners pot
luck to celebrate. Old Bahama Bay had us
set-up on a balcony shaded from the wind which was super nice. It was a fun night with boat cards exchanged
and itineraries roughly planned out.
Even Mother Nature joined the party with an amazing Super Moon!
As
hoped, we tossed our lines from Old Bahama Bay as the sun came up (12/23). We were off along with the other cruisers
around Indian Rock, beside (shallow) Church Bank and into Little Bahama
Bank. It was a line of ducklings headed
for the Abacos! With the exception of
Marsh Harbor (2011) the last time we were in the Abacos was in 2006…eek…twelve
years ago. We look forward to seeing
places we missed back then as well as returning to familiar places. Tonight, Barefeet’s final destination in
these calm conditions is Cave Cay – a new anchorage for us. We were the only boat in the anchorage and
there was not even a house ashore. The
anchor was secure so we hopped into the dinghy and headed ashore. The shoreline was pulverized coral and shells
without any real treasures but exploration is always fun. Our first anchor in the Bahamas was great! Dinner was pizza and the Patriots’ game…with
a win. Yippee!
The
morning was chilly so we sparked up the generator (12/24). Yikes – that sounds awful! Our purring kitten was replaced with a
village of angry sprites banging hammers.
This was not in the plans at all.
The generator is necessary but redundancy means that the only thing
solely powered by the generator is the watermaker. The batteries and hot water can be topped up
with the engine which will keep all other systems running. This is going to take some thinking and we
should get to a larger island to sort it out…like Marsh Harbor. We pulled up the anchor and slid through a
narrow cut seeing 7.6ft at the shallowest point (our draft is 5ft5in). It was a short hop and we anchored in 9.5ft
at uninhabited Allans - Pensacola Cay – another new anchorage for us. Just four boats at anchor feels peaceful and
remote. Fun land exploration had us searching
for a massive naming tree loaded with flotsam labeled with boat names and dates. Paths had been cut across the island and
marked with whatever washed up on shore.
There were stacks of buoys marking path entrances and a shoe arch once
into the brush. There were faded fenders
and discarded jugs and bits of colorful discarded polypropylene rope. We had a couple false starts but we eventually
found the naming tree. And it definitely
looks like a Christmas tree trimmed by cruisers. It is Christmas Eve, after all, and we feel
festive.
The
hurdle between us and Marsh Harbor is the Whale Cay Cut. It is a narrow cut that can be treacherous to
pass through if conditions are not pretty benign as you exit the “inside” Sea
of Abaco out into the Atlantic Ocean (for about three miles) and then re-enter back
into the Sea of Abaco. We’ll see how the
day shakes out before making a final decision to pass or not. We pulled up the anchor at 6am with me in a
headlamp in the hopes of lighter conditions earlier in the day (12/25). Local insight is helpful and daily reports
are made about conditions in the cut; however, it is Christmas Day so we are
not sure if Barometer Bob will make a report today (http://barometerbob.org/). Instead, we put out a general information
call for conditions on VHF16. There is a
boat one hour ahead of us who will report back.
Nah – looks like another day would be better with current conditions of
confused seas and 3-4 foot waves eyeballed directly. No problem.
We’ll wait in Manjack Cay while the winds pass and the conditions
mellow. Plus, with Christmas Day and
Boxing Day holidays there would not be anyone around to look at our generator
anyway.
Instead,
we anchored close to shore for the most protection from approaching winds and headed
ashore to check out the mangroves.
Incidentally, the crane is doing great – slight leak remains but it’s working
well. Wow – the water is gin clear with
a bottom of white sand and swaying grass and edges lined with mangroves. The watery paths wind for quite awhile. We spotted a few lazy turtles but they swam
off without even deigning to poke their heads above the surface. Looks like there is plenty to explore while
we wait for the winds to pass. Back
aboard we clicked on Christmas tunes, enjoyed our decorations (thanks Mom) and
feasted on Chris’ famous chicken tikka masala.
Merry Christmas!
Our
protected spot at Manjack Cay creates a solid platform to continue the guest
shower plumbing replacement (12/26). You
may remember that when we got aboard in Stuart we noticed that the guest shower
was only dribbling water. Chris took this as a sign to rip out the
plumbing and get a "proper" thermostatic valve faucet installed (aka
water comes out at a determined/desired temperature). Gggrrr – one of the
two fittings does not give that satisfying “click” into place and continues to leak
(really?!). Excellent – it was the boat
inventory to the rescue. Hooray! The project was completed after again squirming
between and behind tanks and pipes in the engine room. Not to be left out
of the squirming fun Erin did a double-check that no leaks were happening. Check.
The
generator is still an issue that has us scratching our heads and wringing our hands. Chris called around now that Christmas and
Boxing days are done but adding vacations to the mix means mechanics are slim
pickings. The mechanic in Marsh Harbor
is on vacation until Jan 2 but we found someone in Green Turtle who is
around…but will the winds die enough to move and will there be room for us at a
dock?! There is nothing to do but wait
to see how the weather turns in a couple of days.
We
relaxed and read until the afternoon when we headed ashore to the Art Trail
(12/27). It is another shaded path with
bits of art scattered along the trail. Everything
is made from flotsam that has washed ashore or bits of nature that have blown
down…all with the addition of a splash of paint or a snip of string. Flotsam is cool and people are super
creative. There were some spooky things,
some whimsical and some funny. There was
a broken hockey stick, floats assembled to be scarecrows, a roller hockey
medal, float and net painted to look like an alien, bits of driftwood shaped
and painted into animals - wow. They
were fun to spot and the wind was kept (mostly) at bay.
We
are modifying our power habits with the dead generator. The engine is run for topping up the
batteries and making hot water; however, if we can reduce our power needs that
would reduce the amount of time the engine needs to be run. Back aboard we had chicken stir fry for
dinner in the mind-set of consolidating our US bought meat into a single
freezer. That is really a bit of a pipe
dream because we just started the season and two freezers are pretty full. The generator saga continues and is a tough
one which leaves us wringing our hands for the way the season will unfold if
the generator is out of the mix of our power options.
The
winds howled overnight at Manjack Cay but mellowed as the sun came up
(12/28). We fortified ourselves with
breakfast burritos and Barometer Bobs weather forecast. Okay, looks good to make the one hour move
for a generator consult if we can find dock space (might be tough with all this
wind which has had boaters hunkered down).
First, George Cross (242-577-5175) answered his phone and can see the
generator in Green Turtle and second, we found room at Leeward Yacht Club
docks…and a face dock to boot – we love face docks (https://leewardyachtclub.com/). I scooted to the market to buy a couple of
ingredients to make torta di riso in order to keep occupied and for an easy
breakfast tomorrow (recipe below). I started
the walk to town and was quickly offered a ride by Gus in his golf cart. Gus has been coming to Green Turtle for six
years and loves it. Dropped at the
market and purchases made I headed back to Barefeet. Hey, there’s Gus again and I got a ride along
with nice conversation. Thanks Gus.
Back
aboard and George is nuzzled up to the generator. George says we need hearing education - the
sound we hear is not a clang but a pop and likely a valve issue. This is way down the food chain of complex
issues so we are getting excited. Here
goes - the sound was caused by a loose nut on one of the rocker arms which kept
an exhaust valve closed all the time. Chris thought it was a piston
problem and we were doomed. In hindsight, Chris might have seen the loose
nut if he took off the valve cover but the sound was just too depressing.
After George’s review only one nut was loose - George checked them all and all
were fine and solid. George chuckled and said that Chris must have been distracted as he
worked through the eight nuts with feeler gauges previously. Problem solved and we
have a new item on our shopping list for go/no go feeler gauges - cool
gadgets. Another tip was the use of a simple pen and paper chart with
hash marks when each nut is checked once...generator run...and re-checked. This is a HUGE relief. George will return in the morning for a final
tune up but we are thrilled with this outcome.
Not to mention that George is a cool guy with stories about Green Turtle
go back to the 80’s.
Rumor
has it that there is live rake and scrape music at Pineapples Bar and Grill
(and a burger). We meandered over with
Ben and Jane while ogling and photographing the many Christmas lights in this
neat as a pin town. The music was
lively, the burger was juicy and I have been reunited with Bahamian coconut
rum. It was a great night and we have
met more friendly cruisers to look for down the road. Green Turtle is a lovely spot that we need to
return to in order to see what we missed on this quick visit; Sundowners Bar
(opens daily at – you guessed it 5pm), Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar (creator of
the Goombay Smash cocktail), Two Shortey’s Takeaway and more. We are loving our return to the Abacos!
(Hingham’s
Out of the Ordinary cookbook) makes 2 dozen
1.5
cups flour
2
teaspoons powdered ginger
2
teaspoons cinnamon
1
cup soft brown sugar
½
cup golden, corn or maple syrup
½
cup butter
½
cup dark molasses/treacle
1
cup warm milk
2
teaspoons baking soda
2
eggs, beaten
Grease
deep 7.5” x 11” baking pan. Line with
baking parchment.
Mix
flour, ginger and cinnamon together.
Combine
brown sugar, golden syrup, butter and molasses in a sauce pan. Heat until butter melts and mixture is
smooth, stirring constantly.
Remove
from the heat.
Stir
in flour mixture; stir in warm milk and baking soda mixture; add beaten eggs
and mix well.
Pour
into prepared baking pan.
Bake
at 325F for one hour (or until firm).
Remove
to wire rack to cool. Cut into bars.
Torta
di Riso
(Sasha Martin’s Life from Scratch) serves 6-8
1
Tablespoon oil, plus more for baking dish
1
onion, chopped
3
cups left over, refrigerated white rice
½
cup Parmesan cheese, grated
6
eggs, lightly beaten
Parsley,
chopped
Salt
and pepper
Saute
bacon in oil until fat renders.
Add
onion until lightly brown. Set aside and
cool.
Meanwhile,
in a medium bowl add rice, Parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir.
Add
cooked mixture. Blend well.
Pour
into lightly greased 8x8/2qt baking dish.
Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool
15 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve room temp or cold.