THE ABACO'S
Another beautiful day dawns in paradise
The local police woman welcomed us to the Bahamas after we cleared in at green Turtle Island on 17th December
NZ roast lamb for Christmas dinner with Steve & Morgan
The avocados must be on steroids here......
There's lots of Flotsam blown ashore on the ocean beaches. Some of the visitors to Manjack have decorated a gazebo with some of the finds.
Pete rescues the Conch man going to Green Turtle cay for "Junkanoo"
The colourful "Junkanoo" parade on Green Turtle Cay
Here comes the parade
Ocean beach on a calm day
Ocean beach on a rough day
We try to sail as much as possible as diesel is so expensive
Pete got himself a job cleaning conch on Harbour Island
This ruin was once a beautiful hotel that was abandoned back in the 80's & has since been gutted by fire
The "Trans Tasman Petanque Competition" against Terra Nova at Little Harbour. The Kiwi's won - yeahhh
The "Glass Window" the waves have eroded the sandstone on a narrow part of Eleuthera Island, so a bridge was built to span the gap forming a window where you can view the sea from one side of the island to the other
Going through the narrow man made gap into Hatchet Bay harbour, which was once a pond
Alice Town was once a thriving community, but the departure of the cattle farms that were prevalent in the area, the locals have abandoned their houses to go elsewhere for employment
The local Alice Town boys got a good haul of fish to sell, which they catch on hand lines
We tried the local Bahamian food in Alice Town for $8 each, but the beers were even cheaper at $3 each plus a free shooter.
Pete struck a tri-fector with 3 tuna on one line with his "Turkish Delight" rig. At the time we were doing almost 9 knots
There's lots of Flotsam blown ashore on the ocean beaches. Some of the visitors to Manjack have decorated a gazebo with some of the finds.
The colourful "Junkanoo" parade on Green Turtle Cay
Golf carts are a big mode of transport on the Cays. We got a grand stand view of the Christmas Golf cart Parade on Great Guana Cay with Steve & Morgan, & our cruising friends Alan & Gerry (Civil Twilight) & Nancy & Dean (Pegasus)
Ocean beach on a rough day
Steve hauls in a nice Spanish Mackerel
We try to sail as much as possible as diesel is so expensive
The light house in Hope Town is one of the few light houses still maned & fueled with kerosene
View of the cruising boats moored in Hope Town harbour
View of Saliander moored out side hope Town harbour, one of the drawbacks to having an 8 foot draft!!!
Conch fritters for dinner - yummm
We are enjoying the colourful fish on the coral reefs
Steve finds a big crayfish, unfortunately it turned out to be only a shell.....
ELEUTHRA
We were accompanied by a big school of dolphins on our crossing to Eleuthera, they had fun surfing on our bow wave & leaping in the air for well over an hour
We had afternoon coffee & scones on board Sali in Royal Harbour with Eric & Isobel (Catleya), Ryan, Alex & Lumar (Ventura), & Diane & Bernie (Sea Gal), which turned into "Happy Our"
Cray fishing is integral to the economy in Spanish Wells. This cray boat is gong out towing it's 4 tenders & with 2 old car bodies on board. The cars Will get dumped over board to create a fish have for snapper, they will go back at a later date to net the fish. They also take out sheets of corrugated iron & planks of wood to make rafts which the sink down with concrete blocks, this then becomes a shelter for cray fish. we saw some on the sea bed in the Abaco's & thought the iron had blown off a roof during a hurricane - luckily we didn't touch them or we would have been in big trouble!!
The sheltered harbour in Spanish Wells
The picturesque "Ginger Bread" houses in Spanish Wells
Pete gets the gen on Bone fishing from a local expert
Pete gets the gen on Bone fishing from a local expert
Sharon came with us on the 45 minute dinghy ride to Harbour Island (saving us $120) while Michael took the ferry. We had to make a quick detour to avoid getting run down by the ferry which travels close along the shore inside the reef.
We hired a golf cart to tour Harbour Island
Pete got himself a job cleaning conch on Harbour Island
This ruin was once a beautiful hotel that was abandoned back in the 80's & has since been gutted by fire
The "Trans Tasman Petanque Competition" against Terra Nova at Little Harbour. The Kiwi's won - yeahhh
The "Glass Window" the waves have eroded the sandstone on a narrow part of Eleuthera Island, so a bridge was built to span the gap forming a window where you can view the sea from one side of the island to the other
Going through the narrow man made gap into Hatchet Bay harbour, which was once a pond
Alice Town was once a thriving community, but the departure of the cattle farms that were prevalent in the area, the locals have abandoned their houses to go elsewhere for employment
The local Alice Town boys got a good haul of fish to sell, which they catch on hand lines
We tried the local Bahamian food in Alice Town for $8 each, but the beers were even cheaper at $3 each plus a free shooter.
Pete struck a tri-fector with 3 tuna on one line with his "Turkish Delight" rig. At the time we were doing almost 9 knots
We spent several days in Marsh harbour preparing for Steve & Morgan. One particular day several boats arrived at the harbor entrance & took the wrong channel. Pete happened to see them as he was working on deck, so he had a busy day helping 3 boats who got stuck on the sand bars. I’ve decided he should set up in opposition to US Tow Boat who operate over here & have a starting charge of US$100, I’m sure we could make a fortune…..
Steve & Morgan arrived on Christmas Eve & we had a beautiful sunny day for Christmas. However the next 2 days we had to hide out in Marsh Harbour while a low weather front passed over ,bringing gusts over 30 knots. We then had a great stretch of weather for the next 8 days which allowed us to explore several of the nearby islands in the Abaco’s. We spent New Years Eve on Manjack Island which has only 2 houses, one of which is owned by an ex-cruising couple who go out of their way to make other cruisers welcome ashore. There are some great bush walks & we ventured around to the ocean side to snorkel some of the coral heads inside the reef. We spotted a number of Crayfish, but unfortunately all too small – dam!!! We joined 20 other cruisers ashore, most of whom have been regulars at Manjack for many cruising seasons, for a New Year’s Eve pot luck dinner. Here they celebrate New Year’s Eve at GMT time which is 7pm local time. We thought this was a brilliant idea for us oldies, as it meant we didn’t have to wait up until midnight local time. New Years Day we went over to Green Turtle Island for “Junkanoo” which is the same as “Carnival” in South America, with a costume parade & music in the streets, along with the food & drink stalls. There was a good crowd arrived from mainland Abaco & the neighboring islands for the occasion, & the parade, although small, was quite spectacular with vibrant coloured costumes. Pete had earlier rescued a local in his boat, his steering had gone & he was going around in circles so Pete towed him into shore. It turned out he had a boat load of conch & was on his way to make conch salad at Junkanoo, so to show his gratitude we got to try some of his conch salad, which I must say was very tasty.
We had several other snorkeling expeditions on the coral heads & a ship wreck, but still only managed to find 1 legal sized crayfish. We also went trawling outside the reefs in the hope of catching a nice Mahi-mahi or similar, however the only fish we caught were in the Sea of Abaco & although they were small we did get a few meals out of them. Pete & Steve also got some conch & we made a great tasting conch fritter (Kiwi style). After Steve & Morgan left for New York on 7th January we spent a few more days exploring the Abaco's & enjoying the company of our Aussie friends, Ian & Lee-Anne on Windwalker, & Mike & Sharon on Terra Nova. Before departing for the Eleuthera Islands we met up with Mike & Sharon in Hope Town & went ashore for crayfish & chips costing US$12 each, which included 3 tails each – what a bargain!!!!
The Abaco’s are the most northern islands in the Bahamas. There is a chain of small outer islands, or cays (pronounced keys), that run along the north eastern side of Grand Bahama, Little Abaco & Great Abaco Islands. Most of the outer islands have a barrier reef on the north eastern side & inside the reef there are lots of coral heads, white sandy beaches & in the right conditions there can be surf rolling over the reefs & onto the beaches. These areas are great for snorkeling & exploring by dinghy, but taking yachts inside is generally not a good option. The area between the outer islands & Great Abaco Island, called the Sea of Abaco, is where we did our cruising in the Abaco’s. The maximum depth in this area is around 5 meters & there are lots of shallow areas of 1-2m, so we had to be very careful where we went with our 2.4m draft. In fact most of the boats that cruise the Bahamas are shallow drafted & they seem to think we are a bit crazy being here with our draft…… However thankfully our charts seem to be very accurate, so far anyway, & although we generally have to anchor out further than most other boats, we have only had a few nudges with the keel on the sandy bottom.
We had a good north westerly wind for our 50knml sail over to Royal Island, Eleuthera on 13th January. We were accompanied by 4 other cruising boats & we all tucked into Royal Harbour for a couple of days before going our separate ways. Pete & I headed over to Spanish Wells, which is a prosperous town that makes its money from catching & exporting crayfish. Like most of the other islands we’ve visited so far it is very quaint with its colorful “Ginger Bread” houses & is another popular spot for Bone fishing. In fact Pete spent some time with a couple of Bone fishermen getting all the gen on how to catch these elusive fish. They are only caught for sport, i.e. catch & release, as you are not allowed to keep them in the Bahamas. They are caught on a fly rod so it’s similar to trout fishing, the difference is that they are not nearly as easy to catch but Pete certainly enjoys trying…… Sharon & Mike, on Terra Nova, arrived in Spanish Wells & we went over to Harbour Town with them for the day. This is where a lot of rich & famous take their vacations in the Bahamas. Not that we saw any, but some of the prices in the local boutiques certainly catered for them with expensive clothing & costume jewelry. We were all set to leave Spanish Wells when we met a Canadian who showed us a whopping great crayfish & told us where he caught it & assured us there were plenty more. So the next day we donned out wet suits & went hunting, but our efforts were n vain as once again we only found one legal sized crayfish. As with a lot of places here we had to anchor outside the Spanish Wells harbour, unlike our fellow cruisers with shallow drafts who can anchor inside the harbours. There are low weather systems (FRONTS)coming across from Florida every 7 to 10 days which leaves us a bit exposed in our anchorages at times. We had a cold front coming through one night whilst in Spanish Wells so we motored over to a sheltered spot on the other side of the Bay. We got up around 2am to close the hatches as a heavy squall came through. Pete stayed up on deck for a while watching the lightening show & waiting for the wind to subside. The only other boat in the bay, a 60ft fishing boat with 30ft stabilizers hanging out on each side was moored a mile away from us. It was very dark, but during one flash of lightening he noticed that the fishing boat was a lot closer to us. Pete grabbed the spot light & saw it had broken its mooring & was bearing down on us at a great rate of knots. It was panic stations to get the anchor up & thankfully we managed get out of its way before it cleaned us out –whew!!! Shortly after the wind died down, the rain stopped & we saw the boat had drifted into shore where it stayed until the locals came & collected it at first light.
From Spanish Wells we made our way with Terra Nova down the island of Eleuthera stopping off at Little Harbour, a lovely deserted bay with white sandy beaches & beautiful clear water. I had a great time snorkeling there until I encountered a large Barracuda who seemed to be taking a lot of interest in me & was looking decidedly menacing. We had a stare-out competition; thankfully he lost interest after what seemed like an eternity & went on his way. We visited the “Glass Window” where the waves have gnawed a natural cut in the narrowest part of the island. They have built a bridge over the cut which forms a window to look through from either side to see the ocean on the other side. We also spent a night in Hatchet Bay Harbour & visited the local Alice Town. Once upon a time this area was the largest dairy & stock raising enterprise in the islands, however this is no longer in existence & the local communities have suffered economically as a result which is very much in evidence in Alice Town. There are a lot of derelict abandoned houses as the younger generations have had to leave the area to find employment. We arrived in Alice town late Friday afternoon everyone was very friendly & the local boys were winding up for “party night” at the local bars. A couple of the more popular bars were blasting out reggae music on their boom boxes to attract the punters, so it was all very entertaining. We had a great sail down to Rock Sound with Terra Nova. The entrance was a bit tricky with lots of coral heads to dodge around as we came in, then as we came into the anchorage down came the rain in bucket loads. The next morning we awoke to find all the boats we cruised with over from Abaco’s to Eleuthera were also anchored in the harbor. One by one they all left & went over to the other side of the harbor as the wind had turned around. After a few hours sitting on our own we decided to venture over to the other side & join the others. We were very tentative as the depths are not good for our draft, as we were searching for a deep spot to anchor (for us that’s 3.6m at high tide which gives us about 8” under the keel at low tide), we had a nasty crunch on the keel as we ran over a rock – ouch! Thankfully it wasn’t too bad, just a small scratch down the side of the keel.
We are thoroughly enjoying the Bahamas with its beautiful white sandy beaches & aqua coloured waters, it’s a cruising mecca, even with an 8 foot draft. There are plenty of other cruisers around, mainly from America & Canada, but there are also plenty of remote islands if you want to get away from the crowd. The Bahamian people are generally very friendly & cater well for the cruisers. Although the weather is varied, it’s also not too hot, mostly between 20-30 degs C, which is very pleasant. Goods are rather expensive in the Bahamas as there is no tax, but heavy import duties. We paid $3.00 per gallon for diesel in USA, here it is $4.75 per gallon. We had been warned before we left America & did a big stock up which should keep us going for another month or two. So we are only buying fresh fruit & vegies which are getting dearer as we get into the less populated areas, today the cabbages were $5 each & pears $1.26 per pear.
Steve & Morgan arrived on Christmas Eve & we had a beautiful sunny day for Christmas. However the next 2 days we had to hide out in Marsh Harbour while a low weather front passed over ,bringing gusts over 30 knots. We then had a great stretch of weather for the next 8 days which allowed us to explore several of the nearby islands in the Abaco’s. We spent New Years Eve on Manjack Island which has only 2 houses, one of which is owned by an ex-cruising couple who go out of their way to make other cruisers welcome ashore. There are some great bush walks & we ventured around to the ocean side to snorkel some of the coral heads inside the reef. We spotted a number of Crayfish, but unfortunately all too small – dam!!! We joined 20 other cruisers ashore, most of whom have been regulars at Manjack for many cruising seasons, for a New Year’s Eve pot luck dinner. Here they celebrate New Year’s Eve at GMT time which is 7pm local time. We thought this was a brilliant idea for us oldies, as it meant we didn’t have to wait up until midnight local time. New Years Day we went over to Green Turtle Island for “Junkanoo” which is the same as “Carnival” in South America, with a costume parade & music in the streets, along with the food & drink stalls. There was a good crowd arrived from mainland Abaco & the neighboring islands for the occasion, & the parade, although small, was quite spectacular with vibrant coloured costumes. Pete had earlier rescued a local in his boat, his steering had gone & he was going around in circles so Pete towed him into shore. It turned out he had a boat load of conch & was on his way to make conch salad at Junkanoo, so to show his gratitude we got to try some of his conch salad, which I must say was very tasty.
We had several other snorkeling expeditions on the coral heads & a ship wreck, but still only managed to find 1 legal sized crayfish. We also went trawling outside the reefs in the hope of catching a nice Mahi-mahi or similar, however the only fish we caught were in the Sea of Abaco & although they were small we did get a few meals out of them. Pete & Steve also got some conch & we made a great tasting conch fritter (Kiwi style). After Steve & Morgan left for New York on 7th January we spent a few more days exploring the Abaco's & enjoying the company of our Aussie friends, Ian & Lee-Anne on Windwalker, & Mike & Sharon on Terra Nova. Before departing for the Eleuthera Islands we met up with Mike & Sharon in Hope Town & went ashore for crayfish & chips costing US$12 each, which included 3 tails each – what a bargain!!!!
The Abaco’s are the most northern islands in the Bahamas. There is a chain of small outer islands, or cays (pronounced keys), that run along the north eastern side of Grand Bahama, Little Abaco & Great Abaco Islands. Most of the outer islands have a barrier reef on the north eastern side & inside the reef there are lots of coral heads, white sandy beaches & in the right conditions there can be surf rolling over the reefs & onto the beaches. These areas are great for snorkeling & exploring by dinghy, but taking yachts inside is generally not a good option. The area between the outer islands & Great Abaco Island, called the Sea of Abaco, is where we did our cruising in the Abaco’s. The maximum depth in this area is around 5 meters & there are lots of shallow areas of 1-2m, so we had to be very careful where we went with our 2.4m draft. In fact most of the boats that cruise the Bahamas are shallow drafted & they seem to think we are a bit crazy being here with our draft…… However thankfully our charts seem to be very accurate, so far anyway, & although we generally have to anchor out further than most other boats, we have only had a few nudges with the keel on the sandy bottom.
We had a good north westerly wind for our 50knml sail over to Royal Island, Eleuthera on 13th January. We were accompanied by 4 other cruising boats & we all tucked into Royal Harbour for a couple of days before going our separate ways. Pete & I headed over to Spanish Wells, which is a prosperous town that makes its money from catching & exporting crayfish. Like most of the other islands we’ve visited so far it is very quaint with its colorful “Ginger Bread” houses & is another popular spot for Bone fishing. In fact Pete spent some time with a couple of Bone fishermen getting all the gen on how to catch these elusive fish. They are only caught for sport, i.e. catch & release, as you are not allowed to keep them in the Bahamas. They are caught on a fly rod so it’s similar to trout fishing, the difference is that they are not nearly as easy to catch but Pete certainly enjoys trying…… Sharon & Mike, on Terra Nova, arrived in Spanish Wells & we went over to Harbour Town with them for the day. This is where a lot of rich & famous take their vacations in the Bahamas. Not that we saw any, but some of the prices in the local boutiques certainly catered for them with expensive clothing & costume jewelry. We were all set to leave Spanish Wells when we met a Canadian who showed us a whopping great crayfish & told us where he caught it & assured us there were plenty more. So the next day we donned out wet suits & went hunting, but our efforts were n vain as once again we only found one legal sized crayfish. As with a lot of places here we had to anchor outside the Spanish Wells harbour, unlike our fellow cruisers with shallow drafts who can anchor inside the harbours. There are low weather systems (FRONTS)coming across from Florida every 7 to 10 days which leaves us a bit exposed in our anchorages at times. We had a cold front coming through one night whilst in Spanish Wells so we motored over to a sheltered spot on the other side of the Bay. We got up around 2am to close the hatches as a heavy squall came through. Pete stayed up on deck for a while watching the lightening show & waiting for the wind to subside. The only other boat in the bay, a 60ft fishing boat with 30ft stabilizers hanging out on each side was moored a mile away from us. It was very dark, but during one flash of lightening he noticed that the fishing boat was a lot closer to us. Pete grabbed the spot light & saw it had broken its mooring & was bearing down on us at a great rate of knots. It was panic stations to get the anchor up & thankfully we managed get out of its way before it cleaned us out –whew!!! Shortly after the wind died down, the rain stopped & we saw the boat had drifted into shore where it stayed until the locals came & collected it at first light.
From Spanish Wells we made our way with Terra Nova down the island of Eleuthera stopping off at Little Harbour, a lovely deserted bay with white sandy beaches & beautiful clear water. I had a great time snorkeling there until I encountered a large Barracuda who seemed to be taking a lot of interest in me & was looking decidedly menacing. We had a stare-out competition; thankfully he lost interest after what seemed like an eternity & went on his way. We visited the “Glass Window” where the waves have gnawed a natural cut in the narrowest part of the island. They have built a bridge over the cut which forms a window to look through from either side to see the ocean on the other side. We also spent a night in Hatchet Bay Harbour & visited the local Alice Town. Once upon a time this area was the largest dairy & stock raising enterprise in the islands, however this is no longer in existence & the local communities have suffered economically as a result which is very much in evidence in Alice Town. There are a lot of derelict abandoned houses as the younger generations have had to leave the area to find employment. We arrived in Alice town late Friday afternoon everyone was very friendly & the local boys were winding up for “party night” at the local bars. A couple of the more popular bars were blasting out reggae music on their boom boxes to attract the punters, so it was all very entertaining. We had a great sail down to Rock Sound with Terra Nova. The entrance was a bit tricky with lots of coral heads to dodge around as we came in, then as we came into the anchorage down came the rain in bucket loads. The next morning we awoke to find all the boats we cruised with over from Abaco’s to Eleuthera were also anchored in the harbor. One by one they all left & went over to the other side of the harbor as the wind had turned around. After a few hours sitting on our own we decided to venture over to the other side & join the others. We were very tentative as the depths are not good for our draft, as we were searching for a deep spot to anchor (for us that’s 3.6m at high tide which gives us about 8” under the keel at low tide), we had a nasty crunch on the keel as we ran over a rock – ouch! Thankfully it wasn’t too bad, just a small scratch down the side of the keel.
We are thoroughly enjoying the Bahamas with its beautiful white sandy beaches & aqua coloured waters, it’s a cruising mecca, even with an 8 foot draft. There are plenty of other cruisers around, mainly from America & Canada, but there are also plenty of remote islands if you want to get away from the crowd. The Bahamian people are generally very friendly & cater well for the cruisers. Although the weather is varied, it’s also not too hot, mostly between 20-30 degs C, which is very pleasant. Goods are rather expensive in the Bahamas as there is no tax, but heavy import duties. We paid $3.00 per gallon for diesel in USA, here it is $4.75 per gallon. We had been warned before we left America & did a big stock up which should keep us going for another month or two. So we are only buying fresh fruit & vegies which are getting dearer as we get into the less populated areas, today the cabbages were $5 each & pears $1.26 per pear.
2 comments:
good to see u all had a great time together over xmas newyear.we like your new beard and moe pete.the colours on that parade were amazing.the dolphns swiming in the waves was a good shot.also the under water shots were great.reminded me of raro.have fun and take care.denise&cassy
Great photo. How is/was Cat Island? We are just south of Compass Cay now...heading for Stanial tomorrow. Would be great to hook up again.
Di & Barney, S/V Sea Gal x
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