Easing Into Paradise

Two days in the Bahamas found ourselves ill-disposed to move on. Psychologically, we were already on island time. I noticed Ken already darker by several shades was picking up the local accent with alacrity. We also discovered that we really didn’t have a plan and we needed time to just stop, decompress and decide where and what to do. Our focus to date had been getting here.

West End, our port of entry, consists solely of the Old Bahama Marina: two restaurants (one expensive and the other very expensive), a bungalow style hotel, a bar, a pool, a gift shop, a customs office and a fuel dock. You get an unhurried feeling as you stroll the landscaped grounds, check out the gift shop and wander into the restaurant with no waiting, no reservations needed. A woman passes our outdoor table selling Bahamian bread. Charter Sport Fishing boats clean up after a day on the water, their underwater lights attracting squid (perhaps to become the calamari we see on the menu). There seem to be few tourists. The marina hosts more visitors than the hotel and a good number of the slips are empty.

The hotel has Internet, providing one of the few sources of good weather information. You can pick up some weather information from the US National Weather Service broadcast on VHF Channels 1, 2 or 3 but reception is spotty. The Bahamas does not have a comparable weather service. Most cruisers rely on Cruiser Net, a weather and cruising information service that broadcasts every morning at 8:15 on VHF Channel 68. We tuned in Sunday morning to silence. Later that morning, another cruiser told us that Bob Toler, who, with his wife, Patti, hosted the broadcast for 15 years, died suddenly only days before. He will be greatly missed. With no knowledge of the area and its weather patterns, I hoped to gleam information from other cruisers with more experience. However, everyone we meet seems to be no better informed that we. The forecast calls for 15 to 20 knot winds out of the south for Monday, 10 to 15 Tuesday morning and shifting NNE, Tuesday afternoon then clocking around to the SSE later in the week. We decide to leave the next day, timing our departure to get a rising tide as we approach the shallow waters north of Sand Cay. We plan to stop at Mangrove Cay Monday night, then head NE to Double Breasted Cay and Grand Cay Tuesday.

We left our slip at Old Bahama Marina with the assistance of a friendly passerby and headed out to the Atlantic. Our route that would take us just south of Memory Rock then turning NE for a beam reach sail NNE to Mangrove Cay. The direct route would be too shallow. The calm waters of the harbour gave way to tumultuous seas as we exited the inlet making our 5 NM ocean passage to Memory Rock uncomfortable. However, turning to starboard and our destination put us on a steady 15-20 knot wind on the beam and we sailed under mizzen, yankee and staysail in the more protected waters of the Little Bahama Bank. Coming in off the ocean with 300 foot depths to the Bank at 15 feet gets the adrenalin going! Sand banks just under the water greet you on either side of your course and you check and double check you position and heading, anxiously watching the depth meter as you course along at 5 or 6 knots.

In the afternoon, rain poured down, limiting visibility but the sailing was marvelous. We made only one tact all day and rounded up behind the aptly named Mangrove Cay (pronounced ‘key’). From a distance, Mangrove Cay looks like a substantial little island, up close you realize that it is only a small clutch of straggly mangroves, probably with no solid land at all. The lee of the Cay, however, provided protection from the wind and we had a peaceful night, our anchor light the only intrusion into a natural world.

An early start and a favorable wind made for terrific progress toward Fox Town, our next stop. The wind had dropped to 10-15 knots and had moved SSE. Sailing east ‘full and by’ under overcast skies in calm seas we enjoyed a fantastic, relaxing day. We saw no other boats and we flew along at 6, 7 knots! Some may think that 7 or 8 miles per hour doesn’t meet the test for ‘flying’ but for our full keeled, 25 ton Live Now it felt like flying. Only small adjustments to the sails brought us the rocks just off Hawksbill Cay and Fox Town in the late afternoon. Sailing directions for entering the anchorage here call for you to turn south leaving rocks to the west of the Hawksbill to port. The rocks are marked with the only navigation aid in the area, a tire sitting atop a pole! Sure enough, after much searching and circling we spotted the tire and 4' pole and made our turn. With Pat at the chart and watching the depth meter and I at the bow spotting, Ken did a masterful job of bringing us safely to anchor in 10 feet of water just between Hawksbill and Fox Town. With the exception of the gray skies, this had been a wonderful day of sailing. With not a single other boat within sight we enjoyed the solitude, congratulated ourselves on our success and settled down to watch the sky turn red as the sun set.

Hawksbill.

Having been out of touch with family for several days, we wanted to make a call to the States. Ken found a pay phone that worked and tried unsuccessfully to make a call. Soon several people appeared and offered help, including an offer to give him a ride to the BaTelCo, the telephone company, office about 200 yards away. Only ATT and Cingular phone cards work with the telephones so he was not able to make the call.

With no good snorkeling or beach opportunities apparent, we decided to leave early the next day for Green Turtle Cay. Green Turtle Cay includes a sizable town, numerous restaurants and marinas and reportedly has wonderful beaches and snorkeling. Our journey southeast will lead us from the more remote, undeveloped portion of the Bahamas to the more popular tourist destinations.