Morgan's Bluff, Andros to West Bay, New Providence

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The mailboat came into Morgan's Bluff this morning, and the pier was a bustle of activity. I went in with the Whaler, anchoring the stern out, and tying the bow off ashore, and wandered over to see the biggest event in town.

The almost non-event in the community is the smoky fire that has been burning to the south, visible to me yesterday and today. The brush fire is substantial enough that it would be making the news if were in the States. I've been in Andros before when fires were burning, and nobody seems to pay them much attention.




I asked directions to Nichols Town, and more specifically, the Batelco office. The man told me, "Its too far to walk." I had walked less than half of the 2-3 miles when the second vehicle passing by offered me a ride. I did even better coming back. 

If you are walking, the road makes a loop to the port, and you can choose which ever side you are closest to. From the mailboat, walk against the one way traffic until the road merges back into two-way traffic, and bear right. Go to the 4-way stop, and look to your left. You will see the Batelco tower, and the sales building is right there as well.

I got a new SIM card for my Bahamian phone, along with a new phone number. This enables me to communicate with my friends in the Bahamas, as well as receive emergency calls from the States. My ATT phone has all its calls forwarded to a dead-end number, so they never hit my voicemail, to avoid the $200/month I was charged last year from calls that had gone to my voicemail, even though I'd not answered the phone. ATT told me this way, I can still use my domestic text plan for incoming texts, and outgoing texts are charged against the international plan. I can still make outgoing calls with the ATT phone.

This useless info to my friends at home is for the benefit of the boaters following the blog. They don't care about a lot of the other stuff I do, so, maybe I can alienate all my readers. By the way, if you are a boater reading this, be sure and post a comment sometime. It won't be posted if you don't want it to be, but at least I can read it, and I'd like a better idea of who is reading the blog.

I crossed over to West Bay, New Providence, and entered from the south. I couldn't believe all the changes since I was here last. There is a hotel (I guess) clearly visible, though inshore, from the bay. There has been some new building along the edge of the bay, and a lot of the Australian pine trees in the southern side are gone. I don't know if they were removed as exotics, or if a storm took them out.

I used to anchor here a lot with the other boat, since the diving is spectacular on the walls to the SE and to the NE, pick which ever is in the lee. Stuart Cove has sunk a lot of different wrecks in the vicinity, the water is clear, the fish are abundant, and I LOVE diving walls!

I have a lot of fond memories of West Bay, and reacquainted myself with the cut to the north with the Whaler. Since I've never been in here with this boat, I wanted to confirm the depths.

One big change since I was here last is wi-fi! With my wi-fi amplifier, there are several unlocked signals, allowing me to check my email, and post this blog.

The only thing that could make tonight any better is if it rained hard enough to wash the salt off the boat! 

Distance travelled today: 30nm.

Berry Island Club to Morgan's Bluff

May 15, 2013

Today the winds were forecast 17-22kts out of the ENE, swinging more to the east tomorrow. I decided to follow my two sailboat friends into Morgan's Bluff, and the quiet anchorage there, which is a nice spot to be, except when the wind has a northerly component.

The following seas aft of my port quarter made for an easy ride, and by 1100 we were safely anchored in the SE corner of the bay, in good holding sand. I saw some grass on the bottom, but just dodged those spots. The wind picked up considerably during the afternoon, before it swung more to the east, putting a slow swell into the bay. The timing of our trip was great.

I defrosted my refrigerator, hoping it will cool a little better, and then set about exploring.

While the wind was blowing, Mercy-dog and I took the Whaler to the beach in the far SE corner. Walking up the bank to the east reveals a gravel road, turn 100 feet to the right, and it meets a paved road. Turn left 100 yards on the paved road, and you see a sign marking Henry Morgan's Cave. The cave is to the right. There are several little sinks, which puts daylight in the top of the cave in a few places. Legend has it that the pirate Henry Morgan hid his treasure here. Nobody confesses to knowing what happened to it.




If you continue on the paved road past the cave, you come to the closed up water plant facility. Until a couple of years ago, Nassau sent water tankers to Andros for fresh water to support its population. When they island of New Providence went to desalination facilities, the waterage facility was retired.







It was a little bit of a sad walk for me, to see the thriving water facility shut down, the buildings boarded up, and a couple of sunken boats alongside the pier.







My uncle had been instrumental in the development and operation of that facility years ago. He had told me stories of the wonderful times he'd had at Morgan's Bluff.  I wish I had asked him more about it before his death..

From the end of the paved road at the water facility, you can loop back along the pier and the bay front along the gravel road, and when you intersect where you joined it from the beach, your loop is completed. It is a nice walk.




I grilled pork chops, potatoes, and onions, and, as I listen to Mercy-dog snoring away, think I'll call it an early night.

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Sunday, May 12, 2013

At 0500 I was awoke to SE winds about 17kts. Hmmm. I have confidence in the forecast GRIB, the pressure gradients, Chris Parker's weather, Passagemaker, and most importantly, my seafaring experience. I was pretty sure that the winds would be dropping later in the day, and since the first couple hours of my trip are in Hawk's Channel, I began my journey. I did an engine round and once again checked around the boat to make sure everything was secured. I attached a strobe light to the Whaler, and tied off the wheel. Then I raised anchor and started out the channel, dropping the Whaler back into a long tow.

At 0500, there was no moon, and it was dark! I love radar. I passed two sailboats anchored in the middle of the channel with no anchor lights, and one powerboat anchored in the middle of the channel off Little Palm Island with no anchor lights. When I passed along side him, I looked longingly at his underwater lights (I'd love to have some) and thought it was interesting he'd left them on, but not an anchor light.

Hawks channel was choppy, and it wasn't long before the boat was thoroughly initiated with salt spray. I left Hawk's channel south of Big Pine Key Shoal, hoping the seas would have a longer period between them, and that helped a little. 

Why do I do this? By about 1000 I was wondering just what I love about boating. I mean, for this trip, the effort involved in preparations is ridiculous. I have provisions on board for the duration of the trip. All the planning, the exertion, the expense. I was tired, and barely into my trip. I am not normally sea sick, but, I was feeling a little queasy. All I could smell were mangoes. It was everything I could do to keep from throwing them overboard.  But, I knew I'd be sorry later if I did! I ate a banana, and that helped. I think I could tell when the folks prayed for me before church!

Going anywhere, doing anything, can take a lot of effort. It is always a little hard to get moving towards anything great. Besides, I need to beat the forecast winds to the Bahamas.

As the day progressed, things improved. I felt better, the Gulf Stream pushed us along, and the seas slowly subsided. My calculations for the Stream turned out pretty well, with me steering 090 and drifting northward with the Stream. 

I remember why I like this! As the waters calmed, I enjoyed the gorgeous, crystal clear, deep blue of the depths of the Gulf Stream. I fixed a wrap, and enjoyed an easy meal. I watched as three ships converged within a 3 mile circle of each other, and was glad their convergence wasn't any closer to me.

I took a shower on the deck, and felt refreshed. I fixed a chef salad (another easy meal).... hmmm I think I've been snacking all day.

I jumped onto the Bahamas Bank around 2230, between Orange Cay and Riding Rocks, and was determined to keep running until I lost the tide. The waters were calm, and we had a half a knot push.

I dropped the hook at 0125, as I slowly began to buck a current. What a great excuse to go to bed!

I shut off the engine, and stood on the bow for a minute, enjoying the magnificence of a starry sky without background light. I love the smell of the air, and being far enough from land that we could sleep mosquito free. As much as I enjoy that, I was bushed, and within about another 30 seconds, I was in bed and asleep.

150nm travelled today

Underway for the Bahamas

Saturday, May 11, 2013

On Saturday I took Mercy-dog to Marathon to the vet for her Bahamian health certificate, and then to Publix to pick up my list of perishables.

As I came out of the store, an employee called out to me, and asked "Is this yours?" referring to a cantaloupe that had rolled off the bottom of the cart, unseen by me. When I stopped, the second one rolled off. Why would a bagger put bowling balls on the bottom of a cart with no lip? 

When I got to the truck, I motioned Mercy-dog up as I put groceries behind the seat of the truck. She just stood there. I usually don't allow her on the driver's seat, and keep the other seats covered. I looked at her, reassured her, and ordered her up. When I got the groceries loaded, I looked, and she had laid a tomato on the seat besider her. Hmmm. I didn't buy that kind of tomatos. I don't know if she had picked it up off the ground in the store, and had been carrying it that long (shop lifting dog?) or just where she grabbed it... the only place our walk paused was when the employee had called to us. The nice thing about good bird dogs is their tender mouth. So, I ended up with an extra, intact tomato.

As we were loading, Bob came by with a bag of mangos. I love mangos!!

I got underway to anchor in Newfound Harbour, just out from the house. I knew that when I woke up early on Sunday, I would be chomping at the bit if I had to wait on the tide.

Dick and Peggy ran out in the 19' Whaler to pick me up after I got anchored, so I did not have to tow the Whaler out on a week-end zoo day... when there is a lot of boat traffic in our narrow canal. (Thanks guys!) I finished closing up the house, and went back to the MERCY and began stowing some items for sea.

By 10pm, the wind had dropped to slick calm, a little earlier than I had expected, and it took all my rational self control to not get underway while the Stream would be nice. I knew that I had a 20 hour window on the trip with no sleep, so I went to bed.