Bahamas & Turks

Those familiar with this passage are aware that it is very important to avoid any northerly winds. Such winds blow against the current of the Gulf Stream, thereby creating steep and nasty seas. This obviates leaving with a cold front. However, it is rare to get winds blowing from the south or southwest, meaning we were facing easterlies in some form. We departed the Keys near Molasses Reef into southeasterlies, but we found that as we sailed east, the winds shifted more to the east. Our choice of tack was not too attractive: we either sailed NE, which risked getting too far north and missing the Bahamas altogether, or we sailed SE, which meant going against the current. We started with the first option, thinking we could get across before we went too far north. Wrong. We then tacked and doggedly beat our way southeastwards, only to discover about 2AM that our speed over "ground" was about 0 knots. The only way out of such a dilemma for the modern sailor is to hoist the "iron main", i.e. start the engine and motorsail. This we did, and with much anxiety as we saw ourselves "streaming" past Cat Cay. Fortunately, the current started to abate and we managed to make a landfall of sorts at Bimini. Our very first exotic landfall!

Although we made landfall at Bimini, we'd heard the harbor entrance is shallow so we opted to motor south to Cat Cay. The cut between Gun Cay and Cat Cay has a very strong current during tidal flows, with the deeper end located very close to Gun Cay. We tied up at the dock at Cay Cay, which is a private resort and quite fancy. There we obtained the all-important Cruising Permit along with other documentary stuff. The Capt noticed the "tip jar" on the official's desk, full of $20 bills. Being a newbie he dutifully donated to Bahamian corruption.

You'd have to read the directions for crossing the Grand Bahama Bank, but the goal is to reach a place called the "NW Channel Light" before sunset, then anchor there, right in the middle of nowhere, in 15' of water. This is an act of faith. The "anchorage" is rather rough since the "Tongue of the Ocean" is just east, with lots of fetch to make the waves very choppy. We discovered in the night that the dinghy fell off its davits due to swinging in the swell. A dingy is not something you can afford to lose.

The next morning we sailed to Chub Cay, in the Berry Islands. This place is rather seedy but very well protected; being newbies we liked that. We stayed at the marina there for a couple of days, then departed for Nassau. We arrived in Nassau at sunset, which made for an exciting entry into the harbor, it being full of cruise ships. We stayed in a marina there for a few days (be careful in Nassau at night!) and bought some very pricey produce before leaving for the Exumas. Note to newbies: buy lots of whatever you want or need in Florida before leaving. Most places in the Bahamas are lucky to have some rotten cabbage and weevily flour. Don't assume you can find anything affordable to buy.

A windswept nymph at Allan's Cay.

Wow, the legendary Exumas! Finally, the cruising life. But what you don't usually read or see are big crowds of boats with territorial crews. We also learned to put out 2 anchors, which is required in a tight place wherever everybody else is doing it. These out islands are gorgeous.

Allan's Cay also has crowds on the beach: iguanas. They expect a hand-out and often bite when disappointed. We were perfectly happy to give up the beach to the home team.

Here's a crowd of conch shells. This is where we started to see how overfished the world has become. We rarely saw live conchs.

In reviewing our photos we seem to have overlooked taking pictures of many of the gorgeous islands there, especially Wardrick Wells and Stanton Cays. Really, the whole Exumas chain is a wonderful place to visit and most Bahamians outside of Nassau are the nicest people you will ever meet. We would probably recommend the Abacos, etc, if we'd had time to visit there. It's amazing such pristine beauty is still to be had so close to the US.

An idyllic scene at Shroud Cay.

Hawksbill Cay has a mailbox, which you can see under the palm. The admiral is holding the mail stashed inside, after adding her own contribution.

This is the view from the mailbox. Note the colors of blue. If memory serves, Hawksbill Cay was the site of a sea-island cotton plantation established by English loyalists fleeing the newly independent American colonies. We couldn't find any traces, though we understand they exist. This would be a tough place to grow much besides coconuts.

Almost makes you forget the mess on deck. It is common in the Bahamas to set 2 anchors, but the second is less elegant to manage.

No tour of the Exumas would be complete without a visit to Georgetown, or for the fussy, George Town. Many cruisers make this the end of their circuit, hence the nickname "Chicken Harbor". We were somewhat disappointed by the place, but then the hype made it sound like Cruiser Heaven, which it may be for some people.

The harbor is often very crowded and when we were there some squalls blew through with 50kt winds. One night we were blown up on "Hamburger Beach" and had to kedge ourselves back into the lagoon. On another there were boats dragging all over the place in the night, with boat horns blaring. Just too crowded. We departed Georgetown for the island of Conception, also too crowded. Then we decided we wanted to see where Columbus was thought to have first come ashore, and so left for San Salvador, which is quite a ways north.

This is beautiful Cockburn Town on San Salvador. This island is thought to be the first place in the New World where Columbus made landfall. Columbus described the place as teeming with wildlife and flocks of parrots that blotted out the sun, but we suspect it was just an early exercise in real estate marketing, or suck-up government employees.

When we arrived we discovered why the place had a Club Med and numerous liveaboard dive boats. San Salvador has a narrow shelf and a great wall to dive, plus the water is crystal clear!

We would have stayed longer but a cold front blew in, which switched the winds to the west and made our nice harbor a lee shore. Since we didn't try to enter the marina in time, we had no choice but to put to sea. With a strong tailwind we sailed past places like Rum Cay and Samana, the other Columbus landing site, making for the island of Mayguana. We hoped to check out there and proceed to the Turks and Caicos. After spending too many days in the very shallow Abraham's Bay we left Mayguana and the lovely Bahamas.

Our visit was in 2003. We understand that details like the cost of a cruising permit have changed both for better and for worse. We have no idea as to the current situation. However, we doubt the islands themselves have changed much nor have the wonderful inhabitants (we hope).

Our next destination was Provo, in the Turks and Caicos. Most of the yachties in George Town considered it to be the Edge of the World. Our passage had the usual "fun" aspects, such as a rainstorm that filled the lowered mainsail with so much water it became an emergency to bail it out with a bucket. We also had a mizzen shroud break, which caused a dangerous wobbling of the mizzen mast. We were most relieved to arrive in Provo.

We spent a couple of days hiding from the weather in Provo and being ripped off by cabbies. Once we saw a weather window we proceeded to cross the Caicos Bank to Ambergris Cay on the SE edge. This might have provided great "adventure" as the Bank is very shallow and filled with coral heads. However, we believed at that time that our charts were always accurate so we naively blundered on through heavy thunderstorms and darkness. The weather in Ambergris continued to be awful so we holed up there for a few days before we could depart for the Dominican Republic. Part of the reason we have no pictures from the Turks is that the weather was nasty most of the time; one of the realities of life on the sea is that the weather can frequently be nasty most of the time, especially when you want to visit some far-off and unprotected reef. In the early spring this area either has strong tradewinds or strong cold fronts.

We wish we could have spent more time in the Turks, but the weather during our entire stay was awful and the Turks are very expensive if you try grocery shopping. The real-estate in the Bahamas and Turks is often stunningly expensive; if you want to see how the other half lives, just check out these islands. We will probably revisit the Turks via a 747!

This is Sandy Cay, a small island east of Ambergris. This was our jumping-off point to the Dominican Republic

Home