March 16th- Rock Sound to 10 Bay, Eleuthera Bahamas

A day at the beach.

The weather was nice for an easy ride down to 10 Bay. I was hoping to spend around a week exploring some of the beaches along the coast of Eleuthera. This plan was very short lived once I started looking at the long range weather forecast. The problem is when fronts move through the wind clocks around to the west and there are very few places to seek protection from the wind and waves. On to plan B. We’ll go to the beach when the weather is good and hide out when it’s not.

10 Bay was beautiful. We were the only boat anchored. We hadn’t been swimming in a few weeks so that was priority one. Ollie was exhausted by night fall.

Some scenes from 10 Bay.

A perfect afternoon for this guy.

Evergreen anchored in 10 Bay, Eleuthera.

March 17th- 10 Bay to Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera Bahamas

Just one more day! Nope. Around noon time we finally made the decision to move on. I knew Hatchet Bay was going to fill up due to the approaching front. We had an extra day before it was going to happen but I wanted to grab a good spot in the harbor. 

We had a decent sail up to Hatchet Bay except for one event. At one point I noticed our speed had decreased. At first I just figured we were in an adverse tidal current. Then I noticed the auto pilot was making extra noise and we weren’t exactly on course. I shut down the auto pilot and found that I could only turn the wheel in one direction. Looking behind Evergreen I could see we were dragging a lobster trap. Apparently the line was stuck on the rudder. There is a quirk in the Bristol 35.5 design that makes a small area of the rudder perfect for catching lobster traps. We quickly dropped the sails on deck to stop the boat. Just as I was about to jump off the boat to cut the line away, I turned the wheel hard over in the one direction it would still move…… And the trap just fell off! Sails up! Back on track to Hatchet Bay.

March 18th and 19th- Hatchet Bay/ Alice Town, Eleuthera Bahamas

We put Evergreen in a nice little cove before the storm. The harbor did fill up but no one anchored near us due to shallow water. Day one was a sunny day so we went into town. I am warming up to Alice Town now and am enjoying it more than our last stay. The Potcakes still bark at us but don’t approach. Day two, we had our storm. It wasn’t that bad. The harbor is very protected and the water stays flat. We were able to harvest 10 gallons of rain water for our tanks.

Some scenes from Hatchet Bay (the nice day).

Big fishing boat on the Government dock. Sorry about the lobster trap.

Which way do we go. There is only one main road, Queen’s Highway.

March 20th- Hatchet Bay to Glass Window Bridge (Twin Sisters Beach), Eleuthera Bahamas

The weather calmed down and the sun came out. Time to go! The area around the Glass Window Bridge came highly recommended.

View off the back porch in Hatchet Bay. Suns up. Time to move on.

Exit through the narrow entrance.

Cliffs along the coast.

Our selves, along with S/V Luckiest and S/V Windweaver headed up the coast to The Glass Window Bridge area. We dropped the hook off Twin Sisters Beach.

I’ll start off with some info on the Glass Window Bridge. It’s over a narrow piece of land. It was once a natural bridge but collapsed into the sea. Other bridges were built over time. On one side is the deep blue Atlantic Ocean, on the other is the turquoise waters of the Bahamas Bank. People like to photograph the bridge due to the contrasting color. I didn’t but there are many pictures online (I didn’t want to climb up there). We did photograph the bridge from the dinghy. On the Atlantic side there are often dramatic waves crashing on the cliffs. The same storm that produced the “Perfect Storm” up north sent giant waves down here that battered the bridge for days. They pushed the bridge 6 feet. The bridge was repaired and is now one lane instead of two.

Glass Window Bridge.

Later in the day the tide was higher and the waves were crashing on the Atlantic side, creating this very cool ocean waterfall.

Also on the Atlantic side is The Queen’s Baths. This a natural rock formation where tidal water flows in to fill the “baths”. This was a very dramatic area. Lynne climbed down to put her feet in the baths. Ollie and I hung back as the rocks became too sharp for his paws.

Some scenes from the Queen’s Baths.

On the lower left is one of the baths.

More baths.

Ollie started getting a little nervous when some of these big waves started breaking on the cliffs.

After visiting the Baths we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming at the beach. I snorkeled around some shallow reefs and saw many colorful (tiny) fish. I felt like I was in an aquarium. Ollie had a ton of fun running around and swimming. He gets over heated quickly in the sun but then he just jumps in the water to cool off. During the day we gathered some fire wood with Luckiest. Plans were made for an evening campfire on the beach. First we rode our dinghies over to a beach front bar for libations and chicken wings. That evening Evergreen, Luckiest, and Windweaver got together for sundowners and lit our bonfire. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Some scenes from Twin Sisters Beach.

Evergreen anchored near the Glass Window Bridge.

Beach party!

Sunset.

March 21st to 25th- Glass Window Bridge to Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera Bahamas

A perfect day and then the next weather report. 

After checking the weather I was stressed out about the approaching weather. It looked like the next front was going to be worse than the last one. Windweaver was moving to a dock. Luckiest had plans for moving up to Meeks Patch. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Lynne recently painted a small water color of Hatchet Bay for me to use as a bookmark. I found myself reading at 4 am to take my mind off of the weather issue. I looked at the book mark and instantly decided that is where I’m going. Decision made. We’re going back.

By the time we got back to the bay it was already starting to fill up. People were concerned about this storm and many boats are moving north from the Exuma Islands. My spot in our little cove was mostly taken up by a large catamaran. There are now many large catamarans in the harbor and they take up a lot of space. We cruised around a bit to find a spot. One of the two moorings were available in front of the Boaters Haven dock. The last two times we’ve been in here, there were two boats rafted on this mooring. We grabbed the mooring.

Good news/ bad news. Bad news- My friend on SV Ecola worked for the Bahamian Government and was involved with the installation of these moorings. There were probably around 10 moorings but most have failed over the years. The actual mooring block was rated to last for 80 years. Unfortunately, the chain was rated for 15 years and it’s been 20 years since the moorings were installed. The government has not maintained the moorings. Ouch! Good news – I found out from the captain of MV Captain Ron that the last 2 boats that had been rafted together on this mooring have been sitting here for 2 years. The captain of the boat dived on the mooring and attached chain and rope. I tied 3 lines from the mooring to Evergeen’s cleats and added a fourth from our supply. I debated diving on the mooring but in the end didn’t.

We had our storm. Things were a mess. Boats dragged their anchors during the height of the storm and had to reposition. During the day a large ferry came in to dock at the Government dock. The channel was blocked by boats and heated words were exchanged. Somehow the captain managed to weave this huge ferry through the anchored vessels. During one squall we had gusts over 50 knots. A huge motor yacht dragged it’s anchor and got hung up on a catamaran. Those boats almost drifted into a third. Evergreen stayed secure on her mooring. This time we were able to harvest over 40 gallons of rain water. Thankfully most of the salt and sand were pressure washed from the boat!

Some more scenes from Hatchet Bay.

Calm before the storm. Many anchor lights in Hatchet Bay.

Ruins from an old chicken farm.

Ollie and I went on a hike to check out the Atlantic.

Getting there! It was a little longer than I thought.

Ocean. Not really too dramatic yet.

Things are starting to look “blowy”.

This was the ship, which was coming back in the morning after the storm. The picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s hard to imagine how he fits through the entrance of this bay. By now everyone had vacated the channel and he thanked us.

March 3rd to 15th- Rock Sound, Eleuthera Bahamas

We’ve spent almost two weeks hanging around Rock Sound. We really wanted to spend some time in a place and not think about where we are going next. A word I’ve typed many times, in this blog, has been “Onward.” Now I think our mantra Is “Relax.”

This is a wonderful town and I’m so glad to have been able to spend some time here. There is everything we need in walking distance. The town has two excellent grocery stores along with some smaller places that also sell goods. Halls grocery has a deli/ bakery where we’ve been picking up desserts. Walton Cooper aka Showboat runs a very clean, well organized laundry mat. Lynne spent an afternoon with him and found out he was a champion on the national softball team. There are a few liquor stores. Diesel and gas is available and close to the dinghy dock. There are several excellent restaurants. Since this is not a big tourist town some of the prices are better than on other islands. At least a half dozen churches are scattered around town. We have access to good RO water. What really makes this place special are the people that live here. Hopefully I can summarize some of the fine memories I have of Rock Sound.

Early on in our stay I started picking up glass off the beach near the church. There is some poverty in the Bahamas and with that brings garbage and litter. Garbage pickup is spotty. Sometimes the dogs get into the trash. Obviously, the boats that come through here (including us) have trash. While Rock Sound is a pretty clean town, litter can still be a problem. So, picking up glass on the beach was my way of contributing to the area. This brings me to my friend Warren aka “Grandma”. Warren is an accomplished artist, a one man anti-litter powerhouse, a patriotic Bahamian, a botanist, a wealth of local information, and a friend to boaters. We met shortly after a clean up day. There are trash bins throughout town with hand painted messages such as pick it up, no plastics, don’t litter, etc. Warren has made all of these bins and drives around with his truck to bring trash to the dump. He has also lobbied the local government for dumpsters. I also found out he mows the lawn at the church and other places. He’s done most of the signage in town and painted murals on some of the ruins.

One day I was tossing the frisbee for Ollie at the beach and Warren came by with a big Bahamas flag. He was planning on swimming to a pole, that’s out in the water, to hoist the flag. Ollie and I are always looking for a mission. We were granted temporary citizenship and used the dinghy to get the pole and hoist the flag over the sound.

The Bahamas are riddled with caves. If they are filled with water they are Ocean Holes.

Ocean Hole. It was filled with fish.

Government building.

The Bahamas flag.

Over a few days some of our boating friends started to drift in. S/V Ecola came by and we all went out for dinner at the Wild Orchid Restaurant. We hardly ever go out for dinner due to budget constraints. I’m happy to say my dinner was excellent.

Wild Orchid’s Fish grill. Grouper with veggies, spices, and broth- cooked in foil.

Next S/V Shanks Mare pulled in then soon after Lukiest anchored near by. We found out Shanks Mare was going to be celebrating a 65th birthday and a party was in the making. Luckiest gathered an enormous amount of drift wood for a bonfire. Plans were made. Food was prepared. Lynne painted a card. We needed a spot. We scoped out a spot on the beach by the church. There is a gazebo that would work perfectly for food. We were unsure about lighting a big fire on the beach. Warren happened to be mowing the lawn ( his words “Penance! and I’ve been Bad”). He said we could have our party if he was invited and God was OK with it. Warren decorated the whole gazebo and provided a grill made from the wheel (hub) of a car. Everyone brought different dishes and we grilled up various things. Other boats were invited and a big party came together. A fun night was had by all.

The birthday party.

Warren aka Grandma’s Studio.

He paints these murals on his street.

A map

Ollie has enjoyed his stay also. Some of the Potcakes have gotten used to seeing him around. He is a celebrity in town. The other day we were walking by the school and about 20 small children ran to the fence to see him. The kids all wear uniforms here when they are in school. We got Ollie to stand close to the fence so all of those little hands could feel his soft fur. He seemed happy. They were all laughing and excited. It was a special moment.

The government dinghy dock. It’s one of the better ones that we’ve seen.

Ms Tessie’s Shop. A small grocery near the dock.

So many abandoned places. We love the architecture.

One day we walked down to Cathedral Cave with the crew of Shanks Mare. It’s a cave but part of the roof has collapsed over time letting light stream in. It was well worth the walk.

Some scenes from Cathedral Cave.

Boiling hole.

I was amazed with the patterns on these roots.

The plan is to move on tomorrow. We’d like to see some more of the beaches on Eleuthera and visit a few other settlements. There may be a quick front moving through next week so Evergreen might have to hide out for a day. There are only a few spots with protection from West winds. We’ve enjoyed Rock Sound and will be back again.

Evergreen anchored in Rock Sound, Eleuthera.

We’re currently sitting in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. I’m going to split this one into two posts and talk about the trip getting here, then more on Rock Sound. Rock Sound was a goal of ours and we wanted to spend some extra time and get to know the place.

February 27th and 28th- Meeks Patch, Gun Point, and Spanish Wells; Eleuthera Bahamas

This was all about life at the beach. Meeks Patch has several beaches and we mostly had one to our selves. We finally went swimming. Last year we swam almost every day. This year the weather hasn’t cooperated. Correction – Ollie swims regardless of weather.

We were in a good anchorage for east winds but it was open to the south. The wind would vary between East then go South East. Sometimes Evergreen would get a little bouncy but that all depended on how far South the wind would swing. Eventually it got a little windy so we bailed out and looked for another anchorage.

Early morning. I found this little pond on the island.

Admiral looking for treasure.

Time for ball!

Evergreen anchored off of Meeks Patch.

This pirate has had enough adventure for the day.

Our next spot we pulled into was Spanish Wells. Unfortunately, the moorings were full so we went around to the north shore of the Island and anchored off Gun Point. This brought us to another beautiful beach. We wanted to explore Spanish Wells but it was breezy and the ride to shore would be a wet one from our current position. Still, we needed diesel so I took the dinghy in to get fuel. I only briefly saw the town. We hope to get back there and spend more time exploring together.

Some scenes from Spanish Wells.

Approach to the harbor.

I think this was 7th Street.

Beautiful beach on the back side of town.

Sunset off Gun Point.

February 29th- Gun Point to Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera Bahamas

We pulled the hook and headed out for the day. The first part of the day was a very fast broad reach, down to Current Cut. This is a small opening that needs to be negotiated at slack tide or with a following current. I chose the following current by determining the tide at Nassau. It all worked out and we picked up an extra knot or two.

This brings us to “The Thorny Path”. I learned from S/V Andante that the path from Florida, through the Bahamas, and on to the Caribbean is often called The Thorny Path. This is due to the trade winds. Basically most days the wind is out of the East or South East and sailing is upwind. This is the land based equivalent of going uphill all damn day. Once through Current Cut we spent a few hours tacking towards Hatchet Bay. Eventually I fired up Evergeen’s diesel and just pounded our way in. Upwind sailing would be our theme for the next few days.

The entrance to Hatchet Bay was surprisingly narrow. The harbor was once a pond but part of the cliff was blasted away to allow boats in. This was to support a large cattle farm which eventually failed. Hatchet Bay provides 360 degree protection from the wind.

Entrance to Hatchet Bay.

Inside the bay the cliff blocks the sea.

On the banks of Hatchet Bay is the settlement of Alice Town. Originally I thought we’d stay here and explore for a few days but the town seems to have fallen on hard times. Here, Ollie and I had our first encounter with a pack of Potcakes. We since have developed a system, but after this first encounter I really wasn’t interested in walking him around town.

What’s a Potcakes you ask?

Potcakes are a mixed breed of dog in the Bahamas and Caribbean. The name is derived from the peas and rice dish that’s popular. The over cooked mass at the bottom of the pot (pot cake) is mixed with other leftovers and given to the dogs. It’s somewhat ironic that these dogs are wandering around all over the place since it seems like many Bahamians are fearful of dogs. So far our encounters have gone OK. We’ve met friendly ones. Others are territorial. Ollie has a certain intensity about him and they don’t approach us too closely. I was raised with dogs, enough said on that subject.

March 1st- Hatchet Bay to Alabaster Bay, Eleuthera Bahamas 

We had planned on pushing up to Governor’s Harbour but wind, waves, and squalls put an end to that plan. I knew the weather might become a problem so we moved on to plan B, Alabaster Bay.

The Bay has another beautiful beach and provided protection from the sea that was blasting over our bow. It was amazing how flat it was considering the wind was still gusting through our rigging. We ran into (figuratively) S/V Andante along the way and both of us pulled into the anchorage for the evening. Later we enjoyed sundowners on their boat.

No pictures today.

March 2nd- Alabaster Bay to Rock Sound, Eleuthera Bahamas

Another upwind slog. We sailed the whole distance. Evergreen performed well. We were able to do the trip with one long tack to get the right angle. It was difficult. The boat was healed over all day and spent much of it pounding into surf. We actually lost a few unimportant things off the bow in the deluge of water.

Toward the end of the trip we were in the lee of the island and the sea flattened out some. Evergreen soared along at 7 knots. Maybe we were picking up some current but I still felt great about the performance of the boat (with ancient sails).

Evergreen pushing to windward.

Big problem:

I had Evergeen’s center board down for the upwind work. With the board down our draft goes from 3′ 9″ to around 9 feet! When we were approaching the Rock Sound area I knew there were shallow spots so I started cranking up the board. The winch broke! Somehow the shaft popped out and with the weight of the board down I couldn’t get the shaft back in. The board is too heavy to pull up. We’re still sailing along and it’s getting shallower…. I tried a few unsuccessful options. Now I’m getting a little worried. Finally using a hammer and a really big screwdriver as a pry bar, I was able to force the shaft back in. Board Up! Whew! We anchored in the Sound for the night.

More to come…

February 22nd- Marsh Harbour to Little Harbour, Great Abaco Island Bahamas

Nice, easy, sailing for much of the day. We didn’t need much speed since we were trying to time our passage into Little Harbour for late in the day. The entrance is shallow and the high tide was around 7:00 pm. We were shooting for 5:00 pm which would give us plenty of water under Evergeen’s keel (maybe).

The sea of Abaco was calm but we could see breakers and rages in the various cuts along the way. The Abacos are protected by reefs and the Atlantic breaks on the reefs and islands, leaving the Sea of Abaco relatively flat. We weren’t heading out to sea today so no problem for us. Right? More on that in a minute.

Breaking seas at North Bar inlet.

As we got closer to little Harbour the water got a lot more bouncy due to water surging through Little Harbour Cut. A lot of water. Waves smashing against cliffs. Water rebounding off afore mentioned cliffs. Confused seas due to rebounding waves. You get the picture. On the other hand it was 5:00 and we were ready for sundowners. Our friend on S/V Outward Bound watched us coming in with binoculars. The crew on Island Girl watched us from their dinghy. Both told us that they’d see Evergreen almost look like it was going to shoot out of the water, pound down, then roll heavily side to side. Very violent motion. Back onboard Evergreen, I was basically gunning the engine to keep the boat from broaching. There are a couple of bouys marking the entrance and I had a Lazer focus on keeping Evergreen centered in the deeper water between them. We’re pretty sure we hit bottom on the low end of these surging seas but momentum exploded us into the harbor. We then tied to Outward Bound’s mooring which he made available for us. That’s it, five very exciting minutes during a slow, sunny day. We had our sundowners.

February 23rd and 24th- Little Harbour, Great Abaco Island Bahamas

Little Harbour is such a scenic place. It’s easy to just spend the day lounging around and seeing the sights. Of course Ollie is great at motivating us to get some exercise. We went on some nice walks in the hilly surroundings with the captains of Outward Bound and Ecola. Friday night there was entertainment at Pete’s Pub and finally, FINALLY, we were going out for dinner and drinks at the pub. This was supposed to be the apex of our trip last year, but when we got to Little Harbour I was sick for several days and had nothing. We had dinner with the crews from 4 different boats this year. What a great night! Good food and good conversation. Lynne and I had Wahoo with peas n rice. Many drinks were had and the entertainment was good.

Some scenes from Little Harbour.

Colvin schooner owned and built by the son of the designer.

Pete’s Pub.

Boats come in and leave stickers or tee shirts hanging from the rafters.

Finally some good weather for another crossing.

February 25th- Little Harbour, Great Abaco Island to Meeks Patch, Eleuthera Bahamas

I’ve had Eleuthera on my mind for a while. It’s an oddly shaped island. Much of it is undeveloped. Surfers love it. Lenny Kravitz lives here. That’s about all I know about this place. 

We crossed the deep blue sea from the Abaco island chain to Eleuthera. I believe the charts had us crossing over 16000 ft depths. Hard to imagine. We wondered what is down there. Our crossing went well. We were able to sail for a while but the wind died out and we fired up Evergeen’s diesel. Our first stop was the harbor at Royal Island. This looked like a perfect place to anchor but it seemed like it would be difficult to get Ollie to shore. If we have bad weather we might wind up back in here but the weather is nice so we decided to move on.

Next stop, Meeks Patch. This is a small island near Spanish Wells which is a town we eventually want to check out. It has multiple beaches, and swimming spots. It’s also got some easy coral reefs to snorkel on. I am an absolute amateur at snorkeling so easy is good for me! We anchored Evergreen and I brought Ollie in for his evening commando raid about sunset. Today was a great day and we were happy to be in Eleuthera.

Sunset off of Meeks Patch, Eleuthera.

February 26th- Meeks Patch, Eleuthera Bahamas

Days like today are why we do this. We explored much of the island and went to most of the beaches. We avoided the island’s main attraction, the swimming pig beach. I am unsure how a meeting would go. Ollie has been near goats with no problems but every once in a while the werewolf comes up. Regardless we had a wonderful day and Ollie is a salty, sandy, mess (and tired).

Forgot to take pictures today.

February 16th to 21st- Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island

We had a very short but exciting sail over from Man O War Cay. The wind was blowing just right and kept Evergreen moving along at hull speed. Marsh Harbour has a few dozen boats anchored but it’s a big anchorage.

Marsh Harbour is coming back little by little but still has a long way to go. On the days that we didn’t have wind and squalls we headed over to Maxwell’s for groceries, Jimmy’s for booze, and the Conch Inn Marina for water. We spent much of the rest of the time on Evergreen due to weather. The wind should be calming down tomorrow so we’ll haul up the anchor and head south.

View off the back porch.

Evergreen anchored in Marsh Harbour.

February 14th- Green Turtle Cay to Man O War Cay, Abaco Islands Bahamas

Sailing in the Bahamas on Valentine’s Day. Blue skies and blue seas. The sun is out. The wind is just right. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.

We had no problems getting through The Whale. It was as flat as it gets.

Our destination for the day was Man O War Cay. There is a good harbor with moorings but we like anchoring out near the beach. At night you can hear the waves breaking on the rocks across the peninsula.

This gazebo is a public structure for anyone to use.

Since we arrived early in the day we did some exploring on the ocean side and walked down the “highway”.

Queen’s Highway.

Some colonial relics.

Evergreen anchored off Man O War Cay.

Sunset.

February 15th- Man O War Cay, Abaco Islands Bahamas

Today we took the dinghy into town. The amount of damage done to these islands by Hurricane Dorian is still evident but it is encouraging to see them coming back. There is still lots of construction. We noticed new businesses open on Green Turtle. Man O War has a new marina under construction.

Man O War has historically been the center for boat building in the Abacos. Boats continue to be built  here but have gone from wood to fiberglass. Wood craftsmanship is still evident in the boats they build and the details of the houses on the island.

Ride into town

Wooden skiff.

The houses on this island are all very “neat” looking. Everything is well cared for.

Ocean side.

Another new house. Blue and white are popular colors.

Bahamas sailing dinghy.

Here I was trying to take a picture of this wooden ketch. Of course Ollie is in the frame. Funny picture. Is he sticking his tongue out at me?

February 13th- Green Turtle Cay Abaco Islands, Bahamas 

At this point we’ve spent around 2 weeks at GTC. It’s been a very relaxing time. We took the dinghy over to New Plymouth for groceries and lunch at Two Shorties. Coco Bay has been explored every day. The weather is warmer but not quite swimming weather yet.

After the rain.

There is a dock on Coco Bay where people feed the turtles.

Lots of happy morning walks.

Evergreen in the background.

Some scenes from New Plymouth.

At low tide, it can be difficult to climb onto these piers.

This guy was “eyeballing” us at Two Shorties. We were having chicken.

I drove a golf cart down this path with 3 or 4 inches to spare. I probably won’t do it again.

Grocery store.

We also went to a beach at the entrance to White Sound. This turned out to be a pretty good spot for shells. Ollie got in a bunch of play time and swimming. Much sand was added to Evergeen’s decor.

He does get tired, eventually.

Starfish. It probably measured more than 12″ across. Every once in a while a good photo just happens!

We don’t have a concrete plan but we feel like it’s time to move on. There are many charter boats visiting the harbor right now. We’re ready for a change. We feel lucky to have been able to use Outward Bound’s mooring for a few weeks. We hope to meet up with him a little further down the road. Tomorrow we’ll drop the mooring lines and point south. We’ll be passing through The Whale or Don’t Rock passage. Both offer unique challenges. We’ve done The Whale but not “Don’t Rock”. Hopefully I can keep the blog going. Internet coverage can be an issue.

Evergreen moored on White Sound, Green Turtle Cay.

January 31st- Great Abaco Island to Green Turtle Cay, Abaco Bahamas

It was an easy down wind sail to Green Turtle Cay. The Captain of Outward Bound loaned us his mooring for a few days so we picked that up in White Sound. First order of business was to head into the Green Turtle Club and check in with Customs. Generally, the Captain is supposed to do this but I convinced the Admiral to take the job. She had already handled the online portion of the process. Everything went well except the dates on our cruising permit are mixed up. For instance it expired before it was written. By the time we looked at the permit the office was closed for the day. They’ll be back next week. No problem for us as we are on “Bahamas time”.

Green Turtle Club docks.

February 1st to 4th- Green Turtle Cay, Abaco Bahamas

We’ve been settling in to Green Turtle life. We rented a golf cart with Andante and cruised over to New Plymouth. Lynne and I had Goombay Smashes at Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar. We then walked around and saw the sights. There are a few new places that have opened up in town. Lots of construction still continues on GTC. The damage from hurricane Dorian is still evident. It’s good to see things coming back. We got stuck in a traffic jam due to the unloading of the supply ship. This was right next to Plymouth Rock Liquors so we stopped in for a few beverages, while waiting for things to clear up. Plymouth Rock Liquors is unique due to the fact that it is a liquor store, bar, and serves food. We had conch fritters with our drinks. The next day we went back for breakfast which was also particularly good. Lynne made arrangements with Nick’s Cafe & Bakery to save her a Cinnamon bun which they usually sell out of. I’m not a connoisseur of pastries. She says Nick’s are the best. We spent around a half hour with the family that runs the bakery. They remembered us from last year and got us caught up with local news.

New Plymouth.

Loyalist Memorial.

Supply ship unloading.

When not hiding from wind and rain we’ve been exploring Coco Bay and our surroundings. The bay has a nice beach with some trails connecting to other beaches. We walk a little further every day. There is a pier where locals feed the turtles and rays that frequent the spot. It’s not really good swimming weather yet but it will be soon. Ollie enjoys his days at the beach and is tired after these excursions. A tired dog is a good dog.

Turtles.

This one came by asking for squid.

Evergreen moored in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay.

January 27th and 28th- Manatee Pocket FL to Great Sale Cay Bahamas

The weather window for the Bahamas crossing seems to be getting shorter by the minute. We decided to change our check in location from the customs office at West End to the office at Green Turtle Cay. We radically changed our plans to make one long run to Great Sale Cay. It took us around 21 hours.

Before departure I conferred with the captain of Andante about the plan. Unfortunately, a large wake and our dinghy conspired to knock his boarding ladder into Manatee Pocket’s very murky water. He flew off to a store to get wood for a new platform. We were then back on track for departure. The Pocket was calm in the morning. By this time the wind seemed to pick up.

At 12:15pm we dropped the mooring line to head out for our over night passage. We pointed Evergreen down the St Lucie River to head out the inlet. The entrance had big swells but no braking waves today.

After exiting the inlet, we set our course south to make up for the Gulf Stream current which would set us north. This was very difficult work as we needed to motor up wind into a heavy sea. Finally off the coast of Jupiter Island we couldn’t take it anymore and turned east towards the Bahamas. I tied the 2nd reef in the mainsl’ and rolled out some of the Genoa. The engine was also used to help keep up speed. We had expected the wind to have changed to a more favorable direction and to lessen but it didn’t. Some discussion was had on Evergreen about turning back. Mutiny is always a concern.

Andante down in a wave.

We sailed Evergreen on a Starboard tack so were healed over to port. Our head (bathroom) is on the port side. Evergreen would punch through waves driving a ton of green water down the deck. Unknown to us, for some unspecified amount of time, a geyser of water would shoot out of the head sink every time we plunged down a wave. By the time the Admiral discovered the problem the head was full of water as was the bilge. Seeing that much sea water inside the boat is very disturbing. Our dual bilge pumps and a garbage can were employed to reduce the amount of sea water. The sink thuhull (valve) was closed to stop the deluge. It was very encouraging to see the water start to go down.

Finally sailing.

I further changed our course in an attempt to have an easier motion over the waves. According to the forecast, by night time, the wind was supposed to be mostly behind us but it wasn’t. Fortunately the speed dropped some as did the waves. Our course wasn’t great, but we could make up the mileage later.

Sunset on the Gulf Stream.

Andante sailing into the night.

Finally after getting through the Gulf Stream and approaching the Bahamas bank the wind direction improved. The moon was out. The sea flattened out. The diesel engine was shut off. We had a beautiful night-time sail onto the bank. This was probably somewhere around midnight. We then made a straight line course for Great Sale Cay. The sun rose and we were in THE BAHAMAS! Maybe it would have been better if the captain picked a calmer day but we made it. Half the trip was lousy and the other half was really nice. 50/50

We continued on and anchored in Northwest Harbour at, the deserted, Great Sale Cay. Great Sale is a little wind swept island with a few spots to get Ollie to shore. Nothing here but nature (and protection from the wind). We made it.

January 29th- Great Sale Cay, Bahamas

The wind.

As I type this up, it’s howling through the rigging. We knew it was going to pick up today, hence the long run to get here. The harbor is protected so while the wind is blowing through the anchorage, the seas don’t get too big. It’s still a salty ride to shore for Ollie’s commando raid. Let me retract that last statement. We’re not checked in yet and are flying the yellow quarantine flag so we were never on shore! A real commando raid!

We’re getting a little T Mobile coverage so I’m able to download my Chris Parker weather forecasts and a few texts. We don’t have enough bandwidth to upload these posts so I’m just writing this up and will upload it sometime in the future.

Some scenes from Great Sale Cay.

View off the back porch.

January 30th- Great Sale Cay to Great Abaco Island Bahamas

The wind calmed down enough that we could make our way down the island chain a little further. Our next anchorage was going to be a nice spot we were at last season. Eventually I had enough cell coverage that I could take a look at the weather for the next day. The wind speed at 20+ knots and westerly wind direction would make the anchorage difficult. Change of plans. We sailed down the side of Great Abaco Island until we spotted a beach. This was a much better location and the island would block the morning wind. Ollie had a good time at the beach. We had sundowners on Andante and had a fun evening.

Ollie lovingly gazes at Mom while she cooks dinner.

Evergreen anchored off of Great Abaco Island.

Sunset

January 26th- Manatee Pocket/ Port Salerno FL

Manatee Pocket turned out to be a good stop. We’ll keep it on the list. The town hasn’t installed much of the facilities that usually go along with a mooring field but they are working on it. There is a new dinghy dock and bathrooms. On the other hand the water on the dock hasn’t been hooked up yet and there are no showers. Pirates Cove Marina was going to provide services but they backed out at the last minute.

I once had a Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich in Philadelphia. It wasn’t that great. The Philly Steak and Cheese was much better at The Whistle Stop. There is a decent grocery store near by and we were able to get mail delivered to the local Post Office. There are a few boat yards with travel lifts (for hauling boats out of the water) and repair facilities.

Ollie is happy with his surroundings.

We’ve been taking walks a few times a day and Oliver is getting extra exercise. We’ve made some friends while here and Ollie’s got a girl friend. The captain of Frabjous Day has had us over for sundowners and has helped us with transportation. The weather has been the usual mixed bag but there haven’t been any other squalls. It’s been a good place to be.

Not a great picture of a Manatee. Haven’t seen any on this trip due to cold water but this is Manatee Pocket.

It’s looking like we have a short weather window to get over to the Bahamas. We’re going to be tagging along with S/V Andante for the trip over. The plan is to head out the St Lucie Inlet tomorrow and make a 20 hour run over to Great Sale Cay. We’ll rest up at Great Sale then sail down to Green Turtle Cay to check in with Customs. That’s the rough plan. We’re looking forward to being in the Bahamas again.

Evergreen moored in Manatee Pocket.

Sunset