Author: Chris McLean

Black Point Settlement, Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

Today was the second day of Bahamian C-class racing and it took place right in our anchorage, giving us a close-up viewing.  These boats were all made in the Bahamas and must have Bahamian owners and captains.  They also must be wooden and have cotton sails which makes them very traditional – there’s no carbon fibers or high-tech finishes. These boats also use the weight of their crew members to counterbalance the wind on their sails. 

A couple of our boat friends crewed yesterday.  Although their boat, Smashie, did not win they were recognized with medals at the ceremony this evening.

This settlement is really friendly to all of the cruisers and we enjoy our time here.

I will be working from a cafe here Monday through Wednesday.  I am hoping that the weather allows me to work outside so I can watch the cats and chickens.  There’s something kind of appealing about working in this setting.. 

Today is the 90th day of our journey and our 47th day in the Bahamas.  The blue of the water still awes us and we’re so very thankful for the friends we’ve made.

Black Point Settlement to near Big Farmers Cay back to Black Point (anchored)

April 13-15, 2022

Black Point has been home base for a while – there’s a very small settlement here that seems very cruiser-friendly.  The few restaurants have good food, there’s a laundromat, and a place to dispose of trash. We also have a small group of boat buddies here.

I have been able to find strong enough internet on the island to allow me to complete a few Zoom calls.  It’s not strong enough on Lailia and we’re not able to get a sim card for the other internet provider – the stores are closed for Good Friday and are not open on the weekends.

Yesterday we met up with our boat buddies for happy hour and dinner.  The guys talk about a lot of mechanical stuff (gotta fix what broken) along with whatever guys always talk about.  The women talk about washing our hair in the sink and the things we miss about living at home (and whatever else women talk about).  We’ve come to the conclusion that, for us at least, the men are living their adventure dreams while we women are along for the ride.

We have been planning to go to Georgetown which is a large area off Grand Exuma.  It’s a very popular place for cruisers as well as vacationers who fly in.  Our hope was to anchor there so I can get good wifi and so we can reprovision Lailia.  We have heard that it can be very busy and crowded there but that cruisers will spend entire seasons there. 

We headed out today at 1:00, which is much later that usual.  While the waves were about a foot there were some that were higher.  We also had the wind on our face so we were motoring against wind and waves. 

One of our boat buddies left a few hours before we did and we planned to meet them at a marina about 15 miles from here.  We knew we would have to to carefully find our way through some shallow water to get to that marina but we were happy to be heading south.

Our boat buddies let us know they were having engine issues – they eventually just dropped anchor because the issue was not easily repairable.  We could actually see their boat BUT we couldn’t get to them because there wasn’t enough water depth.

The tide wasn’t at it lowest, in fact it was rising, but there was just no easy way to go three miles to the marina – we didn’t want to wait for high tide to find out there still wasn’t enough depth.  We dropped anchor for a bit and decided our best bet was to return to Black Point.  We know that anchorage is pretty protected and we know the depth and currents.

With a following wind (are our back) we were able to move much more quickly.  We also had our own electronic tracks to follow back.

So, we’re back to Black Point. The winds won’t make crossing over to the deeper (eastern) side of the islands comfortable for a bit and I have a three-day visit Monday through Wednesday, so we’ll make due here.  I’ll ask the cafe owner of I can pay her to use her internet for a few days. 

High winds are forecast for the end of the week.  We’re hoping we can get a slip in a marina just north of here to ride it out.

To remind us that stuff is always breaking, John will be working on fixing our windlass again.  It stopped working as we pulled anchor here today (so John had to pull up the anchor and about 80 feet of chain at our temporary anchorage this afternoon).

Our boat friends whose cooling pump seized were towed by a boat buddy of theirs so they’re in a marina.  They may have to get replacement parts flown in but everyone is safe

Black Point Settlement, Exumas (anchored)

April 11, 2022

The wind is blowing 20+mph with even higher gusts.  It’s continuous and Lailia is always moving.   The temps are in the low 70s and with the wind, it just feels chilly to me.  John offered to take me to shore but I don’t feel like leaving the boat today.  The dinghy ride home from dinner last night was cold and damp and I am not up for that today.

John worked for five hours to target how air is getting into our fuel line.  It’s clear that it’s coming in before the Raycor fuel/water separator because we can see the bubbles there when we prime it.  He’s finally come up with a work-around of switching to our other fuel tank.  We ran the engine for 50 minutes using this method before we turned it off.  That’s the longest it’s run today.

I am very much missing living on land today.  I miss the convenience of stores, easily accessed internet, my own car, and a home that’s not constantly moving.

---

April 12, 2022

It’s still very windy and looks as if it will be for the foreseeable future.  Lailia moves all of the time – it’s not rolly but we are moving on an endless arc of current and wind around our anchor. 

We took our dinghy to the government docks so we could do laundry, find groceries, and donate some school supplies. 

The laundromat here is exceptional.  There is a manager on site who will point out which of the 10 washers and dryers to use and will even move clothes out machines if the owners aren’t around.  The view is pretty incredible, too 

There’s even a place to sit right on the water where customers can wait for their laundry.  The water is so clear it’s easy to see sharks and rays swimming.

We met up with some boat buddies at Lorraine’s Cafe.  This little restaurant has really good food and a large outdoor seating area.  Since there’s about 38 boats in this harbor today, finding seating is important.  We’ve been crossing paths with many of these buddies for much of our trip. We’re able to share plans and resources as well as talk to folks who we don’t live with.

Grocery shopping is a bit hit-or-miss on small islands.  We did get a tomato, a few oranges, and a green pepper, but there were no eggs today.  Of course they did have peanut M&Ms (there’s ALWAYS peanut M&Ms and Snickers).

John did his best to minimize wave splash on our ride back to Lailia – we had several bags of clean laundry that we didn’t want to get wet. 

We’ve been tying the dinghy to the side of Lailia for ease of access but last night the waves and wind were pushing the dinghy into the hull, which adds on to the sounds of the wind and the wind generator.  Sleep is really difficult for me these days and all that sound isn’t helpful. John tied the dinghy to our stern this afternoon in an effort to minimize the nois

About an hour or so later, another boater came around with our dinghy.  The wind and waves apparently conspired to loosen the lines.  These very wonderful people saw the dinghy floating by and retrieved it when we didn’t even know it was gone.  It’s attached in three places (including a cable and lock) to the boat and making noise.  We’re really glad we had boat neighbors at the right place and the right time; the dinghy is the way we get to shore when we’re anchored. 

I have a virtual meeting tomorrow so we’ll head back to Lorraine’s Cafe since she’s got a really strong connection.  There are two internet providers in the Bahamas: ALIV and BTC.  ALIV seems to provide the best connection in almost all of the islands EXCEPT the Exumas.  We’re right in front of a BTC tower but we can’t buy a BTC sim card in this settlement.  The closest place is about 3 miles from here, as the crow flies, which is too far for a dinghy ride.  if we get to George Town (about 45 miles south of here) we should be able to purchase one there so I can do a virtual visit at the end of the month.

I don’t know that we were aware how often we were going to need to hole up and wait for better weather.  Pictures can be misleading because we’ve had really bright sunshine with these high winds so it looks like every day is perfect.  The water is perfect clear and the skies are gorgeous but the wind is very often a constant presence.

Black Point Settlement, Great Guana Cay, Exumas (anchored)

April 10, 2022

The north winds that brought all the gusts and waves yesterday also brought some cooler temperatures so sleeping is a lot more comfortable.  Winds have clocked a bit to NNE so we are getting a little protection in the harbor.

Living aboard and in the Bahamas has some inconveniences – one is trash disposal.  Since we haven’t been in a marina for a week, we have accumulated a bag of trash.  Luckily we were able to dispose of it at the government docks here. 

Within five minutes of tying our dinghy at the docks we saw a sea turtle, a ray, and a nurse shark. 

Lorraine’s Restaurant is recommended in many cruising guides.  We had an amazing red snapper wrap there prior to exploring the settlement.

The two views from this island are very different.  We’re anchored on the Exuma Bank side – the water is relatively shallow and calm there. A mile from shore on that side reaches depths of about 12 to 20 feet. 

The Exuma Sound side is wilder – there are more cliffs there and the waves pound the shore.  A mile out reaches depths of over 600 feet.

There are so many variations on blue here.

Several of our boat buddies – from Bimini and Great Harbour are anchored here as we all wait for a better weather window.  Nine of us dinghied to a restaurant for dinner.  It was actually chilly heading back.

Tomorrow we’ll catch up on laundry and see what groceries we can find.  A mail boat delivered supplies to town today so we may get lucky and get some fresh fruit and veggies, eggs, and milk.  We’ll be here for a few days before we’re able to head south again.

Highbourne Cay to Shroud Cay to Warderick Wells to Black Point, Exumas, Bahamas (anchorages)

April 6 to 9 2022

We were out of wifi range for a few days as we traveled through the Exumas Land and Sea Park, which is a long range of islands.  These cays are pristine and are strict about staying that way.  They do not allow any fishing and there are no stores or cell towers.

We left Highbourne, and as always in the Exumas, headed out about a mile into deeper water – deeper being relative since it was about 20 feet. 

It was a little splashy but I have found that sitting next to John so I am looking forward (instead of on the side of the cockpit) and having at least one earbud in seems to help.  Luckily, I downloaded a few Brene Brown books, so I had her voice in my ear for much of the rides the past few days

The water was calm at Shroud Cay so we took a dinghy ride to explore a nearby beach.  The terrain here is a mix of rocky outcroppings with stretches of sandy beaches.  Sometimes there are layers of flat rocks, too.

The next day we took a dingy ride through a mangrove trail.  This trail was much wider than Shark Creek in Great Harbour.  We didn’t time the tide right so we didn’t complete the entire loop.  We still saw many sea turtles so it was perfect.

Since the forecast calls for wind coming from the north on Saturday and there’s not much protection from that direction at Shroud Cay we decided to start moving south towards Black Point or Staniel Cay. We try to have a backup plan especially when weather will be a factor.

We motored out and over to Warderick Wells, which has mooring buoys.  Boats can tie up to these rather than anchor. If the mooring buoys are well maintained, this can be a nicer option than anchoring because they’re spaced well and there’s no worries about anchor drag.

Unfortunately the mooring we wanted was missing a loop, so we wound up anchoring.  While we were dropping the anchor our engine quit.  John was able to restart it.

When we travel from cay to cay we haul our dinghy and its motor separately onto Lailia.  Once we get to an anchorage we have to weigh out desire to go ashore against the amount of work to get the dinghy into the water (and back up again).  The motor weighs about 95lbs and if the sea state is too rough, it’s not worth it to struggle to get it down and onto the dinghy for just a day.  We chose not to deal with it at Warderick. 

John spent some time with our diesel motor trying to troubleshoot the issue.  We were concerned that there might have been water in the line (this can happen when buying diesel in the Bahamas) but this did not appear to be the issue.  There was some air in the line but we were able to bleed it out.

Just as we were heading out this morning our motor died again.  We had enough wind to sail with just our headsail out.  It helped that we had following waves pushing us along – we averaged close to 7 knots.  We were able to get in contact with our boat buddies who were all headed to the Black Point anchorage to make sure there would be room for us.

Some folks like the excitement of living on the edge and others like to be in the safe middle.  I am a safe middle person.  I like both backup and exit plans.  I always know where all the emergency exits are on airplanes and in hotels.  I even have a bug-out system when I stay in a hotel so I can grab my important stuff if we have to evacuate.  I do not like being in a boat with a wonky motor and big winds. I do not like it at all.  I especially don’t like it when we have to drop a sail and anchor in a crowded place.

As we furled the headsail I let go of a line that whipped around.  The other line got pulled out of John’s hand.  I had to steer our boat into a very strong wind against the waves while John recovered the lines and worked the winch to get the sail furled, all while making sure we stayed in enough depth and praying that our engine didn’t die. This may be exhilarating for some folks. It’s not for me.  The engine did not die and John got the headsail in.

Lailia’s engine also got us to our initial anchor drop and after we set the anchor, it died again.  It was a bit close to another boat so once we got the engine started again, we moved to a better spot and dropped anchor again (good thing John fixed the windlass when we were in Nassau).

John found a loose hose clamp which is probably how air was getting into our fuel line.  He tightened it and we’ll let Lailia’s engine run for a while tomorrow to see if this fixes it.  This will allow us to charge my laptop and a bunch of electronic devices and heat water for showers.

Hopefully we’ll be able to drop the dinghy tomorrow and go into Black Point.  We can dispose of our trash there, go to a laundromat, get some groceries and join our friends for a barbecue dinner at the restaurant.  We’ll be here for a few days until the winds go back to a reasonable level.

Since we left 12 weeks ago we (John) have had to  fix or replace a water pump, a wash down pump, the windlass, the alternator, and now the fuel line.  The constant movement of a boat exacerbated by rough seas is really hard on everything.  Our boat buddies are all continuously fixing their stuff, too. I guess fixing stuff can break up the monotony of waiting for weather windows sometimes.

Allen’s Cay to Highbourne Cay (again), Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

April 5, 2022

Yesterday was gorgeous – pretty calm water, even when a rain squall came through. This morning the winds were up and it started to get a little rolly in our anchorage. We thought we might slip into a cove facing us for more protection so we pulled the anchor up.  The windlass is working really well.

That cove wasn’t as good of an anchorage as we hoped – with strong currents we need to put down a lot of chain to provide extra weight but that would have put us too close for (my) comfort to rocks. 

We decided to go back to Highbourne Cay and anchor there, thinking the island might offer some protection.  We hadn’t planned to go quite so far and only had our dinghy tied behind us.  John got us out into decent water (no rocks or shoals) and re-tied the dinghy.  Folks drag their dinghies all of the time, but there’s definitely proper ways to do this.

After we anchored John took the dinghy in to the marina to get ice and provisions.  I did bucket laundry on Lailia.  We have a lot of quick dry clothes, thankfully!

It was pretty rolly here, too.  Rolls aren’t terrible – I can read and sleep through them, most of the time.  If the intervals are close, they’re not fun, though.  It’s sometimes a little difficult to stay balanced.

When we’re anchored we often have an afternoon cheese plate: a few types of cheese, some crackers, and some fruit or vegetables.  Today we were able to add some honey barbecue Fritos to the mix.  Neither of us would have bought these in the past but…you take what you can get when you’re in the Exumas.  We even had seconds!

It’s a bit less rolly here now.  We’re planning to head to Shroud Cay tomorrow.  Some boat friends have been there and really liked it.  There’s another big blow coming this weekend so we’ll be looking for a good protected anchorage.

Allen Cay, Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

April 4, 2022

We use an igloo cooler to keep our beverages cold (as long as we can buy ice).  It’s on our stern so it’s in the sun all day long.  Today we decided to create an insulated cover for it. We have a roll of the silver bubble wrap stuff that’s often used in car windshield protectors that we use to cover our deck hatches.  It was the perfect material for the cooler cover.

We used white gorilla tape to adhere the pieces.  Working with that much shine was its own challenge – and if we ever have an emergency we’ll be able to message planes with the reflection off the cover. 

We jumped into the dinghy to check out all of the small cays around us.  They’re very rocky with mostly low plants and bushes.  We have heard the nocturnal Audubon shearwaters who nest in the holes in the rocks.

We (I) wanted to see if I could feed more birds on a different cay in this small area.  We also wanted to climb to the top of a hill to check out a ruined building, especially since there were concrete pavers leading right up to it.

Those sandy pavers were a problem coming down, though. John slipped but caught himself. I slipped and the ground caught me. We are very, very glad that the iguanas are not carnivores!

We have a lot of first aid supplies so once I cleaned off all of the blood and sand (I am tall enough to get my foot and shin in the sink, then I hoisted myself up to get my inner thigh clean) I was Neosporin-ed and bandaged up. We have cloth tape so I didn’t have to use gorilla tape.

Highbourne Cay to Allen’s Cays, Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

April 3, 2022

Last night was an easy night.  We slept well in the pretty calm seas.  We made plans with our boat buddies to dinghy over to Allen’s Cay to see the endangered iguanas. 

We saw two seaplanes land which was really cool.  They circled the anchorage and landed a bit behind us then motored into the marina. 

The wind clocked around and started pushing waves from the south. The water was so rolly that we determined it would be dangerous to try to lower our 95lb outboard motor from the stern rail down to the dinghy; both Lailia and her dinghy were rocking way too hard.

I really wanted to see those iguanas. 

We made the decision to move Lailia to that anchorage.  Because there are so many rocks and sandbars we had to go out into deeper water and come back into the Allen’s Cay anchorage.  It’s sort of like getting back on the highway and getting off at the next exit instead of taking surface roads. We weren’t sure there would be room in this small anchorage between three cays but decided we could always go back.

We probably got the very last spot here.  There’s limited space and we’re close to all three of the cays with Bahamas iguanas on them. 

We anchored in about 8 feet of water with a sandy bottom.  Sand is a great sea bottom for our anchor because the anchor can dig down into it.  This keeps Lailia in place.   John snorkeled down to check to make sure the anchor was firmly set.  We could also see it from our dinghy.

We dinghied the short distance to meet our friends (two couples). There’s iguanas everywhere!  We brought carrots to feed them…but the highlight for me was feeding the Bahamas mockingbirds.  They took orange chunks from my hand.  Nature nerd was in her glory!

John kept the socialization going while I explored the island (we’re both happy with these roles). There’s a few trails to the other side of the island where I found more iguanas and a really cool osprey.

I also learned that conchs have eyes on stalks. Immature conchs don’t have a flared lip on their shells.

We got back to Lailia in time to eat dinner before a quick squall came through. As much as we appreciate the quick rinse of salt off Lailia, closing all of the hatches and portlights make the cabin get hot quickly!

We have a few more cays right here to explore and have plans to get together with boat buddies again tomorrow.

It’s places like this and Hoffman’s Cay that help me understand why people love the cruising lifestyle.

Nassau Harbor Club Marina, Providence Island  to Highbourne Cay, Exumas (anchored)

April 2, 2022

Nassau is a good spot to get repairs and supplies but we like nature and quiet much more.  It was a relief to head out of Nassau and into the Exumas.  This is only about 30 southeast nautical miles away.

The waves were a bit more wavy today – although after our trip around the Berry Islands, any waves at all are more wavy. They were probably a foot high (way better than our Gulf Stream crossing).

This water is a lot more shallow here so it’s more turquoise and green than the deep blue over the tongue of the ocean. I hoped that maybe I might catch a fish as we crossed. That, once again, did not happen.

We use multiple devices to help us get where we are going: we have two Garmin map systems (one in the cockpit and one below in the navigation station), plus apps on our phones (two apps on my phone just in case). We also have an autopilot which allows us to set a track via a compass track (for example, 156°). Even still, we wind up playing explorer with binoculars as we get closer to land.

We have a couple boat friends who are on approximately the same path we are. One couple left the marina earlier this morning to head to this anchorage. We’re anchored near them tonight and plan to do some exploring by dinghy tomorrow.

The water here is absolutely gorgeous and clear. We’re anchored in 15 feet of water and can see the bottom. On our way to the anchorage I saw a large shark swimming.

John has some very good friends. His friend Rob FaceTimed the Villanova game so John could watch it live (on our speedy 3G – sometimes 2G- connection here). He’s on a Facetime call with Rob and Robert right now.

A wonder of this anchorage is that we have a huge swath of ocean to our west. Sunset is beautiful in this big sky. The stars will be pouring out in the sky tonight.

We have been in the Bahamas for just about five weeks and have been moving east and south. Each island/island chain is a bit different which gives us lots of opportunities to explore.

Nassau Harbor Club Marina, Nassau, Bahamas (docked)

April 1, 2022

The ladder supports have been installed – John had to stand in the rocking dinghy while I ratcheted the bolts from my stomach from our bed.  There might be some f-bombs still echoing in Nassau Harbor.

John also fashioned a way to hold the windlass brush in place with stainless steel wire.  He fixed our windlass.

Since we are in Nassau with its many stores we decided we should pick up a few items we wanted: a fishing spear, a snorkel, and a mask for me.  These items weren’t available on the other islands we visited.

The best news of the day is that our alternator was rebuilt and reinstalled on Lailia this afternoon.  We’re able to leave tomorrow!

We should have low waves and moderately low winds tomorrow.  We’re planning to go to the Exumas which are supposed to be incredibly beautiful.