Before we left Nassau Dec 12 we stopped at BASRA - Bahamas Air-Sea Rescue Association - and bought 2 baseball caps and made a donation. The Bahamas is a vast island nation and while there is the Bahamian Defense Force with about 26 various boats from 25' whalers to the 2 150' frigates and two aircraft, there is no coast guard. BASRA is a volunteer association made up of boats and private planes owned by private individuals in the various island chains and Cays linked primarily by VHF radio & SSB radio. This is the organization that is primarily involved in rescue operations. The Nassau office is the main office and is staffed again by volunteers. Visiting boaters should stop b(u)y (and donate) and support this volunteer organization when in Nassau, Freeport or Georgetown where their 3 offices are. Hopefully you never speak to them again but every day calls come in for help.
We made the 42 NM from Nassau to Allen's Cay Harbour handily and it was a perfect day for crossing the Grand Bahama Banks. The wind was very much on the nose, of course, and the winds that day were low - 5-8 knots and sunny. We crossed the Yellow Bank rather than going south and then east to the White Bank and so we had some coral heads to watch for. We timed the crossing of the Yellow Bank for after 11am when the sun is higher and the glint on the water (we were heading south-east) is mostly gone. That lets you see the coral heads so you stay floating and don't become an insurance statistic. The water was just beautiful and crystal clear and the coral heads are easy to spot - black on light blue, and easily distinguished from the sea grass which is lighter and more of a muddy green. Safely through that band of the banks, we gave Otto the helm and went for a nap. Well, the combination of the sun, the gentle rocking and the coral free balance of the run put Blair to sleep while Otto was on duty. Edi just shakes her head.
A boat came in late and the mysterious magnetism of anchoring did its magic and they anchored 75 feet from us - did I mention this is a very large anchorage? The wind whipped up, our day of calm over, and the other boat dragged back and forth and by 11pm they had move much further away so they could let out more chain. We were able to get to sleep and by mid-morning they were gone and we had the entire neighbourhood to ourselves for the next day and a half.
A weather window opened, and four more boats arrived and we split for the next cay south, Highbourne Cay. It is a privately owned island with a marina and a few residences. We stayed a night and then made the push a little further on to Norman's Cay. These cays are just miles apart and skipping a few made Norman's only 2-3 hours sail away. We anchored on the west coast just below Skipjack Point with a few other boats, accessed by a very narrow channel with sandbars and coral heads all over. The winds were forecast to whip up big for the next week - 20-25Knots, and this anchorage provides a nice shelter in the lee of the Cay.
Norman's Cay was infamous in the early 80s as part of the Columbian drug smuggling and Norman's Cay is the island airport in the movie Blow (Sean Penn and Matt Damon) the little island runway the spot for planes coming in from Columbia. There is a plane wreck from those days when one pilot on a run clipped the wing and end of story. The local fish must have been stoned for a while. None of that now, the cay is very slow moving and there is no marina, no store, and the local restaurant, Macduff's has been sold and the new owner hopes to be open by early January. Great dinghy rides and beaches and entertaining small passenger planes here and there.
We decided since the weather was not going to change for a week, we'd make a push to get to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and so one day Edi (well, it might have been Blair) had the swell idea to go for a sail on the Sound since the wind tucked nicely on the bank side of the Cay behind 40ft hills was down to 12-15 knots and obviously Chris Parker was a little off his weather forecasting game. So off we went through the cut onto the sound and we can report the little notations in the charts that say the cut can be rough when easterlies oppose tide are based on reality. OK, no problem, it's just a matter of thousands of miles of Atlantic Ocean piling up from 5000+++ feet depth to 15 feet in about 500 yards. Well, the waves calmed a bit once we got out to the deep water and we had a great push in 20-25 knots and 6-8 foot seas to Warderick Wells Cay. The boat is strong and we love her. We arrived about 4:30 pm having reserved a mooring ball that morning.
The Park is 22 miles long and about 8 miles wide incorporating a dozen major cays and countless smaller ones. The rules are simple, take nothing and leave nothing. No fishing, no conching, no fires, no trash, no water available, this area is pristine and the marine life thrives and the coral reefs are incredible. The Park is all about letting nature develop without human interference and setting up interaction areas where we can look and not harm land and sea life. The Park was set up in the late 1950s / 1960s and is funded by the Bahamian National Trust, so it was established by government legislation but is funded by private donations and user fees. The Park is run out of Warderick Wells where the Ranger station is location - there is also a small Defence Force detachment with a 30' cruiser.
The ball is costing us $15/day and for that we get a mooring ball and possible the most incredible anchorage there is. The mooring is in a channel that is very tidal so there is a very swift current and the mooring balls are in a curving line following a deeper line with VERY shallow areas on both sides. Check it out on Google Earth. This is the type of situation where if there was no mooring ball we would use a Bahamian anchor - 2 anchors at 180 degrees with the boat in the middle. So as the tide reverses and the current reverses, the boat stays centred in the very narrow channel.
On entering the mooring a crew jumped into their dinghy having seen our mainsail still partly up and thought we might have engine problems and they came out to help guide us in and got our line onto the mooring ball's pendent for us - very nice landing after an interesting sail and coming into a very narrow, shallow and swift current. These folks were from Baha au Rhum, a 48' Fontaine Pajot. Eric is the captain, the owner and he being friends and Eric is running a charter business for the season on this Cat. He is in the middle of a shakedown cruise and has friends Daniel & Genvieve, Julie (all early 30s to later 40s) and Julie's son Louric (about age 10) aboard for about 2 weeks. It was Eric and Dan in the dinghy and a little while later Dan and Gen realizing we were very much in need of a cold beer coming back with supplies. We after dropping the dinghy, packing away the mainsail and silencing all the running rigging for the night, we tidied ourselves up, splashed on some Aqua velva (well Blair did) and assembled cold beers and shooter material. We broke out a bottle of Don Julio Tequila, farewell gift of Mike and Beck on Harvest Moon, and headed over. Well, the tequila and lemons were a hit and Gen showed us how. Great people, from Montreal of course, and great conversation. Gen and Dan, get a boat and get out here, you are cruisers at heart. DO IT NOW!! Eric, email us, we look forward to seeing you on your runs from Georgetown to Nassau and back. Anyone looking for a winter holiday - email us and we'll put you in touch, great boat, great captain and great cruising grounds.
Warderick Wells Cay has many walking paths and reef dive areas. The walking rules are stick to the paths, look and do not touch, leave nothing, take nothing. Sounds easy but you see interesting things all around, a conch on the beach left with the receding tide, hermit crabs dragging their shells, little curly lizards (OK, less of an urge to pick up but they are fearless and very cute), mangrove leaves, shells etc. The Rangers are supported by a group of volunteers from near and far and the walking trails incorporate signage with descriptions and information all set in and among wonderful vistas. There are trails linking all the beaches, anchorages and the Ranger stations and so we can walk for hours and visitors can also dinghy around to remote beaches and farther walking trails. The Cay is almost a desert island with life struggling to take hold with very little fresh water. W.W. has Loyalist ruins dating from 1780s as well. Other Cays north and south of W.W. have other ruins, wrecks and coral reefs to dive and snorkel and trails to explore.
We walked up to Boo-Boo Hill yesterday overlooking the Sound where we came down from Norman's Cay, with the ocean crashing into the Cay, and with the Blow Holes (water comes shooting up.) Boo-Boo is named for the haunting calls of the crews of three boats wrecked and lost on the rocky shore and a few survivors remains found on the island - we are glad Halloween is long past!
We made our contribution and deposited the transitory evidence of our presence, knowing the trade winds, the sun, the salt water all would slowly remove too our record of passage. It was comforting to think that there is hope for Ma Nature yet, that places remain where we have not permanently screwed it all up, where human presence has not devastated completely nature. That is what the Park is all about, of course, allowing land and marine life of all kinds a chance to survive humanity's onslaught.
The dive and snorkel sites do much the same for experiencing marine life. The park has located mooring balls on certain coral heads near reefs so the dinghies can tie up without dropping an anchor into the area of corals (anchor strikes on coral are devastating and take decades to repair.) The marine life is teaming here as the 176 square miles of the Park are a no fishing, no conching, no netting etc. zone. Bahamians say marine life here is sort of what all the Bahamas were 50 years ago. Like Atlantic Canada's fisheries, the Bahamian fisheries have been devastated and the Park is a zone of nurseries. There are a dozen or so dive and snorkels sites in easy dinghy distance from the mooring and we look forward to exploring those (we have wet suites and snorkles gear.) Our fishing gear and Hawaiian spear sling stay on the boat until we get the Staniel Cay at least.
We are staying here until December 26-27, so for a full week. We have been travelling steadily, provision, fueling etc and this is an absolutely wonderful place to take a holiday and some time off. The tradewinds are blowing steadily since we left Highbourne Cay, and today again are blowing 18-25 knots. Our crew has grown and we are doing what we always laughed at - naming and adding to our crew. In addition to Otto, our helmsman, we have Mr. Archie Jiggles, our lookout on the port spreader, Ginny the wind generator, queen of power generation and overseer of the silent solar quartet. Ginny is happily earning her keep along with her cousins on other boats. Rocky, the rocna anchor, has faithfully kept us all in place through some major blows. Sparky, our radio operator - the ssb ICOM 802 radio - keeps us in touch with Chris and the weather and home and friends via the Pactor 3 modem. All of us living and kept safe and sound and secure in the strong embrace of our floating home Kind of Magic. I've got to lose weight, it's getting a bit crowded! If a 6' pink talking rabbit joins us, we'll seek help, promise.
We've had lots of sun too, the boat is coated in salt water from our sail on the Sound a couple of days ago. We are coated from the stakpak down, including the dodger and cockpit enclosure (the side curtains mostly kept us dry on that sail) and of course the deck and hatch covers. It doesn't really dry and is quite sticky, so the rare rainfall is very welcome. Aquaman (childhood fav along with Spidey) the watermaker has got into his groove and efficiently and quietly makes water from water at the rate of 3 gallons an hour. The goals of surviving on less, producing no garbage footprints, burning as little diesel as possible etc. are very much necessities of long-term living out here. There are no garbage dumps, no water or diesel available. Everything from food packaging, to cans, bottles, holding tank contents, toilet paper etc. needs to be minimized and taken out for proper disposal. We burned our burnable garbage on a remote area of the beach at Norman's Cay, with our camp shovel and bucket used to bury the ashes off beach. We pumped out 5-6 miles out into the Sound in deep water and our metals and plastics are crushed awaiting a recycle site in Georgetown.
As we settle in and get our LED Christmas lights set up, scrounge for presents for the Warden and staff and for a couple of kids on the surrounding boats, our thoughts are very much of home and those we haven't seen in a long time, some for far too long a time. We love you, we miss you and we wish very much for your happiness.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Seasons greetings all:
Tata-Joseph & Diane, Dad-Harry & Ruth, Mark & Matthew & Andrew & Steph & Sue, Brian & Susan, Kerry & Brad, Diane, Kimberly & Alex, Paul & Amber, Sheila & Peter, Ryan & David & Laura & Tracy, Daniela & Slobodan, Elizabeth & Jusof & Donny, Scott & Nicole, Denise & Phil, Graham
Lots of hugs and kisses and best wishes for everything you have asked mommy and daddy and santa for:
Amy, Megan, Hannah, Thomas, Charlie, Grace & her soon to arrive sister, Petra, Leon, Mackenzie, Oliver;
Auntie Edi and Uncle Blair love you and miss you
To Homer & Kerry & Emerson & Emmet, Ross and Bev and their whole crew: Rhonda & Ava & Brenda & Dan & Ally & her soon to arrive sibling & Paul & Leeanne & Mary & Doug, Heidi and the gals at the Queens, the gals at the Lockeroom, to our supporters and friends at our old sailing Club Hawkestone Y.C., to friends and fellow dreamers and travellers all, well-wishers and cousins, near and far;
Finally and especially, to our fellow cruisers and travellers of the watery road, best of the season to all, we'll listen on the airwaves and scan the anchorages for you, keep safe and securely anchored
MERRY CHRISTMAS, JOYEUX NOEL, HAPPY HANNUKAH, SEASONS GREETINGS
From the crew of Kind of Magic - Captain Edi, Gopher Blair, Otto, Archie, Ginny, Rocky & Sparky
Mooring ball #11, North anchorage, Warderick Wells Cay, Exumas, Bahamas
2545.4 NM / 2927.2 STM / 4683.7 KM - 4 ½ months out
Blair & Edi
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