Sailing With Serenity: Talk like a Pirate Day

The prevailing winds in the Bahamas are from the east or south east, so anchoring to the west side of a cay is usually a good bet, but in the winter months the weather follows a very predictable pattern. The cycle starts with the passage of a front. When the front passes your location (usually moving east) the winds shift to the northwest at 20-25 knots and the temperature drops (into the 60’s, yikes!). Over the next few days the winds “clock around” first north then northeast and east. The winds generally begin to diminish then to 10-15 knots and continue “clocking” to the southeast, south, and then southwest. When the winds reach the southwest another cold front is on the horizon. Normally the bad weather comes with the passage of the front and the cycle begins again.

Getting weather information in the Bahamas is a little bit of a challenge. ZNS I at 1540 KHZ (AM) from Nassau gives a summary at 0755 each day. When you are in range, a few marinas provide a synopsis on VHF. A lot of the cruisers have single side band (SSB) and rely on Chris Parker for weather forecasts. Serenity has XM weather, and I try to be a junior forecaster with the information provided with about as good a results as the professionals. Chris Parker was predicting squalls (frontal passage) for Wednesday, the 26^th with winds in the upper 40s. That got everyone’s attention. Serenity needed to move.

“A pirate could take a draft of 12’ into this anchorage day or night. The ridges of Warderick Wells at the mouth of the anchorage camouflaged his rigging while Hog Cay would conceal his hull from any ships sailing offshore…. Pirates lying at the south end of Warderick Wells could make easy prey of any vessel passing them headed for The Wide Opening.”

If it was good enough for the likes of Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard), Mary Read and Anne Bonney, the “Lady Pirates” of the early 1700’s, it was good enough for Serenity. Serenity moved to the south mooring field behind Hog Cay.

Well, Chris Parker was a little off. While not a picture perfect day, it was not too bad. Capture Beach is adjacent to the anchorage. A short hike from the beach is The Pirate’s Lair. However, hiking in this area is not like U.S. parks, and can be rather precarious.

We did find some friends along the way.

“The Pirate’s Lair itself was used as a meeting place for the pirates when ashore. They would bring their mats and loungings ashore and set them up in this area to sit, drink, talk, and do whatever it was that pirates did for recreation between boardings.”