Boo Boo Hill & Snorkeling

Warderick Wells Cay in The Exuma Land and Sea Park is noted for its hiking trails and snorkeling sites.  Also, Warderick Wells is said to be haunted and it is reported that on moonlit nights the sound of a congregation singing hymns can be heard.  When the singing ceases a number of voices can be heard calling to one another.  There are three shipwrecks off the coast of Warderick Wells.  The one in the vicinity of Boo Boo Hill reportedly was a ship laden with missionaries.  Legend has it that the Loyalists that once populated the cay did not leave on their own accord, but were massacred by pirates.  To add to the lore, a human skeleton was found in 1978  under a bush on the west side.  Through a series of unfortunate events, the skeleton was buried sans head.  To calm the spirits, cruisers climb Boo Boo Hill to a cairn, enjoying the self-guided nature hike on the way, and leave a driftwood plaque with the name of their boat.

Good snorkeling reefs are scattered around Warderick Wells Cay.  Most have dinghy mooring balls marking their location that you are allowed to tie off on. Because of the strong currents around the cay, snorkeling is only recommended during slack tides.

Unfortunately, Pollie’s Olympus Stylus Tough, shockproof/waterproof camera is giving her trouble.  The self retracting lens cover is failing to retract.  When we get where we can use Skype again, we will give their tech support line a call.  If that does not resolve the problem, we will probably investigate picking up another underwater camera in George Town.  Sans camera, yesterday she missed a shot of a ray with at least a four foot (Pollie says 5’) wing span swimming with us.

SOURCE: The Exuma Guide, by Stephen J. Pavlidis

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.”

Arragh!

Today was so calm, we took the dinghy out and went looking for stromatolites.   Unsuccessful in our search, we did find a nice reef to snorkel on.

SOURCES: Bahamas Bound, by Skipper Bob Publications

The Exuma Guide, by Stephen J. Pavlidis

This posting dedicated to pirate lover Chris N.

Take only photographs… Leave only footprints!

Our first stop in The Exuma Land and Sea Park (see: thebahamasnationaltrust.org) was Shroud Cay, only about six miles south of Normans Cay.

We had planned on spending some time at Shroud Cay kayaking (motor powered craft are not allowed) through mangrove streams that crisscross between the high spots that makeup the key.  But, the weather continued to be somewhat unsettled and not suitable for our style of kayaking.  So, we decided to press on to Warderick Wells Cay.  In the outlying keys that make up the park are mooring fields (preferred over anchoring for ecological reasons) that are available on a first come basis, but at Warderick Wells the moorings are assigned.  We had hoped to get a mooring in the well protected north mooring field, however we were assigned a mooring near the less protected Emerald Rock mooring field to the southwest of the key.  We will have to watch the weather closely and move to a better protected area if warranted.  We hedged our bets with the Park to get a protected mooring by joining the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park Support Fleet ($50).

North Mooring Field

View from the ECLSP office

Warderick Wells is very popular with the cruisers.  It has no water, bathroom facilities, trash disposal, fuel, telephone service or groceries.  What it does have is hiking trails to places called Boo Boo Hill, reefs for snorkeling, and great scenery.  Their one concession to the outside world is the availability of Internet for $10 per 24 hours or 100 MB whichever comes first (no Skype). 

Cheeseburger in Paradise

After provisioning and buying those last few things we were sure we could not do without, i.e., extra propane tank, extra gas for the dinghy engine, short wave antenna, etc., we slipped out of Nassau mid-afternoon on Jan.  19, 2011.  We proceeded east about 6 miles and anchored south of Rose Island:



A friend from back in our Albuquerque days, Bob Springer, used to go to Rose Island for BBQ’s put on by the Roses.  Today it appears the island is still used for day excursions from Nassau, as a passenger ferry was docked there when we arrived.  We took our dinghy to the southern spit, where we found the “sidewalk to nowhere.”  What looked to be fairly recent construction was a roughly formed concrete sidewalk probably about a half a mile long and three feet wide running along the spit, just above the beach – very odd.  At the other end of the spit we found the quintessential rope hammock hanging from two palm trees.  I took a nap while Pollie searched for shells.  Most cruise ship and day excursion companies do not mind if you visit their facilities when they are not in use by their guests.

The next morning we proceeded south across the Banks about 40 miles to Normans Cay:



Back in the late 70’s early 80’s half of Norman Cay that included the air strip and yacht club was owned by the notorious Carlos Lehder and was the hub for his drug smuggling operation until closed down by U.S. DEA.  Some of the buildings still have some bullet holes.  In the anchorage sits the remains of one of his twin engine aircraft that crashed after making a touch and go on the island.



Today, it makes a great snorkeling site.

Mo trying to prop start it



We had a great dive after way too long out of the water.  Most of our forgotten skills retuned to us, and Pollie’s camera did a great job.

These guys were very curious

The old yacht club is now in ruins, but scheduled for a renewal.   Adjacent to the air strip is the Normans Cay Beach Club and MacDuffs restaurant/bar, open from 12-3 for lunch and dinner by reservation.  Cheeseburgers were $18 each, and beers were $6 a piece, but it was great!  And, we met a couple headed down to the Exuma Land and Sea Park to be volunteer hosts.



Adjacent to the anchorage was “lone tree island:”



 On the island was a monument to Aleda and Ron Turner.  In addition to a stone marker was bench placed there in their honor.

Add about 30 knots of wind, rolling seas, cross current, and total darkness to this picture of Serenity at anchor southeast of Normans Cay and you will have an idea how we spent our last night at anchor there.  On the up side, the wind generator did a great job charging the batteries. 

Visiting Hog Island

After some repairs, we decided to take a well deserved trip over to Paradise Island and the Atlantis complex.  Paradise Island used to be called Hog Island, but the name was changed when it was purchased to make a resort.  Probably a wise decision.

Most of the people that arrive by cruise ship use a ferry to cross the harbor to Paradise Island, but we rode our bikes across the bridge seeing the fish markets below on our way.

Our first stop was the Cloisters, an amazing stucture brought over from France in 1969 and reassembled.  Accross the street was a beautiful garden:

Versaielles Gardens

Our next stop was "La, la Land."

While Pollie was enjoying the Chihuly glass work:

 I was enjoying the marina and the mega-yachts:

Race Weekend

A gentleman that I worked with in the FAA said, "If you ever get over to the islands, mon, look up my brother."  So, when we got to Nassau, I emailed that gentleman, John Greene, and asked where we could meet his brother.  John emailed me back and said, "You have to be kidding, I am here for a marathon".  Running is better in the Bahamas," (see :http://www.marathn bahamas.com/).  We were able to get together for a short visit:

John & Mo

  

Nassau, Bahamas

After 4 days and nights of strong winds, we escaped The Berry Island Club.  In the last post, I might have sounded a little negative about the place.  The problem is there is not much there, for that long of a visit.  However, one evening a fishing show production company threw a party for the locals and invited the cruisers.  Great food and drinks were had by all, some more than others.  When you want a lively party, invite French Canadians!

Evidently, the neighboring cay, Whale Cay was once very lively (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Carstairs).  Today Whale Cay is available for you to rent the whole island with staff for a mere $65,000 per week.

We departed early Saturday morning loosely buddy-boating with the French Canadians on Ludicrous.  They are lock tenders in Montreal during the summer months, and cruisers/paid crew during the winter months.  They seemed quite competent, as they are en route to Guatemala. 

After crossing The Tongue of the Ocean and some very deep water, the first landfall visible is the Atlantis Hotel complex on Paradise Island (formerly Hog Island).  Our crossing had some rather large waves and wind gusts in the 20's, but Serenity and crew did fine.  The Atlantis Marina wanted $4.00 per foot, 50 foot minimum, so we are on the Nassau side at the Nassau Harbour Club.

Notice the wet decks and jack lines deployed.

One must request permission to enter Nassau Harbour and provide registration number along with other information.  If one of these big guys is arriving or departing you must hold outside.

Evidently the Mail Boats also carry passengers.  

A cheap way to see the real Bahamas.

There is also a lot of other traffic to dodge besides the cruise ships, including the Booze and Cruise boats.

After some provisioning and well deserved R&R, we will head south into the Exuma Cays.

  

  

Berry Islands

On January 10th, we departed North Bimini to cross the Great Bahamas Bank. Knowing that we could not make the crossing in one day and that we would have to anchor out on the Bank overnight, we waited for a good weather window. Fortunately, we found a good window, too good, the wind was less than two knots for most of the day and night. We spent all day motoring in 14 to 15 foot water; most of the time seeing the bottom. There were starfish, sea cucumbers, sponges, and the occasional fish.

That night I laid out 75 foot of chain. The next morning, I picked it up from the same spot it dropped.

If it wasn’t for the awesome emptiness, it would have been boring.

After passing through the Northwest Channel, we entered the Tongue of Ocean and deep water, before turning north to the Berry Islands and The Berry Islands Club. At The Berry Islands Club, we took a mooring ball to wait out yet another frontal passage. Turns out The Berry Islands Club is a little less than advertised. The washer and dryer are broken, the showers are out of order, but they do let you use one of the three hotel rooms, but the water treatment facilities are on the blink so it is a salty shower, no ice, and access to the Internet is $10 per hour. We tried the restaurant where you must make reservation at least two hour in advance and at that time select from the menu, but were very disappointed. This front brought with it some high winds and seas that are expected to last for a few days. So, it does not look like we will be able to leave for Nassau until the 14th or 15th.

We are still sorting out communications. Our Verizon phones work with the Bahamas Telecommunication Company (BTC), but at a rate of $2 per minute on top of our normal fees. To use the Verizon aircard, I would have to get a global plan which is very limited and expensive. Interestingly, a global unlimited data plan for my phone is only an extra $30 a month, so I can still receive emails on my phone and the GPS locator will work when we are within BTC coverage. We looked into getting a cheap GSM phone and BTC SIM car in Bimini, but found the selection very limited. When we can get Internet, we have found Skype to be a very reasonable alternative. So, when we get to Nassau, we are going to check again on getting a GSM phone and SIM card so that phone calls will be about 80 cents a minute. We will also check on a BTC data SIM card for the boat’s cellular router.

The next problem is coverage; we found no BTC coverage here at The Berry Islands Club. After Nassau, we plan on spending quite a bit of time in The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a national park and protected area managed by The Bahamas National Trust. We are betting that BTC coverage in the park is rather limited, so Serenity may again be dark.

Bimini, Bahamas

Bimini is the favorite jumping off point to the Bahama Island group due to its close proximity to Florida.  The Cay consists of two inhabited islands, North Bimini and South Bimini, and numerous high spots in the water.  South Bimini has the airport and mainly just residential property.  North Bimini has customs, immigration, numerous businesses, and marinas.  Along the 7 miles of the Queen's Highway, are several small villages including Alice Town where most of the businesses are found.

Like the U.S., North Bimini appears to have had more prosperous times as numerous business have faded away.

We did find a bakery that makes unbelievably good oatmeal cookies and Bimini bread.

Our cruising guides listed several available marinas ranging from $.80 to $1.50 per foot, per night.  Then there is the exclusive Bimini Bay Marina and Resort at the far north end of the island that starts at $2.50 per foot.  We chose the Bimini Blue Water Resort at $1.00 per foot based on other cruiser's recommendations.  Blue Water's facilities are a little long in the tooth, but the docks are nice and th staff is friendly.  Some of the amenities listed in the guide book are not "currently" available, i.e., swimming pool, restaurant and bar.  So, we ventured down the street to the Bimini Big Game Club.

The Big Game Club has recently reopened after an infusion of cash.  Although it was listed in the guide book having a rate of $1.50 per foot the staff advised us that their rate was $1.00 per foot also (confirmed by a cruiser couple staying there).

Unfortunately most of the "cheap" cruisers are relying on the guide books and Blue Water's reputation, leaving Big Game's docks virtually empty.  Next time through, we will be at Big Game.

But, the real reason one ventures to Bimini is for the water, it is beautiful.  Yesterday, we watched a young man pull out a huge fish on light tackle from shore.  He was really excited.

Our next problem is leaving Bimini.  My XM Weather shows three back to back cold fronts headed our way, and we need to cross the Bahama Banks (about 80 - 90 miles).  We will have to anchor out on the overnight, so we will need about 32 hours to cross to Frazers Hog Cay.  We are still discussing and watching reports to decide if we want to make a run for it between cold front number 1 and 2 or wait until after number 3.  Like the sign said, "What's your rush, you are already here."