Travels with the Laa-Dee-Dah

It’s been a busy couple of months back in the states. We docked in Dania Beach on a Tuesday and on Wednesday received our first Covid shots. On Thursday we met with Ralph from the boatyard to talk about what needed to be done on the Laa-Dee-Dah over the next several weeks. In passing he mentioned how hot the boat market was at the moment and that got us to thinking.

We had intended to put Laa-Dee-Dah up for sale in November and head to the Chesapeake for the summer. However, things change. WE were ready for a change. So Friday morning saw us in a pow wow with Brad of Atlantic Yacht and Ship and Dave from Gillen Diesel.

We’ve pulled the trigger and our much loved, sometimes frustrating Laa-Dee-Dah went on the market in May.

It’s been a whirlwind but we’re now settled in a cute triplex off the Cape Fear River. In the space of a couple weeks we found a place to live, bought furniture, put the furniture together (a whole other story), arranged for haul out of Laa-Dee-Dah for final repairs and settled in. We’ll rent for a year until the market stabilizes a bit and then look to buy a place.

We’ve also started adding to our family with a new kitten, Munchkin. She will be joined by another kitten once we get her settled and cleared by the vet.

We said going into this it was a three to five year adventure. We cruised to some wonderful islands and met incredible people, some we expect to be lifelong friends.

We’ll continue to go diving. Fiji is on the horizon. We’ll play some golf and look around for other things to do to entertain ourselves. We’re actively checking out the local restaurant scene and finding some nice places to take friends as well as some fun local hangouts.

Now on to the next adventure!

We left Great Harbor Marina yesterday evening about 5pm and pulled into Dania Beach at 10am this morning. We are now 6 for 6 on easy, calm crossings to and from The Bahamas. THAT is a accomplishment.

While at Great Harbor we took a cab ride/tour of the island with Milton who is a retired policeman, now a cab driver. He showed us Shark Creek, some beautiful homes and as you will find on almost every island ruins.

Most every island has a history steeped in the drug trade. Back in the 60’s and 70’s is seems the Bahama islands were a conduit for drugs and many islanders made good money assisting the trade. It also brought many people over from the US to party and vacation “where the action was”. Now that the drugs are not as plentiful, or tolerated as well, the result is resorts, golf courses and housing compounds deserted and in ruins. There is also a lost generation of island men who are still looking for the “easy” money of the drug years. We met an islander from Eluethra who is involved in a program to train young men for jobs in todays market. It’s a two week program that pays the individuals a daily wage while they are in the program. Unfortunately he said the men sign up just to get the money and when the two weeks are up they go back to being unemployed and uninterested in working. His comment was that the women will be the salvation of that generation as they think nothing of working hard to provide for themselves and their families.

It was a fun three months in The Bahamas. I will miss the beautiful water and the people both on the islands as well as in the cruiser community.

Highbourne Cay to Great Harbor is about a fourteen hour trip so we decided to stop at High Cay along the way. It looked like it would be a good anchorage providing protection from the SE winds. With clear water and no other boats it seemed perfect. We dropped anchor and then took a breather. Noticing a little roll we decided it was okay for one night. And then the boat rocked thirty degrees from side to side and a full cup of tea went flying. Then it rolled again and we didn’t even need to talk. We just started getting the boat under way and bringing up the anchor. Seems the waves refracting around the point set up a nice roll that would not be going away.

As we set out I started frantically checking ActiveCaptain for another anchorage. We had ninety minutes of daylight left so it needed to be within ten miles. Eureka! Little Gaulding looked like it might work. It was a tight run through the channel and then a couple ninety degree turns to get into a small anchorage. If there were other boats already there it probably wouldn’t work. But the first line of description for the anchorage was “no swell” so we decided to chance it. Plan B would be Soldier Cay but we would be arriving after dark and that is something we try not to do especially if we’ve never been there before.

We made the entrance and other than a small dinghy sightseeing there wasn’t another boat around. Gary stuck the Laa-Dee-Dah in the very middle of the anchorage and a good thing he did. The current caused the boat to do a 180 degree rotation through the tidal changes and water depth on the edges was very shallow. But the water was crystal clear and best of all, calm. A nice dinner on the aft deck followed by a georgous moon and we were happy. So much so that we decided to stay a couple days instead of moving on.

While there we were visited by a couple large sting rays, turtles and funniest of all, three remoras. Remoras in The Bahamas get to be about three to four feet long and look very intimidating. They can be identified by the large ridged area on their foreheads that looks like the bottom of a flip flop. Kind of a “Klingon” look for you Star Trek fans. They love food garbage so we gave them some leftovers and watched the feeding frenzy.

From there we retraced our route around the north side of the islands past the cruise ship playgrounds and are now anchored off of Great Harbor. We’ll be here until Thursday when we’ll move into the marina in time for BBQ Friday and Pizza Saturday to wait out the next blow. Hopefully we’ll be leaving on Tuesday to head back to Florida.

Our Bahama adventure is drawing to a close and I have to say I’m really going to miss the beautiful water, slower pace of life and of course the people that are always so welcoming and fun.

Because of Covid many cruisers decided to not come south this season or at least to delay their trip south until later in the spring. This meant that in January we anchored out at Shroud Cay with a couple other boats and it was spectacular not only because of the scenery but because it was peaceful. Leaving Eluthera we thought it was a good idea to take advantage and return to one of the most beautiful spots in The Bahamas before heading north.

What a difference sixty days made. Where before there were only a couple boats, this time we were surrounded by no less than fifteen super yachts with associated toys, people, noise, jet skis and dinghies running all over the place. We lasted twenty four hours and decided enough was enough and moved up to Highbourne Cay instead. While there we did take the dinghy into one of the creeks to go turtle hunting. Jet skis, otherwise known as “water lice”, are not allowed in the creeks so it was peaceful there.

Someone posited that it was more crowded because of Easter and spring break. I’m not sure that’s the answer but it definitely changes where we want to anchor. More and more we are happy that we are down here this season because everyone keeps telling us how “not crowded” it is. 

At anchor we are always at the mercy of the wind and look to the various cays and islands as protection from the worst of it. We dropped anchor at Oyster Cay just south of Highbourne but by the next morning we were rocking and rolling because the wind had shifted from the normal east/southeast to west. So we anchored somewhere we would normally never be. The windward side of Highbourne Cay has numerous coral heads and small reefs so we anchored in a sand channel between the reefs. The snorkeling was nice both from the dinghy and right off the back of the boat. On the second day the wind died down and the water became incredibly clear without any wind waves. It was like looking through a clear window and we could see everything on the bottom. This doesn’t happen often but when it does you have to take advantage of the situation and get in the water.

From there we moved to the northwest side of the island when the wind once again changed and today re-anchored on the southwest side. At this point we have anchored on all sides of Highbourne Cay and are currently surrounded once again by lots of super yachts with associated toys, people, noise, jet skis and dinghies running all over the place….

It took ten days for the winds to die down before we could leave Cape Eluthera Marina. While there we met new friends, drove around the island, had drinks at the bonfire and generally had a laid back time. When the winds died tho we were really ready to leave!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was Rock Sound. We had seen it from the car but it always looks different from the water. A couple nice restaurants and a good grocery store make life pleasant but it’s been a few days and we’ve decided to head back to the Exumas for the last couple weeks before returning to Ft Lauderdale.

An interesting observation from a conversation the other day with a fellow cruiser. It seems that we are all food obsessed. I’m sure it’s the same with everyone who has been in lockdown back home. We either are preparing a meal, cleaning up from eating a meal, planning our next meal or provisioning for future meals. Oh well. At least we get to do it in a beautiful location!

The Exumas is probably my favorite place in The Bahamas. From stunning anchorages to crystal clear water, it can’t be beat. As much as we loved it,  it was time to move on to Eluthera and our slow journey back to the states.

But before we left the Exumas we still had a few places to visit. A stop at Staniel Cay to provision and we discovered the better anchorage is Sampson Cay just around the corner. For a slightly longer dinghy ride you get a beautiful anchorage with only a couple other boats. It’s a private island with signs posted and a couple nice houses but the water was crystal clear and I took the opportunity to float around for the afternoon. A stingray brought a friend out to visit and check everything out.

 

From there we travelled outside and up just past Cambridge Cay to O’Brians Cay, home of the Aquarium, a well known snorkeling site. It’s not called the Aquarium for nothing as we dropped in on a huge school of fish and a very active reef. The anchorage was just off of an island owned by Johnny Depp. Although we kept an eye out there were no sightings, pirate or otherwise.

While hanging out we were visited by friends that had been docked a couple boats down from us in Grenada. They were snorkeling and saw our boat so came over to say hi and catch up. 

The weather was up and down so we took the opening when we got it and headed across to Eluthera a day early taking advantage of good sea conditions. 

We are currently at Cape Eluthera Marina and will be here for a week or so while the winds have a party and kick up some serious wave action. It’s a nice marina with a decent restaurant, a dive shop and marina staff that is superb. We took the opportunity to go diving today, something we haven’t done since we’ve arrived here. Unfortunately because our underwater camera drowned we have no pictures. So although we saw a huge turtle we have no proof. Guess it’s like fishing and the one that got away.

With another storm coming through we decided not to stay at Emerald Bay where we were rocking in calm weather let alone 40mph winds. We had missed Rudder Cay on the way down and decided it would be a good place to go. Riding out a storm at anchor is sometimes easier than at a marina because you are always facing into the wind and you’re not banging the docks ruining lines and fenders. You just need to have faith in your anchor system and a good anchor alarm.

Just as we were getting ready to enter Rudder Cay Cut who showed up on our Garmin but Counting Stars AND Kohina. We all met and got to know each other at Port City Marina last summer. We played catch up on the radio as everyone was going in a different direction.

Rudder Cay is one of the islands owned by David Copperfield. It is deserted but the water is beautiful. We dropped the dinghy and went for a ride around the lagoon, checked out the caves and snorkeled the piano sculpture. We saw a beautiful heron, a turtle and a couple fish. It’s interesting that here in The Bahamas we haven’t seen a lot of fish which means there aren’t that many birds. We think it’s because reefs are scarce on the leeward side of the islands.

Remembering how difficult it is to raise the dinghy in windy weather we tucked it away while the day was still nice. Good thing as next morning the winds got fierce and we suffered through lots of rain. At least the boat got clean but we didn’t get much sympathy from friends and family up north where it is snowing and below freezing.

There were four boats anchored along the shoreline when the storm started but only three part way through. We never saw the sailcat leave and don’t know where it went. Hopefully it left under power and didn’t just drift off!

After twenty four hours of wind and rain things settled down and the sun came back out again. One of the things about being in The Bahamas in January and February are the storms. Every time there is a storm in the US it works it’s way down and we get crazy winds. There is another storm forecast for next week so we’ll need to make sure we’re in a protected place again.

Tomorrow we’ll move back up to Staniel Cay to provision and do some snorkeling. We may even wait out the next blow there as the anchorage has great holding and lots of room.

We spent eight days anchored off Sand Dollar Beach on Stocking Island. It was great because we were a relatively short dinghy ride from Georgetown, home of Exuma Market, a good grocery store. I define a grocery store as one that has carts. Markets do not have carts. Exuma Market gets restocked several times a week so we were able to get fully provisioned before leaving.

We also scored a data brick from ALIV which will give us extensive wifi service for the rest of our trip instead of relying on GoogleFi or marina wifi which is usually non-existent. That means we are back to watching Netflix. Yea!

While in Georgetown we were able to reconnect with friends from Port City Marina, Linda and Kevin, as well as friends we had made at Cave Cay, Bob and Deb.

The weather has not been conducive to make the jump over to Rum Cay or Conception so we decided to move back up the Exuma chain until we get a weather break and then we’ll skedaddle over to Eluthera for the last part of this trip.

So today finds us at Emerald Bay Marina where we’ve been for a couple days. We have managed to get two days of golf in as well as a few good meals at the local resort restaurant. Tomorrow we will move to Rudder Cay in anticipation of the next blow and anchor out.

Cruising on a boat, the bad days are really bad and the good days are really good. Luckily the good days outweigh the bad by a factor of about twenty to one. Sometimes the bad days are due to things totally out of your control but sometimes they are somewhat self inflicted.

For example, we anchored out at Blackpoint Settlement for a couple days last week. The anchorage was a little rolly but we figured it was worth it because we could get the dinghy down, go to the little town and have lunch and get some provisions. We found a great restaurant with arguably the best grouper in the islands. Unfortunately the supply boat had not arrived yet so the market was picked clean of any fresh vegetables or fruit. That was Saturday and they expected the supply boat the next day. So back to the boat. We had dinner on land the next night and left the dinghy down in anticipation of hitting the market first thing in the morning prior to making a run to Cave Cay marina ahead of the really big blow from the west expected that evening.

By Monday morning the winds were starting to kick up and the boat was rocking and rolling like a bad amusement park ride. Just getting on and off the dinghy was a bit of a challenge but we did it and grabbed some provisions to see us through the next week. Back at the boat the real challenge was to get the dinghy back up on top without serious injury. We did it but not without some bumps and bruises as well as a few choice expletives during the process. This was self inflicted as we weren’t going to starve if we didn’t get provisions.

Onward to Cave Cay and a marina to shelter us from the west winds blowing in. Every time we enter a new to us marina it is with a little trepidation as you never know what to expect. The channel entrance was narrow and shallow so we were trying to get there close to high tide. That also meant we were one of the last boats to come in to what turned put to be a full marina. We ended up on a short side dock about twenty feet from the shore with no electric or water hookup. The up side was we were with a fun group of people who partied every evening. So we socialized a little and met some new friends.

The weather calmed down after three days and we headed out to Farmers Cay with the intention of having lunch and looking around. Unfortunately it was a little rough and remembering the last dinghy retrieval we opted instead to go down to Georgetown about 45 miles south and put in there for awhile. 

We’re now sitting at anchor at Sand Dollar Beach just across the channel from the town of Georgetown. Chat & Chill (an iconic Stocking Cay restaurant) is a short dinghy ride. It’s calm, quiet and the water is beautiful. I think we’ll stay here for awhile.

 

I heard a great line the other day. “Cruising just means fixing your boat in exotic locations.” Seems about right. No matter how well you plan your maintenance and boatyard stays, if you use your boat it will break when you least expect it.

Coming into Staniel Cay Gary noticed that our port stabilizer fin wasn’t centering the way it should. So he started disassembling it. It’s in our walk-in closet under the floor. Remove hanging clothes, pull up rug, get out tools. Once disassembled he decided that someone was going to have to get in the water and hold onto the stabilizer fin to align it correctly. Someone. Someone is Betty.

Get out the hookah, attach it to a scuba tank and … oh we haven’t used the scuba tanks in over a year so they need to be filled. Start the generator to fire up the compressor and… you guessed it. Remember the generator is a siren song for the sharks? Yeah. I was in the water when Gary said “incoming” so up the swim ladder and out I came. I can deal with sharks and these are nurse sharks so they are fairly benign but there were three or four and one was bigger than me so it was a little intimidating.

Once we turned off the generator they lost interest and left. Except for one that settled down for a nap on the seafloor under the boat. Oh, and his friend the white finned shark sucker otherwise known as a remora. Remoras are usually about twelve to eighteen inches log but the guy was well fed and  about two feet long. Being a remora he wanted to get up close and personal and become my new best friend. So here I am, holding the stabilizer to keep it from swinging, trying not to kick the sleeping shark on the bottom with my fin and fending  off a lovesick remora. It took about twenty minutes all told which wasn’t bad. It also gave me time in the water which I love and a chance to get reacquainted with breathing under water. My happy place.

Last night we had a big blow come through with sustained winds of about 28mph and gusts to 30mph or so. Everyone here at Big Majors anchorage was hunkered down, rocking and rolling for about eight hours. Today is much calmer but we still have 10-12 mph winds and another big blow coming in a couple days.

Several nights ago we looked up at the night sky and saw an amazing cloud ring around it. Really large and something neither of us had ever remembered seeing. I posted it to Facebook and several people came back with the idea that it was an indicator of a significant weather change. After last night’s winds we’ll be on the lookout for that again.