Exumas

Sunday May 6 th we left Marsh Harbour, our home for a little over a month.  We had watched Martini  and Indulgence leave the docks on Saturday.  We had also watched Linda, Scott and Courtney leave in a cab. I felt a little lonesome and just a tad bit home sick as I watched them leave.

If you look close you will see Celebration at the dock

 Charlotte and Greg got on Celebration with us to go south.  On Sunday we even watched Mike and Barbara, the English couple from Boston leave the docks.  We left the dock early to catch the tide right.  As I looked back on the slip we had called home for the past month I was sad to be leaving.  I was leaving with great memories.  However, this morning my excitement had overcome all other emotions.  We were headed for the Exumas.  This is part of the Bahamas that Scott and George claim is their favorite.  We were planning on an over night trip to Nassau. 

Super moon on the way to Nassau 

We would be getting in about day break.  We were to take 3 hour shifts.  I was on at 9:00.  However, after I had finished my shift, we decided I was to take the 3 to 6 shift.  This was Charlotte’s first over night trip and Greg would go before her and George would follow her.  The winds were on our beam and we pulled out the sails.  We were making great time.  We did not get below 6.3 knots and even hit 7 knots a few times.  Our ETA was 1:00 a.m. We were going to have to anchor in the dark.  This did not worry George because the anchorage is so well marked and he had anchored there before in the dark. When not at the helm George always says it is his job to sleep.  In fact we give him a hard time about sleeping a lot on the boat.  As it turned out I was glad he had a lot of sleep that day.  As we approached Nassau, we could see the light house.  We anchored on the very spot where they had anchored two previous times. Right behind the cruise ships! It was about 1:30 and we were all were tired.  We had to run the generator to keep our freezer cold.  Yes we are still dealing with that issue.  George said he would stay up with the generator.  So we all went to bed.  George got to go to bed about an hour later.  Everyone was sleeping very sound that night.  I am not sure which woke me up first, someone yelling Celebration or the blue light flashing through the hatch.  It woke George up at the same time.  George jumped up shirtless, I was right behind him and as he ran up the companion way yelled, “Greg we are a drift”. 

The Bahamas security was asking us to move because they had some cruise ships coming in and we were in the way.  Yes sir!  We were all scrambling around like a bunch of mice trying to weigh the anchor and at the same time having to decide what to do and where to go. The Bahamas security pulled along beside us and asked, “what were our intentions”.  We told them we wanted to move and anchor some where.  They told us the appropriate anchorage, which was only a few hundred feet away.  We dropped the anchor and realized we had not drug the anchor but they had moved the anchorage.  By this time it was 4:30 a.m. not enough time to go back to sleep but to early to stay up.  We went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

one of the four boats that came in after we moved.  

Monday 7^th 2012

Still a little dazed from the events of the night before and the lack of sleep, we cooked breakfast and continued on our way south.  As we left Nassau we had to make our way past the big cruise ships.  As we passed it reminded me of the line from the movie Captain Ron, “They will get out of our way…I learned that on the Saratoga”…or should we say Celebration.  We had to go through the Yellow Banks to get to the Exumas.  The Yellow Banks is a shallow passage with sharp rocks peeking up out of the water.  I was at the helm as we entered the Yellow Banks.  I stayed within 5 feet of the rumb line. My heart was beating fast as I was afraid I had taken on more than I should have, but I could just hear Scott saying, “I sailed through the Yellow Banks last year’!  It was a matter of pride!!!  Greg and George were on the bow watching for rocks and I had my eye on the GPS continuously monitoring the number of feet off course.  I would occasionally glance up at George or Greg to reassure me they were attending to the task.  Then George said, “there’s one on your port turn to starboard.  I did but it took me off my track so that meant even if you stay on the line there are still dangerous rocks out there.  It only took 30 to 40 minutes but it seemed much longer.  We finally arrived at Allan’s Cay.  This is where you can see and feed Rock Iguanas on the beach.  They came out to greet us on the beach.  The Iguanas are herbivorous, so we decided to feed them lettuce instead of hot dogs as some one had told us.  That evening we noticed the boat in the anchor next to us was really noisy.

One of the bigger Iguanas

We feed them lettuce, we learned later we should have feed them grapes.

Isn't he cute!!???

"Please don't let me grow up the look like that!"

Tuesday May 7^th.  

The next morning as we were having coffee in the cockpit, we started counting heads.  Yes, we had out the binoculars.  Greg said he thought there were 10 people on the boat.  Then three went to one island and five went to another and still four on the boat.  I suggested it was one of those college field trips.  Curiosity got the best of Greg and as one of the smaller boats passed he waved them over to our boat.  They explained that they were from Earlham College, Richmond Indiana and worked with Dr. John B Iverson who has been studying the Allen Cay Iguanas for 35 years.  They told us about their research and that they were in the process of tagging and identifying them with names. One of the men in the boat had one in a sack and pulled him out for us to feel of it’s skin.  As the boat started to leave we asked if they would name one Celebration and he held up the sack and said. “It will be this one.”  How cool is that to have an iguana named for your boat! 

Two of the researches

Our name sake, Celebration!

We left Allen’s Cay to head to Norman Cay which was made famous by the Columbian drug cartel and Carlos Lehder.  We passed by the a small island with a single palm tree on it.  It has to be the island used in the beer commercial with the lone guy sitting under the tree.  There was a plane crash near the island back in Carlos Lehder’s day and the plane is still in the water. The locals says it was carrying kitchen cabinets but most people believe it was carrying drugs. We anchored just in front of the airplane.  It was so far the prettiest anchorage.  We took the dingy and went to shore.  George and Greg said there is a restaurant there but I had my doubts.  The restaurant was called Mcduffs’s.  We walked for about a mile up a half dirt half paved road to the restaurant. Just before we got to the restaurant we crossed a landing field where Charlos had smuggled cocaine. The atmosphere in the restaurant was extremely laid back. We even had to ask for a menu.  We ordered and while we were waiting George insisted that I go to the bathroom.  But to his disappointment the bathroom was not the same as in the past. In fact they now have in door toilets.  The year that Scott and George came it was indoor pluming but out doors.  It had a toilet with lattuce and rose bushes around it.  You had a cardboard sign with the words occupied on one side and vacant on the other side.  Thank goodness the Bahaman government got on to Mc Duff and made him change it last year. After we had a really good meal of fish fingers, salad, and French fries, we started talking to some other people in the restaurant/bar. We found out that the couple we were talking to were from Augusta, Ga. The wife was from Sandersville where Greg and Charlotte is from and knew not only some people they knew but also knew George’s cousin’s first husband.  She also went to school with his sister.  Small world!!

We had read a book about Carlos and the drugs days.  So we visited places or ruins that we recognized from the book.

The little island at Norman's Cay

The air Stripe at Norman's Cay

On the way to McDuff's

Charlotte is waiting and waiting at McDuff's
The old restroom was just off the porch to the right.

Just another sunset!

Wednesday May the 8^th  We got up and had breakfast.  As we drank our coffee looking out over the small picture perfect island Greg said, “ this ain’t bad”.  Greg and George both like Norman’s Cay but their favorite place was Warderick Wells.  So this morning after a leisurely breakfast and coffee, we left for Warderick Wells.  We wanted a mooring ball because some weather was coming and we wanted to wait it out on the moorings at Watderick’s on the inside.  This is part of the Exums Cays Land and Sea Park so you had to call and get on the waiting list for a mooring ball.  I had heard so much about Warderick Wells I was afraid I would be disappointed.  Many people refer to Warderick as the prettiest place in the Bahama’s.  So I didn’t want to be disappointed. I had seen pictures and knew what to expect or so I thought.  Pictures do not give this Cay justice. 

Warderick Cay from Boo Boo Hill

Another view from Boo Boo Hill 

On Warderick you walk on trails marked by painted yellow spots on the stone. We took the long way to Boo Boo Hill. You walk up hills, over sharp pointed rocks, through marshes which will be water when it is high tide, over shaky bridges, but it is all worth it when you get to where you are going.  Boo Boo Hill is the highest point on the island you can see beautiful aqua colored water 360 degrees. There is a story of a ship wreck near this island and they said on a full moon night you can stand on Boo Boo Hill and hear the moans of the ghosts of the sailors who lost the lives in the wreck, but we found where the sounds were really coming from.  The blow holes!  We could stand over these holes and if we didn’t hold on to our hat it would blow off.  I have a movie of a palm frond being blow out to sea that we laid over the blow hole.  These blow holes entertained us for two days.  It doesn’t take much!!  That night we spent on the mooring ball and saw a beautiful sunset!

Over the river

through the woods

around the hills

The view was worth the walk!!

Just another sunset


Thursday May the 9^th We walked the shorter route to Boo Boo Hill. We also walked to a beach that was perfect for swimming. On Boo Boo Hill is where you can put the name of you boat on driftwood and place it in the stack of others and it is suppose to be good luck. Scott, George, Jack and Greg had placed a Celebration board on Boo Boo hill in 2010 but we could not find it. The Park staff might have removed it as it may not have been a true piece of drift wood. If it is not drift wood the park staff will remove it.  We were staying two nights at Warderick.  That night we printed Celebration 2010 and 2012 on a piece of drift wood we had brought from Cumberland Island.  

Celebration at Warderick Wells

Friday May the 10^th

A long hot walk but we got our sign on Boo Boo Hill

The sign is secured

Resting on Boo Boo Hill

A great swimming hole

Celebration on the mooring ball at Hawksbill Cay

 We took another long walk up to Boo Boo Hill to place our drift wood sign in just the right place.  George even brought a screw to secure the sign.  Afterwards we returned to Celebration and left the mooring ball.  We were on our way to Hawksbill Cay.  Someone had told us Hawksbill was the prettiest beach in the Bahamas.  Treasure Cay is well known for its beauty but this island was supposed to rival Treasure Cay. This would be our last stop in the Exumas before heading to Nassua and then home. When we got to the moorings at Hawksbill it was time to run the generator again to cool off the freezer as our engine driven compressor is still not working. The gentle breeze we had been accustomed to was gone. The winds were dead still. We were so hot we went swimming off the side of the boat.  George convinced us to go ahead and take the dingy to the island and he would stay with the generator.  We did.  We had to go a long way in the dingy and we also had to walk a very long way to get to the ocean side of the island, where the knock down gorgeous beach was to be.  Well, I am not so sure it was the beach or that we were so hot and tried but we all agreed that George had made the right decision. We were a little disappointed. The color of the water was very pretty and the beach had beautiful white sand but the beauty of Warderick Wells is a hard act to follow.  After the sunset the winds picked up and we had a nice night. 

The long HOT walk to Hawksbill Beach

On a hill top on Hawksbill

A rock near the mooring field 

Good Bye Exumas

Saturday May 11^th

We got up and had a good breakfast and headed to Nassau.  We were going through Nassau to fill up with water, fuel and a few groceries.  We planned to stay in Nassau until a good long weather window opened up.  There was some weather coming in but it was to settle down on Tuesday.  As we headed out to the open water we got into some seas that were worse than the Sirrus XM weather had predicted.  The seas were supposed to be two to three feet.  However we were in 4 to 6 feet seas and on the beam of the boat. The front was coming through early.  Charlotte is prone to seasickness but she had on bracelets that were supposed to help.  She was at the helm through some of the worst part of the rough water.  She handled it like a champ! We were headed to the Yellow Banks.  If you don’t remember the Yellow Banks was the part of the trip where you need sunshine and smooth seas to navigate because there are coral heads sticking up out of the water.  Greg and I went out on the deck to look for coral heads.  Just before we got to the Yellow Banks the sun came out, but the sea was still rough. The boat was dipping and bouncing around, so George made me put the tether on.  We made it through without hitting a rock or losing a passenger.  We were five miles out of Nassau and I had to face my biggest fear.  The engine changed tunes just a little.  I asked George if there was some thing wrong he said no.  He had not heard what I had heard.  I looked at Greg and he had heard the engine change pitch too.

At that point the engine stopped. You react differently when something happens like that.  No one panics; you all just start problem solving. We did what we needed to do. We put out the sails. It is a sailboat! Greg takes the helm. George proceeds to change the primary fuel filter. I go down with him to be his assistant. We get the engine started again only to have it go out again.  George changed the secondary fuel filter this time.  The engine started again but went out soon after.  George thought that he might have lost the prime so he pumped the fuel line about 100 times.  The engine started again.  By this time we were about a mile from Nassau.  The engine ran for a while but stopped again.  George got on the VHF radio and was calling for a tow from Nassau but no one responded. We had to call the Nassau Harbor Control to tell them we were sailing into the anchorage and we needed permission to do so.  Some one called back and told us to get anchored and they would have someone come on Monday to work on the engine.  So all we could do was sail into the anchorage.  George and Greg pumped the priming pump about a thousand strokes in hopes that the engine would start and help us anchor.  We were decreasing the sail as we came in. The plan was for George to be at the anchor ready to drop, Charlotte would let out the sheet for the jib, Greg was at the helm and would head into the wind in order to stop the boat and I would bring in the sail and hopefully start the engine at the very last minute in case we needed it.  We were hoping the wind would die down and the boat would slow down but as we entered the anchorage, we were going 4 knots, much to fast to anchor.  Just when the time was right Greg said start the engine and it started!  Then we had to quickly get in the sail as George threw out the anchor.  We did it!  We all took a deep breath and relaxed a little.  However as we looked around we realized that we were too close to the catamaran next to us.  We called on the VHF and he said it was fine, we were not too close.  We needed a good night sleep after all the excitement so we decided to move.  Again our silent prayers were going up for the engine to start. I was at the helm because George needed Greg with him at the anchor.  We started the engine and it did great even when George told me to “goose” it to the right or left.  We hoped to move the boat to the docks tomorrow but that would be another day.  That night we rested because we were safe.

Sunday the 12^th Mothers Day.  We woke up early and George and Greg fixed Charlotte and me breakfast. I opened a card the kids had left and it made me really miss my children.

George and Greg making Breakfast on Mothers Day.

Then we took a dingy into the docks to look at where we wanted to dock the boat.  We decided on Nassau Yacht Haven.  The slip was on the out side and should be easy to get to.  We started the engine and hoped it would work until we were docked. George was ready to let the anchor out if needed.  It worked but lost rpm as we were docking.  Just after we docked we heard a familiar voice.  It was John B from our buddy Boat Graduate.  He saw us come in and jumped on his bike and rode to our dock to greet us. They had been to the Elutheria and the Exumas .  They were leaving the next day for Lukaya, then to West End. From West End, they would go back to the States.  Greg. Charlotte, George and I went to the Poop Deck restaurant ( yes that is the real name!) for our Mothers day lunch. After lunch we walked down the street to a STARBUCKS!!! Yeah! Then we took a Taxi to the Pirate Museum.  It was closed but we got a very expensive tour of the down town area.  That night we returned to the restaurant and had dinner with Jan and John Brandon before they left on Graduate the next morning.

Reunion with John B and Jan of Graduate 

Monday the 13^th

We were anxiously waiting the arrival of the mechanic.  Greg, Charlotte and I went to Starbucks for breakfast.  When we returned the mechanic had loosened the injectors to bleed the air out of the fuel system.  After the mechanic left the boat George put the boat under a stress test. The boat ran for a minute and stopped again. The mechanic had to come back and blow out the fuel lines as they were clogged. Greg and Charlotte went to the grocery store for some things we needed for the trip home.  We planned to leave on Tuesday morning for the long trip home.  Nassau to Burnswick is about a 72 hour trip.