3.29/Sunday Warderick Wells
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Today we hiked to the Plantation Ruins; a two hour hike over extremely rocky terrain, at times so close to the bluff edge you felt a little nervous where you put your foot down. We walked along several beaches along the trail and through what I would call the “jungle” of local vegetation. (See the photos.) Several times I had to stop to catch my breath after climbing a high bluff. After two hours on the trail, we finally found the remains of the Davis Plantation, dating to1780. A snack bar was consumed while perched on some smooth stone. It was interesting to see how they composed a form of cement to face the stones to make a somewhat smooth wall for the inside of the structure. The largest dwelling was approximately 15x20 with the others being slightly smaller, 8x10. They were positioned on a very high hill with a beautiful view. After reading the book, “Winds For The Carolinas” by Robert Wilder, which is a story about a family leaving the United States and settling in the Exumas, I was interested in seeing these ruins.

I was not looking forward to the hike back! The temperature was in the low 80’s, the sun was beaming down, and the sweat was pouring. The first beach area we came to on the hike down the hill, I walked out into the surf to cool off. As we walked along the gorgeous turquoise water, we noticed the tide was out and the beach around the rocky cliffs was accessible to us. We wadded around the jagged coral ledge to another beach, which saved us over an hour of hiking the way we came. It was cool as well and saved us an hour hiking time. This was a workout but well worth the effort.


3.30/Monday Warderick Wells to Staniel Cay

We sailed by Compass Cay and Sampson Cay, places we will stop over on the return trip, when the outboard motor is repaired and we can maneuver off the boat to snorkel and visit the villages.

Because the wind is again coming at us “on the nose,” we motor sailed with just the main sail up until we arrived at the channel to Staniel Cay. There are several good anchorages around this area, but we decided to stay the night at Staniel Cay Yacht Club Marina so we could get off the boat and walk around on the island.

Staniel Cay is a very popular island, drawing many bonefish anglers to one of the largest fishing tournaments in the Exumas. At Thunderball Grotto, a dive site in a spectacular underwater cave, shafts of sunlight illuminate the fish inside the cavern, which was made famous in the James Bond movie, Thunderball. Steve promised that we would stop on the return trip so we could go snorkeling in the cavern.

After getting the boat secured on the dock, we went to the marina office to take care of the necessary paperwork/credit card stuff and find out about the accommodations. Unfortunately, we did not have a 30 amp plug close enough to hook our boat to, so we would not have access to the air conditioner; it was beginning to get very hot. The marina office, restaurant, gift shop, liquor store, Internet café, and concerige service were housed in the same facility; quite the lively spot for enjoying a meal or having a drink at the bar. The aroma of lunch was too much for us to pass up so we sat down and ate a delicious mahi-mahi sandwich with fries and Kalik beer.
We needed a few grocery items and I wanted to check out the local gift shop, so we headed out walking in the settlement to find these places. We did find both, but neither one had anything we needed to purchase. Look at the photo of the pink grocery store. It looks like a barn before they turned it into a grocery store. We found out there was another larger store close to the airport, but we were too hot to walk any further. I stopped at the “bread lady’s house” and purchase two fresh made loafs of wheat and white bread. Yummy! I walked right into her kitchen to make my purchase.

Steve got too hot on the walk and wasn’t feeling well, so he took a nap while I went back to the restaurant to spend some time on the Internet. I enjoyed observing the sailors and vacationers come and listening to Bahamian music. There was a large flat screen TV in view, but they had the channel set for ESPN and I wasn’t interested in Tiger Woods.

We had to open all the ports and hatches during the day and when we went to bed it was very warm. Steve made a check on the dock lines, as the tide change was some 3-4 feet drop since we first docked; he made sure the fenders were positioned correctly, and the lines were not too taut. While out on the deck, he noticed a huge catamaran had tied up in front of us almost touching our bow. All night long we heard their generator water outtake echo in the hollow opening in between the hulls. The noise kept us a wake most of the night, along with the rocking motion of the rough current in the channel. I was happy when morning arrived!

3.31/Tuesday Staniel Cay to Little Farmers Cay

The wind was blowing from the south all day forcing us to motor to our next destination. Once at Little Farmers Cay, Steve was quite the helmsman as we made our way through the narrow channel, around sharp cliffs and cuts in the coral to the mooring balls at Little Farmers Cay Yacht Club and Marina. Steve tried grabbing several mooring balls with the boat hook, but found they did not have a penchant or loop to attach a line. Finally, we found one that had a loop, but had a very flimsy line to the base. Steve grabbed it anyway and secured the boat.
Without our outboard motor, we couldn’t dinghy in to the marina to pay the mooring fee. Steve radioed the marina and they sent a nice, local young man out in his motorboat to pick up the payment.

The wind blew 20-25 knots all night and the current in the mooring area was turning us 270 degrees back and forth. Steve didn’t sleep much and I slept some. I turned on the tiny fan in the stateroom to drown out the creaking sounds the mooring line makes when it is pulled tight and the sounds of the wind howling thru the riggings. We were both ready for daylight!

4.1/Wednesday Little Farmers Cay

Today would not be the day we traveled out into the Atlantic Ocean to cross to George Town. Steve knew the seas would be rough based on the high winds during the night and the forecast all day was 20-25 knot winds from the south, southeast, the direction we would be traveling to George Town.

I was able to snag a WiFi link allowing me to get a weather forecast, check and send emails, and talk on the Skype. Since I couldn’t get off the boat, the Internet kept me entertained until I ran out of battery charge and had to wait until late evening when the generator would be running to charge the battery.

We also enjoy watching a sea plane come in for a landing almost next to Little Wing, then slowly motor across the water to the bank. Three individuals as well as the pilot got off and walked ashore. Several hours later, we saw the pilot get back on the plane and take-off. Little Farmers Cay has a small airstrip; we wondered who would be flying in and out since it is such a small island with very few residents. We assumed the two or three planes that flew in each day were delivering supplies and other items for the island.

The winds were forecast to blow from 10-14 knots during the night, but Steve clocked them in the high 20’s at one point during the early morning when he checked the mooring line and the wind speed. He began to doubt the integrity of the mooring line as we spun in circles, as the wind and current fought for control. It proved to be another long sleepless night, checking and rechecking the mooring line for chaff and watching the boat spin.

4.2/Thursday Little Farmers Cay

When daylight arrived, Steve turned on the electronics to check the wind speed and water depth, finding that we were sitting on top of a coral head with less than a foot of water between our keel and coral. It was probably a good thing that we didn’t know this or we would have moved to another spot during the night in the 20-25 knot winds. Moving in the dark in high winds is not smart!

Steve said a few bad words about the night and vowed to get another mooring ball or anchor in another spot today. He flagged down a couple in a dingy and found out they were anchored across the channel in a small cove at the cut. They were also kind to deliver our mooring fee to the marina office.

Around 2:00 pm we released the mooring line, I might add we are doing this in 20 knot winds, motored across the channel to find an anchorage in the cove. The couple we met earlier in the day, Nancy and Dick, on s/v Blue Bay was anchored there, as well as one other boat. We motored around, but determined it was too small for another boat, the current was too rough, and it was too close to the cut going out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Our last resort was a mooring field across from our previous spot which required a careful navigation along a narrow channel adjacent to a coral reef. The GPS wasn’t working for us; it had us on the bank, so we had to use our eyes as our navigation tool. Thankfully, the water was crystal clear and the sun was shining through the water, making it easier for us to stay in the ink blue channel and away from the reef.

There were several mooring balls to choose from in 14 foot of water with no coral heads or reefs. Steve managed to grab a rather large mooring ball but was forced to attach it to the port center cleat instead of the bow cleat. Once Steve got two lines attached to the bow to form a snubber for the mooring, we tried to remove the mooring loop from the cleat. There was a tremendous amount of pressure from the strong current and wind which made it difficult for us to get the look off the cleat. Steve backed up, and then backed forward, until finally the current allowed the boat to swing enough to take the pressure off so the line could be removed. The winds continued blowing all day 10-15 knots from the south, southeast, postponing our trip again to George Town.

I spent the afternoon reading “The Associate” by John Grisham and enjoying the tropical breeze. Steve was napping since he didn’t sleep last night. We flagged down a small fishing boat to ask if they would take in our mooring fee to the Ocean Cabin restaurant. They happily agreed and offered to come get us for happy hour at Ollie’s bar later in the day if we wanted to come in to shore. Ollie just happened to be one of the men in the boat and offered his business card to Steve. Not sure if we will take him up on his offer!

Around 10:00 pm the winds began to blow harder and we began spinning again, much like the past several nights. Steve did feel our mooring line was more secure, but still got up several times to check the mooring line.

4.3/Friday Little Farmers Cay

Another sleepless night….I fumbled for my flashlight at 3:30 am and my book to read, hoping I would become drowsy and go to sleep. At one point during the night, I wanted to shoot the mooring ball that kept bumping against the hull of the boat and keeping me awake. Thankfully, we can nap during the day and catch up on our lost sleep during the night.

I wanted to row across the channel to the beach today just to get off the boat, but the 15-20 knot wind and the strong current made it a little risky to row back to the boat. So, I spent the day reading and working on the blog.

The weather forecast is favorable for us to leave in the morning for George Town, even though we might have to motor sail the entire trip. We just want to get there!

4.4/Saturday Little Farmers Cay to Georgetown

Steve released the mooring ball at 8:30 am and we headed out the cut in 10-15 knot winds from the south, southeast. We were helped along by a strong outbound tide, as we motored at 6 knots in idle speed. As soon as we were through the cut, Steve put the main sail up and then the jib. We were able to motor sail, averaging 5-6 knots some 37 miles, reaching the entrance channel of Elizabeth Harbor around 3:00 pm.

The navigation through the channel is reported to be quite tricky, requiring close steerage from one way point to another, instead of visually watching for reefs. I called out each way point and Steve navigated. It did help that the channel was calm and we didn’t have to fight current and waves. As soon as we passed the last way point, we radioed AnnaLeigh, our friends Barb and Frank, to find out where they were anchored. They didn’t come back, but Sunseeker, George and Karen did. They were heading back from Kidd Cove after refilling their water tanks and getting groceries. We asked where they were anchored and they told us they were going to Monument Bay/Hamburger Beach. So we headed in that directions, found a good spot to anchor, and toasted our arrival. Steve especially felt gratified that he had accomplished a long awaited goal of his; to sail Little Wing to George Town. George and Karen came by for a sundowner and told us about their travels since we were together at Highborne Cay. We made plans to go to the beach the next morning with them since we still didn’t have our outboard motor running.

4.5/Sunday Georgetown

After breakfast, we got the dinghy and outboard motor off the boat. Steve worked with the engine for some time but still felt it wasn’t running up to par. We rode to Hamburger Beach with George and Karen and walked over the hill to the Atlantic Ocean to swim. The water was refreshing and it was wonderful to finally get our feet on land after staying on the boat for six straight days. We stopped off at Peace and Plenty restaurant, ate a hamburger, and enjoyed the cool breeze and shade of the cabana.

George and Karen were making plans to head to Long Island Cay on Tuesday with two other sailboats, but we decided to stay in George Town. Because a cold front was moving through on Tuesday, bring with it 20-25 knot winds, they felt Long Island Cay would be a protective spot to ride out the high winds. Steve was ready to relax and not have to think about our next passage and considered Elizabeth Harbor a secure spot for the front.

We both rested during the night, getting up only a couple of times.