Bimini to Chub Cay, Berry Islands to Nassau, New Providence

Wednesday November 26th, 2008

We still haven’t made it to the Exuma Islands but are not complaining at all as we have started to experience what we came for; amazing secluded beaches, spectacular sunsets, snorkeling in crystal clear waters and eating fresh fish. Really fresh fish as we catch it, clean it and cook it right away.

We again had a short weather window and left Bimini on Thursday last week. The window was not long enough to make it all the way to the Exumas but did make it as far as Chub Cay (25 23.9 N 77 55.05 W) in the Berry Islands. We arrived around 7:30 pm in the dark which was a bit disorienting. We were told it was doable and safe and Angie and Harold were ahead of us and they had done it before. It was still an odd experience to anchor in the dark (pitch black except for a few small lights) and then wake up to take in the pretty island around you in the morning.

Al is in love with the Bahamas; snorkeling, conch hunting, lobster spearing. He has been unsuccessful as yet spearing, but I’m confident I’ll have fresh lobster soon. I’m getting used to snorkeling. I need to self-coach to get over my fears as it is a beautiful world down there and I want to experience it. We saw some huge rays come out of the sand where they were either hiding or sleeping (who knows). They came out of the sand and gracefully just flew through the water with us following. It was quite something to see although I had a death grip on Al’s arm the whole time.

Al has been doing his best to keep us supplied with fresh fish. And he’s been doing well. I too, have been successful fishing, however my methods are quite different. I simply approached the captain of one of the big sport fishing boats at the docks and innocently asked how they did and what they caught. The next thing I knew I had a large bag of freshly cleaned Wahoo (a type of mackerel). It was enough fish for 4 meals for two. Now that is fishing.

We left Chub Cay for Nassau yesterday. This was the last true ocean crossing we make on our way to the Exumas. We crossed what they call the Tongue of the Ocean. It only took about 5 hours. The swells were quite big but long and spread out. It was a beautiful day for crossing. We had hoped to stay only one night in Nassau picking up provisions as this is the last place to get good produce before heading to the Northern Exuma Islands. Unfortunately another front is coming and the winds are not favourable for us to cross the banks today so we will be here one more night. Again, not such a bad thing as we plan to walk across to Paradise Island and be tourists for the day.

Biscayne Bay, Florida to The Bimini Islands, Bahamas (25.42N 79.19W)

Wednesday November 19th, 2008

We made it to the Bahamas. Yeh Hah! We only had a short window to make our way across the Gulf Stream and we took it, leaving at 6:30 am last Saturday together with Angie and Harold on Halagain. The seas were choppy and very rolly for the first hour and a half but then we settled in quite nicely. It wasn’t exactly smooth but it was fine. Around 1:30 we could see land on the horizon. As we approached the Bimini Islands, the colours of the water were spectacular. From the deep indigo blue of the ocean to a rich turquoise blue towards the islands and a brilliant turquoise green very close to shore. Amazing.

We took a slip at the Bimini Blue Water Resort as the winds were forecasted to build again during the night and anchoring was not a good option. Ideally we would have passed by Bimini and over-nighted right to Nassau but because of the strong winds we are here. Customs and Immigration went smoothly and we met Jason while in the immigration office. Jason heard us say our boat name and said Joan and Larry told him and his wife Laura to watch for us. They are friends of Joan and Larry who we met in the Solomons. It is such a small world. More fun people to have skipper’s meetings with.





We are in the Bahamas and now experiencing all things Bahamian. We took our dinghy out and with Harold and Angie’s guidance and started searching for Conch which is an island favourite. We found a King Helmet (see picture) which we promptly returned to the ocean after pictures. Al and I also found two big conchs which we were very proud of until we showed them to Laura and she let out a slight shriek and almost threw them back at us. “Hermit Crabs”. Who knew? Apparently these crabs take over shells when the conch dies. Oops. Jason and Laura were successful in bringing in three live mature conchs. Last week we learned about husking coconuts, this week we are harvesting conch (see picture) and now Al has bought a spear with which Angie has promised to teach him how to catch lobster. Living off the land is not so bad here.

Bimini is interesting. The people are wonderful. No one passes you without saying hello. They are all very laid back and happy. The streets are very narrow and most of the vehicles are golf carts. We were here 4 days before Angie reminded me that they drive on the other side of the road here. I hadn’t noticed since there usually is only one car/golf cart passing by at a time.

Well we’ve been here 5 days now and it looks like it may be another 5 days as these winds just don’t want to let up. We are enjoying ourselves but are still anxious to get to the Exuma Islands which is our final destination. We are again waiting for the winds to change direction and die down as it is still an overnight trip from here to anywhere and we want it to be a comfortable one.

Hopefully the next update will be from the Exuma Islands.

Lake Worth, Florida to Biscayne Bay, Florida (25 35.50 N 80 02.50 W)

Thursday November 13th, 2008

Well, here we are still in Florida. We were all set to leave for the islands last week and had a great weather window however a little hurricane called Paloma started brewing south of Cuba and was headed towards the Bahamas. We decided that it would be better to be here on the mainland if the weather turned nasty then in the Bahamas so we gave up our crossing to wait again.

There are worse places to be to wait to cross over. We stayed a few days in Lake Worth / Palm Beach and were able to go swimming and walk on the beautiful beach (see picture of Al). Given the long wait for a weather window to the Abacos, which are the northern Bahamian Islands we decided to move south ourselves and go directly to the Exuma Islands which are central and generally have warmer weather this time of year. So we have moved from Lake Worth to Biscayne Key south of Miami.

On the way we stopped in Fort Lauderdale. From the ICW, we were humbled by all the magnificent mansions that line the coast on both sides. Surprising for a town I thought was just for students partying during spring break. While in Fort Lauderdale, we conquered our first coconut. They are abundant there, floating in the water past the boat all the time. It was quite a feat to open one up extract the juices and then carve out the fruit. It took several cuts through it with a hacksaw and then another carving saw and a sharp knife to complete the job. The prize was worth the effort. We are acclimatizing ourselves to living off the land.

We met another Canadian couple, Angie and Harold (Halagain) when we were in Lake Worth and ran into them again in Fort Lauderdale and now here in Biscayne Bay. They have been cruising the Bahamas for 25 years, and have been incredibly generous in sharing their knowledge and experiences with us. Someone new to have “skipper’s” meetings in the evening.

We enjoyed Biscayne Bay waiting for another weather window which will hopefully be Friday to cross to the Central Bahamas. While we were waiting here, we had great news that Al’s daughter, Corrie, delivered her second child, Chase James Prouse on Remembrance Day. Mom and son are both doing well.

We are both looking forward to seeing all the little munchkins when we get back in the spring.

Jacksonville, Florida to Lake Worth, Florida

Wednesday November 5th, 2008

We left Jacksonville around 9:00 am on Saturday October 25th and arrived in St Augustine late afternoon. St. Augustine is one of the oldest settlements in America. It has a Spanish ambience and apparently it is really nice but we didn’t even go ashore as we were on a mission to get to Vero Beach where we would start our provisioning. So a long day to St. Augustine, another to New Smyrna Beach and then our last evening before Vero was north of Cocoa Beach.

On the way, we saw our first Manatees, about a dozen in one day. These are huge sea creatures that resemble walruses. They are often referred to as sea cows but are up to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 3,000 pounds. They breathe air so come up every few minutes to the surface. Anyways, they can be a bit of a hazard as they move very slowly and are often struck by boats, a hazard to them and to us. We had to move relatively slowly and keep a good watch out for them. We also saw our first Alligator on this leg of the trip. He looked like a big thick stick in the middle of the channel and then when we approached, the “big stick” submerged to resurface a few meters away. He wasn’t very big but we wouldn’t recommend swimming there.

We cruised near Port Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre and could clearly see the shuttle launch from the water. What a fantastic place to witness a launch from. We hope to see one in the spring when we return.

We stayed about 5 days in Vero Beach where we started our provisioning. We are now at an anchorage in Lake Worth / Palm Beach waiting for the right weather window for us to cross to the Bahamas. In the meantime, we are continuing to provision. Food is very expensive, sometimes hard to find and often not very good in the Bahamas so we are stocking up on cases of everything.

As we slowly (very slowly) traveled well over 2000 statute miles from Lake Ontario to here, it has struck us how diverse the US coastal towns are. From the small fishing villages like Crisfield, the historic centres like Annapolis, the southern plantation communities like Charleston, the Spanish influence of St. Augustine to the large metropolitan cities like New York, they all have their own flavour and interesting features. But, we are now done with America and on to the Bahamas. Yeh Ha! White sandy beaches, palm trees, and clear turquoise waters, here we come.