Tuesday, March 26, 2024

2024 Bahamas: Welcome to Long Island

26 March 2024
Dingy Exploration




Today we thought about renting a car to tour Long Island, which according to Wikipedia is approximately 80 miles long and 4 miles wide; however, we could not reach the car rental place yesterday to place a reservation. I suggested we do a get-the-lay-of-the-land tour today by dinghy / foot and try for a car tomorrow. 

The weather was pretty near perfect for looking around the surrounding area. Fluffy clouds dotted the sunny sky with a cool breezed to keep us comfortable. I took the pictures while Clark drove the dinghy.
I love the colorful houses here and found one with every building on the property in blue to match the water.



Our friends on Bagus told us to stop at the private dock to tie up and walk into town. As we followed the shoreline we were not sure which place they had meant, so we dinghied over to a sailboat anchored nearby, introduced ourselves, and asked directions. 

We had a lovely chat before making our way to the recommended dock. The owner of the dock had two rules 1) don't block the ladder and 2) don't lock your boat to the dock. 





After looking at a variety of coral and rocks for the past few days, I was happy to see that the street we walked up had very pretty flowers growing there. 







When we got to the end of the lane, we set off on foot heading south planning to visit the chandlery the folks on the sailboat told us about. It turned out to be close to a 1/2 mile down the road. The posted speed limit showed 20 mph, but the cars whizzed by at way higher speeds. 


"Basil Fox Close"
street with private dock for dinghy use


Yeah! Right!

The road passed over rolling hills. Other than fearing the speeding cars, it was a pleasant walk.

We passed by the site of the Farmers Market,



where we saw a great view of the anchorage.


The tree shown below, and some others like it elsewhere on the island, stand out as good landmarks as they seem to be the tallest objects on Long Island.



We passed the "Apostolic Church of Acts" along the way to the chandlery. I am not familiar with that church.




We found the chandlery, but as with everywhere else we have checked, they did not sell the replacement cap screw Clark needs for the anchor windless.





After looking around a bit, we left to stroll back to the car rental place and the market. We had been told that if we found the walk too taxing, we could put a thumb out and hitchhike. As it turned out, no thumb was required. A woman saw us walking to town and offered to give us a ride to the food store. I thanked her but declined the offer as I need the exercise.

Looking up and down the road, this is what we could see in either direction.


Clark walking along side of road

Before going to the market, we stopped at Fox Auto, where we thought we could reserve a rental car, and found out we had to go next door for that. Fox Auto did car maintenance. 

Seaside Car Rental had the prettiest scenery I have ever see for a car rental facility.




Clark walking onto car rental property




The house and gardens on the property had nice landscaping. We had a bit of time to enjoy it as we could not find anyone on the property at the car rental facility or at the home to offer assistance. We tried calling the two phone numbers we had and could hear the phone ringing in the building behind us, but no one answered.







We hung around hoping someone would appear. After a while we left and walked to the market to do our shopping. I found McVities biscuits, which I loved as a kid, so I bought myself a treat! After shopping we walked back to the car rental place and found it still deserted. 

Finally. I suggested we walk back around to the Fox Auto place and inquire there where we might find some help. The woman at the front desk had the cell phone number for the car rentals. Clark called that number and had success reaching someone who said they had taken a drive to the airport and would be back in about 30 minutes. Clark gave our boat name as a means of making a reservation and said we would come back tomorrow for the car.

After that we walked back to the dinghy for the ride back to the boat. Clark took the long way "home"!

We had seen a restaurant on our walk to the chandlery, and as we passed by on the dinghy, we came in for a look on the waterfront side of things. As we approached, a woman walked down to the docks to tell us the restaurant was closed today. I had figured as much with all the umbrellas folded down, but it was nice of her to come talk to us. We said we would try to come back on Thursday, and she seemed pleased.



From there, we passed by more colorful buildings. One of which, on the right below, turned out to be a restaurant that was open for lunch. As it was only 11:30, and thinking we would be back on SD soon, I declined Clark's offer that we eat there for lunch. Had I known it would be almost 2:00 before we got back to the boat, I would have said, "YES!".


Restaurant near the Government dock


Government dock


Colorful "Welcome to Long Island"
sign and buildings


Fuel dock

The folks on the sailboat told us the water getting to the fuel dock is shallow. Clark took some readings on depth from the dinghy and found the water shallow before and after the dock. If we can come in and exit sideways, we would be fine bringing "Sunset Delight" over for fuel!

We saw lots of miscellaneous islands around the harbour of a variety of sizes.



We passed by this nicely manicured property.


And we saw a launch ramp where a pickup was parked with a boat trailer.



We saw the house below in a remote location - far from town and other buildings.


Eventually we turned in the direction to take us back to "Sunset Delight". Thank goodness I used the restroom at the Chandlery hours before, or I would have been extremely uncomfortable about now.



On the way back to our boat, we could see something black in the water off in the distance. We guessed it was a barge, but eventually we figured out it used to be a barge. It was charred to a crisp with a sunken boat in front. Clark thought perhaps it caught fire near town and was towed here to get it away from causing damage to others. 




We passed a boat named "Southern Comfort" anchored in all her glory with her trawling wings spread wide.



The windmills on "Kingfisher" were whirring away generating power for the boat shown below.




At this point I was so close to "Sunset Delight" I started dreaming about the food I would be eating. Then we passed a sailboat and Clark said, "Hey! We know that boat!" It was "Sea Biscuit" that traveled "with" us from Georgetown yesterday. The owner was at the stern cleaning his boat, so Clark had to stop and say hello. 


S/V "Sea Biscuit"

I am not sure how long we hung on to the stern of their boat and chatted with them from our dinghy, but at 1:40, I looked at my watch and said, "Clark, take me home and feed me!" It only took one additional, "feed me" to get him to relent and actually shove off to head back to our boat. 

After lunch, I finished my current novel and downloaded the following four books in the series. After reading 3 of the 7 volumes, I am hooked and need to keep going to the end. I use Kindle Unlimited, so I try to make the most of it.

Clark fell asleep this afternoon reading his "Nature of Boats" book. I told him it would put me out in less than 5 minutes. I guess it worked well for him too. He brought us back to "Sunset Delight" in the dinghy earlier today at such a slow speed that the rocking was soothing. I heard him yawn and begged him not to fall asleep at the wheel. His getting up at 6:30 every day for the weather report takes its toll.

Monday, March 25, 2024

2024 Bahamas: Moving on to Long Island

24 March 2024
Depart: Emerald Bay Marina 3:20
Arrive: Georgetown anchorage 5:30
Distance: 13.7 nm

 Today was Sunday so we had no Chris Parker weather report and could remain in bed past 6:30! Ev spent the day pumping out Blog updates. Clark read and played his guitar for a portion of the day. In preparation of leaving we disposed of garbage and took land-based showers. By mid-afternoon we had taken care of everything that needed / could be done at the marina.

 With no water, electric, or pump-out at the slip, it resembled anchoring but tied to a dock. We decided that it cost no more / no less to leave this afternoon as opposed to in the morning. We could get a couple of hours start on the trip to Long Island and make stop at the Georgetown food market before leaving in the morning.

 Thus, we said goodbye to our friendly neighbor who was, and had been, polishing his boat all day long, pulled in our lines, and were on our way to more adventures.

 The trip to Georgetown from the marina took about two hours, so we arrived well before sunset. We saw the now familiar monument sight as we motored towards our chosen anchoring spot.




We passed by the monument anchorage and, instead, selected a spot near the rock pile landmark that we now know is close to the bridge / tunnel entrance to the Exuma Market dinghy dock.


Approaching Georgetown anchorage


We chose to be near the rockpile landmark

We were blessed with a pretty sunset to close out the day.


 

25 March 2024
Depart: Georgetown anchorage 9:35
Arrive: Long Island anchorage at Thompson Bay near Salt Pond Cay 2:50
Distance: 38 nm
Conditions: 22+ knot winds, sunny, waves on the nose and then on the beam

 Clark was up at 6:30 to hear the weather report, which unfortunately started late again today. When I came out around 7:30, he was still listening and taking notes on upcoming weather. To avoid dealing with lowering the dinghy, Clark planned to take a kayak and go into Georgetown to the Exuma Market this morning.

 However, I asked if we could use the dinghy so I could do the shopping. We had a lot of wind and wave action and some nasty wakes from boats entering or departing Georgetown. It seemed like taking the kayak would be more hassle and perhaps take longer than the dinghy, and I knew that Clark would not be great at the shopping part of this endeavor.

 We had the boat down and were motoring into town shortly after 8:00. Clark had the dinghy VHF radio tuned to Channel 72, so he could continue listening to the cruisers’ net broadcast. This morning’s broadcast included discussion about damage boats in the anchorage had sustained due to the lightning storms the day before. Sailboat masts seem to attract lightning.

 We heard about damaged electronics mostly. Someone announced that they would be at “Chat & Chill” with a bucket ready to collect a donation of $20 from anyone willing to help out another boater there. I do not know what damage he sustained but it must have been significant.

 Another boater offered that he had a spare tablet with navigation software. He said if someone needed it, they could borrow it, and mail it back to him when they came into the US. Cruisers like to help fellow cruisers.

 The sun was shining brightly on Georgetown as we approached. Even the rock pile was bright and shiny.


Exuma Market, here we come


Making good use of all the rocks around here


As we approached the bridge, we saw another dinghy entering ahead of us. The two gentlemen sitting on the bridge waved at them as they went through the tunnel.


Colorful buildings in the sun



When we got to the dinghy dock, Clark decided to stay with the boat while I ran in for supplies. Unlike the day I had to stand in line behind a dozen people, today the store was pretty empty. Apparently, the supply boat had not come in as there was not a slice of bread nor a roll of any kind to be seen on the bread aisle. Surprisingly, I did manage to buy lettuce, tomatoes, and some delicious looking blueberries.

 By 9:30 we had the food on board, the dinghy stowed, and the engines running ready for departure.

 Clark was not sure if we could make it to Long Island today or not. We had wind and waves, and he thought we might have to tuck in somewhere and finish the trip another day. We clocked the wind at about 20 to 23 knots. We had a few waves splash over the boat.




We noted other vessels out on the water with us – all sailboats. S/V “Sea Biscuit” was sailing the same direction as us albeit on a slightly different trajectory. For a while it looked like we were converging into a collision course. Our speeds of about 7.5 knots were similar. Eventually we passed in front of them and they followed behind us.



We could also see “Dance Me To …” on the AIS under sail at 5.4 knots. Eventually we caught up to them. Both “Sea Biscuit” and “Dance Me To …” were boats we saw at Georgetown.

 Once again we marveled at the color of the water in the Bahamas!


As we navigated towards Long Island, we left the Exumas behind us. We followed the waypoints on the charts to plot a course to Salt Pond Cay area where we planned to anchor.




White Cay Bank > Indian Hole Point


Anchored in Thompson Bay

 

Indian Hole Point

Entering the anchorage, we saw a person standing on the back of her boat waving at us. Clark asked, “Do we know them?” I thought it was probably just waving hello until we saw the name of the boat – “Bagus”! We know them quite well from spending time with them in Marlin Bay Marina in Marathon, Florida. Amazing to find someone we know so far from our normal boating area!

Seeing someone he knew lit a fire under Clark and as soon as we had the anchor down, he got busy getting the dinghy deployed. As soon as we were ready, he had us in the dinghy on the way to say hello to our friends – Anette and Bill.


Going to visit M/V Bagus!


Anette served drinks and homemade coffee cake, and we chatted our heads off. I practically had to drag Clark off the boat as time pressed onwards towards 6:00.

Unfortunately, they have been here for a while and are moving tomorrow to Cat Island. It looks like they will be one step ahead of us as we travel, but perhaps our paths will cross again. Boating is pretty marvelous that way.

By the time we were back on board with the dinghy tied up for the night, it was time to make dinner. 

Looking at the sky, Clark wondered if we were in for some interesting weather.




Internet was poor so blogging was not really feasible tonight. I struggled along anyway and managed to put something together, but it took a very long time!