Boating with Sunset Delight: Bahamas: Allen’s Cay Anchorage

Day 271
April 7, 2016

NM Today: 42

NM Total: 4143

Clark getting up for his 6:30 weather report is becoming a habit, and today amazingly I was up and about before 7:00 as well. Sleeping last night proved interesting. The night before the boat rocked continually, and I compared it to being in a cradle. Last night the boat rocked wildly, and it made me think of what it would be like to be in a washing machine on the heavy duty cycle. The boat rolled from side-to-side like being continuously “waked” by an inconsiderate boater.

I even convinced Clark that we should lower our coffee table like we do when we are underway since it is a bit top-heavy and can topple over. While I was at it, I also tethered the garbage can to prevent it from falling over and spilling its contents all over the floor. Then, back in bed, I held on as I was tossed back and forth. I can’t say it made for a great night’s sleep, although in the middle of the night the waves did take a break. At dawn the waves renewed their efforts to toss us from our bed. No wonder I woke this morning with a splitting headache.

Although it was still a bit windy, today looked like a good day to move to a new anchorage. Clark checked fuel prices last night and found the cheapest fuel to be in Nassau. Going there for fuel took us about 5 NM out of our way, but saved us over $100 in fuel cost. He decided the side trip was worth the savings. As we approached Nassau, I noticed that today four cruise ships were in port - three from Carnival and one other not so recognizable.

Coming into Nassau to get fuel at Hurricane Hole Marina

We arrived at the Hurricane Hole Marina Fuel Dock at 9:00 to fill up our tanks. By 9:30 we left the fuel dock and pointed Sea Moss towards Porgee’s Rocks and then on to Allen’s Cay – our next anchorage point. Clark’s weather prediction forecast that we would have following seas to Nassau, and by the time we left there the winds would be favorable for the next leg of our trip. His prediction was on the mark. As we left Nassau, we experienced a brief rain shower. Then, suddenly the sky transformed from dark clouds to bright sunshine, and we had fair weather for the remainder of the trip. We had some salt spray but no rough seas or high winds.

We had interesting skies today. Clark snapped some great cloud pictures. The clouds reminded me of giant cotton balls sitting in the sky.

Cotton Balls in the Sky

Clark hoped for the sun for a particularly dangerous portion of the trip where coral heads lurk just below the surface waiting to damage an unsuspecting vessel. He stationed me as lookout. As we moved along, I could see many large rocks below water. I kept asking Clark the depth because I could see them so clearly. The answer most often came back as “Twelve feet”. The water is so amazingly clear I feel like I am cruising in pool water instead of the ocean. In New Jersey I cannot see 12 inches below the surface let alone 12 feet.

Clark took us on a path through the coral heads / rocks based on the Explorer Chartbook that he purchased for the Bahamas portion of our trip. Bob on Aftermath told us he used to have to cruise these waters with no navigation guides because they did not exist. He said the Explorer Charts are worth every penny paid for them, and I believe Clark agrees.

Coral Head Lurking in Wait

When we arrived at Allen’s Cay, it looked unreal with crystal clear water, sandy beaches, and iguanas by the score running all over the surrounding islands. The islands of this Cay are the home of the almost extinct Exuma Iguanas. Since people visit them all the time and do not bother them with anything other than a camera, they come quite close and do not run for shelter when approached.

Allen's Cay Anchorage

Home to the Exuma Iguana

Exuma Iguana

After leaving a beach area heavily populated with iguana, I asked Clark if we could take the dinghy over to the magical-looking island with the sailboat at anchor. Viewing the well-protected, deep cove with passages between the islands that allow only limited access to the cove, my imagination kicked in. Suddenly the sailboat at anchor became a pirate ship, and the island with only iguanas for inhabitants became the perfect place to find buried treasure. I could almost hear the pirates chanting “Yo—ho-ho”!

Sailboat in Protected Cove at Allen's Cay

As we approached the island we saw a sign. Clark wondered what it said, and since I was wearing water shoes and he wasn’t, he asked me to get out of the dinghy and go read the sign.

Clark waiting while I go read the sign

My first thought was that it would say “Private Property. Stay out.” But I had a set of binoculars with me and I could see using them that the sign had a picture of an iguana on top and multiple paragraphs of text underneath. I guessed it was a sign explaining something about the iguanas. When I got there I found I was correct.

Endangered Exuma Iguana
(Most endangered lizard in the world.
Found only in the Exumas.)

As long as I was on the island, I decided to make use of the camera.

Clark waiting in dinghy

Sea Moss in Anchorage - the only power boat here

Pile of rocks on Iguana Island
(Clark insisted it looked like the rocks wore sunglasses.
I couldn't see anything but a pile of rocks.)

Finding no buried treasure, though maybe it was under that pile of rocks, I climbed back into the dinghy, and we headed back to Sea Moss. Since we had basically seen all that these islands had to offer, we decided to go snorkeling and see if this anchorage had any fish. When we got in the water, Clark warned me that we had a strong current. I decided I did not want to end up well away from the boat and have to struggle to get back. I grabbed onto a line hanging from the stern of the dinghy and used that to hold myself near Sea Moss while I did my snorkeling.

In the last anchorage the only object of interest I found while snorkeling was a beer bottle on the bottom. In this anchorage it was a beer can! We did see a few, very small fish in this anchorage, but they were not plentiful and they were not colorful, so we took no underwater pictures.

My snorkel proved problematic once again. It works well for a short period of time and then water seeps in. No matter how hard I try I can’t clear the water from the snorkel and continue snorkeling. Today Clark played with it and decided that the valve was not sealing properly. He worked with it for a while and our hope is that he may have addressed the problem by ‘working” the valve enough to get it to seal. We shall see next time.

On shore when I stepped in the water, it felt almost hot. Off the back of the boat, only several yards away, the water felt cold while snorkeling. I should have worn my wetsuit vest for warmth. The water temperature read 78 degrees, so I thought that would be good enough, but both Clark and I felt chilled after only a relatively short time in the water. We enjoyed our time in the water, but when goose bumps start to appear, it is definitely time to climb out.

We have limited water on board, and fresh (non-salt) water is not so easy to come by here in the Bahamas, so we conserve like crazy. Both Clark and I agree that the salt water is significantly saltier than the waters we have in New Jersey. Wiping the railing with a sponge yields a handful of salt. It is unbelievable. Of course when we swim all that salt collects on us and in our hair, so we have to use at least some of our precious water supply to clean ourselves off. We are still learning how to be frugal with our water.

As we put away our toys and cleaned ourselves up, I noticed two couples on neighboring sailboats get in the dinghies and tether them together as a “raft up”. They then floated around the anchorage having what I thought of as “dinghy-tails”. Many people have cocktails. Loopers have “dock-tails”. This Floridian sail boaters had “dinghy-tails”. I noticed that occasionally they had to visit one or the other of their two sailboats to refresh their drinks and then they would float away again. Looked like a lot of fun actually.