ps. We posted more videos on Vimeo recently when we had a good internet connection.
pps. We will catch up with some missing posts sometime...
Tropical Storm Fay
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Plans Changing...
As the saying we've picked up goes.... a cruiser's plans are set in jello (and the jello isn't set). So with this in mind we are heading back north for a while. We have found that the isolation of George Town isn't bringing us happiness, and the thought of the path ahead against the prevailing winds while dodging hurricanes just doesn't sound like fun. So we will be heading to Florida and then probably farther north for a while. Once hurricane season is over we will probably head back south again.
ps. We posted more videos on Vimeo recently when we had a good internet connection.
pps. We will catch up with some missing posts sometime...
Tropical Storm Fay
ps. We posted more videos on Vimeo recently when we had a good internet connection.
pps. We will catch up with some missing posts sometime...
Tropical Storm Fay
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
That's why they call it the Thorny Path...
13 August 2008
We had known since last year that Geoff's sister's wedding would be in August, and we wanted to fly back to Ottawa for the event. Since it was hurricane season, we needed to find a safe place to leave the boat (a hurricane hole) with access to an airport. There were two well-known hurricane holes near us - one right in George Town, Bahamas, and one in Luperon in the Dominican Republic.
As our required departure date back to Ottawa was getting closer, we started to think about which hurricane hole we wanted to leave Geru in. The trip from George Town to the Dominican Republic is on what is called the Thorny Path. Travelling from the central Bahamas through the Turks & Caicos, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands takes you in a south-easterly direction, which is against the direction of the prevailing winds. This means that you need to motor much of the time and you will be pushing against wind and waves, which can be very uncomfortable, and you will travel more slowly. All of this earned the route the name Thorny Path.
Looking at the dates and the weather, we decided that we could make it to the Dominican Republic if we left sooner rather than later. We also knew that we would need a few days to get things sorted out once we got there, such as booking flights and securing the boat for a storm or hurricane that might hit while we were away. If we waited much longer, we could not be certain we'd make it to the wedding.
So on Saturday, June 28, we left George Town headed for Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. The winds were forecast to be about 15 knots and waves 5 to 6 feet. As we left George Town harbour and headed out, the conditions at first were about what we expected. However, it became quite rough as we got farther out. We were motoring right into both the wind and waves. Geru was slamming down on the waves with lots of water on the deck - it was quite unpleasant! We turned to each other and asked if we wanted to do this for 5 days straight to get to the Dominican Republic, which we would have needed to do in order to get there in time. So, feeling very frustrated and defeated, we turned around - and we now truly appreciate why they call it the Thorny Path! We ended up having a great trip back to George Town (it's SOOO much better running WITH the wind and waves!).
The next day we sat down to figure out what to do - wait for better weather to try again and risk not making it back to Ottawa, or stay in George Town and fly back from there. Because we did not want to miss the wedding, we decided to stay in George Town and planned to travel to the Dominican Republic after the wedding. This would allow us to take our time for the trip. We also wouldn't have to skip any islands we wanted to see along the way, because we would not be in a hurry. It would also allow for unscheduled stops to wait out weather. The route to the Dominican Republic passes through less sheltered waters, with fewer islands or shallow banks to hide behind for protection. The islands along the way are mostly remote outposts, and most of the trip is over open ocean - with the next stop to the East being Africa!
We spent the next few weeks catching up on the ever-growing list of chores and preparing the boat for a possible hurricane. The Atlantic had already seen two tropical storms this season. We also booked our flights to be in Ottawa for the first two weeks of August.
Our trip to Ottawa was very nice, although being in a big city again after weeks of solitude in the islands was a bit of a culture shock! Our trip was a whirlwind tour - we were running the whole time in order to get everything done. The first week was spent rushing around to dentist, eye doctor, and physio appointments and picking up items we couldn't get down south. The second week was all about Geoff's sister's wedding. We made some time to visit with friends, too, which was great. The wedding went well and, other than a slightly rainy ceremony, it was wonderful. Geoff was one of the groomsmen, and it was quite a change to see him in a tux rather than his usual very casual boat clothes!
A small part of the Exumas from the plane
More of the Exumas
Bimini
The wedding ceremony (Geoff standing on the far right)
Jenny and Steve
We had known since last year that Geoff's sister's wedding would be in August, and we wanted to fly back to Ottawa for the event. Since it was hurricane season, we needed to find a safe place to leave the boat (a hurricane hole) with access to an airport. There were two well-known hurricane holes near us - one right in George Town, Bahamas, and one in Luperon in the Dominican Republic.
As our required departure date back to Ottawa was getting closer, we started to think about which hurricane hole we wanted to leave Geru in. The trip from George Town to the Dominican Republic is on what is called the Thorny Path. Travelling from the central Bahamas through the Turks & Caicos, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands takes you in a south-easterly direction, which is against the direction of the prevailing winds. This means that you need to motor much of the time and you will be pushing against wind and waves, which can be very uncomfortable, and you will travel more slowly. All of this earned the route the name Thorny Path.
Looking at the dates and the weather, we decided that we could make it to the Dominican Republic if we left sooner rather than later. We also knew that we would need a few days to get things sorted out once we got there, such as booking flights and securing the boat for a storm or hurricane that might hit while we were away. If we waited much longer, we could not be certain we'd make it to the wedding.
So on Saturday, June 28, we left George Town headed for Cape Santa Maria on Long Island. The winds were forecast to be about 15 knots and waves 5 to 6 feet. As we left George Town harbour and headed out, the conditions at first were about what we expected. However, it became quite rough as we got farther out. We were motoring right into both the wind and waves. Geru was slamming down on the waves with lots of water on the deck - it was quite unpleasant! We turned to each other and asked if we wanted to do this for 5 days straight to get to the Dominican Republic, which we would have needed to do in order to get there in time. So, feeling very frustrated and defeated, we turned around - and we now truly appreciate why they call it the Thorny Path! We ended up having a great trip back to George Town (it's SOOO much better running WITH the wind and waves!).
The next day we sat down to figure out what to do - wait for better weather to try again and risk not making it back to Ottawa, or stay in George Town and fly back from there. Because we did not want to miss the wedding, we decided to stay in George Town and planned to travel to the Dominican Republic after the wedding. This would allow us to take our time for the trip. We also wouldn't have to skip any islands we wanted to see along the way, because we would not be in a hurry. It would also allow for unscheduled stops to wait out weather. The route to the Dominican Republic passes through less sheltered waters, with fewer islands or shallow banks to hide behind for protection. The islands along the way are mostly remote outposts, and most of the trip is over open ocean - with the next stop to the East being Africa!
We spent the next few weeks catching up on the ever-growing list of chores and preparing the boat for a possible hurricane. The Atlantic had already seen two tropical storms this season. We also booked our flights to be in Ottawa for the first two weeks of August.
Our trip to Ottawa was very nice, although being in a big city again after weeks of solitude in the islands was a bit of a culture shock! Our trip was a whirlwind tour - we were running the whole time in order to get everything done. The first week was spent rushing around to dentist, eye doctor, and physio appointments and picking up items we couldn't get down south. The second week was all about Geoff's sister's wedding. We made some time to visit with friends, too, which was great. The wedding went well and, other than a slightly rainy ceremony, it was wonderful. Geoff was one of the groomsmen, and it was quite a change to see him in a tux rather than his usual very casual boat clothes!
A small part of the Exumas from the plane
More of the Exumas
Bimini
The wedding ceremony (Geoff standing on the far right)
Jenny and Steve
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Google our Trip
For those of you who would like to explore where we have been, below are some links for the full list of position reports up to today.
If you have Google Earth, download the two KML files below:
If you don't have Google Earth you can use Google Maps
Enjoy!
View Larger Map
If you have Google Earth, download the two KML files below:
If you don't have Google Earth you can use Google Maps
Enjoy!
View Larger Map
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Fish, Wind, and Unknown Depths
28 June 2008
On Saturday, June 21st, we motored for eight hours to George Town (Exumas) from Rudder Cut Cay, taking the outside route (in the Exuma Sound). The day was quite breezy with the wind almost on our nose, so we didn't sail. Since we were in open water, we decided to try out our fishing handline (a set-up with only a reel of line - no rod) for the first time. As we have more open-water passages ahead of us, we didn't expect much on the first day of trying it, especially because we were just motoring along a chain of cays which were less than a mile away. Geoff thought that the line might not be long enough, because we clearly saw the lure skipping along on the surface behind the boat. Well...Within an hour of putting the line out we had our first fish! We identified it as a Cero (a type of mackerel), and we filleted it on the back deck right away (and ate half of it for dinner at the end of the day). Inspired by our success we put the line back in the water. Two hours later we had another bite! We pulled the fish in close to the boat. It was another Cero. While attempting to gaff the fish, he somehow got off the hook and slipped away. Disappointed but undaunted we dropped the hook in again. This time it took less than five minutes for the next one to bite! Our third fish in as many hours. This fish was an Almaco Jack (we think). His fillets went into our freezer.
As we entered George Town harbour, we noticed that our depth sounder wasn't working - it has had some intermittent problems for a while, but now it just wasn't showing any depth. Because we are comparatively shallow, we generally trust our chart plotter and don't worry about the depths too much. When we anchor, however, we usually try to get as close in to shore as possible to get the most protection from wind and waves. So when we went to anchor off Stocking Island across from George Town, we had to use the old method of a lead line to figure out the depth - an interesting proposition when you care about a one foot error! We anchored safely and added a new depth sounder to our list of things to do. As it turned out, we ended up with a fish finder as that was the closest thing we could find in George Town.
George Town is the largest town of the Exumas, but is still fairly small with little in the way of services. The town surrounds a small lake (Lake Victoria), which is accessible by dinghy via a connection under a bridge to the main harbour. Most of the beach anchorages are across the harbour from George Town along Stocking Island, such as Volleyball Beach, Hamburger Beach, and Sanddollar Beach. We were anchored just off of Volleyball Beach, near the Chat'n'Chill beach bar. During the winter at the height of the cruising season, hundreds of boats stay in George Town harbour (properly called Elizabeth Harbour). Because we were there in the summer, there were only a handful of other cruisers around. We spent a couple of fun days with Renata, Kuno, and Tatiana from Blue Moon.
Geoff with our first fish (a Cero)
Geoff with our third fish (an Almaco Jack)
Dinner!
Geru at Volleyball Beach on Stocking Island
We've come a long way...
Exit from Lake Victoria, George Town - with Geru out front
Some fun on the beach at night (Tatiana and Ruth)
On Saturday, June 21st, we motored for eight hours to George Town (Exumas) from Rudder Cut Cay, taking the outside route (in the Exuma Sound). The day was quite breezy with the wind almost on our nose, so we didn't sail. Since we were in open water, we decided to try out our fishing handline (a set-up with only a reel of line - no rod) for the first time. As we have more open-water passages ahead of us, we didn't expect much on the first day of trying it, especially because we were just motoring along a chain of cays which were less than a mile away. Geoff thought that the line might not be long enough, because we clearly saw the lure skipping along on the surface behind the boat. Well...Within an hour of putting the line out we had our first fish! We identified it as a Cero (a type of mackerel), and we filleted it on the back deck right away (and ate half of it for dinner at the end of the day). Inspired by our success we put the line back in the water. Two hours later we had another bite! We pulled the fish in close to the boat. It was another Cero. While attempting to gaff the fish, he somehow got off the hook and slipped away. Disappointed but undaunted we dropped the hook in again. This time it took less than five minutes for the next one to bite! Our third fish in as many hours. This fish was an Almaco Jack (we think). His fillets went into our freezer.
As we entered George Town harbour, we noticed that our depth sounder wasn't working - it has had some intermittent problems for a while, but now it just wasn't showing any depth. Because we are comparatively shallow, we generally trust our chart plotter and don't worry about the depths too much. When we anchor, however, we usually try to get as close in to shore as possible to get the most protection from wind and waves. So when we went to anchor off Stocking Island across from George Town, we had to use the old method of a lead line to figure out the depth - an interesting proposition when you care about a one foot error! We anchored safely and added a new depth sounder to our list of things to do. As it turned out, we ended up with a fish finder as that was the closest thing we could find in George Town.
George Town is the largest town of the Exumas, but is still fairly small with little in the way of services. The town surrounds a small lake (Lake Victoria), which is accessible by dinghy via a connection under a bridge to the main harbour. Most of the beach anchorages are across the harbour from George Town along Stocking Island, such as Volleyball Beach, Hamburger Beach, and Sanddollar Beach. We were anchored just off of Volleyball Beach, near the Chat'n'Chill beach bar. During the winter at the height of the cruising season, hundreds of boats stay in George Town harbour (properly called Elizabeth Harbour). Because we were there in the summer, there were only a handful of other cruisers around. We spent a couple of fun days with Renata, Kuno, and Tatiana from Blue Moon.
Geoff with our first fish (a Cero)
Geoff with our third fish (an Almaco Jack)
Dinner!
Geru at Volleyball Beach on Stocking Island
We've come a long way...
Exit from Lake Victoria, George Town - with Geru out front
Some fun on the beach at night (Tatiana and Ruth)
Sunday, 22 June 2008
To the Exumas via Eleuthera
22 June 2008
On Sunday, June 8th, we motored to Eleuthera and anchored at Royal Island. We had planned on sailing across, but shortly after leaving the cut to the ocean Geoff got quite seasick. There were some fairly large swells (about five feet). We ended up motoring, because it would have been more of a challenge for Ruth to handle the sails alone while also looking after Geoff. Geoff was finally able to get enough Gravol in so that by the time we arrived he was feeling almost normal. Other than the swells, it was actually quite a nice day for our trip to Eleuthera.
We spent Monday at Royal Island for Geoff to recover and install the watermaker (it now works!). Outside of another boat on the other side of the anchorage, we were alone in a large and almost completely enclosed bay. The statement of the day by Ruth was "What a wonderful Monday.... everyone's at work - and we are here!" It certainly didn't feel like a Monday at Royal Island. We are finding that we frequently lose track of the days of the week.
On Tuesday we motored to the northernmost islands of the Exumas chain. We had been hearing since Florida that the Exumas are wonderful. The water is very clear here, so clear that you can see the bottom 20 feet down even with just the moonlight. But the rest of the landscape is very barren and scrubby - not the tropical paradise we expected. We are begining to think many people like the Exumas because during the crusing season (which is over the winter) it is not as crowded as the Abacos.
Over the next ten days, we slowly worked our way down the Exumas island chain. We spent a day at Warderick Wells in the Land and Sea Park for our first real snokeling of the trip. We saw some nice coral and tropical fish. On Sunday we anchored off Big Majors Spot. The cay is famous for the pigs that residents of a neighboring island keep here. The pigs roam freely and are fed by cruisers arriving on boats. We took the dinghy into the beach, and the sound of our outboard engine brought a large pig running towards us out of the shrubs! We brought some cut-up potatoes and got to feed and pet the pig. On Tuesday we toured Staniel Cay which gave us our first feel of an Exuma town. The two grocery stores were really small - they seemed to have less food and household supplies in them than we had in our house in Ottawa! One of the attractions of Staniel Cay is Thunderball Cave, which was featured in both the 1960s Bond 007 movie "Thunderball" and in the movie "Splash". The snorkeling in and around the cave was pretty neat. We brought some cut up potatoes with us (the left-overs from the pig adventure!) and dozens of small tropical fish went into a feeding frenzy - Ruth couldn't see her hands through the fish as she was feeding them! The cave also had some of the best coral we've seen yet.
Sailing on the banks between Eleuthera and the Exumas
Our neighbour at Hawksbill Cay
Hawksbill Cay
Ruth feeding a pig at Big Majors Spot
Beach of conch shells at Staniel Cay
Town of Black Point on Great Guana Cay
On Sunday, June 8th, we motored to Eleuthera and anchored at Royal Island. We had planned on sailing across, but shortly after leaving the cut to the ocean Geoff got quite seasick. There were some fairly large swells (about five feet). We ended up motoring, because it would have been more of a challenge for Ruth to handle the sails alone while also looking after Geoff. Geoff was finally able to get enough Gravol in so that by the time we arrived he was feeling almost normal. Other than the swells, it was actually quite a nice day for our trip to Eleuthera.
We spent Monday at Royal Island for Geoff to recover and install the watermaker (it now works!). Outside of another boat on the other side of the anchorage, we were alone in a large and almost completely enclosed bay. The statement of the day by Ruth was "What a wonderful Monday.... everyone's at work - and we are here!" It certainly didn't feel like a Monday at Royal Island. We are finding that we frequently lose track of the days of the week.
On Tuesday we motored to the northernmost islands of the Exumas chain. We had been hearing since Florida that the Exumas are wonderful. The water is very clear here, so clear that you can see the bottom 20 feet down even with just the moonlight. But the rest of the landscape is very barren and scrubby - not the tropical paradise we expected. We are begining to think many people like the Exumas because during the crusing season (which is over the winter) it is not as crowded as the Abacos.
Over the next ten days, we slowly worked our way down the Exumas island chain. We spent a day at Warderick Wells in the Land and Sea Park for our first real snokeling of the trip. We saw some nice coral and tropical fish. On Sunday we anchored off Big Majors Spot. The cay is famous for the pigs that residents of a neighboring island keep here. The pigs roam freely and are fed by cruisers arriving on boats. We took the dinghy into the beach, and the sound of our outboard engine brought a large pig running towards us out of the shrubs! We brought some cut-up potatoes and got to feed and pet the pig. On Tuesday we toured Staniel Cay which gave us our first feel of an Exuma town. The two grocery stores were really small - they seemed to have less food and household supplies in them than we had in our house in Ottawa! One of the attractions of Staniel Cay is Thunderball Cave, which was featured in both the 1960s Bond 007 movie "Thunderball" and in the movie "Splash". The snorkeling in and around the cave was pretty neat. We brought some cut up potatoes with us (the left-overs from the pig adventure!) and dozens of small tropical fish went into a feeding frenzy - Ruth couldn't see her hands through the fish as she was feeding them! The cave also had some of the best coral we've seen yet.
Sailing on the banks between Eleuthera and the Exumas
Our neighbour at Hawksbill Cay
Hawksbill Cay
Ruth feeding a pig at Big Majors Spot
Beach of conch shells at Staniel Cay
Town of Black Point on Great Guana Cay
Friday, 13 June 2008
Position Reports
Because we haven't been able to get internet for the last little while, we thought we'd point out that you can always find out where we are by looking at our position report. The link is in the sidebar at the top right of the main page.
Monday, 9 June 2008
Southbound
9 June 2008
On Tuesday, June 3rd, we left Marsh Harbour for Tahiti Beach, which is located on the southern end of Elbow Cay. Tahiti Beach is one of the neatest beaches we've seen - it only appears at low tide and completely disappears at high tide. We spent a few hours on the beach, then spent some time snorkelling around the boat to clean barnacles and other sea life off the bottom.
The following day was hot and sunny day again as we sailed and motored south to Little Harbour on Great Abaco Island. We tried to put up the stay sail to add a bit more speed today. We had not put this sail up before. It turns out that our stay sail doesn't fit the current rigging on the boat. The last owner broke the original mast on Geru and had a new one made. It appears that when this was done, the attachment point of the inner stay to the mast was moved. Since the staysail predates this modification, it no longer fits - it is too big! So...sometime we will need to get that sail recut.
Little Harbour has a neat little foundry and gallery of cast bronze sculptures (along with other local art), which we visited on our second day there. We had also heard of a nearby beach that is supposed to be full of beach glass (which are shards of glass, often old, that have been smoothed by being tumbled in the surf and rocks). The beach was a mixture of sandy sections and ledges of sharp old rocky coral. We did find some glass, although we'd expected to find larger pieces. One afternoon we walked up to the lighthouse. Today the lighthouse is an electric light on a tall post that apparently works "sometimes". The post sits next to the ruins of the old lighthouse. This was the first time in our travels through the Bahamas (but not the last) that it struck us how harsh life here must have been before the advent of regular food and goods shipments from the outside. It's very barren, there's little soil to grow anthing, and the only fresh water in most places is from the occasional rain. Today many towns have reverse-osmosis watermaking plants that produce fresh water from sea water on a large scale, but most houses also still have cisterns to catch rain falling onto the roofs.
Our next stop after Little Harbour was the island of Eleuthera. The trip from the Abacos to Eleuthera takes a full day over open ocean. This was only our second passage like that - the first being our Gulfstream crossing. We had wanted to leave Little Harbour and head for Eleuthera on Friday. However, the weather didn't allow for it as the wind was blowing right against us and the seas were on the large side. The weather looked more favourable for Sunday. We were faced with a bit of a dilemma, though. The entrance to Little Harbour is a little too shallow for us (and we only draw three feet!) at low tide, which was right when we needed to leave on Sunday morning in order to make our passage in daylight. So on Saturday, we moved half an hour north of Little Harbour to Lynyard Cay in preparation for our sail to Eleuthera.
Tahiti Beach
Little Harbour Gallery
Beach on the Atlantic side of Little Harbour
Little Harbour (view from up the mast)
Pete's Pub in Little Harbour
On Tuesday, June 3rd, we left Marsh Harbour for Tahiti Beach, which is located on the southern end of Elbow Cay. Tahiti Beach is one of the neatest beaches we've seen - it only appears at low tide and completely disappears at high tide. We spent a few hours on the beach, then spent some time snorkelling around the boat to clean barnacles and other sea life off the bottom.
The following day was hot and sunny day again as we sailed and motored south to Little Harbour on Great Abaco Island. We tried to put up the stay sail to add a bit more speed today. We had not put this sail up before. It turns out that our stay sail doesn't fit the current rigging on the boat. The last owner broke the original mast on Geru and had a new one made. It appears that when this was done, the attachment point of the inner stay to the mast was moved. Since the staysail predates this modification, it no longer fits - it is too big! So...sometime we will need to get that sail recut.
Little Harbour has a neat little foundry and gallery of cast bronze sculptures (along with other local art), which we visited on our second day there. We had also heard of a nearby beach that is supposed to be full of beach glass (which are shards of glass, often old, that have been smoothed by being tumbled in the surf and rocks). The beach was a mixture of sandy sections and ledges of sharp old rocky coral. We did find some glass, although we'd expected to find larger pieces. One afternoon we walked up to the lighthouse. Today the lighthouse is an electric light on a tall post that apparently works "sometimes". The post sits next to the ruins of the old lighthouse. This was the first time in our travels through the Bahamas (but not the last) that it struck us how harsh life here must have been before the advent of regular food and goods shipments from the outside. It's very barren, there's little soil to grow anthing, and the only fresh water in most places is from the occasional rain. Today many towns have reverse-osmosis watermaking plants that produce fresh water from sea water on a large scale, but most houses also still have cisterns to catch rain falling onto the roofs.
Our next stop after Little Harbour was the island of Eleuthera. The trip from the Abacos to Eleuthera takes a full day over open ocean. This was only our second passage like that - the first being our Gulfstream crossing. We had wanted to leave Little Harbour and head for Eleuthera on Friday. However, the weather didn't allow for it as the wind was blowing right against us and the seas were on the large side. The weather looked more favourable for Sunday. We were faced with a bit of a dilemma, though. The entrance to Little Harbour is a little too shallow for us (and we only draw three feet!) at low tide, which was right when we needed to leave on Sunday morning in order to make our passage in daylight. So on Saturday, we moved half an hour north of Little Harbour to Lynyard Cay in preparation for our sail to Eleuthera.
Tahiti Beach
Little Harbour Gallery
Beach on the Atlantic side of Little Harbour
Little Harbour (view from up the mast)
Pete's Pub in Little Harbour
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