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Trip Report # 10: Georgetown to the AbacosFiled from Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas26 32.84 N 077 03.56 WApril 12, 2006
Photo: Mother dolphin and her baby in the harbor at Georgetown Georgetown is a hard place to leave. We kept meeting people we know and making dates for dinner and other social events and exploring some of the beaches and anchorages that we had not seen. But we finally had to get on our way.
Photo: Peg at Hamburger Beach near the monument in Georgetown On March 27 we weighed anchor and made our way out of the channel at Georgetown. High waves, driven by a 20 knot wind from the northeast, were coming into the cut, and we carefully motor-sailed through the channel with waves breaking on the reefs on both sides. With the wind on the nose, we were only able to make it as far as Calabash Bay on Long Island, where we thought we would get shelter from the wind and waves. We were wrong. Although we had some shelter from the wind, the rolling waves made their way into the anchorage, and we spent a very rolly night with little sleep. We left in the morning as soon as there was light enough to make our way around coral heads that were sprinkled at the edge of the bay. We had a brisk sail up Exuma Sound to Hawk's Nest Creek and started making our way into the narrow channel. The creek has red markers on one side and a clearly visible shoal on the other and a 6 foot depth at mean low water. Starboard Home draws 6 feet and we thought we could make it, as we were entering 2 hours before low tide. We did not realize, however, that we were having an astronomically low low tide, and that the water depth was a bit below the level at mean low water. Needless to say, we went aground in the narrow entrance to the creek, and after several futile attempts to get off, we decided to wait until the tide came up and floated us off. We also decided that we were going to have to pay a lot more attention to the tide tables. And we know that we should go in on a rising, rather than a falling tide - we just were not thinking (we are now, though)! The last time we were in the Bahamas, we had a boat with a 4.5 foot draft.
Photo: The entrance to Hawk's Nest Creek, Cat Island, at high tide There is a nice marina on Hawk's Nest Creek, with plenty of depth once inside, and we stayed 2 days, cleaning the salt off the boat and taking care of business, using the free wi-fi internet connection. The marina charges $40 a night and there are two moorings for smaller boats in the creek for $15. We walked along the one road out of the marina, which crosses the nearby airport runway and runs along the Bight. It was good exercise, and it was interesting to see the development that is happening, with many new homes and cottages being built. McQueens is the nearest town, nearly 4 miles from the marina. Our next sail was to Little San Salvador. We intended to stop there to get a good night's sleep before setting off on an overnight sail to the Abacos. West Bay, which is now called Half Moon Bay, is owned by a cruise line, and the shore is peppered with structures designed for the comfort and entertainment of cruise ship tourists. It's a beautiful bay, large and easy to sail into, with plenty of good depth and great holding in sand. It was a better anchorage than we thought it would be. The cruise line staff have indicated that they like sailors anchoring in the bay, as it provides "local color", although it is a good idea to call them on the VHF and ask permission to anchor. On the night we were there, there was no cruise ship and very little staff on shore, and we were the only boat there.
Photo: Half-Moon Bay on Little San Salvador After a very restful night, we set off the next morning for the Abacos, intending to enter at Whale Cay Cut, a channel we've entered many times, and spend a night at Baker's Bay. We had wind from the ENE at 15-20 knots and big waves, but after we rounded Palmetto Point on Eleuthera, we had a better angle to the waves, and our sail was a little more comfortable. The wind diminished and clocked during the night, becoming 10-12 from the ESE by morning. We decided to go into the Sea of Abaco at the northern channel at Man-O-War, which was new to us, but turned out to be the proverbial piece of cake. We talked on the radio with Tom and Sarah (whom we knew through their active participation with us in the Mediterranean Cruisers' Net) on the s/v Precept, who recommended a great place to anchor between Matt Lowe's Cay and the Sugar Loaf Cays. It was a great place to catch up on our sleep and do a little work before going into Marsh Harbor. The water was crystal clear and a perfect swimming temperature.
Photo: Easy to see the anchor & chain in Bahamian water
Photo: Peg polishes stainless anchored at Matt Lowe's Cay
Photo: Starfish in 8 feet of water right off the boat We motored into Marsh Harbor the next day and anchored off the channel in 10 feet at high tide. Shortly after we anchored, another Valiant motored into the anchorage. It was a beautiful burgundy Valiant 42 and it was from Oriental. Solita and Steve, her crew and owners, are from Ashville, N.C., but keep their boat in Oriental.
Photo: Solita & Steve on Sundance, a Valiant 42
Photo: Sundance, a really pretty Valiant 42 In Marsh Harbor, we signed up for wi-fi with Out Island Internet. It cost us $40 a week ($30 a week if you sign for a month). The signal in the anchorage was weak, but we could take our laptop into their office and plug in and sit there all day. It was a very pleasant office, with room for many people, coffee and tea available, candles burning - very pleasant and we got a lot of work done. We also caught up on our laundry. There is a roomy, but busy, laundromat which charges $2 for a wash load and $.25/2 minutes to dry. It cost me more to dry than to wash, but many people bring the wet laundry back to the boat and hang it up. There are 2 good supermarkets in Marsh Harbor, Solomon's and Price Right, which have everything you might need (except Nori). We also like the Bahama Family Market, which has good meat, produce and excellent macaroni with cheese and jalopenos (delicious, but laden with fat calories). We caught up with friends, Keith and Sarah on Breese, and Stu and Teresa on Exodus, and had an excellent dinner with them at Sapodilly's. Stu and Teresa have a great boat, once owned by Walter Cronkite and loaded with interesting features, like a sauna in the forepeak.
Photo: Exodus at anchor in Marsh Harbor
Photo: Stu and Teresa on s/v Exodus After leaving friends, we sailed over to Man-O-War and anchored at the north end of Dickey's Cay. We took the dinghy in to the harbor there and had a great reunion with Tom's sister, Deborah, and her children and grandchildren. More about that in the next trip report. 73s, 88s, love & hugs Peg & Tom aboard s/v Starboard Home
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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