Wednesday
July 23rd
In Port
-
Hawks Nest Resort & Marina
Hawks
Nest Resort & Marina
Elder on a Horse
Smith's Bay Supply Boat
Ellen Straw Shop
Holy
Redeemer Catholic Church
|
In
Port -
Hawks
Nest Resort & Marina - Cat Island, Bahamas -
800-688-4752 -
http://www.hawks-nest.com/default.asp
.. Harbormaster - Jerry .. FUEL -
Gasoline $6.90 and Diesel $8.00 ..
UUFDAA
!! ..
..
a local Fisherman affectingly
described the Hawk's Nest area as
'Hawk's Nest is a
drinking place with a fishing
problem'
.. and they are very tightlipped
about how good the fishing is so the
word does NOT get out ..
the only
Internet Service
at this end of the Island is about a
10 minute Bike ride from the Marina
at the Lobby of the Marina's
Restaurant and Bar .. the Bar is a
'self serve Bar'
so an ideal spot to get on the Web
is right at the Bar ..
..
after a visit to the
Internet Cafe
I got the Rental Car and we headed
out by Auto ( Jeep ) at about 08:30
am .. the first four miles is a
gravel road that is very rough ..
even the paved road
Kings Highway
is rough and full of Potholes ..
Mary Kay said that she will never
complain about roads around
Eau Claire Wisconsin
ever again .. Cat
Island
is
48 miles long and about 1 mile (
plus and minus ) wide with one Road
from one end to the other .. we
checked out Devil
Point
that is near the area that we had
the Dinghy yesterday .. from there
we drove to Dolphin
Head
and
Columbus Point
where it is alleged that
Columbus
first landed in 1492 .. when we were
there an Elder on a
Horse
(
see photos
)
came by to soak his feet in the
salty Sea Waters .. we then drove
thru the New Bight
area as that is the area that we
will be close to in a couple of days
when we are on the Hook .. we
stopped at Smith's
Bay
where we saw the
Supply Boat
(
see photos
) being unloaded .. we then drove to
the North end of the Island until
the paved road turned into gravel
and then into loose sand .. at that
time we turned around and headed
back ..on our way South we stopped
at Arthur's Point
(
see photos
)
the birthplace of
Sidney Poitier
an academy award winning actor and
Bahamian Ambassador
.. we also made stops at the
Straw Shop at
Stephenson
where Betty got a hat and doll from
Ellen
(
see photos
)
and we stopped at
The Bat Cave
but we did not see any Bats .. there
are numerous Caves on Cat Island ..
we stopped at
Fernandez Bay
for lunch (
see photos
) .. not only did we have a
wonderful lunch but we also found a
great Resort a hidden jewel .. at
New Bight
we did stop at one of the Churches
that Father Jerome
( The Hermitage
) built .. ie Holy
Redeemer Catholic Church
(
see photos
)
.. also at New
Bight
we stopped at Blue Bird that is
located very close to where we will
be on the Hook to line up a ride to
the base of The
Hermitage
later in the week .. from there we
drove back to the Marina where we
found both Boats without power ..
apparently their was an accident on
the Island causing the power
outage so we started our up our
Generators .. we have NOT hat hardly
a drop of rain but just when Betty
and Mary Kay headed out for a nearby
Beach by foot we got dumped on and
they came flying back to the Boats
.. and Cat Island got some very
badly needed rain and our Boats got
some of the SALT rinsed off ..
just after the rain
Reverend Johnson
came by with fresh vegetables for
sale out of his truck .. both Betty
and Mary Kay took advantage of his
service .. after dinner Betty, John
and I again went to the local
Internet Cafe to update the Log and
check our E-mail .. on our return
trip to the Boats it was so dark (
ie no Moon ) that we could not see
the Bike Path so we had to walk our
Bikes .. but the Sky was
brilliant !!! .. the Stars filled
the skies .. truly a were Starlit
Sky ..
|
Thursday
July 24th
In
Port -
Hawks
Nest Resort & Marina
waters even more dramatic
The
'spoiled' Shellers
|
In
Port -
Hawks
Nest Resort & Marina - Cat Island, Bahamas -
800-688-4752 -
http://www.hawks-nest.com/default.asp
.. Harbormaster - Jerry ..
..
this morning Jo the Fisherman that I
have met at the Internet Cafe told
me to get the Weather Report for
this area they go to Weather
Underground and type in 'the bight'
..
..
anyway today looks like a great day
and we will be doing some more
exploring of the area by Dinghy ..
ie Shelling .. after filling up the
Fuel Tank on the Jeep and turning it
into the Marina we took the Dinghy
out .. there is a Creek lined with
Mangroves that is right outside the
Entrance to the Marina .. we headed
up the
Mangroves Creek
as far as we could go
(
see photos
)
..
just before we turned around we saw
a Nurse Shark in the shallow waters
.. on our way back I heard an
announcement over the Marine Radio
that the Electrical Power in the
Marina would be shut down for some
repairs so we headed back to the
Marina to start up our Generators ..
we then headed out to a number of
Beaches .. after last nights rain
the skies seam to be deeper blue and
thus the waters even more dramatic
than ever .. ie a good photo day
(
see photos
)
..
The Shellers
( spoiled Shellers )
(
see photos
)
did
find a number of treasures .. Mary
Kay even had us drag back an 80
pounder
(
see photos
)
..
if it was a fish we could eat it but
now it is just 'ballast' for Root
Beer Float ..
..
once back to the Marina we hoisted
Lil Dee up to the Bow of Dee Light
and filled up our Fuel Container
with fuel so we are all set for the
next trip out ( tomorrow ) ..
..
before heading to the
Internet Cafe
we had dinner aboard Root Beer Float
..
|
Friday
July 25th
Travel -
Hawks Nest Marina to The Bight
The
Hermitage
The
Hermitage
NOTE
click on any
image for many more photos
|
Travel -
Hawks Marina to The Bight - 6 Nautical Miles
..
.. both Betty and Mary Kay were
busy this morning
cleaning their treasures
(
Photo D
)
from yesterday and getting them
off the Dock and tucked safely
away on the Boats ..
.. the Entrance to the Hawk's
Nest Marina is a narrow and
shallow ( at Low Tide ) Channel
that is cut thru the Coral ..
Low Tide this morning was at
about 08:00 am .. so before
heading out we waited for the
Tide to get up to a safe level
for our five foot drafts .. we
headed out for The Bight at
11:00 am .. the short cruise was
great and by 12:30 pm we had the
Hook set for the next two days
.. it was WINDY but we went in
towards Shore to where the waves
were not too bad .. we splashed Lil Dee
and after getting settled we picked
up John and Mary Kay and headed
for
The Bight
.. we talked to the Owner of
Blue Bird Restaurant
.. she said that she was NOT
cooking tonight so we placed our
dinner order for tomorrow and
she said that she will drive us
to the base of the
The
Hermitage
hill in the morning .. the best
spot that I found to take a
photo of
The
Hermitage
from a distance was in the
backyard of the Bread Lady ..
Betty and Mary Kay bought bread
while I set up and they promised
her a copy of the photo that I
end up with .. I
tried to get a photo with my
Telephoto Lens but the rain
moved in along with about 20
locals that proceeded to clime
all over
The
Hermitage
(
Photo D
)
disgraceful !!
.. but at least I got a test
shot for later .. later the Sun
popped out so John and I headed
back in and got some better
photos with
Telephoto Lens
(
Photo D
)
..
.. after a 'leftovers' dinner
aboard our Boats we took Autumn
for a Dinghy ride and a trip
ashore .. it was a great sunset
..
|
Saturday
July 26th
Hook -
The Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas
..
Stations of the Cross
The
Hermitage - Exterior
The
Hermitage - Interior
BlueBird for dinner
|
Hook -
The Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas ...
.. after breakfast and taking Autumn in
to Shore we picked up John and Mary Kay
and headed in
to The Bight to explore
The
Hermitage
.. by the time that we made it
to shore
Grace
the Owner of the
BlueBird Cafe
( Grace's brother Jerry gave us
a ride last year ) was waiting for us at
the
Government Dock
.. she us a ride up to the base
of Como Hill .. just as we were starting
our climb up the rugged hillside
we were met by Goats
.. it was evident that the Goats
had made their way up Como Hill many
times and that they were very well fed
..
|
The
Hermitage
|
|
Father Jerome's
The
Hermitage
is located East of New Bight on
the top of Como Hill .. The
summit of Como Hill is the
highest point ( 206 feet ) in
the Bahamas .. as you clime up
the Hill you come across
Stations of the Cross
that lead you to the
Chapel, Bell Tower, Personal
Living Quarters
and
Grave
of Father Jerome .. he built
The
Hermitage
at age 62 and lived there until
his death at age 80 plus in the
1950's
..
just Northwest of
The
Hermitage
lies the Cave in which he lived
while constructing his home ..
..
the
360 degree views from
The
Hermitage
is breathtaking and well worth
the trip ..
|
.. as we headed up the Hill we passed
the
Stations of the Cross
(
Photo E
) .. each carved out in the stone ..
according to the Guest
Book
(
Photo F
) about 40 people visit
The
Hermitage
each day .. Northwest of The Hermitage
we found the Cave
(
Photo F
)
that Father Jerome lived in when he was
building The Hermitage .. it turned out
to be a great photo day as the sun came
out before we got there and tucked under
the clouds right after we left .. before
heading back to the Boats we stopped in
at BlueBird
and had a good COLD drink and just
before we headed back Betty and Mary Kay
made another visit to the Bread Lady (
Olive ) for some additional supplies ..
a rain cloud started to head our way
just as we were heading back to the
Boats ..
.. Autumn took the four of us for a
Dinghy ride .. she loves to flop her
Ears in the breeze .. at about 06:00 pm
we picked up John and Mary Kay and
headed back to shore for dinner at the
BlueBird Cafe (
Photo G
) .. and what a GREAT dinner it was and
after we returned to the Boats what a
great Sunset !! (
Photo G
) ..
NOTE
- when we were on the Hook we
did not have an
Internet
Connection to update our Log
or check our E-mail ..
|
Sunday
July 27th
Travel -
Cat Island to Cape Eleuthera
Sunrise and Root Beer Float
Cape Eleuthera Marina
|
Travel -
Cat Island to
Cape
Eleuthera Marina - 65 Nautical Miles ..
.. after taking Autumn
ashore we hoisted Lil Dee on
the Bow of Dee Light and at
06:45 am we headed out for
Cape Eleuthera
with the Sunrise and Root
Beer Float right behind us
(
Photo G
) .. the Seas were not flat
but they were close .. we
saw a
Carnival Cruise Ship
on the Hook on the West Side
of Little San Salvador
Island .. they have a
designated Anchorage and
Beach for their guests .. we
had a great day on the water
and even Autumn had to take
her turn at the Wheel .. the
Harbormaster at
Cape Eleuthera
and her Assistant met us at
the Dock .. they had us all
tied off at
by 11:15 am .. the
Generators
gave out a sigh of relief
when we hooked up the Shore
Power .. after we got
settled in John and I walked
to the Marina Office to
check in and to get online
.. ie the only Internet
Connection at the Marina is
at the Marina Office ..
Betty joined us for a few
minutes and Mary Kay headed
to the Beaches to do, yup
some shelling .. before we
headed back to the Boats ( a
LONG walk ) the rains came
down and did they come ..
the Bahamas have not had any
rains for Months but they
got
RAIN
today .. we do not have any
salt on either Dee Light or
Lil Dee .. after the rain I
cleaned up Lil Dee and
splashed it .. later we had
an
Italian dinner
aboard Dee Light .. right
after dinner The Shellers
walked the Beach in search
of YUP more treasures ..
|
Monday
July 28th
In Port -
Cape Eleuthera
Cape Eleuthera Marina Office
Conch Shell Riprap
Conch Shell Beach
|
In Port -
Cape Eleuthera Resort & Yacht
Club,
Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas -
242-334-8500 - General Manager -
Steve Kappeler ..
www.capeeleuthera.com
..
Cape Eleuthera is has new owners
and is in the process of being
rebuilt .. when I talked with
the General Manager ( Stephen
Kappeler ) he said that
they have invested over a
million dollars since we were
here last year and it shows ..
the Marina is all but done and
the Resort that stretches around
much of the Marina just has to
be trimmed out with additional
landscaping etc
.. the only
Internet Service here inside the
Marina Office ( 08:00 am to
04:30 pm ) .. I have to unplug
the Ethernet Cable to their
Computer and plug in my Laptop
thus a bit inconvenient .. but I
did just that again this morning
..
the Laundry Room at the
Marina is in the back of the
Marina Office
(
Photo G
)
so Betty did
E-mail and Laundry at the same
time ..
.. we took the Dinghy out to
explore the area and sure enough
we ended up at a Beach again ..
but before the Beach we headed
South to what appears to be an
old Marina Entrance and Basin
that now looks like it will be
part of the
Cape Eleuthera development
.. from there we headed North
well past the
Cape Eleuthera
Marina to a Conch Shell Beach and
The
Shellers (
Photo H
) all but jumped out of
the Dinghy .. there are so many
Conch Shells in this area that
they are using them as Conch
Shell Riprap (
Photo H
)
along the Shore Lines .. some of
the piles of Conch are 11 to 12
feet high and much of the Conch
has been there for a number of
years .. but the pile of Conch
where we beached Lil Dee was
really ripe .. the Bahaman
Electrical Power Company of the
Island is at the far end of the
Island so when ever the Power
Lines get worked on this end of
the Island is without Power and
that was the case for much of
the day .. when we were on Cat
Island and now at
Eleuthera Island there has been
smoke in the air from fires
burning garbage .. at first I
just thought that it was a once
a week thing but it seams like
it is a daily thing ..
.. the only Restaurant in the
area is a small Tiki type bar
along the Beach .. but it is
closed on Sunday and Mondays so
we had dinner aboard Root Beer
Float .. after dinner Betty took
a short walk on the Beach and
John and I copied all the
Waypoints for tomorrows
cruise from my Navigation Laptop
to his Laptop ..
|
Tuesday
July 29th
Travel -
Cape Eleuthera to Spanish Wells
Current Cut
going thru Current Cut
Spanish Wells Warf
a 'working' community |
Travel -
Cape Eleuthera to Spanish Wells
.. 63 Nautical Miles ..
..
I had sent an E-mail to Spanish
Well and found out that their
Fuel Prices are higher than here
at Cape Eleuthera so Root Beer
Float was at the Fuel Dock
before they opened up at 08:00
am .. right after Root Beer
Float was fueled up and checked
out we headed out of the Marina
for Spanish Wells .. ie about
09:00 am .. the winds were down
and our Seas were only about 2
to 4s for the entire trip .. as
we approached Current Cut we cut
back to about 10 knots ..
Current Cut (
Photo I
) is a narrow Cut between two
long skinny Islands that with
the swift Title Current that
runs thru the Cut can be a real
navigation challenge .. just
as we were slowing down and
approaching the ROCKS outside of
the Current Cut an
Alarm
went off .. it was the Engine
Room Temperature Alarm on
the Starboard Side .. ???? .. I
went to the Engine Room and
checked everything out that I
could and elected to do the
Current Cut with the Alarm
blaring
and deal with the Alarm after
the Cut .. Betty took my Nikon
and went out to take photos ..
ie she got away from the noise
.. at about 01:00 pm we
threaded both of the Boats thru
the 'skinny' Current Cut (
Photo I
) and started the last
leg of the trip to Spanish Wells
(
Photo J
) .. once we were thru the Cut I
went into the Engine Room and
all looked ok .. ?? .. I hated
to do it but I deactivated the
Alarm for the balance of the
trip .. after the Cut we had all
by flat Seas and we had both
Boats secured at the
Spanish Wells Yacht Haven
(
Photo J
)
by 02:15 pm .. when we went to
check in at the Marina Office
Ole Pot ( Pilot ) was there so I got him
set up to guide us thru the
Devils Backbone on Thursday
.. I was also able to contact
Valentine's Resort & Marina to
confirm our Temporary Dockage
Reservation ..
.. Spanish Wells is a 'working'
community with many services to
the Marine Industry ..
later Ole Pot ( Pilot )
stopped
by
the
Boats
with Jonny Cakes and loves of
Bread that his wife had baked ..
this is a tradition that when
you use the services of a local
Pilot they give you loves of
Bread .. after cleaning up we took a
leisure walk down the Warf and thru the Main
Harbour to the
Anchor Snack Bar
(
Photo J
)
at the end of the Warf .. our
dinners were great and yes they
even had Ice Cream for desert ..
on our way back to the Marina
the Gals were in haven .. we
walked close to the Beach and a
number of Shops .. good thing
that it was late enough that
most of them were closed for the
day ..
|
Wednesday
July 30th
In Port -
Spanish Wells Yacht Haven
Sunrise at Spanish Wells
Lobster Boats heading out
Lobster Season
|
In Port -
Spanish Wells Yacht Haven
.. Harbour Master - Leroy ..
.. we enjoyed watching the
Sunrise at Spanish Wells .. here
when the Sun comes up the
working community comes to life
(
Photo K
)
.. when the Marina woke up at
08:00 am we rented a
Golf Cart
from the Marina and explored the
Island by Golf Cart but before
we could do that Betty and Mary
Kay ended up taking the Golf
Cart to the Beach and to the
Grocery Store .. it RAINED here
today .. this is the first time
that we have had a good rain in
a long time .. in the afternoon
we took a Golf Cart tour of the
two Islands .. at the West end
of Spanish Wells is a very
narrow Bridge to Russell Island
.. many of the people that work
at Spanish Wells live on Russell
Island .. ie a 'Bedroom Island'
..
.. with
Lobster Season
starting on August 1st
(
Photo L
)
there has
been much activity in the
Spanish Wells Harbour
(
Photo K
)
.. most
all of the Boats here are
Lobster Fishing
Boats
and today the Lobster Boats
started to head out to get
positioned for Opening Day .. we
have had a parade of Boats
heading out all day .. the
excitement in the air was much
like the Opening Weekend of Deer
Hunting Season back in Wisconsin
..
.. we ended up having dinner at
The Gap and yup we had Ice Cream
at a house Ice Cream Parlor
called
Papa's
Scoops
(
Photo L
)
..
|
Thursday
July 31st
Travel -
Spanish Wells to Harbour Island
Ole
Pot our Pilot
Our Pilot - Ole Pot
Devils Backbone
Pink Sand Beach
Sunset at Harbour Island
|
Travel -
Spanish Wells to Harbour Island .. 11
Nautical Miles
..
when we headed up to the Marina Office
at 08:00 am Ole Pot was there waiting
for us ..
the Route to Harbour Island is thru an
area called 'the Devils Backbone
.. the Devils Backbone is a
narrow Waterway that is VERY difficult
to navigate thru thus MOST everyone that
goes to Harbour Island uses the services
of a local Pilot .. thus we
engaged Ole Pot (
Photo L
) .. even the most
seasoned Boat Captains will not try the Devils Backbone (
Photo M
)
on their own .. yes there are some that
have tried it without a Pilot and in a
few cases they have made it but most of
those that have tried it on their own
have ended up being the ones that the
locals talk about .. if they are lucky
they end up back at Spanish Wells Boat
Yard for repairs ..
..
we suggested that since we have
experienced the
Devils Backbone
once before that Ole Pot (
Photo L
) should
Pilot Root Beer Float and that we will follow
.. I have our route for today laid out
on my Chart Plotter .. ie 10.8 miles and
27 Waypoints ( for reference only ) ..
Ole Pot will guide using 'visual' only
and will not use any Waypoints .. the
Marina Staff was held up from getting to
work because the Ferry from the other
Island was late .. so the Office Manager
said that we did not have to check out
and that she would just send an E-mail
with our bill .. .. once Root Beer Float pulled out of their Slip
( 08:15 am ) Ole Pot pulled up behind
them and tied off his Skiff and we
pulled in right behind them .. as we
went thru the Spanish Wells Harbour we
past countless empty Slips .. ie with
the start of Lobster Season on August
1st most all of the Lobster Boats are
now out of the Harbor and off to their
number one Lobster spot .. we had a
great cruise thru the Devils Backbone (
Photo M
)
and were were docked at the
Valentines Marina (
Photo N
) by 09:45 am ..
the Harbormaster ( Marcus ) helped us get hooked up
and said that the cost of the water is
$20.00 per day whether we use it or not
so we hooked up our Waterlines for the
first time in weeks ..
.. we rented a Golf Cart and right after
lunch we headed out to do a little
exploring .. after going thru the Warf
area (
Photo N
) we found the 'Pink Sand
Beach' (
Photo N
) after walking on the Beach we
just had to stop at the Ice Cream Parlor
and then the gals just had to do some
shopping at Dilly Dally's (
Photo N
) ..
.. we are unable to pick up the Marinas
WI-FI but we are able to tap into one of
the other Boaters Hot Spot .. so we
spent part of the afternoon updating our
Log and catching up with our E-mails ..
.. later we headed out with our Golf
Cart for dinner .. we ended up at the
Harbor Lounge (
Photo N
) that is located right on the
Wharf .. our table was outside on their
Front Porch .. we were entertained by a
number ( 60 to 80 ) young local kids
that were taking advantage of the
abnormal High Tide .. they were jumping
and or diving off the Government Dock
and off the top of a Cargo Vessel
that was docked for the night on the
Government Dock .. they had a great
evening .. just before we headed back to
the Ice Cream Parlor we were also
treated with a great Sunset (
Photo N
) .. normally the skies in this
part of the Bahamas are very clear and
the Sunrises - Sunsets are without much
color at all .. but the last few days
the skies have been smoke from area
burning thus the color ..
|
Friday
August 1st
In Port -
Valentine's Resort & Marina
Conch Drive Thru
my 'Pink Chairs'
Marina Bar Sunset
|
In Port -
Valentine's Resort & Marina ..
Harbormaster ( Marcus ) ..
http://valentinesresort.com/
.. Harbour Island, North Eleuthera,
Bahamas ..
.. at first light Betty and Mary Kay
took the Golf Cart and headed to the
Beach and I splashed the Dinghy ..
..
there are many empty Slips here
at Valentine's Marina and the 'traffic'
on the Island seams to be way down from
what we have seen in the past .. last
night we asked and found that the 'busy
season' ends about at the end of July
and that it will not pick back up again
until the end of October .. thus this is
a great time to be here .. after
The Shellers
returned from The Pink Beach we took the
Dinghy out to explore the waters in the
area .. and sure enough the first stop
was at another Pink Beach
(
Photo N
)
where The Shellers disappeared once
again .. we did manage to get around the
area and ended up stumbling on a huge
pile of
Conch Shells
on a small Island
(
Photo O
)
.. it was much like a Drive Thru for The
Shellers .. as soon as we got back to
the Marina The Shellers headed down to
The Straw Market
.. John and I joined them later .. a
little of that 'strawing'
goes a long ways .. Betty was hungry so
we headed down the Island to the
Restaurant Acquapazza
( the home of my
'Pink Chairs'
(
Photo O
)
.. on our way back we stopped at the
Ice Cream Parlor
and we drove by the Barber Shop (
Freddie Da Barber Shop
)
(
Photo O
)
where I had my hair cut last year when
we were here .. we paused and had a
moment of silence for that most
memorable haircut
.. after getting back Betty discovered
that she had misplaced Mary Kay's
Photo Memory Chips
so we backtracked all the places that
she had been and we were really lucky to
find the Chips at the Restaurant .. both
Betty and Mary Kay were really happy ..
later as the Sun was setting
(
Photo O
)
we went up to the Marina Bar for a drink
and to settle down Betty's nerves ..
.. looking ahead at the weather we
decided to head out of Harbour Island on
Sunday instead of Monday ..
|
Saturday
August 2nd
Bahamian Holiday Weekend
In Port -
Valentine's Resort & Marina
Government Dock Harbour Island
Ice Cream Parlor
|
In Port -
Valentine's Resort & Marina ..
Harbormaster ( Marcus ) ..
http://valentinesresort.com/
.. Harbour Island, North Eleuthera,
Bahamas ..
..
The
Shellers decided that they did NOT want
to do the Beach this morning .. can you
believe that ?? .. today was laundry,
dishwashing, Autumn's bath day, grocery
shopping day etc .. when Betty and
John were at the local Grocery Store
John found some 'treats' in the
Bakery Department
(
Photo O
)
that were really yummy !! ..
.. we took the Golf Cart to Sip Sip for
lunch (
Photo O
)
and (
Photo P
) .. after lunch we took the
Golf Cart from one end of the Island all
the way to the other end .. and before
heading back to the Marina we just had
to stop at the Ice Cream Parlor (
Photo P
) one more time only to find out
that the entire Case was filled with a
new shipment of Ice Cream and
then on our way to the Boat the Gals
spotted one more Shop that they had
missed .. UUFDAA !! ..
.. we have trying to get dockage at
Highbourne but due to the
Bahamian Holiday Weekend they
have been booked FULL ..
when we got back to the Boats we had
some good news .. yup due to two
cancelations we got dockage at
Highbourne
..
.. after getting Lil Dee hoisted back up
onto the Bow of Dee Light and getting
'things' ready to travel tomorrow Betty
and I went went up to the Restaurant and
Bar at the Marina for a light dinner ..
John and Mary Kay were expecting a call
( Skype ) from Ryan so they had dinner
on their Boat .. after dinner we took
the Golf Cart for one last spin down the
Wharf .. we ended up picking up three
young boys and giving them a ride to
their home just off the Wharf ..
|
Sunday
August 3rd
Bahamian Holiday Weekend
Travel -
Harbour Island to
Highbourne
Ole Pot
'Devils Backbone'
Ole Pot and Betty
Highbourne
FILLED with Boats
|
Travel -
Harbour Island to
Highbourne
.. 66 Nautical Miles ..
.. we checked the weather right away
this morning as there was a 'funny' sky
last night .. there is a large
Thunderstorm Cell that extends from the
Nassau area West to Florida that could
have a bearing on our weather .. later
it appeared to be mostly North and
should have minimal affect on us ..
..
we had told
Ole Pot
that we would be ready to leave at 08:00
am and sure enough just before 08:00 am
he pulled up in his Skiff and was ready
to guide us thru the
'Devils Backbone'
(
Photo P
)
.. since he drove
Root Beer Float
on the way here we elected to have him
join us aboard Dee Light .. we pulled
out and he pulled up behind us and
boarded Dee Light .. once he had his
Skiff
tied off Ole Pot joined me on the Bridge
.. just as we started to head out John
called me on the Marine Radio and said
that he was having an issue with his
Starboard Engine
.. at first it appeared that the linkage
to the Throttle was sticking .. it was
not long before he was able to loosen it
up and get underway .. ( later it
sounded like a
Synchronizer
issue ) once Ole Pot had us thru the
Devils Backbone
(
Photo P
)
Ole Pot took us around
Charles Island
instead of going thru the
Spanish Wells Harbour
.. this was the only Route until about
25 years ago when a Guy from New Orleans
had the
New Cut
dredged out at his expense .. it was
about 09:00 am when Ole Pot untied his
Skiff and was on his way ..
..
we had two footers on our Bow all the
way to
Current Cut
(
Photo P
)
.. there was a five and a half knot plus
current thru Current Cut .. we slipped
thru the Cut by 10:00 am
(
Photo Q
)
.. after the Cut it was almost due
South to Highbourne
( at 10:45 am we went past our
Virtual Buoy
and it was right on according to the
Report this morning ) .. we spent part
of the day
dodging Coral Heads
.. they were easy to see and I am sure
deep enough but we played it safe and
went around them .. we had 3 to 4
footers mostly on our Bow all the way to
Highbourne ( a good day for the
Windshield Wipers
) .. Betty and Autumn had a good
nap in route
(
Photo Q
)
.. we had both Boats tied off on the
North side of the North Dock at
Highbourne
by 01:30 pm
.. Highbourne
Plantation was FILLED with Boats .. many
of the were people from Nassau that were
taking advantage of their long Weekend (
Photo Q
) ..
.. when
we were having a Pork Roast dinner
aboard Root Beer Float the weather in
the Gulf was busy .. the area of low
pressure in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
become area became Tropical Storm
Edouard
(
Photo Q
)
.. I am sure glad that we are right
where we are ..
|
'Devils Backbone'
'click' on the above image for a
larger size image of the
'Devils Backbone'
|
Notes
from John and Mary Kay - Ole Pot our Pilot thru the
'Devils Backbone'
..
IN
SPANISH WELLS WE HIRED A PILOT TO TAKE
US TO HARBOUR ISLAND. MARV GAVE US A
HEADS-UP THAT OLE POT IS A LOCAL
CHARACTER, THAT PILOTS BOATS THROUGH THE
DEVILS BACKBONE. THIS AREA IS FULL OF
REEFS AND SAND FLATS THAT IF YOU DON’T
HAVE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE A PERSON COULD DO A
LOT OF DAMAGE TO ONES BOAT. AS WE
ENTERED THE DEVILS BACKBONE OLE POT
EXPLAINED THE NUMEROUS GROUNDINGS AND
SINKING OF BOATS THROUGH THE YEARS
BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T PROPERLY READ THE
COLORS OF THE WATER OF THE WATER TO
RECOGNIZE THE REEFS VERSUS THE SHALLOWS
AND TO STAY IN THE NARROW ARES WHERE THE
DEPTHS OF THE WATER IS SUFFICIENT. WE
WERE VERY CLOSE INTO SHORE SO THE REEFS
WERE ON ONE SIDE AND THE SHORE THE
OTHER. OLE POT POINTED OUT DIFFERENT
THINGS SUCH AS: HIS UNCLES FACE ON THE
STONE WALL, THE FIGURE OF A LADY IN
WHITE SAND STONE AGAINST THE DARK CORAL
ROCK, AND HE POINTED OUT THE REEFS JUST
UNDERWATER AS WE TURNED AND MADE OUR WAY
THROUGH THE NARROW CHANNELS. EVEN
THOUGH IT WAS AT HIGH TIDE WE PASTED A
COMMERCIAL VESSEL ON THE FLATS , HE WAS
CHURNING UP WHITE SAND FROM THE BOTTOM
AS WE WERE RUNNING IN VERY SHALLOW WATER
AND THE DEPTH GAUGE WENT ZERO. I SURE
WOULDN’T WANT TO DO THIS AT LOW TIDE.
OLE POT
WAS VERY INTERESTING A TALLER GENTLEMAN
THAT WORE A COWBOY HAT AND BOOTS, AND I
WOULD GUESS HE WAS LATE SIXTIES IN AGE.
HE EXPLAINED TO US THAT SPANISH WELLS
NEVER HAD SLAVES SO THAT IS WHY THE TOWN
IS 90 PERCENT WHITE IT IS VERY
INDUSTRIOUS WITH A LOT OF REPAIR SHOPS,
AND DIFFERENT MANU ACTING, THIS IS MUCH
DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER ISLANDS WHICH
THEY ARE TOTALLY TOURIST OR SERVICE
BASED. THE TOWN OF SPANISH WELLS WAS
VERY CLEAN AND HOUSES WERE WELL
MAINTAINED AND THE YARDS WERE ALL VERY
NICE, WITH FLOWERS AND GREEN GRASS.
|
Monday
August
4th
Bahamian Holiday Weekend
In Port - Highbourne Plantation
Weekend Boaters from Nassau
Iguanas at the Allens Cay
|
In Port - Highbourne Plantation (
242-356-1008 ) ..
Office Manager - Barbara ..
.. today is the end of a three day
Bahamian Holiday Weekend so this
morning the Marina is filled with weekend
Boaters from Nassau
(
Photo Q
)
and by evening I expect that the Marina will
be back to normal .. this morning Autumn
took Betty and I for a Beach walk before it
got too hot .. about 10:00 am we took Lil
Dee and once out of the Marina we headed
North towards the Allens Cays.. we first
stopped at Leaf Cay where we were all but
attack by numerous Iguanas .. we had two
large bags of 'stuff' ( Iguana Food ) that
we shared with the Iguanas .. in addition to
the Iguanas there were also a number of
Bikinis on the Beach
(
Photo R
)
.. it was not long
before the Gals thought that we should head
on to the second Iguana Beach ( SW Allens
Cay ) where we found many more very large
Iguanas
(
Photo R
)
but no Bikinis and we did not have
any more Iguana Food so we headed out so The
Shellers could do their thing .. after
checking out a number of Beaches we found
one back on Leaf Cay where we beached Lil
Dee and The Shellers disappeared .. John and
I enjoyed an afternoon of snacks and yup
Bikinis on a Transit Moorings Sailboat out
of Nassau .. well when The Shellers got back
and noted our enjoyable afternoon ( Transit
Sailboat ) they thought that we should check
out another Beach which we did only to be
followed by the Transit Sailboat .. so after
a most enjoyable outing by all we headed
back to the Marina just in time to get
cleaned up before dinner aboard Root Beer
Float ..
|
|
|
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the End of
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..
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