Pot Luck & Green Turtle

Last night Dennis & Jan hosted a potluck dinner aboard Mother Ocean at the Spanish Cay docks.  We had an amazing spread of delicious foods - and everyone got to take some back to their boat.  It was a lively group with dinner and conversation going on until about 9 o'clock, when the smart ones in the group decided to call it a night and head back to their boats.  The rest of us trouped up to the Spanish Cay bar for some shuffleboard and ping-pong.  Alas, the bar had closed early, so we retraced our steps back to Mother Ocean to play a crazy card game called Taboo.  I'm still not sure who won, but since Jan was keeping score, I'm pretty sure her team did!

It was also somewhat of a bittersweet evening as our too short visit with Mark and Cathy aboard Midnight Blue came to an end.  As you know, they have been in the Bahamas for about six weeks and with the coming weekend's forecast bad weather, they decided to see if they can get back to Florida this week.

We have all been teasing poor Drew about his graceful splash off the dock the other night.  Well, the pressure is off him now as Mark one-upped him by being in a hurry and putting 20 gallons of (expensive) water right into his diesel tank.  That's not exactly ideal when you're planning a Gulfstream crossing in the next couple days!  He was about as hangdog as a guy can be, but was very lucky that Eddie from the marina made it his mission to help Mark get every last drop of water out of that tank.  Mark reported earlier today that the boat was running smoothly on their way to Great Sale Cay and no water being deposited in the Racors.  Definitely dodged a bullet there!

                      Dennis points out the water fill on his GH47 to Mark

Everyone rose a little bit bleary-eyed this morning to check out of friendly Spanish Cay and get moving south to our destination at Green Turtle Cay.  Rainy, breezy weather made for a bit of a choppy Sea of Abaco, but, one by one, we steamed up to the docks at the beautiful Green Turtle Club around 11:30am.  Although the docks are in very good shape, all of them have quite short finger piers, requiring the entire Great Harbour Armada to back into their respective slips.  A task which some of the group have not practiced much.  Mother Ocean and Pipe Dream were quickly into their respective berths with me in the dinghy doing my best to choreograph the whole deal.  Dennis happened to be with me in the dinghy when Cedric asked if Dennis might come aboard to assist with The Office II's docking.

Like a rock star, Dennis quickly had the N37 securely into her slip.  Next, it was Lee's turn to back his GH37, At Last, into slip 5.  He did a great job on his very first attempt at backing into a slip - right up until the point when the boat came to a halt halfway in.  The slip was at least a foot too narrow for the Great Harbour's generous beam!

After much consternation, Lee took At Last back out to circle the harbour, while Chutay docked in her slip.  The dockmaster was very accommodating and finally found a very nice alongside berth for Lee and Karen.  Whew!  With everyone safely in place, the crews checked in and took advantage of an afternoon break in the rainy weather for various activities.  Some bicycled into the settlement of New Plymouth to explore.  Some took naps.  While others found their way to the very cool "Tipsy Turtle" bar with its thousands upon thousands of dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceilings.

We all met up at 7pm for a fantastic meal at the Club dining room.  The service was great and the food fresh and delicious. During dinner, Dennis made a presentation to Lee of a special jar of the proper substance needed to get a Great Harbour into a too-small slip.

It had been a very good day in spite of the weather, so just before dinner ended, I checked the updated forecast.  It seems the tropical disturbance must be moving in a different direction as it looks like we might have a few days of really nice weather - with much, much less than the previously forecast high winds on the weekend.  So, stay tuned.  We just might be posting some tropical beach-type pics in the next day or so!

Spanish Cay

 After a windy, somewhat rolly night at Great Sale Cay, we all pulled anchors at 7am and made the 40nm run to Spanish Cay where we met up with the crew of N37 Midnight Blue.  Mark and Cathy have been in the Bahamas for six weeks already and have had some great adventures in the Exumas, Eleuthera, and Abacos.

After tying up, the extremely helpful folks at Spanish helped all the captains get through the customs & immigration check-in process and we are finally, legally in the Bahamas.  Everyone relaxed a bit this afternoon doing chores and minor repairs except Drew - who decided to step up off of Chutay and just continue across the dock and right into the drink!  Hey, he gets big points for his style and grace!

                               Drew carefully inspecting his swim platform

At 7pm we all met up in Spanish Cay's restaurant, "The Point House" for our big "Welcome to the Abacos Dinner".  Chef Cindy did a spectacular job on the fresh cracked conch, Spanish Cay grouper, lobster, and all the rest.  There was great conversation as Mark and Cathy told us about their Bahamas experience so far, and almost everyone took advantage of the amazing Key Lime pie and rum cake for dessert.  Many thanks to Ken Fickett for picking up the tab!

                Intrepid Great Harbour crews enjoying dinner at Spanish Cay

The Spanish Cay bar is renowned for its array of fun games - especially the 20' long frictionless shuffleboard game. While some engaged in a big shuffleboard tournament, others played ping-pong or pool.  It was great fun, but by the time everyone stumbled back to the boats, the wind was absolutely HOWLING.  Dennis and I had to make some adjustments to the lines on Mother Ocean as she was straining at her lines and threatening to do damage to her hardtop on one of the pilings.  We got everything situated and I retired to my comfy watch cabin about 11pm to work on this blog post.  If you look at the picture above - and the first paragraph... Well, that's as far as I got before I closed my laptop and went to sleep.  This blog entry was destined to become a two-day entry!

                                                       Drew at the shuffleboard table

I am sure EVERYONE in the group slept well last night as we woke this morning to very decent weather and cool temps.  Today's plan was to stick around Spanish for the morning, enjoying their amazing breakfast, doing some island exploring and maybe a dinghy excursion or two. We would then check out at 1pm and head south a few miles to the anchorage at the north end of Manjack Cay, where we would relax with a potluck dinner on the flybridge of Mother Ocean and maybe do some wandering around on the island.

                         The guys enjoying breakfast at Spanish Cay

Like I said, that WAS the plan - until I got online and checked out the weather.  You see, the local weather reports so far on this trip have predicted the wind direction fairly well, but have not even been close on velocity. For example, we were supposed to have winds of 12 knots out of the south last night.  We got the south part - but the velocity was well over 24 knots. That's been pretty much the case the whole trip; just double the predicted wind speed and that would be about right.  Tonight's forecast is for winds at 9-12 knots out of the SE.  Even if those winds are doubled, the anchorage at Manjack is well protected from that direction.  Problem is, the winds are supposed to veer around suddenly to the NE around midnight and increase to 15-20 knots.  The anchorage is wide open to winds from that direction.  Not good.

So, after consulting the crews, the decision was made to simply hang out at beautiful Spanish Cay for another night!  We will still have our potluck dinner on Mother Ocean's flybridge in about 2 1/2 hours and I am very much looking forward to that as Joe and Mark went spearfishing today and brought back three VERY nice Hog Snappers. One of the most delicious fish in the sea, I am hoping Mark and Cathy bring us a few grilled hogfish bites!

                         Mark & Joe head out to do some fish huntin'...

                                  ...and bring back the rewards.

So today was kind of a lay day.  Some folks did boat chore while others napped.  Some hiked around the island while others did laundry.  Dennis, Jan and I took advantage of the morning's benevolent weather and headed out in Mother Ocean's dinghy to explore the island a bit.  We were out for an hour or so when we noticed a very dark thunderstorm fast approaching, so we high-tailed it back to the marina!

                                 Jan and Dennis sightseeing at Spanish

So I am sitting here at the Spanish Cay bar, enjoying a cold Kalik Light and typing up this blog entry.  Tomorrow, we will all head south a bit farther to our next adventure at Green Turtle Cay.  We may even venture down to No-Name Cay to feed the swimming pigs.  Stand by.  We're really getting down into the Abacos now!

                                 Your favorite blog scribe hard at work

The Gulfstream Crossing!

                                                        Great Harbours in the Gulfstream

The Great Harbour Bahamas-bound cruisers all rose early this morning.  We finally had the weather window we needed, with forecast winds of 10-15 knots out of the south and seas "around 2 feet" with a period of 6 seconds.  The somewhat vague plan was for everyone to meet up, sort of, near the inlet sometime around 4am and then cruise across the Gulfstream and onto the Little Bahama Bank as a loose group.

Cedric and Julie got moving earlier than the rest from their dockage eight miles north of the inlet.  Lee and Karen on At Last were at anchor south of Peanut Island, and the rest of us were at the Sailfish Marina docks.  By some miracle, we all basically showed up at the inlet channel on time and spaced out perfectly for a procession out of the inlet and into the dark Atlantic right on the dot at 4am.

As we entered the Gulfstream, the initial sloppy, disorganized seas gave way to the predicted 2' seas, starting on the bow and eventually becoming an annoying 2' beam sea out of the south.  The 53nm crossing itself was pretty uneventful and we steamed onto the Little Bahama Bank at Memory Rock right on schedule at 12:30pm.

                                                             The Office II steams past

The bank was beautiful with seas varying from 1' to almost flat.  But at about four o'clock, shortly after passing our waypoint at Mangrove Cay, the unmistakable signs of a big thunderstorm were just ahead of us.  We had gusts over 40mph as salt residue on the boats was washed away by the pelting rain.  Then, as quickly as it had come, it was over - replaced by a beautiful rainbow low on the horizon.

                                                  Chutay going under the rainbow

The final two hours of the day were uneventful as we all anchored up at Great Sale Cay.  I am not sure how the other crews celebrated, but Jan, Dennis, and I had a well-deserved cold beverage or two on the flybridge, enjoying the cool, breezy evening.  This was followed up by a delicious dinner of barbecued chicken.

                                            Great Harbours anchored at Great Sale Cay

Now, I can barely keep my eyes open.  By some weird quirk, here, a million miles from anywhere, I have cell phone service - so I am taking advantage by uploading the blog.

The quarantine flags are flying with winds out of the southeast at about 15 knots or so and all five Great Harbours are doing their anchor dance.  I am sure all the crews will sleep well tonight.  Tomorrow, we will get a bit more civilized start at around 7am, with a six-hour cruise to the docks at Spanish Cay - where we will present ourselves and our paperwork to customs and immigration and meet up with Mark and Cathy aboard Midnight Blue.

We're FINALLY in the Abacos and the fun is just beginning!

Palm Beach

 

Today, I got up a few hours before dawn and made the 4-hour drive from Gainesville to Palm Beach.  Arriving at Sailfish Marina, I immediately got a glimpse of the two GH47s that are along for this adventure.  Pipe Dream and Mother Ocean look amazing docked side by side.  Both are VERY ready for the trip.  Chutay is docked along the seawall by the Tiki Bar with The Office about 8 miles away at Old Port Cove Marina, and At Last anchored up just south of Peanut Island.

The day was spent by all crews getting COVID tests, applying for Bahamian Health Visas and obtaining online cruising permits.  Everyone agrees that the Bahamian Health Visa and Cruising Permit sites are the least intuitive and most confusing sites EVER!  But I think everyone is ready.

This evening, the Sailfish Marina crews all hopped into my truck for the short ride to Johnny Longboat's for a very filling dinner and a few coldies.

The forecast has changed slightly with a bit more wind than initially indicated, but still out of the south, and still within our comfort parameters.  So we are a go for 4AM departure.  That should put us onto the Little Bahama Bank at Memory Rock shortly before lunchtime. From there, another six or seven hours should get everyone safely to the Great Sale Cay anchorage well before dark.  Not much partying tomorrow night.  We'll all be exhausted - and will save the festivities for arrival at Spanish Cay on Sunday.

So stay tuned.  We're finally heading for the Abacos!

A Weather Delay

The week's weather is NOT cooperating, with Small Craft Advisories in place most every day.  The plan for the 2022 Great Harbour Owners' Cruise to the Abacos had been for a scheduled departure at 4am on Wednesday, May 25th from Lake Worth Inlet.  Six Great Harbour trawler crews have signed on for the two-week adventure to the Abacos in the Northern Bahamas.  Two of the massive GH47s - "Mother Ocean" with Dennis & Jan Taylor (and yours truly) aboard and "Pipe Dream II" with Bill & Betsy Buckland - are patiently waiting at their temporary docks at Sailfish Marina right inside the inlet.  "At Last", the lone GH37 along for trip, and her owners, Lee Ensminger and Karen Huddlestun, are anchored up near the inlet at Peanut Island.

Cedric and Julie Walker's N37, "The Office II", is docked eight miles north at Old Port Cove Marina while they take advantage of the delay by visiting nearby family.  Great Harbour sales guy Joe Senn is aboard the N37 "Chutay" with owner Drew Martin as they had a very tardy departure from Chutay's home berth in Jacksonville, Florida due to issues stemming from Chutay's lack of recent cruising. As often happens, there were some cooling system issues that kept them troubleshooting in Jacksonville for the better part of three days.  But now all seems to be well, as Chutay chugs south towards a reserved dock space at Sailfish marina this afternoon.

The final Great Harbour along for the cruise is Mark Schwall and Cathy Hillyer's N37 "Midnight Blue".  Mark & Kathy will not be participating in the crossing as they have been cruising the Bahamas for the past six weeks and plan to meet up with us at Spanish Cay in a couple days.

So that's the group.  Some of these crews and boats have been to the Bahamas before, some have not.  But everyone is looking forward to an itinerary full of beautiful marinas and anchorages, cool restaurants and bars, and great camaraderie.  I have been the sales director at Great Harbour for the better part of 17 years and am VERY familiar with each of the vessels along for this cruise as I sold most of these boats to their original owners!  Speaking of that, the Taylors, aboard Mother Ocean, are the only "original owners" on the cruise and I am very much looking forward to rekindling the friendship and catching up with these great folks when I stow my gear aboard Mother Ocean tomorrow afternoon.

Everyone has put off their required Covid tests until tomorrow - and the weather reports are still predicting 2' seas and 5-10 knot winds out of the south for the departure Saturday Morning.  I'll post more about our cruising itinerary in tomorrow's blog entry - plus I promise to have a few pics.  In the meantime, if you want to read a couple of my old Bahamas cruising blogs, you can find them at GH47 Sea Glass 2010 Cruise to the Turks & Caicos and N47 Spoonbill 2011 Charter to the Bahamas.  Remember that blogs typically come up with the latest entry first, so you have to go the blog archive and find the oldest post to start at the beginning.  Stay tuned!