We have started back through the Bahamas working our way back to the States. When we arrived we asked for a ninety day cruising permit and our time is counting down, we are inside of the final thirty days.
What have we been doing?
First and foremost we wanted to spend as much time as we could in the Jumentos/Raggeds. This is part of the southern area of the islands and is the most remote. We have moved around to several of the islands while here but have once again spent most of it at Hog Cay. Hog Cay is the central gathering place in the Raggeds and at times had up to forty boats which to us is too many, thus the side trips to other islands to enjoy the solitude. We also have had more then normal weather events that have caused us and everyone else to move to protected anchorages. One such event lasted a week with winds in the 20-40 knot range from several directions, most from the west and northwest where there are the least number of anchorages to find protection. That doesn't mean we are confined to the boat, we were still are able to go ashore for gatherings, beach combing and kayaking. There are trails that have been cleared on many of these islands so there is more opportunities to get off the boat and and get a little exercise and help with trail maintenance.
The most enjoyable is spending time on shore at the tiki hut visiting with friends, weaving baskets and watching the sunset looking for the elusive "green flash". Usually there is a big party around Valentines Day put on by the locals from Ragged Island but this year it has been postponed until March and we will not be able to stay for it.
After about two months we had to say goodbye to our friends and start working our way north. We started out on Friday the sixteenth pulling the anchor at 7:00 am motored for a bit to give the batteries a charge then hoisted sails and had an almost perfect day of sailing with fifteen knots of wind on the beam, the most efficient point of sail doing six to eight knots of speed.. We continued until sunset when the winds dropped to 10-13 knots and sailing four to six knots until 3:00 in the morning when we dropped anchor by Blackpoint Settlement. We had covered 122 nautical miles or 140 statute miles. Our alarms went off three hours later and about 7:00 am we again pulled anchor and motored out Dotham Cut and turned north for Eleuthera crossing Exuma Sound. This time we had lighter winds from behind us and motored through the morning. In the early afternoon the winds had shifted and increased allowing us to hoist the sails and shut off the motor. We arrived at Rock Sound Eleuthera about 5:30 traveling 60 nautical miles or about 70 statute miles. We had traveled 182 miles in two days sailing most of it. This would normally have taken about four or five days to travel under normal circumstances. One of the reasons we were in a hurry was that there was a forecast for another front to move down with high winds from the west and northwest and we wanted to be in the protection provided in Rock Sound. The next morning before the winds kicked up we made a run to the grocery and liquor store. We were low on a couple of items and I needed a loaf of bread for my lunches and was just about out of rum. Back in the dinghy we had a wet ride back to the boat because the winds were kicking up and we got splashed a lot on the trip. We then spent the next couple of days on the boat with the exception of one trip to the beach to visit with some of the other cruisers.
Thursday, the 22nd, we pulled anchor about 6:00 am and headed further north. We needed an early start because there is a small cut between the island that has a strong current running except at tide change. It is important to time your arrival at what is called "slack tide" in order to avoid the current. Not to be surprised but the cut is called Current Cut. The forecast called for light winds but they got it wrong and after motoring into the wind for several hours we made the turn to the cut and were able to sail once again. The winds were in the 15-20 knot range most of the day with one gust hitting 25 knots. we were fortunate to arrive at the cut at the right time and proceeded through. If we had missed the tide change we had an anchorage picked out to wait to try again in the morning. We proceeded to Meekes Patch near Spanish Wells and dropped anchor to await the upcoming weather front. By the next morning we had thirty boats around us all waiting out the expected winds.
Our next destination is the northern islands called the Abaco's. This involves a fifty mile jump in open ocean waters so we are waiting for the weather to move through and the arrival of east winds to sail across. Once there we will make a couple of stops before arriving at Green Turtle Cay to see our friend Donny and spend a couple of days at his marina. We will be monitoring the weather as always but will be looking for a window that will allow us to make the jump back to the States and work our way up to North Carolina.
