Rock Sound

About an hour before our planned departure time, 8:00 AM today’s cruise ship approaches just outside the harbor.

Ferry boats start heading out to the cruise ship and we decide to get moving at 7:30 before they off load anyone. 

We have a good motor-sailing day. The first few hours we were in deep dark blue water nearly 1,000 feet deep. When we approach and round Cape Eleuthera we cross the very visible light blue waters of the shallow banks. There are miles of shallow sandbars that are exposed at low tide. We arrive at Rock Sound and strangely there are no boats anchored in the harbor. A little while later we get a radio call from Quiescence, Kim and Kathy who we first met 5 years ago. I have been in touch with them via email and thought they would be here in the next couple days to hide out from the next weather system coming through. By late afternoon they, and quite a few other boats have arrived for the same reason. After they anchor I swing by and ask them if they would like to go to Sammy’s for dinner with us. Kim is busy cleaning two fish that he caught traveling over the deep water between the Exumas and Eleuthera. Later we all head to Sammy’s for dinner, a favorite of the locals.

Cathy, Kim, Mark, Karen & Linda at Sammys

Little San Salvador

Sunrise at Cat Island

We get an early start sailing to Little San Salvador, a private Holland Cruise Ship island between Cat and Eleuthera. Half Moon Bay there has fairly good protection and we will arrive on a non-Cruise ship day. We sail all the way and arrive around 2:30 pm. We are the only boats here. By late afternoon another 4 boats come into the anchorage. Last time here we were able to go ashore and walk around the grounds, but they don’t seem to allow that any more on the non-Cruise ship days. I spend some time cleaning the boat bottom. I only get about half of it cleaned before I get cold.

Cat, Bakery

Worked on a few projects on the boat in the morning. After lunch we walk with Mark & Karen to the local grocery store and on the way back we stop again at the Olives Bakery. 

 

Linda and Karen heading to the store

Olives Bakery, New Bight, Cat Island

They had these very good coconut cookies that Linda and I got on our last visit, but they only had one left, so I let Mark get the last one.

Mark still has some problems with his cooling system. We discuss possible causes and solutions. We think his water intake filter is not sealed tight and sucking in air and allowing the water pump to loose it prime when the engine is shut down. I make up an O-ring to fit and Mark also adds sealant to stop the leakage. We will see how that works tomorrow.

Cat, High Winds

Another cloudy dreary day, so I run the generator for a couple hours in the morning to charge up the batteries, in the absence of much sun. With the high winds today everyone in the anchorage is staying on their boats. 
 

Ugly day

We counted 21 boats here, waiting out the next round of high winds today. Weather accounts for the number of boats here. The owner at Hidden Treasures said it was the most boats she has seen anchored. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much for her business.  We are very close to the lee shore but are still getting white caps in the short fetch. We play Scrabble and watch the movie “Green Book”.

Cat Island, Repairs

We sleep in today and have blueberry, coconut pancakes for breakfast. Talk again with Mark about what we think is the likely source of their over heating problems. After Mark takes apart the ends of the their heat exchanger he finds debris partially blocking the raw cooling water flow. Once cleaned out the engine runs fine at the correct temperature. 

The Heritage 360 Panorama

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In the afternoon we all walk up to the Hermitage, the highest point in the Bahamas. On the way back we stop at the police station while a couple rain storms roll through. After the rain stops we walk to a local Bakery. Once we get back to the boat we have another down pour just after I get the vinyl/canvas cockpit up. The boat is now salt free. 










 

Mark, Karen & Linda

For dinner we go ashore to Hidden Treasures one of many beach shack “restaurants”. We had ordered lobster earlier in the day. Linda and Karen have their huge Mango Daiquiris.

 

Huge Mango Daiquiri

Private beach dinning at "Hidden Treasures"

The Anchorage at New Bight, Cat Island

After dinner and sunset the Sand fleas and No-seems send us back to the boat for the night.

Salvandor, no Cat !

We plan a long sailing day, 60 miles to Little San Salvador a private island the Holland Cruise lines uses. This will get us to Rock Sound, Eluthera Island before the next front comes through. We have a little more wind than forecast and we have to deal with ocean swells between Long Island and Cat Island. Mark and Karen plan to fish along the way, since we are in the deep ocean, for Mahi-Mahi. Just south of Cat is and ocean mound that we aim for thinking it could have good fishing. Well a couple hours later just before we get there Sea Vu Play turns around and is coming south towards us. Turns out Mark and Karen had a fish on each of their poles they had out. Mark "heaved to" turning south to slow the boats speed without having to steer while dealing with the fish. One pole snapped in two, but they did land one good sized Mahi-Mahi. 

 

Sea Vu Play, "Heaved to" slowly moving south, while deals with fish

 

Sea Vu Play heading back north, with dinner

When they finished they turned the boat around and started the engine. It started over heating, so they turned the engine off. We both decide to head into the New Bight at Cat 12 miles away so Mark could deal with the problem there. There is protection at the anchorage there for the next front.
 

Sailor girl

Linda and I get invited to their boat for fresh fish for dinner. I make and Impossible Pie, without flour which Karen can’t eat. Mark stops by to talk through the possible causes for the high cooling temperature. He can’t do to much until tomorrow after the engine cools down. We go over their boat for an excellent dinner at 5:30

Long Island, Calabash Bay

 

Morning at Thompson Bay

In the morning we have a fast sail north to Calabash Bay on Long Island and anchored off Santa Maria Resort. We have anchored here before and they like cruisers to come ashore. We especially like their Happy Hour, which Linda and I attend. We run into sailing couple Adele and Herman who we met three years ago in Thompson Bay. She looked familiar, but I could not place her. After we started talking with Adele we made the connection. It turned out we had their boat card from 3 years ago. They sold that boat and now have an Island Packet, both named Willfull. They have a summer place in the Adirondacks and had been looking to move to the Burlington, Vermont area. Maybe we will see them this summer off the boat.
 

Happy Hour

We continue to have excellent cell coverage and watch 60 minutes “Live” on our TV like we are home in Vermont, only much warmer.