West Caicos -- Turks and Caicos Islands

Sailing to Clarence Town, Bahamas

13 - 15 May 2009, Bahamas

4 - 12 May 2009

4 May 2009

Listened to the morning shortwave weather forecast from Chris Parker's Caribbean Weather Center.  Then pulled up the anchor at 7:10 am and headed over to Goat Cay.  Decided midway that the two-mile walk between town and Goat Cay would get old carrying groceries and water, so decided to move right into the anchorage just off Georgetown.  The Pequod has shallow enough draft to squeeze into some places the bigger boats cannot go.  Sure enough there was a spot.  Anchored at 0800 WT 2331 7547.  Rowed ashore and dumped a bag of trash.  Then walked to J & K Productions, the third-world shack internet spot, to update the blog and check email.  Rowing through the narrow cut into Lake Victoria was easy because the tide was flowing in.  But, it was still flowing in a few hours later when I left and getting out was hard.  The channel is barely wide enough for two 6-foot oars, so when you smack one rock wall with an oar you are swept back to the start.  A couple of fellow boater comments today reminded me that everyone else uses an outboard.  Oh well, the original advertisement for Seagull outboards in the 1940’s touted it as a device “for those too weak to row ashore.”

 

5 May 2009

Spent a couple of hours cleaning the boat, then went ashore and washed clothes.  Two weeks of laundry was less than one load.  Went to both grocery stores in Georgetown.  It is fun trying to guess which items are cheapest at which store.  In the end it is about as successful as playing the stock market.  Back at the boat, some fancy catamaran was anchored real close.  Looked like a charter boat with two vacationing couples aboard.  They made a big deal about getting ready to watch the sunset, but they were too close and the Pequod was blocking their view.

 

6 May 2009

Stayed anchored just off Georgetown.  Decided against docking at the marina.  Partly because the boat was ready, but mainly because of all the work of setting up fenders and docklines, and then adjusting them to compensate for the tide.  Then realized there would also be more noise, less cooling breeze, more insects, and more smells if tied up to land.  Anchoring can be much easier and nicer.  Arranged for a local Bahamian to pick Jim up at the airport.  The evening dinghy row against the wind and waves out to the boat with two people and bags on board a 7-foot, 6-inch rubber dinghy was a workout.

 

7 May 2009

Mark and Rachelle dinghied over in the morning and we discovered they were anchored close by.  Moved over to Stocking Island and anchored at 1100WT 2331 7545.  Walked across to the ocean side and swam in the surf.  Then ate lunch at the St. Francis Resort.  The proprietress, Jill, came to the Bahamas from South Africa several years ago.  We relaxed for awhile in some shaded chairs by the Chat-n-Chill Beach Club.  Then we sailed back to Georgetown and anchored at 1700WT 2331 7547.  Mark and Rachelle invited us to a delicious spaghetti supper onboard Markelle.

 

8 May 2009

Moved to Monument Beach, also known as Hamburger Beach, and anchored at 1100WT 2332 7546.  Helped a fellow cruiser, Dave on the catamaran Cimarron, remove his torn jib sail so he could take it to town and get it repaired.  Then hiked up to the monument, which is really the remaining concrete foundation of a long-gone beacon.  Then hiked down the other side of the hill to the ocean and swam in the surf to cool off.  We stopped by the Peace and Plenty Beach Club on the way back and found out they were definitely having their Friday night barbecue with music.  With some afternoon time to kill, we hiked north along the beach to a spot in the casuarina trees where several hammocks were hanging.  We lay in the hammocks until time to meet Mark and Rachelle at the barbecue.  The barbecue food was good, but the extra-loud Bahamian music seemed to drive most of the customers away right after eating.

 

9 May 2009

Linda, on the nearby sailboat Spitfire, came over mid-morning to see if we wanted a dinghy ride, since she saw we had no outboard.  She grew up on a boat and has been sailing her whole life.  Now she is fighting maintenance gremlins on her boat before sailing alone back to Connecticut.  Dave, on Cimarron, took his torn jib sail to a Haitian-run upholstery shop in a little shack in Georgetown.  The Haitians in the Bahamas are held in the lowest economic levels by a surprising amount of prejudice.  Some black Bahamians quote centuries of supposed African history and describe the traditional slave tribes the Haitians descended from as justification for their discrimination.  Mid-afternoon, we moved north to Lilly Cay (1530WT 2333 7547), snorkeled a hole in the reef, and saw several fish.  At the next hole, we saw the tail of a shark.  Jim thought I was teasing, but on his third cautious trip looking into the hole, he saw the shark.  We decided to move away.  Jim found a live conch on the bottom of a large grassy area.  Moved back to Stocking Island and anchored at 1820WT at 2331 7545.

 

10 May 2009

We went ashore mid-morning and relaxed in a couple beach chairs.  The bahamian proprietor of the Chat-n-Chill made an ugly display when he began harassing a lady for bringing food onto his property.  He wants to sell everything consumed there.  But, she had purchased her diet Coke at his bar and the small bag of meat she carried was to feed the stingray, which is a great attraction for the other customers.  Later, he tried a half-hearted apology to preserve our business, but the apology slipped into obvious lies as justification for his actions.  He seems to be spoiled by a great business location and is letting his hospitality degenerate.  This was the second time I have watched his quick-flaring hatred of customers.

 

11 May 2009

Still anchored off Stocking Island in front of the Chat-n-Chill.  Just after breakfast, world-cruiser Tina Dreffin, of www.yachtscud.com, and her visiting sister Lisa, invited Jim and I to snorkel at a couple of blue holes.  The first blue hole had a couple of large lobsters and a school of fish at the entrance.  The second blue hole was covered in murky water, so we did not dive down to it.  Swimming back to the dinghy, a leopard ray and a school of angel fish made appearances.  In the afternoon, Lisa accompanied Jim and me to the ocean side to play in the small surf on a boogie board and a surfboard.  The day ended with an enjoyable dinner at the St. Francis Resort.

 

12 May 2009

Moved to Georgetown and tied up at the marina (Exuma Docking) at 1130WT 2330 7546.  The marina is badly silted and the first spot was so shallow the ebbing tide would leave us aground, so we moved to a deeper spot.  Am now trapped by a shallow sandbar and can only leave at high tide.  The east wind brought so much nasty chop into the marina that I actually set an anchor off the side to keep the Pequod from beating against the dock.  We checked email, bought a phone card, used an ATM, ate a hamburger, and arranged for an early morning taxi.  Even got my first haircut since leaving Mississippi.  Then Jim packed to leave early in the morning.  After that we ate a delicious supper at the Peace and Plenty Hotel. 

30 April - 3 May 2009

30 April 2009

Spent most of the afternoon at Long Island Breeze Resort.  They require a $4.00 minimum purchase to use their WiFi, but most of the afternoon I was the only customer in the place.  They definitely are not getting rich.  Decided to leave in the morning for Georgetown, Exumas.  This will give me few days to get ready for Jim Boernge’s visit.  Stopped by to see Mark and Rachelle in the evening.  They will sail to Georgetown in a few days to get ready for the upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic via the Turks and Caicos islands.

1 May 2009

Pulled up the anchor at 08:00 am.  Sailing under just the Genoa at 4-5 knots made for an easy downwind sail all the way to Georgetown.  Hoisting the Main would have given me a little more speed, but the wind vane self-steering unit probably could not have handled the light air and following seas.  Quite a few cruising boats were still in the Georgetown Harbor after the annual Family Island Regatta, so I anchored at the northwest end of the boats along Stocking island, north of the shipping channel just off Monument Beach, also known as Hamburger Beach.  Anchored at 1740WT 2332 7546.  Hiked across Stocking Island to see if the beaches and waves were okay for surfing, but found too many coral heads and rocks for a beginning surfer to crash into. 

2 May 2009

A tremendous herd of boats left the harbor this morning.  At one time I could see 18 boats heading north in a long line.  Many are using the settled weather to make long trips back to the United States.  The radio waves were full of people saying goodbyes to new-found friends and promising to come back next year.  Many of the cruisers spend the winter in Georgetown.  They build a community much like the large retirement communities in Arizona.  Substituting yachts for motorhomes and dinghies for golf carts, their lives seem to be an endless cycle of planned activities.  Yoga, swimming lessons, Happy Hours, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and even Jehovah’s Witness church services are on the menu.  I spent the day on the boat consolidating and stowing stuff in an effort to get my second bunk free before Jim arrives. 

3 May 2009

More boats left this morning and the count of cruising boats in the harbor is now down to 70.  Went ashore in the early afternoon and hiked up to the monument on Stocking Island, to get some exercise and take some pictures.  On the way, noticed the Peace and Plenty Beach Club was open.  Of course my wallet was still safe and dry on the boat, so after the hike, retrieved the wallet and went to socialize at the club.  Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening talking with a cruiser named Gary from the Florida Keys who sails a 40-foot Hunter sailboat named Escada.