Sailed about 25 miles from Long Island to Georgetown on
Grand Exuma Island. Now THIS is the
Bahamas. Beautiful aqua blue water, lots
of little cays with beautiful beaches and many great anchorages. Got into Georgetown around 2pm after a 5 mile
motor through coral heads and reefs.
Captain Phil's nerves are being tested but he knows there is much more
of the same to come since the central and upper Bahamas are mostly islands on
"banks" that are mile after mile of water just a little deeper than the
Pintita's keel. The banks are surrounded
by waters that drop off to over a mile in just a few hundred yards. As I type, we are running the "Silver
Bullet" - the boats AC diesel powered generator. Everyone has their cell phones, kindles, and
other devices plugged in for charging.
We are staying at a marina that is redoing all their shore power and
right now, we have none. Looking out
over the harbor (it's 9pm) is like star gazing. There must be over 100 boats in
site at anchor - all displaying their anchor lights. It's really a cool sight. We are expecting the first (for the Pintita)
in over 2 months. Fronts from the US typically don't make it below where we are
- the East Trade winds keep them from
pushing south. From this point north, we
will be getting a lot of influence from the US weather. We have read about all the winter storms
marching across the country (brrrrr!). Tomorrow morning, we will do some light
provisioning and take on fuel and be on our way up the Exuma chain. Will probably not be in contact till we
reach Eleuthera in 2 or 3 days.
Now you are getting into more familiar waters where I spent 2.5 months Watch the cuts for rages. Keep listening for weather on the morning nets. There is a good one in Hope Town & also Marsh harbor. Possibly Spanish Wells. Talk to the locals there. Pay particular attention to Whale cut & Current cut. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fred. I'm having a great time but, like Phil, I'm ready to start heading for home. I'd certainly love to come back here and cruise but I'm afraid our "cruising" is coming to an end and, starting today, we are switching to a "get a move on" mode. Phil's friends are flying out from the southern tip of Eleuthera today, we will be going to Hatch Harbor to pick up Ollie, then an over nighter to Freeport to pick up Dan. It's all crew from here on out and heading for home. Thanks again for your comments Fred.
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