April in the Bahamas- Week 1

On Monday, April 4th--the day after the big birthday party we had hosted for Ernie--we headed back to the Bahamas. Snow had fallen during the night and despite a having just experienced a wonderful week with family and friends, we were eager to leave all of that winter nonsense behind and return once again to the warmth and sunshine of the south. Traffic to the airport was horrendous and it took us almost 3 hours to make it! Our flight into Nassau was late but we made the connections--just!--and were welcomed by many of our old friends when we arrived back in Boat Harbour. It was a good thing that we left Canada when we did. The next day strong winds and thunderstorms hit the Abacos making it impossible for planes to land here. Our friends on “Diva” were expecting family in from North Bay, but they along with all other tourists to the Abacos, found themselves stranded in Nassau for the night and forced to spend $200 plus for rooms at resorts.

While we were away, tragedy struck some of the cruisers we knew. The father of our good friend Vanessa, on “Talley Ho” unexpectedly died in England and she was forced to fly home for the funeral and Paul and Claudia aboard “Peebles Choice” had their boat destroyed on their way back to the states. They had anchored in too shallow water at Great Sale Cay and, when the tide went out, found themselves aground. The weight of their boat caused their stabilizers to break through the hull, flooding the boat with water and almost sinking it. When they called for help, the Bahamians would only assist if given “salvage rights” to the vessel--which would’ve meant handing it over to them for nothing! Instead, they called “Boat US” who arranged to have their boat pumped out by their own employees, plugged and pulled out into the international waters of the gulf stream where they intercepted it and towed it back to the states. If the boat is to be made seaworthy again,extensive repairs will be needed to be made but that is what we pay those high insurance premiums for.

We spent our first day back re-stocking our supplies and lounging around the pool. The next day we cast off and headed for a delightful anchorage at Tilloo where the water is an incredible shade of turquoise and there are miles of sandy beach. We had promised Margaret and Ben on “Diva” that when the tides and winds were right we’d join them for a dinghy trip through the Snake Cays. And on Friday April 8th, conditions were perfect! “The Snake” as it is called, is an area of waterway on the Sea of Abaco just south of Marsh Harbour made up of a labyrinth of cays and watery passages running through them. It is very shallow and easy to get lost and lose your way among the many islets and so advisable to travel with a handheld GPS unit and a buddy boat. It was a lovely way to spend a morning--very beautiful--and we enjoyed spending time with “Diva” and their guests from North Bay. We both decided to anchor in the cut just north of Tavern Cay for the night and joined them for drinks and munchies in their boat that evening. The next day “Diva” headed off for Hopetown but we decided to spend a few days right where we were since it is such a gorgeous place and located close to many of our favourite things. The first morning we went beach combing and found lots of lovely shells. We saw sea turtles, star fish and rays when we dinghied back to the boat from the beach and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at “Cracker P’s”. The next day we dinghied over to Sea Spray Marina for breakfast and more beach combing on the Atlantic side of Elbow Cay. During the afternoon we swam off the boat and made our way over to a small reef and islets where we did some snorkelling. There was not a lot to see but we did discover--to our horror--that we had dropped our anchor only a few feet from a cable line connecting electricity from one island to another! Immediately Vince wanted to move the boat to another location. But since conditions were calm, I convinced him that we were fine where we were. And then the wind picked up shifting both boat and anchor--right into the cable! And when we tried to hoist it to move on, we couldn’t. After endless “I told you so’s!!” Vince donned snorkelling gear and went into the water while I turned on the engine and manned the helm. Together we managed to free our anchor and get safely away without “incident.” But it was a close call. Vince was exhausted when he climbed back onto the boat--he had run out of air just before he was able to pull the cable away and had almost “given up”. And it was some hours later before he was “back to normal”. That night we anchored in a different location, south of Tavern Cay along with 3 other boats and far away from the cables that we knew were in the vicinity.

The next day we discovered problems with our refrigeration system. Our pump had burned out and we were forced to return to Marsh Harbour to find a new one. We anchored Fortnight just off the Boat Harbour Marina and dinghied in tying up beside Talley Ho in their slip. Andrew lent us his bicycle and Vince pedalled into town where he found the parts he needed to repair the fridge. When we first arrived here we were surprised to find a photo shoot in progress. The men’s magazine “Tease ‘Um” had rented condos and boats here for the week and were shooting photos for their annual calendar. The 12 attractive models were scantily clad, heavily made up and very friendly--eagerly posing with anyone who wanted to take their pictures. Unfortunately we had left our camera back at the boat, but several of our friends got some memorable shots. We spent the rest of the day lunching with Andrew at “Anglers” and enjoying the pool. Then it was back to the boat and off to an anchorage at Matt Lowes Cay, were Vince successfully repaired the fridge. The next morning we pulled up the anchor and headed off to Hopetown where we planned to spend the next week.