The end of the trip
It was March and we were nearing the end of our exploration of the Bahamas.
We made one last trip to Little Harbour and Pete’s Pub (at right) at the Southern tip of the Sea of Abaco. There, we befriended the crew of Coconut who will transform your seaglass to jewelry. Bev became their agent of no record, spreading word through the anchorage of what a
great deal they offered and bringing them much “business”. This was also very handy for us as we had walked the beaches and had found a number of pieces of sea glass including one piece of carnival glass dating back to the 20s or earlier. .
On the way back towards Marsh Harbour, we stopped at one of the park reefs. The tidal current was significant but we teamed with Muskoka Moon and did a “drift dive”. That is, we left our dingy at the down current end of the reef and dove in from Muskoka Moon’s at the upsrream end. Bev fed the fish. I took photographs and even chased a large lobster that Bev had spied. I was able to grab it, but could not hold on. This a park, however, and I could not
have taken it out of the water anyway.
We celebrated St Patrick’s day in Marsh Harbour. Then it was time to head for Florida. They do not make a big thing of St Paddy’s day in the Bahamas. We had to make our own celebration with friends. While in Marsh, we were also befriended by the engineer and his wife from the supply ship, the Duke of Topsail. Bev kept calling their boat the Duke of Topsoil. Our friends did not appear to be offended. They were Newfies. Likely they just thought it was a matter of our Canadian mainlander “accent”.
Heading for Flroida not a simple task, however. You cannot just decide to go and go right away
unless you are a 200’ freighter (e.g. the Duke of “Topsoil”). There are two open water passages that can get very rough and where caution is required: the Gulf Stream and the Whale Key Passage.
To traverse the Whale Key Passage, you must go from protected waters out into the Atlantic, around the end of a sand bar and then return to safety immediately. The water shoals very quickly from about 2000 feet deep to maybe 20 feed deep. Distant storms can make it extremely rough. Just at the time we were thinking of leaving, there was a storm with 50 knot winds just to the North of us.
We went to the Treasure Cay resort to wait for an opportunity. You have to pay to anchor there ($10/day) but this gives you full access to the resort – not a bad deal! After 2 or 3 days of “roughing it” in the company of friends we mad a run for the passage.
In reality, there is a shallow water passage that is an alternative to the Whale Cay Passage: the Dont Rock Passage, According to the guide books, if the Whale is impassable, Dont Rock will also be impassable. It is supposed to be about 4.5 feet deep at low tide in the shallowest spot. We went in company of two trimarans (who drew about 18” with boards up), another cat our size and a small trawler that drew 3 feet. At ¾ tide, the shallowest we say was still over 6 feet. The swells were about 2 or 2 ½ feet. They were reported to be 5 feet or so in the Whale Cay Passage itself, so the Dont Rock passage was significantly calmer. In addition, our route was considerably
shorter. Peter from Noahgenda had e-mailed me about 20 waypoints for this unmarked Dont Rock passage the night before. They proved to be “right on the money”.
In no time, we were through and anchored in Black Sound right by New Plymouth and near the Green Turtle Resort (White Sound). There, we took some time to party (especially with the boats that had made the Dont Rock Passage with us), meet other friends (Walt and Pat who we had not seen since Cape May) and monitor the weather forecasts.
We also witnessed the damage to a 46’ Moorings Catamaran that, according to scuttlebutt; had
attempted to make the Whale Passage a few days before us and before the waves had died down. A wave had smashed in one of the front windows and had broken one of the fiberglass “sunshades” right off. It had also broken the anchor locker and bent the starboard stanchions outboard at about 45 degrees. There must have been a windsurfer lashed to them. Worse, a crew member was thrown against the sliding door to the cockpit area so violently that they broke the door mechanism and had to be airlifted off the boat. Apparently this boat had a professional Captain on board. I bet he did not receive his customary tip!! 
Predictably, the winds clocked around and a 2 or 3 weather window was opening to cross the Gulf Stream between the Bahamas and Florida.
We decided to break the trip into 3 roughly equal steps: Green Turtle to Great Sale Island;
Great Sale to West End and West end to Stuart Florida.
The leg from Green Turtle to Great Sale was a beautiful sail. We left just after sun-rise. Although the day started with light winds, within an hour they clocked around just a little so that we were able to hoist our spinnaker. One Love, the cat that had traveled the Dont Rock Passage had promised that if we hoisted our spinnaker, they would do the same. They did. So did the two trimarans, Kimosabe and Noor (Corsair 31s).
That day, the Stray Cat might have been called the Scalded Cat. We passed 15 or 20 monohulls under sail. We sailed One Love under the horizon. We passed a Gemini 105. We caught a catamaran our size that had no solid cabin between the two hulls. We were faster than every sailboat we saw with two exceptions. The two trimarans went by us at about Mach 3. Man, they could move. They have speed like nothing else that is driven by sail. Unfortunately, they have very little room inside although the room they have is extremely efficiently used. But then it is all about priorities isn’t it?
The next morning, we set off for West End and the Old Bahama Bay Marina. It was good that we left early and moved quickly. We motored or motorsailed the whole way since the wind was light and from directly behind us. We got the 3rd last berth in the marina. Most others had to anchor out where the holding ground is notoriously poor.
Bev and I have quite different memories of the Marina.
My memories center about repairing our outboard. It blew an oil seal again. Fortunately, I had a spare. It was the same seal that it blew in Stuart at the end of November. We bought some extra oil “just in case”. While I was working on and worrying about this, Bev was enjoying the bar, the beach, the pool and everyone’s company. The resort is seriously nice and I was sorry to have missed it. It is also seriously expensive. Until the end of March, it costs “only” $80.00 per night to tie up. On April 1, the fees would go up to $280.00 per night. At $280.00, it had better be seriously nice!!!
The next morning, at 0500, we pulled out of our berth and set sail for Florida. We had a beautiful motor sail with the spinnaker and the mainsail. The waves were only 2 to 2.5 feet high. By 2:30 in the afternoon, we were entering the St Lucie River. At one point, the GPS has showed our speed over the ground to be over 10 knots so we must have been picking up a very significant current.
And then we had to clear in.
What a contrast between a third world nation and the richest nation on the earth. In the Bahamas, we cleared in with no muss and no fuss. We were made to feel welcome.
When clearing into the US, you must first call a 1800 number. Using our cell phone, Bev dialed it before we even entered the inlet. After being on hold for 30 minutes, our call got dropped and we had to start over. In the interim, a boat from the Sherrif’s Department had investigated to see if we had cleared in, if our registration decal etc was up to date and to ask if we had anyone else on board. Bev tried to call the 1800 number again, but after 20 minutes, had to drop the call herself in order to pick up a mooring buoy. I went ashore and used a pay phone to call the same number. I was on hold for well over an hour. When I finally got through, the check in process was very quick and efficient EXCEPT that we still had to go to an airport or similar place in order to clear in through Customs in person. So the next day, we rented a car and drove to the airport at Ft Pierce. This was not a big deal as we wanted to drive to Indiantown to retrieve our Jeep anyway. While talking about this, we encountered another couple who after being extremely frustrated by not being able to get through to the 1800 number, did not actually check in for 2 days. They were fined $500.00.
The contrast in process between the two nations was overwhelming. I guess that we should not forget that the US is a nation at war. The Bahamas needs tourist dollars. To the US, we are a nuisance that I suspect they would rather just went away.
Luckily for us, our boat is US flagged. If not, we would now have to report in to Homeland Security every time we moved; even a short distance. Talk about bureaucracy! And to what benefit?
Mooring at Stuart gave us a chance to visit our dear friends Gerry and Pam. They were still RVing in Sebring, Florida. This is the same couple that escorted us in their motorboat at the beginning of the trip (to ensure that we actually left). It was fitting that they saw us again at the end of the trip.
We then headed up the St Lucie River towards Indiantown. I was traveling alone as Bev had to drive the car. Unfortunately, all did not go well. The outboard again sprung an oil leak. This time it was fatal. It seized. I sailed the boat back to Stuart. Picking up a mooring single handed under sail promised to be a bit of a trick. I figured out how to do it. I got close, threw out an anchor and then used the dingy to put a line onto a mooring ball. I then pulled up the anchor and dropped back to the mooring ball.
We then faced the question of how to get the boat to Indiantown. Again, it was Bev to the rescue. She chatted up another couple with some of our challenges and they offered to lend us a 15 HP Merc. In calm weather, I could probably have made it with our 4 HP dingy engine but it would not have been fast. Running flat out, the Merc pushed the Stray Cat at 6 knots. I backed off to 5knots where the engine was probably putting out 10 HP.
Anyway, we made it where we…. Well, you just have to read the next installment to find out
It was March and we were nearing the end of our exploration of the Bahamas.
We made one last trip to Little Harbour and Pete’s Pub (at right) at the Southern tip of the Sea of Abaco. There, we befriended the crew of Coconut who will transform your seaglass to jewelry. Bev became their agent of no record, spreading word through the anchorage of what a
great deal they offered and bringing them much “business”. This was also very handy for us as we had walked the beaches and had found a number of pieces of sea glass including one piece of carnival glass dating back to the 20s or earlier. .On the way back towards Marsh Harbour, we stopped at one of the park reefs. The tidal current was significant but we teamed with Muskoka Moon and did a “drift dive”. That is, we left our dingy at the down current end of the reef and dove in from Muskoka Moon’s at the upsrream end. Bev fed the fish. I took photographs and even chased a large lobster that Bev had spied. I was able to grab it, but could not hold on. This a park, however, and I could not
have taken it out of the water anyway.We celebrated St Patrick’s day in Marsh Harbour. Then it was time to head for Florida. They do not make a big thing of St Paddy’s day in the Bahamas. We had to make our own celebration with friends. While in Marsh, we were also befriended by the engineer and his wife from the supply ship, the Duke of Topsail. Bev kept calling their boat the Duke of Topsoil. Our friends did not appear to be offended. They were Newfies. Likely they just thought it was a matter of our Canadian mainlander “accent”.
Heading for Flroida not a simple task, however. You cannot just decide to go and go right away
unless you are a 200’ freighter (e.g. the Duke of “Topsoil”). There are two open water passages that can get very rough and where caution is required: the Gulf Stream and the Whale Key Passage.To traverse the Whale Key Passage, you must go from protected waters out into the Atlantic, around the end of a sand bar and then return to safety immediately. The water shoals very quickly from about 2000 feet deep to maybe 20 feed deep. Distant storms can make it extremely rough. Just at the time we were thinking of leaving, there was a storm with 50 knot winds just to the North of us.
We went to the Treasure Cay resort to wait for an opportunity. You have to pay to anchor there ($10/day) but this gives you full access to the resort – not a bad deal! After 2 or 3 days of “roughing it” in the company of friends we mad a run for the passage.
In reality, there is a shallow water passage that is an alternative to the Whale Cay Passage: the Dont Rock Passage, According to the guide books, if the Whale is impassable, Dont Rock will also be impassable. It is supposed to be about 4.5 feet deep at low tide in the shallowest spot. We went in company of two trimarans (who drew about 18” with boards up), another cat our size and a small trawler that drew 3 feet. At ¾ tide, the shallowest we say was still over 6 feet. The swells were about 2 or 2 ½ feet. They were reported to be 5 feet or so in the Whale Cay Passage itself, so the Dont Rock passage was significantly calmer. In addition, our route was considerably
shorter. Peter from Noahgenda had e-mailed me about 20 waypoints for this unmarked Dont Rock passage the night before. They proved to be “right on the money”.In no time, we were through and anchored in Black Sound right by New Plymouth and near the Green Turtle Resort (White Sound). There, we took some time to party (especially with the boats that had made the Dont Rock Passage with us), meet other friends (Walt and Pat who we had not seen since Cape May) and monitor the weather forecasts.
We also witnessed the damage to a 46’ Moorings Catamaran that, according to scuttlebutt; had
attempted to make the Whale Passage a few days before us and before the waves had died down. A wave had smashed in one of the front windows and had broken one of the fiberglass “sunshades” right off. It had also broken the anchor locker and bent the starboard stanchions outboard at about 45 degrees. There must have been a windsurfer lashed to them. Worse, a crew member was thrown against the sliding door to the cockpit area so violently that they broke the door mechanism and had to be airlifted off the boat. Apparently this boat had a professional Captain on board. I bet he did not receive his customary tip!! 
Predictably, the winds clocked around and a 2 or 3 weather window was opening to cross the Gulf Stream between the Bahamas and Florida.
We decided to break the trip into 3 roughly equal steps: Green Turtle to Great Sale Island;
Great Sale to West End and West end to Stuart Florida.The leg from Green Turtle to Great Sale was a beautiful sail. We left just after sun-rise. Although the day started with light winds, within an hour they clocked around just a little so that we were able to hoist our spinnaker. One Love, the cat that had traveled the Dont Rock Passage had promised that if we hoisted our spinnaker, they would do the same. They did. So did the two trimarans, Kimosabe and Noor (Corsair 31s).
That day, the Stray Cat might have been called the Scalded Cat. We passed 15 or 20 monohulls under sail. We sailed One Love under the horizon. We passed a Gemini 105. We caught a catamaran our size that had no solid cabin between the two hulls. We were faster than every sailboat we saw with two exceptions. The two trimarans went by us at about Mach 3. Man, they could move. They have speed like nothing else that is driven by sail. Unfortunately, they have very little room inside although the room they have is extremely efficiently used. But then it is all about priorities isn’t it?
The next morning, we set off for West End and the Old Bahama Bay Marina. It was good that we left early and moved quickly. We motored or motorsailed the whole way since the wind was light and from directly behind us. We got the 3rd last berth in the marina. Most others had to anchor out where the holding ground is notoriously poor.
Bev and I have quite different memories of the Marina.
My memories center about repairing our outboard. It blew an oil seal again. Fortunately, I had a spare. It was the same seal that it blew in Stuart at the end of November. We bought some extra oil “just in case”. While I was working on and worrying about this, Bev was enjoying the bar, the beach, the pool and everyone’s company. The resort is seriously nice and I was sorry to have missed it. It is also seriously expensive. Until the end of March, it costs “only” $80.00 per night to tie up. On April 1, the fees would go up to $280.00 per night. At $280.00, it had better be seriously nice!!!
The next morning, at 0500, we pulled out of our berth and set sail for Florida. We had a beautiful motor sail with the spinnaker and the mainsail. The waves were only 2 to 2.5 feet high. By 2:30 in the afternoon, we were entering the St Lucie River. At one point, the GPS has showed our speed over the ground to be over 10 knots so we must have been picking up a very significant current.
And then we had to clear in.
What a contrast between a third world nation and the richest nation on the earth. In the Bahamas, we cleared in with no muss and no fuss. We were made to feel welcome.
When clearing into the US, you must first call a 1800 number. Using our cell phone, Bev dialed it before we even entered the inlet. After being on hold for 30 minutes, our call got dropped and we had to start over. In the interim, a boat from the Sherrif’s Department had investigated to see if we had cleared in, if our registration decal etc was up to date and to ask if we had anyone else on board. Bev tried to call the 1800 number again, but after 20 minutes, had to drop the call herself in order to pick up a mooring buoy. I went ashore and used a pay phone to call the same number. I was on hold for well over an hour. When I finally got through, the check in process was very quick and efficient EXCEPT that we still had to go to an airport or similar place in order to clear in through Customs in person. So the next day, we rented a car and drove to the airport at Ft Pierce. This was not a big deal as we wanted to drive to Indiantown to retrieve our Jeep anyway. While talking about this, we encountered another couple who after being extremely frustrated by not being able to get through to the 1800 number, did not actually check in for 2 days. They were fined $500.00.
The contrast in process between the two nations was overwhelming. I guess that we should not forget that the US is a nation at war. The Bahamas needs tourist dollars. To the US, we are a nuisance that I suspect they would rather just went away.
Luckily for us, our boat is US flagged. If not, we would now have to report in to Homeland Security every time we moved; even a short distance. Talk about bureaucracy! And to what benefit?
Mooring at Stuart gave us a chance to visit our dear friends Gerry and Pam. They were still RVing in Sebring, Florida. This is the same couple that escorted us in their motorboat at the beginning of the trip (to ensure that we actually left). It was fitting that they saw us again at the end of the trip.
We then headed up the St Lucie River towards Indiantown. I was traveling alone as Bev had to drive the car. Unfortunately, all did not go well. The outboard again sprung an oil leak. This time it was fatal. It seized. I sailed the boat back to Stuart. Picking up a mooring single handed under sail promised to be a bit of a trick. I figured out how to do it. I got close, threw out an anchor and then used the dingy to put a line onto a mooring ball. I then pulled up the anchor and dropped back to the mooring ball.
We then faced the question of how to get the boat to Indiantown. Again, it was Bev to the rescue. She chatted up another couple with some of our challenges and they offered to lend us a 15 HP Merc. In calm weather, I could probably have made it with our 4 HP dingy engine but it would not have been fast. Running flat out, the Merc pushed the Stray Cat at 6 knots. I backed off to 5knots where the engine was probably putting out 10 HP.
Anyway, we made it where we…. Well, you just have to read the next installment to find out
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