Happy New Year!!
We welcomed the new year from our anchorage in Abraham’s Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas. We have still not reached our destination of Turks & Caicos, as the wind is still pinning us down for extended periods of time. It wouldn’t be so bad if we were pinned down in protected anchorages, but there is little real protection along this path. Most anchorages provide reef protection, which does increase the safety factor, but does not necessarily provide a comfort factor.
We’ve been crossing passages where the ocean is 7000 ft deep, and so far, our experience has been that a lot of swell energy accompanies these depths. When large ocean swells hit an island, the wave energy wraps around the island and forces it’s way over reefs and through openings. Once that energy starts sloshing around inside anchorages (almost always coming from a different angle from wind waves) it’s called surge, and surge make your boat rock from side to side. Surge has been the bane of our existence since we left Georgetown!!
In our 2 1/2 years of cruising we have experienced surge problems several times, but along the east coast of the US, and most of the Bahamas there are several anchoring options so you can simply move. Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas taught us that surge in the south Bahamas can be very bad, and there are few/no options to relocate. The picture above is the marina in Clarence Town, and as you can see by the fortress wall of defense they provide the only option to get away from the surge. We didn’t stay there, but probably should have.
There were a few places we could escape the crazy rocking motion of the boat, but it took us a few days to even be able to launch the Whaler safely. Unfortunately, this calm spot is too shallow for the big boat.
We met a very interesting young man (the only other person suffering in the surge with us) who was bringing his boat back from Panama where he spent the summer surfing. Paul joined us on Right Hand, for Christmas dinner, where he regaled us with stories of his experiences single hand (which means alone, he has both hands) sailing, free diving, and spear fishing. He also provided us with some delicious fresh fish. It’s great to meet so many adventurous people. Only cruisers invite a total stranger to Christmas dinner, but he is a stranger no more!
Our next leg took us to Acklins Island, where the anchorage looked like it might provide the best protection yet. However, once we checked the weather forecast we decided to only spend one night so we could make it to Mayaguana before the next large front moved through bringing high winds for another 7-9 days.
This is what the anchorage looks like on our chart.
This is what it looks like in real life. It looks like we are anchored in the middle of the ocean! Actually, the white breaking wave line in this picture is the reef line shown as the tan color on the chart pic. During low tide the reef does an amazing job of keeping the surge out, but at high tide we have to resort to our safety classification method devised while anchored in Chester Town. The ability to safely complete your morning routine (MR) is the inspiration for this rating system.
Rating Points Of Contact Action required to remain upright and uninjured
MR1 = 1 POC required Hop out of bed, and put shorts on one foot at a time
MR2 = 2 POC required Step out of bed, and hold onto wall as you lift each foot to
put shorts on.
MR3 = 3 POC required. Hold onto wall while getting out of bed, and sit on bed to
put shorts on.
MR4 = 4 POC required Carefully climb out of bed holding wall and bed while
walking…forget about shorts!
MR5 = 5+ POC required STAY IN BED!
This is the glorious reef currently protecting us. As you can see, there is only about 18 inches of water over the ref at low tide, so most wave energy is stopped. However, when only two feet of water is added to the equation…a LOT of wave energy gets over the reef.
As soon as we anchor, Keith grabs his snorkel gear and ‘dives the anchor’. He visually checks to make sure the anchor is in sand, and is set correctly.
While he’s down there, he moves any creatures who might be harmed by our chain. This Sea Biscuit is thankful!
This Sea Biscuit wasn’t as lucky.
Almost always…he has an escort! For some reason barracuda also take anchor checks very seriously!
Welcome to Mayaguana. This picture was taken the day we checked out of the Bahamas. As you can see in the background, we are the only boat anchored here…you might need to enlarge the picture to see Right Hand.
This is what $37.00 worth of groceries looks like on Mayaguana. Of course, I didn’t need much…just hoping for some eggs, and any type of fresh fruit and veggie. I felt quite guilty when I realized that I have much more food on the boat than this island (of 200 people) has in the store. I did buy the last dozen eggs, but only because there were chickens everywhere and I’m sure there were more close by. As you can tell, this egg carton has been used many times, and after transferring the eggs to my container, I returned it Reggie (the owner of the store and a restaurant) who was very happy to have it back. I didn’t really need the OJ or (frozen) ground beef, but they were safe purchases, and I wanted to leave a little money at Mayaguana. Keith and I also returned to Reggie’s for lunch the next day…he made some very good fried chicken.
The one thing Mayaguana has an abundance of is fresh seafood. I also put a little green in the pockets of two fishermen who delivered the biggest lobsters I’ve ever seen to the boat. Every two or three days we would see two men take a small boat along the reef and spend several hours in the water Speer fishing. They had a cooler full of amazing looking fish, but with our concern about ciguatera poisoning we decided to stick with the lobster. I have been saving a recipe for years for a time when lobster was plentiful…well that time has arrived. I used the smaller tail to make coconut curried lobster of rice, and it was AMAZING! The largest tail is in the freezer waiting for our next boat guests😉
On our way to the police station to check out of the country, we met Scully…who introduced himself as “the internationally known Scully”! He makes his living catering to cruisers…he would be happy to take you on a tour of the island, or guarantee a good catch on a fishing trip. He carries a VHF radio in his pocket, just waiting for someone to call for him. As you might imagine, business has been down for the past two years. If we ever return to Mayaguana, we will be sure to hire Scully for something.
While this looks like a picture fail…I kinda like it! I was trying to get one of those really cool shots that shows half underwater and half above water, but I guess I need a better camera.
Today, January 3, we have spent our low tide time (MR1/2) readying the boat for the Caicos Passage. The Whaler is strapped, deck is clear, fishing rods are tied to the rails (pelagic fish don’t carry ciguatera), and our quarantine flag (we are currently without a country) is flying. Tomorrow morning we are heading to Caicos!
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