Caption: a picturesque no wind day on Long Island in the Bahamas.
We began our cruise south on September 22, 2018. Our stats for the year from then onward include:
11 nights at sea
81 nights at anchor
9 nights at a dock
1800 nautical miles traveled
5 states in the U.S. / 2 countries
We continued our stay in Elizabeth Harbor Great Exuma as it has many anchorages and interesting places to explore. We moved around every 3-4 days and we still didn’t stay in all of them. We stayed in Kidd’s Cove the most as access to the shops and WiFi at the BTC office in Georgetown is easiest from there. Next would be Volleyball beach where most activities take place. Here, we often chose to anchor in the inlet on the side of the beach. The music from Chat n’ Chill was not quite as loud there. However, the Bahamian taxi boats have one speed, real fast through this anchorage. Hence the boats at anchor will bounce or roll in daylight hours. Honeymoon Bay, Goat Cay, and Sand Dollar beach were very picturesque and oh so quiet! Many boats anchor at these quieter spots. No matter where we went it was never crowded like Block Island or Watch Hill on a summer weekend. A weekly census of boats was reported on the morning net. I think 120 was the most I heard scattered throughout Elizabeth Harbor. We hear, in years past there have been over 400 boats here at once.
We took several breaks from projects to enjoy various activities and walks on the beach.
The Electric anchor windlass project has proven to be more challenging than expected. The motor below decks is in such a tight space that Tom needed to cut away a non-structural bulkhead to make room for it and to have access to install it.
As the deck part was finished and bolted down, covering the holes in the deck; we decided we could sail on to the next island. We enjoyed the past thirty four days in the Georgetown area and look forward to exploring more of the Bahamas 🇧🇸; though we will probably return here as it is a great spot to get good free water and so much more! Water costs 30 cents a gallon in Long Island and 50 cents a gallon in the Abacos. We hope to add a water maker some day.
On Thursday, January 10 we set sail for Long Island, 35 miles away. As soon as the sails were set two engine alarms sounded: water temperature and alternator. We quickly shut it down and continued sailing. Tom discovered the alternator belt was missing. It was under the engine and had broken. We had a spare belt, so Tom dug out tools and opened up the engine room and proceeded to get very dirty while Anita hand steered through reefs and islands. By the time the engine was fixed we were out in deeper water with a straighter and longer course.
Yeah, time to post a watch, engage the auto pilot and make lunch! Our down wind sail in relatively calm seas all day was really nice. So pleasant, Tom was reluctant to turn on the engine to motor the last mile to the anchorage even though we were slowing down due to lighter winds when sunset was an hour away. Thompson Bay approach does not have any coral reefs and multiple anchorages are well labeled on the chart; so no concerns about seeing through the water late in the day. We were the 13th boat to anchor in the north end of the harbor. The next day we took a walk across the narrow part of Long Island, on a mostly coral road; to the eastern shore and walked the beach before joining other cruisers for happy hour at Sou’Side bar.
We finally used up our ration of ice cream that we had purchased in the states. After defrosting the freezer, it was time to breakout the ice cream maker and start making gelato. Mint chocolate chip first than vanilla using coconut milk and Irish Creme flavoring; so perhaps it’s more like coconut cream.
Anita is also starting to bake: berry scones and French bread, and whole wheat bread so far.
Yes, we are living and working on our boat in exotic harbors! Our sonic wind instrument on top of the mast is no longer discoverable by the network. It is more challenging to sail without this instrument that provides wind direction and speed. However, we will add some ribbons to the shrouds and continue to sail the old fashioned way. Tom climbed the mast stairs and/or was winched up while in the bosuns chair. He was not able to remove the device as he couldn’t get high enough to get a two handed grip on it to unscrew it. We will need a different style of mast climber or a rigger’s help in the near future. Sadly, they no longer make this model. Although the manufacturer may be able to repair it. We’ve ordered the older style with the spinning cups and will wait for that to arrive before continuing with this repair project.
Every once in a while we check the weather app to see what we’re missing where family is located:
We need to add Bangor, Germany, China, and the U.K. to the list of where family is 😉.
Life is good in the Bahamas!
How about where you are?
Sailing on Lone Star 