Bahamas Bound

2006 - 2007

Another Adventure is finally cruising the Bahamas, our destination when we left Sturgeon Bay eons ago.

We plan to post and update at least weekly. We move the older portions of the log to secondary pages accessible at the bottom of the page. Join our voyage!

Updated on 03/19/2007

2/26/07 - One sure has weird dreams when the boat is dancing about at anchor. We woke to clear skies and 10 knot winds. Should be another great day to sail. We could make a port of entry today if we elected to go to Morgan Bluff though Nassau would probably be our better choice with Buddy. Our only weather source out here is via SkyMate. If we had SSB (single sideband) we would have more weather options. You makes your choices and pays your money. That said, the forecasts have been accurate and weather great. We sailed all day in 11-13 feet of light blue water over white sand. It's weird to see the depth sounder not vary over a foot for hours. 2-3 large (100 ft plus) yachts and a half dozen 50-70' sport fishermen passed us today. We're now on a more heavily traveled route. By 3pm we were at Chub Point on Frazer's Hog Cay (pronounced Key) where we anchored off a sandy beach. This was the first dry land we've seen since the morning of the 24th. We were here a year ago with Sampatecho and were surprised by the changes and lack thereof. The entrance was now buoyed as was the channel to the mid-island marina - this is a sport fishing capital. A couple of new houses had been constructed behind the beach and a couple being constructed were unchanged from a year ago. We relaxed, enjoyed the view and read. A small jet airliner landed late afternoon, reinforcing the fact that this cay is a tourist destination. 2/27/07 - We awoke to overcast skies - as forecast. Ruth didn't sleep well last night so I elected we'd take a down day and let her sleep in. This still gives us plenty of time to cross to Nassau and clear customs before Patti, Jill and Bill join us the 2nd. We'd clear in here but I doubt they could deal with Buddy two other sailboats have anchored near us, one to either side. We've seen about a half dozen sailboats and a dozen BIG motor vessels today. 2/28/07 - We woke to 30 knot winds and heavy rain - a local t-storm. Merlou, the boat anchored north of us, had a lot of rope on his anchor versus our 120' of chain and was veering toward us in the high wind. We both started our engines and did an little anchor dance for half an hour. Things got dicey but we avoided contact! As the storm subsided they radioed their thanks. After talking with Ruth they wished me a Happy Birthday! We then shared a recent SkyMate weather forecast with the boats anchored around us before we all headed to Nassau on light winds and the diesel. The wind quickly built to 18 knots and we shut down the engine for a great sail - 7 to 8 knots on the GPS. AA quickly outdistanced the other 3 boats. Mid afternoon and we were hailing Nassau Harbor Control for permission to enter at the west end. It was quickly granted and we powered into the harbor where we were joined by a seaplane threading thought the mail boats, yachts and cruise liners. We finally anchoring at the east end just off the Nassau Harbor Club Marina... all the while Buddy repeatedly screaming "Parrot, it's a parrot". It's all about Buddy! Ruth commented it's hard to believe we are in Nassau on Another Adventure. Fourteen years ago we had wanted to come here for our honeymoon on the first AA, our Hunter Legend 35.5 but had to scrub the trip when the firm managing the boat in charter had mistakenly moved her to the center of the Miami Boat Show. We enjoyed the show aboard but were left with not enough time to visit the Bahamas. Tomorrow morning we'll take a slip at the Nassau Harbor Club to prepare for our guests and clear Customs. 3/1/07 - Wow, first time we've been in a slip this year (last time was 12/28/06). We docked about 9:30am and have been waiting aboard for Customs. Fortunately we have WIFI here so we've been able to publish the website and get our e-mail. 4pm, we are finally checked in by Customs and Immigration. Buddy has the first stamp in his CITES passport. Make that stamps plural as they weren't sure where to put them on the multiple pages so every page got one. Better safe than sorry. $300 for our cruising permit and another $20 for immigration and we were set. SNAFU's led to our delayed check in, we'll be smarter next time. Bill, Jill and Patti are delayed, Northwest airlines cancelled their flights and they had to rebook on Delta. We now expect them at 10 pm tomorrow. We had a professional captain stop by last night, asking if the Appleton, WI on the transom was correct. Turns out he was a sailor from Bayfield, WI who had followed his love of water to the sea. He is currently captain of a new 64' Nordhavn trawler named Shearwater... nice ride! I asked how he got his commission and he related he had moved from deliveries to this assignment, noting what a small club comprises the owners of larger vessels. He'd impressed people on his deliveries and had been recommended for several vessels. He's a very pleasant and knowledgeable gent. 3/2/07 - Morning coffee, then time to ready the boat for guests. Did a little provisioning this morning. The best supermarket in town is in the mall right across the street from Harbor Club. We had wash to do, tanks to fill, floors to clean, refrig to clean... sounds like home. Weren't invited the ANS funeral though we saw the news helicopters. Took a nice swim this afternoon in the pool. The temperature is 86 degrees. Ruth thinks it's hot flashes. It's worth the journey here! Beautiful sunset today! About 10pm Jill, Patti and Bill arrived - refuges from the tundra. We spent the next couple hours catching up on each others' lives and polishing off a little rum. 3/3/07 - We walked to Atlantis this morning, touring the harbor, casino and aquarium. Second visit for us, first for the rest of the gang. It is an impressive facility. The heat is wilting the visiting eskimos - pretty big adjustment for the body. The ladies did a little additional provisioning so we're ready to head out tomorrow if the weather permits. We've got a cold front coming in, 20 knots out of the north. Cold being a relative term no one will be searching for jackets or long sleeves. We kicked on the A/C unit last night to knock down the humidity and give the ladies a cool night's sleep. 3/4/07 - Sunday and we're heading out - enroute to Allen Cay to see the iguanas. I pointed AA south from Nassau about 1 miles then turned east to miss the Yellow Bank - 6' of water with lots of rocks. We slipped into Allen Cay at 4:45 after motoring half the way and motor sailing the other half. Our home for the night was 8' of clear water over a white sand bottom. I fired up the grille and Bill prepared a pair of tenderloins - one each of pork and beef. The ladies made a salad and vegie... a great dinner. As it got dark a cold front blew in on 15 knot winds causing two of the boats to drag their anchors and making for an entertaining anchor dance. Entertaining because we weren't participants and could watch from the sidelines. 3/5/07 - Bill spotted the first iguana before breakfast. It was the largest one I've seen here. The clouds associated with the cold front were breaking up though the wind stayed in the mid teens. Bill and the girls headed to Allen Cay to see the iguanas while I stood watch. At noon we headed south to Norman Cay, home of the famous drug running airstrip. Seas were running 4', we ran under genoa at 6 knots. Bill, Jill & Patti went ashore to explore and explored the airplane that landed in the water 15+ years ago. This was the base of operations for Carlos Lehder's drug smuggling operations in the late '70'. At one time a cargo plane load of drug left here every hour.  For us it was a beautiful spot to spend the night. 3/6/07 - We sailed under genoa,  running 6.5 - 7.5 knots (SOG) to the Exumas National Park at Warderick Wells. It was a great 3 hour sail! We hiked to Boo Boo Hill and spread some of Gary's ashes over the collection of mementos from visiting boats, taking a moment to have a rum drink in his honor. We left a drink in a paper cup. I hope he liked it,  know I would have. From the top of Boo Boo we could look over the Exumas Sound and the Bahamas bank. The turquoise water blending to dark blue, un-believable scenery. We're on a mooring in the south anchorage, planning on snorkeling tomorrow. Time passes way too fast with friends aboard - we wish they could stay a month! 3/7/07 - Windy and cloudy morning, it was good to be on a mooring last night. After a trip to the Ranger's office to get WIFI for Ruth - Bill, Patti and I went hiking while Ruth and Jill enjoyed the sun. We covered about 12 miles on rugged paths carved thru mangroves and scrub - visiting rock ruins of a 1780's Loyalist "plantation" and a pirates' lair. Took us over 3 hours leaving Ruth and Jill concerned. especially when rain moved in. Damp but not drowned we dinghied back to the boat. A Packer dinner, brats. buns, drinks and condiments led to a wild night of the Happy Schnapps, disco and song. They'll never let us in this anchorage again. Hey, you only go around once. Enjoy the ride. Whoops, here comes another squall - to the background of the Village People. 3/8/07 - Time to plan our way home. Looks like back tracking is the best option given the time constraints. We snorkeled some coral heads then headed back to Norman Cay in thunderstorms and strong winds. Arrived 2:30 and anchored with a good set. Our downwind neighbor, Aramok, was having a bad case of the "analitis" so we moved to a different quadrant of the harbor and re-anchored, relieving his pain. We wanted to snorkel nearby coral but the winds made that undoable. 3/9/07 - Heading back to Nassau today to give the gals some shopping time. We had good weather and a great sail, running at a steady 7.5 knots for hours. Bill had a strike but we lost the fish... no supper today (he also caught the fan on the wind generator but we opted it would too hard to gut). Arrived in Nassau at 3pm and grabbed a slip in the Nassau Harbor Club Marina (about the cost of Sturgeon Bay). We'll hate to see the gang leave Sunday as we welcome Rand and Butch aboard. 3/10/07 - Shopping day for the gang. We also need to provision, etc for our new guests. Bill and I washed down the decks, filled water tanks and cleaned up stainless steel. I took a trip to the top of the mast to check rigging, instruments and the VHF antenna - everything looked good. Rand and Butch arrived mid-morning. Their flight connections were messed up last night and they got stuck in Lauderdale, slept in the airport. The guys hung out, swapping tales while the ladies went SHOPPING! I whipped up a batch of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese for lunch. After lunch I took the guys for a walk down to the straw market for a little guy shopping. Turned out the walk was a lot longer than we expected. On our return we provisioned and ordered 3 large pizzas for the whole group, eating and talking in the cockpit - providing a chance to catch up with each others lives. 3/11/07 - Sunday, time for our Jill, Bill & Patti to catch their flight back to WI and for Rand and Butch to come aboard. I'm sure Ruth will miss having the girls aboard, as will I. The only bad part of their visit is that it was over so fast. We forgot about daylight savings time until Rand came back from shopping and mentioned people complaining . Bill, Jill & Patti almost missed their plane!

New construction at Chub Cay marina entrance The plane! The plane! Pushed out of the harbor by small boats... these island freighters have no engines. Jill, Patti, Ruth & Bill harborside in Atlantis The Ana craze captured by Jill Atlantis, photo by Patti Bill's catch (Bahamas Giant Perch), by Patti Warderick Harbor, photo by Patti Boo Boo Hill, photo by Patti Bill, Jill, Patti & Ruth visit the iguanas

Visit earlier portions of the Bahamas Bound trip log...