We spent a few nice days West End, and it was a nice way to kick off our season in the Bahamas. Saturday was supposed to be rainy and crappy, but it ended up being sunny and warm, making it a great beach day. We met Chris, one of the resort guests who was there for a shark dive that got cancelled by the weather (apparently all the wind and waves significantly reduced visibility). The three of us went for a snorkel along the rock wall next to the beach – the current was strong, so I didn’t go very far but there was a fair amount of life down there, and it was just good to get back in the water. We grabbed lunch at the tiki bar and planned to go fishing later in the afternoon, but the clouds filled in and it ended up pouring rain. On Sunday afternoon, we were about to go for a walk to the nearby village, but a fellow cruiser asked for a hand maneuvering their boat around from the slip they were in to the one on the other side of the finger pier. They had a big, heavy full-keel boat that would have been a nightmare to try to back up, so sliding them around to the other side meant they were facing bow-out and could just power forward (sailboats with inboard engines are challenging to back up, and certain keel designs are more difficult than others). Halfway through getting them settled, it started pouring rain and we ended up being glad we hadn’t gone for that walk, and were happy to help fellow cruisers. In return, they gave us a hand with our lines when we took off the next day, and between their help and the fact that both catamarans that had been docked behind us had left, we had an easy departure.
We hopped down to Lucaya on Monday, which was supposed to be a flat calm day that turned out to be a bashy beat. Anticipating little wind and no sailing, we didn’t at all prep the boat to be sailed, which we 100% regretted. Fenders were all over the place in the cockpit, the boom was still tied off to prevent it from swinging side to side… and by the time we realized we’d rather be sailing, it was too late to deal with all that (we were already out in the waves, so it wouldn’t have been safe). We were able to roll out the jib and beat back and forth to minimize the slamming, but I’ve had more pleasant passages. Thankfully it was only a few hours before we were comfortably tied up at Grand Bahama Yacht Club.
Corky and Alex on Anodyne, who we met last year, were directly across the dock from us and we spent a nice evening catching up. Last season, we were neighbors at anchor in West Palm Beach and then ran into each other at Grand Bahama Yacht Club. Later in the season we ran into them in Hope Town, and then again up in Annapolis on our way north – yet another instance of what a small community it is out here. Otherwise we spent most of the week on the boat, although we did walk the grounds before work and had a couple dinners at the on-site restaurant, Pisces. I had hoped to do laundry, but work was too busy.
With high winds in the weekend forecast, we weighed our options – stay in Lucaya, sail to the Berrys on Saturday, or make a post-work overnight passage to Spanish Wells. I was exhausted and really didn’t want to make another passage so soon, but the wind angle was good for the overnight, and the winds were supposed to be a manageable 15-20kts. While the Berrys would have been a shorter run that we could have done in daylight, the forecast wind angle for next weekend would have us on a beat from there to Spanish Wells. As much as I didn’t want to do it, I knew Spanish Wells was the right call, so we closed our laptops and slipped the lines.
The passage was calm and easy, and we ended up motoring most of the way as winds were lighter than forecast. I didn’t really sleep on my off-watch so I REALLY struggled to stay awake. There was a lot of commercial traffic in the Northwest Providence Channel, so that at least gave me something to focus on until we’d left them all behind. Sunrise was beautiful, and I got a couple hours’ rest after handing over the watch. The breeze finally filled in and Chris was able to get a few hours of pure sailing, and the silence and gentle rocking of the boat put me (and Jack) right to sleep. When Chris woke me, we were just about to pass through the Egg Island cut.
With winds building from the north, we chose to spend the night anchored in the corner between Egg and Royal islands. I made our traditional post-passage pancakes for breakfast, and we spent a lazy day reading and resting. As the wind started to veer east on Sunday, we hopped over to the west side of Meeks Patch, where we’re riding out the continued gusty winds. I love this spot – we’re treated to beautiful sunsets, and with patchy showers rolling through this morning, we had several gorgeous rainbows.
While I’ve been enjoying being back in the Bahamas and taking it easy for a while, I’m looking forward to actually getting to explore a bit. Old Bahama Bay and Grand Bahama Yacht Club are both nice, but there’s nothing really within walking distance, and we’ve spent a lot of time on the boat. It’s been nice to have some chill days, and getting to float out on this gorgeous blue water is amazing (we even had a dolphin swim right up to our stern and under Windara yesterday), but I’m getting a little restless. We plan to head up to the village of Current in the next couple of days and from there run Current Cut to the Glass Window Bridge. I’m excited to get to see Eleuthera and visit a bunch of new spots.
