From the marina where we cleared customs, on the west side of Great Harbor Cay, there’s no safe passage straight south so we did a three-quarters clockwise circumnavigation of the island, and then continued south to anchor in tiny Market Fish Cay, the first of a chain of islands with deep water on the east and the shallow Great Bahama Bank on the west.
We needed to wait for the next day’s high tide to continue through a shallow passage to the more protected anchorage on the west shore of Hoffman Cay, right on time to receive the forecasted cold front and strong winds. Not too long after we dropped the anchor, bucketloads of rain fell, which we used to clean the windows and ourselves, showering on the deck. My rain-catching device is still not ready, so none of that precious water made it to the tanks.
After the rain, it was six days of relentless wind and sleep-depriving noise. That meant, of course, plenty of time for boat maintenance tasks. We dived to inspect the saildrives, which to our chagrin were full of barnacles, and a whole ecosystem had started to form around them. A treasure trove for a marine biologist, but a potential nightmare for a boat owner. We dove again armed with a brush each to scrub the saildrive legs. The hulls are a bit slimy, but the anti-fouling paint has fended off more serious stowaways.
There was a lot of drilling and sawing to install a dimmer, an additional 12-volt outlet, and a shelf. Some filing, sanding and more drilling to fix a stubborn door, and some sewing for the rain catcher prototype. Then, half a day was lost turning the boat around in search of a key piece for using the dinghy in sailing mode (a windsurfing mast extension that I had modified back in California for the task). It simply disappeared. Or maybe it never made it to the boat. Either way, it’s exceedingly frustrating. As expected, in the process we did find stuff we were not looking for, including more things to fix.
On our free time we visited the protected beach and socialized with the neighbors on the three other boats anchored nearby.
To get out of Hoffman Cay after the wind calmed down, we headed north, backtracking our route with the afternoon tide. We anchored by wild Soldier Cay, and the next day we went back to deep water to cross the Northwest Providence Channel in perfect sailing conditions, leaving the Berry Islands behind.
PS: I love comments and feedback, so keep them coming!
Juan, as you get more time and Wifi Access it would be great to have a small and very selective reference section of digitally available works that deal with the natural and political history of the places you are visiting. Looking at the pictures I was wondering if these islands were populated and if so what is the main sustenance activity. I am currently reading The Log of C. Columbus by Robert H. Fuson, 1987, International Marine Publishing, 252 pp, paperback. It is a direct translation of Padre Las Casas edition, very concise and factual (some are opinions, or alternative facts we would call them today since since Christopher thought he was close to Japan). It shows his first landfall in the Bahamas and subsequent sailing along the North coast of Haiti and Dominican Republic. It describes encounters with friendly locals and many observations about the wind changes, plants, etc. I am wondering if you may be ¨discovering¨ some of the same peaceful coves they ¨discovered¨. This is long way around to suggest some more social commentary. I know that it does not come natural to technical mind but perhaps the first mate can help. Keep the nice pictures coming. V
Funny that just two days ago I read that Columbus made his first landfall in The Bahamas. I always thought it was in Hispaniola.
I’ll see what the first mate is willing to do. For now, here’s some info: Great Harbour Cay is the largest of the Berry Islands, with a whopping population of 353 inhabitants. The other cays we visited are uninhabited.
Dreamy!!!
I’m so curious about your rain-capture creation. Please post pics when you’ve got it up and running.
The water color in your photos is stunning. Thanks for sharing the images.
I am enjoying following your adventures. Much love to both of you…
I will. The most fundamental part of the collection system came with the boat: a large roof 🙂 I’m just adding a removable rain gutter made of canvas.
Love to you and Rob too.
The photos are beautiful!
We recognized your laundry ‘plunger”. We have a version of that and the scrubba bag variations. When we were in china we were introduced to a tiny 10kg load agitator and spinner combination but we’ve only seen it in 110v versions. Having done a fair amount of hand wash the spinner is the part I appreciated the most. Just never could wring out the clothes very efficiently. I’m considering looking at a roller. I too am excited to see your rain water catch system.
I hope this is a labor of love for you two. From where we, the land locked, are standing even all the chores, maintenance and problem solving sounds like great adventure. I can hear your super sweet voices embracing each other with patience and encouragement as you face the unexpected (tee hee)
Hugs and Smiles to you both. You inspire us. We think of you often.
Thanks Kim. Yeah, Kathy insisted on buying that plunger in California. It was used for the first time almost 6000 miles later. It works, though (I’m talking from the wearer’s perspective; my opinion as launderer will have to wait until the next batch).
Juan,
Maybe there is a software fix for the saildrive fouling bits problem.
I know that in many, if not most, instances the trouble does not lie in the hardware.
Continue have a terrific journey and as always thanks for bringing us along!
R & B
The prescribed temporary solution until we haul the boat out: brush every two weeks. Sigh.