ACKLINS EXPLORATION

We have lived the gypsy life the past week exploring Long Cay, AlbertTown, Camel Point, Datum Bay, Acklins and today we are headed to French Wells.
The winds have continued to be strong in the 20-30k range from the E/SE which has made for beautiful sailing with very little motoring which is the way we love to do things.
The Byte of Acklins live up to their reputation in our Explorer chart books of being remote and not a particularly favorable cruising ground because
of the low water depth. Yesterday we had to stop enroute to Datum Bay and drop anchor for several hours. The water depth 6.2 ft and at many times we were
bumping along instead of sailing along. We need 5 ft. of water in order to stay afloat; so we had a nice lunch and a nap and waited till the tide started
to rise. The boat has been getting a good fresh water bath this week with the frequent rain storms which are mostly in the evening which is fine with us.
The days however have also been a bit overcast which causes concern for us because we like to use our solar instead of our generator or diesel engine to recharge with.
Sometimes our evening are not as peaceful as we would like with the generator providing our background "music" if you can call it that. Fortunately we have headphone for our ipod and I have my keyboard with headphones so we do have options.

The towns here are very small. The grocery store; if there is one on the island consists of about 150 items at most and to our standards looks like a house in disrepair.
However we make a point of visiting the store as the store owners are VERY FRIENDLY and know alot about the islands. We are also finding that it is a VERY SMALL World in the Acklins as many of the islanders seems to be related. The Acklins certainly maintains their reputation for being extremely friendly people. Hitchhiking here is no problem in fact you don't even have to put out your thumb; they stop and ask if you want a ride. Ed and Pete enjoyed a ride in the back of a pickup on Wednesday in Spring Point which is the town near Camel Point in Delectable Bay where we anchored. Dee and I rode in the cab and had a very interesting chat with Ferguson(45 yrs) about the resort he has been trying to build for the past 5 years alone, harvesting cascarilla tree and exporting to Europe for the making of root beer, perfume, cigarettes and to sweeten foods. We were thrilled to visit the local store and talk with some of the children who all wear uniforms to school and say "Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am", they are very polite. I like to question the children as to their georgraphy knowledge of the location of Oregon; it is surpising but very few know where it is but they usually know about California.

We spent a nice night in Datum Bay before heading north to French Wells at the southern end of Crooked Island. The wind angle was perfect such that with 15-20 knots of wind we averaged 7K with highs of 8.2K. Whooeee! As we passed Albert Town on Long Cay the fishing reel made that sound as a fish began stripping line. After about 15 minutes we had a 44" MahiMahi along side. It was a terrific iridescent blue color which changed when we brought it on deck. We've enjoyed several meals already, including one with Pete and Dee, the rest is in the freezer.

We made such good time that we anchored outside of the French Wells cut waiting for the tide. Pete and Dee made it in with no problem however we went a little off and wound up on the sandbar which required us to take down the dinghy to help push us to deeper water. Finally, we were free, went through to the anchorage which had high current and poor holding so we went back out and anchored in sand offshore. In sand we trust our anchors no matter the type they all hold.

Today we dinghied up Turtle Bay Sound following the stakes to a little dock where we decided to not walk the 2 miles to the settlement and not continue all the way into Turtle Bay because the tide was starting to turn and parts of the "trail" are only a couple feet deep which not being from around these here parts concerned us. We saw mangroves, tropical birds and had a beautiful ride. We then stopped at the beach and walked for about an hour before heading home for an early dinner of MahiMahi. Later we went back to the beach for a little rock etching to put our names with others at the rock pile. We also followed a cairn trail and found a well. We didn't see pollywogs because it was getting dark but they are a sign of good water. We watched the sunset on the beach and that was it for 3-9-2009.

The agenda for tomorrow is some snorkeling followed by moving the boat about 8 miles north to Landrail Point on Crooked Islands northwest shore.

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Feb 28, 2009

One more day and grouper season opens. We are on the way to the Acklins, a group of three including Long Cay, Crooked and Acklin Islands. They are considered "out islands" given their remoteness from the major chains. We hope that their reputation for snorkeling results in many fish dinners. Rest assured we will be trying for more fish and lobster, something we haven't done since returning to Long Island from the Ragged Islands and Jumento Cays about 10 days ago.

While in the Ragged Island our dinghy tried to escape on its own; it was 9:00 pm when we realized that it was no longer tied to the back of the boat. Ann had decided to take it to the beach for a 8:00pm walk but the engine wouldn't start so I pulled her in and failed to notice that the line was just tossed around the cleat instead of being secured down. Fortunately the evening had little wind and we had the help of our 3 other boating friends and located it in about 10 min. It is frightening thinking of not having your vehicle that enables trips to other boats and to shore for walks and breaks from the boat. There are many advantages to traveling in a group; you really depend on others and they also depend on you.

Our stay at Long Island has been eye opening in that this island has a great mixture of supplies and remoteness. We've toured the island by car with Pete and Dee from WindLass seeing great churches in Clarence Town and the Columbus Monument at the north end. At the south end we took a tour of Hamilton Caves which was very interesting. Ann especially enjoyed the bats, cochroaches and termites that we saw; there were many shrill sounds coming from her. Today and yesterday we moved from the salt pond area around the great shallow areas west of the island to the southwest corner. Tomorrow we will push on to the Acklins. We plan to continue traveling toward the Turks and Caicos providing that the weather cooperates and our boat is ready and willing. It is hard to believe we have been gone for 3 months. We will probably be back to Oregon the middle of May.

While in Thompson Bay, Long Island we are sorry we have been remiss in doing blog enteries. We have been busy catching up with friends, doing laundry, going to restaurants,updating our accounts and taking care of business via internet, doing boat projects like varnishing the teak and reprovisioning our food supply with fresh fruits and vegetables and getting gas for the dinghy, diesel fuel and water. We actually spent more last month for water than fuel. Water was .30/gal and we needed 120 gallons. We managed to use only 4 gallons of water a day while in the remote Ragged Is and Jumentos. It is also amazing what you can make with canned foods. Ann can be a very creative cook using salsa and a can of corn along with some leftovers to make soup and it was very good. Very little food goes to waste on the boat.

Yesterday we arrived at Dollar Harbor, a little sheltered area in the middle of tidal flats, at dead low tide and were unable to enter. We then continued a little farther and anchored out against the shore. Today we continued on towards South Point where we anchored about noon after starting at 6AM. The reason we started so early is that we were concerned that the weather might change forcing us to continue all day to the Acklins which we were prepared to do given the early start. We received the forecast via SSB enroute and decided to stay overnight. The wind is expected to begin clocking (a clockwise rotation) mid-day Sunday which will be just fine for our trip to the Acklins (they lie southeast of Long Island) but would not be good for this anchorage. We have these type of little decisions quite frequently.

Beachcombing today yielded many pretty shells and a sighting of 7 flamingos and a man catching and releasing 3 bone-fish and he was a fishing guide on the Deschutes River in Bend; what is the chance of that! The beach was otherwise deserted until some folks showed up with 3 ATVs from the town of South Point. Otherwise it was paradise.

Our weather has been pretty mixed with some rain which the islanders need for recharging their cisterns and watering their plants. We've had a lot of wind lately in the 20 knot range which kicks up the seas such that people tend to stay put which is fine. Ann organized a great beach party in Thompson Bay, Long Island which was attended by about 50 people. We have made so many friends that we will see on and off as long as we are cruising.

Yesterday we said goodbye to two boats we cruised with from Georgetown to the Ragged Islands and Jumentos for the past 31/2 weeks and Long Island, plus another boat we had met in Normans Cay and shared an day of snorkeling and cleaning conch; we met up with again in Long Island. Plus there were other friends we had met up with in other places. So currently we are cruising with WindLass, Pete and Dee who we met last year and met up with in Georgetown. They had met two other boats near Key West and made the crossing to Nassau together and traveled together from mid Dec. until now. It is hard leaving people behind but we keep up with some people through our single side band on a station called Cruiseheimers at 8:30 every morning and we can keep track of other boating friends along with making contact with them through the net. Ann is the primary user of this connection; she has also been the one getting up at 6:30 am to listen to the weather reports from the guru Chris Parker.

So what else do we do, you might ask. Ann is quite the baker and has taught other cruising ladies the fine skills in bread baking, caramel roll creation plus learned to make tortillas from another friend. Ann also enjoys attending the local church service and getting to know the owners of the restaurants and people in the town. Any new person seems to be a friend quickly with her. We also have dominoes and dessert here frequently; she has earned quite a reputation as a baker. Dominoes is the main game but the other night we had a singing contest with the judging based on team effort and lyric knowledge, surprisingly the quality was not horrible. Nearly every night we get together with other boaters. It is amazing that the people at home that we have lived next to for 20 years have never shared a drink or meal with us. H..ere we know people for 2 hours and we get together with them; just a different way of life. We have also found that our cabin makes a sweet dance floor for two, very romantic! It is quite amazing this life without the big screen and cable, we tend to read and interact with others instead of gluing our eyes to the newscasts and sitcoms. I think we are more content not knowing what is going on in the states; ignorance is bliss. We enjoy hearing personal news from home so don't hesitate to email us. We can't always respond quickly but will do the best we can.

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Feb. 8-Racoon Cay-House Bay

We moved to the other side of Raccoon Cay to House Bay to gain protection from the 16 kph east winds. We are still traveling with 3 other boats, WindLass, Kokomo and Poco Loco. It is a nice calm bay that provides us with opportunities to work on boat projects; including varnishing, shining stainless steel, doing laundry by hand in very minimum water and our usual cooking. We carry 150 gallons of water using about 3 per day. Ed and I are also cutting each others hair. With the remoteness of these islands we are learning to do many things and depend on

We enjoyed a hike on Raccoon Cay yesterday venturing to the ocean side of the island to observe the 6-8 foot waves and thankful to be in our bay. I'm learning to hunt for hamburger and heart beans. I also look for palm fronds so I can continue my basket weaving. Wow do baskets take a long time to weave. I'm also enjoying doing some cake baking for our group evening gatherings to play dominoes, exchange books, watch a movie or just visit and watch the sunset.

Snorkeling has been an event almost daily for the past 4 days with Ed honing his hunting skills. No longer is he satisfied with his mole catching abilities but he is now a food provider. I also participated in the food capturing.
We both really enjoy lobster which lurk in the holes around reefs. Ed is very adept at diving and peering into the holes or spotting an antenna protruding from a rock and uses his Hawaiian Sling to spearfish. Normally I'm a bystander but yesterday as a very large lobster was escaping from the other side of the reef I alerted my hunter and he brought up the lobster. He caught 3 lobster yesterday. He now has the title of "Great Hunter" in the group of 3 other boats that we are traveling with.

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Man of War Bay, Nairn Cay

2-03-09
We moved over from Double Breasted Cay this morning due to the forecast for north winds as did 8 other boats. This is one of the few anchorages protected in north quadrant winds which we expected today and especially tomorrow. Indeed the wind has shifted to 330 degrees, tomorrow we expect 15-20K winds.

We snorkeled today. I said that I would not spear any fish today, that i was only after lobster but, my resolve melted when I spotted a nice hogfish, said to be "outstanding" and possibly one of the best fishes anywhere. Yesterday I speared, or should I say slung speared, a nice margate which is rated "good" for flavor having somewhat a fishy taste. We had it for two meals today so you know it was not too bad. Tomorrow we will eat the hogfish. Mmmmm.

The area we snorkeled today had a forest of elkhorn coral (resembles antlers) and there was a carpet of 6-9" yellow grunt plus myriad other species. It was fantastic and we are enthused to go out again tomorrow.

2-01-09 Ragged Island
We went to a superbowl party at a bonefishing lodge they are building in Duncan Town. We had no idea that there would be so many people and so much good food (lobster, conch, chicken) plus munchies bought by the cruisers. It was a great game too. We got back to the boat around 10:30, one of the locals lived near the dinghy beach and gave us a ride. No one would let us walk to or from, they simply go out of their way to make us feel welcome.

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Duncan Town, Southside Bay

We moved to Southside Bay, Ragged Island (22d10'N,75d43.5'W) on the 29th anticipating a cold front (temps in the high 60s) bringing north winds of 25K on Saturday the 31st of January. This is one of the few places in the Jumentos and Ragged Islands offering protection from the north and east though not from the south and west.

Duncan Town has about 70 folk and it is unclear how they support themselves except for the 10 or so people we've met who fish or run the restaurant and grocery store. The all-age school has a husband-wife team from Guyana who have been here for six years. We were able to use their wi-fi and computers. It seems as if Dell contributed older model computers maybe three years ago. The setup was very nice, more typical of a US library rather than a poor remote fishing village. The basketball backboard was missing the right half, the basketball court right side is all rubble, they are awaiting cement. Still, the people are welcoming, sweet and cheerful.

We walked the 1.5 miles to town for groceries, Sheila's restaurant and use of the internet. There is another cold front expected Tuesday so we will probably be here until Wednesday. We will probably go into town Sunday for the Super Bowl. Some guys are working on a bone-fishing lodge and have a large screen TV.

Meanwhile, we continue to hike the beaches, snorkel, read and watch movies. I guess writing this blog is another way to pass the time. I also have boat chores to do. I am refinishing some of the woodwork plus maintenance coating wood that I refinished last year.

The north winds are here and building as I write but should be done with in the afternoon before going east for a few days. Enjoy.

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1-27-09

1-25-09
We sailed south to the Ragged Islands into Raccoon Cay where we stayed for a couple of days enjoying snorkeling, hikes and the company of our friends.

One set of friends are from last year and we've stayed in touch with them. They met up with two other boats in Marathon, Florida and crossed into the Bahamas and have sailed together since. We joined them in Georgetown, Bahamas as did the fourth boat. It's nice traveling with others, especially when they are familiar with the best spots. Last night we did a turkey dinner together.

Ed has yet to spear a lobster though not from lack of trying. Yesterday he missed a point blank shot and then the lobster retreated to deep into his hole. Today he speared a couple of small reef fish, yellowtail snappers. These were his first victims, he is going after larger game from now on.

1-28-08
We moved down to Hog Cay, about 12 miles by boat due to shoals but really only about 5 miles southeast of Raccoon. Friday we need to be in an anchorage giving north wind protection and so will move again either tomorrow or Friday. Winds could go to 30K early Saturday after clocking (that is clockwise wind shift) from east today, south and west on Friday.

Ed has caught four good size barracuda which we did not keep but we probably will keep the next one. They are good eating and the locals say there is no problem with ciguatera. They question are sanity for not keeping them!

A beautiful day, 80 degrees, 15K winds and perfectly clear. It's nice that the winds have calmed a bit or maybe we're getting some wind break from the cay. Sweet!

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1-25-2009

1-23-2009
Long Island seems pretty interesting although we only saw several stores and two restaurants before leaving for the Jumento Cays and Ragged Islands. The island is about 95 miles in length with population spread over the entire length but only about 1 mile wide.

The stores were well stocked and nice. Ed was able to buy two new dinghy plugs after dropping one in unclear water and finding that the spare did not fit well.

We went out for family style Bahamian food: conch fritters, mac&cheese (baked to a cake consistency), rice&beans, ribs, chicken, potato salad and a cash bar. There were also three other boats, two with young children on a four year trip, plus a Nova Scotia couple. It was great fun walking the path to and from the beach to the dirt road to the paved road to the restaurant and the normal night time dinghy ride (no moon). We were all prepared with flashlights. It is easy to find our boat at night because we run a string of Christmas lights (LEDs), otherwise you look at the anchored boats and guess.

1-24-2009
7:30 departure for the Jumento Cays, 43nm at 6k = 7hrs. The wind was very light and at our backs making for motor sailing the entire way. We sure hope tomorrow will be better as we have the same distance to the Ragged Islands. (An island is something bigger, maybe 5 square miles, versus a Cay being bigger than a rock). Islands usually offer better protection options too for anchorages.

Ed caught two barracuda but returned them because we do not know whether they have cigautera poisoning in this area. Certain reef fish and their predators can contain this toxin. Maybe we will catch something tomorrow as we run along the Jumentos.

The clevis pin at the clue of the mainsail fell out yesterday, no great trauma as the winds were very light. Ed thinks he forgot the cotter pin in his rush to put the sail on after the sail repair and depart from Nassau. Ed has put in a bolt with aircraft nut temporarily. He saves all kinds of nuts, bolts and screws besides buying two of things when he gets replacements.

Water Cay, Jumentos is a cute little anchorage with good sand but somewhat rolly. Also, fisherman clean their catches nearby so it's not a great place to snorkel unless you like sharkes. We think we will wait.

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