Same but Different – Soldier Cay, Berry Islands

We sail south next day to play at Soldier Cay, one of D and my favorite places.  We were here in 1998 on Ceilidh, 1999 on Tough Decision, 2011 and 2015 on Fly Away.  The seasons and tides and weather can make the same destination different each visit.  

We dinghy to Hoffman’s Cay Blue Hole and meet up with a family visiting Great Harbour, Sandy Dixon from Georgia and his guests from California. Sandy owns a place in Great Harbour so he was a huge source of information. He told us of the progress at Bond’s Cay, now a bar and some cottages.  There are 3 kids, 9-13 years old, and the 2 older jump right in from the 15 foot ledge after both parents. The youngest wasn’t quite ready, but tried so hard she cried.  

Hoffman's  Cay Blue Hole

We dinghied around the island and seas were calm.  We saw the clearest water and beautiful coral reefs with gorgeous elkhorn coral reaching up from the depths next to crystal blue water and white sandy bottom. It’s so pristine, very rare for tourist to dive here.  Usually, just fisherman for lobster, conch, and fish.

The Rock on east coast of Hoffman's Cay

The next day we go to Ambergris Cay, a shallow banks cay that can only be accessed by dinghy. We go to a rock that is 15 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. It always has the prettiest aquarium of fish around it.  Today the tide is high and we are able to dinghy the whole way. The tide is rushing out at 5 knots so we can’t snorkel. The water is clear enough to see sting rays and a small nurse shark.  Jean and Gordy have a glass bottom bucket to see under the surface. 

We continue south and anchor at Alder’s Cay where we saw a spectacular cave and blow hole.

Cave at Alder's Cay with water from the blow hole making mini-waterfalls

Great Stirrup Cay, Berry Islands

In January we move from Great Harbour Cay to Great Stirrup Cay, continuing south down the Berry Islands. We motor into large swells and waves in the Northwest Providence Channel, the big water south of Grand Bahamas. We turn east and can set the head sail and have a wonderful four mile sail into the Great Stirrup Cay anchorage under the white light house. 

Seas of the Northwest Providence Channel

White light house of Great Stirrup Cay

Fly Away in the blue waters of the anchorage

We explore the island owned by Norwegian cruise lines as much as allowed. There are no ships in today, but we watched them come and go from Great Harbour. We saw the tiki village, palm trees and beaches, and rows of chaise lounges. A perfect island get away. We dinghy to shore and take the path to the working but rundown lighthouse, and then along the beach where I find milk conch shells and iguana tracks. We hike into the brush, mosquito alert, and emerge on a beautiful beach cove on the tip of the island. 

We find a deserted beach on the tip of the island

The deserted beach with 2 oyster catchers on coral rocks

We look up to see a frigate bird soaring low

Fair Winds sails with 2 cruise ships 

and light house behind

Fair Winds races on a downwind leg to Soldier Cay

Pool Party!! Happy New Year!!

Anchored in crystal emerald waters of the Berry Islands on the first day of 2016, Fair Winds and Fly Away decide to have a pool party because the water is just too delicious. But where, our pool or theirs?  We invite Jean and Gordon to raft up with us and swim in ‘our’ pool.

Crystal blue waters of Great Harbour Cay

We have crossed the bank from Bimini with strong east and southeast winds, beating all the way.  It was ok the first night just west of Gun Cay, but the second night was rough and hard to rest. So we focused on getting across the bank to a calm anchorage.  We motor sailed into the wind striving and driving to the Northwest Channel where we will decide to go 15 miles to Chub Cay, Berry Islands, or 20 miles to Morgan’s Bluff, Andros.  Then D notices that if we go north we will head to Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands, a fabulous destination! The same distance and the sail will be more comfortable. 

D finds a huge starfish

Back at the anchorage, we swim in our pool and find huge star fish, much to Jeannie’s delight.  We see sea cucumbers and crabs come out to watch Gordon clean his boat bottom. No fish or sharks, sting rays or barracuda, so it’s an ideal pool for me!

Wahoo steaks and lobster for New Year's day raft up

We grill wahoo steaks that D and Gordon got from a sport fisherman and guide in Bimini. We grill and steam lobster tails for Jean and me so we can taste test the difference.  Both were delicious we agreed.  I thought the grilled lobster had better flavor and the steamed lobster were moister.

   

What a way to start the New Year!  Happy New Year to all, health and happiness throughout the year.

Celebrating Christmas in Bimini

Christmas in Bimini with palm frond tree

Christmas tree lasts through new year and beyond

Photo Gallery

Cat Cay (photo by Jean)

Gun Cay lighthouse (photo by Jean)

Sunrise at Bimini Blue Water Marina (photo by Gordon)

D dinghies past Gun Cay lighthouse (b&w photo by Gordon)

Coral arches on Gun Cay

Hiking Gun Cay coral shores

Jean hooks a lemon shark off the coast of Bimini (photo by Jean)

Hermit crab on Great Stirrup Cay (photo by Jean)

Flat rocks of Great Harbour Cay beaches (photo by Jean)

Fly Away at sunset in Great Harbour Cay anchorage (photo by Jean)

Bimini - Time to Explore

Bimini is the western most Bahamian Island only 50 miles east of Miami.  Bimini Islands include North, East, and South Biminis, Gun Cay, Cat Cay, and a chain of rocks running north to south bordering the Gulf Stream. 

Bimini blue waters

North Bimini is 7 miles long and about ½ mile wide. It has 2 main roads – Kings Highway (the low road) and Queens Highway (the high road) – named from times of British rule.  Small, but the island has just about everything that a larger island might have. We see supply boats with fuel, construction materials, and food all arrive when the weather clears. When weather prevents delivery, the island goes without!  3 days without gas, no onions or eggs to be had.    

Conch shells 

We stay in North Bimini because Jean and I have a flight out in December to the US.  She to visit her mother who turned 98 November 30 and me to visit my cats in Maine. Gordon and D will stay with the boats in Bimini.

December weather is typically northern front after northern front from the US and this December seems to be typical, so it is prudent to stay close because weather may prevent you from moving from harbor to harbor. We get a slip at the Bimini Blue Water Marina with easy access to the airport in South Bimini.  Gordon and D will continue to stay there until we return and continue our passages east and south.

We start exploring Bimini by foot, then by bike, after clearing into the Bahamas officially with Customs and immigration.  We visit the Bimini General Hardware Store, a chandlery, on the south end of the island, and up to CJ’s deli for lunch, where the flies outside were awful, but none inside with the food.  We walk to Barbara’s for bread and she has 2 loaves for us.  Then onto Roberts’ grocery and up to Bimini World Resorts to check on the ferry schedule to US, and back to the boat. We ride the ferry to South Bimini, catch a shuttle bus driven by BIG to check out the airport transportation and schedules. It’s a day of orientation and exploration.

Fold a bikes touring the island 

We visit the Office of Tourism, the Craft Center and read the historic posters to learn more about tour new home, but the real history lesson is meeting Ashley Saunders at his Dolphin House. A native Biminite, his family in Bimini for 5 generations, Ashley is a teacher, educated in the US at University of Wisconsin, Madison and attended Harvard. He has written 2 volumes of Bimini history complete with lots of pictures and local information.  He gives us a tour of his home he built and is expanding to a third floor. It’s got 41 dolphins of all kinds of creative artistic displays. It is whimsical, colorful, unique, and it’s made of materials from the sea and things found on the beach - tiles, glass, shells, bottles and other sea trash.  He spends lots of time with us and answers all our question. A must do for any visitor. His brother, Tom, a dapper dresser shows us his ‘life of conch’ display.  He said he is at the third from the bottom stage of life.

Ashley Saunders gives us a tour of the Dolphin House

Inside is more whimsical artwork

Tom Saunders displays his "Life of Conch"

We celebrate the full moon by walking to the beach for sunset over the Atlantic. We have some rum, John Watling’s Buena Vista sipping rum, and Georgette’s Amazing Biscotti.  Then we turn west to see the globe of the full rising over Bimini Bay. Amazing. Life is good!

When the weather improves we explore by dinghy.  We go north up Bimini Bay and around to East Bimini where a deep creek cuts through the mangroves. Pristine and curvy it offers surprises – a deck overlooking a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr.!  Ansil Saunders, bonefish legend, boat builder and Ashley’s brother preaches at this deck and had taken MLK to this spot when he last visited before he was assassinated.  The Healing Hole is another creek leading to cold water, maybe spring, swimming hole.  We all swam and felt much better!! Then to the beaches of East Bimini where Jean finds a perfect milk conch and steps on the tail of a stingray! A very close encounter. Luckily, no barb, she suffered scratches though – back to the healing hole. Seriously, our greatest vulnerability to a happy cruise is our health.  We must be careful, no injuries or accidents especially when we are in remote places.  We return carefully over the shallow flats of Bimini Bay at low tide.

Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial in the mangroves

We spend Thanksgiving at Seaside Cafe where Gloria Rolle has cooked her little heart out. Jean and I have stuffed lobster with all the fixings while D and Gordon have turkey and ham.  The day after Thanksgiving we continue to give thanks with a shared dinner on the boat of smoked turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, and homemade toasted bread. We have much to be thankful for.     

Thanksgiving feast - we are so thankful!

With continued calm weather we go fishing on Fair Wind. Within 2 miles we are in 1000 feet of water! After 2 hours of trolling rods and outriggers, four lines altogether, with double hooked pre-rigged ballyhoo, Jean and I pull in 2 barracuda at the same time!  We release them. Daryl finds a sunken structure in 90 feet with lots of fish activity on the fish finder, so we switch to bottom fishing. I catch a trigger fish but little eating so we release it and it swims happily down into the deep.  I catch a small fish that gives gentle resistance then wham! It dives and my reel spins, I reel in, and it spins again.  Finally we get it to the surface all that is left is the head of a small snapper.  Most likely a shark hit it and ate it.  Next Jean catches a shark and fights it for 22 minutes then gives the rod to Gordon who fights it another 30 minutes until the shark swims under the boat and the line breaks. It was exciting – a lemon shark, 8 feet, 150 pounds! Still no dinner. We enjoy hot dogs on the grill with baked beans on Fair Winds with friends.  

A baby lemon shark at the Shark Lab

We snorkel the Sapona, a landmark for miles around.  It is a concrete rebar ship built during WWI when metal was scarce.  After the war it was not feasible for commercial use, so it was sold for the cost of shipping it away. Rumrunners in Bimini towed it from the US to Gun Cay where it was a warehouse for liquor during the Prohibition in the 1920s. They decided to tow it closer to Bimini and on the way it went aground on top of a Spanish galleon and has stayed since. Plans to make it a night club with a glass floor aquarium to see sharks never happened.  It has suffered practice bombing by the US military, several hurricanes, and now, graffiti.  It’s in 15 feet of water and rises about 20 above the water.  It is about 150 feet long.  The concrete has deteriorated and the rebar is exposed everywhere.  There are several compartments to swim through the holes in the side and we find lots of fishes.  There are many colorful tropicals, triggerfish, jelly fish, sting ray, barracuda.  D sees a grouper.  The water is beautiful as we fly back in our fast dinghies. 

Ruins of the Sapona

Back to the US for a visit and then east and south to the out islands of The Bahamas! 

The Crossing

It is only 50 miles from Florida to Bimini but the crossing is one of the most treacherous with the Gulf Stream current of 4 knots to the north and with all the freighter and cruise ship activity.  We pick our weather window carefully and cross with east southeast winds and seas 2-4 feet.  We watch continuously for big boat traffic. 

Leaving Key Biscayne - Bill Baggs State Park Lighthouse

Leaving at 4:30 pm planning for a 12-14 hour crossing, we arrive safely at Gun Cay to anchor on the west side.  We average 4 knots and log 48 nautical miles in 12 hours.  But we actually sailed 5-6 knots the whole crossing as we were going against the current.  We sailed 135 degrees most of the way and tracked 101 degrees straight to our destination! The current is ferocious.

Arriving in Bimini 

It’s great to be out on the open ocean as we sail with both sails, the jib and the main.  The waves build and the sun sets.  We have a half moon that lights our way. There are some dark clouds that affect our wind, but we see Orion clearly and the Big Dipper emerges. Cassiopeia is clear and we see the Seven Sisters.  It is not clear to the horizon, but lovely just the same. 

We immediately see 3 brightly lit cruise ships out of Miami. It is Saturday and one of the most frequent departure dates for cruise ships.  One of the ships is converging with us!  As it nears, Gordon identifies it as Disney Magic on his Automatic Information System (AIS) linked to his chartplotter.  Daryl calls the boat on VHF Channel 16 and the boat immediately responds to his call.  Daryl identifies our boat and asks if we are on their radar.  Disney navigator requests our position and Daryl responds with latitude and longitude. Disney navigator finds us on its systems and acknowledges our position, and advises it will clear us no problem.  Very cool.  We do the same thing with composite tug and barge, Galveston, and freighter, Pacuna J.  The Galveston actually thanked us and diverged from its path and gave us way. We must get an AIS system linked to our chartplotter!!

It was fun sailing with Fair Winds side by side.  Its profile in the setting sun and then the bright moon was beautiful to behold.  I was surprised at the amount of rocking and rolling it did in the 4-5 foot seas because it’s such a big boat. I guess we are all small out here.  We encountered one problem at sea.  Fair Winds battery voltage got so low some of its systems started to drop off.  Refrigeration and radar are 2 of the first systems. They went dark on navigation lights and moved up close to us for protection so other boats would see us. 

Before we knew it we were on the shores of Bimini and near the lighthouse at Gun Cay.  Time to rest and be grateful for another safe crossing.  

    

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)

Five days and 200 miles on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) take us from Titusville to Key Biscayne, where we plan to cross the Gulf Stream to Bimini.

Sailing Bliss

Fair Winds Sailing Partners

The ICW is a famous journey and destination for many sailors.  It changes from wide open water with small towns to a narrow channel with ultra-urban cities with lots of bridges.  The water changes from tannic brown to sea green.  As you go south you see incredible wealth, huge mansions and even huger yachts.  The guide book speaks of conspicuous consumption and you can see it left and right!  One mansion has a golden replica of Winged Victory in its front yard. The gardens, pools, lawn furniture, statues of amazing creativity – one has life sized giraffe statues, others have nautical themes, each one seems to outdo the previous.  Most have super yachts along their seawall. It is a different world! Still, all along are pristine wetlands that are environmentally protected public lands preserved for current and future generations to enjoy nature as it was. 

Huge mansions and huger yachts

Miami under one of many bridges

One of many Miami skylines

Miami - Emerald City of the ICW

Ultra Urban Residences

Pristine areas all along the ICW

Golden Winged Victory

We sailed a lot the first 3 days with an east northeast wind of 15-20 knots, sailing 5-6 knots. We actually had to reef the jib and did not need to use the main sail. This is what sailing in season is like! There are many boats going south and few (almost none) going north, much like I-95 with cars this time of year. Lots of big yachts and trawlers. Lots of sailboats.  We mostly motored the last 2 days because of 39 bridges! All fairly close, about 2-4 miles apart, and opening on a schedule that requires 6-7 knots which is faster than we typically go.  Fly Away hull speed is 6 knots! To go 7 knots lowers our stern and we take on water in the drains, not a lot and not bad, but not good either. 

Each bridge is unique – height, width, and design.  One bridge looks like a Disney castle and another bridge is ultra-modern like something in a futuristic James Bond movie.  Fly Away and Fair Winds travel well together for each bridge opening. One bridge is 55 feet and with tide level shows 54 foot clearance and Fair Winds is 55 feet above water so must wait for an opening while Fly Away at 47 feet tall can sail through.  That works because the next bridge is too far for us to reach if we wait, so Fair Winds motors faster and we meet up at the next bridge.  One other famous bridge is the Julia Tuttle, at 56 feet, Fair Winds must sail the side span not the center which has a lower clearance.  All ICW bridges that are fixed must be a minimum 65 feet but when the Tuttle was built the specs were transposed to 56! A serious uh-oh.

Fair Winds approaching Ocean Ave Bridge - Disney castles

Futuristic 17th Street Bridge

Fair Winds under side span of Julia Tuttle Bridge

We have good luck with anchorages along the way.  They are conveniently spaced and protected as we like to be anchored by 4:30 pm as sunset is 5:30 pm. Short days! We pulled off the ICW about ¼ mile just north of Sebastian Inlet, then anchored off Harbour Town Marina in Ft. Pierce (where we stayed coming in from Bimini in October).  The third night was huge protected anchorage at the north tip of Lake Worth and then we just pulled off ICW at Lake Lettuce in Boca Raton area.  (where Daryl’s phone popped out of his pocket and into the 12 foot water when we weighed anchor, ugh) Our last night of the ICW took us to Dinner Key a city marina where we planned to get a mooring ball, shower, do laundry, refill diesel and water, and go out to a restaurant to eat!  Unfortunately, it was so rough that Jean and Gordon couldn’t pick up the mooring and all the other boats were crashing and rocking.  So we checked with Coconut Grove Sailing Club where Jeff and Elise stayed for a few months on their cruise.  It’s well protected and has nice amenities, even a boat taxi service from your boat to shore and back. After not reaching them on phone or VHF radio, we motor to their dock to see if we can get a mooring.  Daryl rounds the last buoy marker to let me off at the dock, when, bamm! We go hard aground.  I take the boat hook and sure enough – it's shallow, feels like mud, not sand, not rock.  We rev the motor back and forth, fly a sail to heel over and then Gordie pulls us, but couldn’t get purchase, no luck.  Ugh, we continue to rock and pivot and about 20 minutes later success! Free!  So much for new bottom paint on the keel, but luckily, it is an all lead keel, and no permanent damage.   No Coconut Grove or Dinner Key for us, we motor 3 miles east to the safety and comfort of Key Biscayne.  It is a most pleasant anchorage. It is here that we discover that our 5’6” draft may not be able to navigate the approach to Angelfish Creek pass.  Angelfish Creek pass is the best position to cross to Bimini and maximize the Gulf Stream northerly current of 4 knots at the its apex.  So we decide to cross from Key Biscayne, and we reposition ourselves to the southern tip, at Bill Baggs State Park and No Name Harbor, and had a serendipitously nice day exploring by bike and hiked up the lighthouse, 42 stories.  

Bimini is approximately due east, so we won’t be sailing against the current, but we won’t be helped by it either.  Fair Winds is ok with the change as they can power across it better than we can.  We are monitoring the weather for a good window to cross and fortunately for us it seems to be favorable Friday to Sunday.  We plan to leave 4 pm Friday and arrive about 4-6 am Saturday morning. 

Looking forward to a safe crossing!

   

Back on Track

We leave Titusville Municipal Marina on Saturday, November 14, 2015, after three weeks of visiting the cats and house sitting for me and lots of completed projects for D.  We are headed south down the intracoastal waterway (ICW) to Angel Fish Creek, about 220 miles south, where we will catch the Gulf Stream and cross to Bimini and many other Bahama islands.  Our friends Gordon and Jean will be sailing on Fair Winds and joining us as we cross and enjoy the Bahamas.

I got to visit Cinnamon and Spice in Maine and house sit for friends Stu and Anne.  My cats are so lucky to get to stay in a Maine farmhouse with many rooms, levels, and windows; oh, the things that they see from those windows!  Stu and Anne are vacationing more often and longer in Florida easing into retirement from law and farming.  Their dog Casey and cat Sawks, along with my 2 cats, make it difficult for pet sitting for 2 weeks, so I offered and they accepted. The great thing about this trip was visiting with Anne and Stu before they left and having my good friend Laura come and enjoy the organic farm experience.  As always she was all in for the adventure as we took care of the cats and dogs, fed chickens, moved the chicken fence, picked broccoli and salad greens, walked the property and took a couple of day trips into Bucksport, Bangor, and Belfast.  Did I mention the lobster rolls? All in all, it was a mild and colorful fall trip.  Next I go back in December to do it again! 

D stayed and worked on the boat.  He got the bottom painted – sailed it to Cocoa, had it hauled, blocked, pressure washed, sanded, painted multiple coats, and sailed it back.  Then he found his old sail maker, South Sails, who made Ceilidh’s spinnaker, and had a new head sail made for Fly Away. Much needed and so beautiful.  He had it made with linen colored canvas cover.  He also did so many projects I will never be able to thank him enough – added lights to the cockpit, no more eating in the dark and guessing how much pepper you just sprinkled.  He replaced the fluorescent light over the refrigerator with a bright LED light, so much improved, you can even find the one thing in the very bottom of the fridge.  He built a new shelf for the v-berth making it more convenient and organized. He found a canvas maker to modify our main sail cover for winches. He polished the hull making Fly Away look years younger. 

We are back on track, and looking forward to the next leg of our open ended sail.