Before leaving the Abacos we still had a few items on the list- like lunch at Hope Town Inn & Marina. A few years ago they completed a major overhaul, adding pretty villas, a resort-like dining area and a swim-up pool bar.

As with all resort dining in the Bahamas, the food quality and service is generally excellent. Some places even have reasonable prices, and of course easy access by dinghy.

 

Tuesday found us in one of our favorite places, Little Harbour. Pete’s wasn’t open (maybe that was a good thing). They celebrate their 50^th birthday later in January. Wow- everyone will have a blast I’m sure 🙂

The channel into the harbor from the Sea of Abaco (see photo of chart in prior posting) is narrow and shallow. Many boats can’t enter even at high tide. We happened to get there right about high tide just ahead of a sail cat, trawler and a couple of monohulls who were traveling buddies. One comes in no problem but I looked back and saw the other sitting in the channel, then goes sideways. Uh oh. Turns out the towed dinghy misbehaved; the long painter line getting wrapped around the rudder when the captain slowed way down. One reason we never tow ours.

Several – ok 12-15 salty sailors headed south on Monday Jan 16; seas 6-8ft, ENE 15kts+. They had an exhilarating sail for sure; we heard later it was quite the ride. In our compact power kitty we like much smaller numbers, so we and others (all sails) headed out Wednesday in 2ft swells that diminished to nothing as the day wore on.

The fishing report for Wed: Nadda. No nibbles no sightings.

The forecast promised 4, count them, FOUR days of benign traveling conditions, one day of moderate south winds, then a nasty sounding Low pressure system would arrive. If we averaged 53nm/day, that’d get us to George Town Saturday afternoon. Totally doable and we could even stop for fuel at Highbourne Cay, then for laundry and Mom’s coconut bread in Black Point.

Day #2: Thursday Jan 19. Fishing report: one too large to keep barracuda early on before reaching Fleeming Channel. In the spirit of full disclosure I have to admit we made a error in that we came to a stop which allowed the active fish to get tangled around our rudder. Sound sorta familiar? All ended well thankfully, but a line tangled around a prop would ruin our day. We then discussed how to do better next time- cuz what if it’s a fish we want!?

Precious few boats along the way, but naturally we had to alter course to allow the trawler to continue on his chosen path.

By 4:30 we reached our intended destination: Shroud Cay in the Land and Sea Park. Room to anchor with good holding in 6-8ft. A calm and pretty anchorage we shared with one other shoal draft boat.

Day #3- Friday- another picture perfect day. Shroud Cay to Black Point.

I love being underway when the wind barely whispers and allows the water to lay still. The visibility is awesome and if you are looking and lucky you might be rewarded with underwater views without having to be in the water!  We came over a section that looked like a sea star nursery; 30-plus orange/red small sea stars scattered about on a bottom that looked a little different –must be the right nursery environment.

Black Point and what we call Little Bay, aka Castle Beach immediately around the southern point are two “must-stops” for me. The harbor looked rather empty, likely due to the impending weather, yet one vessel anchored near Rockside Laundry caught our interest. Why yes, another PDQ family member!

The laundry is an excellent place to meet other cruisers and this time was no exception. We still wanted to beach comb (Ok, I did) and when Soulstice came later to Little Bay we got together to finish learning as much about one another as humanly possible.  Oh don’t worry, we did not leave Black Point without Mom’s coconut bread!!

Day #4- Saturday Jan 21^st: Amazingly the forecast held for low SE winds.  This was a good thing, since we planned to trail a line when out in Exuma Sound after leaving the banks side at Farmers Cut. Speed just shy of 7kts, and less than one hour in the Sound- zzziiiinggg!!! The yellow/green color screamed Mahi and so it was. But just not aboard our vessel. The photo below proves we did hook her.

She jumped and zoomed around, mostly toward our port side. We did well, Russ calling out, “Neutral, forward (throttles just in gear, with no speed), go right or straight” as required, to get her reeled in and not wrapped on that prop! With fish of a certain size, my help is needed at the stern, so I leave the helm, throttles in neutral and this is why I want to fish on calm days. Russ has her gaffed and the hook is still in. He’s got her pulled up to the lifelines and has me pour in some rubbing alcohol. Another lesson learned: don’t pour a drink until the guest is fully on deck!  She acted like it was a firecracker; jumped off the gaff, dislodging the hook and flung herself back into Exuma Sound. That would have made a fantastic video, but as you can see we often need a third person for the good stuff. 🙂

A short time later Russ landed a SkipJack tuna, ensuring at least one fresh catch dinner.  Still only half way to George Town, let’s keep fishing! Sigh.

One easy chore needed doing so I sent Russ below so he’d get a break from helm duty. I hear a loud splash and look left, about 50ft off our port side. A flash of yellow/green streaks toward our stern just below the surface. I rush into the salon to warn Russ of a possible “Fish on!” and then ZZZIIIIINNNNGGGG. I’m starting to feel like Pavlov’s darn dog: hear the sound, shout Fish On, take the wheel, (being sure to stop Autopilot) and follow instructions. I now “get” the excitement of catching dinner, plus gotta get our money’s worth buying the rod, reel, line, lures, hooks, weights, gaff, net, hook puller, gloves. Sure beats the Cuban yoyo we used to have; I’d always worry we’d catch more than we could handle. We still have one yoyo and sometimes we attach it at the port stern for two lines in.

This guy puts up a good fight and we spent at least 15mins getting him aboard. This time when Russ had him on the gaff and pulled up we undid the top line of the side gate and very slowly pulled him on to deck. We skipped the booze for the fish; but we sure wanted a celebration libation! I mean I never imagined we’d be so successful at a time when the Mahi aren’t schooling. Come March the Mahi are schooling and you can easily catch several all about the same size. We saw that last March at Staniel Cay when there for Russ’s birthday.

Once tucked in at RedShanks, Russ began the next step, but did he need help? Nah, just go for it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above is our anchor drag alarm app in use. You set it using the “anchor down” symbol when you drop the hook. Then set the alarm distance and that’s your circle. If the boat goes out of the circle, the alarm sounds. So far the only times it’s sounded is when we forget to turn it off when leaving an anchorage.  Our Ultra anchor has been worth every penny so far.

Once the winds backed down we expected another 4-5 day stretch of near perfect weather, just the thing to allow us to move up and over to Monument Beach on Stocking Island. And who might we meet there?? Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

So who are these guys you ask?  Benj our 24-yr-old son, Pete’s Pub and Bar Jack the fish who came to dinner!  New Year’s Day was our long-awaited day, for our son would fly in from the cold VT northlands. How wonderful to see him walking down the dock (he got to the marina fast!) and collect that huge hug that time apart makes so necessary. I’d spent days baking and menu planning and praying the weather would cooperate.  Russ assembled his new fishing gear.

We dined on a lobster dish since Benj doesn’t get much seafood in VT, exchanged tiny Christmas gifts and basically basked in the joy of being together.

Have you heard of Bees Wrap? It’s a reusable, washable food wrap. Billed as sustainable food storage, the large size is 13″x14″ and comes folded in a thin cardboard envelope. Made in Vermont of course.  Smells wonderful too!

Tops on the “while I am here” list was Pete’s Pub and fishing, with paddle boarding and exploring close behind. Monday was a bit brisk but we decided to head down to Little Harbour to get started off on the right foot- well, the right beach bar anyway.

We like to save a project for Benj to help with; another tradition thing. This time, instead of sending our son up a 60 ft mast we sent him into the water to change the zincs. Sometimes “zincs” are made of aluminum but we still call them “zincs”.  We put new ones on when hauled out in September and you can see from the one on the right what it looks like now.

They sure do their job, which is to protect the propeller and shaft from electrolysis.

Tuesday Benj & I walked over to the beach- had my sea glass baggies but no photo device. I collected a decent handful but Benj landed a fresh off-the-tree coconut. We like when he provides add’l food!  The tall palm had several coconuts laying on the ground but also several ripe ones still attached. In Skee-ball like fashion, he knocks one down on the second try and voila! We have fresh coconut.

Along the road back to the harbor we hear squawking sounds and yep, sure enough, a large flock of Abaco Green Parrots is hanging out in a small pine grove, taking cover in the palm trees and bushes as we inch closer. What a treat to see them up close and personal.

Earlier we’d seen a remora swimming around the boat. He/She appeared again when we tossed the coconut husk pieces in the water. I tried to get a decent shot while kneeling under the stern seat.

The fishing gear got readied and inspected, while I tried to think positive thoughts about venturing out the cut to fish offshore. The guys went out in the dinghy- just out of the harbor- to test out the gear and prime the need-to-fish pump!

Wednesday morning was good enough to venture out, so we did. Going out one cut, means you have to come in. That worked out well as Mr Bahamas Runner took a nibble and we reeled him in just before we were about to head back in at North Bar.

Same as with the coconut, Benj prepares the fish for eating.

 

 

Now- cue the Jaws theme and yes! It’s a shark fin moving through the shallows about 5 yds next to us. We all agreed, shark- color, movement looked right, and the book listed at least two possibles for our area.
Let’s see, another blessed low wind day; what shall we do?  Have bait, will fish. The best part, once again did not get photographed; we saw several nurse sharks resting in sandy patches between what was mostly all grassy bottom, on our way out. Maybe the remora needs to leave Little Harbour to find a host.

A bite but no catch. Dolphins though, but not the usual variety.

We came back in at Tilloo Cut which is right at Tahiti Beach with a couple of teeny cays alongside as you enter and turn left. Very scenic.

 

 

A quick lunch aboard then we moved up a mile to anchor off Firefly Resort. Yes, we made it to Firefly for dinner that night!  The next morning, Friday, rather than move the big boat back down to Tahiti Beach Russ ferried us in the dinghy. Me first, then Benj with the paddle board.

 

 

And what do you know, another lovely low wind day. By this time I was with the fishing program and actually looking forward to a leisurely (one engine speed 4kts) trip up and around Elbow Cay, entering back in to the Sea of Abaco at North Man o’ War cut. Unfortunately the fish weren’t biting at all.

Seeing Elbow Cay from the outside was a new one for us and after coming in the cut by Man o’ War Cay we had now used three new cuts for a total of four; the only ones we would ever use because Whale Cay cut as you may recall, is one we will never use.

Every morning at 8:15 is the Abaco Cruisers’ Net: weather, Sea of Abaco conditions, cut conditions, community, invitations (local businesses/restaurants), open mic.  The cut conditions are often rated 1- 5, with 5 being the best. I give each one we used between Wednesday and Friday, a Fantastic 5.  Trauma or turbulent 2 or even a Tempting 3 – no way do we do the cuts then.

A cold front would arrive late Saturday so we ended up in Hope Town, on the same mooring as 10 years ago when we chartered a Maine Cat 41 through Cap’n Ron (Abaco Multihull Charters).

Saturday we packed in as much as possible; farm market, walk through town, a visit to Om Grown Greens, beach walk and a late afternoon lighthouse tour.

These organically grown sprouts, shoots and micro greens began as a personal endeavor and grew into a small business. Om Grown provides their freshies to a handful of grocery stores in the Northwest Bahamas. Every other Saturday they are the main attraction at the tiny farmers market in Hope Town. More great timing for us as now we could stock up (they make a delicious sunflower sprout pasta salad with thick spaghetti, EVOO & garlic) and Benj could farm chat. The owners invited us to see their operation, so we stopped on our way to lunch at On Da Beach.

Perfect timing also, to see the action at the lighthouse. In addition to the window re-glazing, an expert had been called in to assist and instruct on how to overhaul, clean and maintain the kerosene system, which hadn’t been done in decades.  While the kerosene lantern was out of commission during this time, a large light-bulb filled in.

Sunday found us snug aboard all day, the wind howling and the temps dropping to mid-60s. Monday Benj took the ferry over to Marsh Harbour, ending up safely and uneventfully back in Vermont later that night.

We would linger another 5 days in Hope Town before heading the few miles over to Marsh to stock up. Tuesday, January 17 we’d head back down to Little Harbour to stage for departing the Abacos Wednesday morning.  Exumas bound- see you there!!