The Scafverse Goes to The Abacos!

Captain’s Log:

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Packing goes slowly.  Crystal is crunching work to be able to get out of here in time.  Flight is in six hours.  Total sleep tonight between the two of us will be less than four hours.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Cruising 30,000 feet above the Gulf of Mexico as I write-- will be in Miami in an hour.  Still haven't slept today (Crystal not at all!), but put our heads together and came up with a good working straw man for an itinerary.  Only complicating factor is rough seas from subtropical storm Sean may be making the Whale Cut open ocean passing undesirable at the moment.  

Last I read people were still making the pass...  May look to do this in reverse order if weather substantially different later in the week.

On a lighter note:  staying at the South Beach Shore Club tonight, having dinner at Nobu, and we were given table passes for Skybar.  

Visibility is pretty good as we coast across the everglades, and it will be time to turn off all electronics soon…

Day 1 (Saturday):

     Orientation in Marsh Harbor and get the Powercat checked out.  Head North to Treasure Key with intent to paddle and splash the shoals of Treasure Cay to Whale Cay.  Moor either at Baker's Bay, Treasure Cay or Settlement Harbor depending on which has the best conditions.

Day 2 (Sunday):

     Explore NW side of Great Guana Cay in the morning (dinghy or paddleboards).  Pig roast lunch at Nippers.  Head further north to island chain from Moraine Cay to Manjack Cay for mooring (heading as far north as light allows).

Day 3 (Monday):

     Explore Moraine Cay to Green Turtle Cay, particularly Pelican Cay and Noname Cay.  Moor GTC.

Day 4 (Tuesday): 

     Finish exploring GTC area and head South to Elbow Cay-- moor in White Harbor

Day 5 (Wednesday):

     Continue south to explore Tilloo Bank, Pelican Harbor, Snake Cay (Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park).  Moor off Tilloo or Snake Cay.

Day 6 (Thursday):  

     Explore more Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park.  Head south to Little Harbor for lunch at Pete's Pub.  Moor further north, maybe White Sound or Harbor Town.

Day 7 (Friday):

     Head for Marsh Harbor at daybreak to return the PowerCat, and get to airport for flight to PBI.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 (Day, 1)

Early Day, early flight out of FLL.  Flight uneventful, except plane could have been an extra from the set of Raiders of the Lost Arc. Provisioned at Maxwells (almost as well stocked as Whole Foods!), but had to search half the island to find some ginger beer for the requisite sailing refreshment: the Dark and Stormy. Took a while to get all checked out of the Moorings (Stangely, the name of our boat is “5”)—11a orientation and not under way until 3:30—and they didn’t have one of our paddleboards. After expressing our displeasure, they sent us after another Cruiser in settlement Harbor who had the one we were supposed to have. Following the awkward exchange in which a different cruiser went over to their boat and grabbed the paddleboard for us, we made way to Bakers Bay where we laid anchor 100 yards off the most beautiful white sand beach, in 5 ft of crystal clear water. Of course as soon as we were secure, we both jumped overboard and splashed about for a bit. We even got a chance to try out our YoloYaks—we stormed the white sand beach to watch the final remnants of the sunset. Only boat, perhaps souls, for miles around, in a truly gorgeous setting. Dinner was more than amazing—Crystal whipped up a tomato salad and red beans and rice while I threw a couple of steaks on the barbecue—which we enjoyed al fresco on our flybridge under the watchful eye of the full moon (content sigh…)

Sunday, November 13, 2011 (Day 2)

Restless first night ship board as I worry about tides, wind shifts, anchor holding, etc. Roamed the ship most of the night checking all the details… Went for an a.m paddle with first mate Crystal around Bakers Bay, then topped off the morning with a stack of pancakes on the transom cockpit. Tried to venture around the North side of the island to another beautiful beach, but the raw ocean waves crashing on that beach made it less than inviting as we rounded the northern shoal of Great Guana Cay. Instead settled for pulling into the lee of Spoil Bank Cay (aka Shell Cay) and exploring by paddleboards. Big Sunday Pig Roast with a Goombay Smash at Nippers for lunch, then head northward toward Green Turtle Cay—the only part of our entire voyage that will consist of navigating open ocean. With six foot plus swells and a 25 knot wind, it started to feel a lot like Gilligan’s Island out there for a bit—was slow and pretty rough going. We finally made our way from the Loggerhead Channel through the Whale Cay Channel and back into protected waters. The only casualty was a bottle of rum (yo ho ho) used for Dark and Stormy’s that was launched from its shelf on one of the bigger swells. On this side, we made our way North to Manjack Cay (pronounced MUN-Jack) and settled into a southern protected bay called Crab Cay Bight and anchored 80 yards off Rat Cay. Following a quick sunset paddle through the mangrove islands, we settled in for a dinner of red, beans, rice, and all beef franks, followed by a delicious dish of cooked apples and raisins… exhausted, we shall sleep better tonight as we listen to millions of fish around us chase each other. Tomorrow we will look to explore the rest of Manjacks Mangrove river, and pop into a cove on the north shore where we heard we could often find large Rays feeding… Will cruise north to Powell Cay for lunch, and if it looks like a viable anchorage, may make a quick jaunt even further north to Allans-Pensicola Cay to explore—before heading back to Powell for the night. This will be the northernmost part of our Trip

Monday, November 14, 2011 (Day 3)

Slept better.  Awoke to a paddle through the Mangrove River of Manjack Cay—then rounded the north end to a beautiful cove with a pink sand beach—and a 6 ft shark circling our boat to meet us! We paddled the spit and fed some baby sharks we found. Pulled anchor and went to Powell and Allans-Pensacola—didn’t beat where we were (plus wind and wave shifted so anchorage wasn’t as protected as we expected it to be). So quickly made our way back to that cove on the north end of Manjack Cay just in time to beat sundown. Unfortunately the waves and wind in this cove are not lined up, so its going to be a rocky night. Incredible display of the Milky Way before our dinner of pasta and red sauce, tomatoes and carrots! We’re the only ones here in the cove at all…

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 (Day 4)

Slept fine, got up with the sunrise. Paddled our cove some more with some massive stingrays (3+ ft across), and packed it up for Green Turtle Cay.  Dingied to and splashed around in the flats of the southern end of GTC (near Pelican Cay and NoName Cay)—wind and wave direction left it a little less than protected. Went to New Plymouth after for a supply run and to visit the famous Ms Emily’s home of the Goombay Smash. Ends up she hadn’t quite recovered from Hurricane Irene, so picked up conch to go from the Wrecking Tree. After a leisurely lunch on the flybridge, we made for the open ocean crossing of Whale Cay and Loggerhead channel once again. Apparently our skill has increased exponentially, because we made it in about 30 minutes, with no sign of any turbulence in the cabin (this time). Making good time, we travelled all the way south to Elbow Cay, setting anchor right next to Tahiti Beach—the beautiful sandbar we fell in love with our first visit here two years ago—we were welcomed by a large spotted eagle Ray! Crystal made a special birthday dinner consisting of apples, cheddar cheese and crackers for the first course, and mac ‘n’ cheese with hot dogs and conch ceviche salad for the main, followed by apples, raisin and coconut for dessert—which the left-0vers will go fantastic over our pancakes in the morning (have I mentioned that Crystal makes Starbucks coffee and multigrain, organic pancakes EVERY MORNING!!!) We smoked a Cuban Cohiba on the flybridge while writing our logs, and will be turning in soon.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 (Day 5)

Explored our sand bar early (were chased by, then we chased a large reef shark!).  Breakfast was better than I could have hoped—Caribbean pancakes! The leftover Apples, raisins and coconut stewed together from the night before made the perfect topping!!!! Holy wow—the Sea of Abaco was the most perfect Caribbean blue today. We cruised south to the Tilloo Bank—a 3-5 ft deep sand bar that reaches a third of the way across the Sea of Abaco, and then we cut across to Snake Cay where there are a ton of mangrove forests to explore. We found a suitable anchorage after much searching, donned our flats exploring garb (hats, sunglasses, cameras, extra water and Tevas!), and head into the great unknown. Wrong turn after wrong turn brought us to dead-ends and flats too shallow to pass. We got to the point of go or no go (turn back, if we even thought we could find our way back through the mangroves) when we saw a road elevated by about 15 ft cut through the swamp. We dragged our boards up the steep bank (68 pounds each!!), and began a long, hot, tiring portage of both paddleboards back to somewhere we could actually launch in a better spot. Crystal noticed that we were surrounded by Poison Wood—the Abacos version of poison ivy that is 3 times more vicious—so we ended up porting the boards about a mile back to the sea—whew! Safely back aboard, we had lunch, and went in search of overnight anchorage—finally settling on the anchorage at Tavern Cay. A quick paddle around to orient ourselves to our surroundings turned up an abundance of starfish, and even a Lionfish—the 2005 import from Asia that has venom so poisonous that it causes pain so intense that it induces paralysis!! Dinner was cheddar, apple and crackers, and grilled ham, turkey and cheese sandwiches. Tomorrow morning we head to our southernmost stop—Little Harbor, with stops at Sandy Cay and the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park—supposedly some of the best places to spot cool creatures underwater!

Thursday, November 17, 2011 (Day 6)

Slept a little restless—was concerned that we were dragging our anchor—could see every time that I went out and checked it that we weren’t, though, and I took a misstep on the wet deck yesterday and bruised my left knee and foot—quite painful everytime I rolled over and banged it.  Stove broke this am (no gas coming through? I changed the propane thank and still nothing…) so we had toast overlooking the Sea. Enjoyed a beautiful jaunt down past the Tilloo Bank (and some other vibrant blue sandy banks) to Sandy Cay—where we set anchor, paddled around and explored the tidepools, then dingied around to the ocean side, where we snorkeled a pretty cool reef! Pulled up anchor and headed for Little Harbor, home of Pete’s Pub for lunch. After anchoring in the Bight, Crystal had an amazing spicy triggerfish while I enjoyed my coconut cracked conch and we both enjoyed the specialty of the house: the Blaster. Made for one last enjoyable long run back to Elbow Cay, and anchored off Tahiti Beach again—this time it was a little more magical for sunset—the bar allowed for walking way out. While we still have plenty of drinking water, we ran out of fresh water on the boat tonight—no more showers or washing dishes. Early morning tomorrow—bringing the boat back to Marsh Harbor to refuel and check it in-- in time to catch a 10a flight to West Palm, for the second half of the festivities. Will be looking forward to a long hot shower and a chance to soak all my salt laden gear and clothes in the tub for a bit…

Friday, November 18, 2011 (Day 7)

Fell asleep to a mirror smooth Sea, only to wake up at 1:30 am in a Gale force storm! Winds were howling from every direction, taking our yacht round and round the anchor like a merry-go-round—best way to yank the anchor out of the sea bed in my estimation. By 4am the wind picked a single direction, and it appeared the anchor was holding. A quick catnap, and it was anchors a‘weigh to head for Marsh Harbor—and we had to make haste—we could see another serious storm brewing just to the north. It reached port the same time we did, and a 35 knot wind held us fast to the fuel dock—we weren’t pulling away even if we had to… The rest of check in went fine, and we made it to the airport, only to have a four hour wait for our plane to actually fine a window in the storm that we could leave through. We made it to PBI, though, and the festivities that awaited us in Jupiter, FL!!!

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