SV Orion - Annapolis, MD
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Late March - We keep on waitin'

3/31/2007

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Orion leaves her mark on Allans-Pensacola Cay
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Manjack Cay
Manjack Cay

With a prolonged forecast of high winds, we decided to take advantage of a closing window of opportunity to cross through the Whale north to Manjack Cay on Thursday (March 15th). We had an easy passage and proceeded the short distance up to Manjack Cay, where we were to ride out the nasty weather forecast for the next week. The same weather was keeping Marianna and Merlin holed up in Georgetown (in the southern Bahamas) for much longer than they had wanted. Instead of joining us in the Abacos, they decided they needed to make a beeline for the states. So, we agreed to try to hook up with them at West End on Grand Bahama island and cross back together from there. 
  

On Sunday, we managed to get a little exploring in on Manjack Cay before the weather forced us back on to the boat for several days. The same day, Bill and Leslie (the only long-term residents on Manjack Cay) hosted a bonfire for all of us cruisers in the harbor. We all brought h’or d’ouvres and something to drink and got to meet each other, as well as Bill and Leslie, their guests and Paul, a former cruiser who is building a place on Manjack.

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An oddity about our earlier than expected departure is that we now seem to be keeping company with a lot of boats that wintered in Georgetown.   One of these is R Pelican, another Beneteau 36cc like ours. We got the tour of each others’ boats, comparing pluses and minuses and making notes for the changes we’d like in ours. Pat and Alex live in Canada, but leave their boat in the Chesapeake, so we hope to run into them again before they haul it out at the end of May and return to Ottawa.

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Blowin' In the Wind
When we heard the forecast of 25-30 knot winds for days on end, we kept hoping it was just an overly pessimistic forecast, which would be proved wrong. Unfortunately, they got this prediction right. 
  

The first blow came Friday, just after arriving at Manjack --  all day and all night. The winds were blowing from the southwest and then clocking around to the northwest. These were the directions where we had no protection from the island. There were only 3 other boats in the anchorage for this reason. So, we gave ourselves a lot of room from the other boats and from shore to give us time to react if the anchor dragged. We also put out all of our chain (130’) and then waited for the winds to build and shift direction. The worst of it came Friday night as thunderstorms built to the north and west and finally came over us around midnight. The winds went up to 40 knots, the worst we’ve had on anchor. To ensure we could react if we started to drag, we started the engine and kept it running until the storm had passed and no others seemed imminent. We could see by the GPS track that we had moved back about 5 feet, whether due to drag or the stretching of the chain, we’re not sure. However, we held there and began to swing in the new pattern. The next day, the winds continued to shift until finally they started blowing from the north, giving us some protection from the island. The waves didn’t calm down for most of Saturday, so we were rolling a bit as they hit us at an angle to our beam.   

After a beautiful day Sunday, the winds started again, building to over 30 knots on Thursday and rarely dropping below 20.   Luckily this time, they were coming from E to NE, which is where the island provides the most protection. Although we could have anchored much closer to the protection of the island with these winds, we were reluctant to pull up our anchor which had been holding so well for so long. So, we decided to stay put and take a little more exposure in exchange for the secure knowledge that we were not likely to move. As an added precaution, we backed down on the anchor in the new direction to ensure it was set.  

We had no more problems and were grateful when the winds finally began to subside on Friday.

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Poisonwood
On the path leading up to Nippers on Great Guana Cay, there is a tree with a sign attached, describing it as “Poisonwood”. All who pass are warned not to be tempted to climb it. Well, Dave didn’t climb it or even get near to it, but somewhere he managed to have a close encounter with some poisonwood, which developed into a rash on his leg, very similar to a typical poison ivy reaction, but much more ferocious. He doesn’t usually break out in this way, so we didn’t identify what the red spots were initially. Once we decided it was probably poisonwood, we looked for the remedies that we carried on board that might help. He started soaking it in Domeboro solution twice a day, which was keeping it in check, but wasn’t completely getting rid of it.   We were also running out of this remedy, and it was obvious the rash needed more treatments than we would be able to give.
  

Then at the bonfire, we learned that a local remedy for poisonwood was Crystal solid deodorant. Leslie offered to let him have a chunk to use on his rash. This finally did the trick and the rash started subsiding. When we get back to the states we plan to add this to our medicine cabinet.  

To express our gratitude, Cathy baked a Apricot-Date Coffee Cake and sent it over to Leslie and Bill to say thanks. It was well-received.  

Positioning for the Crossing  

With the onslaught of bad weather, we realized that our plan to meet Marianna and Merlin in West End was unlikely to work. West End would be an expensive place to wait for them, with no anchorages. Also, as the weeks passed, they would feel increasing pressure to make up time by making a big leap north with a long ocean voyage that bypassed West End. This was likely to mean we would miss them completely. So, we decided to get back to the US and hook up with them there.  

In looking for a new group of “buddy boats”, we found several headed back to the US who were anchored in Manjack. Sea Holly, Slow Dancin’, Nantileas and R Pelican were planning to cross from Great Sale Cay to Port Canaveral in Florida, a 24 hour trip. We talked it over with them and decided to join them for the crossing.   

Great Sale Cay, the departure point, was too far to make in a day’s sail from Manjack Cay, so on Sunday (Mar. 25th), we moved to Allans-Pensacola Cay, an uninhabited island further north. We would move to Great Sale Cay the next day and then wait a day before beginning our crossing.  

Allans-Pensacola has a long sandy beach that collects flotsam from the Atlantic like a huge vacuum cleaner. We discovered that there is a tradition on the island that visitors personalize some bit of debris and attach it to a tree by the water. There are now several trees covered in buoys, hard hats, driftwood, life jackets, plastic bottles and other trash collected from the beach, which has been turned into a unique “guest book” for the island. We, of course, added our own signature piece and became a part of the tradition. 

We moved to Great Sale Cay on Monday as planned. Great Sale is another uninhabited island that is a common staging point for the trip back across the Gulf Stream. It has a large anchorage, which was largely empty when our flotilla arrived on Monday afternoon. Given the long stretch of bad weather, this surprised us, since we were convinced a large number of boats would be already positioned there waiting to cross. 

We decided to spend Tuesday readying ourselves for the crossing and giving the seas time to calm down from the high winds that were still blowing strong when we arrived at Great Sale Monday evening. Cathy spent the day preparing food for the next 36 hours. Dave stripped the deck of any unnecessary items and then ensured everything else was firmly tied down. He checked the engine to ensure it was ready for 24 hours of motoring, and completed a checklist of preparations necessary to ensure it would be a smooth passage. We compared waypoints with the other boats to ensure we would be traveling the same course, and kept watching the winds, which seemed to be slow in calming down. This could make the difference between a calm crossing and a miserable one. 

Once all preparations had been made, we had nothing more to do but get some rest and wait for the planned departure time, which was noon on Wednesday.
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Chris and Margaret join us on Orion at Great Sale
Reconnecting

We were thrilled to get a surprise hail on the radio as we left Allans-Pensacola Cay from Lunasea. Chris and Margaret were ending their tour of the Bahamas and heading back to the states at the same time we were. We actually got to see them at Great Sale Cay and caught up on their travels over the past 6 months. They were planning to cross at the same time to Port Canaveral, so we agreed to stay in touch for the crossing. They returned our zinc grouper, which we had loaned them in Solomons – a well-traveled fish. Also, they told us we had to try fishing on the crossing, so they gave us a lure to help us catch something. Cathy was still a little less than excited about the gutting and cleaning process ( you need to let it bleed out in the cockpit), but maybe . . .
  

Why don't you write me?  

Leaving Manjack Cay meant we were also leaving any means of communicating to anyone back home. Our internet connection was gone and we had no radio other than our VHF, which will only reach about 25 miles. This was worrying, since we weren’t able to communicate our plans to those back home before leaving. It also meant we were without any weather information for the crossing. Luckily, Sea Holly graciously offered to let our family know about our plans by sending an e-mail using their SSB radio. This was also the source of their daily weather updates from Chris Parker, which they shared with the rest of the group.    

We knew about the SSB radio before we left, but also knew it could be pretty expensive to install. What we learned once in the Bahamas was that it was possible to get an SSB receiver for 1/10th the cost of a complete SSB set-up that allows transmissions. Also, Sea Holly was actually using a ham radio to get their SSB capability, which is much less expensive. It is also much easier to implement since April, when the ham radio license removed the morse code requirement from the certification test. We plan to look into more of these options if we decide to return to the Bahamas next year.  

Next Stop – Florida  
The next stop would be Port Canaveral, where many cruise ships use as a departure point. Hopefully, we could avoid their arrival times. . .  

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Early March - You can't always get what you want

3/10/2007

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We made an unexpected discovery about the process for extending our immigration visa that altered our plans a bit. More about that later. After spending a little over a week in Marsh Harbor, we moved a little further up the coast to Treasure Cay, a resort with a beautiful beach. We moved from there to Great Guana Cay as we begin a slow return through the northern Abacos and across to the states.  

Immigration woes (or  “you can’t always get what you want . . .”)  

While in Marsh Harbor, we had planned to stop by the Immigration office in order to extend our visa past the end of March. (If you remember from our initial entry after crossing to the Bahamas, we were given only 50 days. Most people are given 90 – 120 days.) We were told by Immigration in Marsh Harbor that we could only extend our visa on the day it expired or maybe 1 or 2 days earlier. Also, the only places in the northern Bahamas where we could make the extension were Marsh Harbor, Treasure Cay, Freeport and West End. (There are several out islands where a customs officer will handle immigration for clearing into the Bahamas, but they are not permitted to extend the visa.)   

Marsh Harbor and Treasure Cay are only a few miles from each other on the eastern end of Great Abaco island. We expected to have already left these ports behind well before the end of March. However, Freeport and West End , which are on Grand Bahama (and therefore further west toward the US), were not going to be much help either. Freeport requires a trip on the open Providence Channel, which didn’t appeal to us, and West End was the jumping off point for the crossing back to the US. If we made it that far, we wouldn’t need to extend our visa. So, we were left with a decision to make. Stay near Marsh Harbor until March 28th in order to extend our visa then, or head out of the Abacos much sooner to ensure we could clear Bahamian waters before our visa expired. We decided to do the latter.  

Since we didn’t want to be forced to travel on a specific date (which can be disastrous if weather doesn’t cooperate), we investigated what would happen if we couldn’t leave by the visa expiration date. We were told that a) the extension is usually granted without problem and b) if it wasn’t extended, we just couldn’t go ashore, but we could stay in Bahamian waters waiting for a weather window. While many cruisers told us not to worry about the extension, since it is unlikely to be checked, we didn’t feel comfortable with that approach.   
So, we left Marsh Harbor after filling up with fuel and fresh vegetables, and started working our way north. The first stop was Treasure Cay.

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Treasure Cay anchorage
Treasure Cay
Treasure Cay is a resort community with a small, well-protected harbor. By paying an anchoring fee, you get access to the resort’s amenities, which include showers and a nice pool. We also sat in the deserted open air bar each day to get internet access. This became a cruiser networking spot as we used the bar stools and counter as impromptu office desks. The bar also had a game with a ring suspended on a long string that you tried to swing onto a hook on a nearby pole. Dave got very good at this before we left.

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A short walk away is a 3 mile long, crescent shaped beach, with soft white sand and gently breaking waves. As the resort advertising reminds you, it is rated one of the top 10 in the world by National Geographic. It certainly was beautiful. It is on the Sea of Abaco, but has some exposure to the open ocean, protected somewhat by a few of the barrier islands. (It was amusing to us to realize that a short walk across the street to the beach here took us “around the Whale”, the infamous open ocean passage around Whale Cay. Unfortunately, Orion couldn’t cross the street as easily as we could.) We walked out to the eastern point at low tide and found some beautiful shells, including 3 whole sand dollars and a starfish. Two of the sand dollars were the tiniest we had every seen. There were some very expensive looking houses on the beach, but we had access to its entire length. At the Coco Beach Bar, there were umbrellas and chairs for hire, but the rest of the beach was mostly unoccupied. As Spring Break week began, that was slowly starting to change.

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Back to Great Guana  
We had continued to stay in daily contact with Bonnie Lass, but we hadn’t been able to connect for over 2 weeks. They had moved to Man of War Cay and then to Marsh Harbor after we left. We finally hooked up again in Fishers Bay on Great Guana Cay, where we moved on Sunday (Mar. 11th). When we arrived, the bay was as full as we had seen it – a likely result of the combination of the start of spring break week and the Sunday pig roast at Nippers, which attracts huge crowds. There was still plenty of room for us to anchor comfortably, even with a 125ft motor yacht that preceded us into the bay. (Their tender was almost the size of Orion.)

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After spending Monday morning doing laundry and internet, we met up with Graham and Val on Bonnie Lass, who had just sailed up from Marsh Harbor to Fishers Bay. Sunday’s crowds had departed, so they were able to anchor pretty close by. We took them on a tour of the island, and then joined them on Bonnie Lass for a toast to our reunion and the beautiful sunset. The next day, White Bird also joined us in the anchorage and we all went ashore to enjoy the beach and the pool at Nippers. White Bird had spent several weeks with Bonnie Lass in the Titusville marina. So, it was a happy reunion for all of us. After spending Monday morning doing laundry and internet, we met up with Graham and Val on Bonnie Lass, who had just sailed up from Marsh Harbor to Fishers Bay. Sunday’s crowds had departed, so they were able to anchor pretty close by. We took them on a tour of the island, and then joined them on Bonnie Lass for a toast to our reunion and the beautiful sunset. The next day, White Bird also joined us in the anchorage and we all went ashore to enjoy the beach and the pool at Nippers. White Bird had spent several weeks with Bonnie Lass in the Titusville marina. So, it was a happy reunion for all of us.

We managed to snorkel some for the first time here in the ocean, just off the beach, but the winds were still making the waters a little too rough to risk going too far from shore. We saw some blue tang, some fan and brain coral. Afterward, we rinsed the salt water off in Nippers pool and spent some time enjoying a frozen Nippers drink, while relaxing in the sun by the pool.   

White Bird had purchased a “hogfish” in Marsh Harbor, whose appearance lived up to its name, including some unfriendly-looking teeth. Joanne was tired of having it stare up at her from her freezer, and so, after asking our advice on how to cook it, she invited us over to help do it in. Val made neat work of filleting the fish, and then we disposed of it quickly, since it tasted far better than it looked.

We said goodbye to White Bird and their guests, Mike and Kathy, on Wednesday morning with promises to see them again further north – maybe in the Chesapeake, maybe in Rochester.  

Can you hear me now?  

Soon after leaving US waters on our crossing, our cell phones stopped working. Although we’ve seen some analog signals in a few places since then, they mostly sit on the shelf like 2 lumps of coal, uncharged and unloved.   The cost of making a cell phone call just didn’t make it reasonable to try to use them unless an emergency arose. However, it wasn’t long before we began to hear about another calling alternative called Skype, an internet-based telephone service that allows you to make international calls for a few cents a minute.   

In Spanish Cay, Bonnie Lass let us use their connection to call home to let loved ones know we had made it safely. We decided to sign up for the service, but we had a few obstacles to overcome in order to be able to use it.  

First, we needed a secure internet connection to purchase the service, so we wouldn’t risk our credit card information being stolen. The manager at Spanish Cay offered the use of her business wifi connection, which was a security-enabled connection. This worked initially, but then we realized we had paid for the US-to-US service, not the international calling “credits” that we needed. It took another week to work that out and to find a place to make the additional payment for the credits.  

Next, we needed a headset to give us a microphone for the computer and speakers that would keep our conversations private. After checking stores in all of the out islands, we finally find some pricey ones in Marsh Harbor. These were in short supply as well, as fellow cruisers discovered the wonders of Skype.   

Finally, we needed a strong enough internet connection to support a reasonable call quality. When we first used the service on Bonnie Lass’ computer in Spanish Cay, the satellite internet connection provided for clear call quality, but an awkward delay between speaking and being heard. It meant we were constantly stepping on each other or waiting for the other to speak. In Marsh Harbor, Dave discovered that a wifi connection that was easily strong enough to do e-mail only allowed him to make the call connection. The person being called could not hear him, although he had no trouble hearing them.  

However, with a strong internet connection, we were able to call loved ones back in the states and keep up to date with things happening there. This has made us feel not so out of touch. E-mail is still more reliable, but the ability to call periodically is reassuring.
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Cathy with a fresh loaf of bread
Being domestic  
While we are at no risk of running out of food, one of our provisioning assumptions was that we would be baking bread, rather than buying it. It costs $4-5 a loaf in most stores. Cathy was thinking that this wasn’t such a high price to pay, considering the effort required for the alternative. Dave, however, said we had bought all this flour, yeast, etc. to make bread, so . . .

So, we broke out the flour, yeast, and the pressure cooker and took a day to make a loaf of bread. Since it had to rise for 3 hours, it took the better part of a day to make. Dave had read a method of baking bread in the pressure cooker, which we tried as well. Much to Cathy’s surprise, the bread smelled good and tasted even better. The pressure cooker approach meant that it didn’t have the same golden brown crust that would make it pretty, but the taste and texture were unaffected.
  

However, given the time involved, maybe next time we’ll make two loaves instead of just one.  

Heave-to!
  

We had been looking for an opportunity to practice heaving to, a technique of setting the sails so that the boat sits at a comfortable angle to the wind and waves, but makes little headway. This is a storm survival tactic that is good to know. We found our opportunity on the sail from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay. The wind was on the beam and steady at about 15 knots. We tried various combinations of main and headsail furled to varying sizes. We did successfully stop our progress, but didn’t get the angle we were hoping for. After doing some reading about this later, we decided we needed to have more mainsail for the lighter winds we had in our trials. We plan to try again to see if we can get this technique down.   Once we do, we’ve been told we should then try it in 30 knot winds to see if we can make it work then too.   

Of course, we would have to be willing to travel in 30 knot winds . . .  

Information Exchange  
In Treasure Cay, we met Lena and Ron from Discovery, who had been with us briefly at the Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay. Lena let us use her connection to make a Skype call and we exchanged information about how to get weather information. Dave showed her the electronic grib files he could get from NOAA and how to bring them into her navigation software. She showed us the weather faxes she could get on her SSB receiver radio, which requires a much smaller investment than a full SSB radio with transmit and receive capability.  

Discovery wants to travel back to the US around the same time that we do, so we promised to stay in touch in the event that this will work out.    

Back North  

We’ve heard from Marianna and Merlin, who are ready to travel north from Georgetown to the Abacos to hook up with us. However, weather is not cooperating yet. We will move slowly north and anticipate their joining us before long. They always travel much faster than we do, when left to our own devices. Who knows where the next update will find us?

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