SQUALL AT ANCHOR 50+ KNOTS

 I've been out traveling for the past few weeks and so have not posted anything in awhile. But, here is a video I took while cruising in the Exumas when a squall came through one morning. It did not last long but, long enough to rip apart the dodger which you can see flapping at the top of the screen in part of the video. The boat behind us also had it's dingy flip over with a brand new outboard attached:

EXUMAS SHIPWRECK MYSTERY

While we were heading north toward Staniel Cay from Georgetown in the Exumas we passed a Cay with a sailboat beached on the shore. Both Captain Adam and I speculated on what it was doing there. It looked pretty intact from a distance. I thought perhaps the owner might have careened it on the beach to clean it's bottom. On our return south we anchored off a nearby Cay from where the beached boat was. I suggested that we take the dingy over to investigate. Adam was thinking the same thing. So that's what we did...

A LEVITATING DINGY?

I'm currently taking a little break from getting BIANKA ready for launching with a little cruise on a 44 foot St. Francis catamaran in the Bahamas. The waters here in the Exumas are amazingly clear.

The clarity is so good  that when I took the photo below of Captain Adam at Staniel Cay heading off in the dingy for an ice run  it appeared to be levitating above the water. Even though it is just an optical illusion it still sounds like a neat idea:

A SAILOR LOOKS BACK AT 2012

It's New Years Eve hard to believe how fast this year has gone by.  I did not put as many miles (a little over two hundred) under the keel of BIANKA  this year compared to years past but, I did have a wonderful year of cruising. Though work and some unexpected maintenance issues did get in the way. I also bought 200 feet of long overdue replacement anchor chain. I also installed AIS on board  which I will write about in the new year. I also installed  a new battery instrumentation panel  at the helm. Which made monitoring the battery current and voltages much easier. All in all it was still another great year as I look back on it.

January found me in the Leeward Islands starting off in St. Thomas, St. Johns  and then sailing over to the Spanish Virgin Island of Culebra for a nice little warm water  break from the winter.


This was also the month that the Bianka Log Blog reached over one hundred thousand page views. So it was time to celebrate too.

In February I found one of the batteries in the 48 volt propulsion string was no longer taking a charge.

I spent the next several months investigating the issue and finally figured that a parasitic load from one of the battery meters was the cause of the problem. With careful charging and test the battery is once again up to snuff and worked fine all season. I was glad I did not have to purchase a new battery.

March found me in Ocean City Maryland. After seeing a nice little warm weather window my gal and I drove from DC to a beachfront hotel with an 11th floor balcony view of the Atlantic Ocean for a few days.

 We had the beach to ourselves and were able to dine without making reservations. The smell of the sea also gets one thinking about getting the boat back in the water.


April 12th was the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It bought back memories of when I was living on board BIANKA at pier 59 in New York. That was the pier  that the rescue ship Carpathia bought the lifeboats from the ill fated Titanic and was only a few piers north of the peir where the Titanic was supposed to dock.

May found me and my gal in the Bahamas. The Exumas specifically via stopovers in Nassau.  A new area for me and one of some great memories and interesting sights.



I also worked on my first major repair of the electric propulsion system in five years by replacing the shaft coupling. Replacing the original steel one with stainless steel.

June was all about getting BIANKA ready for the season and launching. The battery issue had been solved the mast lights checked. The prop cleaned and polished and finally BIANKA was splashed.

In July work reared it's ugly head  eating up two weeks and my gal's beach vacation ate up another week. But, BIANKA was in the water with 200 feet of new anchor chain ready to go when time permitted. Also I worked on some finishing touches on the solar bimini.

August was another two weeks of work followed by another week on the beach. But, I was finally able to get back on board just in time to see another full moon a real treat.

September is usually the end of summer for many but, I view it as a new beginning. Some become melancholy with the end of the Labor Day weekend while I look at it as the time of less crowded anchorages  So I was looking forward to making my annual cruise to New York.

September 11th was also the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Since BIANKA and I were docked in New York then and actually felt the impact of the planes and witnessed the collapse of the buildings I felt somewhat of an obligation to try and be back in the harbor on the anniversary. But, it was not to be,  A broken pull cord and some frozen screws on the Honda 2000 generator soon put an end to those plans. Still I got to see another full moon on board so it was not all bad.

October had some of the highs and lows of the season. I saw a nice weather window and finally took BIANKA on the cruise to New York. I did something different regarding my electric propulsion system on this cruise. Which was to electro sail using about 10 amps to effectively negate the prop drag and actually propels the boat along a two knots when there is no wind. This technique worked really well and since EP is so quiet it does introduce the noise fatigue running and vibration that running a diesel would introduce.



After a night anchored by Ellis Island  it was a nice sail up the Hudson River:





where BIANKA and I anchored for a few days off of Hook Mountain enjoying the fall colors.



Two days after returning back to BIANKA's mooring Hurricane Sandy hit the area:


The storm surge lifted BIANKA and her mooring and dragged them across the channel. I found her over a thousand feet away across the harbor. Still floating and relatively undamaged. I was very lucky.  Since BIANKA had power available from her solar panels and wind generator I decided I would move back on her until power was restored back on the mainland. Which is where I spend most of the my time anyway during the season.  I had all the comforts of home even more so as I had power available.

The beginning of November still had the area recovering from super storm Sandy. Gas shortages had boat owners coming down to the docks draining there boat's fuel tanks so they could keep their home generators running. I recovered the Honda outboard that went to the bottom of the harbor when the dingy flipped during the storm. It will be a winter project to try and get it running again. There were a lot of  lessons learned from Sandy by me and many others too.

December was another month of a few weeks work that came my way. Just in time to pay some of the boatyard bills. Also it was time for holidays and looking back and also planning for the new year. I'm also way behind in some posts here on the Bianka Log Blog. So I will use the winter to catch up and publish about some of the projects I've been working on. Days are already starting to get longer and soon it will be time to starting thinking  the new year and season.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY ELEVEN: NORMAN CAY

It's our last day or I should say morning in the Exumas. We have a chartered plane that will fly us back to Nassau at 12 noon from Norman Cay. So we will have to pack a few things in this morning starting with an early morning on the reef we discovered yesterday afternoon.
Even better is that when we dove on the reef this morning there was absolutely no current. Always nice when you can explore a reef while snorkeling at your leisure. As I was snorkeling close to the rock cay I discovered the keel of a shipwreck:

Seemed to be about 50 feet long and still had the engine and prop attached. I wondered how it ended up here? Was it put adrift during some hurricane? Or did it run aground onto the cay in the middle of the night in the hey day of drug running in the area? A mystery but, still neat to snorkel around:


After our early morning snorkel on the reef we found it was back in the dingy to head to the other side of Norman's Cay. There another wreck awaited us. In he late 1970's and early 1980's Norman's Cay was used by drug trafficker Carlos Lehder to ship illegal drugs to the U.S. from South America. He bought the island lengthened it's air strip and improved it's docks to facilitate the illegal activities. A brand new plane he had ordered was carrying a load of grass. Real grass as in sod to simulate a plane loaded with drugs and doing touch and go landings on the island's air strip. Something went wrong and the plane crashed onto the flats near the island. It is this plane wreck we are heading to for our final snorkel in the Exumas:


Two large Puffer Fish came out of hiding to greet me:


The plane is slowly disappearing but, it is still a neat snorkel when cruising through the Exumas:


Two great snorkels is how we ended our trip in the Exumas after which it was back to the Surprise pick up our bags and fly back to Nassau. It was a wonderful trip but, I was also eager to head back home because I wanted to get BIANKA ready for the upcoming sailing season. The fifth season since I installed electric propulsion  on board. So after eleven days in the Bahamas I was kind of singing this song:

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY TEN: HAMMERHEAD GULCH

I awoke early and enjoyed listening to the twittering of Tropic Birds as they flew by. After breakfast we took the dingy over to place called Hammerhead Gulch. We jumped in for a snorkel and happily saw no hammer-headed Sharks. But, did encounter an somewhat aggressive large Remora:





I guess he had been waiting for a while in the area for one of the Hammerheads or any other shark to give him a free ride. But, it looks like we were the only game in town that day. Hammerhead Gulch was a little bit of a disappointment. Because it was so deep I think it would make a better dive than the snorkel we did. In fact a lot of the Exumas were a little disappointing for snorkeling during our trip. One would think there would be a whole lot more pristine coral reefs to dive and snorkel on but, we found that was not the case. Since this was our last full day in the Exumas I was ready to pack it in. But, we decided to do some scouting at a nearby cay. Happily we found a real nice snorkeling spot that saved the day. More on that in the next post.

CAPT MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY ELEVEN CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY NINE: CAMP DRIFTWOOD

In the morning we took the dingy up a scenic creek at the north end of Shroud Cay:

It was a pleasant ride up the mangrove lined waterway:

Evans W. Cottman wrote about riding out a Hurricane here in his book Out-island Doctor.

After about twenty minutes we came a nice little beach and landed the dingy:

After a short hike up a steep path that was created originally by a recluse sailor named Ernest Scholtes back in the 1960's. When drug trafficker Carlos Lehder and his associates set up their drug transport operations on nearby Norman's Cay. The DEA setup a sophisticated camera at Camp Driftwood  to keep an eye on the comings and goings of Lehder's operation. When we got up to Camp Driftwood the sign that told of it's history had been removed or perhaps blown away by Hurricane Irene which passed through the area last year:

But, other signs of previous visits by people still remain:

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY TEN CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY EIGHT: HAWKS BILL CAY AND SHROUD CAY

We had some rain and lightning overnight making for an entertaining night show but, it was all gone before morning. After breakfast we heading to the park station for a look around and around 10: 30am we dropped off the mooring:

We then headed off to Hawksbill Cay where we dropped the hook for lunch:

I kind of feel this particular Cay got it's name from some of the natural formations like this one:

Which to me looks like shell of a turtle hence the name Hawksbill Cay. After lunch we snorkeled through a nearby cut. Afterwards we headed off to Shroud Cay:

After dropping the hook for the night we had a visitor. A Laughing Gull found a comfortable perch on the Lifesling box.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY NINE CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY FIVE: COMPASS CAY MARINA AND RACHEL'S BATH

Corky and Sue raised the anchor of Surprise we continue to head northward. At mid morning we arrived at Compass Cay.  Compass Cay has the Compass Cay Marina which like the Staniel Cay Yacht Club welcomes cruisers who like to tie up to a dock rather than anchor out.

While not as big as the Staniel Cay Yacht club operation. There are signs of expansion going on. Including a "Tiki Bar" which was under construction. We anchored outside and took the dingy in. Corky advised us if we wanted we could have lunch on the dock. The proverbial Cheeseburger in paradise.

Getting off the dingy dock the facing wall is full of signs from boats that have passed this way:

and also some fishing philosophy:

plus some unique creature art renderings:

But, what people really come here to do is swim with the sharks:

Who prowl right under the dingy dock:

Of course those who jump in may not have noticed these signs on the dock:

Not a problem for Capt. Mike as I had no intention of taking a dip with the sharks even if they were Nurse sharks. We also passed on the Cheeseburger and were glad we did because Sue had whipped up a delicious shrimp curry soup for lunch back on Surprise.

After our standard afternoon nap we once again headed further north toward the end of Compass Cay and took the dingy to shore and saw this sign:

It was a short hike along a shallow delta:

After about ten minutes we finally came to our destination Rachels Bubble Bath:

A small cut in the rocks allows the water  from Exuma Sound to flood over the rocks and creates a natural jacuzzi in a pool of water just beyond:

That's Captain Corky on the rocks just next to the cut.  A dip in Rachel's Bubble Bath was a certainly refreshing way to end the day.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY SIX CLICK HERE

HURRICANE SEASON 2012

We interrupt the Bahamas Exumas blog posts to remind you that the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season has begun. The people in the Bahamas are reminded of this with every letter they send as the Bahamas stamp above shows. BIANKA has survived through two recent brushes with Hurricanes.  Earl in 2010 and last year with Irene. Experiences I hope not to repeat. Irene was particularly disturbing because  unfortunately I had to be 250 miles away on a work assignment and was not able to check on the boat during or after the storm. The best that I could do was prepare the boat and then hope for the best.  Hurricane preparation for your boat especially when it comes to chafe protection of the lines that hold it should be a top priority as this video shows what kinds of conditions boats on moorings and anchor might go through:


Best to have a plan  in place before a Hurricane threatens.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY TWO: STANIEL CAY YACHT CLUB

Woke up the next morning and headed to the domestic side of the Nassau Airport for an 8 AM flight to Staniel Cay. While waiting to board the woman from the airline announced that boarding would be delayed one hour "due to late arrival of equipment".  Then a few minutes later I saw this same woman board eight or nine fellows some who looked like they might be government officials. Looked to me like our plane was commandeered and we would board after the plane returns from dropping them off. Oh well, it is the Bahamas. One hour later we and seven Bahamian workers board a plane that looks way too small for all of us but, fit we did and made the 30 minute flight to Staniel Cay:

"Staniel Cay is a small Bahamas island in the middle of the Exuma chain, where neither the temperature nor population rarely rises above 100. A mere dot on the map, it is one of the best kept secrets in the travel industry. There is no bank, no ATM, no super department store, no big hotel. A rental car is a golf cart. There is incredibly clear water, world-class snorkeling, diving and fishing, deserted beaches and a friendly native village." - Chaos to Serenity

We booked a one night stay at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club before getting on our chartered boat. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a major stop for boats cruising the Exhumas.

It has certainly been expanded over the years as this photo from 1961 shows:

Here are the docks as they look today:

I took a little walk down the docks and my attention was drawn to the numbers on this fuel pump which is another reason a lot of boats stop here.  Fuel stops are limited in the Exumas:

Yes, that's an almost a six thousand dollar fuel bill on the meter. Seeing this made me glad I've got a sailboat even better that I use electric propulsion and will never see a fuel bill like this in my lifetime.

Over the years some note worthy celebrity sailors have stopped here like Walter Cronkite:

 
Also scenes from the James Bond Thunderball film were shot nearby:

Another reason the Staniel Cay Yacht Club may be so popular boaters is because it has pretty well stocked liquor store on the premises:

As well as dark waterfront bar/restaurant whose ceiling is filled with yacht club pennants on the ceiling  and an obligatory pool table:

The Staniel Cay Yacht Club also has a few rental cottages on the property.We booked the Key Lime Cottage which had much more room than we needed. Which was similar to this one:

It was the only cottage that was available when we booked it. It had a very pleasant waterfront view on both the first floor:

and the upstairs bedroom:

When renting one of the cottages you can also rent one of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club skiffs to fish or check out some nearby Cays and during your stay. They are located on electric lifts on docks near the cottages:

There is also a nice little beach near the cottages too if you just want to take a quick dip:

As far as entertainment goes. The highlight of the day occurred near the docks after the local fishermen came in and started cleaning the days catch of fish and conchs which will soon find their way to the on premises   restaurant:

Of course there were others waiting around the dock for morsel or two to come there way:

After watching the show at the fish cleaning station I had a sun-downer drink from the bar and waited for the dinner bell to ring. Once again Conch was on my plate and I have to admit it was one of the most succulent Cracked Conch I've tasted. After dinner I enjoyed a night cap back at the cottage on the deck. Then it was off to bed for tomorrow we board the catamaran and head out to explore the waters of the Exumas.

CAPT MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY ONE CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY THREE CLICK HERE

CAPT. MIKE IN THE EXUMAS DAY ONE: NASSAU

Well,  my girlfriend needed a vacation between teaching gigs and decided it was time for us to check out the Exumas in the Bahamas. Who am I to say no to eight days of swimming, snorkeling and boat drinks on a chartered catamaran even though it delays getting BIANKA into the water. So come along on the journey as I head to check out some new waters.

We come on the sloop John B

My grandfather and me

Around Nassau town we did roam

We had a direct flight into Nassau where we spent our first night. Nothing looked familiar from the last time I was in Nassau back in the 1980's. But, the ride to the hotel showed there was a lot of construction going on. Including a brand new Airport terminal nearing completion. The ride from the airport had some interesting sites. Many of the round abouts we drove around were decorated with borders of empty Conch shells:

The shells made a nice pink border, kept the weeds from growing and was a great way to recycle the shells. It also made me kind of hungry because one of the treats for me traveling to places like the Bahamas is I get to eat some Conch.  That chewy sweet tasting mollusk that I enjoy in all it's forms. I usually only get to taste it once a year or twice a year on trips like this.  

After a twenty minute ride we ended up at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.  Though our cab driver did point out that the Nassau locals only refer to it as the Hilton Colonial Hotel. Preferring to have little reminder of the British presence on the island as possible. Though the original Hotel was built by an American the Standard Oil tycoon Henry Flagler and has a rather interesting history including being part of location shooting of several James Bond films including Thunderball .  It was not long after we checked in that I found myself  sitting in the outdoor restaurant enjoying one of the local brews:

In this case a Sands beer neither shaken nor stirred. I had a nice view of the Nassau Paradise Island (Hog Island) Lighthouse:

Built in1817.   They say this is and the oldest surviving lighthouse in the West Indies. It marks the entrance to Nassau harbor. If I turn my head to the right I can see the giant cruise ships lined up at the dock:

Later in the day as I sat in the lounge chair on the beach I watched as these floating cities heading out to their next destination.

Maybe it's just me but, I think the design on the side of this ship makes it look kind of fruity and cartoonish.  Speaking of cartoonish Nassau has it's share of tourists drink until you drop bars like Senor Frogs:

Not sure if it's wise to have a seven foot frog standing outside a bar where people tend to drink heavily.  

After watching the ship depart I headed into downtown area. The newly built straw market was all but, closed up  now that the cruise ships had departed. But, heading toward the waterfront I found a local fisherman who was selling some of his catch, conch shells and would also whip up some conch salad for you:

I was tempted to try some but, since it was getting close to dinner time I resisted and headed back to the hotel. Where I proceeded to conch myself out starting with this:

An appetizer of Conch Salad, Conch Chowder and a Conch Fritter. Followed by:

Some delicious Shrimp and Conch Curry for the main course.  After such a satisfying meal only thing left to do was get a good nights sleep before heading off to Staniel Cay in the morning.