Hiatus in The Bahamas

Peril on the Low Seas This is going to be a problem. The European and American weather models agree. On Sunday, January 31st, the winds will clock from the E to the SW overnight. The following day Monday, February 1st, the winds will continue their veer to the West and increase. Really increase. Gusts to gale force strength (in the 40 knots). We have to get out the Berrys. Not really. Just emotionally. The forecast for the blow is out days in advance. I scenario dashes to New Providence and then the Exumas and then to a hidey-hole in the Exumas. Fanciful scenarios, requiring day long bashes into growing wind and seas. Dumb scenarios. At least, we can make it to the southern Berrys. The east side of Frazer’s Hog Cay has good holding and protection from West winds, but it is open to the East through SouthWest. So I create two routes and log them into the chartplotter. First, White Cay to the cut between Little Whale and Whale Cays on Sunday, the 31st. We can overnight t...

 Great Harbour Cay B-Roll

Now, It Feels Like the Bahamas White Cay. January 23-26 We forayed south from Great Harbour Cay. We tried the bank-side (west side) shallow draft route to an anchorage on the west side of Hoffman’s Cay, near its blue hole. Thankfully, I followed traditional wisdom and tried the route at mid-high tide, with a rising tide. We grounded on a beautiful white sand bottom. I threw out the anchor, to keep us from going further aground, donned snorkel and mask, and jumped over to see what was around us. We kedged Hiatus about 10’ to her starboard side, where she was able to float with a couple of inches of water below her keel, and waited for the tide to give us a path out.  Kedging is the process of moving a boat by anchor. Drop an anchor where you want to be. Haul on the anchor rode, and maybe you’ll go there.  It takes two anchors, which we had at that time (that’s a hint of a later story). We backtracked and passed Hoffman’s on the deep-water Channel (east) side and entere...