Monday 29 Feb #2
It is 80 miles up to the bight of Eleuthera. At that bight the pass is narrow and goes between land and some shoals. At five knots that 80 miles takes 17 hours. I don't want to do that pass in the dark, so I was not in a hurry to leave this morning. About noon everything was ready to go and I could time my arrival for daybreak. I upped anchor, set the genoa, and headed up the five mile long harbour, not realizing that the start of the annual George Town regatta was at 12:00. So I, and all the upscale racing boats head up the bay. There are more than 300 boats anchored all over the place, and the race course is right through the anchorage. That make it quite a spectator event; people hollering comments to their friends and future friends. And they all thought that I was racing, and I still had the mainsail cover on. I got lots of comments like, "You take 'em, Advent!" or "Hey Cap'n, I like your style." Of course the race boats slowly passed me, but I was still ahead of some of them when we got to the turning mark. Two other boats and I approached the mark together. They made beautiful racing turns, gybing around to beat back upwind, while I just blissfully kept going, and left them to their competition.
The wind forecast yesterday was for wind in the high teens today and tomorrow. That would have been OK, but uncomfortable. Yesterday's wind was quite strong, and last night was the first time I warmed my shower water. This morning today's wind was forcasted to be in the low teens. Good sailing. I just did not want to arrive before daylight. I departed about 12:00, and after I passed all the race boats, I went through the cut to the ocean. The wind in the ocean is maybe 6. Boat speed in the high 2's and low 3's. The big drifter is on the code zero continuous line furler, and it is exactly what I need. Thank you Normandie. But even with the big drifter I am doing not much more than just drifting. If this keeps up it may be after sunset tomorrow when I get there.
But for now it is beautiful, easy, smooth sailing. And warm again. Back up in the 80's. The moon will rise about midnight. I look forward to a comfortable night. Wish you were here.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Monday, February 29, 2016
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Monday 29 February - George Town
Monday 29 February - George Town
Elizabeth Harbour is a mile wide and I am over on the other side. First thing Sunday morning I stopped by to chat with the only Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) boat I have seen. Surprizingly it is a Monk 36 trawler. Carol and Peter put 70,000 miles on their sailboat, then "retired" to the trawler, "Eight Bells". They graciously hosted me for sundowners, then dinner twice. I really appreciated and enjoyed it. Then to say hello to Catherine and Howard on "Pilgrim". They also hosted me for drinks and dinner, but back at South Side Marina in Provo, Caicos. Across the harbour to church, typically Anglican, and their singing was unbelievable! But during the 1.5 hours of church the wind picked up dramatically, blowing from the boat across the harbour. The chop on my side was really bad, maybe one foot waves three feet apart. Going straight into the waves was at the limit of what the dinghy could take. The bow is very low, and the bow would stick into the oncoming wave and scoop water in. I "tacked" at 45 degrees. The dinghy was more comfortable, but the spray was like a bucket of water on every wave. The trip back to Advent took an hour, and I was cold and soaked. I can dry off and warm up, but I had put on clean shirt and shorts, socks and new shoes. I never like it when I soak clean clothes in salt water.
When it is dark, no moon, Elizabeth Harbour is absolutely beautiful. All the boats have on anchor lights. I want to say millions but I counted up to 150 before I lost track. They are low on the cabin top and high on the masthead, near and far. And it is easy to get lost and not be able to find your boat at night so people will have other identifying lights, blue or orange or yellow. Sometimes Christmas decorating type lights, and some red and green running lights. Add in lights of different kinds on shore, and the effect is spectacular. I have the same reaction every time I come here.
But now it is time to leave here. Still, the priority is to use the engine as little as possible. My plan is to leave here about noon to sail up the Exuma Sound to Eleuthera, arriving after daylight Tuesday. Eleuthera is a big hook with several places to stop for the next weather system. The forecasts today say that Wednesday will be calm, then two fronts, Thursday and Saturday, then calm for a few days. But the forecast changes every day. I could wait for the settled weather next week, but today is good so I will take it.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Elizabeth Harbour is a mile wide and I am over on the other side. First thing Sunday morning I stopped by to chat with the only Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) boat I have seen. Surprizingly it is a Monk 36 trawler. Carol and Peter put 70,000 miles on their sailboat, then "retired" to the trawler, "Eight Bells". They graciously hosted me for sundowners, then dinner twice. I really appreciated and enjoyed it. Then to say hello to Catherine and Howard on "Pilgrim". They also hosted me for drinks and dinner, but back at South Side Marina in Provo, Caicos. Across the harbour to church, typically Anglican, and their singing was unbelievable! But during the 1.5 hours of church the wind picked up dramatically, blowing from the boat across the harbour. The chop on my side was really bad, maybe one foot waves three feet apart. Going straight into the waves was at the limit of what the dinghy could take. The bow is very low, and the bow would stick into the oncoming wave and scoop water in. I "tacked" at 45 degrees. The dinghy was more comfortable, but the spray was like a bucket of water on every wave. The trip back to Advent took an hour, and I was cold and soaked. I can dry off and warm up, but I had put on clean shirt and shorts, socks and new shoes. I never like it when I soak clean clothes in salt water.
When it is dark, no moon, Elizabeth Harbour is absolutely beautiful. All the boats have on anchor lights. I want to say millions but I counted up to 150 before I lost track. They are low on the cabin top and high on the masthead, near and far. And it is easy to get lost and not be able to find your boat at night so people will have other identifying lights, blue or orange or yellow. Sometimes Christmas decorating type lights, and some red and green running lights. Add in lights of different kinds on shore, and the effect is spectacular. I have the same reaction every time I come here.
But now it is time to leave here. Still, the priority is to use the engine as little as possible. My plan is to leave here about noon to sail up the Exuma Sound to Eleuthera, arriving after daylight Tuesday. Eleuthera is a big hook with several places to stop for the next weather system. The forecasts today say that Wednesday will be calm, then two fronts, Thursday and Saturday, then calm for a few days. But the forecast changes every day. I could wait for the settled weather next week, but today is good so I will take it.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Sunday, February 28, 2016
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Saturday, February 27, 2016
Saturday 27 February - Why George Town?
Saturday 27 February - Why George Town?
The more adventurous boater has really good opportunities with the Bahamas so close. Bimini is only 45 nm off the Florida coast, an easy crossing in settled weather. Then from Bimini there are hundreds of islands, beaches, and anchorages within a day's sail to visit and explore. A favorite is a string of small islands (Cays, pronounced "Keys") called the Exumas, which south-easterly for about 150 miles. It is easy sailing down these islands with anchorages all along the way. There are other islands on the way, Abaco, Andros, New Providence (Nassau), Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Run Cay. But south of the Exumas the "out Islands" a farther apart, less developed and with fewer anchorages. So the south end of the Exumas is the dividing point between the "easy cruising" had the "more challenging cruising". That is where George Town is located. It is blessed with a beautiful natural Elizabeth Harbour, that is a mile wide and five miles long. Many cruisers come as far as George Town, hang around for awhile (all winter), then go back north. The small town is comfortable and has a nice market, some laid back restaurants, a few shops and an airport. The harbour has unlimited good places to anchor. There are more than 300 boats here this week and it is not crowded. I am at the south end, and in the morning before daylight the anchor lights look like Christmas. Of course, when you get that many creative people together things get organized. Every morning there is a VHF radio net discussing what is going on. This weekend there is a cruising catamaran regatta, and beach golf, colored balls of course, and all played in the sand. Of course yoga. Yesterday there was a gathering on the beach where a presentation was given by an experienced emergency medicine person on boating medical emergencies. There were about 100 people crowded around. If you want to be fully involved in the cruising community this is the place. Of course there are old friends, the only ones I have found so far are Christine and Peter Watson aboard their Pacific Seacraft "Mytyfyne" from Little Washington. Of course there are new friends every day.
But not is all perfect in George Town. We are close enough to the US mainland that the weather in the US gets here too. I was comfortably swimming my first day here with water and air temperture in the low 80's. but a cold front passed, we are still having strong north wind, and both the air and water measure 74 degrees, too cool for me to swim. This morning was the first time I have been cool enough for a long sleeve shirt since long ago. Some people don't enjoy George Town with all the socializing and organizing. For others it is just what they want. But it is easy and fun to get here, and you gotta come just to know what everybody talks about.
I have so far found one OCC boat here, a Trawler. I dropped by to say hello and ended up staying until after dark. These folks are from Maine and had put 70,000 miles on their sailboat before selling it last year and buying the trawler. Age was catching up with them. I left my bottle of Goslings Black Seal on their boat last night, which insures that I will be back with them this afternoon.
For those not wanting to join in the beach vollyball there are hiking trails. I did one yesterday. Good trail. Through several kinds of maritime flora, through a marsh and over the limestone ridge to the ocean side. Think I will go do another this afternoon.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
The more adventurous boater has really good opportunities with the Bahamas so close. Bimini is only 45 nm off the Florida coast, an easy crossing in settled weather. Then from Bimini there are hundreds of islands, beaches, and anchorages within a day's sail to visit and explore. A favorite is a string of small islands (Cays, pronounced "Keys") called the Exumas, which south-easterly for about 150 miles. It is easy sailing down these islands with anchorages all along the way. There are other islands on the way, Abaco, Andros, New Providence (Nassau), Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Run Cay. But south of the Exumas the "out Islands" a farther apart, less developed and with fewer anchorages. So the south end of the Exumas is the dividing point between the "easy cruising" had the "more challenging cruising". That is where George Town is located. It is blessed with a beautiful natural Elizabeth Harbour, that is a mile wide and five miles long. Many cruisers come as far as George Town, hang around for awhile (all winter), then go back north. The small town is comfortable and has a nice market, some laid back restaurants, a few shops and an airport. The harbour has unlimited good places to anchor. There are more than 300 boats here this week and it is not crowded. I am at the south end, and in the morning before daylight the anchor lights look like Christmas. Of course, when you get that many creative people together things get organized. Every morning there is a VHF radio net discussing what is going on. This weekend there is a cruising catamaran regatta, and beach golf, colored balls of course, and all played in the sand. Of course yoga. Yesterday there was a gathering on the beach where a presentation was given by an experienced emergency medicine person on boating medical emergencies. There were about 100 people crowded around. If you want to be fully involved in the cruising community this is the place. Of course there are old friends, the only ones I have found so far are Christine and Peter Watson aboard their Pacific Seacraft "Mytyfyne" from Little Washington. Of course there are new friends every day.
But not is all perfect in George Town. We are close enough to the US mainland that the weather in the US gets here too. I was comfortably swimming my first day here with water and air temperture in the low 80's. but a cold front passed, we are still having strong north wind, and both the air and water measure 74 degrees, too cool for me to swim. This morning was the first time I have been cool enough for a long sleeve shirt since long ago. Some people don't enjoy George Town with all the socializing and organizing. For others it is just what they want. But it is easy and fun to get here, and you gotta come just to know what everybody talks about.
I have so far found one OCC boat here, a Trawler. I dropped by to say hello and ended up staying until after dark. These folks are from Maine and had put 70,000 miles on their sailboat before selling it last year and buying the trawler. Age was catching up with them. I left my bottle of Goslings Black Seal on their boat last night, which insures that I will be back with them this afternoon.
For those not wanting to join in the beach vollyball there are hiking trails. I did one yesterday. Good trail. Through several kinds of maritime flora, through a marsh and over the limestone ridge to the ocean side. Think I will go do another this afternoon.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Thursday, February 25, 2016
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Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Wednesday 24 February
Wednesday 24 February
Tuesday the wind was fading away and I was concerned about making it all the way, but in the evening it picked up and I made good progress. At 06:00 Wednesday morning I was rounding Cape Santa Maria at the top of Long Island. At this point I needed to turn south-west to sail down to George Town. The wind was forecasted to clock around from north-east to east, south, and then to south-west just about the time I got there. If that happened I would have to turn around and go back to an anchorage in Long Island. But when I turned the corner the wind was on my port beam, perfect for sailing. An added bonus was that I was in the lee of Long Island and there were no waves. The sailing was so perfect I did not want it to end. It was glorious. Once I got to the land I had to go behind some islands and go up the coast for about five miles to George Town. That is where the wind just about stopped altogether. It took me three hours to go that five miles, about 1.5 knots. I drifted into one of the many anchorages and set the anchor. The trip took almost exactly 48 hours, and I am in a good location to wait for good wind. I am happy to be here. Time to go for a swim.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Tuesday the wind was fading away and I was concerned about making it all the way, but in the evening it picked up and I made good progress. At 06:00 Wednesday morning I was rounding Cape Santa Maria at the top of Long Island. At this point I needed to turn south-west to sail down to George Town. The wind was forecasted to clock around from north-east to east, south, and then to south-west just about the time I got there. If that happened I would have to turn around and go back to an anchorage in Long Island. But when I turned the corner the wind was on my port beam, perfect for sailing. An added bonus was that I was in the lee of Long Island and there were no waves. The sailing was so perfect I did not want it to end. It was glorious. Once I got to the land I had to go behind some islands and go up the coast for about five miles to George Town. That is where the wind just about stopped altogether. It took me three hours to go that five miles, about 1.5 knots. I drifted into one of the many anchorages and set the anchor. The trip took almost exactly 48 hours, and I am in a good location to wait for good wind. I am happy to be here. Time to go for a swim.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Monday 23 February
Monday 23 February
Smooth, comfortable sailing. Inter-island in the Bahamas? This is the way to do it.
On plan was to sail from TCI (Turks & Caicos Islands) to Clarencetown, Long Island, Bahamas. That is a 36 hour trip; from sun-up the first day until sun-down the second day. It is now 18:00 on Tuesday and I am 45 miles from Clarencetown. The trouble is tyhat I left TCI at noon, and 36 hours later is midnight. So I will pass it by and head for George Town, Exumas, Bahamas. At 16:00 it was 100 miles away, so to make it before dark tomorrow I need to average four knots. Today was smooth, comfortable sailing. Trouble is that it has not been fast. I have been going about four knots. The forecast is for the wind to pick up a few knots, so if all goes well I will arrive George Town late tomorrow afternoon.
Anybody looking at the full moon?
Reef Early,
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Smooth, comfortable sailing. Inter-island in the Bahamas? This is the way to do it.
On plan was to sail from TCI (Turks & Caicos Islands) to Clarencetown, Long Island, Bahamas. That is a 36 hour trip; from sun-up the first day until sun-down the second day. It is now 18:00 on Tuesday and I am 45 miles from Clarencetown. The trouble is tyhat I left TCI at noon, and 36 hours later is midnight. So I will pass it by and head for George Town, Exumas, Bahamas. At 16:00 it was 100 miles away, so to make it before dark tomorrow I need to average four knots. Today was smooth, comfortable sailing. Trouble is that it has not been fast. I have been going about four knots. The forecast is for the wind to pick up a few knots, so if all goes well I will arrive George Town late tomorrow afternoon.
Anybody looking at the full moon?
Reef Early,
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Monday, February 22, 2016
Monday - George Washington's Birthday
Monday - George Washington's Birthday
The wind forecast shows the wind going to zero on Thursday, but then instead of clocking around to the north-east and building back up, it is forecasted to stay from the north-west and north until next Monday. My time on Turks & Caicos was timing out anyway, and I didn't want to wait a week to leave, so I scrambled around, went to the market, the hardware store, bought gasoline for the outboard in case I need it, checked out with officialdom, turned in the car, and slipped the lines at straight up 12:00.
My route will be 58 miles to Mayaguana, then 22 miles up to the Plana Cays, 23 miles to the north-east corner of Acklins Island, and 63 miles past Crooked Island to Clarencetown Long Island. Almost 170 miles. If I sail real fast I might make it another 60 miles to Georgetown before the wind goes bad.
There should be a deLorme inReach track posted on adventtwo.blogspot.com , and the wind forecast is on passageweather.com.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
The wind forecast shows the wind going to zero on Thursday, but then instead of clocking around to the north-east and building back up, it is forecasted to stay from the north-west and north until next Monday. My time on Turks & Caicos was timing out anyway, and I didn't want to wait a week to leave, so I scrambled around, went to the market, the hardware store, bought gasoline for the outboard in case I need it, checked out with officialdom, turned in the car, and slipped the lines at straight up 12:00.
My route will be 58 miles to Mayaguana, then 22 miles up to the Plana Cays, 23 miles to the north-east corner of Acklins Island, and 63 miles past Crooked Island to Clarencetown Long Island. Almost 170 miles. If I sail real fast I might make it another 60 miles to Georgetown before the wind goes bad.
There should be a deLorme inReach track posted on adventtwo.blogspot.com , and the wind forecast is on passageweather.com.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
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Sunday, February 21, 2016
Kiteboard Heaven
Saturday 30 January - Kiteboard Heaven
I found it: Long Bay, Providenciales Island, Caicos, Turks & Caicos, British West Indies. Three miles of white sandy beach with onshore wind, behind a reef so the water doesn't have waves. There are beach accesses to park the car 30 feet from the beach with picnic tables. They dress the beach every day so it is clean. I counted 30 kites in the air, and the great thing is that it is not crowded and there are virtually no tourists. And the water is waste deep at low tide and armpit deep at high tide. I can set up, then launch the kite and ride for my ten minutes, land the kite, rest for twenty minutes, repeat. It is great.
When we were here before Normandie and I anchored at Sapodilla Bay. But to my dismay the place has been gentrified. Where we parked the car and landed the dinghy is now upscale condos with gates and fences. So I moved down to South Side Marina. It will give me protection from the cold fronts, a place for the rental car, and internet access.
That five days of sailing last week took me out of the tropics and into the temperate zone. The temperature of the air and water is a little bit cooler, but what is most noticeable is that here there is weather. Some days are cooler than others, some days don't have wind or the wind reverses, today is a rainy day. It has been seven months since I have had a rainy day. Really heavy dew in the morning. And mosquitoes and no-see-ums. It took me several days to accept the fact of screens at night, and repellant if I want to sit out on deck. But I really like to go to the IGA Supermarket and be able to read the labels; to know what I am buying. I bought a bag of ginger snaps, and knew what it was going to be. Not once since I have been here have I not known what was happening. I am so very intimidated when I have to function in a language other than english. I will bypass Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to keep from having to deal with another language. A few weeks ago I tried to describe what was written on some cans I bought in a French market. I got a response from a Power Squadron friend who is bi-lingual in french and very fluent in spanish (and knows celestial navigation). If Normandie can not go that would be the perfect crew for me. I can sail the boat. What I need is someone who can tell me what is going on.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
I found it: Long Bay, Providenciales Island, Caicos, Turks & Caicos, British West Indies. Three miles of white sandy beach with onshore wind, behind a reef so the water doesn't have waves. There are beach accesses to park the car 30 feet from the beach with picnic tables. They dress the beach every day so it is clean. I counted 30 kites in the air, and the great thing is that it is not crowded and there are virtually no tourists. And the water is waste deep at low tide and armpit deep at high tide. I can set up, then launch the kite and ride for my ten minutes, land the kite, rest for twenty minutes, repeat. It is great.
When we were here before Normandie and I anchored at Sapodilla Bay. But to my dismay the place has been gentrified. Where we parked the car and landed the dinghy is now upscale condos with gates and fences. So I moved down to South Side Marina. It will give me protection from the cold fronts, a place for the rental car, and internet access.
That five days of sailing last week took me out of the tropics and into the temperate zone. The temperature of the air and water is a little bit cooler, but what is most noticeable is that here there is weather. Some days are cooler than others, some days don't have wind or the wind reverses, today is a rainy day. It has been seven months since I have had a rainy day. Really heavy dew in the morning. And mosquitoes and no-see-ums. It took me several days to accept the fact of screens at night, and repellant if I want to sit out on deck. But I really like to go to the IGA Supermarket and be able to read the labels; to know what I am buying. I bought a bag of ginger snaps, and knew what it was going to be. Not once since I have been here have I not known what was happening. I am so very intimidated when I have to function in a language other than english. I will bypass Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to keep from having to deal with another language. A few weeks ago I tried to describe what was written on some cans I bought in a French market. I got a response from a Power Squadron friend who is bi-lingual in french and very fluent in spanish (and knows celestial navigation). If Normandie can not go that would be the perfect crew for me. I can sail the boat. What I need is someone who can tell me what is going on.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
Saturday 30 January - Kiteboard Heaven
I found it: Long Bay, Providenciales Island, Caicos, Turks & Caicos, British West Indies. Three miles of white sandy beach with onshore wind, behind a reef so the water doesn't have waves. There are beach accesses to park the car 30 feet from the beach with picnic tables. They dress the beach every day so it is clean. I counted 30 kites in the air, and the great thing is that it is not crowded and there are virtually no tourists. And the water is waste deep at low tide and armpit deep at high tide. I can set up, then launch the kite and ride for my ten minutes, land the kite, rest for twenty minutes, repeat. It is great.
When we were here before Normandie and I anchored at Sapodilla Bay. But to my dismay the place has been gentrified. Where we parked the car and landed the dinghy is now upscale condos with gates and fences. So I moved down to South Side Marina. It will give me protection from the cold fronts, a place for the rental car, and internet access.
That five days of sailing last week took me out of the tropics and into the temperate zone. The temperature of the air and water is a little bit cooler, but what is most noticeable is that here there is weather. Some days are cooler than others, some days don't have wind or the wind reverses, today is a rainy day. It has been seven months since I have had a rainy day. Really heavy dew in the morning. And mosquitoes and no-see-ums. It took me several days to accept the fact of screens at night, and repellant if I want to sit out on deck. But I really like to go to the IGA Supermarket and be able to read the labels; to know what I am buying. I bought a bag of ginger snaps, and knew what it was going to be. Not once since I have been here have I not known what was happening. I am so very intimidated when I have to function in a language other than english. I will bypass Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to keep from having to deal with another language. A few weeks ago I tried to describe what was written on some cans I bought in a French market. I got a response from a Power Squadron friend who is bi-lingual in french and very fluent in spanish (and knows celestial navigation). If Normandie can not go that would be the perfect crew for me. I can sail the boat. What I need is someone who can tell me what is going on.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
I found it: Long Bay, Providenciales Island, Caicos, Turks & Caicos, British West Indies. Three miles of white sandy beach with onshore wind, behind a reef so the water doesn't have waves. There are beach accesses to park the car 30 feet from the beach with picnic tables. They dress the beach every day so it is clean. I counted 30 kites in the air, and the great thing is that it is not crowded and there are virtually no tourists. And the water is waste deep at low tide and armpit deep at high tide. I can set up, then launch the kite and ride for my ten minutes, land the kite, rest for twenty minutes, repeat. It is great.
When we were here before Normandie and I anchored at Sapodilla Bay. But to my dismay the place has been gentrified. Where we parked the car and landed the dinghy is now upscale condos with gates and fences. So I moved down to South Side Marina. It will give me protection from the cold fronts, a place for the rental car, and internet access.
That five days of sailing last week took me out of the tropics and into the temperate zone. The temperature of the air and water is a little bit cooler, but what is most noticeable is that here there is weather. Some days are cooler than others, some days don't have wind or the wind reverses, today is a rainy day. It has been seven months since I have had a rainy day. Really heavy dew in the morning. And mosquitoes and no-see-ums. It took me several days to accept the fact of screens at night, and repellant if I want to sit out on deck. But I really like to go to the IGA Supermarket and be able to read the labels; to know what I am buying. I bought a bag of ginger snaps, and knew what it was going to be. Not once since I have been here have I not known what was happening. I am so very intimidated when I have to function in a language other than english. I will bypass Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to keep from having to deal with another language. A few weeks ago I tried to describe what was written on some cans I bought in a French market. I got a response from a Power Squadron friend who is bi-lingual in french and very fluent in spanish (and knows celestial navigation). If Normandie can not go that would be the perfect crew for me. I can sail the boat. What I need is someone who can tell me what is going on.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II
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