The Bahamas were some of the most challenging and interesting sailing we have encountered thus far, different than any of the sailing in the Caribbean.
Our introduction to shallow seas was in Turks and Caicos when we began sailing over this continental shelf and continued on and off the entire time for our sail north. Although there is a drop off in the Bahamas, much of our sailing was in 2 or 3 meters of water, and we became quite adept at anchoring in 1 meter of water (especially when it was clear as glass- Paul called it the color of “rich people’s swimming pool”).
We entered the Bahamas by staying in Little Inagua, our desert island paradise- and then sailing to Long Island, Rum Caye, San Salvador, Conception Island, and then on to the Exumas to escape a passing Northern. We spent only a few days in Georgetown, preferring the company of a few friendly boats over the crowded anchorage there- although we were grateful for the protection, and we witnessed at least 4 or more vessels getting struck by lightning during the storm, and the community coming together to help them.
We stayed in the Exumas for a few weeks, sailing in out and out of cuts and shallow inlets, visiting with swimming beach pigs, Paul hunting for lobster, me perfecting my freestyle stroke in the prettiest water, all while keeping close watch on the tides. But after a while, we became tired of flat, empty, sandy cayes (champagne problems, but one does get lonely), and headed in the direction of Eleuthra.
Eleuthra was enjoyable for its lovely population (friendly, open, generous, wanting to feed us until bursting and offering advice and tips, and a place to sit in the shade and feed the chickens), grocery shopping, a liquor store that carried wine, and a fun challenge of the Current Cut- an infamous cut through that is narrow, deep, and runs extremely fast. Our boat marked her fastest speed over ground yet- 10k- and we celebrated on the other side by anchoring at an empty beach, and snorkeling while the sun set.
We sailed over night to the Abacos- still recovering from a hurricane in 2019, but friendly, beautiful, and chock full of charter boats and short-term sailors. We made friends with other vessels and I tried to befriend the feral cat population, but at this point we were on a tighter schedule to pick up a friend, so after some fluff and fold laundry and an excellent haircut for Paul, we set sail north and arrived to Grand Bahama.
A lovely flat anchorage gave us refuge and we picked up Greg on Friday evening. Our plan was to cross the final 60 miles to Florida, and enter the US for the first time with our Belle.- but we had to wait for our weather window, as there were more Northerns in the forecast, and the swell in the gulfstream was also in our sights. Luckily, Greg didn’t mind a few days of conch fritters and Bushcrack while he fished off the stern, so while we kept an eye on the future, we settled in to enjoy the last few days of Bahamian present- seas, sharks, sandfleas, sunsets, rum punches, sundowners, and the nicest people around.
To be continued—-
TIBURON MARINO 