Abacos, Bahamas

Until recently, Albert was feeling snobby about the Abacos.  They are the closest serious Bahamas cruising area from the US, so they would be crowded and touristy.  Most of the sailboat charter companies in the Bahamas run out of Marsh Harbor in the middle of the Sea of Abaco, as the bank is called, so that proves the point.  But after being here only a short few weeks, he and Jenny have been pleasantly surprised.



The entire Bahamas archipelago is big-- 500 nautical miles from the Abacos to Inagua at the southeast side of the island country.  Another 200 miles to the Turks and Caicos, with the same geology and Brittish history.  We had thought we'd go to the central part of the Bahamas-- George Town, Exumas; Long Island; and other islands around there.  Now, we're not motivated to travel that 250 miles-- each way.  Other cruisers we've been meeting up here say that the Exumas are more crowded than the Abacos, and it's harder to find protection when a front comes through.  Winter in the Bahamas is not continuously idyllic-- just often enough.

And the Abacos are classic Bahamas, with a 100 mile long barrier reef to the north and east of the cays on the ocean side of the Sea of Abaco, the snorkelling and abundance of sea-life is astounding and the surrounding water is crystal clear.  A quick mention about all of the plastic pollution washed up on the beaches and other shores; It gets picked up in the resort areas of course, but plenty of locations are not convenient to a disposal location.  Albert was here in the early 80's, and he agrees with everyone we asked about its, its gotten worse over the years.  if we didn't know about the micro-plastic pollution reality in the oceans, it would just be interesting flotsam and beach finds, but...  [We could also go on about the poor solid waste disposal pracices here, but an open burn landfill is the cheapest thing I'm sure, and I'll spare the photos.]

The people are laid-back and friendly.  At the restaurants and marinas, no one seems to care about geting paid until you make them give you an accounting.  It's always good to discuss the fees up front, of course.  Food and eveything is fairly expensive (like all of the Bahamas), but there are good marina deals.  There are also plenty of fancy places that want more than $2.00/ ft/ night, too, but we didn't go to those places in the US, either.  We're paying $11.00/ night for a
mooring in Black Sound on Green Turtle Cay, but we've anchored out a lot too.

The Abacos have some tourist infrastructure, with a range of accommodations and services for visitors, but no high-rises or crazy stuff.  Much of the "infrastructure" serves the locals as much as the tourists-- like the ferries, local stores, and marine services.  And the whole scene is very Bahamas--  the village on Green Turtle Cay is compact with narrow roads perfect for golf carts; neat landscaped yards; the restaurants have outside decks, some with roofs; the good ones have screens or maybe even clear plastic wind blockers.  The regular restaurants are basically inexpensive, considering the cost of food at the stores; no doubt the fancy places have fancy prices.  Other than very basic stuff, supplies are hard to get.  If it's not available in Marsh Harbor (which is not easy to reach from GTC,) you need to figure out a shipping system, and there's customs and fees and all that.  So, as close the Abacos are to the US, it feels like a world away.

As I write this, we've been just hanging out for a month in the vicinity of GTC.  This area is west of Whale Cay and the channel that must be taken into the ocean and back onto the bank to the east.  This passage is not safe in strong north to east winds, which are common this time of year.  We expect that it will be more crowded to the east of Whale Cay; the "Hub" of Abaco is the area around Marsh Harbor, Hope Town on Elbow Cay, and Man-o-war Cay.  But I'm sure all of the Abacos will have the same charm and beauty.  These are all places where people live year-round.  Sure, there are some tourist-oriented services and facilities, but the people here are friendly and happy to share their special place in the world.

PS-  We have read the book "Abaco- the History of an Out Island and its Cays" by Steve Dodge.  The book is also a basic history of all the Bahamas, and it includes stories of the same pirates that we read about in a great book picked up earlier, "St. Augustine Pirates and Privateers" (by Theodore Corbett.)  The early colonial times were hard, with plenty of shipwrecks and slow communication and other dangers.  None of the native Lucayan indians survived, of course, and the early settlers in the Bahamas lived a subsistence lifestyle, with no dependable commercial transportation.  There is still that element to life here, as noted above.
 

Arriving in West End, Bahamas

On the evening of December 6, 6:30 pm, we left from Lake Worth inlet at Palm Beach, destination West End.  It's only 55 miles or so east, but the Gulf Stream flows at about us 2.5 knots due north, so you need to travel 30%. or more off the direct course and that much farther, maybe a total of 72 miles. No biggie, just need to plan it in. The wind had been blowing hard, 25 knots, out of the south for a couple of days. It had lightened up to about 15, but the seas were still pretty big.
Just outside the inlet in the dark, big seas, a boat came up to us fast and close before we figured out it's a Coast Guard inflatable type patrol boat. They called us up on Channel 16, and as things go, our main VHF radio would not transmit at that moment. We eventually responded on the other VHF, and they asked us a bunch of basically friendly questions, like: Where are you from?  Where are you going?  How many on board?  Are they US citizens?  Just 2 U.S. citizens, and 2 US dogs. They finally said, well, remember if you ever need help from the US Coast Guard, just call us on Channel 16.   Thanks. Really.

We were able to sail at a pretty decent speed (5 to 6 knots) for the first part of the night, until midnight. Then the wind died to light out of the west and we motor-sailed. The sails took a beating because of the rolling from the seas, but they stabilized the rolling of the boat somewhat.
Early in the morning, Albert noticed that the boom connection to the mast had come apart, and it was putting excessive forces on the mainsail tack and the first couple of sail track slides.  He woke up Jenny, and went up to the mast hoping it was a loose bolt or something reasonable. But no, the whole fitting was stress cracked, and the 5/8" bolt/ pin had completely sheared off.  So, a line was tied from a remaining piece of the fitting to the mast, securely, so that the mainsail could hold some tension.
We only used this emergency repair for the next few hours until we entered the outer harbor at West End. We prefer to handle sails in a protected condition if it's possible, which it's not, of course.
One thing we noticed before entering the breakwater channel was a sailboat about1/4 mile north, apparently beyond the rocks south of Indian Cay, lying low in the water with her mainsail luffing and not moving. A little strange.

Later in the morning on the dock, Albert talked to a guy named Pat with red, sun-bleached hair in shorts and sandals, who said that's his boat, a 32' production catamaran.   Yesterday morning in the dark, he ran her onto the rocks trying to find them West End channel, and she sank and is now awash.  It was only a matter time before she broke up completely.  He would get the sail down today, and begin to move what he could off the boat.
His wife had just moved aboard with all of her important things, and he had all of his worldly possessions aboard, including carpenters tools, some from his father and grandfather.  Locals were helping them with a place to stay, and some logistics, hopefully. He said he had been living on sailboats for most of his adult life, they had raised their (now adult) children on a different boat. This whole situation would be a good article for Cruising World magazine, but we didnt have the time for that effort.  In a later conversatoin with a Customs official, he said that boats end up the rocks somewhat regularly, its a shame. Good luck, Pat and his wife!

Another thing is that the resort/ marina at West End, Bahama Bay something, was officially closed due to damage from Hurricane Mathew. The marina had reduced services, meaning no electric or water.  We got a low rate to stay there, so we did.  The clearing in was easy, too.  The navigation lights on the breakwaters were not working, of course. They did have fuel, using a generator.







Post script on the failed boom fitting, Albert improvised a jury rig replacement with a plain steel bolt and a shackle, but the original would need to be repaired, or replaced with something better.  A week later in Green Turtle Cay, we found a welder who fixed up the old hardware and we'll see how long that works.