The leisurely sail back up to New England — Part VI — May 13 through May 17 (Subtitle: Fabulous locations with a little bit of whine)

When we left off in our last blog post we had just cleared Bahamas customs and immigration and were looking forward to exploring the islands.  We didn’t have a care in the world until Zack checked on our engine.  Our friend and skipper who joined us on our passage down to St. Thomas,  Dan Valoppi, had instilled in us the importance of periodically checking in on the engine.  With all the thrashing and bashing that is part of most passages, just a good habit to get into.  So, hearing Dan’s voice in his head, Zack dutifully took a look at the engine before calling it a night.  

Unfortunately, he got quite a surprise.  Our engine is a common rail engine and there is an engine control unit (ECU) that is mounted with brackets right onto the engine.  The ECU is the brains of the engine and manages the high compression injector system.  Without it, the engine will not run.  Sometime during the latter part of our two day passage up to the Bahamas from Turks and Caicos, one of the three attachment brackets broke and the ECU was wobbling precariously.  If it had disengaged entirely and fallen off the engine, it would have ripped the wires that connect to the engine along with it, totally disabling the engine.  What a scary thought!

So, first thing on our agenda for the next morning (May 13) was figuring out a temporary solution that would soundly secure the ECU to the engine and get us all the way to CT where we could have our boatyard create a permanent fix.  Thank goodness for all these projects — not sure what we would do with all of our free time.  Zack, our resident MacGyver, was able to come up with a very secure temporary fix and by Noon we were ready to explore the area around George Town.  

A note to our readers (all two or three of you!) before we tell you about our wonderful stay in the Bahamas:  though we like to remind you that much of our time is spent doing repairs, maintenance and cleaning in exotic places, trust us when we say we have spared you the details of most of it.  We haven’t written about (1) the vitrifrigio freezer/refrigerator that continues to fail after, literally, thousands of dollars of repairs, (2) the mystery of the keel cooling refrigerator (also possibly failing?) that periodically with no obvious cause warms up to 45 degrees but then goes back down again to 39 degrees, (3) the alternator that doesn’t charge our batteries while the engine is running until we reduce the RPMs on the engine and then increase them again which then does begin the put the right ampage in the batteries but slows down the speed of our boat by a knot or (4) most concerning, the possible faulty max prop that doesn’t want to consistently engage in reverse — kind of a critical function if you are trying to dock or anchor.  All minor (not) inconveniences.  This is to say that life on a boat presents wonderful, enriching, experiences you cannot have any other way but it requires constant vigilance, patience, a high degree of resilience and, quite simply, a lot of hard work.  No pain, no gain?

Okay, now that we got that out of our system, after Zack secured the ECU we headed off for Stocking Island — just across from George Town — in our dinghy.  Stocking Island offers miles of hiking paths, gorgeous beaches and is the home of the famous “Chat and Chill,” a local bar and grill where cruisers gather at the end of the day to socialize and share information.  We hiked around the island for a few hours, walking through narrow tree lined paths where the foliage on each side reached out to the other as if to clasp hands, creating a canopy effect, leading us to some beautiful and totally empty beaches (well, we did see one person off in the distance at one of the beaches) as well as large (football field size) open clearings with limestone as ground cover.  

After a few hours of hiking we decided to stop by Chat and Chill for a late lunch to experience the sailing life vibe.  It was empty!  While we acknowledge that we were a bit early for happy hour and the big gathering day is Sunday when they host the weekly pig roast, we asked the staff whether the volume of customers (or, really, lack therefore) was normal.  We were informed that the number of cruisers was way down this year, significantly impacting the local businesses that rely on them.  It was interesting because, as we reported in earlier blog entries, as we traveled from the USVI through the Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and, finally, the Turks and Caicos, we were constantly struck by how few cruisers we saw.  We were often anchored by ourselves or with just a few other boats in what would ordinarily be very popular anchorages.  We kept musing that perhaps everyone was in the Bahamas and expected the Bahamas to be crowded with cruisers.  When we arrived, however, that did not appear to be the case.  Even the prime anchorages off George Town in the Great Exumas that are very popular with cruisers (so much so that every morning at 8 AM there is a group radio chat on channel 72 where new arrivals can introduce themselves, those departing can say good-bye and everyone shares information on what’s happening in and around the area for the day) were far from cheek to jowl — generally what you expect during the height of cruising season in this vibrant community of cruisers.  

Following our visit in GT, next on our hit parade was Rudder Cut Cay.  We hoped to spend a few days there but based on the predictions of building north easterly winds — and our next destination, Cat Island, offering great shelter from those winds — we decided to get up early on May 14, get the Rudder Cut Cay by 1 PM or so and enjoy the area the rest of the day but leave the next morning for Cat Island to beat the high winds.  We viewed Rudder Cut Cay as one of those “check the box” kind of stops.  We were excited to explore this storied location but more because it is considered a “must see” in all of the cruiser’s guides and not because it otherwise held great attraction for us.   The two main items that cruisers go there is see is the “dinghy garage” — a wide but shallow cave right off the beach that is large enough to fit a dinghy (several really) — and the underwater stainless steel sculpture of a mermaid and grand piano (true to size) commissioned by the magician, David Copperfield, who owns one of the private islands in the area. In fact, when we decided to cut our stay short  due to the building northerly winds we even considered eliminating Rudder Cut Cay from our itinerary all together.  We are so glad we didn’t!

Of course, we visited the dinghy garage (we actually anchored our boat within view of it) and snorkeled around the submerged sculpture but those activities paled in comparison to the main feature which was beautiful white sandy beaches with crystal clear water and some of the best coral formations we’ve seen since we arrived in the Caribbean in November.  After anchoring, we started the day by taking the obligatory dinghy ride to the dinghy garage but after a quick “been there, done that,” we motored our dinghy around the corner to this breathtaking beach in a deep bay.  As soon as we turned the corner we saw turtles and stingrays galore through the glass like surface of the shallow bay.  We wasted no time dropping our dinghy anchor and jumping in to swim among them.  This is one of those times that we actually wished we had an underwater camera — and not because of the turtles and rays but because the sunlight shining through that crystal clear water reflected on the sandy bottom creating these intense sparkles of light.  It was as if you were swimming through a field of diamonds.  It would have made for an incredible photo – frame worthy we are sure.

After swimming in that bay for a while we climbed back into our dinghy and ventured back around the corner to where the cave was and jumped back in the water.  A friendly cruiser had stopped by after we anchored earlier in the day and told us where to find the best coral.  She also recommended that we tie our dinghy to one of our wrists and take advantage of the current, allowing us and our dinghy to glide forward in the water.  The best coral was in a very long area between the cave and where the submerged sculpture was and we decided to go the distance.  Wow!  Our snorkel path to the sculpture was a dense coral garden with vibrant colors (purples, reds, yellows) that were easy to see in the clear shallow water on a bright sunny day.  We have done a lot of diving and this coral rivaled some of the best dive spots we have explored.  Along the way we saw numerous tropical fish, a very, very large stingray and some interesting creatures we have yet to identify.  One was this very interesting sea animal that looked like a mini stingray (perhaps a diameter of 4 – 5 inches) but it was a light, almost sandy color, with white spots.  It was so well camouflaged that we would have missed it if it hadn’t moved.  

Our snorkel ended when we reached the piano sculpture which was covered with growth, and deliberately designed with lots of nooks and crannies creating a home for all manner of sea creatures.  We could have done that snorkel all over again but it was getting late and it was time to start preparing dinner, and, of course, enjoy cocktail hour.  Our day was capped with a double rainbow after a quick rain shower, a synchronized swim show performed by some local cuddlefish attracted by our underwater lights (you truly get the sense that their movements are choreographed as they pulsate through the water almost in unison) and a gorgeous post sunset sky that we have used as our featured photo for this post.   We could not have asked for a better day and were so glad we decided to keep Rudder Cut Cay in our itinerary even if we truncated our visit there.

Next stop was Cat Island.  As we mentioned, we were watching the wind forecasts and knew that the north winds would be building.  It was supposed to increase throughout the day on May 15 and reach 20 MPH by May 16.  There are few things worse than motoring in 15+ winds directly on your nose so we left Rudder Cut by 7:30 AM in an effort to beat the worst of the winds.  We arrived at our chosen destination off Cat Island, an anchorage just off the town of New Bight, by 3:30 PM and before the winds had a chance to build more to more than about 11 knots.  While we still had to motor — we just can’t sail directly into the wind and constant tacking to get the right angle would have significantly increased the duration of our trip (most likely getting us caught up in the heavier winds as they continued to build) — the relatively mild winds made for a smooth passage.  Our plan was to stay there a few days, enjoying this more secluded location (it is definitely not a tourist destination) and then head to Wardrick Wells when the winds shifted and died down.  

We were greeted at the anchorage by our only neighbors, fellow Hylas 56 owners. This is a couple we met while in the Hylas buying process and who we ran into at boat shows and at the 2018 Hylas Rendezvous in Bristol RI.  When Jill posted a question in the FB Hylas owners forum, the USVI Cruisers Group or Bahamas Crusing group to get recommendations on repairs or the best places to clear customs (etc.) it always seemed like they were the first to jump in with a response.  As a result, we kept in touch and hoped that our itineraries would align at some point and we would have the opportunity to see them in person.

That finally happened on Cat Island and, within moments of anchoring, we received a lovely invitation to join our friends for cocktails on their boat.  It was great getting to know them better and, given their vast experience as cruisers (they have lived on their boat 10 years and have been cruising FT between New England and the Caribbean for the last 5), to have the opportunity to pick their brains on all sorts of subjects of both a general and Hylas specific nature.  Importantly, this included a discussion of the potential causes of the issue we were having with our max prop.  (See item # 4 on our list of operational failures above).  After spending a few hours together we departed with an invitation to stop by the next day to continue the Hylas specific discussion.  Our itinerary originally had us exploring Cat Island the next day but with the opportunity to continue to learn from this experienced couple, Zack ended up spending a good portion of the day over at their boat and Jill took advantage of the opportunity to solidify the plans for our brief stay in CT.  

Upon returning to the boat Zack shared with Jill that the max prop issue continued to weigh on his mind (again, not having confidence you can get your boat into reverse every time without failure when docking or anchoring is much more than a mere inconvenience) and that he felt we really needed to get to a marina where a diver could take a look at it and try some of the fixes he had discussed with our friends.  So we agreed to a change in plans.  Instead of heading to Wardrick Wells, we departed at 8 AM for a marina on Eleuthera.  Sadly, that meant no Wardrick Wells in our itinerary 😕 — which is supposed to be one of the most spectacular places in the Bahamas — but it did mean piece of mind for the Captain and Admiral and, if the repairs work, some extra time in Eleuthera.  We are constantly navigating (no pun intended) these kinds of decisions as we balance our desire to reach certain locations with the reality of current and predicted weather/wind conditions, the time we have to play with and the state of Che Figata’s mechanical affairs.

We departed for Eleuthera early in the morning on May 17.  The sail to Eleuthera was fast — we started under a reefed main and full genoa in 14 to 16 knot winds and cooked along at nearly eight knots.  The wind was right on our beam and built to gusts around 20.  At one point we were sailing at 9.2 knots — about as fast as Che Figata can go!  (As we have said before, Che Figata loves a beam reach.)  We eventually reefed the genoa  — twice!  We kept the same speed, once again reinforcing the maxims of reef early and flatter is faster.  

We arrived at Cape Eleuthera Marina at around 3 pm.  The challenge now was docking.  Anchoring has its own issues, but it is much easier to drop a hook than maneuver a 30 ton object in close quarters with lots of sharp pointy things around (docks, rocks, other boats, etc.).  The wind was pretty gusty but dropped to around 13 mph as we started into the channel.  The marina has a semicircle of small finger docks and pilings.  Luckily the slip assignment, #104, allowed us to come up almost directly into the wind before backing into the slip stern first.  Not so luckily, just as we turned to back in to the slip a squall came through with rain and shifty winds up to 18 mph.  It seems our Virgin Islands curse of squalls as we dock had followed us to the Bahamas!  Without any drama and with solid help from two experienced marina dock hands catching lines off the stern, we backed in, got lines around pilings and did not hit the dock with our stern — despite every attempt by the wind to shove us into it.  As we got lines out and tied, we looked down and noticed our welcoming committee of ten large nurse sharks hanging out in the shallow water on our stern.  Quite the sight!  

Fingers crossed that we can successfully address our prop issue and be on our way to our next location within beautiful Eleuthera as the wind gods allow.