Sunday 19 Jan, BHS day 20: Nice sail from Eleuthera to Exumas.
When we were in Florida heading for Cuba on 29 December, we made one of our snap decisions to go via the Exumas in the Bahamas instead of going directly to Cuba. We left for the Bahamas the next day. But here we are 3 weeks later only just arriving to the Exumas! We do tend to get side tracked sometimes 🙂
The wind has calmed down this morning. It’s time to leave Cape Eleuthera Marina, as planned. The only important job to do before we depart is to reinstate the vertical batten in the main sail, which was broken. And then to complete my “a stitch time-saves-nine” sewing on the mainsail leach. Or more like “a stitch in time saves the sail”! So there I hang, half way up the mast, for about an hour, completing the job. It would have taken seconds on our new Sailrite sewing machine but we can’t get the machine up the mast! And to take the main down and back up again would be a full days job. If we ever have to remove the mainsail in a hurry on this boat… it simply isn’t happening.
Maybe, when time comes for new sails, we will accidentally lose the whole rig over the side. It will be so much easier 🙂
By midday we cast off and we are on our way. Out of the marina the shallow banks quickly drop off to deep oceanic depths. A perfect place to catch fish. So as soon as we are out the marina entrance, the line and lure are out. The wind is a nice 10-12 kts on the beam so next task is sails out. But we only get a third of the main sail out when: Bzzzzzz off goes the fishing line already, spooling off the reel like crazy! In fact, it’s lucky I was at the stern watching the main come out, because the rod almost jumped out of its holder. I got my hand on it just in time. With the engine knocked off we let the fish fight for a while then bring it in. Almost as soon as we see the fish we suspect it’s a grouper by its huge mouth and brown colour. And once on board it has those Botox looking lips and big bulging eyes. Our first grouper!
We do the usual, squirting medical alcohol in the gills to let it die happy, but must be an Irish fish because the alcohol doesn’t seem to have any effect. It just keeps wriggling for ages. So we just leave it to die. I don’t mind cutting up a dead fish, but somehow I can’t whack them on the head to kill them – especially with those bulging eyes looking at me!
I come back 30 mins later with dissecting tools (bucket, knives and chopping board) and soon we have at least 2 meals worth of grouper in the fridge. No prizes for guessing what we have for dinner 🙂
The rest of the sail is very pleasant … for me. For Oana not so much. She took her sea-sickness pill too late for it to have its effect, and she’s feeling nauseous for the first part of the journey. There is quite a swell left over from the strong wind these last days and although Cloudy is nicely ploughing the waves at 7-8 kts, the motion is not great. Well, it’s as expected, but not as we are used to after our tranquil conditions in Eleuthera.
The deep water passage is 25 miles and soon Highbourne Cay is in view. I read lots of Active Captain comments on anchorages being rolly, and decide, with this southerly swell, to anchor in the bay on the north side of Highbourne. The usual east side will have swell. After the quietness of Eleuthera, it looks like Exumas will be quite different, judging by the many masts we can see at anchor. At least 12 at Allan Cay and too many to count on the east side of Highbourne. Our chosen bay has just 4 yachts anchored in calm conditions. We anchor in 3.5m on perfect white sand. Diving the anchor is a pleasure. The water is so crystal clear, and feels warmer than Eleuthera. Lovely.
Dinner is, you guessed it, half a grouper. It won’t fit in the pan so I try my first filleting. I think I’ll be needing some practice at that. Sorry about making a mess of you, Mr.Grouper. But no matter how you looked, you tasted yummy. Thanks.
Our evening is quiet. Pitch dark outside under a perfectly clear starry sky. With lots of mast head lights all over the horizon. We have 2 days of quiet before the next wind comes in from the north. We will have to do some serious research where we can hide for that one.