Day 242 Wednesday February 19th another beautiful sail

Day 242 Wednesday February 19^th another beautiful sail

We had decided that it was time for a move yesterday evening so today the plan is to do just that.   Dawson gets up for the 6:30 am Chris Parker show.  Anyone planning to sail down here must get an SSB receiver as a minimum, not only do you get a good weather forecast listening to Chris but you also learn and get an entertaining 1 hour show, with Chris as the host and a cast of bunch of cruisers calling in looking for weather routing.  It is definitely worth getting up for.  (Well Julie does not get up for it)

Skinny water sailing

We are underway by 9:30 with a plan to head up to Calabash Bay at the top of Long Island for the night.  Just prior to us leaving Windward is up and underway heading back to George Town.  They call to say goodbye and to report that their daughter Michele has received a job offer from one of the plant in Sarnia.

The sail is a beautiful one in about 20 knots of winds out of the east.  For the 1^st leg we are on a beam reach with a single reef in the main and the full 110 genoa out.  When we have to harden up we reef the genny as well.  Jazzebelle is having a good time and we are galloping along at over 6 knots.  Somewhere along the sail we re-cross the Tropic of Cancer (back to the North side), not as exciting as crossing the equator but it is something. The water is fairly skinny (shallow) so we are riding the magenta line of the Explorer charts.  For all people coming to the Bahamas the Explorer Charts are a must.  If you go with a Garmin GPS they have the benefits of Garmin’s purchase and use of the explorer charts.  We have found the explorer charts to be very accurate; the Navionics charts on the other hand are way off to the point of being a navigation hazard themselves.  Do not use Navionics in the Bahamas!  Note that Raymarine does not use explorer charts and that is a problem.

 

Panorama forward 

Panorama to the aft

Julie on Calabash Beach

We arrive at Calabash Bay just after 1 pm.  As we drop the sails and pull in we see two sailboats leaving the anchorage, which we take as not a good sign.  We drop the hook in the south of the bay but can definitely feel a swell within the bay from the waves in the Atlantic.  The guide book does warn of this but we find it hard to believe that an eastern swell would wrap around the island like that but it does.  After about 30 minutes we up anchor to see what it is like on the north end of the bay.  It proves to be better in the north, we are still in the wind (you are always anchored in wind in the Bahamas) but the swell is less, and we are also closer to the resort.

After lunch and we are sure Jazzebelle is secure we head into the resort for a walk on the beach.  First we have to launch the dinghy and motor (the new one).  This is normally done easily, but today we have a disaster as when the motor is being lowered from the hoist the attachment breaks.  Luckily we have a second line on the motor, however it happens as Dawson is guiding it so he does have one hand on the harness and although the motor does go in the water he hoists it out within seconds.  Julie grabs the safety line and assists with the weight until we can get the harness back on and it fitted properly.

Monkey face carved into outcrop along Calabash Beach

  Once back on Dawson removes the lid to have a look.  We consult the owner’s manual and it says for full submersion we are to take it immediately to the Yamaha dealer as it starts to corrode immediately.  Well we know that is not going to happen as there is no dealership around here.  Fortunately there seems to be no water inside.  Most likely Dawson got it out of the water so quickly that there was no time for water to get inside.  We are hoping that is the case.  The motor starts up and runs fine so time will tell.  It was not until afterwards that we were so thankful it happened when it did.  (outside of happening to the old engine vs. the 2 week old engine)  We realize that the motor could have been over the dinghy and Dawson’s feet and had it fallen then, Dawson could have been injured and the engine could have gone straight through the dinghy.  Anyways we managed through this crisis and are heading out to try a Sky Juice at the bar.  Tracey from Jalu had told Julie she must try it if and when she makes it to Cape Santa Maria.  The resort is Canadian owned with the few guest we meet being Canadians.  We hear from one group that the Canadian hockey teams are doing well.  We head into the bar for a sundowner and we both have a Sky Juice.  A Sky Juice is Sweetened Milk, Coconut Water and Gin.  The 1^st one is served on ice and Julie asks if she can have hers out of a blender.  The bartender agrees but admits that this will be his first.  Julie gets his first attempt but it is too diluted, the bartender Dwayne, tries again and gets it right on the 2^nd try.  It is quite nice with crushed ice.

After happy hour we head back to the boat.  We have a nice curry dish for dinner,  a game of Kings Cribbage, a coffee and then off to bed.

Cheers

Dawson and Julie