Weird Winter Weather in the Exumas – Part1

The succession of fronts in the Exumas just keep coming.  We get a few days’ break in the weather and scurry down to Blackpoint Settlement, a small town of several hundred residents and a locale that is very accommodating to cruisers.   

The anchorage at Blackpoint

Newly built vacation houses at Blackpoint - this is a comparatively industrious community for the Exumas

The laundromat is the best in the Bahamas as Ida, the proprietor, takes great pride in keeping it spotless, newly painted, and in good working order, an oddity in these areas. 

Assisting one of the local sailors with rebuilding his traditional racing sloop, Seahorse

We celebrate Super Bowl Sunday at Scorpio’s Bar and Grill with a mixture of locals and cruisers.  It is a “spirited” evening with an outstanding buffet dinner of traditional Bahamian fare. And you just can’t leave Blackpoint without a loaf or two of Lorraine’s mother’s famous coconut bread.

We hike to the local blow hole which sends up plumes of spray

And why is the blow hole blowing?  Just look at the ocean waves on a windy day.

But later we have a classic Bahamian sunset

But leave we must as another significant front is bearing down on us. We had hoped to spend the weekend at Little Farmer’s Cay to attend their homecoming and traditional Bahamian sloop regatta, but the weather just won’t allow it.  Even some of the locals from Blackpoint will not attend as the winds will be too strong for their tender boats. We have a nice sail south on the banks to Musha Cay where we anchor in front of David Copperfield’s resort compound.  It is an idyllic tropical setting where guests can pay somewhere around $10,000 per day to soak up the luxury. 

The beach front of David Copperfield's resort on Musha Cay

Copperfield owns Musha along with nearby Rudder Cay where he also has a private home.  The next day we continue on to the protected harbor at George Town where we will stay for an extended period of time.

The decision to camp out in George Town proves to be wise and most of the boats in the northern Exumas are making a similar choice, resulting in over 300 boats in Elizabeth Harbor.   

Wind and waves pound the ocean side of Stocking Island which forms the harbor at George Town

The weather has become increasingly difficult as every 48 hours fronts pass through with winds close to gale force, even in our protected anchorage. 

The storm bears down on our anchorage

One night the wind makes an abrupt switch in direction and blows into the 30’s.  The boat to windward of us has let out additional chain, and now it blows back on to us.  The only escape is to begin letting out additional scope on our boat until both boats come to rest less than a boat length apart – all this is done in the dark of night.  For several days we are pinned between the up wind boat and another to our lee, unable to extricate ourselves as the windward boat is directly over our anchor and rode.  Another fierce storm rolls in a few days later but during daylight hours.  After the initial blasts of wind, you can look in any direction and see at least one boat dragging.  Most of the boats are able to self rescue but two catamarans have broken loose and either have inoperable engines or have fouled their engines with anchor rode.  The dinghy brigade springs into action as ten or more dinghies attempt to corral the drifting boats before they cause additional damage to themselves or to surrounding boats. 

Burt, in the dinghy, heads off to help rescue a dragging boat

One has pinned its stern to the side of a large trawler and is causing considerable damage to fiberglass and stainless. I watch with binoculars as Burt and our friend Anthony try to maneuver the two boats apart and help the stunned crews re-anchor.  At least this time there are two people in the dinghy as the waves and wind would make this dangerous single-handed operation. 

In the midst of the storms we are sitting in the cockpit and happen to glance back to notice the motor is no longer on our dinghy. Burt left it in the up position and with the wave action and newly greased fastening bolts, it has worked it way free and is dangling behind the dinghy, submersed in the water and attached only by a backup lanyard.  Panic ensues as our dinghy and motor are essential to our cruising life.  In three foot waves we attach the harness of the motor to the lift and bring it back on board.  Burt starts tearing it apart while I get on the VHF radio to solicit information on how one services a submerged engine.  With less than two hours of daylight left we manage to change the oil, remove the spark plug, rinse every conceivable crevice with fresh water, reassemble the entire engine, and, hallelujah, it starts back up and runs for the recommended half hour.  We are utterly exhausted and pretty unnerved.  The next day Burt repeats the entire process along with rinsing and treating all the electrical connections.  We are back in running order, but now the bolt toggles are tied together so that they can’t accidentally unscrew.  

George Town is famous for its annual Cruiser’s Regatta, and this year we have become involved in the racing portion – Burt as statistician and I as general help.  After re-scheduling around inclement weather, we serve on the committee boat for the in-harbor race. Several days later we race Exuberant in the Round-the-Island race in perfect conditions.  It’s a nail-bitter as we sail through the skinny water of the western harbor (several shallower draft boats actually went aground) and out into the deep sapphire waters of Exuma Sound.  Our boat speed is great, and we’re having a lot of fun with our novice crew, taking several head to toe dousings of water while hiking on the rail.  But, we choose the wrong side of the course and lose distance on the boats we had already passed.  Bottom line – we came in 5^th in our class but have the distinction of beating the boat which historically wins this race.   

After the race our crew celebrates with the Bahamian flag in the background.  Included are Sue and Al from Nova Scotia and Phil from Maine.

 

Boats (including ours) anchored off the beach at Chat and Chill - just a small portion of the 350 boats in the harbor for the Regatta.