Paradise: aka Warderick Wells

02/28/2010   
Warderick Wells Exhuma Cays Land and Sea Park: N 24 deg, 23.622' ; W 076 deg, 38.100'


176 square miles, no houses or resorts, only the park headquarters.  No fuel, fresh water or bathrooms.  Just unspoiled nature, well-kept but unobtrusive trails, a few bouys to secure dinghies while snorkleling in the crystal clear water, and excellent, well-protected moorings.  Everyone respects the rule: Take only photographs, leave only footprints.  We have been here a week. Every time we think about leaving, another front comes through, it blows 35 kts and we say, "Maybe tomorrow."  Ben, this is one of those times that we are greatful for our watermaker.  Our fast dinghy (motor finally humming like a sewing machine and pushing us along at 20 kts --not bad for 9.8 hp--) is perfect for exploring all the little cays and beaches.  Heidi and I have of course discovered a beach just big enough for a picnic for two naked people. (Don't worry friends and family, no pictures.)


Many of our old friends who left Miami a week after we did because they were waiting for calm conditions to cross the stream have caught up with us here.  Since we will be going north again to pick up Paul and Mary Beth on Friday, March 5, we expect we'll meet a whole new batch of south-bound cruisers.  It seems that many people are content to just cruise the Exhumas and then go back to Florida, and why not, the Exhumas are paradise.  I think we'll have to follow the rule that our friend Dirk who single-handed from Germany (See Heidi's previous posts) adopted: anchor off, dinghy ashore; if you see a footprint, leave.  Even with that rule, we are going to have to impose some limits on ourselves.  Fortunately we have to meet Paula in Georgetown March 23.  Eighty nautical miles in three weeks: we should be able to pick up our pace enough for that!


Tomorrow we really will shove off for Highborn Cay, 25 NM north so we can prepare to meet Paul and Mary Beth.


We miss you all.


Bill


Click here for more pictures   http://picasaweb.google.com/heidiberger2/WarderickWells#

Norman's Cay

This post begins at Norman’s Cay, Exumas, Bahamas (25 deg. 35.40' N; 076 deg. 48.08’ W)and continues to Warderick Wells, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, (24 deg.23.06’ N; 076 deg. 38.01’ W )

I am thriving in the cruising lifestyle. My body aches are minimum and my clothing feels looser although I eat all the chocolate I can find. A cruiser in Bimini recently told Bill, "You can tell this suits Heidi...see the look on her face."

A few things I didn't plan on:

1. Sweeping my entire floor by hand with a dustpan and broom on a regular basis because the 1-gallon shop-vac hogs battery power, so is saved for...

2. "StoreBags,” that you suck the air out with aforementioned vacuum, are excellent for saving space and keeping linens and (only recently necessary) unneeded winter clothing dry, and are greatly amusing to use. Downside is they turn a soft bundle into a hard packet, making it more difficult to stuff into a locker. ZipLoc vacuum bags are also good for an evening’s entertainment.

3. Our freezer, never used before this journey, can chill to minus 20 degrees! If we had a blender, we could make fancy blended drinks with umbrellas (if we had umbrellas). I tried to win a blender at the school fair (see last post from Bimini) but, alas.

4. I’m learning to barber and Bill looks remarkably respectable when we go to customs. I’ve only cut my bangs when they interfere with spotting markers on the water, so I’m getting pretty shaggy, and one of these days must work up the nerve to self-style or find a groomer in an anchorage or town.

5. We have a baby monitor aboard. This is not sweet surprise news to our families that we’re “expecting”, but Bill’s clever solution to hear the high-pitched anchor alarm from the cockpit while he sleeps. I hear it just fine without amplification, but the monitor is extra precaution.

6. I am terrifically busy and waaay behind on making Scrubbies. Today was typical: Wake early enough at Norman's Cay to hear Chris Parker's SSB weather report at 0630 hrs., keep VHF radio on to hear mooring ball assignments for Exuma Park at 0900 hrs, so we know if we'll be moving today (yes, we will.). Stow our snorkling equipment and other items which leak out of lockers and bins at each stop, lift the dinghy engine back aboard to the stern (don't tell anyone, but Bill towed engineless dinghy 20 miles today in light winds instead of deflating and lashing back on deck). Leave the anchorage slowly, sitting on deck watching water carefully for shallow coral heads. Once in deep water, I had time to get naked for the first time this year, mend a couple of things, sew ties on hand towels for the galley and take in the waistline of some pants...again...before I had to get un-naked and go back on deck to watch for shallows as we enter Warderick Wells Harbor. As we approached the cay, we saw the most amazing line of deep blue turning to turquoise where the water depth went from 900’.to 30’ in less than 5 seconds. On the way to our mooring we got a dinner invitation from a boat we knew previously, then when we dinghied ashore to check in and hike about 30 minutes to the top of Boo Boo Hill to see the panorama of cays, we met some folksaboard Tamure (they did a four year circumnavigation in the 80's with their two children) who invited us to drinks before dinner, and who already knew we were having dinner with Sparrow. (Note: we’ve lived in Newmarket over 12 years and haven’t been into a neighbor’s house yet.) So after “showering” I made some salad and put together a bag of ginger beers and rum for Dark & Stormy drinks. Then we fell into bed at 2100 hrs. after delightful times aboard both vessels.

Life is sweet and I love you all!

Heidi

Bimini Valentine

We were among the lucky people who stayed in Miami for free over SuperBowl weekend, as we happily anchored in Biscayne Bay. We left Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, alongside Felix the Cat. Bill and Chris (11) sailed aboard Act III, while Heidi crewed for Lorie on Felix. Lorie's husband, John, was in Boston on business and we wanted to move the boats to Miami to position ourselves better for crossing to the Bahamas.

The speedy sail down from Fort Lauderdale was most excellent in west winds to 20 kts.and without serious incident (Lorie learned Felix was more maneuverable leaving a slip with both keel boards down). We spent almost as much time seeking a mooring or anchorage (or even marina) in Miami as we did on the passage. Bill poked into the popular Miami anchorage of No Name Harbor at the southern tip of Key Biscayne, and came out reporting it looked like a WalMart parking lot the day after Thanksgiving, with lots of bad seamanship. Both boats finally anchored west of Virginia Key near the Causeway bridge in a fairly stiff wind that bounced Felix quite a bit. Heidi slept aboard Felix that night in case any problems occurred, but we had an uneventful sleep.

On Sunday Felix moved to nearby Crandon Park Marina, with Bill coaching Lorie from the dinghy. Lorie made 2 excellent landings at the marina, at the fuel dock and into a slip. Chris also had "driving" lessons from Bill, on both Act III and Felix, and he's a natural at the helm.

Monday Act III moved to No Name Harbor, for easier access to our route across the Gulf Stream. For the first time, we awoke early enough to listen to weather on our SSB radio (0630 hrs!), and discovered that Chris Parker is indeed a Bahama weather god. We later signed up to be a "sponsoring" vessel, which means we can call in to ask questions about weather in our specific location. It's a bit like sponsoring public radio: he provides an excellent service to cruisers who can listen in anytime. The wind had no north in it--critical for crossing the north-running Gulf Stream--and was predicted to be under 25 kts, so we left at 0800. We motor-sailed southeast for a few hours to compensate for being carried north when we hit the stream, then had a very fast sail into Bimini Harbor. The ride was a little bumpy, but nothing we haven't seen before, and Act III showed off her ability to crush through chop and waves while sailing close-hauled.

Bimini waters are clear and insanely turquoise blue. We cleared customs and immigration neatly, receiving an 8-month stay, which can be extended if necessary, and a fishing license, all for $300 cash. We unlocked our cell phones and bought a Bahama SIM card, got our Skype program active again, and can easily contact all you friends and family as long as we have internet access.

We're charmed by Bimini. Blue Water Marina is across the street from where Hemingway hung out at the Compleat Angler Hotel which, sadly, burned down in January 2006. The local museum is mostly pictures of Hemingway with his friends and family catching big fish. Last night we went to a local church school fundraiser supper and ate our fill of delicious conch fritters and lobster tail. I was disappointed and Bill was thrilled that I didn't win a large (gaudy) clock or a blender (hey, margaritas!) by picking the right numbered slip of paper from a heart-shaped board. Bill also failed to win his gal a prize at hoop throw, but I strongly suspect he wasn't really trying.

The local shop windows are full of random items, including a 2002 Bimini calendar and children's games and toys from the 1950's, alongside new cell phones. I'm still thinking about picking up some Valentine lingerie from the shop pictured above.

Bill's plumbing the watermaker to our second water tank and I'm prepping something to take to a marina BBQ tonight, where a delightful group is waiting for the current front to pass and wind return to manageable. We're planning to leave late tomorrow afternoon (2-14-2010) and sail through the night to Frazers Hog Cay. (Do you know the difference between an island and a cay?) We'll move on to Nassau the next day, where we'll meet several of the boats we left behind in Miami.

Miami-Bound 2/6/10

We leave Fort Lauderdale in an hour after a 2-week stay, the longest stop so far. But we got much accomplished:

9.8 Outboard motor fixed after 4 trips to the shop. This is the first time Bill has ever had anyone else work on a motor...or anything else for that matter...but the carburetor needed proper cleaning with a compressor, one of the few tools we did not have aboard. The initial problem with the carburetor came from ethanol in the gasoline, and we now understand more about "phase separation" in gas than anyone should have to know.

Rollerfurler bearing fixed after 1.5 weeks and 5 trips to the rigger.  A comedy of errors where the little balls that had leaked out of the furler—we’d been finding them on deck for weeks—were not delivered as promised 2 times, then the balls we got were the wrong size, so our attempt to repair the furler was thwarted.  Finally the rigger reassembled it and, again, Bill fretted over someone else doing the work.

Our new wifi antenna/booster leaked and burned out in the torrential rain we had the other day. This is the only unit to fail in that way, and is now repaired after only one visit from the installer/seller/manufacturer/inventer, Al Francone.

We bought a new dingy light at West Marine (aka Worst Marine or Wasteful Marine) after being cautioned by the Marine police that we need red/green navigation lights on our dinghy.  NO ONE runs a dinghy with those nav lights, but we're legal now, after only one trip back to WM after the light clamp broke the second time we attached it to the transom.

After much calculation and testing of our batteries, Bill remembered they were at least 5 years old and were due for replacement. Fortunately, the internet source for best battery prices is right here in Fort Lauderdale, so swapping them out was an easy matter.

Boatcards, mosquito net, small compressor, new credit card that Bank of America insists on replacing,

New SCUBA tanks are neatly lashed to the new boards installed on deck and our equipment has been inspected and repaired.

Social bonuses include several visits with Bill's sister Edie and Frank, who even dared a dinghy ride and big ladder climb to the famous sailor's hangout Southport Raw Bar.  My Aunt Jacqui and Uncle Bill live around the corner from our marina, and they invited us for lovely dinners, where we got to meet my handsome young first-cousin-once-removed, Tristan. Dave and Bicki from Nellie D, who we passed many moons ago, caught up with us here and we enjoyed another fine dinner at the Raw Bar. The fish feeding frenzy at the 15^th Street Fisheries, where a beefy jack fish bit Chris on the finger, was anther high point.

Today’s destination is an anchorage in Miami, where we’ll wait for favorable weather to cross the Gulf Stream to Gun Cay or Nassau.  We’ll travel with Felix and Tamrick. John from Felix had to go home for work for a few days, so Lorie and Heidi will sail Felix to Miami, while Chris (11) will crew for Bill aboard Act III.  You know we’ll be racing!