Making the Best of Very Windy Days

Saturday, May 19, 2018 - Day 38

We are going stir crazy with not being able to get out due to the high winds and high seas.  Bill has been ready to fish since we got to Compass but the seas have been in excess of 5-7 feet with little sign of dropping any time soon.  Today we decide to see if we could just do a little exploring in the dinghy's, no luck.  At one point I was not sure we were going to make it back to the marina even in the dinghy.  We had to "tack" and go with the waves to the back side of a small island just to be able to turn around.  Argonaut made out a little better than we did but it still got very dicey very fast just on the bay side of Compass. Today I would say the bay side was 4-5 feet and the Sound side was in excess of 10 footers. 

Once in a safe area we watched a space age boat named Jedi come into Compass.  They too later stated that they were very happy to be in a marina. 

The entire marina did cocktail hour and a pot luck dinner. 

Sunday, May 20, 2018 - Day 39

It rained most of the day so Argonaut came over to the Marlin Striker and we played Sequence all afternoon.

Monday, May 21, 2018 - Day 40

The waters inside the islands calmed down so we ventured down to Staniel Cay again for lunch. This weather is getting very old so we decided at lunch that we would move to Palm Cay, Nassau on Thursday which should be a fairly good day and Whit needs to be Nassau by Saturday to pick up his brother.  We had planned to go to Spanish Wells and Argonaut was going to meet us there next week but in light of the continued weather forecast for the possibility of tropical storms we are going to stay together and all go the Palm Cay Marina.  From there we will watch the weather and decide whether we will venture on to Spanish Well and Harbour Island or work on making other plans.  Either way, we are going to hope to get better weather/seas by the time we get back to Chub and maybe Bill will get a chance to fish from Chub.  We will go day to day.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - Day 41

The waters inside the islands has calmed so we went exploring in the dinghy again today.  We went to the Blue Hole (be the Aquarium), which had very white sand and we could walk on the sand at low tide all around the Blue Hole.  We also walked around much of the little bay which was  visible at low tide and picked up some shells. 

Bill saw an old buoy on one of the islands so we stopped and picked it up.  He wanted to make something out of it to leave at Compass from the Marlin Striker. 

When we left the Blue Hole we went over to the old Navy outpost and checked it out.  This was a great place to anchor out or tie off to a concrete wall that was very secluded and had deep water.  We checked out the old buildings and walked on the beach on the opposite shore.  We picked up more shells and some sand dollars. 

It was a great day of exploration!

Note:  It is my understanding that the returning part of our group traveled from Nassau Yacht Haven to Chub Cay Marina today.  The seas were challenging at approximately 5 feet. 

Tomorrow will be a day of getting ready to move to Palm Cay Marina.  We will need to clean and load the dinghy, stow away everything that we have brought out like chairs, canopy, etc. and secure all cabinet drawers to ready the boat for travel again. 

MORE of the Same

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 - Day 35

Time to make the best of another rainy day.  Bill, Steward and I walked the beach.  Stew loved it!
 

The afternoon cleared a little so Argonaut and Marlin Striker decided to take our dinghy's to Staniel for lunch.  After lunch we headed over to Bitter Guana Cay to feed the iguanas.

The day turned much better so after feeding the Iguanas we headed to Black Point.  By the time we reached Black Point it was getting late so we decided not to go ashore.

Our traveling companions who are on their way home, left Highbourne today and headed to Nassau.  Due to higher seas, approx. 5 feet following, the group decided to go west and cross over White Bank instead of venturing across Yellow Bank.  This was a good option in light of the Howard's boys flying out of Nassau on Friday.  It is our understanding that the Howard's, and Houlders are in Atlantis Marina and the Mager's and Spiller's are at Nassau Yacht Haven.  Howard's and Houlders are expected to move to the Nassau Yacht Haven after the boys leave because the weather and sea conditions are making it look like they are going to be there for awhile.  The long range forecast looks like it will be next Thursday before they get a weather window.

Thursday, May 17, 2018 - Day 36

We awoke to another day of overcast, rain and high winds (20-25 with gusts over 30 kts.).  This was a good day to stay close to the boat and watch the shows in the marina.  The shows were not all good, due to the high winds and strong current.  The marina completely filled with boats mostly larger than ours and at times 2-3 entering the narrow harbor entrance at the same time.  One boat, Temptation, which is a charter boat out of Staniel Cay, gave every boat and every person in the marina a scare.  The captain, Joel, tried to dock on the end next to Argonaut and during the approximately 30-45 minute attempt, he managed to break a pile, completely tear off a cross bar, and caused one man to fall into the water when it was decided that the lines that were attached to the dock needed to be cut before the entire dock went into the water.  After the lines were cut, the boat drifted around the inside of the marina coming VERY close to all of the docked boats such that one at a time crews ran to move their tenders and other "toys" before they became crushed.  Now your question might be what was the problem, did the boat have a mechanical problem?  No, just a captain that did not know how to operate the boat properly and in addition had wind, current, and lack of good crew all accompanying the captains poor judgement and bad day.

Friday, May 18, 2018  - Day 37

More overcast and the occasional rain, wind gust of 30-35 knots.  We all (Whit, Mary Ann, Bill and I), played Sequence all afternoon.  We did a Mexican dinner and then fed some food scraps we had been saving to the sharks.

At least we have a good "camping" spot and the island is pet friendly.

Compass Cay and More Thunderstorms

May 11- 15 (Days 30-34) 

The weather has been relentless of overcast, rain, thunderstorms and more of the same. 

On Saturday Bill and Whit took the dinghy out to try a little fishing.  They had some success but not what they really wanted.  They got some yellowtail snapper, red hind, and gray trigger,

On Sunday we managed a dinghy ride to Staniel for an excellent Mothers Day lunch.  On the way back we visited with some of our other boats that had decided to spend a few nights in Big Major.  That evening Marlin Striker provided dinner and a movie (Talladaga Nights).

Monday was a cleaning and wash day as it rained hard most of the day. Argonaut provided a great dinner that evening, 

On Tuesday, our friends on Dusty Seas (from Jupiter) and Bluenose (from Naples) arrived in Compass.  In addition their friends, Wet Dreams, Tuff Life, and Salty Seas arrived.  The rain let up just long enough for all of us to enjoy a marina wide cocktail hour which lasted well into the night.  We also met another boat from Cape Coral, Adventure. 

It looks like the rainy weather and big seas are going to continue for several more days so we are going to just make the best of it and try to take the dinghy to the Iguanas, and maybe Black Point tomorrow.  Either way, we will make the best of it!  At least it looks the like the weather is the same or even worse in Florida. 

Weather

Sunday, May 6, 2018 – Day 25

The weather had been relentless, wind and rain continuously. We did get a little break today just long enough to get over to the Rocky Dundas caves.  There are two large caves with impressive stalamite and stalactite formations.  To enter the caves we swam underwater for a very short distance.  Not everyone in our group ventured in but those who did found it very unique and well worth the swim.   

Monday, May 7, 2018 - Day 26

Rain, rain, and more rain overnight and into most of the morning.  Early afternoon we caught a break in the rain just long enough to dinghy to a nearby beach and do a little snorkeling.  The Howard's and Mager's are planning on heading to Big Major to anchor out tomorrow so we did a dock party and feed the Compass sharks.  Shark feeding is always a good time.  

It is a tradition at Compass Cay Marina to leave a memento to signal you have arrived "home" (the motto at Compass) and that you hope to return again some day.  When you do your memento will be waiting for you.  

Note:  the Handeecleat.  Thank you Harvey and Alina Steele, we have made good use of this trip. 







Tuesday, May 8, 2018 - Day 27

More wind and rain so the Howard's and Magers decided to stay at Compass another night.  The ladies filled the afternoon with another game of 5 Crowns and started some hands of Canasta.  After dinner we all got together on Mary Alice to watch the movie "Captain Ron".  

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 - Day 28

The weather finally turned for the better so the Howards, Magers and Spillers all moved their boats to Big Major to anchor out for a night or two and then they will be moving on to Staniel where the Howard's will pick up their boys for a week of family vacation in Staniel.   

The Houlders, Courtenays and Lussiers took dinghy's down to Big Major to feed the pigs, enjoy lunch at the restaurant and then rented a golf cart to tour the island.  This is where we will loose part of the group in the log as this is where the boats who are returning early to Florida split off.  This was a planned departure from the start.  I hope and believe that everyone has had a good time traveling together to the Bahamas.  The weather has been less than cooperative but we tried to make the best of it.  Safe travels to the boats who will start their voyage home at various times during the next week.  

Swimming Pigs at Big Major

This group did a little off-roading with the golf cart  and went to visit Thunderball Cave, from the top.  This cave is featured in the movies Never Say Never  (James Bond) and Disney movie Splash.  

Thunderball Cave 

The view was fabulous from the top of the cliffs over Thunderball Cave. 











Thursday, May 10, 2018 - Day 29

As planned the Houlders (Moon Shadow) left this morning to join the group in Staniel.  They will all be traveling back together or at least fairly close together.  The cruising speeds of the returning boats are quite different, but at least they should be within earshot.  Mary Alice is still anchored out at Big Major.  

Marlin Striker and Argonaut took the dinghy's to the Sea Aquarium by O'Brien Cay this afternoon.  The weather was finally a fabulous day and so was our experience at the sea aquarium and just exploring.  

Moving to the Exuma's

Sunday, April 29, 2018 - Day 18


Departure Time: 9:59 AM
Arrival Time: 12:45 PM
Travel Time: 2 hour 38 minutes
Trip Distance: 36.7 NM
Winds: 5-10
Seas: Yellow Bank – 1-2 foot waves, this made it fairly easy to see the large coral heads.  Our route this time seemed good as we had very few coral heads to navigate around even though we ended up crossing at a low tide.

Average Speed: 13.9 kts.
Max. Speed: 31.7 kts.

Alibi - Patrick and Laura Magers

Upon arrival in Highbourne we unloaded our dinghy’s and headed for the beach on the north end of the island, Horseshoe Bay. 

Monday, April 30, 2018 – Day 19

We packed a lunch, drinks, our mask and snorkel and headed back to Horseshoe Beach to spend the day enjoying the beach, snorkeling and just relaxing at the cabana.  


Upon returning from the beach we met up with another group of 5 boats from Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach.  This group call themselves – the Gamers.  Among them was Tony (and Karen), owner of Pincher’s Restaurants, Texas Tony’s and Deep Lagoon.  His boat name is Lazy Eye. 

That evening Mike Spiller from Mary Alice played another concert/comedy night on Mary Alice and we were joined by many others who enjoyed the music and comedy filled evening. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2018 – Day 20

The weather is extremely windy and the seas on the Atlantic side are at least 7-8 feet.  After a morning of everyone doing odds and ends, we all managed to either bike (Mike, Kerry and Rob), walk (Sandy and Jerry) or use a golf cart (Whit, Mary Ann, Debbie and Sandy) to check out the island by land from end to end.  We visited the power plant, herb gardens, turkeys and goats along with the ****.  I was really surprised at the new furniture, garbage bins, really clean grounds, umbrellas on the beach and in general the island has really been cleaned up and much of it new.  The hurricane must have really helped in the long run for this location. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2018 – Day 21

We were supposed to go to Warderick Wells and the National Park.  The weather is so windy and the seas on the outside are 7-9 plus and 3-4 feet on the inside.  Given the option we would spend another day or two here in Highbourne but they are full so we have to move on.  Staying on a mooring at the park for two nights in this wind does not really appeal to any of us.  In addition, due to the wind many people are not leaving the park so there are not enough moorings for us in the main mooring field at Headquarters.  We could get in at Cambridge Cay but we have never been there before and it is very close to Compass Cay marina.  I called Compass to see if we could get in a couple of days early.  As luck would have it, there were slips available so we decided to move to Compass two days early rather than chance finding our way through the shallows and islands to Cambridge Cay only to stay out on a mooring in 25-30 knot winds. 

Depart Highbourne:  9:24 AM

Arrive Compass:  12:30 PM

Travel Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Travel Distance:  41.2 NM

Winds: E 20-25 with gusts recorded of 36 knots

Seas:  Varied depending on how close to the islands we could get around the shoals.  In some locations the seas were pushing 3-5 feet and close together.  

Avg speed 14.1 knots

Max speed 28.7 knots

Due to the sea conditions we spent quite a bit of time jockeying trying to find smoother water, especially for our friends in the Plucke Baum (house boat).  It was also a very difficult day for Alibi (the sailboat), their cruising speed is 7 knots and with the winds they were not able to put up sails and in fact when the front sail came partially deployed it made it almost impossible to control the direction of the boat.  They were not able to fix the sail at sea so they traveled about half the distance with a “floppy” sail.  Patrick Mager did an amazing job but this caused them a nine and a half (9.5) hour cruise in what should have been about 4 hours. 

Mary Ann and Debbie provided dinner for the evening.  It was served up on Argonaut.  

Thursday, May 3, 2018 – Day 22

The group was anxious to get the dinghies out and make their way to Staniel Cay for lunch.  The Howard’s and Connie Spiller also needed to make some departure arrangements.  Connie planned on flying home for a wedding on June 2^nd so she needed to know where she could fly out of and then also make arrangements fly back into Harbour Island to meet back up with us.  The Howard’s had previously arranged for their son’s and a friend to meet them in Staniel Cay but still needed to make slip arrangements and decide on whether they wanted to reserve a golf cart.   So although it was not the best of sea days, we all headed to Staniel Cay in our dinghies.  although many of us got quiet wet from spray. All of the plans were made, we ha It was a little rough where the Exuma Sound was open to the islands but it was all manageable a delightful lunch and headed back to Compass. 

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

Staniel Dinghy Docking

That was not enough riding for some so we decided to go to Rachael's Bubble Bath while the Exuma Sound waves were high (7-10 feet).  Everyone who went seemed to have a good time and enjoyed this unique swimming hole. 

Rachael's Bubble Bath

After dinner everyone enjoyed feeding the sharks from Marlin Striker. 

Friday, May 4, 2018 – Day 23

Rain, rain and more rain.  The wind has been endless the last few days so the morning was very slow and everyone did their own thing.  The girls spent the afternoon playing Mexican Train Domino again.

The group was invited to cocktails by Bill and Sharon Nuckolls the owner of La Sirena.  Bill was originally from Tennessee (now living in New Smyrna Florida) and was amazed that the Spillers brought their house boat to the Bahamas.  So through Mike we all got an invitation onto his boat. 

Connie and Sandy provided dinner.  What a nice treat not to have to prepare anything. Thank you. 

Saturday, May 5, 2018 – Day 24 (Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo)

Our hearts and sincere sympathies go out to Rob (and Kerry) Howard and all of his family of the passing of his brother, David Howard. 

Each of us spent the morning in our dinghy's just checking out the islands and riding around on our own.  In the afternoon, we met up with the group from La Sirena and EVERYONE went swimming with the sharks. 

Easing into the idea of swimming with Nurse sharks.

Kerry Howard pets a shark

Jerry Houlder

The entire marina here at Compass joined into a party night.  Each boat signed up to bring a dish to pass and following the dinner party, Mike Spiller provided music on the docks. The Viking, La Sirena and crew cam to join us by boat (in the background).