Sout' Side of Great Exuma

White Pepper has long been fascinated by the back side of Great Exuma Island or the sout' side as the locals call it. Its virtues are extolled in the Explorer Chartbook (Exuma and Ragged Islands, sixth edition, page 56). Few cruisers go there although friends Ken and Connie on Oz transited in 2015.

While at Flamingo Cay we spoke with a fisherman from Spanish Wells. He said that the boat routinely went home by way of the Duck Rocks. By that he meant the Coakley Cay-Duck Cay cut. White Pepper was determined to give it try as it would mean a significant short cut over the old Comer Channel, Sandy Cay and the George Town route. It would in addition eliminate two trips into Exuma Sound although this time of year the Sound is rarely a problem.

White Pepper left Flamingo Cay and headed North Northwest across the Great Bahama Banks. The Explorer Chart proclaimed the area full of coral heads, but they were easily seen and avoided in the bright sunlight. There is one area of coral 5 miles south of Coakley Cay that is about 40 acres in extent and as little as six feet deep. It is well marked on the Explorer Chart and easily avoided. Most of the time we were in 20 feet of water.

We were fortunate enough to hit the Coakley-Duck cut at high tide and never saw less than eleven feet of depth which would be 8 feet at low tide. There are a few coral heads in the cut, but again they are easily seen when the sun is out.

The only anxiety is on the stretch between the Duck Cay way point and Rocky Point Cay. The water was only 8 feet deep at about half tide. The charted depth varies between 6 and 7 feet. The western side of the cut is marked by the Hawksbill Rocks which are difficult to see.

 Duck Cay

Hawksbill Rocks

Rocky Point was our halfway mark and anchorage for the night. One can anchor on either side so the only wind that is not protected is SW. Of course the wind that night was from the SW but so light that we were not disturbed.

Rocky Point

The next leg of our course was way out into the banks to a way point that was closer to the Tongue of the Ocean than to the Exuma Sound. This detour is to avoid the Galliot Banks. The wind had built and backed to the SSW which gave White Pepper a nice run under reefed genoa and no main sail. A gybe at the Galliot Banks way point took us to Little Farmer's Cay. Another gybe brought us to our destination at Black Point. White Pepper done 90 miles in two day sails. We never saw another sailboat during those two days and only one fishing boat on the banks.

This route is an excellent way to come north quickly from the Jumentoes if you do not need to stop at George Town to resupply. The Explorer Chart touts the route as a protected way to go south in the winter with Thompson's Bay, Long Island as a final destination. However, White Pepper felt exposed on this trip and would hate to try the passage in a hard northerly or northeasterly blow. It might even be worse in a brisk southerly breeze. Perhaps there is a good reason why cruisers chose the Exuma Sound by 100:1 over the banks route.

Jumentoes

White Pepper has long wished to visit the Jumentoes also known as the Ragged Island Chain. The Jumentoes are a chain of small windswept limestone out croppings that mark the southeastern edge of the Great Bahama Bank. The last island is Ragged Island where Duncan Town stands on a low ridge only 60 miles from Cuba. Cuba is actually closer to Duncan Town than George Town which is the next nearest habitation.

White Pepper visited the northern two islands, Water Cay and Flamingo Cay, in 2014 before turning back due to electrical and refrigeration problems.

The Jumentoes are uninhabited except for 60 souls hanging on at Duncan Town. There are no services, no water, no fresh groceries, no booze, no fuel, and no rescue. There are few places to ride out a frontal weather passage and no harbors with 360 degree protection. When the wind blows hard from the East the 8 mile wide Nurse Channel is impassable. White Pepper's plan for dealing with these difficulties was to wait until late Spring to visit when the weather is better. Finally we got a long spell of forecasted settled weather in early May.

This year we dropped anchor first at Water Cay after a long motor sail from George Town around Sandy Cay and through the Comer Channel at near high tide. 

The white bluffs at Water Cay

The next day dawned clear and calm—perfect conditions to transit the difficult Man of War Channel and Nurse Channel. During most of the day there were not even ripples on the water and the bottom was clearly visible. It was like motoring in our own private aquarium.

Sailing on top of our  own aquarium

After motoring about 40 miles and crossing the Nurse Channel the first stop was Buenavista Cay. Only one person, Ed Lockhart, lives on Buenavista Cay and we anchored just in front of his house. The house has been under construction for years. Ed was born and raised on the site. After many years he has returned to homestead and reclaim his family's heritage.

Ron and Ed Lockhart on Buenavista Cay

Buenavista Cay has the longest beach in the Jumentoes. We were able to walk most of it in one morning. However, by noon it was up anchor and on to our ultimate destination, Hog Cay, near Duncan Town. Our friends, Ron and Linda, on Escape from Reality were waiting for us at the Hog Cay Yacht Club, which is really just a nice halapa on the beach. Ed told us that he build the structure.

 The Hog Cay Yacht Club

Hog Cay hosts a regular contingent of cruiser's for most of the winter. As in George Town the cruisers have hacked out trails. We followed on of these through a pond and on to a perfect small beach on the Atlantic. After Hog Cay White Pepper headed north to the next cay, Raccoon Cay. Raccoon Cay turned out to be out favorite with beautiful beaches, great shelling and fantastic snorkeling off the beach.

 At Raccoon Cay with friends, note boats in the background

The Atlantic side of Hog Cay.  There was very little plastic on the beach probably due to the efforts of the winter cruisers.

We made another stop at Buenavista Cay and were able to meet Ed and his son. The next day had favorable tide and weather to recross the Nurse Channel although we had to leave at dawn. By leaving early we were able to anchor at Flamingo Cay at noon. During this leg White Pepper was challenged to an informal race by new friends, Yens and Sandra, on Kobald. 

Racing Kobald  in Man of War Channel

Flamingo Cay is known for spectacular snorkeling and its “dingy drive in” cave. We were fortunate to be able to spend two and half delightful days there in mild conditions.

 The dingy cave

 Inside the dingy cave near low tide

Jens and Sandra at Flamingo Cay in front of a pond.  The red color is due to a biological process.

For the trip back to the Exumas White Pepper went up the back side or sout' side which will be the subject of another post.

Treasures of the Beach

Family Island National Regatta

This year was the 63^rd Family National Island Regatta held in Elizabeth Harbor near George Town, Exuma, Bahamas. The first regatta was held in 1954 as a way to celebrate the end of fishing season. Originally the actual fishing sailing sloops were the race boats. Over the years the fishing boats were motorized; however, the sailing sloops were preserved and refined as race boats.

Tida Wave with two full pry boards

The sloops come in all sizes and race in 5 classes—A thru E. All have to look like traditional fishing sloops with long full keels, long booms, huge over canvassed mains, small jibs, and no winches. The most noticeable feature is a “pry board” which is run out to windward on every tack. Several men hike out on the board trying to hold down the overly large main sail.

Barbarian, a class C sloop, at the top mark.  Note the large main sail.

The Bahamians hold several of these regattas around the country at different islands, usually about one per month except December and January. However, the George Town regatta is the grand daddy of them all and is recognized as the national championship. The regatta also serves as an excuse to have a party/festival/homecoming for the locals. Large numbers of Bahamians crowd into town including the reviled “Nassau people.” We cruisers are cautioned to lock up everything when “those people” are in town. However, White Pepper, never encountered any unpleasantness during the four day festival.

The Police Band opens up the closing festivities.

On Wednesday there were stand alone races for each class. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there was a series. Classes C,D, and E started together every morning. These boats typically have a crew of between two and five. There were probably 30 boats on the line. Although the race is supposed to start at 9 am, in practice, it starts when everybody shows up and is ready. The class B start is nominally at noon. There were 10 boats on the line. This was the most closely contested race every day. These boats are about 30 feet long and carry a crew of between 5 and 8. Class A is later in the afternoon. The class A boats are spectacular. They are fast, powerful and graceful. They are 40 feet long and carry a crew of between 12 and 18 . Most of the large crew is used as shifting ballast. Some of the boats use two pry boards in parallel, stacking 8 men out on the boards. There were only 7 boats in class A. The start was easily the most interesting part of their race. After the start class A was largely a parade with the famous Tida Wave usually leading wire to wire.

Just after the start of race 2 for class A. Click on pictures for a better look.

The finish of race 2 for class A.  This was the only close finish for the class A boats with Tida Wave winning by a few seconds.

Rules change over the years for the Bahamian sloops, and I have not seen a complete set of rules. In the past skippers did not have to go back to pick up crew that accidentally or deliberately fell overboard. It is quite easy to fall off or get knocked off the pry board. Recently, that rule has changed to conform to the international rules. The most notable difference from yacht racing in the USA is that the boats start from an anchored position. When the gun goes off some of the crew pull on the anchor trying to get a little way on. The rest of the crew hauls up the sails without having the benefit of winches to tension the luff. The first sloop to get her sails full obviously has a huge advantage. The rest of the race proceeds much as a yacht race in America would except for the downwind legs. The boats proceed “wing and wing” downwind with huge mainsail out to port (always) and the small jib to weather which is always starboard. The pry board is used as necessary to balance the mail. The main sail on the Bahamian sloop is so large that jibing the boat would be unwise in any breeze at all. An accidental jibe might sweep men overboard and likely snap the mast. So the race course is always set up so that the downwind legs are on starboard board without jibes.

Class B boats running down to bottom mark, but no gybing.

I wish I could tell readers who won, but White Pepper did not go to the trophy presentation. The race committee has not yet discovered the internet. In class A Tida Wave from Staniel Cay certainly won for the 19^th time (not an exaggeration) followed closely by Running Tide from Long Island. These two were clearly superior to the other five.  The racing was much more closely contested in class B.

Furious action in class B

Ashore there was plenty of activity. The city has constructeTd a new bulkhead at Regatta Park and behind that there is a new gravel covered field where shacks were constructed for a festival site.  The bulkhead was a surprise as it is rare these days for anything to get built and finished on time in the Bahamas. We spent most of Saturday at the Regatta Park or the Peace and Plenty Resort with friends soaking in the atmosphere and watching the races from ashore. Otherwise we were out in the dingy, Habanero, taking in the races from various vantage points around the course.

The new bulkhead and some class E dingies

'Da Peoples Choice' was our go to shack for beer and lunch.

Over all it was a very interesting and successful regatta week.

The Good News, a class A sloop from the Ragged Islands

Driving Long Island

White Pepper is anchored at Salt Pond, Long Island waiting on gentler winds. We are perfectly comfortable in these protected waters but have a lot of time on our hands.

One day we choose to tag along with our friends Ron and Linda from Escape from Reality on a rented car excursion.

Long Island is 90 miles long and we certainly could not see it all in one day. After some discussion we headed north for the Columbus Monument on Cape Santa Maria. Columbus may have anchored under the white bluffs of this modest cliff. From his log book he certainly seemed to have visited Long Island and cruised the its coast before being blown over to French Wells on Crooked Island. In order to commemorate the event in 1492 and maybe encourage more tourism, the Bahamians have erected a monument atop Cape Santa Maria on the northern most tip of Long Island.

Alert readers will remember the Columbus Monument from a picture in the previous post. The monument is barely visible from sea. Thus we were unprepared for the awesome beauty of the place. Pictures can tell the tale better than words.

Columbus Bay

Columbus Monument

View to the South from the Monument

For lunch we visited the Stella Maris Resort which is about 15 miles south down the Queen's Highway. By the way the Queen's Highway is the only highway on the island. Stella Maris is routinely described in guide books as world class and 5 star, but it seemed a bit threadbare to my eye. We did have a lovely lunch there.

Easily the number one attraction on Long Island is Dean's Blue Hole—the site of the world's record for free diving. The blue hole is part of a beautiful bay that comes off of the Atlantic. The bay and beach are attractive in their own right, but the blue hole engenders a different feeling altogether. Although only 80 x 120 across on the surface it goes down for 680 feet—the equivalent of a 40 story building. Also it has claimed a number of lives due to accidents and dare deviltry.

                                                               Dean's Blue Hole

Finally we finished up a great day with a couple of beers and conch fritters at Max' Conch House and Bar in Deadman's Cay.

Calabash Bay, Long Island and Joe's Creek

White Pepper has been to Calabash Bay several times over the years and has many happy memories of the place. So it was with anticipation that we hauled past Cape Santa Maria and into Calabash Bay on the northern tip of Long Island. This was the third spot Columbus was reported to have visited in the New World. Conception Island was the second. Calabash Bay is 20 miles or so from George Town. It was made famous by Bruce van Sant as the first spot on a “Gentleman's Guide to Passages South”-- that is the trip from George Town, Bahamas to Lupron, DR. It is rolly and exposed to every wind except the prevailing Southeasterly.

Cape Santa Maria. One can barely see the Columbus Monument on top of the cliff.

We sighted on the famous Yellow House at the south end of the anchorage to avoid the fringing reef and anchored in 9 feet of crystal clear water over sand.

Yellow House

White Pepper's reasons for stopping at Calabash Bay were to show guest, Barb Mathis, another beautiful spot in the Bahamas and to explore Joe's Creek. Joe's Creek is a deep and wide creek with 360 degree protection just one mile south of Calabash Bay. We have always heard and read about this anchorage but were deterred from visiting by the entrance. We set out to explore by dingy. Indeed the entrance is formidable being only 6 feet deep at low water and about 30 feet wide with rocky shore on both sides. Today the entrance was peaceful. Once inside White Pepper was treated to an idyllic Bahamas scene of swiftly flowing deep and clear water over sand. There seemed to be plenty of space to anchor numerous boats. White Pepper may someday bring the big boat there at slack tide high water and when there is no swell running in Exuma Sound.

 Entrance to Joe's Creek

 The Captain Max on a bad day

Wide and deep.  Plenty of room to anchor once inside Joe's Creek

If Joe's Creek was a place to hide and get away from civilization, then on the other end of Calabash Bay was one of the refinements of civilization—the Cape Santa Maria Club. This is a high end resort that competes with the near by and world famous Stella Maris resort. Rooms start at $400/night. However, they welcome scruffy cruisers in dingies. White Pepper went there with fellow cruisers, Ron and Linda from Escape from Reality, for lunch. We all had a relaxed and delicious meal. The contrast to the wilderness of Joe's Creek could not have been more vivid.

Very civilized lunch at Cape Santa Maria Club

Sunset over Calabash Bay

Conception Island

White Pepper has blogged expansively about Conception Island, Bahamas during a previous visit. This year we again visited; this time with guest Barb Mathis aboard. With White Pepper's powerful new motor she was able to power directly into a gentle Northeasterly breeze for 7 hours arriving in the mid afternoon of the first of 4 lovely days. We were fortunate enough to catch a small Mahi-mahi two miles west of Cape Santa Maria. It provided two great dinners.

Conception has not changed. It remains one of the most pristine and beautiful of all of the Bahamas islands. It is uninhabited and protected by the National Trust as a Land and Sea Park. One change that I did notice was how many yachts were there. There were 8 normal sized yachts anchored along the shore of the favored West Bay Anchorage and 4 mega yachts anchored in deeper water. Conception has become popular!

170 foot ketch Adele at sunset

We walked the lovely beaches. Barb is a birdwatcher of note from Rockport, TX and was pleased to see the birds of Conception. Her constant worry was how few birds there were. All through out the central and southern Bahamas the bird population is severely limited by lack of fresh water.

Day two was devoted a dingy trip up the creek to see the Green turtles. The creek does not have a name that I am aware of. It is the mating and nesting site of numerous Green turtles. One deep and very green hole about a mile up the creek is said to be the origin of most of the Green turtles in the southern Bahamas. We cut the motor and drifted for a long time here. Although I was able to snap a few pictures of the turtles looking around I could not image them as they literately flew through the water at remarkable speeds. It was a breath taking time.

 Clear water

 A Green Turtle in the green hole (may need to click on pic)

Read the water!  Channel is to the left, entrance to the creek is in the background.

This year we were able to arrive at high tide so alert readers will note that the scenery is much different from our previous visit. We were able to penetrate much further up the creek and into the interior of the island. Also in the creek were sharks, rays, and fish easily seen in the crystal clear water.

Upper reaches of the creek

Day three was a trip to Booby Cay on the eastern side of Conception. It is a dedicated bird sanctuary and would be off limits to visit after April 1 for nesting season. Since today was March 31, I was sure there would be a lot of birds to see. We set off for Booby Cay about 6 miles away in the Habanero and in the company of two other dingies. We had plenty of gas, safety equipment, VHF, hand held GPS, binoculars, water, sandwiches, and (thankfully) extra spark plugs and tools to change them. The trip was long, lovely and eventful. We never did see any birds, however.

Convoy

 Booby Cay ahead

 Western side of Booby Cay

Intrepid party arrives at Booby Cay

The next day after a lazy morning White Pepper pulled up the anchor. There was a gentle wind out of the South. We could have easily sailed to our next destination, Long Island, 14 miles away; however, the batteries needed charging so we motored. That is the main problem with cruising—you do not get to sail much. Long Island will be the subject of the next post.

Port Lucaya to Shroud Cay

Few cruisers come to Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island. White Pepper comes every season to visit Bahamian friends, Don Maples and his wife Paula von Hamm. Also we visit cruiser friends Mitch and Leslie on Absolutely who stay all season at Port Lucaya. We were pleased to see our friends Micheal and Ursula on Zeelander. Port Lucaya is only 90 miles from West Palm, FL. It has an excellent entrance in the Bell Channel and comfortable dockage now that the Grand Bahama Yacht Club has reopened. I am able to play golf with Don at his club, Fortune Hills. We cheered on Paula this year as she placed second in the Bahamas Woman's Open Golf Championship in the Senior's Division. Port Lucaya is an excellent place to spend a few weeks or months waiting as the winter cold fronts wash over the northern Bahamas.

The problem is leaving Port Lucaya. I have always said that it takes a weather window to arrive at Port Lucaya, but it takes a weather window to leave as well. Coming from Florida, crossing the Gulf Stream, obviously requires a weather window. However, leaving requires one as well. The issue is that Port Lucaya faces the Northwest Providence Channel which is a very deep 50 mile wide branch of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a body of water not to be taken lightly.

Sunset over the Grand Bahamas Banks

Typical strategies include going to Bullocks Harbor and Great Harbor Cay Marina in the Berry Island chain. White Pepper has taken this route twice with happy results. However, Great Harbor Cay Marina has become very popular nowadays after the visit by super blogger Active Captain. It is now often full and reservations are needed. Some cruisers take overnight sails to Nassau on New Providence or Spanish Wells in the Eleuthra chain.

This year White Pepper tried an innovative route. We sailed South across the Northwest Providence Channel and then down the western side of the Berries across the Grand Bahamas Banks. By this time night had fallen. We arrived at the Northwest Channel and transited it with instrument flight rules (GPS). By this time I assume that everyone knows that the Northwest Channel light is gone as are all of the navigation lights in the Bahamas. After the Northwest Channel White Pepper headed across the Tongue of the Ocean for Goulding Cay near New Providence 40 miles away. At Goulding Cay the weary sailor can stop at the West Bay anchorage. White Pepper, however, continued along the southern shore of New Providence and soon entered onto the Exuma Banks. From there it is a straight shot to Shroud Cay across the White Banks. One should honor Norman's Stake off of Norman's Cay 5 miles north of Shroud Cay. If fuel is needed as it was for White Pepper then Highboure Cay Marina is only 10 miles to the north. The total length of the route is 165 nautical miles. We took 30 hours to make the trip(mostly motoring) which included stops for fuel difficulties and some sailing. Our buddy boat, Circe, did it in 24 hours.

I have never heard of anyone making this trip before. The route solves a lot of problems while raising a few questions as well. The benefits of the trip are that it eliminates a stop at Nassau which is a good thing unless one has other pressing business in Nassau. It also eliminates a stop or two in the Berries. The Berries are great, but White Pepper has been there three times. The trip into and out of Bullock's Harbor/ Great Harbor Cay Marina requires a two hour detour. This makes it difficult to go from Bullock's to Nassau in one day. Usually another stop further south along the Eastern side of the Berry Island chain is needed. Alternatively one can stop at Great Harbor Cay (not to be confused with Great Harbor Cay Marina) or Stirrup Cay and make it to Nassau in two days, but these anchorages are exposed to the Northeast.

Another benefit of this new route is that it avoids the Yellow Banks east of New Providence with its minefield of coral heads. Rather it crosses the White Banks which is thought to be free of coral heads close to the surface. Some calculation should allow you to cross the White Banks in daylight. For example a boat that averages 6 knots will arrive at Goulding Cay at 6 am if she leaves Port Lucaya at noon.

Jan beaches dingy at Shroud Cay

The problems of this route are that it obviously involves an overnight which is often an issue for the mom and pop cruiser. However, a few naps and then an early bed time the next night should help with the sleep deprivation. Crossing the Northwest Providence Channel during the daytime is helpful since this is the main drag between Europe and Miami, the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal. There is a lot of big ship traffic in this waterway. This route calls for crossing the Northwest Channel at night which is quite busy with small boat traffic. Near New Providence there is small boat traffic even in the early morning hours so a watchful eye is required, but there is no big ship traffic. Probably the biggest potential problem that I see with this route is that after going through the Northwest Channel, one is fairly committed to crossing to New Providence. If the weather has deteriorated or the conditions are unfavorable then anchoring at Chubb Cay is a bailout position This would have to be done in the dark which requires some expertise and confidence.

The greatest benefit that I see to this route is moving from Grand Bahama Island to the Northern Exumas in one day. The alternatives are 4 or 5 day trip down the Berries with a good chance of being hung up in Nassau by weather, or a 7 to 10 day trip through Eleuthra including a jump across Exuma Sound. Of course, weather is everything. To make this trip you need 24 to 36 hours of very favorable weather. White Pepper spent several weeks in Port Lucaya leisurely waiting for the right moment. It takes a lot of time to have fun.