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.
