Monday 11 February 2008

Escape from Chicken Harbour

The Great Escape We Made it out of Georgetown!! Early Tuesday morning we pulled anchor and headed out of the anchorage. We were joined by Losloper and headed out Conch Cut together. We had to sail very close to the wind (and there wasn't much of it) so we kept the engine going and motor sailed. The fishing lines out right away and within the first hour Losloper called us on the radio to say they had landed a nice size Mahi Mahi. We were very excited for them and happy that they were willing to share it with us as we didn’t have any action on our lines at all. By 1pm we had arrived at our intended destination, Calabash Bay on the Northern end of Long Island. The North entrance looked a little sporty with the huge swells breaking on the reef to the lee of us. The prudent (scared) sailor in us decided we should go around to the southern entrance which was much wider. It turned out to be a good decision as we discovered the south side of the bay had less swell. With the anchor set we had a nice afternoon/ evening with the crew of Losloper. We bbq’d their fish on our boat as we have the bigger bbq. This big bbq has proven to be a good investment as twice now we have friends who have caught fish too big for their own. The MAHI WAS FANTASTIC!! There truly is no comparison to fish that is freshly caught. We were all very tired and had another day of travel the next day so it was an early night. Unfortunately it was not a restful night as the Northeast swell met the southwest wind chop and the boats spent the whole night rolling. We hoisted our anchors at 7am and headed out of the bay enroute to Rum Cay. To get there we headed around the north end of Long Island where the shallow bank meets the open ocean and produces large swells. We watched the swells that seemed the size of buildings approach us, and then we gently rode up the front and down the back sides. As we got into deeper water the swells subsided. Open to the Atlantic Ocean the wave period (time between the waves) is long, so even though the swell was 8 – 10 feet high they are 10 seconds apart (100meters or more) and the ocean feels reasonably flat. Sumner Point Marina in Rum Cay welcomed us and even provided a guide boat to bring us in the channel through the reef. If you know where you are going it seems easy, but here really is no room for confusion. We planned our arrival for high tide but at times we still only had a foot or so under the keel. It was Wednesday night, so the marina’s restaurant was closed as “everyone” went to the Oceanside for the Bahamian buffet. There were 3 catamarans in the marina, and they had rented golf carts, so we were treated to a ride down the dirt track to the restaurant. A good time washad by all. The next morning we slept in and made the boat ready for our next passage.

Escape from Chicken Harbour

The Great Escape We Made it out of Georgetown!! Early Tuesday morning we pulled anchor and headed out of the anchorage. We were joined by Losloper and headed out Conch Cut together. We had to sail very close to the wind (and there wasn't much of it) so we kept the engine going and motor sailed. The fishing lines out right away and within the first hour Losloper called us on the radio to say they had landed a nice size Mahi Mahi. We were very excited for them and happy that they were willing to share it with us as we didn’t have any action on our lines at all. By 1pm we had arrived at our intended destination, Calabash Bay on the Northern end of Long Island. The North entrance looked a little sporty with the huge swells breaking on the reef to the lee of us. The prudent (scared) sailor in us decided we should go around to the southern entrance which was much wider. It turned out to be a good decision as we discovered the south side of the bay had less swell. With the anchor set we had a nice afternoon/ evening with the crew of Losloper. We bbq’d their fish on our boat as we have the bigger bbq. This big bbq has proven to be a good investment as twice now we have friends who have caught fish too big for their own. The MAHI WAS FANTASTIC!! There truly is no comparison to fish that is freshly caught. We were all very tired and had another day of travel the next day so it was an early night. Unfortunately it was not a restful night as the Northeast swell met the southwest wind chop and the boats spent the whole night rolling. We hoisted our anchors at 7am and headed out of the bay enroute to Rum Cay. To get there we headed around the north end of Long Island where the shallow bank meets the open ocean and produces large swells. We watched the swells that seemed the size of buildings approach us, and then we gently rode up the front and down the back sides. As we got into deeper water the swells subsided. Open to the Atlantic Ocean the wave period (time between the waves) is long, so even though the swell was 8 – 10 feet high they are 10 seconds apart (100meters or more) and the ocean feels reasonably flat. Sumner Point Marina in Rum Cay welcomed us and even provided a guide boat to bring us in the channel through the reef. If you know where you are going it seems easy, but here really is no room for confusion. We planned our arrival for high tide but at times we still only had a foot or so under the keel. It was Wednesday night, so the marina’s restaurant was closed as “everyone” went to the Oceanside for the Bahamian buffet. There were 3 catamarans in the marina, and they had rented golf carts, so we were treated to a ride down the dirt track to the restaurant. A good time washad by all. The next morning we slept in and made the boat ready for our next passage.