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Bahamas 2003 Cruise Log
A fleet of five boats left Vero
Beach for the Bahamas on the 2003 Bahamas cruise on 27 May. They were:
Manatee, Southern Star, Patty's Philly, Twin Dolphins,
and Sunseeker
27 May
On 27 May Manatee, Southern Star, and Patty's Philly departed at
daylight and went out the Ft Pierce Inlet to run down to West Palm Beach.
Initially the ride was quite good but did worsen as we went south. This
first wave of three slow boats arrived at Cannonsport Marina near the Lake
Worth Inlet in the early afternoon. Twin Dolphins departed Vero in the
late morning. Waves forced them to return to the Intercoastal at St Lucy
and they arrived at Cannonsport around 5 PM. The plan was to depart West
Palm Beach for West End, Bahamas early the next morning (Wed 28 May) with
Sunseeker going directly from Vero To West End.
Manatee was able to rent a WI-FI card from Cannonsport to connect to
the Internet through a RF high speed link.
Also Cannonsport is a good place to walk our dog Buddy (an Australian
Shepherd). The pool, the covered tables and the BBQ make dockside dinning
enjoyable.
28 May
Early Wednesday the NOAA forecast was poor for Wed with better weather
forecast for Thursday. Consequently we decided to delay our departure to
Thursday. Naturally, the Weather Weds turned out to be near ideal. But by
the time we decided the forecast was wrong we had already waited too long
and could not arrive before dark
We spent the day touring the beach strip and shops. We stocked up on
essentials at the "Cookie Lady's".
29 May
On Thursday the forecast was 3 to 4 foot waves 10 to 15 knots wind from
the SW to W with scattered TS. Remember in Florida every summer day has
scattered TS forecast. We left at 03:30 AM hoping for the better morning
winds and an early arrival in the early afternoon. Sunseeker still planned
to cross directly and meet us at West End.
The departure was pitch dark
 with
the convoy formed up in line. First was Patty's Philly, then Manatee,
Southern Star, and Twin Dolphins. As we went out the Lake Worth inlet a
couple of other boats merged with us. I had a hard time identifying which
boats were ours and which were the others. As we passed the Lake Worth
Outer Marker we were rolling a little in the waves. As I watched the radar
I could see our East bound convoy as well as showers forming up to our
Southeast. One grew to 5 or six miles across and drifted Northeast, right
into our path. We began to get tossed around quite badly. Anything not
tied down such as Buddy's water dish and the thermos bottle began to bang
around. Sandy and I went down to the lower helm to keep dry. Buddy turned
green. It was still so dark that we couldn't even see the waves that were
rolling the Manatee quite violently. Sandy had an electronic sea sickness
wristband. She did not experience any symptoms and it seemed to work very
well. After about a half hour (that seemed like several hours) of this
violence in the storm Patty's Philly began to ask me how much further till
the radar showed we would be out of the storm. By now the storm was 10 to
15 miles across and I told them we were about half way through it. Patty's
Philly decided to turn around. The rest of us, although apprehensive about
turning around when we could not see the waves also started turning. We
were about 10 or 12 miles out (almost 2 hours). As Patty's Philly turned
she seemed to go dead in the water. I found out later that the Patty's
Philly's captain was entering the Lake Worth waypoint back into his GPS to
return. The boats behind me caught up and passed me including the extra
one or two boats that had merged with our little convoy. All I could see
were lights, no silhouettes. For a few minutes boat lights were everywhere
milling around us. It probably took 10-15 minutes to get our little convoy
turned around. To add to the confusion the extra boats did not turn
around. Since all we could see were lights, it was difficult to identify
visually which boats were turning and which were continuing. Finally we
got our group of four boats reoriented on a return course of 275 degrees.
The GPS's took us right back to Lake Worth. As we got closer to shore the
waves moderated and daylight arrived. This made the final hour returning
bearable. All the boats had at least some minor damage. We had several
dishes broken; including one glass topped casserole in the freezer. Our
portable freezer had broken its tiedown and banged around the bridge.
Southern Star had a TV broken. I'm still finding things such as nuts and
bolts that were rattled loose. We all had wet clothes. There were no
engine or electronics problems. Since Sunseeker is a very fast boat they
had planned a later departure from Vero but saw the morning forecast and
radar on TV at 0600 am so did not try a crossing. They avoided all that
pain
There were several lessons learned and relearned from this experience.
1). As we all know the boats are tougher than we are.
2). Always be suspicious of the weather forecast.
3). Running at night is much harder and more dangerous than running in
the day.
4). In convoy at night leave some extra room between the boats.
5). When crossing the Gulf Stream always tie everything down very
well.
6). Have a plan for turning around when in convoy and do not turn
sharply, especially at night. A turning pattern should be planned and
implemented.
7). GPS are a wonderful invention.
9). Radars are very useful at night and to size up storms.
9). The electronic motion sickness wrist band devices work well.
Having been burned, we nursed our wounds at Cannonsport and waited for
better weather. Meanwhile Sunseeker left Vero and now traveled to
Cannonsport to cross with us. So now we were five.
30 May.
Again the weather forecast was marginal so we remained at Cannonsport.
Of course the forecast was too harsh and in fact the day was good. We
spent our time in social get togethers and more visiting the local beach
shops. Several of us took the ferry ride and tour from Sailfish Marina to
the restored downtown "City Place" for lunch (at the Cheesecake Factory)
and shopping.
2 June.
Finally the forecast was acceptable and we set out again. Old Bahama
Bay (West End) was unable to guarantee us slips, but we went anyway. We
arrived with out incident. I had to accept a difficult wall slip hidden
between two other boats and two walls. They allowed us to enter our slips
before proceeding to customs where we had to pay the $100.00 fee, (now I
understand it has gone to $300.00). I had filled out the forms before
arriving so things were quick. The customs people were polite and helpful.
Old Bahama Bay has made quite a
 transformation
to West End with resort quality landscaping, apartments, beach and pool.
The rates are also resort style. The restaurant had A/C and was quite
nice. There are several new houses built in the development that is in the
old commercial area. Twin Dolphins rescued several conch shells from the
shell piles in the settlement. We did have one short power failure, but
otherwise the power was good.
One thing to note was that they were allowing boats to anchor in the
well protected turning basin ($25.00).
That evening nearby sailboaters entertained the group with music.
Old Bahama Bay is also a good place to walk Buddy and we could let him
loose to run on these walks.
3 June
Off to Great Sale Cay through Indian Cay Channel at half tide around
08:00 AM. The wind were still out of the SW at 10 to 15 knots. On the
Bahama Bank the rolling was not bad. We arrived at Gt. Sale around 2 or 3
PM. We anchored in the South, as close as possible to the Eastern leg of
the bay, just South of the SW point of the Bay. This area is shown on the
charts as "good holding" and it was. Most used one anchor, but Manatee
threw out two. The wind was picking up from the S to SW so we had a rough
ride in the dingy taking Buddy to shore. Great Sale is not very dingy
friendly. Most of the shore in the Southern facing bay is quite rocky with
sharp coral. It is hard to find a spot to beach the dog. The brush was so
thick on the Eastern leg of the bay that Buddy really could not run around
even though he was turned loose. He actually appeared eager to return to
the boat. We did find the very small nude beach here and managed to run them off.
That night we all used our anchor alarms (bless GPS's) but even then
throughout the night we were frequently checking our anchors. No one
dragged anchor.
4-5 June.
Picking up the anchors at Great Sale we confirmed that it was a sandy
bottom since all the anchors came up clean, not muddy. As an aside I had
anchored nearer the
 SW point on a previous trip and had trouble holding.
It was marl over hard pan.
We went South from the anchorage. By now the wind was quite high.
Perhaps 15-knots from the South East and we pounded our way South. Once
round the reefs South of the East leg of the South bay we turned back East
onto Dodge's recommended course and continued on towards Spanish Cay.
En-route, Manatee was subjected to a brief but fierce burst of wind and
rain. The wind was so strong that it burst the two straps that secure my
bimini.
Sunseeker turned into to Fox Town for fuel and then rejoined the
convoy. Calling the fuel dock resulted in good directions for entry.
When we arrived at Spanish Cay the wind was still up, resulting in a
challenge for docking. This was Manatee's worst docking. The pilings on
the finger pier had exposed bolt heads that made three one inch sized
gouges in the top on the rub rail. Otherwise the docking was ok.
We spent an extra day at Spanish, just to recover from the three days
of traveling. Spanish Cay has two very nice beaches. One just a few
hundred feet South of the Docks on the Sea of Abaco and one 1/2 mile or so
North of the docks on the Atlantic side. Patty's Philly lost no time in
searching for shells in the shallow waters.
Twin Dolphins was amazed by the
sight of sharks feeding on grouper in the marina.
At Spanish the phones had been down for several day but the Internet
connection was still working. Twin Dolphins, acting as the tour organizer
sent an email to Green Turtle Club requesting reservations.
As a general rule every Abaco marina we visited (except Little Harbor)
now has high speed Internet access. The going rate most places was $5.00
for 15 minutes.
6-7 June
We left Spanish for a leisurely run down to the Green Turtle Club.
The days at the Green Turtle Club were pleasant and uneventful. Several
boats rented a Golf Cart and explored the Island. Manatee and Twin Dolphin
ate one meal at Laura's in New Plymouth. Others tried the restaurant at
the Green Turtle Club.
One fisherman from NC(?) had caught several tuna and gave our group
quite a lot of filets. We grilled them and all five boats had one meal
from this fresh tuna. Thanks fisherman from NC.
Buddy likes the Green Turtle Club since we can turn him loose on the
back roads and walk to the ocean side beach where he plays in the water.
8-9 June.
Leaving Green Turtle Club we took on Whale Cay Channel and went to
Treasure Cay. The wind was still from the SW at 10-15 knots. The Whale Cay
Channel was ok, but the inbound leg through Loggerhead Channel was fairly
rough (3-5). From Loggerhead Channel to Treasure Cay was also fairly
rough. The smaller boats
 were a little bounced around, the bigger boats
just rolled.
Since the wind favored the SW the beach at Treasure Cay was almost
flat. It was outstanding. Calm and clear. We swam on the beach, then swam
in the pool then visited the bar. All in all a good rest.
Treasure Cay is also a good place for dogs. Good places to walk Buddy
and early in the morning we could turn him loose on the beach.
10-13 June
The five boats left Treasure Cay for an easy run to Guana at the Orchid
Bay Marina.
Manatee detoured by Marsh Harbor to pick up a crew member that was
flying in. Manatee tied up to the Conch Inn fuel dock about 12:10, but the
Dockmaster was at lunch. So we went to the Conch Inn's outside bar and
ordered lunch while awaiting our arriving crew. Our crew arrived and after
finishing lunch we returned to the fuel dock where the Dockmaster had also
returned. We begin to top off the fuel tanks, but half way through the
fuel pumps stopped and the Dockmaster informed me that they had run out of
diesel. So Manatee got the dregs. From here on out I increase my engine
room checks, concentrating on the vacuum gauges looking for any sign of
filter clogging.
After paying the Dockmaster for the dregs
 we went on to Guana and
Orchard Bay Marina. We had fortunately reserved two golf carts and they
had held them for us despite many requests from others. We explored the
island with the carts and Buddy loves to run along ahead of them.
At Orchid Bay (a development) many lots have been sold and one private
house has been built. The facilities are superb including the new pool.
They have built an oceanside pavilion. The beach has very few visitors and
you can swim to the reef which is only a 150 ft or so out. Orchid Bay
became one of our two favorite spots, (the other was Man-of-War).
We visited Nippers, the Blue Water Grill, the Dolphin Beach Resort as
well as several shops.
14 June
After four delightful days at Guana the group broke up into two groups.
The two fast boats, Sunseeker and Twin Dolphins, left Guana for Old
Bahama Bay on 14 June. The Sea of Abaco was 3 to 4 ft. chop as they
started, but prevailing SE seas made for a comfortable ride. Rounding
Angelfish there was same. After Mangrove seas were like glass and they had
a nice evening at Old Bahama. On the 15th crossing the Gulf Stream, seas
were initially 4 to 5 ft., but seemed to calm down at 600' depth. Again,
4/5 SE pushed them along fairly gently (would not have been enjoyable the
other way). Out of the Gulfstream, they were amazingly 1/2' as projected.
Sunseeker went ahead 25 mi. from Fort Pierce while Twin Dolphins slowed
and fished a weed line for Dolphin (nothing caught with no ballyhoo and
only lures).
Twin Dolphins arrived Fort Pierce at 12 for a 4 hr. trip from Old
Bahama Bay (you slow boaters can eat your hearts out). Called Customs 800#
and was told to call back once they reached our first dock At the dock
they were given a Customs Confirmation # and instructions to go to St.
Lucie County Airport for Immigration clearance within 24 hrs. after
receiving confirmation # (go in left side of bldg., not right which has
immigration sign; open till 6pm).
14-15 June.
The slow trawlers Manatee, Southern Star, and Patty's Philly stayed in
the Abacos and went to Marsh Harbor
 at the Marsh Harbor Marina (Jib Room)
for two days. The pool was quite pleasant and we snorkeled on the Mermaid
Reef just a hundred feet or so off a nearby beach. Downtown shopping was
just a mile away and free bikes were available from the Dockmaster. The
ladies were surprised that grocery prices were not much more than in the
States and the produce was quite fresh.
On Saturday night the Jib Room had music and our newly arrive crew
member (age 20) enjoyed the limbo contest. All was quite by 9:30
Buddy had to stay on a leash and walk along the road. He did get to run
in the water at the beach by the Mermaid reef.
16 June.
The three trawlers left Marsh Harbor to go to Little Harbor, on the
"outside" west route past Boat Harbor and Witch Point.. On the way we had
to run a gauntlet of sport fisherman boats going out from Boat Harbor for
a tournament. There seemed to be hundreds of them. It was quite humorous
to hear a sport fisherman crew member who arrived at the dock too late
plead with his boat's Captain to return to the dock and pick him up. The
Captain's response. "No, I'm in a tournament. Next time be on time!"
At Little Harbor we had time for half tide and had no trouble entering.
We each picked up a mooring, dropped the dinghy's in and put-putted in to
Pete's Pub for a drink. We were astounded to find out that Pete's sold ice
as well as drinks, fish and hamburgers.
Little Harbor is again a good place for dogs.
 We were able to turn
Buddy loose away from the pub and on the beach near the entrance to Little
Harbor.
Sandy and I were able to get a personal tour of the foundry. A tour
that I was especially interested in. It is amazing to see what can be done
with minimal facilities.
Although the Seas coming from the ocean through the Little Harbor cut
were a little rough I was able to snorkel some on the reef right at the
East side of the entrance to Little Harbor.
That night we were treated to the sight of an anchored sailboat
dragging its anchor. The crew recovered and took a mooring. Although they
came close to a cat, the crew held the sailboat off until they could get
away and no damage was done.
17-18 June.
Leaving Little Harbor just before half tide we traveled up the "inside"
route between Lubber's Quarters and Elbow Cay to Hope Town.
We called the Hope Town Marina and were offered a mooring, with a
possibility of a slip if possible. We picked up the moorings and rode the
dinghy's in to see the Dockmaster (Rudy Malone). A 48ft boat came into a T
dock and Rudy said that there was room for one of our boat and there was
power for a second boat that could raft u p to the first. Patty's Philly
saw a small slip that was all but blocked by a Sailboat and a dock. Phil
allowed as how he could make it into the slip. Rudy was skeptical and
asked if Patty's Philly was a twin. Phil aid no a single. Rudy they said,
well you must have a bow thruster. Phil again said no, but I will just
shove my bow up on the rocks over there and use them to pivot on. By now
Rudy figure that either Phil was crazy or good so he said ok.
Phil squeezed Patty's Philly into to that slip slick as could be. I
think Rudy was quite pleased to see a tourist that was a good boat
operator.
The ladies did all the shops in Hope Town. I bought a key lime Pie from
Vernon's Grocery. Several of us climbed up all the lighthouse stairs and
took pictures of the harbor.
19-20 June
We next went to Man-of-War , We saw Hal and Ann Jones as well several
other GB & EB owners at Man-of-War.
We topped off fuel and water tanks and did the laundry. In the
afternoon we soaked in the pool.
Each day, while walking Buddy, we went to Lola's Bakery for cinnamon
rolls and bread. Although we did not feel free to turn Buddy loose, the
traffic was so light that walking him was not difficult.
We found the Marina Pavilion Restaurant to be quite good and the
Grouper was a favorite.
21-22 June
With a front predicted to move to Green Turtle by the afternoon on the
21st we again took Whale Cay Channel to Green Turtle Cay. The
Channel was fairly easy but we arrived at the entrance to White Sound
around noon in a tremendous downpour. Patty's Philly was able to make it
to the fuel dock. Southern Star and Manatee stayed outside until the rain
slacked off and visibility improved. For the next several days the rain
and wind continued. Each evening we had a strategy session while reviewing
all the available tidbits of info about weather. On the evening of the 22
the forecast for the 23rd indicated that the front would still
be at Green Turtle, but would slowly move south of Gt. Sale by 5 pm, with
a suitable day for crossing the Gulf Stream forecast in three days.
Although we had been burned by earlier forecasts we decided to gamble on
the forecast and depart Green Turtle Cay on the 23rd.
23 June
On the 23rd we departed Green Turtle and passed through
squalls until we passed Hawksbill near Veteran Rocks. This was about as
predicted. The wind was still from the West to North/West. We had reviewed
three possible anchorages at Gt. Sale. The normal North West harbor
anchorage is in the large bay protected to the NW thru SE. In addition
some charts show an anchorage on the North West side of Gt. Sale (west of
Curry Creek) protected form the E to S. A third anchorage is shown to the
East of Gt. Sale in Tom Johnson Harbor that is protected from the SW to N.
As we passed West End Rocks we decided that the forecast appeared to be
unfolding and that we would anchor in the normal anchorage high up in the
bay, relying on the winds to swing 180 degrees as the front passed
through. It was noted that some charts show this as "poor holding".
We arrived at Gt. Sale and anchored as planned with marginal protection
form the westerly winds. By late afternoon the winds had moved to the NW
and all was well.
We took Buddy in the Dingy to the old tracking station dock on the SW
point. Much of the short ride was in 12" of water. From the old dock we
walked over to the beach where the tracking station was once located.
En-route we saw numerous piles of burro dung. At least it must have been
burros for that is all that I believe could have survived on the
vegetation that we saw.
All that remains of the old tracking station was the cradles for the
fuel tanks and some concrete pads. The beach was quite nice and sandy.
24 June
By the morning of the 24th the winds had moved to the NE and
had dropped to about 10 knots. From Gt. Sale we departed at around 7:30 am
to time our arrival at Indian Cay Channel at about half tide. The ride was
pleasant and we saw several fish muds en-route.
On arrival at Old Bahama Bay we hit the pool for an hour or so and
checked the weather for the next day's crossing. The weather was forecast
at 3 feet with E winds 5 to 10 knots. Based upon this forecast we planned
on a 5 am departure direct to the Ft. Pierce inlet.
25 June
We departed West End on schedule at 0500 am. As planned we headed for
the Ft. Pierce inlet. Unfortunately the winds were not from the east, but
from the NE at 10 to 15 knots. That appeared to ruffle the Gulfstream and
we were rolling quite a lot. After about an hour and a half we elected to
turn towards the Lake Worth Inlet and put the waves on our transom. This
eased the ride some what and as the day went on turned out to be a
comfortable decision since the waves built up towards 4 to 5 ft a little
above the forecast. We made the Lake Worth Inlet without incident.
Patty's Philly elected to continue towards Ft. Pierce on the
Intercoastal. Manatee and Southern Star elected to make port at
Cannonsport on Singer Island.
On our return we found the new entry procedures to be better than the
horror stories that we had been hearing.
We arrived at the Cannonsport Marina (just North of the Lake Worth
Inlet) around 1:15 and tied up. Then we called the Custom phone number for
clearance about 1:30. We had to wait for almost 20 minutes before we got a
human online. The customs questions were quick and easy. He gave us a
customs clearance number and a phone number to call the "Homeland Security
Department of Border Security and Inspections formerly known as INS". We
called the INS (I can't say the mouthful of the new name) and they
answered the line quickly. They took simple data and told me that all on
board had to personally check in with the Port of West Palm Beach INS or
the INS at the West Palm Beach Airport. The lady gave us directions to the
offices. By the time we finished it was 2:10 and the Port of WPB INS
office closed at 3:00. We called a cab and it arrived quickly. The $5.00
cab ride to the Port of WPB INS office (which is in the Princess Cruise
line building, 2nd floor) delivered us in about 10 minutes, and
we arrived in the INS office at 2:45. It only took a few minutes to check
us in and then we returned by cab to the boat at 3:15. The total time
starting with the Customs call was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Thus our
experience was much better than some that we have heard about.
The lesson here is simple. Try to arrive near one of the larger
offices, i.e. Port of WPB. Have your paperwork ready for the customs call.
Try to arrive several hours before closing
26 June.
Leaving Cannonsport we spent a long and uneventful day returning to our
home port at the Vero Beach Yacht Club. Several of our friends were there
to welcome us home. We were glad to be home. Buddy especially was glad to
return to his small hobby farm and two horses in Okeechobee, FL.
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