We're in Orchid Bay on Guana Cay. After 130 nautical miles we are are in a spot where we can spend some time relaxing. There were a couple of occassions during which we were wondering if we would continue. A new main refrigerator, a untimely failure of a raw water pump and another raw water pump issue on the opposite engine had us concerned that Freedom was not going to be reliable enough to continue.
But we pressed on making repairs along the way and Freedom perservered as long as we maintained her. So here we are around Whale Cay safe and sound and that means our Winter is relatively locked in. By the way, the hurricane season has been declared dead as well.
The first leg of this portion of the trip started at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club at Lucaya. A great stop. Mention Freedom and you will save 10 percent if you speak with Thomas. From there we traveled to Sale Cay where we anchored out for the night. The trip up the Lucayan water way was a welcome break from the slamming we took across the Gulf Stream. Upon enterring the canal we were greeted by turtles and various other crites. Since we were the only ones in the canal the water was extremely clear and a pleasure to look through. The view eventually faded from interest since the more one moves into the canal the less the aquatic life there is to review. The view of clear water is replaced by the vestiges of failed business ventures like Viky's place.
This is not a passage to be taken in a larger boat. We had plenty of depth throughout the canal at 8 feet minimum but at the North end of the canal we were concerned. We were not in any danger of running aground but we were concerned. We followed the charts and with a rising tide we probably had 3 feet to spare upon exiting the canal into Dover Sound where the skinny water is. There were also a couple of pinch points in the canal that would certainly preclude anything with more than say 16 feet of beam from continuing. Anyone that moves through this pinch with more beam would be fool-hearty.
We clearly saw plenty of damaging options on the bottom as we moved through. It looks as though this was going to be a bridge site that remains unfinished as another example of the failed investments.
There was quite a bit of unfinished work along the canal. It's actually pretty sad because a short trip along this canal will convince you that many people invested alot of money into something that is not paying off. Just thinking about the money spent on digging the canal and lining parts of the canal wall with concrete will certainly convince you. By the way, the canal is only say sixty or eighty feet wide at many points on the northern half.
Once out on the bank we were all alone with no other boats in sight. We traveled this way all day on glass all the way to Sale Cay and threw the hook for the night. In spite of the wind shift we sat right on our anchor and had no worries.
As an example of what has gone wrong, here is Viky's place. It's a highrise example of how to lose a mess of dollars. But moving out onto the bank, and then across to Spanish Cay we were treated to very calm water. It was certainly the equal of the Hudson on a calm week day afternoon.
Pulling into Spanish Cay Marina Merle helped us in and we settled down after a long day on the water. That included dinner at the marina restaurant and it was quite good as well as being reasonably priced.
Later that night when the sun light faded we turned on the transom lights and were treated to quite a display of aquatic life. Big, large, in your face aquatic life. The kind that can eat you.
Yup. Sharks.
Big sharks. Hungry hunting at nite hoping to cash in on our transom lights sharks. We tried to ID them but we can only come close thinking they were Bull or Lemon Sharks. We suspect that they were after the large grey snapper than chased the bait fish for a while. For one reason or another they dissappeared into the night. Maybe that's why they were big snappers eh?
Here at Orchid the water is very clear at night. And yes, our buddy the Green Heron is still here and he picks out the bait fish at night with the transom lights attracting them.
Diesel is 4.10 a gallon and they are out at this point. Perhaps they are trying to discourage people from moving on by falsly saying they have no fuel . I have no idea, but the Bahamas are hurting big time. Many facilities have no fuel of any sort.
Sitting down there somewhere you will see Freedom tied up against a dock near the construction zone. Fortunately for us the construction has shut down for the holidays and it is not the least bit noisy. In spite of the strong wind blowing through the harbour it's quite pleasant here with some really great dock mates to share time with. I guess that the construction will start up again but hopefully it holds through the New Years Eve celebration. About the only exceptional sounds we have right now are the sounds of wind moving through the sailboat stays and the screach of a parrot in the distance. Someone must have a pet parrot around here somewhere because it really is quite vocal. But anyway they are hoping to have fireworks here in the harbour at midnight New Years Eve so perhaps we will have a treat during the celebration.
