Junkanoo!

 Junkanoo originated in the Bahamas back in the 17th century as a form of celebrating Freedom from Slavery. It is distinctly Bahamian with perhaps a few other occurrences elsewhere. Junkanoos occur several times a year around major holidays and most have judges awarding prizes to the best groups. This particular Junkanoo had three major players with a couple of beginner groups.
 The people here take this celebration seriously by creating brightly colored costumes that are larger than life.  They form parades at night with groups of brass and drums pounding out the beat for costumed people to dance to. And wow do they dance. I haven't experienced this much energy since I was passed closely by a freight train.
 Here's one man working it out -



And more -

 He was one of the more interesting male dancers but I will say everyone had their boody wound up. Each team approached the area we were standing at led by people in brilliantly colored costumes. They would bounce up and down encouraging the extremities of the costumes to gyrate and swing about. Given the heat it was good to see there were people carrying cool drinks for the performers. Plenty of them were taking advantage of the offer and it was no surprise they needed the refreshment. It's good to see people celebrating their advancement in such a colorful, noisey, stampede of smiles.

None of us expected anything as elaborate as this to be displayed.

Moving about

 Last Tuesday on the 15th we looked at the weather forecasts and wondered if we would be able to get out on the Sea of Abaco with the dink. The wind was predicted to be out of the South East but clocking around to the North as the day progressed. After mulling over the choice between a walk and time in the dink we decided to go out in the dink and if it was rough we'd go up to Hope Town and walk around up there a while.
 Once out on the Sea we were treated to calm water and not having been along the West shore of Lubber's Quarters I stuck the nose of the dink at the North end and moved on. Once around the tip of the cay we were greeted by shallow clear water and a number of live shells going about their livelihood on the bottom. We could clearly see Tulips and a few conch. Given they were alive we left them alone and moved on. Eventually we ran into very shallow water so Deb had to move to the bow and I stood in the middle. With the engine set to the highest operational angle we were able to bounce along the bottom without grinding the propeller up.

 Eventually the water deepened and we made our way over to Witch point on the West shore of Abaco. There were several beaches over there and we spent some time scouring them for shells. It's been my experience that the shores of Abaco don't offer many shells of interest because there usually are no reefs encouraging their growth and this area lived up to that expectation. After a while we drove down to Snake Cay and looked at the water life under us. There are some really large spotted rays down there and they get close enough to warrant caution since we have seen them jump clear of the water several times. As our luck would have it the sun hid behind the few clouds in the area and this put an end to our viewing since the water is deeper here.

 Along the way back to Lubber's Deb took a sudden move to the starboard side of the dink when she saw a nice shark swimming along with us. Pleasant looking fish they are. Especially when their mouths are open and headed your way. Since we were going past Cracker P's on the way back to Sea Spray, and it was lunch time, well, we pulled in for a bite and the next episode of "Everyone Loves Tobi". "Dan just smile and nod ok?" Next time I'll bring my hearing aids but we may not laugh as much.
 Today it's February 18th and Freedom was tied up here at Sea Spray for over a month without moving. her bottom was starting to get shaggy with growth. Coincidentally the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club was sponsoring a seminar on the passage to and cruising of the Central Bahamas. Since this is one of our goals we elected to move Freedom over to Boat Harbour at the Abaco Beach Resort for a night. Our membership in the club provided us with a docking discount so the pain of a daily fee was reduced a bit. It was worth it.

 We attended the seminar and picked up a number of pointers from several people that had experienced the trip to Eluethera and Exumas. Afterwards, we hooked up with the other members of the Club at 5 pm for the evening happy hour out on the peninsula. These people know how to make an hour happy. Everyone brings their own beverage and a snack. The picnic tables fill with goodies to munch on while chatting with friends. Having been reminded that our attendance was appropriate on the way back from town we picked up a pint of fresh conch salad from George the conch salad man. He hangs out at a small booth next to the Harbour View Marina and chops up conch. Darn good salad. It didn't last long on the table. A few of the ladies got together and made up conch fritters the likes of which we had never experienced. I'm hopeful we'll get the recipe for these but I suspect it's going to take some investment in beverages to loosen up the security system.

 Today we hauled out of Boat Harbour a well protected and high class facility, and made our way back to Sea Spray to finish our time here. Since we had not run Freedom in a while I opened her up and with a puff of black smoke she struggled up onto plane at 17 knots. Fully 2 knots less than what she normally can do with a full load. Certainly the growth on the bottom was holding her back. But the gauges looked good so we ran her at speed a couple of minutes before settling down into a casual 7 knots or so. Fortunately we left with some tide and ran fast because by the time we reached Porgee Rock we were stirring up sand as we traveled. Back in the slip we were happy to see most of the shag was gone.

The one that got away

 Early yesterday we were hailed on the radio by Bob. He has a great view of the Atlantic from Atlantic Horizons http://www.hopetown.com/rentalsearch/atlantic-horizons so he knew the ocean was in a cooperative state for fishing. I think I hesitated about a millisecond before saying well..... ok.... if you insist. Since we don't have a center console here invitations like this are really appreciated. We can get around on the dink but the weather has to be perfect, and Freedom is not a boat to take on the Ocean for the purpose of fishing. In 2-3 foot seas a fishing drift will rock most into a state better left near the side rails or a bucket. So we dug out some gear and waited. 
 After a while Bob showed up at Sea Spray with Ridge Runner which is a 24 Stamas with a 250 Suzuki 4 stroke outboard. We loaded up and set out for Tilloo cut at a good pace. The engine was smooth and quiet and the ride was good. Passing by Cracker P's we could see the cut over the beach at Tahiti and it looked a bit rough. After going around Cooper Jacks Cay and arriving at the cut we were greeted by 3 to 4 foot swells about a couple of seconds apart. Just enough to get a roller coaster scream out of Deb. But these soon passed and we found ourselves out on the Atlantic with gentle rollers passing under the boat smoothly. The water and sky were clear and the sun was up. We hoped the fish were biting.
 After a short ride Bob shut everything down and we started a drift. As we drifted North East (see http://home.roadrunner.com/~danmapes/Voyage1011.kmz track named Out Tilloo Cut Fishing and In Tilloo Cut from Fishing) luck was with us and we hooked up several grouper and stashed them away in the live well. One was rather small and foul hooked so we decided to use it for bait.
 After a while my line went tight and heavy. After about a minute or so I had a 3 or 4 foot lemon shark next to the boat. At this point Deb decided the other side of the boat was a more appropriate place to sit. But the shark shook the bait loose and went about it's business of looking for another bit of food. Since the bait was still on the hook and Bob thought the shark was good eating we elected to re-hook the fish since it was loitering in the area. While we were talking about it the fish passed within a few feet of the boat several times. So Bob and I both put our lines in and sure enough I re-hooked the shark. This time the hook was well set and the fight resumed.

 The shark ran off line a few times and then predictably tired. It was perhaps 5 feet under the boat in front of me and moved towards the bow and under the boat. So I ran forward to resume the struggle and turn the shark back. Just as I had it turned the leader snapped and the shark got away. Steel leaders are a good thing, nylon leaders are not. 

 After this we returned back to Tilloo cut which at first appeared quite imposing with waves breaking across the cut. As we approached it though the water appeared to lay down but I think the initial impression was probably caused by the angle we originally viewed the cut from. It looked like it was breaking all the way across but soon enough as we got closer the center opened up and we rode the waves back in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzk9u2HClLA
 Once inside the cut Deb's face lightened up considerably. All in all her first experience in a small boat on the Ocean went really well and she enjoyed it. It left her thinking that running down to the Exumas on Freedom might not be such an ordeal after all.
 After all of this adventure Deb fried up some fish and we had a bit to eat. Then it was off to the SOTs get together for a libation and gathering of friends at the end of a great day in Abaco. The folks at Sea Spray put on a terrific spread of appetizers and there was plenty for everyone to have. And people have to ask why we like staying here...

 I've loaded up some more photos at http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh40/danno53/Boating%202010-2011/ and the GPS tracks link is available here as well.

The Quest Continued. . . .

 Today the Internet was down so I couldn't make calls or pay the bills. I hate it when that happens. The good weather happened to line up with this grave situation so late in the morning as the wind laid down we took off in the dink to check out some spots I thought might contain a Blue Hole. The tide was right and the wind was down so we headed South and started at Sandy Cay to check out the reef.

 Sandy Cay is part of the Pelican Cays National Park where fishing etc. is not allowed. That means the population of crites beneath the surface can live in their environment without having to contend with us so there are plenty to review. Even if this is done with a look bucket as opposed to snorkeling, it's worth the effort to get down there and look around.

 As illustrated in the first photo the ride down was uneventful and smooth. On many occasions we were treated to crystal clear water with depths exceeding 20 feet. It was really spectacular. All sorts of fish, and rays passed under us as we motored along. But as we approached Channel Cay from the West side the swells from the ocean were pronounced and we had to back off a bit. It wasn't serious, just a good two feet of closely spaced rollers coming in that made for an interesting ride in a dink. By the way it's an Avon 340 RIB with an 18 HP outboard. Anyway the waves were smooth and non-breaking but close together thus pitching the bow up a bit once in a while. But soon enough we were in behind Channel Cay and the surface was quiet again until we cleared Gaulding Cay. At that point we were back around to the East of Sandy and into the area of North Bar. That means we were back into the rollers.

 Note.

 This is the inlet where the ill fated crew of "Rule 62" lost their ride to the sea and Laura Zeekol went missing. When the weather is foul this area is not to be take lightly. I'd go as far as saying don't pass through here if the weather is off at all and the tide is running strong. But all of the inlets on the East Side of the Bahamas are to be treated with respect. Their circumstances were grave that night. They were traveling at night with an exhausted crew battling high seas and that led to the disaster these people had to endure. Perhaps this over simplifies there predicament but the reality of it all is as clear as the water we were traveling in. Bad weather, rough seas, and a notorious inlet.  

 However with the weather we had the situation at Sandy Cay was tolerable and a relatively easy snorkel but we did not have the gear with us. Regardless we tied up at a mooring long enough for Deb to get her fill of fish watching with the look bucket. 

 From here we moved on to the West looking for the Blue Holes. I had mentioned that the tide was with us and this was where that was going to be important. To get all the way back up to the spots I had located on the charts we needed a rising tide and that was what we had. Back in behind Black Point we went, into water that was maybe a foot and a half deep. We were planning on it rising so we could move about and get back out into the Sea of Abaco when we were done.

 Along the way we saw several live tulip shells. All of them were bright orange or yellow which is in stark contrast to their appearance when the animal has gone. Initially the water was very shallow and the going was slow. We bumped and churned several times in the dink in spite of our efforts to keep the prop high. At this point the bottom was uninteresting as it was mostly sparse grass in sand. But we were happy because this meant the prop was not being exposed to rocks or other debris that would damage it. But all of this changed after a while and we were treated to many green turtles darting about in front of us.

  On several occasions along the way we had depths exceeding 20 feet. There was quite a bit of life within these pockets. Barracuda, Snapper, Rays, all sorts of fish and other life like sea fans. It was worth the effort to get down here and back behind the small cays that insulate this area from the Sea of Abaco.

 At the last way point I had programmed into the GPS the bottom opened up and sure enough we found our quest, a Blue Hole. It wasn't the classical version in that it appeared to be "young". Many huge slabs of rock had caved in making convenient hideaways for the  snapper and sea turtles our presence disturbed.

 In spite of the sun lowering in the sky we were lucky to see what we did. We wished we had arrived earlier in the day so the sun would be overhead, but you can't have everything like tide, wind, and sun lining up all the time. With that were happy to have what we did. The sights were special.

 We could have spent another two hours back here but time was running out with the tide. As a result we bailed out of looking for the other Blue Hole in the area and set our course back the way we came in for the Sea of Abaco. Since the tide was high now the trip out was much easier in that we had less concern for the depth. In spite of that Deb sat on the bow of the dink and I stood up in the middle. This way we kept the transom as high as we could and only bumped a couple of times.

 Once back out of this serene environment we found that the wind had picked up as well as shifting so that it would be on our bow all the way back to Elbow Cay which was a distant 7 miles or so. Keep in mind we're in an inflatable ok? It's ok unless you wear a bra. We had a foot of chop all the way up to Tiloo, maybe as far as Lubers. Once in the lee of Lubars the water laid down and we motored along beaten by the chop and sun.

 So we skipped over a stop at Cracker P's and went straight to the boat. All in all a very good day on the Sea of Abaco. The sun was going down, and we were on the Sea of Abaco fully two hours later in the day than we wanted to be. We were shot.

 The GPS tracks are up to date, and I will upload some more photos soon but these are about as good as they get. Maybe the next pas we'll take more time with the camera instead of being spell bound by the sights!

Shopping, outer island style

 I have to admit that the new Maxwell's in Marsh Harbour is a great food store. It's a huge improvement over the Price Rite that existed there, and that store always seemed to have good product available. The produce section in the new Maxwell's was as good as or better than some of the stores we have in Kingston N.Y.. It's definitely a welcome addition to the growth of this area and I am sure that local folks as well as visitors like us will appreciate the investment made by the owners. They can't go wrong.
 Maxwell's is very similar to a ShopRite or Stop and Stop back in the States. Fortunately they have not taken on the role that Publix has in Florida. Publix seems to have quite a bit of product but their fish, meats and poultry are substandard compared to what is available here. We have always been and remained shocked at the difference in meat qualities between the two areas. Especially when high end markets like Adam's Fairacre Farms are included in the comparison.
 So it all sounds good right?
 Well not really. Consider a 5 mile ride in a 10 foot inflatable to get onto the main island and then a 1 or 2 mile walk to get to the store. Then there are the logistics of making sure any refrigerated goods survive the trip. I know, we should not complain. Especially when the environmental comparision includes -10 degrees F vs. what we have here. Yesterday it was 80 degrees and well, that works a heck of alot better than what is going on in the home region.
 But then we had to slog it back across the Sea of Abaco into about a foot and a half of chop to get it all back onto Freedom. Normally we would not venture out into this with the dink but the forecast included clocking winds that indicated we would be in a following sea on the way back. Not. Did not happen. We plowed into the water for about 1/2 an hour. It wasn't that bad. I mean, we kept the bow of the dink up and this diverted the spray to the sides. It took longer but we were in no danger. Will we do it again? Not if we can avoid it. But all in all it worked out well and we are better off with the new stores aboard Freedom. Consider the GPS tracks we did with our Avon 240 RIB going to Boat Harbour and that the wind was out of the South East. We around quite a bit until we were in the lee of Luber's.
 We knew all of this was going to happen, since we docked the dink at Boat Harbour and could observe the Sea of Abaco from their facility.  We had to pay 25 bucks for the rite of parking, however, this fee can be used as credit at the pool bar/grill. So after slogging all of the groceries back from Maxwell's to Boat Harbour we sat down by the pool side and had a burger and a beer before we set out in the dink against the wind. I have to admit it numbed the senses to the slamming we put up with.
 It's all good.

The quest for the Blue Hole

 One of the best scenic finds down in the Abacos is a Blue Hole. Back in March 2009 we happened upon one of these while trying to get to a beach on the main island of Great Abaco. It was a very pleasant surprise in light of the situation we were in.
 On our way back from Crown Haven which is at the far Northern end of the island after driving half way back to Treasure Cay we decided rather randomly to visit a beach along the way to look for shells. While traveling down a winding poorly maintained road full of ruts and spent appliances we decided we were in an area to be avoided. Right where we turned around we found it.
 I've hunted around and looked for photos but come up dry on this one. But I can tell you exactly where it is and you can zoom in on it with google earth. If you look at the CrownHavenCarRide track within the http://home.roadrunner.com/~danmapes/Southbound2.kmz link at  26°47'55.43"N  77°25'23.60"W you will find where we gave up on driving a rental car to the beach due to road and environmental conditions. That was when we saw the blue hole so we hopped out of the car to look at it. It was only a few paces off the road and the path was clear. The color of the water was remarkable as was the amount of fish swimming around in it.
 Having experienced that find we have been on the look out for more of these, and we have had some success with this activity. Using Google Earth one can pick some out and subsequently last year while we were at the Berry Islands we did locate one a bit North of Great Harbour's Marina.

 Today, we elected to use the information we had obtained from various guide books and other folks that have been around a bit. As far as we could tell from all of this information and Google Earth there are Blue Holes around Snake Cay and Iron Cay. For example there is one at 26°24'12.89"N 77° 2'33.53"W. It's gotta be one. But marching through the terrain in that area without a machete is not in our game plan and carrying one around in an inflatable dink is not either. Sure we could shealth it but the notion of hiking in flip flops adds more concern to the notion. 

 Anyway we left the marina today with light winds yet intimidating skies. While out on the Sea of Abaco I mentioned the cloud lines looked ominously familiar. They looked exactly like what the spouts formed out of on the stream. But on we went taking advantage of the flat water and some solace in the notion that others were out there with us. We gunked around behind Snake Cay and Iron Cay for quite a while and made it to a couple of spots some would call Blue Holes. But they were nothing like what we had seen earlier so there was some dissappointment with this realization. In spite of that those locations did provide interesting displays of sharks, rays, lobsters and other fish in some very clear water. Believe it or not there is a spiney lobster hanging out under that rock. This lucky lobster was small and we had no ice to keep it while we traveled. In this photo all we see are the antennae when the photo is enlarged by clicking on it.

 But without decent sunlight over us the photos don't show well so perhaps another day we'll be able to get better pictures to post. The track named Snake Cay Dink 2 within the http://home.roadrunner.com/~danmapes/Voyage1011.kmz batch of tracks might be fun to fly with G.E. and they will lead you to Cracker P's where we stopped in for lunch. Their smoked fish dip is outstanding and goes well with a cold Kalik and grilled Wahoo sandwich. Even if the food wasn't good the view would make the stop worth while! It's a good thing we ignored the signals the clouds were giving us earlier in the morning because the day turned out quite well. Maybe the forecast of 15-20 knots of wind for the next week won't turn out to be accurate either but we are getting into that part of Winter down here when the wind blows strong and steady. 

  

   

Time for some dink action

 But first we had to put a patch on it. Somewhere along the line late last year the starboard tube started requiring a pump or two every other day or so. With additional use over here and cooler temperatures the requirement grew as the leak became more serious and after a cool night the tube was well on its way to being deflated. With the help of a neighbor we pulled it up onto the dock so I could work on it. At mid tide the lift was about 6 feet. After about an hour of looking around with soapy water a bubble finally appeared and it was a good thing because I was ready to give up at that point. It would seem that sitting in the sun on a warm dock increased the pressure in the tube enough to force the air out. With the patch installed just aft of the N in the registration the tubes were re inflated and since I had it out of the water the bottom was cleaned up and waxed. A review of the dink the next morning confirmed that the fix was good and we were ready for a ride. The wind was calm and the water was flat. Perfect for a run in the dink.

 Just about all the way across the Sea of Abaco heading for Snake Cay from Hope Town I happened to have the camera recording when a fish started tail walking in front of us.

 We were running at about 15mph at the time so perhaps that lends some insight into the capabilities of these fish. It's always fun to see these or flying fish take off away from the boat when we are underway. Some might say it's mean and we should not be in the water scaring them like this. We don't do it intentionally and we don't chase them. That this one happened to take flight in a direction aligned with ours is a coincidence. I look at it this way, through the extra exercise we encourage, maybe we are enabling a mutation that will be better able to defend itself. It might even become a man eater. Right.  

 Moving along, and some might say gratefully, we found ourselves on the West side of the Sea of Abaco by Snake Cay and with about half a receding tide under us we elected to go in behind the cays in the area to see what was in the shallows here. Some might recall the dink rides we did back in early 2009 at Hill's Creek near Treasure Cay and this area certainly held promise to be as good or better because of it's proximity to North Bar inlet. The notion being that perhaps more larger fish would be around spawning etc.. We did not happen upon any small sharks but the turtles were everywhere. Clicking on the photo will provide better detail of one shooting away from us. They may be slow on land but they can move very quickly in the water! In time with only a minor encounter with shallow water we made it down to the South end of Iron Cay but unfortunately we did not find the blue hole that is supposed to be in this area. Perhaps another day we will find it, and Wednesday could be that day since the winds are predicted to be light again. 

 Given this was a perfect day to be out and about in a dink on the way back we elected to pass by Hope Town and Freedom and head straight to the Atlantic Ocean and the reefs in between Elbow and Man O War cays. It was worth the extra time in the dink as the water was surprisingly clear and calm affording us a great view of the coral reef and fish living within it. 

 It's not often one gets the opportunity to hang around over a reef on the Atlantic in calm water like this! The GPS tracks have been updated and at some point I'll update this entry with a link to more photos when I get them loaded.     

 As always it's not a good day on the water unless we disturb Ray.