Unexcused Absences Bahamas 2018 Cruise, Part 1 (he said)

Bahamas 2018 Cruise, Part 1 (he said)

by Kent 10 Apr 2018

March 15-31, 2018 — The Exumas. Fate must be smiling on us because, after almost an entire month of unfavorable weather for crossing to the Bahamas, we got our weather window about 12 hours after we got the boat ready and in position. There was so much pent-up demand to cross the Gulf Stream that leaving Lake Worth Inlet at 6 am on March 15 felt like we were in the Ft Lauderdale holiday parade of boats. Once in the ocean, everyone fanned out; the fast boats headed south-east towards Bimini, the slow boats like us (on our old trawler Miss Adventure) pointing east to Grand Bahama.

Dusk in Lake Worth before our crossing

What a difference 7 hours makes. By 1 pm we were tied up at the customs dock in West End under sunny skies and surrounded by pastel buildings and turquoise water. Check-in was seamless, as it usually is in West End, and we were back on the water headed for Port Lucaya by 2:30.

One of many provision runs

The fridge, stocked and ready

Flying our Bahamas courtesy flag

Celebrating the Bahamas with Marc Hebrart Champagne

Our good weather karma continued the next two days, and we motored first 12 hours to the southern Berry Islands, then another 12 hours to the northern Exumas where we anchored at Shroud Cay. On the way, we caught a Cero Mackerel off of Chub Cay (day 1) and then, [insert miracle here], a 6-pound Yellowfin Tuna just east of Nassau (day 2). Freshly caught Yellowfin is possibly the finest tasting fish in the whole world. The trick is to rub it with soy sauce, barely show it the heat of the stove (maybe 30 seconds on each side), then sprinkle with sesame seeds and eat with white rice and a touch of pickled ginger and wasabi. Heather also made an avocado and raw tuna salad as a side dish.

Our Cero Mackerel

Yellowfin Tuna dinner

Sunset at Shroud Cay, just us and the superyachts

We had a nice show with our dinner on the aft deck; the planets Venus and Mercury were visible next to each other on the western horizon, and a tiny sliver of moon was on the left, all under perfectly clear skies. The following day we continued our trek south and arrived at Gaulin Cay, near Fowl Cay and Little Major Spot.

The moon, Venus, and Mercury

We weren’t anchored more than 2 hours before our friend, “Solar” Dave, showed up in his center console. He was island-sitting [redacted] Cay for a few weeks, so we had a nice afternoon catching up with his activities over the past 9 months. His “day” job is doing complete solar installations (solar panels, charge controllers, battery banks, and inverters) throughout the Exumas at the various private islands.

Our first order of business was to help another friend, who manages “Large General’s Bits” (the private island names have been changed or redacted to protect the rich), with some projects, as well as to use his workshop to a bit of engine work for the Miss Adventure. I suspected the oil cooler on the starboard engine was misbehaving, but a pressure test in the workshop seemed to indicate there was no problem. I swapped out the cooler for a spare just in case, so we’ll see what happens going forward.

Anchored at Gaulin Cay

Pressure-testing the oil cooler

Grilled Salmon at [redacted] Cay

Beach cabana at “Large General’s Bits”

The balance of our first two weeks was visits to Staniel Cay to see our friends, snorkel trips, fishing, and parties at various private islands. We also met some new faces, the crew of a large black sailboat that belongs to the guy who pretty much invented high-frequency trading on Wall St. I also finally had a chance to try out the drone that my friend, the Minister of Leisure, gave me for Christmas. It is quite the high-tech instrument, and I’ll share the first of many aerial shots to come on these pages.

My first pic with the new drone; Miss A at “Large General’s Bits”

At the end of the month, we moved to the dock at “Large General’s Bits” and spent a week island-sitting while our friend, the primary manager, had some business to attend to in South Florida. We, of course, had access to the amenities on land that we can only dream of on a boat (washer/dryer, long showers, private beach cabana, a real kitchen), but we also had access to a proper boat, a 22-foot center console with a big engine. With this boat, we could really cover some distance, and over the week we took a trip to the Exumas Park, went deep-sea fishing, and traveled 10-15 miles out onto the Exuma Banks to some coral heads I had spotted on Google Maps for some spearfishing.

With the center-console anchored on the Banks

A low-tide sandbar near the Park

Our island home for a week, “Large General’s Bits”

The highlight of March, though, was finally spearing my first lobster on the last day of lobster season. Because the season ends so soon after we normally arrive, and because the lobsters know the exact dates when the season begins and ends, they have proven remarkably elusive over the years. After searching various rock holes for what seemed like hours, and while favorite wife patiently waited in the boat, I finally found a plump lobster tucked deep in a hole in some rocks. I struggled a while with the ocean surge, trying to line up the correct angle for a shot, but I finally nailed it right between the eyes. A friend showed us how to cut it up and clean it, and we had grilled lobster tail to go with our steak that night, plus lobster omelets the following morning.

My first speared lobster

It was quite a start to our 2018 cruising season, and it only got better from here – more island-sitting, plus some trips to remote out-islands, plus our cruising friends from previous years started showing up towards the end of April, so there’s lots more to come. Oh, and the big new upgrade to our boat this year is a 40-gallon-per-hour watermaker. Thank you, Dad!