Actually, we’re in the US for hurricane season, and (thankfully) just south of the path of Hurricane Dorian. It has been heartbreaking to see the Abacos, where we very recently spent the last of our weeks in the Bahamas, be completely decimated by Hurricane Dorian. We had an amazing time in the Abacos and feel so thankful that we had the opportunity to experience it before this destruction. It feels eerily similar to Hurricane Irma which destroyed the British Virgin Islands just a couple weeks after we were sailing there in 2017. Our track record with hurricanes is not looking so good. Despite the sadness surrounding the Abacos right now, we are still looking forward to sharing the experiences we had there with you during the next few blog posts!
Sailing to the Abacos
We set sail (just kidding! we set motor) towards Great Abaco from Old Fort Bay anchorage on New Providence. On a positive note, the wind is not on our nose for once! On a less positive note, the wind is too light to really do much for our sails. Always, give and take.
It is a pleasant journey though! We (especially Matt) gets a bit bored per usual, but try to keep ourselves busy working and taking turns at the helm. We’re also spending several hours browsing Active Captain as we plan out our next month. Can you believe we only have a month (actually a bit less) left in Bahamas before we have to be back in the US? It’s definitely sad to think about, but we are looking forward to getting “home” and seeing family. It’s also getting silly hot here in the Bahamas, and we are apparently not as tough as other sailors, because even with a generator and AC to run in the evenings – we’re dying a bit.
After a long(ish) day, we arrive at Cross Harbor to find we are the only boat here! It’s a huge bay with lots of room, although, not the best bottom and not our favorite beach. We might be getting a bit spoiled! It’ll be a great overnight spot, though, splitting up the journey into two comfortable days. After taking Monster to shore for her walk, we decide to beat the heat by splashing around in the water around our boat. Once again, we find this location to be filled with (bleached) sand dollars and sea biscuits – always fun to hunt around for!
The wind continues to come out of the south, which means that we have zero protection in this anchorage. We knew this was a likely scenario, based on weather forecasts, but it still feels a bit eerie to be facing directly out into open ocean while at anchor. Thankfully, we are confident we have a really strong set and the wind is supposed to be light all evening. Even more important – winds have been light for the past several days, meaning the ocean is calm, and despite facing out into it unprotected, the waves are a non-issue. A slight rainbow even appeared over the land behind us!
Trying our hand at fishing
The next morning, we get up (somewhat) early to continue on our journey up Great Abaco to the more popular cruising grounds (and snorkeling reefs!). Matt has become recently motivated to start learning how to fish. We’ve spent the last three months cruising through the Bahamas and never once cast a pole into the water. Some of you reading this probably died a little inside reading that last sentence – but it’s true. I don’t like to eat fish, and we’re a bit intimidated about catching something big (or rather with big teeth) and not being able to get it off the line. I mean honestly, if you catch a barracuda – how in the heck do you get the hook out of its mouth? Stay tuned for future posts where we learn the answer to that question 😉
I man the helm while Matt is trawling his fishing line and studying the fishing books the prior owners were kind enough to leave us (they also left us the fishing pole!). Fortunately, we did buy a set of trawling lures prior to setting sail from Florida. Matt is learning what the different color of lures represent, and which might be best for our current purpose of trying to catch a Maui Maui. Really, we are just trying to catch anything at this point, but Maui Maui is the ultimate goal I guess you could say. Flying fish, congregating birds, and sarcassum (seaweed) are indicators that Maui Maui might be nearby – so I’m on a sharp lookout, calling out every single flying fish I see. It doesn’t seem to help, though, as Matt only gets one bite the whole day of trawling.
Tangent: The type of fishing Matt is doing is called trawling. This means that we have a fishing pole, sitting in a mount at the stern of the boat, with the line and hook in the water following behind us as we motor along. Traveling at around 6-9 knots is considered pretty ideal for trawling, which is perfect since we typically travel at 7 knots. Matt is careful about adjusting the distance of the hook from the boat, such that the lure is skimming just below the surface and is “jumping” about every 4 seconds. He alternates between using a couple different lures – some blue/silver ones as these are considered representative of flying fish and balyhoo (favorites of dolphin), and some pink-ish colored lures which represent the color of squid. Fun fact: “dolphin” is another name for Maui Maui – yes, a bit confusing. I secretly think some jerk decided to name it “dolphin fish” just to give some of us heart attacks when we see “dolphin sandwich” on the menu of numerous restaurants. No worries, though – those are actually Maui Maui fish sandwiches.
Green skies, and green waters
We spend our second night in the Abacos at North Lynard Cay, getting some protection from the rising southeast winds. We made the executive decision to skip the popular destination of Little Harbor and Pete’s Pub and Gallery – no regrets. Our stay at Lynard is nice enough – we’re one of a few boats seeking shelter here. The cay is private, but there is a small beach exposed at low tide which makes for nice walking grounds for little Monster.
Storms have been brewing and popping up periodically throughout the past couple days. We don’t really get caught in them until shortly after our arrival at Lynard. It storms HARD. There is lots of lightening and lots of thunder, so none of us are very happy at this point. We’re also only a hundred feet or so from rocks – our anchor alarm app is being watched closely. Fortunately, the storm doesn’t last too long though. After passing, the heat is once again suffocating. We debate hopping in the water, but are pretty turned off by the green color and difficulty seeing the bottom despite being only 10 feet deep. We say screw it and turn on the generator (and yes, AC!) early. We’re celebrating after all – we made it to the Abacos. Consistent with our previous celebrations – we enjoy a gourmet dinner of chips with Dean’s French onion dip and bubbly! Oh – and a bully stick for Monster.
I’m hoping that the green water at this anchorage is just a one off thing. Spoiler alert – it’s not. The next night we stay at an anchorage off Tiloo Cay and the water is even more green. Seriously, what is up with all the green water? I’ve not so fondly dubbed it, “That Abaco Green.”
Tangent: According to NASA, the reason the ocean typically appears a deep blue is due to the absorption and scattering of light. Water absorbs red light much easier and then scatters the blue light, giving the ocean it’s color (since theoretically, water should be clear). In shallower waters, more light and colors can be reflected, which is why we see many more shades of blue and green water. Particles suspended in the water, such as sand, silt, and algae, will also change the color of the water as they absorb and reflect light differently. Water that contains a lot of phytoplankton (i.e. algae) will be more green than water that doesn’t. I’m guessing that the Abacos have lots of algae in the water – compared to say the Exumas. Surprisingly, I didn’t find anything to confirm that, though.
The skies also decided to turn green on us again, indicating more storms on the way. I thought the storm last night was bad, but it was nothing compared to this. In addition to all the thunder and lightening, we also spot a couple different water spouts off in the distance! I have never heard thunder so loud in my life. Neither has Monster – she almost shook herself to death out of fear. For the first time, I actually have to sedate her in order to calm her down so she can breath normally. It works like a charm, and turns her into a doughy mess of wobbly limbs and sleepy eyes for the next few hours. She is pretty hilarious trying to walk and switch sleeping positions on the couch. Eventually she thinks she’s up for playing with her toys – her legs tell her otherwise.
Freediving Sandy Cay Reef
Luckily between all the storms, the sun gives us a chance to go free dive Sandy Cay Reef. This is a lovely section of reef that is located on the inside, in the middle of the channel, alongside Sandy Cay. It is a short enough dinghy ride from our anchorage at North Lynard Cay. There are several dive moorings that run along the edge of the reef; we pick up the last available one to tie up the dinghy. It also happens to be the furthest north. After confirming there is no current (sounds like not always the case here), we decide to swim south along the entire reef – or at least the section marked by moorings. Without having to hold the dinghy painter, we are both able to free dive all we want! I am even wearing my fancy new weight belt that I found during a recent adventure at Goulding Cay in New Providence.
We are having so much fun, and are seeing an amazing amount of marine and coral life. The coral here is gorgeous and healthy, with lots of bright orange elk horn – Matt’s favorite. Numerous schools of blue tang fish keep swimming by, offering a vibrant color contrast to the orange elk horn. We also spot a couple small (very small) sharks, large grouper, turtles, sting rays, and lobster. The star of the day, though, is definitely two large eagle rays who are patrolling up and down the channel along the reef. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, these creatures are so majestic. We are fortunate to spend several minutes admiring the eagle rays before they pass us by – but, then they pass us again on their way back down the channel, and a third time!
Sandy Cay Reef has been one of the most relaxing and wonderful free diving spots for us on our journey thus far. We are having so much fun, that by time we get back to dinghy we realize we’ve been in the water over 2 hours! We decide to motor down to the other end of the reef to jump back in one last time. After a few minutes, I keep trying to climb back into the dinghy to leave, but every time I do, Matt spots something else awesome and I have to jump back in. It’s absolutely unfair, ridiculous, and exhausting. Eventually, we decide we have to leave and get back to Monster who is patiently (or probably not) waiting for us back on the boat.
Check out our underwater video below!
Next up, we’re headed to Marsh Harbor – the largest town in the Abacos.
