Green Turtle Cay

For the past few days we have been starting to get ready for the crossing back to the US. The plan is for our pal Christopher to arrive here in the Abacos on May 4. If we have a fabulous weather window, we will set sail early on May 5, bound for Beaufort, North Carolina. It’s a 450 mile straight shot to the north and should take us somewhere in the neighborhood of three and a half days (three nights) at sea.

If the weather is uncooperative, we will enjoy ourselves island hopping to the north of the Abacos until we have a forecast we like. 

Preparations include provisioning for the days (and nights) at sea. Ellen wants to be able to quickly, easily, and safely feed us. If the weather is too bouncy, cooking can be more of a chore than she is eager to take on. Of course, we will do everything we can to ensure we sail in as calm weather as possible.

One tool we are using to plan the passage is a website/app called fastseas.com. It is a weather routing tool that takes wind, waves, boat capabilities, and Gulf Stream location into account and then provides the fastest route to the destination.

Here’s the latest run. I get four free tries each month so I’ll do another one tomorrow and then a few in May before we leave. Another wonderful feature of the program is it lets me upload the route directly to my GPS. The blue line is the straight line to the destination, the yellow is the predicted fastest route. The swirly arrow things are wind on the day I ran the simulation.

Initially we assumed it would be fastest to sail west-northwest for about 24 hours until we hit the heart of the Gulf Stream, and then ride that current northward to Beaufort. But fastseas has convinced us that it is speedier to simply head north and then play the currents and eddies on the east of the Stream. So we won’t get any big 4 knot boosts, but we ought to have at least a little help from the current at the edge.

In any event, as the designated optimist aboard, I was thrilled when one of the models I ran predicted a passage of only two days and twenty hours a few weeks ago. I doubt we will have that swift of a trip, but I am encouraged to note that none of the models have shown a trip of more than three nights.

Nevertheless, three nights at sea is a long long time for Cupcake. No land in sight, no radio communication with anyone else, no internet, no nothing. Thank goodness for Christopher!

Before I went to the trouble of making a sign I think I would just find my chainsaw and nip the problem in the bud, so to speak.

Other preparation has included some preventative maintenance. I cleaned the sea strainer that provides clear sea water to cool the engine. I changed the impeller that moves that cool water through the engine. Tomorrow we will clean the hull and change all the zincs for the last time on this trip. (No way am I jumping in the water on the ICW, and I doubt the water in New England will be warm enough for maintenance or recreational swimming by the time we get there.)

In broad strokes, the plan is to get to Beaufort before mid-May. To Norfolk by the following week, and NYC or Block Island before the beginning of June. That puts us back home some time in the early part of June.

I also had AT&T un-suspend my US cell phone number starting May 7. So all of you who have been itching to call me can do so after then. 

Wow, it seems like just about a month ago that we were making the preparations to turn off the US phone and cross to Bimini. This voyage has both flown by and taken a lifetime. 

Spokeshave.

Recent casualty: our crummy camera battery no longer holds a charge. So no more underwater shots. Just whatever we remember to take with the cell phone.

Tomorrow is Moss’ birthday (eleven). So today we are having a little get-together with Karen and Paul from Satagraco. And the crew from Turbulence. They are a family of six (four kids between nine and thirteen, yikes!) from Montreal living aboard a Catalina 36 that is anchored near us here at White Sound on Green Turtle Cay. Tomorrow we are planning on heading up to Manjack Cay and perhaps Powell Cay with them for the week before we scoot back to Treasure Cay to pick up Christopher at the airport.

Template for the half-hulls.

Last week we sailed back down to Man O War Cay to buy souvenirs. Andy Albury is a craftsman who makes beautiful half-hull models of some of the local sailboats. We used the last of our cash to pick up some of his work. Now the trick will be to get it all home safely.

Half-hull model.

On our way back to Green Turtle Cay we stopped at Leaf Cay to snorkel the reef. We had limited expectations, being the Exuma-snorkeling-snobs that we are. But the reef turned out to be a lovely spot. We saw plenty of fish life, including a pair of Caribbean Reef Squid. Check out Ellen’s Instagram account to see some pictures of them she stole from the Internet.

On our way home from the world-famous Nipper’s bar. (It’s really just another beach bar, but still.)

You can rent these crazy things…they are like a cross between a Rascal scooter and a submarine.

We have been enjoying the Bluff House Marina pool (and bar) the past few days. Karen and Paul have said we can call ourselves their guests if we need to, but so far nobody seems to bat an eye when we come in and poach the wifi and the pool. This afternoon I may try to liberate a book from the cruisers’ library because I just finished reading Neal Stephenson’s Anathema. It was excellent. In fact, the only problem was that it kept me upon reading until 3am two nights in a row.

Wharf rats.

Yesterday, right here in the harbor, we saw a pair of dolphin parents swimming by with their baby dolphin. I need to remind myself that this sort of wildlife sighting (in addition to the myriad turtles and sharks and rays we are treated to on a daily basis) is not common back at home so we need to savor it while we can.

That’s a lot of stickers.

Family selfie. You can’t tell from this picture, but Moss has grown about three inches this year.

That’s ketchup on Ellen’s face, she has been wolfing down French fries.