Miami, FL to the Bahamas

Miami, FL

November 29, 2002: We leave our anchorage by South Beach in Miami, and stage to a place near Fisher Island, very close the the inlet. It always helps to stage before a departure, both to get closer to your exit point so you can see better what ocean conditions are like, and also to get the boat (and yourself) "sea-ready." That means, for example, putting away all the stray books and Legos, and getting a good night's rest. The wind is predicted to be west tomorrow, so it sounds like a great window.

As we pull into the anchorage, a palacial 150' motor yacht is the only one there. As we approach, the crew scurries to draw all the drapes. We flutter diapers at them. The owners (or VIPs) are entering the yacht's tender for a shore excursion. Whereas we literally climb into our dinghy, this yacht has a platform with steps so entering the tender is a snap. By the way, this tender is the size of our previous boat! The owners wave to us.

Later that evening, there is an unexpected (for us) fireworks show on the Miami waterfront, and we enjoy our last night in the teeming hubbub that is Miami.

November 30, 2002: We leave Miami about 6:30am, bound for Cat Cay, just south of Bimini, in the Bahamas. From the VHF radio traffic, about twenty other sailing boats are taking this crossing opportunity. After a previous consultation with our family physician, we dose four month old Paul with Benadryl so that we don't have a repeat of the previous bout of seasickness. The crossing should be great, but we know how nasty it could get!

Cat Cay, Bahamas

We do have a great crossing. We make our last cell-phone calls to tell family, "We're really leaving!" While Angie is on the phone, the reception goes out, so we charge up the cell phone battery and then turn it OFF. Paul is blissfully asleep, and time for lunch coincides with the middle of the Gulf Stream, when it is pretty lumpy. Interestingly enough, when one is already in the throes of mal de mer, one does not feel like eating, but, in order to stave off seasickness, one needs to keep food in one's stomach. So, while Paul sleeps and we pass a freighter, Angie makes that extraordinary cuisine of ocean passages: chicken-flavored Raman-noodle soup. The kids love it, and it's hot and filling. Unfortuately, Angie and Adrian start to worry about Paul, who is still sleeping. Yikes - did we overdose him? Our nail-chewing is happily groundless, as he wakes up, groggy but HUNGRY.

We arrive in Cat Cay just before the sun sets behind us. Out of the estimated twenty or so boats that left Miami, five had to turn back due to various problems, and all the rest seem to be here. It's a lovely night.

The Berry Islands

Early the next morning, Carioca and Canto set off across the Bahama Banks for Chubb Cay in the Berry Islands, where we can check in with Customs. Most of the other boats took off sometime in the night, so as to make the trip across the Banks without having to anchor overnight. We've opted to make the trip in two hops, since the weather appears to be holding. It can be dangerous to anchor on the shallow and wide Bahama Banks, since there is absolutely no protection, and even a moderate wind can build up a chop on the water that can do damage to anchor and boat. However, the forecast calls for very stable weather, so we decide to risk it and anchor halfway across the banks, meaning we can sleep until daybreak and not have to navigate the shoaly water at night.

Another boat, Khaliq, makes the same decision and follows about an hour behind. We have a wonderful sail across the Banks, and that afternoon, our three boats anchor near Russel Light, trying to stay out of the freighter lanes. We have afternoon coffee on Khaliq, and dinner on Canto. The sky is clear and the Bahama Banks are eerily calm; the water is like a mirror and we can see our boats reflected in it. To round out the perfect day, we see the fabled "green flash" at sunset.

Nassau, New Providence

We had rosy pictures of Nassau in our minds, planted there by all those paradisical pictures from the glossy cruise liner brochures. Entering on the west side of New Providence, we did see several cruise ships at the large concrete docks, where the Nassau "straw market" is strategically located. We only visited the straw market later, when no cruise ships were in port and prices were markedly lower. We intended to stay in Nassau to wait for a nice weather window to cross to the Exuma Islands.

In reality, Nassau is not a picturesque city. While it probably once was, given its historical importance, it is now sadly overrun by panhandlers and crime. Traffic is crazy, and its dusty, pot-hole ridden streets are dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. As our group toured the waterfront area, we were puzzled by the fact that about one out of five utility poles were curiously shorn off at the base. "What in the world is going on?", we wondered. We learned abruptly enough, as a lorry not 300 feet behind us made a too-sharp right turn, and mowed down another utility pole. The driver had no intention of stopping either, until an angry group of shopkeepers poured out of the adjacent building and demanded that he wait for the police. That put a damper on walking, even on the sidewalks!

Our entire group went to visit Atlantis, the fabled resort and marina, located, appropriately enough, on Pleasure Island. While we didn't pay the $25/person entrance fee to visit all the aquariums, we did poke around the resort and casinos. The huge (free) aquarium that we saw was filled with fish and Atlantis-type artifacts, but it was only one of about five; the rest you must pay to see. Kristina and Luke were fascinated by the slot machines in the casino, which was placed so that you couldn't avoid walking through it. We did pick up some really cheap souvenirs of Nassau - plastic cups with the Atlantis logo that are used to catch the slot machine quarters!

Due to the level of crime, we were most careful with our personal belongings, and always had one boat in the harbor who would stay behind to watch the other boats. We also travelled in groups. We had heard of problems with theft, but never dreamed that one of us would suffer personal injury. Unfortunately, that nightmare happened.

December 6, 2002: Angie, friend Julie from Carioca, Kristina, and five-month old Paul went out for an afternoon. Angie also wanted to call her mom for her upcoming birthday. After poking around a bit and trying to find an operable phone, then eating ice cream, we decided to explore St. Matthew's Church, in the middle of the two busiest streets in Nassau. At two o'clock in the afternoon, they were approached by a "panhandler" for money. After refusing, they walked away. Angie was in the rear, and, hairs prickling, turned around to find the man swinging an iron bar at her head. Luckily, she blocked it with her arm.

The man dropped the bar as he grabbed Julie and tried to wrestle off her purse, so Angie picked up the bar. Even with purse in hand, he was in no hurry to leave, and since he didn't find much money, he was on his way back to us when a man from a local law office popped over the brick wall to see what the commotion was about. Only then did the thief leave the scene.

The man led Angie and group across the street to his office, called for an ambulance and pleaded with the police to come to the scene. Angie left the iron bar (Kristina calls it "The Weapon") in his safekeeping; it had obviously been broken off from the ornamental fencing around the cemetary. The man also went down to the harbor area to notify Adrian on Canto and Jack on Carioca of the problem, since, in the scuffle, Julie's VHF radio - the only means of communication - had been lost.

The attitude of the Bahamian police was deplorable. "What did you do to provoke the attack?" I was asked, when the two police officers finally arrived, hours later at the hospital. They didn't seem remotely interested in fingerprinting "The Weapon" and were only casually interested in my description of the perpetrator.

The care at Princess Margaret Hospital was adequate, and the ER physcian who saw Angie was actually British. When Adrian arrives, he's shocked at the ER waiting room. For a while, Angie was seated next to a manacled prisioner, and people in various stages of agony were on guerneys.

Still, this will probably be the cheapest ER visit (and hopefully the only one) Angie ever hopes to have, even after having to buy the fiberglass cast "under the table." (This hospital was a public one, and only had plaster available for casts, unless one could afford the fiberglass from the technician's private stock.) Luckily again, the break was a simple fracture with no risk of infection.

Forget waiting for weather, the Canto crew wants to leave Nassau tomorrow, and we sense that our plan to make the Caribbean this year has been put to an end in one fell swoop of a bar. We were managing to cruise with two children and a baby, but, now, with a one-armed mom, too?

The Exuma Islands

Leaving Nassau seems like madness - picking through the coral heads with Angie on reef-watch, left arm in a bright blue cast and right arm clinging to the rigging, Kristina and Luke taking turns learning to read the water and watching Paul - but we can't stay in Nassau, and going back to Florida would be to admit defeat. Our plan is to get to Georgetown, the cruising mecca of the Bahamas (and for many, a yearly pilgrimage), where we can recuperate and "weigh our options."

Things don't get better for a while. As a matter of fact, they're pretty bleak. We're stuck in Allan's Cay for almost a week with strong, contrary winds and a swift current. Angie never leaves the boat. The anchorage was narrow and crowded, but, fortunately, has excellent holding - had Canto dragged it would've been less than 100' to the rocks. Carioca, needing to pick up their daughter in Georgetown, decided to press onward ahead of us.

Georgetown, the Exumas

After Allan's we work our way quickly down the Exumas. We left Khaliq, with whom we'd been travelling, as they wanted to dive at many of the spots. Alas, we did not dive any of the Exumas' fabled places, and our morale is a bit low. It's simply too difficult for one-armed Angie to manage alone with Paul, so we press on to Georgetown. We land in Georgetown and meet back up with Carioca. It's great to be with friends, and to just get off the boat and visit the beach.

Kristina and Luke make friends with Patrick and Paula on SuRich and we decide to stay in Georgetown for Christmas. At present, there are about 200 boats here, mostly Americans, and every day there are planned activities, such as volleyball, dominoes, water color painting. Also, every afternoon after school, most of the kids meet on Volleyball Beach to play. Kristina and Luke can use the Walker Bay dinghy to get to shore by themselves. They're also learning to drive the inflatable dinghy with outboard, and also how to paddle a kayak. This is a kid's life!

Before Christmas, there are many activities for the kids. All are invited to make and decorate gingerbread houses. Also, some of the teenagers are planning a Christmas play, with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, wise men, shephards and sheep. Paul is asked to be baby Jesus, and we make plans to attend, but, unfortunately, the weather is uncooperative and, to make matters worse, Paul begins to run a fever early on Christmas Eve. We cancel his attendance and send his understudy, Felicity. Angie, Paul and Adrian stay on-board, and friends come to pick Kristina and Luke up so they can attend the play on the beach.

Christmas morning and Paul's fever still hasn't abated, so we make an announcement on the Cruiser's Net to ask for the clinic contact information. We don't really want to take Paul across the harbor in this nasty weather, but we feel like we need to have him seen by a physician. To our immense relief, Bill (a physician) from Khaliq calls in and says they're enroute to Georgetown; he'll come over and see Paul that afternoon. (We never did find out what caused his 36 hour fever.) Paul is much improved by afternoon, and we go ahead with plans to have Christmas dinner and to exchange presents with Carioca.

A number of boats leave on a nice weather window after Christmas, and Carioca is one of them. They need to move on to get their daughter, Abby, to the next destination so that she can catch her plane home. Although we had originally (pre-Nassau) planned to travel with them, Angie is not up to it yet. It is hard to see them go.

We're making do in Georgetown, but it doesn't turn out to be the place where we feel we can hang-out for a season, plus it's expensive (RO water is outrageous at $0.60/gallon), so we start looking for a window to move on. It can be cool, so Paul's baths are inside; however, he splashes a lot and gets the seats wet! Angie's arm is feeling better, but before the cast comes off, the arm needs to be X-rayed. The next nearest X-ray facility (that the ER physician in Nassau knew about) is in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but Angie is adamant that the cast needs to come off at 6 weeks, and we can't make the T&C before then. So, we look for an X-ray machine in Georgetown. There is no working X-ray machine at the local clinic, but another cruiser tells us to call the vet. What do you know? The local vet (an American ex-pat who brought his horse X-ray equipment with him from Michigan) X-rays more humans than anything else! Dr. Bill reads the X-ray and confirms a suspicion: a fall Angie took probably caused a re-break of the arm, and he consults with an orthopedic friend via email. Angie's still adamant - 6 weeks and it's off!

Conception Island

Along with Khaliq, SuRich and several other boats, we make a run from Georgetown to Conception Island - an excellent sail in N winds and overcast skies. Something is brewing, since the 96-hr forecast has a gale forming in the Abacos. Leaving the Georgetown cut, we immediately put out our fishing line, and Khaliq hooks a 27-pound mahi mahi! (They have a scale on board and can weigh it, and we call back to say that we could use that to weigh Paul.)

Conception is a small island protected as a Nature Preserve, and we've been looking forward to the diving here (all except Angie.) Unfortunately, the reefs are disappointing; they are overfished and in poor health. Conch Creek, however, is full of conch and an entire flotilla of dinghies goes in for a great afternoon of exploration; we examine the fabled conch closely! They're not very pretty. The star-gazing is wonderful, and one night we have a beach bonfire and make s'mores.

We use Conception as a stepping stone to the next destination, Rum Cay, which is not protected from any S winds, but should be adequate for N winds.

Rum Cay

We pick our way into the south side of Rum, and anchor near Sumner Point Marina. Khaliq, Wanda Jeane, Freelance, and Mandolin explore Flamingo Cay on the north side. A cave with Taino cave-paintings is near there, but Paul had a rough night and we're just too tired to join them. Instead, we plan to have dinner at Sumner Point with SuRich. A couple nights later, Sumner Point hosts a cruisers' potluck, and we have a great party with freshly caught, grilled wahoo.
January 16, 2003: Red-letter day for Angie! Bill uses a Dremel tool to cut her cast off in the rolly Rum Cay anchorage. (It's so handy to have an inverter!) Bill has a steady hand and is cool as a cucumber about it. He says he's used to the ER, but Angie nevertheless keeps telling the kids not to disturb him, just to be on the safe side!

Mayaguana

From Rum Cay, most of us are going on to Mayaguana, but SuRich will not be; they're going to San Salvador instead, and we sadly part company with them. Mayaguana is about a 30 hour sail, and we leave about 8am so we can arrive with good light.

As we near Mayaguana, the water suddenly shallows from over a thousand feet to about 70 feet, and Luke, looking over the side, cries, "I can see bottom!" Indeed, the water is so clear, you can see the rocks on the bottom, even at this depth. Soon afterwards, our fishing rod begins to "zing" - something big has taken our hook but the line breaks and we lose our favorite lure. We pick our way in to Abraham's Bay, a coral-head studded anchorage almost surrounded on the south side by a fringing reef. The reefs here are beautiful. We only stay for two days before we stage to the SE point of Mayaguana for our passage to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The passage from Mayaguana to Providenciales in the Caicos isn't very long, so we leave about 2am so we can arrive in the Caicos islands (also reef-studded) during daylight.