Monday morning, we left the gorgeous (if not cruiser-friendly) West Bay and headed northeast toward the Berry Islands. Last time we came to the Berrys, we saw the northern islands. This time, we were aiming for Chub Cay. The seas were rocking and rolling when we left, hitting us on the side and knocking us around for the first hour or so. But then they smoothed out a little, we got the rhythm down, and it turned into a really nice, blue-water day. Around noon or 1:00 we had "Land Ho!!!" as Whale Cay came into view. Then the rest of the southern Berry Islands materialized in front of us. We figured out which one was Chub Cay and headed that way.
We'd been told the little cove on the west end of the island was a pretty nice anchorage, so we tried it out. There was a catamaran already anchored here, so we tried to give them plenty of room. The first time we anchored, we felt we were too close to the channel, so we picked up and moved closer in. Ah, that's better, no worries about getting hit by a mailboat or fishing boat. When we dove on the anchor, it didn't look like it dug into the sand very well. It's grassy here, so it's a little harder to anchor really solidly. Thank goodness for our Delta. We swam around, scouting out sandy patches. When we decided it was plenty deep to move farther in, we fired up the motor and hauled up the anchor. We got close to a sandy spot, and Trevor dropped the anchor. When we snorkeled on it this time, we were still in grass. We missed the sand by about 10 feet. But the anchor seemed pretty solid, so we decided to stick with it. We've been through some pretty strong winds since, so it seems we made a solid decision.
Then Amata Marie followed us in and anchored between us and the catamaran. Seemed like a snug fit, but we're all good. Over the last few days, more and more boats have come in here. It's a new spectator sport, watching new boats anchor. Some are successful, some are scary.
A shiny, shiny sailboat came in and dropped anchor a couple of days ago. The boat was so shiny, my first thought was "charter boat". They backed down on the anchor, but the captain ("dad") said they were dragging. I don't think so. Then he said the current was pretty strong. Current? News to me. So like many guides will tell you to do, they dropped a second anchor. Bahamian mooring? Not quite. The execution was all wrong, and the second anchor was completely pointless. And everyone else in the harbor had down one anchor. These crazy people were obviously quite new. Charter boat still seemed pretty likely. Then the snorkelers entered the water and tried to set the second anchor. Wha??? Needless to say, we were so glad these guys were behind us and not in front of us. They left the next morning. Thank goodness.
And yesterday, a tiny sailboat was towed in. Jib was torn, no engine was on the back. Yikes, not a good day for these guys. They anchored right in the middle of us. I didn't think there was room between us and Amata Marie, but apparently there was. Sailboat Tetris! Then the guys went ashore. After a while, it was apparent that their anchor was dragging, so Trevor and I snorkeled over it. We could see the 100-foot long ditch it had cut through the sand and grass. Whoa. When we got to the anchor, it was a CQR on its side. Why didn't these guys snorkel over their anchor and check it out before they went ashore? No idea, but Trevor and I managed to reset their anchor for them. Heroes! Meanwhile, the guys came back out and dropped 2 more anchors since they'd been dragging so much. Danforth anchors. These are great anchors in mud and sand, but they do not like grass. With Trevor (not either of the guys from the boat) snorkeling, they managed to get one of them to set (more or less). Then we got their story. One guy has been sailing on his boat for a year and a half. His friend joined him not long ago. According to the captain, his friend had managed to break many critical systems in only 5 days. He hit a reef, their rudder broke off, their sail tore, their engine wasn't working. A heap of trouble. I think this might be one of those friendship-ending kind of trips. Who's to blame? The guy who was driving? Or the captain who let him hit a reef? Seems blame can't be assigned only to one person. But I'm an outside, what do I know?
Besides excitement in anchoring, we've done a little bit of fishing. There's a pretty awesome reef about a half mile away. We spearfished on that, no one particularly successful. There were huge, delicious-looking fish everywhere, but we were not so successful with the spearing. As a consolation prize, I managed to snag us a couple of bluestriped grunts. Man, those things are good eating. Small, but delicious. I made fish tacos out of them. If the sun comes out today, we might just go back out and try again.
As for our future plans, it looks like we might just be leaving tomorrow. The wind is supposed to die down tonight and stay calm for a few days. So it could be crossing the banks tomorrow (and maybe Sunday), then heading back across the Gulf stream to Florida. There's a good chance we'll be back in the States Monday. Woohoo! We're psyched.
We've loved the Bahamas, and we'll miss them when we're gone. The water, beautiful, clear water. But in the States, we'll have phones that work and grocery stores that are affordable. We might even go into a marina or two. We haven't stayed in a marina in 2 months. We haven't plugged up to shore power in over 5 months. We never would have thought it. Go us!
Next time I blog, we'll be in Bimini or Florida. Yay!
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