Conception Island

A while back, we left the bustle of Georgetown and set our course northeast for Conception Island -- yet another remote, uninhabited bit of real estate, 40 miles further out to sea, its natural wonders protected by the Bahamas National Trust. Six small sailboats were in the broad anchorage when we arrived, and a seventh came in around dusk. The sailors stayed to themselves, but we were visited by a moth of hummingbird proportions who may even now be nesting in the pilothouse.

The next morning brought another 360 water view from the deck of Let's Dance with no sailboats in sight. They have left this amazing bay all to us. Thanks, sailors! Time to survey the surroundings. The 10 feet of water below our keel is calm enough to see the wavy outlines of the sandy bottom quite clearly. Behind us, just off the swim platform, a slinky, loose parade of glass minnows marches back and forth. Also called fry, or bay anchovy, they number in the thousands and reflect the midmorning sun. Fun to watch!

Later in the morning we launched the Love Me Tender. Before the day's exploration, Bill revs up her 25 horses and goes forward and check the snubber line. The snubber is a rope line that attaches to the anchor links, acting as a shock absorber to relieve pressure on the metal chain. We have noticed a little fraying at its juncture with the hull and he wants a closer look. It's nothing that a strip of well-placed duct tape cannot fix and I watch the repair from the bow pulpit. 

 

Suddenly the glass minnows sprint around from the stern and start leaping into the air in front of Bill. Their tiny bodies catch the sun as they are chased in large, glassy sheets from the water by a gang of Blue Runners -- the larger fish making flying, twisting lunges to fill their tummies with the little anchovies. Flying fish are everywhere! It's a wonderful sight and a great adventure for all but the hapless small fry!

We spent the first afternoon trying to explore the island. The charts indicated a narrow channel into the interior mangrove swamps where sea turtles allegedly feed and sleep. At the shallow entrance we quickly bumped the rocky bottom and made the decision to back track -- high tide or not, we were not going to be able to do this even with our 12 inch dinghy draft. So, we found another landing site, full of soft sand and only a slight undertow. We explored for several hours, imagining ourselves castaways on this rock and sand outcropping.

The next morning, Bill decided to do a little bottom cleaning and donned his marine maintenance gear -- wetsuit, hookah hose, buoyancy vest and assorted scrub brushes and scrapers. I fed out the line as he made his way forward along the hull from the swim platform. Suddenly, about half way to the bow, he is eyeball to eyeball with a six foot long, potentially malnourished reef shark! In a blur of flippers and brushes Bill is back on the swim deck. Guess the cleaning can wait.

Days three and four consisted of free time in the mornings and afternoons at leisure as the winds made leaving the shelter of our anchorage inadvisable. Each night we watched the lights of distant cruise ships pass to the south. They are bound for Grand Turk, St. Maartens, Ocho Rios and Curacao. As clearly as we could see their brightly lit decks in the night, the closest point of approach for any was over six miles. They did not interfere with the solitude of our Conception anchorage or the bright lights of the winter nights.

On the morning of day five, Captain Bill announces that today is the day that other boats will arrive to end our solitary idyll. The wind has changed and the seas are calming. Sure enough, by 0900 we catch the AIS of a pleasure craft named Kogo. We watch her approach on the horizon and grow larger and larger until she stops within 1/4 of a mile of us and drops her anchor. She is, according to AIS, our limited intelligence source, 233 feet long with a beam of 39 feet and a 14 foot draft. She also carries an armada of fishing skiffs and assorted other watercraft, a full size sedan on her roof and enough satellite dishes to monitor the space station. Wow!

By the time the lunch dishes have been cleared, three sailboats have also arrived in the bay. And then it starts to get weird. Just when you believe that you have seen it all --- this craft slides silently into the anchorage -- no identification, no visible electronics, no windows. Hmmmmm.

Pirates? Drug dealers? The head of a small Central American cartel? The Rolling Stones? All of the above? We did discover, through constant, blatant eavesdropping on the radio, that the mystery ship and Kogo were traveling together. Body guards, perhaps? Later web searching, when we back in computer range, revealed that Kogo is the 58th largest private ship in the world -- owned by a Formula One racing team owner of Saudi/French ancestry. (Isn't it great what you can glean from the Internet?)

With abundant fine weather forecast, we left Conception to the spy boat et al and headed west to Thompson Bay for a little reconnaissance before the last push to the Raggeds. Now all that's left is to follow the sun!

Let's Dance.....Carol and Bill

The Old Salt

It's a Sunday morning, and we are at anchor in the wide bay of Big Majors Spot, near Staniel Cay in the Exumas. All is quiet aboard Let's Dance. Too quiet. In a boat this size, even if you can't actually see the other crew you can usually hear them. But this morning there is only the gentle slapping of wavelets against the hull and the faint chimes of the rigging of nearby sailboats. No Bill, in other words. So, short on togetherness, I go looking.

 

 

The door to the engine room is open and there he sits, in the natural habitat of the motor sailor. Lost in thought amid dials and hoses and filters and fans. "What's up?," I ask. "Leak in the lift pump." Ah. A tiny dribble of thin, pink fluid is evidence of said leak, but it's not a worry for Bill. He will "wait and watch" to see what develops. Then, if the leak continues, he will assess the situation, weigh the options, think it through and fix it! That simple! Three years of on-the-job training have paid off, and there is (to date) nothing that he can't fix.

And, since it is a Sunday, the clinic is open. Bill exchanges his virtual coveralls for scrubs and snaps on the imaginary latex gloves. Bill is not a doctor, but he plays one on Let's Dance. Without my four weekly allergy shots, I would not be able to roam the salty seas with him so he learned how to administer just the right dosages. The allergy doctor at home looked so hopeful as he asked if Bill had any medical training. Any at all? Sadly, all they taught him in the Army was to jump out of airplanes, but he is a quick study and a natural in the supporting role of Chief Medical Officer.

Naturally, a big part of our daily routine revolves around mealtimes. The galley is well suited for one chef at a time, and is yet another venue to showcase the Captain's talents. For Christmas he bought me a slow cooker -- a Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker!  Apparently not your Wife's Slow Cooker, either. So far he has whipped up a fantastic Tortilla Soup and a Super Bowl Chili that was worthy of at least five first downs.

 

Not only does he cook the meals -- sometimes he catches them first! Unwary mahi mahi cannot resist the colorful variety of lures (in this case a blue and white skirted Carolina rig) that are thrown their way on long, deep, offshore passages. The puny five pounder caught yesterday in 125 feet of water was followed by a sparkling yellow beauty who pushed the 20 pound range. This guy did not want to come aboard and stole the gaff to prove it....although what he planned to do with a rusted old gaff, I have no idea. As you can see, Bill prevailed and dinner was fresh grilled mahi mahi. 

 

The offshore fishing journey led us south to Georgetown and its funky "Chat 'n Chill" bar and restaurant -- home to aging volleyball players, domino divas and beer drinkers of all calibers. We fit right in. The anchorage fills each winter with hundreds of boats, most with sails, full of sailors who come for the season. The nighttime view over the harbor looks a little like Manhattan if you squint at the twinkling anchor lights atop all the swaying masts. Not our usual choice of resting spots, but an interesting cultural phenomena to observe none the less.

We also visited the local grocery to stock up before leaving the main populated grid again. For only $55 we scored a few treasures -- English cucumber, Raisin Bran, Rotel tomatoes, romaine lettuce and a few other must-have items. Food is expensive in the Exumas as it has a long, slow boat ride to get here and we understand that. But the Captain has his limits, and his price point for a half gallon of Hagen Dazs is somewhere south of the $27.50 local asking price. So, no ice cream for us. We have to cut back somewhere!

We are heading east now, on a sparkling winter's day. Deep swells in the inky blue water lift the bow just high enough to provide a satisfying 'plop' as we settle back into the next trough. There are no other boats in view today as we venture further into the great Atlantic to Conception Island - another of the alleged landing sites of Christopher Columbus. He was a very busy and accomplished captain, not unlike my own. A man for all seasons, is Captain Bill -- ace navigator, confident mechanic, creative IT guy, promising photographer, and much, much more. Is there anything, you ask, that this renaissance sailor cannot do? 

 

Well, you might have to discuss his tide chart extrapolation skills with the Love Me Tender. In the meantime,

Let's Dance.....Carol (and The Captain)

The Great Escape

Day to day life aboard Let's Dance is governed by a series of routine chores and rituals designed to assure safe and comfortable passages. We have laminated sheets handy to prompt the correct sequence for the pre-underway check, satellite phone dialing, May Day call procedures, engine room prep, etc.

When underway, the Love Me Tender sits in her own custom made, padded cradle on the upper aft deck. The heavy duty stainless steel davit that lifts her from sea level to this preferred perch keeps her company in transit. She is buckled in with two safety belts so she can't be dislodged by rough seas or rogue waves. For crossings, or especially long passages, she is lovingly cloaked in her own little navy blue sailor suit -- fitted to perfection of sturdy fabric to keep salt and sun from her helm. 

 

Using the davit, or crane, we lift the Love Me Tender from the deck and plop her gently into the sea behind Let's Dance. There, she is ready to provide transport for us to remote island beaches, other boats, town docks or for a casual harbor tour. Between islands, if the route is short, we often let the LMT surf along behind Let's Dance. Bill fashions a harness with a heavy, 3/4 inch line and she bumps and bounces over the waves, following obediently as we motor from anchorage to anchorage. We have a closed circuit TV system on board, and we use it to check on the tender as we travel -- just making sure that all is well in the rearview mirror.

 

After a short 4 hour travel day, we pulled up to the anchorage at Norman's Cay -- a little island infamous for the drug trafficking activity of Carlos Lehder in the 1970s -- and prepared to drop the hook. Three or four boats were already tucked in for the day. From his position on the bow, and mine in the pilothouse, we kept the LMT in sight as we backed down on the anchor line to set the hook securely. The 10 inch yellow float on the line to the tender kept the sturdy black line from being submerged in the process. As we are very practiced, the anchoring process was quick and efficient. Still with our head sets on, Bill and I met at the door to the pilothouse to admire the beautiful water view. We watched as a sadly deflated yellow float drifted off to our starboard.

"That looks just like the float we have", said Bill. Just then the light bulb goes off! Holy cow! I run to the cockpit to check on the Love Me Tender and see immediately that the heavy black tow line is still firmly attached to the rear chock. Whew! So, I peer over the port rail -- nothing. I rush to the starboard side -- nothing. The line from the chock trails limply into the water off the swim platform where it ends. Bill searches from the bow -- nothing! She has escaped while we were anchoring. Bad, bad Love Me Tender!

When did this happen? How long has she been adrift? Is she OK? We were watching, but apparently not closely enough. We search the horizon and, finally, there she is.....bobbing peacefully in the shallows about a half mile away.....the picture of innocence. I panic immediately, of course, and insist that we contact one of the anchored boats (whose dinghy is actually attached to their boat) for assistance in the retrieval. Captain Bill has other ideas and commands that we raise the anchor and go fetch. I'm still freaking out, but he is firm, and, since he is the captain, we do it his way.

Keeping a close watch on the escapee, we raise the anchor in record time and set out to collar the wandering dinghy. Luckily the water is fairly deep surrounding her and we are able to circle her without running aground. Wouldn't that have just been the icing on the cake? I steer Let's Dance carefully around the errant tender as Bill reaches out to grab her with the fully extended boat hook. He is able to latch on to a railing and bring her along side. Boat hook, indeed! She is caught, but not yet secure, so, at Bill's direction, I use the fishing gaff, its sharp hook sheathed, to pull a line from her bow into his waiting hands. We've got her back where she belongs.

Now that she is retied on a much shorter lead, we head back to the anchorage, pulling the humbled Love Me Tender behind us. We settle in for another night of star-filled skies with stories of the attempted escape. Apparently the life line between Let's Dance and the Love Me Tender got caught under the stern of the big boat as we backed up to set the anchor. The razor sharp line cutters, located just in front of the prop, did what they were designed to do -- cut a line. It was just the wrong line, but at least the propeller was not fouled in the mayhem. And, as usual, Bill's cool head and calm disposition saved the day -- that's why he's the captain.

Another lesson learned, perhaps, about towing and lines and floats and setting anchors. The Love Me Tender was shuttled back up into her cradle the next morning for the continuation of the winter 2013 adventure. Maybe if we did not repeatedly leave her high and dry she would be more amenable to following in our wake.

Let's Dance......Carol and Bill

(Not two hours after writing this log: We dinghy in to a little rocky cove on Warderick Wells Cay so we can take a much needed walk to the ocean side of the island. 

 

An hour later we return and, guess what? The keel of the Love Me Tender is sinking into the soft sand. Bill and I join forces and with a lot of grunting and grumbling we are able to push her into water deep enough to let us motor back to Let's Dance. Will we never learn?)