Living on a boat at anchor is ruled by the weather. The fronts that cross the United States come over to the Bahamas as winds from various directions. We begin every day by listening to the weather from Chris Parker, our weather guru, via single side band radio. Then we listen to two different cruiser nets on the Ham Radio to report our position and find out where our friends are cruising.
Based on the forecast that Chris gives us, we plan where we are going to anchor based on the best location for the weather that is coming our way. We look for anchorages where there is land between us and where the wind is coming from in an area that has been reported to have good holding. We also take into account the beaches and things to do in the area.
Marsh Harbor is protected on most sides and has good holding but we needed to move. Our friends on Jockslodge told us of an anchorage off of Snake Cay that offered protection for the upcoming front and we could also make water with our watermaker. January 18th we moved from Marsh Harbor to Snake Cay. After anchoring we kayaked and checked out the north end of the island. The wind was already picking up so we could not go around the south end of the island via kayak. On the 19th we took the dinghy
around the south end of the island and over to Deep Sea Cay to walk the beach. It was a windy day. On the 20th the major part of the front came through so we stayed on the boat all day. We took that time to design and make a canvas cover for our GPS Map. Wayne did the design and I did the sewing; we were pleased with our completed project.
The 21st brought the forecast of another wind change which was not a good direction for Snake Cay. We went back to Marsh Harbor to get a few things from the grocery store before heading out to the remote islands. After shopping on the 22nd we went over to Great Guana Cay to anchor for the night before going through the Whale Cay Cut. The 23rd was a beautiful day to be on the water, Whale Cay Cut was a little rolly but a perfect time to go through. We anchored at Powell Cay and headed to the beach.
We walked over to the ocean side but it was chilly so we decided to walk the Abaco side of the island. When we were at Powell in December we had not been able to walk around the south end of the island. The tide was low and we headed to the south end. I was so excited when we found 13 sand dollars just off the beach! We were surprised to see a small nurse shark in the area. He was feeding off the small fish in a deep grassy area not too far from shore. He ignored us and continued to hunt
for his dinner.
The 24th and 25th were predicted to be light winds which was perfect to check out Moraine Cay which is only good as a settled weather anchorage. We made the 3 hour trip to Moraine Cay and after anchoring, went ashore. The island has 3 houses, but no one was home and we had the island to ourselves. We walked the entire island which is known for its many varieties of birds, the only ones we really recognized were the four pelicans that were having fun playing and fishing in the bay. Their appeared
to be a red winged black bird, but somehow I doubt it was the kind I am familiar with. We saw several small rays and a trigger fish that was hunting along the shore. I was able to take some pretty good pictures of the trigger fish. We checked out the reef and decided where we would snorkel the next day. Moraine is known for its nice reef. The next day we got ready to go snorkel, when Wayne started the dinghy the cord for the engine broke, so snorkeling was canceled. We had to move that afternoon
to get ready for the next front. We moved to the main anchorage at Allans-Pensacola. The next morning Wayne was able to fix the rope on the motor so we were off to explore the beaches.
On the 27th we kayaked all around the anchorage at Allans-Pensacola. The south end of the anchorage is dry at low tide but we had enough water that we could explore up in the mangroves. One of Wayne's goals for this cruising season was to make a conch horn. He made the horn in December but was having trouble getting it to make noise. I was able to blow it, so he had designated me the conch blower at sunset. I am happy to say that today Wayne did a great job blowing the conch. So I have happily
turned over the sunset duty to him. The 28th we took the dinghy to the north end of Allans-Pensacola and explored a beach and bay up there. Wayne snorkeled a little trying to see if there were any lobster…he did not find any. Around 4:00 we were excited to see Bill and Bettie Sue on Teamwork (a 33' Grady White fishing boat from Folly Beach, SC) come into the anchorage. We had met them in December just before they flew to SC for Christmas and we really wanted a chance to get to know them better.
The forecast for the 29th had the wind coming from a direction that would not be comfortable for where we were anchored in the main anchorage at Allans-Pensacola. Teamwork said they knew a great anchorage on the other side and we could follow them if we were interested. We are always interested in finding new anchorages so we followed them around to the "back" of Allans-Pensacola.
Bill explained that the Bahamians call the side of an island that faces Abaco Island the "front" of the island and the other side the "back". They showed us to a beautiful anchorage on the Atlantic Ocean side which was perfect for the predicted winds. After we anchored and had lunch we went onboard Teamwork and they showed us the "hurricane hole" anchorage (more on that later).
Bill said he was going fishing and offered to show us where a good fishing reef was. Bill and Wayne went snorkeling and fishing while Bettie Sue and I served as support crew. Bill caught 3 lobster and 2 nice fish. He also took some great underwater pictures. Wayne was having trouble equalizing his ears so he just snorkeled and enjoyed the reef. Bettie Sue cleaned the fish and lobster and then they gave us the lobster. There was enough that we enjoyed them that night as steamed lobster and the
following day in lobster Alfredo.
We also had time to walk the beach near our anchorage where we found shells and a hamburger bean. We had a peaceful night even though it seemed a little funny anchoring with the Atlantic Ocean as our back yard.
The winds were changing again so it was time to move, so on the morning of the 30th during high tide we moved into the "hurricane hole" at Allans-Pensacola. Allans-Pensacola used to house a military satellite tracking station. There are some ruins of the tracking station on the island.
While the military was here they created a "hurricane hole" harbor to protect their boats. It is reached from a narrow entrance at the south end of the island which leads to a small harbor that is very well protected on all sides by the mangroves. It is not very deep, but with our 4' draft, it is ok.
There used to be a boat dock in the harbor (which has fallen down) but the base is still there and you can tie up your dinghy. There is a nice path that goes over to a beautiful beach. Bill and Bettie Sue also anchored in the "hurricane hole" with us. They came over for dinner on the 31st and we enjoyed their company.
The winds have continued to blow so we have remained anchored snuggly in the "hurricane hole", walking the beaches once or twice a day finding shells, sand dollars and sea biscuits. The forecast looks better for tomorrow, February 4th, so we will probably move to another island, Manjack Cay, to explore another beach.
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