Sleeping in the cockpit was great with a nice breeze and moonlight and stars. We had interrupted but restful sleep and woke naturally as the sky began to brighten 45 minutes before sunrise. Plenty of time for coffee and a quick breakfast. We were on our way by 6:45a.m.
Today was an all motoring day. In part this was a result of waiting to have a very calm stretch of weather for anchoring on the bank. It was beautiful though, sunny and 78 degrees. The autopilot drove just about the whole way, which was a total of 44 miles for today. We saw some fishing boats along the way and a few really big motor yachts, but overall not as much boat traffic as we expected. The seas were very calm most of the day, so we ran the watermaker and made 20 gallons of water on the way. We saw many more fish in the water today and some large sea stars in the shallower areas. We especially enjoyed startling little schools of flying fish. Possibly mistaking C Ghost for a large dolphin, they leaped above the waves ahead of us, appeared to dance forward on their little tails, then spread their tiny wings and glided inches above the water before finally diving under again. They reminded Paula of fishy Golden Snitches.
When we came to the end of the Great Bahama Bank we passed by the Northwest Channel light. This was only the 2nd (and final) navigation marker we saw on the entire bank.
The entrance to Chub Cay was deep and clearly marked. The only thing we had to avoid was Momma Rhoda Rock on the left side of the entrance.
There were four boats already in the anchorage, so we carefully poked around in the shallower part of the cove to find a spot deep enough for us at low tide, but not so close as to crowd the other boats. Two of the other boats belonged to our friends who were anchored just behind us all last week at Bimini, Sean and Fred. We found a good spot, got the anchor down, talked with our friend Sean for a while, and then went for a quick swim. The water is extremely clear and salty with a depth 10 feet or less. Paula was able to swim to the bottom wearing her goggles to see some tiny fish and plant life. Bull sharks had been sighted in the area, so Tommy stood watch, but we didn’t see any, and they would have been clearly visible a long way off.
The weather looks somewhat iffy for tonight. The weather guru we listen to is predicting some higher winds, but we seem to be right on the dividing line of latitude for where they will occur. We could get nothing. Sean caught three lobsters and a hogfish spearfishing from his kayak today, and he offered to bring them over along with some beans and rice to make a shared dinner along with Fred. Paula made a taboule salad and put some canned fruit cocktail in the freezer to make a cold dessert. There is also leftover barbecued pork to warm up, so we should have plenty to feed four.
10 Responses
So beautiful!!! Paul & I have enjoyed living vicariously as you guide us through with such descriptive & colorful detail!!! Just love this blog!!! Keep making us smile as you continue your fantastic journey! ??❤️
So glad you are liking the blog. We miss you guys! We now have some Bahamian quarters in the money jarfor Tommy to use on poker night with Paul when we return.
I saw, on the satellite view, the houses on Chub Cay. They did not exist the times we were in Chub. I seem to remember that the Chub Cay club was selling .home site lots. Maybe we missed a good investment. Do you know the other name for Chub is Frazier’s Hog Cay. Perhaps that old name stopped us from considering a lot buy. How could you tell people that you have a home on Frazier’s HOG Cay.
Apparently Chub Cay is extremely high end now. Their marina is large and efficient and caters to huge sportfishing boats and big yachts. It was fun listening to the VHF traffic as a steady parade of these vessels made their way into the marina via the channel just ahead of the anchorage. The marina staff sounded incredibly helpful and practiced as they gave slip assignments and detailed advice and directions to the captains coming in. The boats were beautiful and as long as 84 feet. The few homes on the shore looked large and modern. The population is still listed online at 48, so we surmised some of the beachfront homes were vacation spots.
Amazing,,,, just amazing. Thank you both for sharing all of these details and photos every single day. I feel as those I am on CGhost with you guys, experiencing every feeling, every sound, smell, picturing every site. Falling asleep in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight. Ahhhhhhh
The description of the forlorn captain and in cat – such a magnificent comparison to you guys. The Prepared and Unprepared. Suspect you’ll be seeing a lot more of that.
What’s interesting is that in most cases we’ve encountered so far, the amount of experience a person claims to have has an inverse relationship to their actual level of preparedness.
Love the color of the water. How warm is the water there do you think??? Do you have a thermometer?
We have a laser temperature gun,which we use to check engine temps, etc. It registered 77°F at both Chub Cay yesterday and today on Rose Island. Very pleasant for swimming.
Shout out to momma for working a Harry Potter reference into this post ?
I was going to put in a Star Trek reference but was overruled. ?