Full-On Rage

A 'rage' is a sea state here in the Abacos.  There's several 'passages' that you must take to move from different parts of the islands to other parts.  The main one is off of Whale Cay and is called the Whale Cay Channel.  In short - the locals call it "The Whale".  

The conditions for the last few days have led up to creating a major rage. The winds blew hard onshore and then 13 foot seas (swells) came in today on top of that.  As I was heading into have breakfast this morning, a small private boat full of surfers were off-loading at the government dock.  The 'word' was that they were professional surfers and doing a photo shoot.   I don't think they ever went into the water and it's rumored that the surf was too big for them.  I'm sure pro surfers have surfed waves this big before, but I don't doubt that these waves were too "something" for them.

In the afternoon, I was going to walk the island a bit, but I dropped a full can of gear lubricant on my foot and was hobbling a little bit (I'm fine - it's just sore).  Instead, I rented a bike from Dive Guana and rode down to the north end of the island - where the Whale is.  That end of the island is being developed and you can't go all the way to the end, but I did make it close.  The photo above is one of many I took from the location.  You can see the area that would have to be sailed through in the photo.  I estimate "conservatively" that the waves were 15 - 20 feet high from bottom to top.

From Grabbers bar today, Jerry (a sailor here that has the same boat as ours) and I watched a trawler heading north toward the Whale. Even from the bar (4 miles away) you could see the gigantic waves coming through the Whale.  We tried to get the trawler on the radio to make sure that they had been aware of the rage.  I don't know how they couldn't be - there were gigantic waves crashing straight in front of them.    We couldn't get them, so as we watched them round the point and out of sight, we figured we'd be hearing about them later.

About 3 minutes later, they came back around the point - like a scalded dog.  They headed back to Marsh Harbour - where they had come from.  I guess they'll probably check the conditions next time.

Back on my own

Serenity has been sitting in Settlement Harbour - on Great Guana Cay-  now for 3 nights and soon to be 4.  When Jan and I got here, we went over to the most popular place on this little island - Nippers.   Nippers is a great place to hang out. It's situated on a high dune overlooking the ocean. It has 2 pools and a great bar with cool music - the whole package.  Then, we went over to Grabbers - which is located on Fishers Bay (both about the same distance from the boat - 300 yards or so).  We fell in love with Grabbers and have since felt like locals there.  We've been back to Nippers a few times (there's not much else to do on this island other than hang out on a pristine beach) - but we keep finding ourselves going back over to Grabbers where they know us by name just make us feel like we're one of the locals.    

We  met the owner - who happens to be from Daytona Beach. He was on the flight over here with us, and happens to have been on tonight's flight back with Jan.  He's a really nice guy named Dennis.   

The manager (Jimmy) and his wife are also super friendly as well as the whole wait and bartending staff.  We had planned on only hanging out here for 2 days, but as I said early in the post - tonight will be the 4th night.

Jan caught the ferry to Marsh Harbour this afternoon and (as I write this at 7pm) is on a plane back home. She'll be at work tomorrow.  I'm waiting out the weather - a rage is on right now.  A rage is where the winds and sea state make a passage through Whale Cay Channel - just north of me - too treacherous to attempt.  As the wind comes around more from the southerly quadrant (starting tomorrow sometime), the channel will be passable again.   When it is, I'll move northerly through the channel and onto Green Turtle Cay.  From there, I'll keep an eye on weather and try to time my passage across the Little Bahama Bank so that I can cross over to Ft. Pierce when the next crossing window is available.

I'm going to do the passage single-handed.  This doesn't make Jan happy, but I'll be careful and pick a really good weather window.  

I'm going to take a shower and head back over to Grabbers -where they have a Vonage account and let you call back to the U.S. for free.  I'll check in with Jan and then call it a night.

One Particular Harbour

Serenity Sits Peacefully with the Elbow Cay Light in the Background

For now (and no doubt it will change many times in my life) I have 'that one particular harbour'.  It's the Hope Town Harbour on Elbow Cay in the Abacos.   

Thursday, Jan and I weighed anchor in Marsh Harbour and headed over to the Marina to top off diesel and water.  By noon, we were under way toward Hope Town.  After a wonderful 2 hour sail, we entered this landlocked harbour and discovered an incredibly beautiful and tranquil place.  The main part of town has no traffic on it at all other than bicycles.  It's amazingly clean with friendly people all over the place.  There's 2 small markets and a few waterfront restaurants.  We had a dozen conch fritters for $7 and a basket of fries for $3.   You can't even find those prices back home.

Our first night there we had dinner and played trivia with Jeff and Mary.  Jeff hosts the cruisers net vhf radio program in the mornings.  He's quite the character.  They were great fun.  We walked the quiet streets of town until after dark.  The beach is just 100 yards from the main part of town.   Everything about the place just yells for you to be here.  It's wonderul.

As a harbour, it doesn't get much better.  Everyone's on a mooring - so more boats can be there, but the harbour is completely land locked.  You can't see open water from any place in the harbour.  Jeff and Mary never move their boat from there.  They live on it 8 months a year and go back to Colorado for 4.       

Can you say 'tempting'?

Anyway, we stayed there 2 nights - climbed the lighthouse this morning.  Walked the town yesterday and had snacks on another boat just like ours yesterday - and even met up with some Colington harbour (where we lived on the outer banks) folks.

We set sail this morning for Guana Cay and we're now on a mooring here in settlement harbour.  The sail was fantastic.  With just the foresail out - we sailed between 6  and 7 knots.  Perfect.  This place is a lot like BVI, but without the mountains.  So far, it's quite a bit cheaper as well.  Could be the proximity to the U.S.

We'll stay on Guana until monday.  May go to Marsh Harbour then, may not.  Jan flies out of Marsh on tuesday.  Big pig roast at Nippers tomorrow, so we'll be here for that.

One Particular Harbour (by Jimmy Buffett)

I know I don't get there often enough
But God knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe

I used to rule my world from a pay phone
And ships out on the sea
But now times are rough
And I got too much stuff
Can't explain the likes of me

But there's this one particular harbour
So far but yet so near
Where I see the days as they fade away
And finally disappear

But now I think about the good times
Down in the Caribbean sunshine
In my younger days I was so bad
Laughin' about all the fun we had

I've seen enough to feel the world spin
Mixin' different oceans meetin' cousins
Listen to the drummers and the night sounds
Listen to the singers make the world go 'round

Ia Ora Te Natura
E Mea Arofa Teie Ao Nei
Ia Ora Te Natura
E Mea Arofa Teie Ao Nei

Lakes below the mountains
Flow into the sea
Like oils applied to canvas
They permeate through me

And there's that one particular harbour
Sheltered from the wind
Where the children play on the shore each day
And all are safe within

Most mysterious calling harbour
So far but yet so near
I can see the day when my hair's full gray
And I finally disappear

Ia Ora Te Natura
E Mea Arofa Teie Ao Nei
Ia Ora Te Natura
E Mea Arofa Teie Ao Nei

Ua Pau Te Maitai No Te Fenua
Re Zai Noa Ra Te Ora O Te Mitie

Bounty of the land is exhausted
But there's still abundance on the sea

Back in Marsh Harbour

We're sitting on the deck at Curly Tail's Restaurant having breakfast.  Our plane arrived before 9 am and the taxi trip was short to the waterfront.   I bummed a ride out to the boat and everything was just as I left it.   I dingied back in and we're finishing up Breakfast now.

We'll throw the luggage in the dingy and head back out to the boat.   Later this afternoon, we'll go to the grocery store to provision again.