Outbound on Pratique

Sunday, March 16, 2014

North, Back to The Bahamas

Yup. It's end of February/first week of March and we are leaving the Virgin Islands to go north, back to the Abacos. We had already decided that we were again going to bring Pratique back up to New England for the summer season. And with the time limitations imposed on our cruising lifestyle by "full time employment," going any further south in the Carribean made no sense for this year. Instead, with these next two weeks away from work we figured a nice way to add to our offshore "couples sailing" experience would be to start that long trip north, but stay in warm waters until the spring. So without further ado, here's how we got from East End, Tortola to Treasure Cay, Abacos, Bahamas:

First, we invited the owners of Hull #50, Hippocampus, to join us for the first week. Poor Lee and Cheryl! Their own Outbound is sitting on the hard in RI, getting more than her share of weekly dumps of snow! What better way to be neighborly than to get them to put down their snow shovels and join us for a week of warm weather offshore bliss, going first to Mayaguana, then jumping up to George Town, Exumas. So the four of us met at Logan and flew down to St. Thomas, then took the ferry to Road Town (checking both in and out of the BVI's simultaneously), picked up our pre-ordered provisions from the big Rite Way, and the next day set sail for Mayaguana.

Lee and Cheryl, happy to be on any Outbound!

Gotta love those warm weather, downwind legs!

Lee calculates the ETA to Mayaguana

Midway there, I was all alone in the cockpit while the others were sleeping when I encountered a pod of dolphins leading us! What a dilemma. Should I wake them all up to see them, or let them accumulate the valuable sleep hours? Tough decision but in the end I figured sleep was more important, so I took it upon myself to get to the bow and start videoing. Here are a few screen captures:

Next day we all got to experience this sunset, so I felt less guilty!

Safe and sound with just one other boat in Abraham's Bay, Mayaguana

We had a nice quiet overnight in Abrahams Bay in Mayaguana, and then the next day we headed north for George Town on Great Exuma island:

Elizabeth Harbor, George Town

What an amazing place George Town is. So many cruising sailors make it their winter home, and not just retirees but also families with children getting their "home schooling" in paradise. Every morning at 0800 you tune in to their cruisers net and you immediately feel at home hearing about every activity, from results of yesterday's bocci tournament to plans for the next day's pig roast at the Chat 'N' Chill. I have not been the first to call Stocking Island an "adult summer camp."

It is also to see how the place get's the name "Chicken Harbor." Each year cruising sailors bound for the Carribean via the Bahamas get as far south as George Town and decide that it is "far enough" for one year. Further south, the islands get spaced further apart and the sea is more open Atlantic rather than the protected conditions on the Bahama Banks. However, we were northbound from the BVIs, so we had "immunity" from the chicken label, and believe me that had we not had the March 8 return flights from the Abacos already ticketed we would have stayed much longer than the three days we had here!

Before leaving, we spent time exploring the town of George Town:

Regatta Point

Buying fresh conch salad!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Going Back East, to St. John and Jost Van Dyke

Still more from the last weeks of January . . . .

After an overnight in St. Thomas we continued further east. Time to explore the bays of the north shore of St. John. Over the next three days we moored in Caneel Bay, Trunk Bay, Francis Bay, and Waterlemon Bay, taking advantage of the US National Park Service moorings that were placed to minimize anchor damage to the fragile coral. Each bay was spectacular!

Pratique in St. John

Highlights included great snorkeling, especially off Francis Bay and Whistling Key, as well as a hike up to the ruins of the Annaberg Sugar Plantation near Leinster Bay.

"Pretty sure I know where I'm going, but let's check the map just one more time!"

Found it!

Looking northwest from the Annaberg Plantation across Leinster Bay to Mary Point, with Great Thatch Island behind it.

Susan at the Annaberg Sugar Plantation

Touring the Gardens

Coconut and Sugar Cane

Thorny bark

Termite nest along the route

Later that week we left St. John to head back into the BVI's, spending the last few days in Jost Van Dyke, Guana Island and then back to Tortola. We had been to White Bay and Great Harbour before, so we decided to anchor briefly in Great Harbour just to clear in.

Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke

Dock at Great Harbour

After clearing in we headed to the east side of the island and anchored off Diamond Cay, home of Foxy's Taboo and near the "Bubbly Pool."

Pratique on the left, just aft of the power catamaran, off Diamond Cay

Fun in the Bubbly Pool!

We got back to Penns Landing and flew out just in time to get home to watch the Superbowl.

Next post we will be up to date, having just finished up the two week trip from Tortola to Abacos, Bahamas!

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Culebra, Culebrita, then Back to St. Thomas

Still recapping end of January . . . .

After Vieques, our next stop was the island of Culebra. We sailed around the east end of Vieques and then headed north, and into the inviting harbor of Ensenada Honda. There are lots of anchorages within the larger harbor and we opted for the one nearest to town, just behind Cayo Pirata.

Ensenada Honda

Drawbridge over the canal

US Post Office, Culebra

There are many great beaches on Culebra, and we had to choose two to visit. We took the dinghy ashore and walked through the town to the ferry terminal and taxi stand, and waited for the first tourist ferry to arrive so that we could share a shuttle ride to the beaches.

Waiting for a ride . . . .

First stop was Bahia Tamarindo. We hiked along a short hilly road to a quiet, mixed pebble and sand beach to go snorkeling. The bottom was grass and sand, and it wasn't long before each of us befriended and swam along side our own sea turtles! The turtles weren't the only friends made on Bahia Tamarindo:

Next stop was the more popular Flamenco Beach. Considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the Carribean, it also was once a US Navy practice range, and there are two artistically graffitied abandoned tanks on the beach.

On a tank mission

Double Rainbow at Flamenco Beach

The next day we departed Culebra, passed north between Culebra and Culebrita, stopping to anchor briefly near the reef off the northwest tip of Culebrita.