Thoughts On Hurricanes & Jungle Cruising In The Abacos, Bahamas

EDITOR'S NOTE: It feels really weird to be publishing blog posts about this past season cruising in the Bahamas on our sailboat knowing that there are so many people out there who lost their own boats as a result of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. For some of these people, their boats were also their homes. They don't have a base on land to go back to. For others, these boats were also their livelihoods. The trail of devastation and destruction that these hurricanes left in their wake is almost inconceivable.

I know some of you who follow our blog aren't sailors or boat owners and it might be hard to imagine what it's like to live through a hurricane and lose your floating home. If that's the case, then you might want to check out this blog post on Where the Coconuts Grow.

The folks behind this blog are a young family (they have a 3-month old baby) based in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The mom and baby left the island two days before Irma. The dad stayed behind to secure their boat, as well as the boats for the charter company he works for. Fortunately, the dad survived the hurricane and mom and baby were safe back in the States, but they lost everything. Their post describes what it was like to be apart, surviving a hurricane and their hopes for the future.

Sadly, there are many, many stories like this one throughout the Caribbean and in the States.

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If you want to read about some of our final days cruising in the Bahamas, have a read below. We've got a couple more posts scheduled which will wrap-up this past season's cruising adventures and then it will be all about what we've been up to since we've been back in the States while we're getting working on boat projects and getting ready to head to the Western Caribbean this coming season. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see us blog about, let us know.

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Do you remember how we weren't sure which way to head back to the States from the Bahamas? After flipping a coin, we headed back via the Abacos, which turned out to be a good decision. One of the reasons why is that our friends, Bruce and Michele on s/v Wind Spirit were there.

This is them at the dinghy dock in Hope Town. Notice that dinghy next to them? The orange one? That's their dinghy. I love it for a lot of reasons, mainly because of its orange dinghy chaps. {Dinghy chaps protect dinghies from the elements, kind of like chaps protect cowboys from nasty stuff like thorns, thistles and the like.}

Orange is a great color. It's cheerful and happy. Orange never complains. Orange is always excited to greet the new day. Orange can't wait to go out and play. There are other colors I'm not very fond of, but I won't mention them here. Let's just say that there were certain crayons in my crayon box that didn't get used very often when I was a child.

The other reason I love Michele and Bruce's dinghy is because it picked us up from our boat and took us on fun adventures. I don't think we had to use our dinghy once while we were hanging out with the crew of Wind Spirit. I really think I could get used to getting chauffeured around in an orange dinghy.

One day, they took us out for what they call "jungle cruising," which basically means messing about in the dinghy and checking out the scenery. Bruce chauffeured us around the shallower waters of Hope Town's Harbour.

As you'd expect, there were lots of boats.

But what you might not expect is an old canon. At least, that's what I think it is. What do you think? Is it a canon or something else?

Check out this boat. It's boom sticks way out over the stern of the boat. It's a well known boat in the area, but for the life of me I can't remember it's name or anything much else about it. If you've cruised in the Bahamas, have you seen it before?

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Cruising Log | Tuesday, 11 July 2017 - Wednesday, 19 July 2017

11-13 JULY
Hung out at Marsh Harbour. Laundry, provisioning, snorkeling at Mermaid's Reef, beers at the Jib Room and sundowners with our friends on Wind Spirit. Not a bad way to spend a few days.
Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine Hours = Nil. Spending = $86.22 (laundry, groceries & drinks).

14 JULY
Got Tickety Boo ready to go and turned the engine on. Plan was to head to Hope Town, but our buddy boat ended up having to sort out their solenoid.
Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = 30 mins. Spending = Nil.

15 JULY
We finally escaped Marsh Harbour. Anchor up at 9:45 AM. Anchor down outside of Hope Town at 11:30 AM. Issues with our roller furling. Scott may have said some naughty words. Showed the crew of Wind Spirit around Hope Town. Very, very hot. Did some jungle cruising.
Nautical Miles = 8. Engine = 2 hours 15 mins. Spending = $37.03 (groceries & drinks)

16 JULY
Lazy, lazy, lazy. Hot, hot, hot. Steak sandwiches for dinner - yummy, yummy, yummy.
Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine Hours = Nil. Spending = Nil.

17 JULY
Anchor up at 9:00 AM. Anchor down at 1:20 PM at Sandy Cay. Had lunch and then went snorkeling. Some of the best snorkeling we've done in the Bahamas. Scott narrowly avoided having a remora attach itself to him. Anchor up at 4:30 PM. Anchor down at 6:00 PM at Tilloo Cay. Delicious dinner on board Wind Spirit. If you're ever in an anchorage with them and they invite you to dinner, say yes.
Nautical Miles = 24. Engine = 5 hours 30 mins. Spending = Nil.

18 JULY
Anchor up at 7:45 AM. Back to Sandy cay for more snorkeling! Very roly-poly. Storm cell came in and we got the heck out of there. Anchored off of Great Abaco Island so that the boys could do some "hunting" with their Hawaiian slings. Another storm cell came in and we got the heck out of there. Headed over to Marsh Harbour where an evil bee stung Scott. I've never been stung by a bee. Seems painful.
Nautical Miles = 24. Engine = 5 hours. Spending = Nil.

19 JULY
Got the boat ready to make our way back to the States and did some provisioning.
Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine Hours = Nil. Spending = $117.01 (diesel, water, groceries, coconut bread and tin foil).

What's your favorite color? Are there any colors you dislike? Do you prefer to drive or would you rather be chauffeured around? Do you have a hurricane story that you want to share?

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