s/v Kaleo

A quick three hour sail down from Clarence Town on Wednesday found us inside the swell-free protected anchorage of Little Harbour, Long Island.

Guiding “Kaleo” in made for an exciting entry into a peaceful place because the inlet was surrounded on both sides by rolling waves crashing over submerged coral heads.

Little Harbour is a large bay with a few beaches dotting the shoreline and an abandoned fishing boat, sunk up to the deck, holding some untold story. The water is a calm turquoise green and the bay’s proximity to the wide open Atlantic is given away only by the sound of crashing waves just over the low hills.

Matt spent most of the following day cleaning marine growth from the bottom of the boat. A fuzzy green “beard” had grown below the waterline and besides being unsightly, it hinders our sailing performance. By late afternoon the hull was muck-free and we were off to explore a beach just a short hike away on the other side of a hill.

Not more than 20 feet onto the beach and our hands were full of sea glass and the pockets on Matt’s shorts rattled like maracas. Sea glass is broken up pieces of glass from bottles thrown into the ocean that have been washed onto the shore. The constant motion of the waves over the sand smooths and polishes the glass into beautiful, almost jewel-like, treasures.

With the sun setting, we stopped by “MG” to make plans for a dedicated day of beachcombing.

Ted and Mili had just returned from dinghy exploring further down the island with the ultimate find – a message in a bottle. A dark green bottle, corked to protect the letter rolled inside, sparked our curiosity about the story it would reveal . Upon popping out the encrusted cork, Mili read a sweet note from a six-year-old girl named Emily, who in 2007, tossed the bottle over during a family cruise to Bermuda. Written on Norwegian Cruise Line stationery were the following words …

“Hi. My name is Emily and I am 6 years old. I am on vacation with my family on a cruise chip called Norwegian Crown. Today is August 17, 2007 and we are going back home to New York. We were in Bermuda. My sister Abby turned 4 on Monday so we celebrated on the ship. If anyone finds this please write to me at my dads job. I hope whoever gets this letter is doing well. – Emily and Abby”

Rolled within the letter, Emily tucked her dad’s business card with an email and mailing address to respond. We imagine she, now almost 11 years old, will be delighted to hear her note was found with such joy. Mili even plans to mail her original note back to her as a keepsake. And we have plans for casting our own message in a bottle soon.

The next morning, with lunches packed and gear loaded, the four of us set out to hike the beaches. Matt and Ted helped look for sea glass and sea beans interspersed with breaks to haul the gear further and further down the beach. The gals didn’t lift their eyes past the sand line for the next three hours as sparkling piece after sparkling piece filled their “treasure chests.”

After lunch, the guys took siestas against whitewashed cliff walls while the treasure hunt continued. Worn out, but with more sea glass, exotic shells, and sea beans in one trip than collected to date, we all returned to the boats. It was the gals turn for siestas while Matt and Ted went out on their own hunt to spearfish for dinner.

They returned with grouper and snapper, which Mili battered and pan fried to compliment the homemade glutten-free pizzas being made aboard Kaleo. Ted and Mili came to our house for the evening to enjoy dinner and a round of Mexican Train.

Little Harbour has been one of our favorite anchorages so far for its calm waters, rugged beaches and peacefulness. Yet, “Kaleo” must move on so plans were then made to sail for Dollar Harbour in the morning as a staging spot for our sail to the Jumentos.

N 22° 58.58 / W 74° 51.15

The day began, as most, at 6:30 with Chris Parker’s weather report covering the next five days over various regions of the Bahamas.

Flying Fish Marina dock overlooking Clarence Town Harbour

Without turning on the motor, Matt pulled up the anchor and set the sails to gently lift us toward our next destination (a first for us as we usually motor out of a harbor before setting the sails). The light winds moved us along at about 2 knots (pretty slow) but with 38 miles to cover, we fired up the motor to make better time.

By 3:00 we had the anchor down in Clarence Town Harbour and a full to-do list in our hands.

Christie started the laundry at Flying Fish Marina while Matt refueled the boat. Joined by Mili, Christie explored the government packing house, where once a week the mail boat comes to collect locally grown produce from farmers in the area. On this particular day (and time) it had limited fresh produce (tomatoes, plantains, bananas) for purchase at very low prices.

Matt connected with a Bahamas customs agent to get a 90-day extension on his visitors permit, which was set to expire April 20. (We’re set to explore the islands a bit longer.)

After a productive afternoon, it was time for dinner. Perched alongside the marina is a colorful and quaint waterside grill with a deliciously robust menu and very inviting, breezy patio tables. It was quickly decided that we had a double date night ahead of us.

Our orders arrived and the table was filled with cracked conch, BBQ ribs, grilled grouper, conch burger, Bahamian mac ‘n cheese, fries, coleslaw, mixed vegetables and salad. While we were stuffed to the gills, we made room for their homemade desserts of lemon meringue pie and warm chocolate cake. Delish!

We plan to get a few more groceries tomorrow to stock up for our upcoming trip to the Jumentos. This chain of remote islands offers rugged beauty, reefs teeming with tropical fish and adventures well off the beaten path. With no stores nor services of any kind. No fuel. No internet. No cell service. There will be little to none in terms of civilization so we’re topping off our provisions before heading out. We will essentially be off the grid for about a week. We are traveling alongside “Morning Glory” and our SPOT tracker (click the globe icon on the upper-left hand corner of this site) will continuously update our sailing progress.

N 23° 05.9 / W 74° 57.4

We set sail from Joe’s Sound on Saturday morning for Thompson Bay to wait out a little weather and stock up on groceries before we head for the more remote Conception Island.

Navigating out of the narrow and rocky entrance of Joe’s Sound was just as nerve racking as getting in but it went smoothly and we enjoyed a smooth sail back to Thompson Bay. Once there, we spent the weekend:

• Stocking up on fresh produce and hard to come by all natural tortilla chips (it’s the little things in life that are so big out here)
• Enjoying being reconnected with our friends aboard “Storyville” (were so excited to see their familiar hull in the anchorage as we returned from the grocery store)
• Attending church service at the Assembly of God, where the pastor gave a powerful message on the church’s need to speak the truth
• Sharing FC Elevate Family kids resources with the Sunday School teacher who will hopefully use them in her classes and with the local missionary family
• Meeting a missionary family from Maritime Ministries who sailed to Long Island and who now live on there with their two young daughters spreading the Word of God
• Relaxing aboard “Kaleo” reading, lounging, and studying charts of our next destinations

We plan to pull up our anchor on Monday to head for Conception Island with “Morning Glory“.

N 23° 31.09 / W 75° 08.04

We awoke on Thursday to the same calm from the night before but with Kaleo pointing the opposite direction, having swung in the night with the tidal current.

In full daylight we were able to take in how far removed we were from civilization in our new little cove of the world at Joe’s Sound. Only one currently uninhabited house and a forgotten fishing boat marked that people might have once been around.

Both boats, ourselves and “MG”, loaded our dinghies with lunches, water and extra fuel for a quest to find the nearest town, some two miles up the creek. After puttering through crystal waters lined with dense mangroves, we came to a small bridge over a narrow whitewater rapid creek. We could see boats on the other side so we said what the heck and went for it. Swoosh! We caught the current and were hurtled under the bridge without scraping the gnarly rock walls. Exiting the other side, we had to turn sharply to avoid getting the motor wrapped in the mangrove trees trying to ambush us.

We laughed and lunched on the dock before walking a mile to Mrs. Pratt’s Convenience Store to enjoy a cold drink. After talking with her for awhile, she invited us to climb the hill on her property behind the store to take in a view of the Atlantic and cool down in the tropical breeze.

The dinghy ride back under the bridge was just as fun as our little motor crawled up the rapids. Like kids wanting to do the Disney World Log Ride over and over, we turned the dinghy around and ran it again.

By afternoon, low tide had come along forcing Matt and Ted to tow the dinghies by foot through the shallow water. They plodded along, pulling us grateful gals in our chariots, and at times sinking up to their knees in sloshy sand.

On the way back, we stopped off at and walked along the nearby tidal flats where we saw millions of little sea snails left behind when the water receded.

We returned to the boats to find Kaleo a little too close to the shallow water so Ted and Matt reset the anchors, moving us into deeper water. Never to soon to enjoy lobster again, we whipped up a small feast of grilled tails, agave glazed carrots and buttered potatoes. Then it was off to “MG” to make a “cruising bucket list,” those things we want to do before leaving the Bahamas.

N 23° 37.67 / W 75° 19.95

Before leaving George Town, many cruisers told us it’s worth renting a car to see ALL that Long Island has to offer.

East of George Town and about 300 miles southeast of Florida, Long Island is one of the southernmost islands in the Bahamas’ chain. As its name implies, Long Island is indeed very long, stretching 80 miles with one continuous main road throughout the entire island and just four miles across at its widest point. It has a dramatically contrasting landscape of limestone cliffs, shallow water flats, and rolling hillsides. It’s graced with one of the world’s 10 best beaches and the world’s deepest blue hole (yes, we visited both).

On Monday, we and “Morning Glory” loaded up a rental car with snacks, swim suits and snorkel gear for a full day of touring the island. We pulled onto Queen’s Highway and our first sight was Matt learning to drive on the “wrong” side of the road. Cars drive on the left-hand side of the road in the Bahamas and while the guys did well under these foreign guidelines, they did drift briefly a couple of times to the “wrong” side when wrapped up in conversation.

The entire day was a fun-filled adventure as we:

• Explored the ruins of St. Mary’s, an old Spanish Church from the 1500’s and hunted for a nearby cave. We didn’t find the cave but certainly met our hiking quota for the day.

• Drove south to Clarence Town and climbed up into the narrow spires of the Catholic church. From these heights, we were graced with a gorgeous view of the island and surrounding Atlantic ocean.

• Dined at the “Hot Spot,” a little out-of-the-way restaurant that had excellent grouper fingers, chicken and pot roast. Randomly chosen because of a sign on the road, we’re glad to have turned down the bumpy dirt road to get there.
• Swam and dove into Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest blue hole in the world at over 660 feet. A few miles down a sandy road we pulled off just in front of the beach and donned our swimsuits. In front of us was shallow turquoise water and small reefs surrounding a dark blue circle. Able to wade through shallow water right up to the drop off, it only took seconds before Ted and Matt had swam to the center. About a 45 foot drop, Matt hollered victory cries as he plummeted into the abyss. We shell hunted the nearby beach and then, eager to see more of the island, jumped back into the car to continue on.

• Stopped at another Atlantic-side beach to search for sea beans. Christie won the prize by finding a Columbus Bean and soon thereafter it was off to dinner.
• Relished an authentic Bahamian meal, served family style, at Triphena’s Old Thompson Bay Inn. Every Monday night she cooks up a feast filled with robust portions of cracked lobster, conch, and grouper. Complimented by BBQ ribs, fried plantains, potato salad, cole slaw, peas ‘n rice, and Bahamian mac n’ cheese. We sat around the table enjoying the company of fellow cruisers and locals, dining like royalty, and sipping fruity rum drinks adorned with little brightly colored umbrellas. As delicious as the cuisine was, the conversation and unique experience made the night one of our most memorable.

Reflecting over such a wonderful day, we floated back to our boat appreciating the beauty and charm of Long Island.

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