May 8th – May 23rd, 2024

With Billy’s sister Pam and our good friend Scott as our crew for the passage, we departed San Juan on Wednesday May 8th bound for Great Inagua Bahamas. It’s a 450 nm passage to the southernmost island of the 700+ Bahamian Island chain. The passage from a weather perspective was very calm – we motored a lot and sailed when we could. Overnight watches were uneventful – and even “too quiet” where the first couple of nights there wasn’t anyone else out at sea – especially as we passed 40 nm North of Haiti..spooky quiet. As we got closer to Great Inagua there was a bit more traffic with large tankers and cruise ships.

One significant issue arose during the passage which caused quite a bit of stress (a tough 12 hours while we figured it out) and has altered our plans to head home. We heard a loud noise coming from the steering system and in trying to understand what it was (the loud squeak just needed a little WD40), Billy noticed sea water coming in by the port rudder post – which is NOT a good thing. While he was able to slow the leak – the potential for it to turn into a big problem (someone said “a trickle can turn to gushing water in minutes”) had has working fast to figure out the best solution. Ultimately we determined that we’ll have to get the rudder bearing system replaced (see photos below) and have decided that we need to do that before we cross the Gulf Stream to return to the US coast. Billy found a marine yard in Freeport that has worked on this very issue – and we’ve decided to stop there to get it fixed. They were ready to take us right in BUT….we actually have to order the new parts from Europe and that is creating a more substantial delay (2-3 weeks ). Which will keep us here for longer than originally planned.

Other than the rudder issue, our passage was uneventful. It took us almost 3 full days and we arrived to Matthew Town, Great Inagua at 8 am on Saturday May 11th. Last year when we had arrived there on a weekend we found that customs had been closed and we had to continue on to check in further north. But our friends on SV Pilar had confirmed with the customs agent the day before that they would be open. We went in to the government dock and it was VERY quiet. There was only one sail boat (more on that below) tied up to the dock and no-one to talk to. Pam and I went to the coast guard station and the only person in the building called the customs agent who was at home, but agreed to come out to meet us. Billy and I started walking the “20 telephone poles” (that is how the locals describe the 1.5 mile distance) track to the customs office. A local stopped and asked where we were headed and told us to jump in as it was too hot to walk. As we got in, the customs guy drove up and waved to let us know he’d see its once we got there. Well suffice it to say the customs guy was great – very friendly and accommodating.

Once back on the dock we took a closer look at the boat that was tied up – it was an old wooden sailing vessel named Thank You God. Stephen from Pilar had spoken with them and learned that is a boat that comes from Haiti. They brings Mangos to sell, then take household goods back to the island. It has no engine – they can only use sail power. Amazing.

We spent the next couple of days sailing up to Acklin Island and then on to Long Island. We stopped in Clarence Town (pop 80) where we tied the dingy to the public dock while we shopped at Erica’s little store which has just about all the basics you need plus wonderful banana bread. As we came back to the dingy dock the local fishermen were cleaning their catch of the day and several black tip sharks were thrashing and fighting over the scraps. Upon advice from a local, we decided NOT to get into dingy until they were done. We also decided to save our swimming for the next stop. The next day we sailed up to Calabash Bay which is on the northwest coast of Long Island and is one of the most beautiful sand beaches in all of the Bahamas. Thankfully there was no evidence of sharks!

Our next stop was Georgetown, Great Exuma. It’s an amazing spot for cruisers, hundreds of people spend their winters there in Elizabeth Harbor. The town has just about everything you need (groceries, drug stores, restaurants, hardware stores, etc). They have a morning “net” where they get on the VHF radio, welcome anyone who’s new and share the news of the day. You can also ask for help or recommendations, which we really needed. In addition to our port rudder issue, our dingy engine conked out (ugh). Not having a dingy to get to shore can be such a problem, but luckily, one of the many services available in the harbor are the water taxis. They really helped us out – Elvis and his son Rasheed took us in and out several times.

We learned that there was a Suzuki mechanic about 5 miles south of us and we tried for 5 days to reach him. Finally we just decided to rent a whaler and tow the dingy down to the marine shop. The approach worked! Mr. Greg was so busy, but once we arrived he said he’d try to get to it and lo and behold he had it fixed within a couple of hours (a hefty tip didn’t hurt)! We were back in business! In the meantime we had fun visiting the Chat N Chill Bar on Stocking Island and enjoyed the “chill vibe” and some amazing Conch salad.

Since we are delayed waiting for the parts – both Scott and Pam have decided to head home. Scott will return in June whenever we’re ready to cross back over to the US. Pam needed to get back and close up Key West house and get to Marblehead. Georgetown is also one of the last places to easily fly out before you get to Nassau which is still ~150 nm away. Now, Billy and I have a couple of weeks to slowly make our way north to Freeport. Until then we’ll be meandering through the Exumas spending several days in the National Land and Sea Park. Lucky us!