Across the Great Bahama Bank to Chub



We left the wreck of the Sapona at 6pm Wednesday evening heading southeast across the Great Bahama Bank for the 80-mile crossing to Chub Cay.  The marine forecast called for light winds and less than 2’ seas.  Of course, that’s exactly what we got – for about two hours.  Then the winds and seas picked up – just enough (and on the beam) to make it a bit uncomfortable. The seas persisted until about four in the morning, when the wind died and the seas went flat calm.

We saw lots more boat traffic than I had predicted.  When you cross the 100-mile Little Bahama Bank at night from Indian Cay Light to Spanish Cay, you almost never see another boat.  But this night, we had sailboats, mailboats, and mega yachts, coming from the north and south, and all heading for a narrow choke-off point called Northwest Shoal - which is right where the bank meets “The Tongue of The Ocean”, 13-miles from Chub.  It was just a bit hectic as four large boats all tried to transit this ¼-mile wide gap in the reef at pretty much the same time – in the pitch dark. But it all worked out and as the sun finally peeked over the horizon, Spoonbill cruised into the entrance to the legendary fishing capital of the Berrys, Chub Cay Club Marina.

We tied up to the fuel dock at Chub to wait until someone arrived to open up and assign us a slip.  Meanwhile we started slapping no-see-ums.  Having no wind is great for cruising, but it sucks when you are in a marina at dawn or dusk!  Finally, the dockmaster arrived and we headed for our slip, 50-amp power, and AIR CONDITIONING.

Infinity Pool at Chub

The Mass family spent the day at the beach, picking up shells, swimming in the pool, and relaxing.  I had lunch and a few beers at the Club bar.  Then, after having been up all night for the crossing, retired to my quarters for a well-deserved 4-hour nap.

Later, we watched “Pirates of The Caribbean”, Jen cooked some great turkey tacos, and we all got to bed early.  The rest of the Berry Islands beckoned.

Bimini - Same as Ever

"A Guy Harvey Outpost"

 

We made the short two-hour run up to Bimini on Tuesday evening and took a slip at the famous Bimini Big Game Club – a “Guy Harvey Outpost” marina.  Near as I can tell, all that means is that the clothing in the marina store was hideously overpriced and that there were lots of Guy Harvey murals tacked up all over the place. Meh.

Jen (and I) had wanted to stay another night on fabulous Cat Cay.  However, Sarah and Anna were REALLY looking forward to Bimini as they were BIG Guy Harvey fans and Larry was really looking forward to it because he had heard that there was some great Bonefishing on Bimini’s flats. 

So we docked at the Big Game Club and made arrangements for Larry and the girls to go fishing the next morning with legendary Bonefish guide, Ansel Saunders.  Dinner at the marina restaurant was good, if not inspiring, and we tucked off to bed fairly early.

Legendary fishing guide Ansel Saunders with Sarah & Anna - ready for a big day on the flats

Wednesday morning, everyone was up and ready for their big Bonefish adventure.  Ansel came by as scheduled at 8 o'clock in his immaculate little home-made skiff and picked up the three intrepid fisherpersons.

The weather was beautiful, so Jen and Biz headed for the marina pool, while I spent the day wandering around Bimini and taking pictures.  Bimini could not be a bigger contrast from the manicured immaculate perfection that is Cat Cay.  Now, I have not been to Bimini for almost 25 years.  But it is pretty much as I remembered – that is to say, falling down.  I mean, here is a place surrounded by incredible beaches, beautiful, pristine flats, a great natural harbor, and, best of all, it’s only 42 nautical miles from South Florida.  Yet it is, basically, a toilet, with crumbling infrastructure and marginal marinas.  Go figure.

What's left of the Compleat Angler

Wreck of the Gallant Lady on the beach at Bimini

Even that most famous icon of Bimini, Hemingway’s hangout – the Compleat Angler – is gone, burned to ruins about 6 years ago.  Sad, sad, sad.

The anglers returned shortly after lunch, with tales of skittish fish and a total of just one Bonefish landed (WAY TO GO, SARAH!)  Oh well, they had a great time and saw a lot of the flats around the islands of North and South Bimini.  Sunburns on the areas of skin missed by careless application of sunscreen were the order of the day.

But now, the weather was once again pointing to a favorable forecast.  So, at 4pm, we cast off from the Big Game Club docks and headed south to the wreck of the Sapona.

Sapona was built during WWI, one of a small fleet of concrete ships (because steel was in short supply).  After the war, she passed though several hands and was used as a rum-running base before being washed up on the reef south of Bimini during a hurricane in 1926.  She was abandoned there and shot to ribs and ruins by US aircraft training during WWII.  Her remains sit in 15’ of water and, the last time I was there, in 1988, she was a great snorkel.  According to Larry, Sarah, and Anna, she still is.

We grilled up some of that fresh Cat Cay Tuna (IT WAS FABULOUS) and, at 6pm, pulled up the anchor to begin our leisurely overnight cruise across the Great Bahama Bank towards the Berry Islands.  Next stop, Chub Cay.

Cat Cay

Monday morning brought the promised light winds and sunny skies. So we left crowded Crandon Park Marina and motored a few miles south of Key Biscayne in order to cross the reef at the Stiltsville passage.

The seas were relatively flat at less than two feet, just like the forecast promised. We put out a lure on a fishing rod in hopes of catching a tasty Mahi Mahi and headed east. About two hours out, the fishing rod was bent double and the reel had been nearly "spooled".  So I slowed the boat to idle and Larry put on a real angling display as he fought the monster "fish" - which, unfortunately, turned out to be a very large clump of weeds.

That was a disappointment.  But worse than that, during our time at idle, the autopilot picked that moment to pack it in. I had been having intermittent problems with it during the trip from North Florida, which the Simrad manual said was probably the result of a failing printed circuit board in the main autopilot computer. So now, no fish and no autopilot. This meant we had to hand-steer Spoonbill the remaining 6 hours or so to Cat Cay - all the while fighting a wicked 3-knot northerly current and building seas, quartering on the starboard bow.

Suffice to say that it was a long slog and we were very happy to clear the cut between Gun Cay and the northern tip of Cat Cay. We docked at the beautiful Cat Cay Marina about 4pm and cleared customs. Cat Cay is a private, member-owned island that caters to the very wealthy. However, they allow transient yachts to dock for up to 24 hours to clear customs, eat at their restaurant, and shop at their VERY well-stocked grocery store.

Transients are not permitted to visit the rest of the island or to take advantage of their pool, tennis, or beach facilities. However, some very dear friends of my parents, Carl & Kay Doverspike, have been members of Cat since the late 70s and have a home there. Walking down the dock, I immediately recognized their beautiful 58' Merritt Sportfish boat, "Sea D". By a lucky coincidence, it seemed the Doverspikes were indeed on the island. We ran into them that evening at dinner and they graciously offered to sponsor us during our stay - which would allow us to use all of the island's facilities.  Kay even insisted on picking us all up at the boat the next morning for a tour of the island.

Tuesday morning, as promised, Kay arrived driving their 6-passenger "Family Truckster" golf cart. We all piled in and set out to see this incredible island. Afterwards, we stopped at the Doverspike's beautiful Bahamian house, "Casa Playa", where the kids had a ball on their beautiful beach, shelling, paddleboarding and swimming. Many, many thanks to the Doverspikes for being so incredibly kind and gracious. It really MADE our stay at Cat Cay.

Monster Bluefin with Spoonbill in the background!

When we got back to the docks a bit later, one of the local sportfish boats had brought in a monster Bluefin tuna.  Larry took LOTS of pics of the huge fish and managed to get us about 5 pounds of the most amazing-looking Bluefin meat. I was even able to repair the balky autopilot.  Then a few timely rain squalls washed the salt off of old Spoonbill.  So all was right with the world.  Alas, it was time to move on as the afternoon was drawing to a close. Reluctantly, we untied our lines and headed north up the edge of the Bahama Bank for the short ride to Bimini. On the way, we all agreed that Cat Cay was easily one of the most beautiful places we had ever been.

South to Key Biscayne

Sunday morning, May 27th, 2012 dawned warm and sunny. Spoonbill was docked comfortably behind my buddy Greg Bernardo's house in Pompano Beach, Florida, and the Mass Family was up early. Larry, Jen, 13-year-old Sarah, 12-year-old Anna, and 4-year-old Lauren (AKA, "Bizzy") were ready to start their two-week Bahamas odyssey.

Spoonbill had arrived in Pompano on Wednesday evening after a 350-mile run from her winter berth up the St. Johns River in Green Cove Springs, Florida. My wife, Cinda, and I - along with friends Kemp & Teri Howell - had made a nice 5-day trip out of it, giving us a chance to shake down some of Spoonie's systems, which had been mostly dormant for the past 6 months. Thursday morning, my "delivery crew" headed home and I spent the next few days making numerous trips to West Marine, Publix, and Lowe's readying the boat for the arrival of our charter guests.

The Mass Family has chartered with us numerous times;  In years past, they bareboated aboard our N37, Semper Fi, but over the past few years, they have enjoyed great captained charters aboard Spoonbill as we have done some much more adventurous trips. In fact, last year's two-week exploration of Eleuthera and the Exumas provided many amazing and memorable experiences for all. So we were all very much looking forward to Summer 2012's planned exploration of the "near" Bahamas.

Once the Mass's arrived, the frantic provisioning began. Stocking an already well-stocked boat with enough food, drinks, sunscreen, snacks, etc. for 6 people onboard for a two-week trip means every nook and cranny of every cupboard, shelf, cubby hole, and refrigerator is stuffed to overflowing! After a nice farewell dinner at Chez Porky's, we all went to sleep early, anxious to begin the adventure in the morning.

The forecast for the next few days was ever-changing due to the recent passage of Tropical Storm Beryl. Initially, it was looking like we would be able to leave right out of Port Everglades on Saturday evening for a night crossing to Cat Cay. But that plan evaporated by mid-afternoon with a two-day forecast of 4-6 foot seas in the Gulf Stream between Florida and Bimini. So, at 7 o'clock, Sunday morning, we cast off and headed south down the ICW for a relaxing cruise towards Miami and the Keys.

Even though I lived in South Florida for 10 years, I am still amazed by the sheer cubic dollars on display as we passed one multi-million-dollar home or yacht after another. The plan for today was to head down to Key Biscayne and a reserved dock space at Crandon Park Marina on Key Biscayne. We would continue to move south for a few days in anticipation of a weather window that would allow us to cross.

We tied up at Crandon Park and spent the rest of the afternoon in the skiff exploring the nearby sandbar along with nearly every semi-inebriated person in Miami with access to a boat. Afterwards, we walked about 2 miles to the Rusty Pelican Restaurant - purported by my trusty Florida Cruising Guidebook to be "right across the street" from the marina. Ah well, an excellent meal was followed by a taxi ride home - with a short detour to the Key Biscayne Winn-Dixie for, yes, still more provisions.

When I checked the weather before bed, it had changed yet again. The crossing would be tomorrow morning.