Crooked Island: Long Cay

Friday, April 20, 2007

022-33.600 N
074-21.420 W

Ahoy from Long Cay on Crooked Island!

Yesterday I was gushing about what a perfect sailing day it was and talking about how it was one of the days that you dream about. The forecast called from 15 kts out of the SW with the winds clocking to the W and dropping to 12 kts. It certainly started out that way, but it quickly changed.

We probably had about an hour of those conditions, but then the winds started to increase. I was happy as we were running down wind on a broad reach and were doing 7 to 8 kts. It was glorious. That is until the winds picked up to 25 kts and gusting to 30 kts and the seas built to 6' with an occasional 8 footer thrown in. So much for the forecast! We quickly threw in a double reef in the main and the boat was perfectly balanced. I didn't mind the ride at all, except for the waves that soaked the cockpit and yours truly. We were flying, hitting 8.9 kts at one point. We had a 35 mile run and we did it in about 4.5 hours.

Sailing in these conditions is one thing, but pulling into an anchorage in them is completely different. We were headed to the S end of Long Cay on Crooked Island. The entrance to the bay is well over 1/2 of a mile wide, but the problem is that the water goes from thousands of feet deep to 10-12 feet deep very quickly and the waves break when they hit the shallows. I could see one area where it was breaking less and headed towards it. The sails were still up as I didn't want to turn into the seas and drop them. As a result we were doing 6-7 kts and riding atop the swells. We coasted right into bay without any problems and with a big sigh of relief on my part.

Unicorn made it in without any issues. This is by far the most adventurous sailing that they've done and they're handling it great. They've got the right attitude and their boat is holding up well. Last night they came over and we grilled the last of the lobster tails that we had purchased in Bimini. That was good!

Our trek to the S and E is going to be placed on hold for a while as the winds are switching to the NE and then the E for a while. My goal is to make it to Hogsty Reef which is about 60 miles S of here. The diving is supposed to be fantastic, but the only protection is a tiny (1/4 mile long) island. We need to be out there in settled weather.

We also have a major problem with the new water maker pump. It was frozen yesterday, but I managed to get it turning, but there's still a problem. I'm pulling it out today and will try to determine the cause. Luckily we have the old 12V water maker, so I can always put that pump back in service.

-- Geoff & Sue

Log ID: 953