Tabitha’s Tales

Its Friday evening and we are just back from the Kennedy Space Centre. What an extraordinary and awe inspiring place. It is difficult to know where to start.

The admission price includes two 40 minute IMAX films. These are projected onto a mammoth screen - several times the height and width of the largest normal cinema screen. You wear special glasses to give a three dimensional effect which really does work. The first film was about the first landing on the moon - very effective. We vtravelled around the massive centre in a series of busses. We saw the control rooms, the huge vehicle assembly plant, the ‘crawler’ platform from which the shuttle is launched,
a real Saturn V rocket, a space buggy and numerous space suits and memorabilia. We also saw exhibits about the International Space Centre which is still under construction. What is more, we were able to view the scientists and technicians actually preparing large modules of the space station which are due for launch in May.

The second IMAX film used film shot by the astronauts who are actually building the Space Centre. It was extraordinary and fascinating to see life in zero gravity captured in 3D.

I recognised the face of one of the astronauts in the film who became friends with Alex & Peter of Berrimilla. Berrimila is the Australian boat that competed in the Sydney Hobart, then sailed via Cape Horn to compete in the Fastnet before turning around and sailing back to Australia in time to compete in the next Sydney-Hobart. An extraordinary achievement for two 60 yr old men in a 33ft production boat. I exchanged emails with Alex and went to see him give a presentation at the RORC in London. When
they were sailing in the southern ocean more than 1000 miles from the nearest land they realised that the nearest humanity was in fact only 130 miles away in the space station overhead. Arrangements were made through NASA for an HF radio schedule and the two crews got to know each other quite well. When Berrimilla was in the UK the astronaut in the film (who I think may have been called Leroy ?) was visiting the UK as well and I believe they were invited to lunch with Fredrick Forsyth in Cornwall
where they met properly for the first time.

The Space Centre left one in no doubt of the awesome achievement of putting men and machines into space but could perhaps have included a little more of the science behind it. We have been fortunate on this trip to visit the two American centres at the frontiers of modern exploration. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Centre was no less inspirational with its deep ocean programme. Fewer men have been to the bottom of the oceans than have been into space but the obvious difference in the resources for
the two projects tells its own story.

We left our dinghy at the nearby marina leaving it tied to ‘Luna-sea’ and shared a taxi with her crew, Chris & Margaret who were great company. Coming back into the Banana River where we had left Tabitha at anchor our little rubber dinghy shared the enormous lock with not one, but four manatee. A nice end to a fabulous day.

Thanks to Richard and Sophie for the gift of such a memorable day out.

We sailed in light airs for 50 miles across the shallow Little Bahamas Bank. Tabitha looked after herself which meant we could attend to numerous loose ends. I processed the data from the previous day’s compass swinging and was delighted get consistent results showing that the greatest error in our steering compass is no more than 3 degrees which is basically ignorable. Good to know just before I set out across an ocean.

We also tried, for the first time, the towed log. An instrument which is set on the taffrail from which an impeller is streamed on a line. Passage through the water spins the impellor which turns the dial on the instrument to show speed through the water and record distance traveled through the water. We weren’t able to calibrate the log as there was just too much weed about to foul the propeller and give a false reading but it was good to see it working.

As part of my trip back I propose to do a qualifying passage for Ocean Yachtmaster which entails navigating offshore without the use of electronic aids for a period of a few days. Hence the need for a mechanical log.

Another instrument I shall need is for this exercise is the sextant. I have been brushing up my Astro navigation and the calm passage across the Bank provided the opportunity to practise with the sextant and get some real sun sight data to work with.

Work also continued on the production of presents for folks at home which entails basket making and sewing. However, our attitude to watch keeping was not so relaxed that Sue failed to spot the 2 inch orange floating line that snaked across the surface of the water between a line of orange buoys perpendicular to our course. We had recently passed two cable laying vessels and assume this was part of their operations. It gave us cause for an emergency stop (boom preventer and genoa pole rigged) and
we had to follow the line north for approximately half mile before we could get around it. To think we had considered sailing that route after dark! We gave a ‘Securitay’ announcement on 16 which revealed that no less than 7 yachts had left Gt Sale Cay after us, all bound along the same route.

We benefited to the tune of approximately 15 miles, from an oblique crossing of the powerful Gulf Stream though sadly, the wind died about 4.30am and we had to motor for a large part of the remaining 35 miles. Our current practise is that Susie and I alternate doing 2 three hours watches each. As usual, we held off starting the motor for much longer than most and by early morning we found that the lights of the bulk of the fleet was in view. They had caught up by more than 4 hours!

One can not help but be slightly nervous about checking into customs and immigration but we found the procedure in this part of Florida to be very relaxed. In the first instance only the skipper is permitted ashore to make phone call to customs. They normally take numerous details over the phone before deciding to visit the boat and ask all the same questions again. This time I just got through to a recorded message to say that all those seeking to clear private vessels should attend their office
in person. I got directions and the whole family walked to the office as illegal aliens. We got there just before all of the American and Canadian folks - 8 vessels in total - so the small office was suddenly swamped. This may have helped as there just wasn’t time for awkward questions. Needless to say, they let us in but we were the last to leave the process being more straightforward for American and Canadian citizens.

Tonight finds us anchored close to the Kennedy Space Centre which is our objective for tomorrow. Within hours of arriving in Florida, the Bahamas seemed a distant memory.

It is 160 miles from Great Sale Cay to Cape Canaveral. Winds are going light but hopefully there will be enough to keep the sails full and the wind vane working. We take passages like this, Gulf Stream and all, in our stride. You wouldn’t believe the fuss that some of the cruisers make. We follow the conversations on the radio.

Actually, it is interesting to note the different strategies that different sailors adopt. We are staying overnight here so that we can sail the shallow banks in daylight, cross the deep Gulf Stream in the night and approach Cape Canaveral at first light with the rest of the day ahead of us in case the wind goes even lighter than expected. Then hopefully, we can pop into a marina for just a few hours to clear customs and move on to an anchorage for the night.

Another apparently experienced boat is doing exactly the opposite. Leaving here to cross the banks tonight and the Gulf Stream (and shipping) in daylight and hoping to make Cape Canaveral by dusk. There is no ‘right decision’. He will probably have the better sailing but with higher seas from a NE swell - our plan will enable us to clear customs and move on quickly.

Our thoughts are turned very much to home. This is our last night in the Bahamas and sadly, our arrival in America will feel very much like the end. This is a time of tying up loose ends and on the passage here we managed to complete one of our the tasks we had set ourselves for the Bahamas. The swinging of the ships compass. It took the full team of four. Sue recording the ships heading, Peta marking the ships position on the GPS, me taking the relative bearing and Elspeth recording all in a prepared
table. We took 2 or three bearings for each ships heading. (An unconventional method I know but I think it will be effective).

This is our third attempt at completing the exercise which has required quite a degree of co-ordination and rather a lot of noisy communication. At last I think we have cracked it by choosing a target at 4+ miles rather than 2 miles distant(much reduced margin of error).

Tying up a loose end is our reason for heading for Cape Canaveral. On the voyage south we faced a choice, Disneyland or the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral. We chose Disney World feeling that it might not be fair to visit Florida and not go to Disney. Three quarters of us agree that it was a big mistake. Nothing at Disney compared to the real life adventure we have had this year aboard Tabitha. Happily Richard (my brother) and Sophie have given us something towards a family outing so the
Kennedy Space Centre is firmly back in prospect.

Thinking of home, we were so touched to hear that the ‘removal men’ have already taken the initiative to start moving our furniture back into our home. Its is only two weeks tomorrow until Susie and the girls will be on the plane home. Thanks to Moray, Patrick, Rob and Max!

The best wind for sailing to Florida is tomorrow but that would have meant rushing on today and foregoing this last chance to enjoy the special experience of the remote and uninhabited Bahamian Islands.

We decided that America can wait and so we made the most of our last ‘Out island’ experience for who knows how long. The day started with the creation of our memento - a plaque of drift wood into which we burned the name ‘Tabitha’ her picture, our names and home port. Next snorkeling on the reef during which we found 4 conch. Then cleaning and fashioning the conch into horns. Conch horns received frequent mention in the sailing stories that I have been reading since my school days but I never really
understood what they were all about until Peta’s birthday back in October and the lock into the Dismal Swamp Canal when the lock keeper encouraged all of the boats in the lock to honk their conchs. Of course all of those returning to the tropics were able to produce a conch horn from some locker or other and to produce quite and impressive noise.

As we sailed west, I was beginning to think that we had seen the last of that massive shell fish and that the conch horn would become one of those unfulfilled ambitions of the trip. The difficulty is that to make a good horn, the conch shell has to be complete, i.e. without the gash that it is necessary to make in the shell in order to extract the conch for eating. All of our previous conch finds had been intended for the pot so we had passed right through the Bahamas without making a horn. This
time we gave priority to the horn but in fact, by boiling the conch inside its shell, we not only managed to get the conch to release its grip on the shell and come out intact (you don’t want any smelly bits of shell fish left inside the shell if it is going to become a horn), but keep it fit for eating.

Then to the beach for the whole afternoon - all thoughts of schooling are abandoned as we begin to realise how precious is the short time we have left in these islands. How long will it be before we have a sandy tropical beach, the hot sun, the sound of the surf . . . and all to ourselves?

How the girls have changed. They swam without concern in the beautiful crystal clear water as a 3-4ft shark, crisply outlined against the bright white sand, cruised up and down the shoreline no more than 6ft …yes, that’s 6ft. . . off the beach. Elspeth getting up as close as she could with her underwater camera took a snap which we hope will come out.

Before returning to the boat to honk our conchs at sunset as we have heard so many other sailors do, we crossed to the ocean side and the ‘Signing Tree’.

Nothing was said as we treked, single file, along the track towards the ‘Signing Tree’. I think that each of us was recalling the many special memories that this trip has produced . . . dolphins, whales, sharks, turtles, manatees, armadillos, wild horses, the lobster eating competition, sheep shearing, Tropical Storm Beryl, the log cabin at Great Duck Island, Damarask Cove, the Crows Nest Bar in Gloucester (featured in ‘The Perfect Storm’, sailing through New York Harbour, the Blue Hole, Rice n’Peas
with fried chicken and Bahamian macaroni cheese, the oil powered lighthouse at Hope Town. . .the list goes on.

Elspeth climbed the tree and managed to hang our plaque in the prime position. Now, when we are in cold wet England (we know it isn’t always like that), we will be able to think of it hanging there, at least until the next hurricane hits.

Information is the currency of cruising. It is exchanged freely between sailing folk as they move from place to place; good anchorages, the location of the local store, where to find a crucial spare part. Listening to chat and cruiser nets on the VHF radio can be a very useful source of information but there is a risk. The ‘Nay-sayers’ seem to be particularly prevalent in the Bahamas. Any wind above 15 knots seems to be a cause for staying in harbour and they will freely advise others to do the same.
It is true that one of the benefits of long term cruising is the ability to wait for the right weather and perhaps they just know their own limits but one wonders whether some people aren’t missing out.

Well, as it has every day since we arrived in the Abacos, the Cruiser’s Net said no don’t go, but we had been watching the weather and felt the time was right. Several other boats were preparing to go and we heard from one that they had got on okay so we set out to cross the Whale. With 20+ knots coming off the sea and a moderate swell driving directly into the cut (which in anycase is relatively deep and wide), we cautiously reefed down. It turned out to be one of the best and fastest sails of the
trip with sea conditions some way better than ‘marginal’.

Having made Manjack Cay by shortly after 11am we decided to press on for another 20 miles and tonight find ourselves at Pensacola Cay (almost 27deg N!). We arrived in time to go ashore and follow a trail across the island to the ocean. Here we found a tree- well not just one tree but a strip of about 5 trees decorated with cruiser’s mementos - usually the name of the boat, crew details and dates - painted on a piece of driftwood or similar. They are rather special. This is our penultimate Bahamian
anchorage so our hearts are heavy with the loss of it all but tomorrow school will we canceled and we will spend the time preparing our own memento. When we are stuck in the traffic in rain on the A14 at home it will be a comfort to think of Tabitha’s name hanging from a tree on an ocean shore on a deserted Bahamian island.

Whilst ashore we met the crew of ‘Priority’, at 23ft probably the smallest cruising sail boat we have met in the Bahamas. The older couple are relative newcomers to sailing as they live in landlocked Wyoming and only took their first sailing course a couple of years ago. They trailed their boat behind their car for 5 days before they could launch in Florida. They are now heading back as they have nearly reached the end of their allotted 2 months.

On refection, we seem to have made very slow progress since we turned back toward the States. We have spent a lot of time waiting for weather and very little time on the move. This slower progress is helpful for filling gaps in the bits of school curriculum not yet adequately absorbed before the girls return to school, however, it is a bit frustrating.

The strong ENE winds continue to blow with an unusually high pressure to the north of us reinforcing the trade winds. Whilst we are in the lee of islands fronting the ocean and therefore able to move around a little, to move on to the next area we have to wait for more suitable weather to sail through ‘The Whale’. The Whale is an inlet from the ocean which we have to go pass (having first gone out onto the ocean through another passage) and which can mean trouble in significant onshore winds.

It looks as though we may be able to risk The Whale on Sunday and explore some more of the Abaco’s before kicking off for Florida on Wednesday. If not we can kick off form here without difficulty and sail a little further on Wednesday.

Arrival in Florida really will be the beginning of the end game. Strange to think we may be back in Florida in less than a week.

We made the hop across to Man of War Cay - an old boat building community which unusually in these times, is still busy building boats. Anchored off the island it is a little more rolly than Marsh Harbour but it is great to be clear of that place for a while and anyway, it probably helps toughen us up for our passage through The Whale!

It is a windy week in the Abacos but slightly less windy today and tomorrow than the 25 to 30 knots we expect later in the week so we have taken the opportunity to escape Marsh Harbour and take a trip across the bay to Hope Town.

What a treat it is to be here. We are anchored under the town’s light house, one of only three in the Bahamas (and probably of few in the world) that is still powered by an oil lamp.

Once every two hours Between sunset and sunrise a duty lighthouse keeper climbs the 110 steps to the top of the lighthouse to service the light. The light is a pressurized petroleum light and burns a bright light in a mantle no larger than 5cm tall which shines out through a prismatic lens for more than 17 miles. The light floats on a bed of mercury to reduce friction and is turned by a clockwork mechanism. Climbing to the top to view the machinery it was no surprise to find that the light was manufactured
by Chance & Ltd of Birmingham - lighthouse makers to the Empire no doubt - and was originally managed by Trinity House. We eagerly await nightfall when we will be able to view it in action.

Later in the town which is rather touristy and something of a cross between the Bahamas and Cape Cod we found a breadfruit tree growing in the grounds of the ‘Commissioners’ office. It was one of the original 2000+ breadfruit trees collected by Captain Bligh on his second breadfruit expedition - the first being that troubled by the famous mutiny. It was looking very healthy but sadly with no breadfruit on view.

Please note our change of email address from the sailmail.com address to m0mhb#winlink.org (that is a ‘zero’ not an ‘oh’ and change the # to an @). This is radio email address so please don’t send attachments to this one. See our website for details of how to contact ‘Tabitha’ www.audience.co.uk/adventure.htm

We may have moved to daylight saving time already but it certainly doesn’t feel as though spring is coming. We had a good sail 60 miles to the island of Great Abaco which is very different to the Bahamas we left behind. It is much more developed and we had feared that we wouldn’t really like it but though it is closer to Florida, in terms of development as well as geographically, the landscape is pretty and the development more tasteful.

Having still not landed the big fish we have been hoping for - and which others seem to achieve without great difficulty - we have become progressively anxious that we may not achieve this ambition. We can only really fish on the ocean but such trips are few and far between. Our crossing from Eluthera was our penultimate chance and we set our tackle with great care - Elspeth had spent $6 of her pocket money on a new lure and we attached it with great care using our best leader wire. Sure enough the
bite did come and we found we had hooked the strongest fighter yet. The fish, 3-4ft long leaped and leaped at the end of the line but as I tied to reel it in the 30lb line snapped. I think it is just that I lack any knowledge or experience. It is not easy with the boat sailing along at 6-7 knots and a big fish fighting for its life at the other end of the line. Needless to say morale onboard took quite a dive. We have since bought new line and lures with our hopes set firmly on our final chance -
the crossing of the Gulf stream back to Florida in a few weeks time.

Marsh Harbour is the biggest town and biggest harbour in the Abacos. Many ‘cruisers’ come here for the winter and we had feared it might be a lot like George Town in the Exumas which was far too much organised fun for our liking, but in fact it has a different feel all together - far less pressured.

As we had suspected, the weather is colder and windier up here. However, there are lots of options for sailing in the shelter of the banks with more good sheltered anchorages than elsewhere in the Bahamas. We have encountered more English people and we find it a refreshing pleasure to talk with them. Curiously, we notice that conversation flows so much more quickly and requires less effort, probably because so much more is already understood and can be left unsaid than it can with our American and
Canadian friends!

Yesterday we celebrated the confirmation that Peta will indeed be able to return to St Mary’s next term. Many thanks to Gill and Julie who went along to the appeal hearing prepared to plead our case. Thanks also to the school which has been fair and supportive throughout the process. I can’t imagine what we would have said to Peta had things gone the other way!

New pictures have been posted on the website so check it out - www.audience.co.uk/adventure.html

I think sometimes people wonder how well all get along, the four of us =
- limited as we are to an area of 12ft x 40ft. The answer is that it =
is hardly an issue at all. Nor was it ever an issue aboard ‘Aliz =
Motte’ where we had only 34ft x 7ft. Of course it must help that =
aboard ‘Tabitha’ we do have the space to get away from each other.

We are still anchored in a bay off Royal Island awaiting weather to =
sail 60 miles north to the Abacos. The island is privately owned so we =
can’t get ashore. It was Monday lunchtime that we last went ashore. =
All being well, we sail early tomorrow and will hopefully arrive =
before dusk tomorrow. We probably won’t get ashore again until the =
Friday. I will be surprised if there are any complaints at all.

So what do we do all this time, living on top of one another? Well, of =
course the morning is taken up with school so it is not until after =
lunch that the issue really arises. Yesterday after school the girls =
played for a bit and then we gave ‘Tabitha’ a really good clean up. By =
the time it was done it was past 5pm and too late to invite anyone =
over for a drink (happy hour is usually 4 or 5pm here in the sub-=
tropics because it gets dark early). Instead, the girls and I took it =
in turns to read to each other and of course to read our own books. =
Peta who reads rather less seems to have huge scope for imaginative =
play. Today she had all of the plates and kitchen implements arranged =
across the cabin as a village which was populated by upturned mugs =
each with a different role. Preparing meals and washing up takes up a =
lot of time and then its time getting ready for bed and bedtime stories.

After school today, work continued on on the girls current project - =
the eternal quest to build a model boat that will actually sail. Every =
edition is a slight improvement on the previous and they have =
progressed, entirely self-motivated - from lumps of polystyrene with a =
stick for a mast to the latest wooden construction catamaran which is =
the product of at least five days work of sawing, drilling, screwing, =
and sewing. Meanwhile, I finished my book - an account of the first =
unsupported solo trek to the north pole - read and Sue polished sea =
beans ready for making necklaces and baked bread.

Supper is about to be served and afterwards we have a rare treat - =
‘Some like it Hot’ on DVD to watch on this computer. In fact we shall =
probably only have time to watch half of it! In between all of this, =
there is boat maintenance and emails to write. There is no TV and the =
broadcast radio is not up to much but we listen on the VHF to chat =
between other boats and observe the comings and goings of boats into =
and out of the anchorage and various activities on the shore. =
Everything provides a topic for conversation. We get along fine.

———-
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We motored Tabitha upwind for 6 miles to anchor off the town of Spanish Wells for the day.

Spanish Wells is a town we have been interested to visit. Unusually for the Bahamas, the population is almost entirely white skinned being descendants from Spanish and American settlers in the late 17th century. It is a remarkably well developed community with a very independent identity.

We also wanted to buy supplies including some rum or wine as the boat has become ‘dry’ in the last few days. It was therefore a bit of a shock to discover that the island is also the only one in the Bahamas dominated by Methodists. Apparently John Wesley visited for a short time and the legacy is an island without bars or liquor stores. However, we didn’t allow this to put us off our quest and sure enough, we did find an electronics shop that sold liquor all be it under the counter!

Returning to the anchorage tonight I was pleased to recognise yet another boat form the East Coast of England. I can recall chatting with Mike of ‘Lady of Lorien’ at Levington when he first bought his boat (a Pacific Seacraft). They sailed across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in 2005 and have since cruised the US coast and Bahamas. It is always a pleasure to talk to English people so far from home so over a nice cup of tea we exchanged chat about Ipswich, Pin Mill and the River Orwell.

The clocks went forward on Sunday morning so we are now on Eastern Daylight time which for the moment is six hours behind of the UK. As a consequence we are enjoying lighter evenings which is quite a treat.