The beautiful sunset and fresh slipper lobster on the southern tip of Long Island had us in love with our magical lives… But that didn’t last long. The wind switched and the boat started rocking, just a little bit though and I was nearly rocked to sleep, weary to the bones from my day of diving.
Then the rocking and rolling got a little worse, then a little worse, then even worse, till finally we were being thrown out of bed!! Why!?! Argh, just want to go to Sleep!!!!
Sleeping was out of the question now though, instead we were running a fire drill around the boat trying to store everything before it crashed to the floor.
Pulled back from the edge of sleep I was not in a delightful mood. The radio crackling with Isabelle’s voice from S/V mars reminded us that we weren’t the only ones having a terrible time.
“We think that we rather sail, not possible to sleep,” She says in her practiced english.
I look to Alyssa and she nods.
“I think so too, 50 miles to the Jumentos. If we leave now we should be there by sunrise!” I say trying to feign excitement for this impromptu overnight sail.
The bahamas waters never cease to amaze, tired as could be, I still have to appreciate the simple light cutting through the crystal water, lighting it up like a blue diamond until it highlights the white sand bottom 20 feet down.
The bottom falls away without us finding any reefs, we turn around and I raise sails as Alyssa keeps us pointed into the wind. We fall off and head to our destination on a beam reach, the motion of the boat cutting through the waves with a slight heel is the best we’ve had in a couple hours. Beats the hell out of the rocking side to side we had at anchor.
We split shifts and I get the first one. Alyssa goes below to sleep and I kick off the autopilot, taking the wheel in my hands to keep myself awake. Feeling the wooden spokes in my hand, the breeze in my hair and the night sky lit up with a million stars some of the magic of this life comes back to me. It lasts for a while, cutting through the waves in a daze but soon I’ve had enough. I put on the autopilot and set my alarm for every ten minutes. Trying not to sleep but sometimes I doze off. I awake and scout for freighters and check the wind. This carries on until I can’t take anymore and I head below to wake Alyssa. I’m quickly asleep.
I’m woken at 5 am by a bleary eyed Alyssa. I take over and eventually 
the tea and rising sun wake me up. We’ve covered good distance in the night and the Jumentos are just ten miles off. We sail in through the cut, a counter current building up waves, pitching us around and reminding us why we left Long Island. Eventually we slip in behind the chain of Islands and the water calms.
S/V Mars has made better time, and they are already trying anchorages down the island chain. They have to try four spots before their anchor takes! We join them in the tight anchorage they say is the best and have the same luck. Everywhere we drop, the anchor just slides and slides and never catches. Then we have to pick it back up, yelling instructions from up front to the cockpit the whole time. We both need more sleep and are about ready to kill each other. Olivier notices some soft sand behind their boat and mentions it to us, I see it but it is within feet of their boat, not ideal in these still windy and slightly wavy conditions.
The yelling continues between Alyssa and I, but through the verbal assaults we coax Heritage to where we’re over the soft sand we need to anchor, just feet from crashing into Mars! Alyssa drops the anchor with me driving, (Think of the moment in the argument where you say, “If your so damn smart why don’t you come and give it a try, that’s how we ended up switching roles.) Alyssa releases all the anchor line perfectly as I back up and away from Mars. By the grace of Poseidon, the anchor finally catches! 14 hours after we tried to go to sleep in Long Island we finally get some rest in the middle of the day in the Jumentos. It was hot, we didn’t care.
The Jumentos and Ragged Island Chains descend down from the Exumas chain and make up the southernmost Islands of the Bahamas. They are remote as they come, in fact, we didn’t know it at the time but when we abruptly left Long Island, that was the last reliable phone service we’d have for 5 weeks!!
The islands all follow a similar pattern, deep water drop-offs to the east and the usually protected west side is very shallow with small bays, usually featuring stunning beaches. There is prickly vegetation on these dry islands and quite often caves or blue holes carved out by the elements in the soft limestone. (not so soft on your feet though!) To me and to many, the best feature of these Islands are underwater. Here, away from the crowds, the reefs remain untouched and awe you with their beauty. They’re so alive that they make you sad for all the other spots you’ve seen in the past, where this incredible life and color has been destroyed.
We’ve got windy conditions with the forecast not looking better anytime soon. We island hop our way south, I can find lobster on the west side but the winds keep me away from the prime spearfishing grounds on the east side, I’m very sad to have to pass by all this hallowed spearing grounds without getting a chance to explore more. The silver lining is that I end up exploring the passes between the islands I might have passed by otherwise. I manage a nice mutton snapper at one such pass, big enough to make a dinner for a couple nights.
Meanwhile Alyssa, has been doing her best exploring on the mostly uninhabited islands, when we make it down to ragged she has an incredible encounter with one of the few people that make these islands their home.
Alyssa Tells of her adventure:
While Adam went out spear fishing, I tagged along for as long as I could, but 4 hours of spear fishing is about my max! Still up for an adventure, and hoping to have to social interaction. I took the paddle board and landed at the prettiest beach I could find. As I strolled the empty but pristine white beach I couldn’t help but think this place is absolute heaven- wishing I could land a nice beach bungalow right off the shore and live out our days spearfishing, paddle boarding and exploring the little surrounding islands.
Lost in my daydream, I began to walk along a bend of the island. Before I knew it, I stumbled upon a group of men and seemingly large property. Someone beat me to the punch and grabbed this perfect spot before me! Slightly weary, being completely alone, in my bathing suit, out of cell phone service, and Adam out spearfishing, I cautiously walked closer to the group. Out of the group came a small Bahamian old man wearing a Chicago bulls hat and Nike t-shirt. He smiled a wide grin and I immediately liked him. I waited for the man to walk down to me and he greeted me like we were long lost friends. Conversation was easy and often one sided with Edward Lockhart, which is good because he has many good stories to tell. I quickly found out that he was born and raised on this tiny little speck in the ocean and is in the process of rebuilding his home which was destroyed by the hurricane. He welcomed me over for a beer and to show me his peacocks… How could I say no! The group of men got in their boats and left as I neared, I learned they were all Cuban fishermen that had been blown in for refuge from the strong winds.
Edward’s eyes are set behind a permanent squint from fighting the glare of the sun in his 80 years, but they still danced with liveliness amid all the details of his stories. He was born on Buenavista Cay with his seven brothers and sisters, in a tiny stone cottage that has since fallen to time and weather. Now its just him on the island but he has a fully sustainable farm in the works on his large plot of land- peacocks, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, ducks, etc! His widening eyes locked on to me as he told me of the secret caves that are scattered through the islands, he’s used them once or twice to hide out from hurricanes, ex wives and the occasional law enforcement – all miscommunications though! Edward told me stories of the sea, big sharks, best spearfishing grounds, best shelling beaches and of course where to find a cell signal!
With promises to bring Adam back and trade a few pieces of fish for a few eggs, I bid him farewell and thanked him for the island tour. On my paddle back to the boat I couldn’t help but think what a different life he was living, no service, a grocery is an hour boat ride away, and no neighbors- Edward and his island define isolation to me. Though healthy as a horse and happy as could be, this self taught 80 year old islander may be a bit smarter than us all.
Back To Adam’s Perspective
I had to meet Edward for myself and glad I did, brought him plenty of fish and he gave us some eggs, he was every bit the character Alyssa described to me. The cuban fisherman were back playing dominoes as well. They were more than happy to tell us about their homeland in broken english as we sat on this remote island.
We got back to the boat and took a look at the weather. The wind was blowing with no end in sight, annoying for the Bahamas but would make a quick passage to Cuba. With that, and the impending all important question of where to spend Alyssa’s 29th birthday, we come to a decision.
We spent a last day walking the trails of Hog Cay. Taking in the beauty only found here and reflecting on these past 3 months we’ve spent in the Bahamas. The unspoiled beaches, underwater adventures, the friends we’ve made and the inimitable characters we’ve met. The last two making for the fondest memories. It’s been incredible but we’re excited for a new land, a new culture and unknown adventures. We make one last bonfire on the beach as the sun goes down, the stars come out to bid us goodbye from this magical land. As the embers from the fire smolder, we pack up our gear and head back to Heritage for the night sail to Cuba!!!
Join us next time as we sail to Cuba and Celebrate Alyssa’s birthday in style! We park the sailboat and set off on an overland excursion into this forbidden country.
