Wildlife – Sail Andante

The final leg

It took four more days to transit the ICW to Andante’s winter home in North Carolina. The remaining 170 miles were both long and short. We put in one more very long day running from the Pungo Ferry Bridge to the head of the Alligator River, arriving at our anchorage after dark. The day included a treat in our transit through Albemarle Sound, where we could unfurl the sails again and give Andante a bit more room to roam. While we weren’t keen on running the ICW at night, it was less daunting here since Dave had visited the same anchorage several years prior and was confident in the available space, depth and holding. Nonetheless, we were very thankful for our radar, which guided us safely past several unlighted marks after dark, and for our charting program, which led us directly to Dave’s previous anchorage. In fact, we dropped the anchor almost exactly where Andante had been two years prior!

The long days allowed us to plan for a few shorter hops in the final days of our trip. The first would take us through one of the longest straight land cuts in the Pungo River – Alligator River Canal. Along this very narrow straight section of ICW, we enjoyed ever-warming temperatures, watched a bald eagle flying overhead and spotted great herons keeping watch along the shoreline. The shorter days underway were made even more enjoyable as we unfurled our sails one last time while transiting the Pamlico and Neuse Rivers.

With extra daylight hours on anchor we started working through a long list of jobs to get the boat ready for our arrival and final haul-out. Before we knew it, we were tying off lines at the dock on Core Creek, looking forward to standing on land again and greeting my parents. But we were also sad. Sad to have this great adventure behind us and sad to watch the cohort of boats we had traveled with continue south to their own destinations.

Sailing in the Neuse River. The mainsail is stowed because we had hauled the dinghy onto deck for the final haul-out.

Last few miles with canvas stowed and dock lines ready

Favorite Places: Provincetown

One of our absolute favorite weekends this summer was spent in Provincetown – a bustling artists enclave located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. Getting there from our mooring in Red Brook Harbor took us through the Cape Cod Canal and then straight across Cape Cod Bay and out of site of land. Emerging from the Canal into the cold waters and thick fog of Cape Cod Bay, we were thankful to have a new radar and updated chart plotter. Our first night on anchor was a bit sporty with strong southwest winds building impressive swells across the open harbor. The winds died down overnight and the remainder of our stay was glorious. In fact, it was so peaceful aboard Andante one would be forgiven for thinking that Provincetown was an equally sleepy village at the end of the road. In fact, the population of P-town swells from 3,000 year-round residents to 60,000 during summer and is known as a popular vacation destination for the LGBTQ+ community. We spent hours walking the neighborhood streets, admiring the meticulously maintained gardens and soaking up the atmosphere of kind acceptance that is so pervasive here. I think it is the contrast between peace and quiet aboard Andante and the vibrant celebration of life that is happening just ashore that makes this place so special.

The first leg of our journey took us through the Cape Cod Canal which is a manmade waterway that connects Buzzards Bay in the south to Cape Cod Bay in the north. Transiting the Canal can be exciting, requiring us to stay vigilant as we share the ‘road’ with big ships while negotiating strong tidal currents and large standing waves and eddies. The passage is visually stunning as we pass under the multiple train and traffic bridges that carry visitors from the mainland to the Cape. We purposely made our way north toward Cape Cod Bay early in the morning when the tide was with us and the recreational boat traffic was light.

Monitoring Channel 13 is a must in the Canal to avoid other (much bigger) traffic, like this tug and tank barge which followed us out to Cape Cod Bay in the fog.

The water on this side of Cape Cod is very cold and the fog can get pretty thick as a result. These waters are host to seals and whales (and their predators). We saw (and smelled) plenty of the former while at anchor and listened to the whale watching boat coming and going throughout our stay. In fact, it was on this trip that Captain Nicholas saw his first dolphins as they played around the boat one afternoon.

Rainbows abound in Provincetown – a visual reminder of the culture of acceptance and inclusion that are hallmarks of this special place

Mandatory shore stop: Fried Clams at John’s Footlong!

We usually take several walks every day to give this gentleman an opportunity to stretch his legs and do his business. Provincetown gave us miles of opportunity to practice our ‘city walking’, treating us with its spectacular gardens and impressing us with its pet-friendly and vibrant downtown

Long Point Beach is just a short dinghy ride across the harbor. The beautiful, remote beach sits at the very tip of Cape Cod and offers a pleasant change from the hustle of downtown Provincetown. We didn’t do much swimming here because where there are seals, there are usually predators too!

Another foggy walk. The Pilgrim Monument barely visible in the background is the tallest granite structure in the US and commemorates the first landfall of Pilgrims. The tower standing at 252 ft tall is usually visible for miles across Cape Cod Bay. Not today!

Here and There and Back Again

Lots of random movement. And lots of sunshine.

For the past week or so I’ve been moving almost daily from island to island in the central Exumas. The weather has been nice with consistent easterly trade winds that allow easy north and south sailing. All of this movement has been within a day’s sail of Staniel Cay and Big Majors Spot and I’m starting to think of this area as home. The anchorage is roomy and protected and its easy to get fuel, water and food — so I keep coming back after spending a few days away in quieter, more secluded spots.

The Black Point settlement on Great Guana Cay (just a few miles south of Staniel Cay) has a great natural harbor and some nice facilities for cruisers including a couple of restaurants, a small grocery store and possibly the most scenic laundromat anywhere. This is the government dock and dinghy landing.

Clearly conching is a local industry. There were hundreds of shells on the beach near the government dock.

Black Point is known for their boat builders and sailors. This one is called “Smashie.”

Just opposite the harbor there are some dramatic rock formations in Exuma Sound. This is the windward side of the island and the surf was pretty intense.

Cool blowhole I understand the spray is much taller at high tide.

One of several green turtles that hung out around Andante while anchored in Black Point.

A bit further south is White Point. No settlement here but a huge and gorgeous beach that was great for walking.

At the end of the white sand beach the rock was particularly jagged and sharp.

Back at Bitter Guana Cay in a small cove a little south of Iguana Beach. One of my favorite anchorages so far. Will be back soon.

Andante in a small cove on Bitter Guana Cay. I like the contrast between the shallow Exuma Bank and the deep Exuma Sound.

No sharks. But cool ripples on a windy day.

Today we sailed north to a nice snorkeling spot near Soldier’s and O’Briens Cays in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. Probably the clearest water yet. And some giant sea turtles.

Bitter Guana Cay

I’m not sure what the ‘guanas are bitter about. This place is gorgeous.

The island is a protected habitat for endangered iguanas. Most are 2-3 feet long. They generally move around pretty slowly but I’ve been surprised at how fast they can scamper when something exciting is happening.

The island has some pretty tall (and seemingly fragile) limestone cliffs. The view from the top is pretty spectacular, both on the protected (west) side facing the bank and on the windward side facing Exuma Sound.

This guy was pretty curious about the camera. I learned yesterday (via a friend with first-hand experience) that they will bite if you try to feed them by hand.

We are less than 3 miles from the settlement at Staniel Cay (top of the photo) but the little anchorage feels very isolated. Exactly what I was looking for.

Not sure how long I will stay here. For the first time in a while the weather is not pushing me in any particular direction. I may just stay put for a while and enjoy the environment for a while. I’ve found a few little patch reefs that I’d like to explore this afternoon. Will take the camera with me and try to share what I find underwater.

Key Biscayne

We’ve spent the last couple of days anchored offshore of the old Nixon winter white house site near the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. This spot is also just a few blocks from where Paula and Cheese and Basil and I lived in the mid 1990’s.

Through the magic of reciprocal privileges and a timely letter of introduction from our RBHYC commodore I was able to gain access to the club to use their dinghy dock to access groceries and water and covid testing. It was fun walking around the town again after so many years. The yacht club itself is much bigger and fancier than when we lived here — but the people are still super friendly and helpful and the view of downtown Miami across Biscayne Bay is still spectacular.

All the water tanks are topped off, fresh fruits and veggies are loaded, I’ve got my health visa, the weather forecast looks good and we’re ready to go. We’ll depart late this evening for the quick overnight trip across the Gulf Stream to Bimini. The plan is to stay at a marina in Alice Town for the first night (or possibly two) to get my bearings and wait for the next front to pass. Then I expect to head further east across the bank to the Berry Islands. Or not. From here on there is no real schedule or itinerary.