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The wind has been blowing hard out of the northeast for days,
and all the cuts between the Sea of Abaco and the Atlantic
Ocean are in a rage. A rage occurs when strong easterly
winds and swells create breaking waves across the narrow cuts
where Atlantic water funnels into the protected sea behind
the Abaco cays. A rage makes a cut impassable. We'll have
to transit one of these cuts to make the next leg of our trip
between Abaco and Eleuthera. On Sunday January 14th, the rage
still persists but conditions are starting to moderate. About
a dozen boats pull out of Marsh Harbour to stage near the
cut at Lynyard Cay. We start the engine and say a prayer that
our problems from the day before have been resolved.
As we make our way south, we're amazed at the waves breaking
across the cuts to the Atlantic. We arrive in Lynyard Cay
and anchor within sight of the cut we plan to exit the next
day. We hear the waves breaking on the reef and just shake
our heads.
That night, far from city lights and with the moon not yet
up, we're amazed at the brilliance of the stars overhead.
We remember the many nights we gazed up at the same stars
from our home in Texas and dreamed of going cruising to the
islands. We pinch ourselves: we're really here!
The wind blows hard all night and the rage continues Monday
morning. Around sunrise, the VHF radio is buzzing with chatter.
The consensus: "No way I'm going out in that!"
With our departure delayed, we have some time to kill. Alan
and Gerri on Civil Twilight give us a dinghy ride across
the channel to the Little Harbour settlement. It's quite the
white-knuckle dinghy ride as we pass near the raging cut to
the ocean. Inside the harbor, conditions are calm and we enjoy
a "cheeseburger in paradise" at Pete's Pub. The
sculptor Randolph Johnston founded this settlement, where
his work and that of his son Peter is displayed around the
property.
The wind finally moderates Monday evening and the rage subsides
to "scary as hell" but doable. Back in the States,
inlets between the ocean and harbors are clearly marked by
the Coast Guard to help sailors avoid hazards outside the
channel. In the Bahamas, the cuts are unmarked and you must
rely on charts, GPS, and your own eyesight. On Tuesday morning,
with waves still breaking across the cut, a dozen boats bid
adieu to the Abacos and make the open ocean passage to Royal
Island. A rainbow appears behind us, as if Abaco is saying
farewell and wishing us luck.
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Deanna at Little Harbour with Alan and Gerri
(Civil Twilight)
Pete's Pub, the kind of outdoor bar that
cruisers love
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Hold on, we're going through the cut! And
by the way, where exactly is that cut?
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Under stormy skies, waves break across the
cut and a rainbow emerges
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Farewell Abaco. Civil Twilight sails
under a rainbow
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Royal Island. This protected anchorage is
a favored stopping point for boats traveling between the northern
and central Bahamas. Unfortunately, the Roger Staubach development
company is building a golf course and 300-slip marina here.
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