Newsletter January 2005

"Yahoo, we’re back in Paradise "

Greetings, landlubbers, from the decks of Pipe Dream. In our last newsletter, Jutta and I lingered in Fort Lauderdale waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream and once again enter paradise (Bahamas). On January 2nd we sailed from Ft Lauderdale to Miami on an ugly, cold, blustery day to join our friends, Nan and Duey on “The Great Escape,” and stage for a crossing to the Bahamas. The weather was windy and cold in Miami and we had to dig our winter clothes out of the bilge. While the rest of the United States was getting pelted with floods and snow, we were freezing our butts off in Florida.
We finally got our break to tackle the Gulf Stream on January 6, the first pleasant day in about a month. The trip to Bimini was relatively painless. Miami lies about 40 nautical miles due west of Bimini and our trip took about 8 hours. Remember, we only travel at 5 to 6 knots (5 ½ or 6 ½ miles per hour). We had to sail due south for a couple of hours to accommodate the Gulf Stream current that carries us north at a rate of 4 knots.
In the middle of the Stream we got a distress call from our friends on “The Great Escape” that they had lost all power while motoring into the wind. To get out of the way of a freighter that was steaming toward them at a rate of 25 knots, they were going to fall off course and go to sails. Shortly after, another call came over our VHF radio reporting”we have lost all steering”. We immediately turned around to render any assistance needed. You need to keep in mind that we were in 2000 feet of water in the middle of the ocean and the loss of power and steering could be disastrous. While we kept circling around “The Great Escape”, pondering the problem, the freighter changed course and passed. Duey, being an old Navy man, stripped down to his underwear and dove under the boat to check for any damage. This was an ugly sight, Duey is no Brad Pitt! Duey appeared on the surface, climbed on the boat, and radioed he had found the problem and could rectify it in a few minuets. We were mystified. We were afraid he had lost his prop which in turn hit and damaged the rudder. It appeared while crossing a rough section of water, Duey’s 55 lb. anchor had jumped out of its secured position on the bow of the boat and had dumped a 150 feet of chain and 200 feet of anchor line overboard and was dragging it through the water. While Jutta and I sang “anchors away” over the radio we told Duey that was the first deep water anchoring maneuver we had ever witnessed. All went well and we learned that in an emergency, dropping the anchor in deep water would definitely slow down the boat. It will be many years before Duey gets over this embarrassment!
During this maneuver we had drifted 4 miles to the northwest in the Gulf Stream. We finally made it to the Bahama Bank and anchored in front of Bimini late in the evening. One more stop on the Bahama bank at the Northwest Channel Light to get some sleep and we arrived in Nassau on January 8. It was a good trip and many laughs were had by all at Duey’s expense.
A few days in Nassau were spent cleaning up the boat and preparing for our first visitors to the Bahamas, Paul and Jim from Arizona. They arrived on the 12th and I told them I could not keep them in beer for 17 days. We didn’t have the refrigerator space. They would need to switch to rum. As I write this newsletter they are on their 17th day of vacation before they fly back to the United States tomorrow and they have gone through 18 ½ quarts of rum. That doesn’t include three cases of beer and a tour of rum tasting at the Bacardi plant in Nassau. By some miracle, neither of them has fallen overboard. Thank goodness Jutta and I only have one drink at cocktail time (5:00 PM).
We traveled the Exuma island chain with Paul and Jim and a great time was had by all. Unfortunately, January in the Bahamas is very cold and we are continuously plagued by winter storms moving across the US and down through the Bahamas. We motor sailed back to Nassau in 25 knots of wind and rolling seas, a 6 hour trip. Jim and Paul were both looking a bit green around the gills and it was the first time they didn’t start their rum and cokes until late afternoon.
Nassau, located on New Providence Island, is a crowded city with tons of traffic. The tourist sections and the resort areas are beautiful, but not the real Nassau. If you think we are in paradise, check out this price list: A hamburger costs $10.00 anywhere in town. A case of beer, Budweiser, Heineken, or Kalik (Bahamian local beer) costs from $39.00 to $52.00. A bottle of beer at the Atlantis Hotel is $6.00, Groceries are 20 to 30 percent higher than the United States. A gallon of gasoline is $3.31 per gallon. “Yikes”, paradise lost!!!! Every day there are three to six cruise ships at the port unloading “cotton heads” for the “duty free” shopping. What a joke!! Everyone (the sailors) comes to the Bahamas for the outer islands, the crystal clear water, and the diving or snorkeling. Lobsters are abundant and there for the spearing and conch (pronounced konk) litter the bottom. We make the best conch fritters, cracked conch and fried conch you have ever tasted. After a while we sure get sick of eating lobster. I’m certain that has happened to all of you at one time or another!!
Jutta and I will sail out of Nassau in a few days and play in the islands for the next month and a half. Our next destination is the Junkanoo (a Bahamian festival) at Little Farmers Cay, then we will sail on to Georgetown where Jutta’s brother and his family will visit us from Germany.
We will keep you posted of our adventures in our next newsletter which will be sent from Georgetown, Bahamas. Keep those e-mails and letters coming; we are still looking for those dollars in the mail. Anything would help, remember we are getting sick of lobster and can’t afford a hamburger!

From the decks of Pipe Dream

Ferdy and Jutta