boats, but after only 2 hours or so we had to turn
our engine back on because the wind died. We ended up motoring the rest of the day and just anchored in the middle of the Great Bahama Bank (GBB) around 8:15pm. We traveled about 50 miles with an average speed of 4.5 knots using up 5 gallons of diesel. For most of the trip we were
alone with only a couple fast power boats passing us by during the day. Luckily, the GBB was really calm and the boat gently rocked us to sleep even with the stifling heat and a pesky mosquito that sneaked into our cabin to feast on us while we were unsuspecting. I used my mosquito net which made it even hotter in my berth, but it
stopped me from getting anymore bites through the night. Our cabin isn't big, but there are so many places a mosquito can hide it is ridiculous. We have had many search parties in the middle of the night to hunt down these pests and come up fruitless. I really don't like bugs and ones that suck my blood and poison me in the process are the worst, but I digress. The night in the GBB was quite pleasant and we turned on our anchor light just in case any boats passed us in the evening. I was craving some congee (rice porridge) so I cooked some up even with all the heat from the engine, but I had to eat it outside with a gentle breeze to keep me cool and to give time for the cabin to cool as well.
The next day we got up early and pulled up our anchor at 6:45am to set out through the Great Bahama Bank and into the Northwest Channel in the Atlantic Ocean. We saw tons of huge sea cucumbers littering the bottom of the GBB, which I had never seen so many before. It was funny to see these pickle shaped creatures of different colors all over the place. We were trawling a line with a pink and purple skirt as we were traversing the bank and not too long after (~2 hours) we found we had caught something. JR began to reel it in and I could see a good sized fish (3-3.5 ft) at the hook. When we got a good look at the fish we were disappointed because it was a
barracuda. We didn't want to cut the line so we kept the fish on it until it died (by drowning first and then using a billy club just for good measure) and then we pulled out the hook with much effort. After a little debating we decided to throw the fish back in the water due to our fear of mercury and ciguatera poisioning. I wanted to save the fish for bait, but we didn't have any ice or refrigeration so it wouldn't keep until we reached deeper waters. So in the end we threw the entire fish back into the water and about 5 minutes later JR saw a 4 ft. wide and 6 ft. long (not sure of the dimensions due to the depth of
the waters, which it could have been bigger) bull shark swim by. I was in the cabin washing the dishes so I didn't get to see it, but we are sure the shark called dibs on the barracuda we just
Bank to the Northwest Channel. It was really neat to be able to see the bottom of the ocean until the waters were just too deep and we could only see the blue waters. We keep out of the sun by putting up our bimini top at the bow so we could feel the slight breeze blowing to keep us cooler. We napped, chatted, read, and looked for marine life during our passage. We ended up traveling 45 miles in 10 hours and 16 minutes at an average of 4.5 knots using the engine the entire time due to the lack of wind.
tossed overboard. I am sure it could smell the fish as we used the gaff to pull it on deck. Later we saw several other marine animals including dolphins, flying fish, starfish, sea cucumbers, fish,
jellyfish, sea fans, and various species of coral.
The waters changed colors from a clear sea green to a more blue green color. We could see the drastic change in depth from the Great Bahama
We saw a flock of seagulls fishing with a big ball of fish near the surface of the water as we approached Chub Cay. We arrived in Chub Key and set our anchor at 5pm. Then we put on our bathing suits and jumped in the water to cool ourselves and relax. I put on my snorkel mask and did some under water investigations to make sure we had enough clearance under our keels, t
o check if the anchor was set properly, and to look at the the type of bottom to determine the holding. I also found a pretty big starfish and was able to retrieve him from the bottom to get a quick picture. The bottom was sand so we decided only one anchor was needed to be put out.
There wasn't much of a current here and not too much boat traffic, which is nice as we anchored near a beach and no other boats were around us. Later, there was a trawler near us that dropped their hook and ran a generator to keep up with their power consumption. We read in the Bahamas cruising guide book about a restaurant called the Harbor House and we decided to dinghy over to check it out. After we found it, we noticed there wasn't any customers and the staff was watching tv. So we walked to the bar to get some ice cold water and a few Goombay
Smash (Bacardi gold dark rum, Triple Sec, Coconut Rum, Sweet & Sour, Goombay punch, and
pineapple juice for $8.50). Then we ordered some conch fritters to try and they were pretty good but pricey at $8 for 7 pieces. The conch fritters we got back at Bimini were much better for their price, but these were more juicy.
We enjoyed watching the National Geographic channel, which we haven't seen in ages. It was a fitting episode about marine life as they talked about giant freshwater sting rays in Thailand. We paid our exorbitant bill and left the Harbor House disappointed as we were looking for a good burger and they served none. I would not recommend this place if you are on a budget because their meals were at least $21 for cracked conch and up for other random dishes including Bahamian paella, Hungarian Beef Goulash, Veal, and etc.
Chub Cay has a private island feeling because there is no town only the marina and resorts. The people who visit this island weren't friendly except one guy at the bar who was smashed and playing the piano rather poorly. When we got back to our dinghy we found several no-see-ums hitching a ride and having us for their dinner. We hurried on our boat and tried to get some relief from the bugs, but found after sitting for a couple minutes we were being attacked by mosquitoes. I retreated into the cabin while JR continued to get eaten alive outside where it was cooler. To our dismay we found the mosquito from the previous night was still in our cabin and wreaking havoc on our peace and supposed safe haven from insects. After a few failed attempts at killing the mosquito we decided to give up and turn in for the night. I know this bug will never leave with us to feast upon so we should expect it to have permanent residence in our cabin until we kill it.
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