Rough weather sailing

The thrill of sailing can be really exhilarating, gliding over the waves with the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. But what happens when the weather turns? When the once-calm waters become choppy and the wind picks up, tension can quickly turn to fear and seasickness. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or a beginner, navigating stormy weather and its effects on your body can be challenging. Today we embarked on a wild sail to Gordons Beach on the southern tip of Long Island, a 53 NM sail with winds of up to 32 knots and I can tell you, the high and especially short swell was not one that was pleasant. Around us we saw rain showers everywhere, so it was very special that we did not feel a drop. Unfortunately, Rajesh soon felt unwell and soon tried to go back to sleep. He was battling a serious case of seasickness and had some seasickness patches behind his ears to ease the symptoms. Jeroen and I don’t suffer from seasickness, but we couldn’t concentrate on reading or writing with all the chaos around us either. So, I decided to look around, looking for signs of life from the underwater world. My peering was rewarded a few hours later, because that’s when I saw them. Whales! They were jumping in the distance. I was so excited I kept yelling “Whales!”, “Whales!” Jeroen was lucky, he also saw one jumping. Rajesh, who woke up from a deep sleep and ran into the cockpit, was too late. From then on I couldn’t help but stare at the water, hoping to see them again or to get closer, it didn’t happen. Just as we were about to enter the bay around South Point, our rod began to spin like a hamster on a wheel. Bite! We slowed down the boat and made an extra round until Jeroen and Rajesh caught a Yellow Jack, a fish we had never tasted before. Once we anchored, I got to work cleaning and marinating the fish for our dinner. We were still a long way from the beach and as we were to continue our journey the next morning we decided not to lower the dinghy. Instead, Jeroen and Rajesh went snorkeling around the boat, probably hoping to catch even more fish!

As the sun sets and night envelops us, we all try to fall asleep, but the relentless waves in the bay make it almost impossible. The boat rocks back and forth, jerking us from side to side. Eventually we manage to fall asleep, but it is a restless sleep. The next morning, we all feel a bit broke and decide to leave a little later. Our destination is Clarence Town, which is only 30 nautical miles further north. It will be a tough trip, because there is a strong wind with 25-30 knots and the waves are high and uncontrolled coming from all sides. Rajesh in particular is having a hard time. He has a throbbing headache and the rocking of the boat makes it worse. He decides to lie down, hoping his headache will subside and his seasickness at bay. As we round south point, we realize that we will have to sail against the wind and waves for a while. Instead of tacking continuously, we decided to turn on the engine. The boat hits the water with hard bangs and we feel the waves and current pushing us dangerously close to the rocks. Suddenly we see that the depth gauge only indicates 7 meters and you see large rocks on the seabed. This is where it gets really exciting. We have to go full throttle to sail the other way, in a desperate attempt to stay clear of the rocks. Our hearts are pounding and we all hold our breaths wondering if this is the end of our adventure. Fortunately, we manage to bring the boat to safety, but the shock was good. We decided to sail a little further offshore than probably necessary. We are all relieved and grateful to be safe, and we know we will be happy to reach our destination and anchor safely. As we sail on, we can’t help but marvel at the strength of the wind and waves. It is a humble reminder of the awe-inspiring power of nature, and we are thankful that we made it through this experience unscathed. Despite the difficulties, we know that this is all part of the adventure. As we approached the entrance to the bay at Clarence Town, the waves pushed us almost 40 degrees to the side. We held on tight, trying not to fall, peering into the distance at the red and green buoys marking the entrance to the bay. The bay gets shallow quickly and we knew it was important for us to navigate between the buoys to avoid obstacles. Despite our best efforts, we could only see the red buoy and knew we had to rely on our nautical charts on our B&G system and Navionics on our phone to safely reach our anchorage. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at our anchorage. We dropped anchor and lay still, basking in the peace and tranquility of the calm waters. All the tension and stress of this sailing trip slipped away. It wasn’t a nice sailing trip, but that’s part of it and there will probably be more like this one. As we watched the sun set behind the horizon, we discussed our next step. The wind will turn in two days and come from the north, which means either continue sailing tomorrow morning or wait until the wind has turned again and comes from the southeast. Rajesh feels too bad to continue sailing tomorrow morning, so we decide to stay here for four days.

I have to admit, when we arrived in Clarence Town on Long Island, Bahamas, I expected crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches but not sharks, sharks and more sharks! We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw five swimming at the dinghy jetty where we had to land and later heard that there are also several sharks swimming around in the harbor. We knew better than to jump in the water. Those sharks looked pretty hungry and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be their next meal. The fishermen can clean their catches directly at the dinghy jetty and throw the remains into the water for the sharks to feast on. To get a closer look, we attached a GoPro to a stick and took some photos and videos of the sharks, while I was able to keep my limbs. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time! Our boat was less than 100 meters from here.

We decided to rent a car to explore the Island. Our first stop was Deans Blue hole, a 202-meter-deep “hole” near the shoreline where world freediving championships are held. It was very tempting to immediately put on our swimsuits and stay here, but we also wanted to drive a little further to see what else the island had to offer. While driving around, we came across a sign that said “Shrimp Hole” with an arrow pointing to a ruined church. We decided to investigate and follow the sign to the “Shrimp hole”. After a short walk, we arrived at the entrance of a cave with water in it. This was the “Shrimp hole”. We put on our swimsuits and jumped into the water. To our surprise, the water was crystal clear and filled with tiny orange/pink shrimp sitting or swimming on the rocks all around us. Some of them even swam upside down as they approached us which was hilarious to see. We couldn’t believe our luck to stumble upon this hidden gem. After swimming and exploring for a while we decided to grab a bite to eat before heading back to Deans Blue hole. A more difficult task than expected and we eventually came to a “take away”, where we could also sit down. The meal consisted of a chicken leg with rice and it tasted surprisingly good. Driving back to Deans Blue Hole our eyes caught a glimpse of a lake with two flamingos on the banks. These birds with their distinctive pink feathers and spindle-like legs remain special to see. At Deans Blue Hole, we saw several people trying their hand at freediving. We knew we couldn’t compete with their skills so we settled for a relaxing swim around the edges and snorkeled around them. You can look down about 30 meters, after that everything is pitch black! I get short of breath when I think about having to go down that far, so I have respect for the champion Arnaud Jerald and champion Alenka Artnik who have set a record of 120m here! At the end of the day, Rajesh takes some nice pictures with the drone. A nice end to this day.

That night we sail on to Cat Island, New Bight bay. A sailing trip of 82.5 NM that will take us about 14 hours. We depart at 02:00 am and navigate on the nautical charts out of the bay at Clarence Town. Fortunately, the sea was calm and peaceful, a welcome change from the rough weather we had when we arrived and we were sailing half wind towards the North. The wind speed is between 16 and 25 knots, the waves are about half a meter and the boat sails calmly through the water. I go back to bed for another 2 hours, while Jeroen keeps the first watch. Because we sail fairly close to land, Jeroen has internet access and he chats for a while with his parents, who have just woken up in Spain. At 5.30 am I relieve Jeroen and I can enjoy the sun that slowly rises and do not have to change much about the sails. It promises to be a beautiful clear day. I can’t imagine a better place than here, in the cockpit, with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. Rajesh takes over from 08:00 and I close my eyes in the cockpit. An hour later there is a loud shout; “Dolphins!” We are completely in ecstasy when we have dolphins along the boat and at the bow and the euphoria stayed with us for the rest of the trip. It is and remains the perfect picture you have in mind of a beautiful sailing trip. Sun, blue sea, a nice breeze that gently pushes you in the right direction and dolphins along the boat and at the bow. After 12 hours of sailing we reach New Bight bay. As soon as we arrived sailing, we were blown away by the size of the bay – it was huge! The water was already quite shallow far from the coast, about 3 meters and because it was high tide, we decided to anchor a little further from the coast.

After lowering the dinghy and mounting the outboard motor, we used our depth sounder to see if we could anchor a little closer to shore. This was certainly the case and when we got back on the boat we started the engine and sailed a little further forward. As we dropped anchor and prepared to go ashore, we were excited to explore the “town” of New Bight. To our surprise the town consisted of only 4 small restaurants and 3 bars a sleepy hamlet with 5 locals at the bar, 2 of which were police officers. We stay here for 2 to 3 days depending on the wind. From here we sail on to the Exuma’s. A part of the Bahamas that we are very much looking forward to.