Bahamas Shakedown Cruise
By Mark Messerli
August, 1993
I was reading an article recently in one of the many travel magazines that my wife and I subscribe to. A man by the name of Coleman Lollar had written the article. He was a freelance writer who traveled all over the world until recently losing his battle with cancer. He talked a lot about not waiting for that perfect time to start your adventures. He felt fortunate that he had seen the world and experienced it's cultures. His travels had grown out of the many vivid dreams he formed in his mind about traveling the world. He said, "the desire to see grander sights, to go farther, to stay longer remains with a traveler long after the starts converting his dreams in to journeys. It assures that he never stops dreaming".
Monday, August 7
My older brother Brad and I have been sailing the lakes and reservoirs of South Dakota for the past 25 years. We have always talked at length and dreamed of making some grand ocean passage such the Transpac or an extended cruise to the South Pacific. This trip would be the first of many and was at the time the closest thing to achieving that goal.
It was August 7, 1993 when Brad and I left on American Airlines out of Sioux Falls. We were off to Fort Lauderdale to close on the purchase of a 39 foot Catamaran and sail her to Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas. Brad and his business partner were buying the boat and we were there for a shake down cruise. The boat would eventually end up at Catamaran Charters base in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. We originally had visions of two South Dakota hayseed sailing the open ocean for 10 days during the delivery from Fort Lauderdale to Tortola. Eric Martel of Privilege Charters did not highly recommend the trip. He had a charter lined up in Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas the first week in August anyway, so it was a chance for the boat to start earning some money. Eric explained that the trip to Tortola was a beat to weather and it was not very enjoyable. The winds this time of year prevail out of the southeast. July was not a good time to be making any long passages in the Caribbean since it was hurricane season. As it turned out if we had made that trip we would have sailed into tropical storm Cindy.
Brad and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale at about 5 PM. A guy named Keith was there to pick us up. He was our travel agents brother and looked more like a blond haired surfer dude. His sister Karla ran a travel agency in Fort Lauderdale and saved us a bunch of money of airfare. We stayed at the Best Western Marina Inn that was of the inter coastal waterway. It was an older place with a young Latin women working at the front desk. After checking in and calling our wives, we headed for the bar. It was a placed frequented by the old Yachties from the marina around the corner. The bartender was a woman who looked like a real free spirit who ended up in Florida looking for fun and sun.
Later that night we were joined by the Privilege sales manager, Rod Gibbons, who took us out to supper that night. Rod reminded me of a young Anthony Newly. He was a very expressive and energetic person who, in his own words, was working on his fourteenth career. He had grown up in the Pacific Northwest and moved to New York to pursue and acting career. He had been in numerous commercials and was on a daytime soap opera for several years. He was now following one of his true passions, boating. He had become interested in multi-hull sailboats before multihulls were cool. He had cruised in his own boat and written a book about it. His book is called Multihulls, the Cruising Advantage.
He first took us over to see the boat. We could see the name on her stern, MOONSHADOW and the port of call was, get this, Harrisburg, South Dakota. The boat looked great. It was built in France at Jeantot Marine and had arrived on the deck of a freighter only a week prior to our arrival. They had added two larger steps on the transom that turned out to be a great enhancement. In the gallery it had a large refrigerator and on the starboard side, they had added a freezer. The freezer would be a must in the island to keep perishables from spoiling. The bimini top was also added with side panels including windows. Rod later took us out for supper at a place called Coconuts. Everything on the menu was made with coconuts, sound funny but it was great.
The plan the next day was to do some shopping to provision the boat and then close on the sale of the boat at Privilege and then set sail for Bimini.
Tuesday, August 8
Rob picked us up and we all went to the grocery store to stock up on the provisions for the next few days. We then went to the Privilege offices to meet the staff and finish the paper work. Aside from Eric and Linda, the place was run by several competent women. Brad had bought each of the girls a bottle of wine for all their help during the transaction. Sidney is one of the employees who makes all the booking arrangement for the charters. She has a very outgoing personality and is kind of wild and crazy. Eric Martel, a Frenchman was in charge of Privilege operations for North America. He was not around and was down in St. Martin setting up another charter base.
Brad had set up the closing to take place in Fort Lauderdale or the Bahamas. A new bill was before congress to repeal the luxury tax on large pleasure vessels. It has passed the House and the Senate and if signed was going to be retroactive to January. It appeared that we could close in Ft. Lauderdale. We went with Rod to Elaine Grossman's offices. She was a lawyer who would handle the closing. The big question was about paying duty if Brad took possession of the boat in the United States. To keep expenses down we would close the sale of the boat in Bimini the Bahamas. There was one catch though, Brad could not sail with us from Fort Lauderdale. It would appear that he took possession of the boat at that point. It was up to the delivery captain and I to take the boat to Bimini and meet Rod and Brad the next day who would fly in on the chalks sea plane.
At lunch that afternoon we met Allen, the delivery captain and Dide' a young Frenchman who was a boat mechanic. Allen had already put together a few ideas on some of the possible routes through the Bahamas. We told him we were no rookies to sailing, but had not sailed multihulls very much. He said he had been developing a multihulls sailing school coarse and he would make us his first class.
That evening about six thirty, Allen and I set sail for Bimini. So here I was leaving with a chap I had just met, on a brand new boat, sailing across the Gulf Stream through the Bermuda Triangle to a place I had never been before, in the middle of the night. I was a little a little apprehensive and excited. What an adventure! Our trip would be only about sixty miles and we should be there before sunrise. As we left, thunderstorms were building around us, the sky was brilliant red as the sun set in the west. We set sail at dusk along with many large cruise ships headed for the Nassau and Freeport. We raised sail and move along at an easy eight knots. We set the autopilot on a course of 142 degrees and headed across the Gulf Stream on a reach. My apprehension soon melted away as I became more comfortable with the boat and Allen, the two beers helped too.
Allen was a most interesting mate. He had been in the British special forces or paratroopers, much like our Navy Seals. He was six foot four and about 250 pounds, a big strapping lad. Just guessing he was probably in his mid to late forties. He had become interested in sailing when a buddy of his asked him to be a bosun on the first ever Whitbread Around the World Race back in 1973. At that point he said he knew nothing about sailing but was tough enough and willing to learn. What a way to learn. He told stories about his exploits in Rio, Australia and other stops on the races route. He later started a yacht delivery service with a bunch of his paratrooper buddies and it grew to be the largest in the world. It was called Compass and was based in England. A messy divorce a few years back bankrupted the company. His resume read like James Bond, having sailed over 300,000 miles and crossed the Atlantic some 26 times. The record at that point was 34. This was no ordinary man!
During one of our evening cocktail sessions Allen related a story about rescuing a kidnapped sailor from some modern day pirates in. He was delivery a Privilege Euphore power catamaran to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico about a year ago. While in Costa Rica they put into a small harbor for fuel and water. As they approached, they saw a bunch of people gathered on the beach. Allen said he knew something was wrong but did not want to get involved, especially in this part of the world. As they walked by a woman and her kids were both crying. Allen was making his way to the customs office that was near the police station. They explained that a sailboat had been stolen earlier and everyone was chasing it out of the marina. One man got on board and the pirates took him with them. Allen knew he would not get through customs until this situation was resolved. He asked, "how long ago did they leave"? He told the police that he had a powerboat that would do 30 knots and they could catch anything. He asked the owner if he could borrow the boat and go after these guys, but it might come back with a few bullet wholes in it. The owner said, "sure, I would hope someone would do the same for me if I were kidnapped". The policeman said hold it, who are you? Allen's friend explained, "its OK, he use to do this type of thing for a living". The policeman passed out guns to everyone and they got on the Euphore. They heard on the radio that the boat was up the coast a few hours at another marina. The plan was to motor in as just another boat looking to fuel up. As they came in to the dock Allen jumped onto the dock and walked over stepped on board the other boat and put a gun to a mans head. He said, "make a move and you are a dead man. The kidnapped man was freed and the four men were arrested. They later found out that the four men were only doing their job, and repossessing the boat.
As we headed to Bimini we started watches about 9 PM. Someone had to be at the helm at all the time to keep from being run down by other larger freighter and ships in the area. There were only two of us so we were two hours on watch and two hours off. Allen told me to wake him up if I needed him for anything. He said he could get back to sleep in 30 seconds, so it did not matter if I woke him up. The only rule he had was to never go up on deck when your on watch alone. If you fell overboard, it might be several hours before the other person woke up. Although I saw thunderstorms all around me, I never had to wake him up. The night passed uneventful, except for a few cruise ships and meteors in the sky. Sailing at night in the ocean is an awesome feeling. It was cloudy that night so it seemed I sailed into total darkness. I found that I had to relay less on my sight and more on my senses. I was forced to feel the wind changes and to watch the compass. Allen talked about learning how to feel the boat underneath your feet. I began to understand.
Wednesday, August 9
I woke from Allen's first watch to the light of Bimini. The lights were so close I could almost reach out and touch them even though they were over three miles away. We had arrived early. Rather than attempt an entrance into a harbor we were not familiar with, we laid up off shore until first light. I found that Allen never took chances, he always played it safe. He said we were safer out in the ocean, rather than near land where there are more things to run into. We motored in as the sun rose and tied up to the dock at the Big Game Club. We had to go through immigration which was down the street and then grab some breakfast. The plan was to get a little sleep before Brad and Rod arrived by plane.
North Bimini is a sliver of an island, no wider than a football field and only slightly longer. It was a kick to walk down the streets that Hemingway use to haunt. There were several signs noting his presence from the past. Bimini is still a popular sport fishing destination. The marina was filled with the big sport fishing boats with the large outriggers. Allen and I had breakfast at Joe's Café. It was a local hangout for the sport fishing crowd. There were no open tables available so we asked this young lady if we could share her table. She was very friendly and let us join them for breakfast. The mother was a petite young blond in her mid thirties. She was in terrific shape and sported a Hawaiian print bikini. Allen and I enjoyed our breakfast immensely. The food wasn't bad either.
Allen and I then went back to the boat to catch a few winks before the other two arrived by plane shortly before noon. Brad and Rod were to meet with Dr. Stanley Pinder who was maitre d' and notary at the Big Game Club. The closing on the boat went off without a hitch along with a few C note for the notary for his trouble.
I woke up and went in search of the two tycoons. I found them at the pool cooling off. They were bellied-up to the bar having an island drink. Rod was happy because he just made a huge commission. Brad was happy to have the deal completed so we could enjoy the rest of the trip.
With a few good byes to Rod, Allen, Brad and I set out across the emerald blue water of the Bahamas bank to Nassau. The bank is a 60 mile stretch of the most beautiful blue water in the Caribbean. The vivid blue hews come from white sand and the shallow depths of eight to ten feet. As we were motoring, we could see starfish on the bottom. It was as clear as a swimming pool. As were sailed along, we got to know Allen a little better. He was a friendly chat who had many stories to tell.
Brad and I were delighted to find out that Allen was not only an accomplished sailor but also a super cook as well. We agreed to leave the cooking to him in tern we would do dishes and keep the boat ship shape. Allen was appalled by the lack of provisions on board. This man loved to cook and wanted each evening meal to be the highlight of the day. He thought that the evening meal should a time to look forward to and a time to share the day's adventures with your mates.
We anchored on out in the Bahamas bank that night. We were 30 miles from Bimini. The shy was lit up that night with stars I had never seen before. We were a long way from any city light which made the sky dazzle with lights. The Milky Way looked like a great interstellar super highway running from horizon to horizon. I slept with a new peace that night.
Thursday, August 10
Brad and I were usually up long before Allen would turn over in his bunk. Our internal clocks were still in synch to the stressful daily schedule of up at 6:30 to work by 8:00. We had not settled into "Island Time", yet. It had definitely been years since Allen woke to an alarm clock, and it showed. We had our usual breakfast of cereal and fruit. Allen was a true Brit and liked his tea. He said that I was the first American that he had met that did not drink coffee. I told him I was a juice man.
We spent some time during breakfast talking about the possible routes we could take through the Bahamas. Allen had sketched out a few alternatives. We decided to go south out of Nassau, down to the Exumas for a couple of days, then out around Eluthera and San Salvador for a 180 mile over night ocean passage to Little Harbor. We were so excited; the shear description of the route conjured up images of Chris Columbus and the exploring the new world. This would be better than a Jacques Cousteau National Geographic special.
We had just finished breakfast when we heard a helicopter approaching. It was the US Coast Guard, they were probably out making their routine sweep of the area for drug dealers and noticed our boat anchored. Allen gave them the OK sign and they went on their way. This morning Allen gave us the firm lesson in a class he was developing for a multi-hull sailing school. He said, "lads, there are five knots that you will need to know how to tie". The clove hitch for tying fenders on, the figure eight for the end of a sheet line and halyards and of the elusive bowline. We learned how to tie the bowline behind our backs, upside down, backwards and forwards. Allen said you never know in what position you might be when you need this not. You need to be able to do it without thinking. The biggest event of the whole trip was when my brother Brad finally learned how to tie a bowline. How many years had my Dad tried to teach him? A true accomplishment, I was proud of him. Brad was so excited, he couldn't wait to go home and show his friend Nick.
After class we raised the anchor and motor sailed on the Nassau. Along the way we practiced the art of navigation using dead reckoning and time and distance exercises while sailing a compass course. We also used the GPS to plot our latitude and longitude position every hour. Allen said it was a good idea to keep a log of position, winds speed and direction, log mileage, engine hours and any other observations we might make about the boat or the area. Allen said the log might be needed for insurance reasons if the boat was in an accident.
Later that afternoon we sailed through a thunderstorm and saw a funnel drop out of a black wall cloud. The winds picked up to about 40 knots. We quickly reefed the main and battened down the hatches. The squall passed quickly and the seas settled down. We continued on and arrived in Nassau just after sunset. The ocean was smooth as glass that night as we approached the gambling mecca of the Bahamas. The fabulous Krystal Palace and Casino welcomed us to New Providence Island with its rainbow colored lights.
We tried up at the Nassau Yacht Club fuel dock for the night. We then called our wives for the first time all week. It was great to hear from Jodi, she said things were pretty quiet back home. We headed for the bar and restaurant to get a bite to eat and have a few drinks. Allen shared with us a few more of his war stories. What a great day!
Friday, August 11
The morning came and we were up early getting the boat ready to go. We found plenty of fuel and water. The catamaran used only eight gallons of fuel after we motored all the way from Bimini to Nassau. The $50 dollar docking fee included all the water we needed. We washed down the boat and filled the tanks. The nice thing about this place was that we were close to the downtown area and close to the grocery store. We headed over and picked up some more provisions for the next five days. We bought more milk, cereal, juice, bread, meat, potatoes, rice, lettuce and a lot of fresh fruit.
After stowing everything on board, we headed out of Nassau on course of 150 degrees to the Exumas. South Allen's Cay was our next stop. Allen has stopped here several weeks ago with another catamaran. He instructed Brad and I to use the navigation skills that we have learned to get to our next destination. He took his GPS and went below for a nap. Brad and I plotted a course on the charts and followed the heading right to where we planned to be. Who need a GPS?
South Allen's Island is an idyllic little spot nestled among the Exumas. It is a little horseshoe shaped island with a bay that had only eight feet of water. This was just deep enough for the cat to sneak into. The most interesting thing about the island was that it was inhabited by about a thousand large iguanas. These large lizards owned this island and it almost reminded me of a little Jurassic Park. The beach was covered with the things. The two island were a preservation area especially for them. We went ashore and fed them some bread and lettuce and took some pictures of our new friends.
Saturday, August 12
The next morning we experienced low tide. Low tide was about 11:00 am. and we found ourselves sitting on the sandy bottom in South Allen's Island on the keels of Moonshadow. We got out of the boat and walked around the boat in about three feet of water. We scrubbed the boat down and waited till we floated free. After lunch and some more classroom instruction we left for Highborne Cay. On the way there we practiced the man overboard drill, under power and sail. We first threw fenders overboard and retrieved them. When it was Brad turn to handle the boat Allen surprised us all and jumped overboard, what a nut. We picked him up with no problem.
The proper overboard drill requires the skipper to take charge and designate a spotter. The spotter is responsible for keeping his eye on the man overboard. He must constantly point to the man overboard so the skipper knows where he is at all times. If the boat is under sail the skipper should fall off on a reach then round up, tack and reach back to the location of the person in the water. The boat is then rounded up into the wind again luffing the sails and reducing speed enough to pick up the survivor. Someone designated by the captain should be ready with a line and a buoy to throw to the person. It sounded simple enough.
We went for a swim after all the drills, it must have been 100 degrees that day. We then headed on to Highborne Cay where we anchored for the night. We anchored for the night just off a beautiful white sand beach and snorkeled over to a reef to check out the sea life. We took a quick cruisers shower off the back of the boat and commenced happy hour just as the sun was dipping below the clouds in the west.
Sunday, August 13
This part of our trip would be the most ambitious leg of our trip. It was going t be 180 miles down around Eluthera and San Salvador then back up to Little Harbor. We were hoping for 10-15 knots of wind on this leg. We ended up motor sailing till we rounded the southern end of Eluthera. The wind was n our beam the rest of the trip. Eluthera is about a mile wide and 30 miles long. We passed along the south coast where Club Med has their resort. We turned north and followed the eastern coast of the island.
The swells were larger on the Atlantic side of the island. There was nothing between us and Africa. The catamaran moved along easily in the light winds. The three of us stood watches of 2 hours each. It is an awesome feeling being all alone at the helm sailing through the night. A small front was moving north of us so winds had picked up to about 20 knots. The cat picked up speed and began to really cook. The Privilege is heavy compared to most cruising catamaran and needs about 20 knots of wind to really get moving. I woke to found that we were in sight of land again as morning approached.
Monday, August 14
The storms passed north of us and we arrived in Little Harbor at sunrise. Brad maneuvered us through the reefs into the bay just outside of Little Harbor. We anchored and all caught a nap for a few hours. We woke up and had breakfast and watched a couple of dolphins playing in the bay. They came to within about 50 feet of the boat.
The area we were in now was called the Abaco sound. It was a lot like a big lake protected by the surrounding islands. The water is at most 10 feet deep and only 4-5 feet in some areas. There were spots like the Tillyhoo bank that you wanted to stay away from. We saw one boat that had been blown up on it after going aground.
It was another stressful day in the life of a cruiser. We were off the Sandy Cay to snorkel an under sea sanctuary area. It was kind of a state park underwater. We anchored well away from the reef so not to damage it. We took the dingy in and picked up a mooring line. As we snorkeled, Brad spotted some sea anemones or jellyfish. We were not sure what they were so we stay clear. The coral formations and fish were awesome. There was stag horn coral 10-12 feet tall. The fish were just thick, every species imaginable were there. It was very obvious that this reef was well taken care of. Jacques Cousteau would be proud to see this reef in such great shape. I can only hope they continue to take care of it.
The islands in the sound were sparsely inhabited. The homes that were built on these islands were very nice. It was obvious the people who owned these home were very wealthy. There were many large estates that were built right down to the water. We checked them out as we motored past.
The next quaint spot we stopped at was Hope Town. It is famous for the big red and white lighthouse located at the entrance of the harbor. We were not even sure if it worked any more, but it looked great for a photo opportunity.
It was getting to be late afternoon and we were looking for a place to hook out for the evening. We motored into Man O'War Cay next hoping to find a quiet spot for the night. The boats were packed wall to wall so we turned around and headed out. The last spot on the map was a placed called Matt Lowe Cay. It had a shallow anchorage on the south side, so we put in there for the night. We started the grill and had a few drinks. We were going to go snorkeling but the whole bay was filled with the sea anemones, so we had to settle for a shower. That night about nine a small storm rolled through and pulled us from our anchorage. We had all turned in for the night and were resting in our cabins. Allen got up and yelled, "up on deck lads, we are drifting ashore. Brad and I sprang from below and started bringing in the anchor as Allen got the engines started. We could feel the cat bouncing on the bottom. Luckily it was sandy so no damage was done. The storm passed quickly and we re-anchored. We set out a second anchor with the dinghy to make sure we stayed put. I dried my hair and went back to bed.
Tuesday, August 15
We woke up on our last day out on the water. We were only about an hour away from Marsh Harbor our final destination. We wanted to get in early to rest up and get the boat ready for the upcoming charter.
It was my turn to bring Moonshadow into the dock for fuel and water. The cat has an engine in each hull with makes it easy to maneuver. You can put the engines in opposite directions and spin the boat on a dime. We parked in slip 64 at the Conch Inn in Marsh Harbor. The resort was nothing special but it use to be a Jet Sea Charter base before they went out of business. It had a restaurant, showers, nice docks, a swimming pool and it was close to downtown, what more could you want.
Brad and I spent the rest of the day hanging out by the pool while Allen worked on the boat. Brad was enjoying the advantage of having a boat on charter, all the fun and no work. While at the pool I struck up a conversation with a blond named Lisa from Boca Raton. She was down getting a few days R&R from her stressful job. She was staying on her boyfriend's boat, the Island Girl. She was very open and talkative and had a great lime green bikini that fit her nicely.
Brad, Allen and I had dinner that night on the boat, we at chicken and rice with corn. Later that night we went up for a few drinks at the bar. We sat down but we weren't alone. There were so many roaches crawling around under the table it gave me the willys. We decided to move to another restaurant called Mangoes next door. We had another drink or two and listened to more of Allen's stories.
Wednesday, August 16
We said our good byes to Allen and thanked him for a super time. We would see him again in February in the British Virgin Islands. He would be running Catamaran Charters base in Tortola.
My last day in the Bahamas was filled with reflections back on the trip and anticipation of getting home to see my family. I had not been way from both of them for this length of time, I missed them. Brad and I sat in the Marsh Harbor airport with its one gate waiting for our plane to Miami where we would have to immerse ourselves back into society. As soon as we hit the states we noticed that everyone was in a hurry, a definite change of pace from the laid back Bahamas. People in the airports were racing around and traffic on the interstate was bumper to bumper, welcome home pilgrim. Brad and I had to laugh, in the ten short days we had relaxed enough to see what a rat race we Americans live in. Everyday running as fast as we can to get where. Heart attack by 50 for many of us. If I learned one thing on this trip it was that I am a pretty fortunate person. I have a great brother who like to spend time with me and a super wife who gives me the freedom to do take adventures like this. I can only dream of how much fun we are going to have in the years ahead exploring every part of the Caribbean.
Coleman Lollar had a few parting words for the people who wait too long to start following their dreams. He recently died of cancer, but went without any regrets because he had spent a life chasing his dreams all over the world. He said, "I am convinced that the impulse for wandering comes effortlessly to the very young, and one risks losing it if he or she wait too long to act. Often now I hear the 40 something peers, those who have stayed home and done quit well for themselves, say they are ready to start traveling. At that age, they can always think of reasons to put it off. What about the water over there? Is it really safe? Don't they eat funny foods? And how these bewildered friends want to know are they suppose to manage the languages that they never took the time to learn. The young or young at heart don't worry about things like that".
In the few short years that I have been traveling, I have witnessed what Coleman was talking about. I've been to Mexico and have seen the people looking for the American restaurants because they can't eat the local food. I have been to Hawaii and seen the old people just walking the beaches instead of surfing or snorkeling in the beautiful waters because of their arthritis. I have seen the cruise ships jammed with people touring the islands but never venturing past the Gucci or Little Switzerland stores. They might as well have all stayed home and watched it on the Travel Channel. The message I am trying to convey to each of you in all this rambling is, don't wait to start chasing those dreams. If you wait too long it may be too late.
