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St. Pete City Updates include news on the new pier
The new St. Petersburg Pier finishes later this year. The signature view will be a rippling, waving net sculpture inviting all to come by land or by sea.
Called Bending Arc, the wind-blown artwork will be 80 feet high and 425 feet long. Artist Janet Echelman released color sketches of Bending Arc and says it will transmit a message of inclusion “embracing everyone to come to this place.”
Echelman’s works are installed in Australia, Holland, the United Arab Emirates, and other international locations. As a Tampa native, she says a major work in Tampa Bay is like a dream come true.
The St. Petersburg Pier will reach 1,350 feet out over Tampa Bay, and the city forecasts
1.7 million visitors to the new pier each year. To accommodate more boaters, the city
will be installing additional transient vessel space near the pier and as well as full-service
megayacht docks in the Port of St. Petersburg. newstpetepier.com
The new pier district will be a big deal, but it’s only one piece of the Sunshine City’s master plan that includes redesigned waterfront parks. City marinas will add 25 new transient vessel slips, build full-service megayacht docks and install state-of-the-art breakwaters parallel to the pier, marinas, parks, and Port of St. Petersburg.
Alabama may have only 53 miles of Gulf shoreline, but offshore, it has thousands of artificial reefs that have earned it a reputation as the red snapper capital of the Gulf of Mexico.
Average size? 10 pounds. These artificial reefs are also helping Alabama strengthen its
reputation as a saltwater scuba diving destination. Divers often prefer sites that are not so far and not so deep. Alabama has those too. One is a 271-foot coastal freighter scuttled in about 100 feet of water 20 miles south of Orange Beach.
Nicknamed Lulu (aka freighter Youkamu), it rests upright so scuba divers can start exploring just 50 feet below the surface. Another is Poseidon’s Playground that is three miles offshore in just 38 feet of water. It features statues of Greek gods Poseidon, Apollo, and Venus. It is even promoted as a wedding site, although reciting vows and kissing your new spouse while wearing goggles could be a bit awkward.
Reef Foundation President Vince Lucido said the new diving reef was the brainchild of local scuba instructor Lila Harris, who wanted to establish something closer to shore that’s accessible for younger divers and other beginners. The reef’s depth is about 38 feet, and 40 is the limit for novice divers.
The foundation aims to involve local artists, schools, organizations, and others. A reef could celebrate someone’s life.
The Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation played a major role in securing both sites and others. Another popular spot, especially for snorkeling, is Whiskey Wreck, an old steel-hulled vessel just 150 feet from Bahama Bob’s Beach Side Café in Gulf Shores.
There are more artificial reefs in deeper water, and their hard surface ecosystems support
abundant marine life, including Alabama’s big red snapper. By the way, Alabama’s 2019 red snapper season starts June 1st.
For more information and coordinates of most inshore and offshore reefs, go to outdooralabama.com/sites
Rallies are a popular way to cruise with company when transiting from the U.S. East Coast to the Caribbean in the fall. For eight years now, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association (SDSA) has offered a similar trip for those headed back north after wintering in the islands.
This year, the SDSA’s Spring Rally will launch on May 4th and for the first time, from 99-slip Crown Bay Marina in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
“We have found that cruisers planning to return to the States in the spring have generally worked their way up the island chain by late April or early May, which makes the Virgin Islands a great departure point for us,” says Rick Palm, the SDSA’s director of rally management.
“Crown Bay offers several advantages that make this site selection a good one: onsite boat repair facilities are helpful to those completing last minute boat projects, provisioning is within walking distance and our captain’s briefing/weather routing meetings and social events can be held at the marina’s pub.”
The SDSA will also host a Happy Hour and Safe Arrival Party in the arrival destination of Hampton, Virginia. The dates will be posted on the SDSA’s website closer to the time, according to whether the weather favors a direct sail by the fleet to Hampton or stopover along the way in Bermuda. For those nearby in Hampton, visit the Salty Dawgs to learn more about the organization and its many cruising rallies, including its 2019 Fall Rally back to the Caribbean.
Everyone who loves recreational boating is painfully aware of the demographics of the average boat owner. Boating needs young people. Can Optis fix that?
It’s interesting that Major Clifford McKay of the Clearwater Florida Optimist Club had the same intent in 1947 when he requested a local gentleman by the name of Clark
Mills to design a low-cost, easily built sailing dinghy that children could race as an on-water version of the then-popular Soap Box Derby.
Mills’ plans of an economical sailing program were donated to the Optimist Club. THe design would go on to become one of the most popular boats ever built. More than 150,000 boats have been registered within sailboat racing’s One-Design category. The Optimist Pram is the biggest youth racing class in the world. Opti programs have introduced countless children to boating.
This spring, yacht clubs and summer camps throughout the Southeast will continue the tradition when they begin accepting registrations for programs dedicated to teaching young sailors in what has become lovingly referred to as Optis.
Bow to Stern Boating in Oriental, North Carolina, is a great example of a successful youth sailing program. Its Youth Sailing Camp offers a kid-friendly, yet intensive sailing experience to students ages 7 to 16.
The program combines on-the-water experience with classroom activities for beginner, intermediate and advanced sailors. Young sailors are able to progress through the different levels at their own pace. Registration opens in May with programs running
from June 17th-August 23rd.
Additionally, Bow to Stern Boating offers a fleet of over 60 boats available for charter such as sailboats from 8′ to 45′ or power vessels perfect for cruising local creeks or for taking a Neuse River voyage. They also provide group programs for Scouts, Church Groups, Military Groups and even Corporate Training teams.
For boaters, May is breakout month across the Northeast.
While some serious anglers have probably had their vessels in the water for several weeks by this point, especially along the southern New Jersey coast where stripers are already hot on the bunker schools, it’s now when most pleasure boaters make a splash and get their seasons underway.
Bundle Up
One point that sticks out in my mind about early season boating along the New England coast is that it can still be quite chilly. With water temperatures hovering somewhere around the 50-degree mark, it’s still too cold to take a serious dip or enjoy water sports without slipping into a wetsuit until after Memorial Day. Further, air temperatures on the water can be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than inland, so don’t be fooled by a sunny day. Winter is behind us, at least on the calendar, so there’s nothing wrong with dipping in your toes or trudging through calf-deep water to do a little hiking or exploring along a quiet stretch of beach.
If cruising this breakout month, you’ll want to pack along some extra clothes including a heavy sweatshirt, long pants, and a long-sleeve shirt. It’s also a good idea to carry a knit hat and pair of gloves if you boat in Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Maine. The extra clothing is especially important should you count youngsters amongst your crew. Right now, before the season gets rolling, is also a good time to place an extra pair or two of sunglasses in the glove box along with a spare tube or squeeze bottle of sunblock rated SPF 30 or higher.
First Up
Where to head first? My wife, Felicia, and I always enjoy checking out new boats in their slips, getting out to do a little beach combing, and trying a new dock-and-dine experience. We’ve noticed over the years that early spring generally finds some of the more popular waterfront eateries uncrowded at lunchtime with the service especially upbeat since the staffs aren’t burned out from summer’s inevitable waterfront crush.
Fishing, of course, is always an option, and May can be a barn burner. The better catches early in the month tend to come from the most southern ports. Stripers, blues, porgy, and fluke, for example, work their way up the Jersey Coast, spread along Long Island’s South Shore and wrap back into Long Island Sound around Memorial Day.
By early June, action will have spread to Rhode Island, Cape Cod and beyond. Often, the first fish of the new year are big ones because they are better able to withstand cool water temperatures than smaller fish. That’s not a hard and fast rule, of course, but it’s one more justification for getting your boat in the water as soon as possible.
A solid family legacy, a passion for the craft, and a commitment to hard work are how you can find yourself at the top of your industry.
That’s what happened for Gary Sands, one of the youngest leaders in the beverage industry in the world.
The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company Ltd. broke barriers in 2017 when Gary took the helm as General Manager at just 27. Since then, he’s overseen increased production of the company’s locally-made brands and brews. Additionally, he’s overseen the growth of the company’s distribution portfolio including Anheuser-Busch and most recently, Philip Morris International.
Gary Sands
“I feel such a great sense of pride as I walk through our office every day knowing that we, Bahamians, are changing the beer industry in The Bahamas,” says Sands. “We’re bringing the industry back to Bahamian hands and proving that, yes, Bahamians have what it takes to compete on a global level.”
With a recent multimillion-dollar expansion of the brewery facility in Grand Bahama and a staff of over 150, Sands is poised to reach that global level. Sand’s father, the company visionary James “Jimmy” Sands remains as President, but several industry veterans who joined the company with him along the way have now retired. This paved the way for Gary and a new generation of bright, young leaders.
“One of the greatest feelings working at Bahamian Brewery and Beverage is doing what people said was the impossible,” Gary says, “By going against the second largest multi-national brewery in the world which produces competing beers in The Bahamas.”
A Family’s Dynasty
The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company has discovered the key components to maintaining a successful business for decades to come. It starts with the Sands dynasty – generations of entrepreneurs making their mark in The Bahamas since 1648.
Gary’s grandfather Everette Sands, the patriarch of Bahamian Brewery passed away this year at the age of 94, but he left a great legacy in the beverage industry for his descendants. A hard-working young man with a dream, Everette competed against the largest liquor business in The Bahamas, which was owned by a powerful politician in the country. Everette, like many an entrepreneur, created his first shipment in a garage. His sons John and James (Jimmy) helped their dad in his stores from a very young age, learning how to do everything from sweeping the floors to packing boxes.
When Jimmy launched Sands beer, he applied all of the life lessons his father had taught him. He, too, had to come up against a top-selling beer in The Bahamas. Jimmy’s Wines & Spirits liquor stores continue to grow, and now the Sands Beer family line includes Sands Regular, Sands Light, High Rock Lager, Sands Pink Radler, Strong Back Stout, Bush Crack, 66 Steps Ale, and Triple B malt drink.
“I love my new role in the company as General Manager,” says Gary, who, like his father, learned the business from the ground up. “The fast pace and ever-changing industry complements my constantly moving lifestyle.”
The Sands family has proven that a solid legacy built on hard work and sheer determination, along with a commitment to product value, staff and customer satisfaction, are the right ingredients to brew up a business that will stand the test of time.
While most marinas must prepare for hurricanes, tropical storms, and other weather hazards, Marigot Bay Marina in St. Lucia does not.
Bob Hathaway, marina manager for 6 years, says not even “Christmas winds” affect them at Marigot Bay. “The level of wind shelter is extraordinary regardless of wind direction.” It is a natural harbor that has never been dredged. In fact, Marigot Bay dredges itself. “The main entrance channel and berth approach have never been dredged,” Hathaway explains. “And it maintains its depth even clearing away silt after heavy rainfall.”
The reefs on either side of the marina’s entrance—as well as the sand spit that protects the inner lagoon—protect it from swells and surges. “While other southern Caribbean marinas may have to clear out large boats if there is a storm warning, we do not,” Hathaway says.
The Marina at Marigot Bay has deeper water than most other Caribbean marinas, with about 700 feet (218 meters) of the stern to dock. There are also some finger piers at the eastern end. The berthing allowances are as follows:
Max LOA: 250’
Max Draft: 15’
Max Beam: 44’
Marigot is said to be the original yachting base in Saint Lucia. The Canadian schooner, Captain Walter Boudreau, brought his 140-foot craft to Marigot in the late 1950s, which is when the industry started, according to Hathaway.
Hurricane Hole Restaurant at Marigot Bay Resort & Marina
Easter and Passover occur the third week of April and make a doubly good reason to
cruise south for a spring break holiday.
No Caribbean marina may be more delicious to dock at than the Marigot Bay Resort & Marina in St. Lucia. Every yacht 80-foot LOA or larger is greeted with a bouquet of flowers, local Piton beer, and freshly baked cookies compliments of the resort’s executive chef.
What’s more, the year-old Hurricane Hole restaurant offers farm-to-fork dining. Start your day with a US$15 Creole breakfast that features stewed codfish or smoked herring, St. Lucian bakes with banana jam, pickled local cucumber, and cocoa tea made with island-grown cocoa.
The 42-slip Marigot Bay Marina handles yachts up to 280-feet LOA and makes a great jumping off point to explore St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the south or the French island of Martinique to the north. The Marina Village oers several shops, including a full provisioning service by advance order, so it’s possible to leave with as good a taste as on arrival.
They are located only yards away from the Discover Hotel, which has their own dedicated entrance to the Hurricane Hole Bar, pools, spa, gym, and the Boudreau Restaurant, named after the Canadian schooner. (Marina guests have access to these facilities.) The Marina has its own dedicated Marina Village with a variety of shopping options, including a supermarket, bank and crew café. “Marigot Bay has all the facilities that any yacht can need. The setting, especially as viewed from the yacht, is completely unspoiled and is more reminiscent of a Pacific Island than the Caribbean,” says Hathaway.
Provisions:
• Complimentary WiFi and high-speed Internet connection
• High-speed fueling: diesel and gasoline
• Garbage disposal
• Liquor and food provisioning supermarket in The Marina Village
• Floral arrangements
• High-end boutiques for shopping in The Marina Village
• Bank and ATM
• Business Centre: FedEx, car rental, travel agency
• Chandlery Shop
• CCTV surveillance and 24-hour security
• Airport transfers (Vigie – 25 mins & Hewanorra Int’l – 1 hour)
Shore Power:
Berths are supplied with single and three phase electricity:
• 380V 3 Phase (50Hz) (100, 125 or 200 amps per outlet)
• 220V / 110V Single Phase electricity (50/60 Hz) (30, 50 or 100 amps per outlet)
Antigua Sailing Week Launches into Second Half-Century
Big is the word for the 52nd Antigua Sailing Week (ASW).
This granddaddy of Caribbean regattas set for April 28th to May 3rd will be notable for both the quantity and quality of entries.
For one, more than 100 yachts are expected to compete in everything from racing to cruising, spinnaker to non-spinnaker, monohull to multihull, and privately owned to chartered bareboat classes.
Second, this year’s event features some spectacularly large yachts. One of these is the Dovell 100 SHK Scallywag with Australian Volvo Ocean Race skipper, David Witt, at the helm. Scallywag will be flying the
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club burgee. A second is another super maxi, Great Britain’s Sir Peter Harrison’s Farr 115 Sojana. Harrison, a regular entrant, has hoisted the overall winner’s Lord Nelson’s Trophy twice before, including in 2018, proving his Farr and its crew are as capable as they are attractive.
If you’re not racing, the best way to enjoy ASW is via a big view from Shirley Heights, an 18th-century military lookout that sits on a nearby hill at a nearly 500-foot elevation. The vantage point from here spans from English Harbor south and east to the Caribbean Sea. Armchair sailors can also follow the racing with real-tim scoring online at yachtscoring.com.
The Grandaddy of Caribbean Regattas kicks off its next half-century of competition and camaraderie. The 51st Antigua Sailing Week (ASW) sets sail April 24-May 4.
On the water, the Club Class returns after its successful debut last year. This class is open to sailors who want to compete in the regatta, but not take their racing too seriously. Correspondingly, there’s a reduced entry fee for this class and scoring is based on a progressive handicap system. More competitive racers can enter Racing, Cruising, Bareboat, and Multihull classes. More than 100 entries are expected with everything from a Volvo Ocean 70 and Melges 24 to a Gunboat 60.
There are also several sleek yachts available for race charter with or without skippers, including Dream Yacht Charter’s Antigua fleet: Sun Odyssey 379s and 519s, a Dufour 405 and a couple of Oceanis 41.1s.
On land, spectators get in on the Antigua Sailing Week fun, says ASW’s commercial director Alison Sly-Adams. “This includes watching the action from the Shirley Heights lookout, where on Sunday, April 29th, the restaurant serves its famous local-style breakfast. It’s also possible to head out on a catamaran to literally ‘Chase the Race’ and see the action up close for a couple of hours followed by a leisurely lunch and snorkel. Events like the nightly parties, lay day beach party and final awards ceremony are free and open to the public.”
Waterfront towns around Corpus Christi Bay welcome spring on the Texas Gulf with live music, good food, boat shows, sand sculptures, and lots of fun.
Mariners at Corpus Christi Municipal Marina hear the music. As the sun fades, the adjacent Marina Arts District comes alive with street musicians, artists, vendors, and food trucks on the first Friday of April. Be there on the first Friday in May, too.
The little beach town of Port Aransas on Mustang Island draws families from all around to its annual Wooden Boat Festival at Roberts Point Park April 12-13 for wooden boats in and out of the water rigged with power, sail or oars. You can even bring your own at no charge. Admission is free for this hands-on, family-fun event that includes a class on how to build and treasure your own wooden boat. Kids get to row boats in the harbor and can also build a model boat.
Port Aransas also hosts the Texas Sand Fest April 26-28 said to be the largest Native-Sand Sculpture Competition in the U.S., and it brings in the best sand sculptors from around the world. Thousands drive or cruise over from the mainland to watch pros and
amateurs shape their sandy creations. You can even try it yourself.
Back on the mainland, the town of Aransas Pass will host the popular Rock the Dock
Boat Show at the Redfish Bay Boat House and Aransas Pass Civic Center May 2-5.
The mayor walks the plank during Buc Days.
The 10-day Buc Days Carnival kicks off on May 2nd at Water’s Edge Park with
carnival rides, tasty food, parades, pirate shows, movie nights, and bands performing
on Buc Stage. But before that, the mayor of Corpus Christi officially opens the
carnival when pirates make him walk the plank and splash into Corpus Christi Bay.
Spring has sprung.
Wealthy would-be-festival-goers who were duped by the infamous Fyre Festival—a botched music festival that was planned for a private island paradise in the Exumas—found little sympathy outside their peer group when the Fyre fraud was finally revealed.
Simply put, the thought of 10,000 people flying into Exuma International Airport on an air caravan of Cessna planes over the course of one weekend is laughable. This airport only accommodates an average of 5,000 visitors each month. The waiting area is so small that on a normal busy day, visitors opt to wait across the road at Kermit’s Airport Lounge, a small bar and restaurant with picnic-style outdoor seating and an air-conditioned restaurant interior.
Lessons Learned
In their misfortune, however, are important lessons to learn about traveling to the Out Islands of The Bahamas. With a little insider’s knowledge about the Out Islands, travelers will know what to expect.
The term “Out Islands” refers to the group of islands in The Bahamas located outside of the largest cities: Nassau on New Providence and Freeport on Grand Bahama, known as the second city. The Out Islands are more remote, less developed and less densely populated. Bahamians refer to the Out Islands as the Family Islands, which is based on the premise that while the center of politics and government is in Nassau, The Bahamas is a family of islands.
The Exumas, a small archipelago known for its plethora of islands and secluded beaches, turquoise sandbanks and aquamarine seas, is the most popular Out Island in terms of
tourist arrivals. Some 60,000 visitors travel to its shores by air and sea annually. They enjoy marine attractions, such as underwater caves, shark encounters and floating beaches that emerge at low tide as sandbars suspended in the middle of the sea.
Boaters Love the Out Islands
For most boaters, the primary appeal of The Bahamas is the Out Islands. The ten major seaports in the Out Islands welcomed over 91,000 visitors in 2018. This compares to just
12,635 sea arrivals in Nassau for the same year. Bimini and the Abacos are the top two Out Islands in terms of visitor arrivals by sea: Bimini, unsurprisingly, as it is the closest
Bahamian island to the U.S. with a convenient first port of entry. The Abacos, of course, is considered the boating capital of The Bahamas.
The Abacos has a number of barrier islands that protect mainland Great Abaco from the ferocious Atlantic. The protected marine highway between the barrier islands and Great Abaco, the Sea of Abaco, is a central hub for boating. Virtually every exit survey in The Bahamas, sites visiting beaches as the number one activity. Abaco is no exception; however, fishing and island-hopping are two dominant activities also enjoyed by boaters in the Abacos, where there are vibrant boating communities on Treasure Cay, Marsh Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, and other neighboring islands.
You’re not in the city
Traffic in the Out Islands is a slow-driving car that you can’t immediately overtake. In other words, there is no traffic in the Out Islands. Basically, every Out Island has a main artery road, usually named the Queens Highway, that runs north to south across the length of the island. The cars are sparse and it’s difficult to get lost.
You’ll know when you’ve reached a settlement because virgin land gives way to roadside communities. Compare to Nassau’s primetime, bumper-to-bumper traffic. Without GPS, you are likely to get lost in Nassau. Nassau has a distinct city character. The Out Islands are remote enclaves where you can retreat from crowds, busyness, city lights, and noise.
Nassau has an international airport with amenities travelers expect: restaurants, bars, private lounges, shopping, and other creature comforts. Airports in the Out Islands, even the international ones, are little dives. But they are clean, safe and their technical aviation systems are top notch. However, consumer infrastructure is very limited. If you are delayed in an Out Island airport, it is likely to be frustrating because the facilities are not designed for comfort.
Most of the Out Islands are not a single island
The Bahamas is one nation, but it is a country with 700 islands and more than 2,000 rocks and cays. The sheer number of islands is overwhelming. That’s why only 16 main islands, including Andros, Cat Island, Long Island, and Inagua, are marketed as tourist destinations. The 16 islands are main population centers with infrastructure like airports and seaports.
While the island names and groupings create simplicity, it’s important to remember that there is always more than what meets the eye. Eleuthera, for example, is one island. However, it also refers to a trio of islands including Harbour Island and Spanish Wells. The water taxi between the Three Islands Ferry Dock in North Eleuthera and Harbour Island takes only 10 minutes; however, the run from Valentine’s Marina in Harbour Island to Cape Santa Maria Marina in South Eleuthera is more than 100 miles on the ocean side and 80 miles on the banks.
Exuma (singular) usually refers to mainland Great Exuma, the largest island in the Exuma chain, but the Exumas (plural), more correctly identifies the 365 islands located in the chain. Some of them are private islands with private airstrips and many are uninhabited. All of them are comparatively rural and have light-touch development. They are charming because of their safe, close-knit communities with people living a more independent, carefree lifestyle than in the capital.
Almost all of the Out Islands, even when their names suggest one island, are themselves a cluster of islands, including Bimini, the Berry Islands, Andros, Inagua, and Acklins and Crooked Island.
There’s special anticipation that accompanies the first few boating trips each spring. After all, who knows what the winter has brought in terms of unexpected shoaling, shifting channels, missing buoys, ruptured bulkheads, and the like. The combination of heavy ice flows, stiff winds and high tides can do some strange things, especially in shallow, inshore waters.
Once you’ve carefully scoped out your home grounds and noted any obvious spring shoaling, dock damage or other gifts from Old Man Winter for which you’ll need to make notations on your charts, it’s time to dig a little deeper and investigate any man-made changes since the end of last season. The good thing is that some of these are repairable and not problems.
Massachusetts
In fact, one of the nicest things about early season boating is discovering improvements. Those are brought about by dredging, marina upgrades, spring shoaling, and increased accessibility. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), for example, is installing an additional 118 transient moorings for boats up to 40 feet LOA at various locations within the Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park, including Spectacle Island, Georges Island and Peddocks Island. The project is expected for completion by the start of summer.
Once installed, reservations for day and overnight use will be available online for a fee. Designated temporary pickup and drop-off areas on the Spectacle, Georges and Peddocks piers will also be available to boaters. The additional moorings will allow boaters to easily explore the natural, cultural and historical resources of the area. The park, located just minutes away from the City of Boston by boat, comprises 34 islands and peninsulas. At least six of the islands are publicly accessible and offer activities such as swimming, hiking, camping, and fishing. The park also includes six listings on the National Register of Historic Places, three of which are also National Historic Landmarks. bostonharborislands.org
Long Island
Those who challenge the rough and tumble waters of Moriches Inlet on Long Island’s south shore will be happy to know that the Army Corps of Engineers addressed the
shoaling over the winter, removing approximately 120,000 cubic yards of sand to create a 200-foot-wide, 10-foot deep passage through the inlet. Four severe winter storms during the harsh winter of 2017 had created a build-up of over 300,000 cubic yards of sand, clogging the inlet, which nourishes Moriches Bay with refreshing ocean water while
offering boaters and anglers an outlet to the open sea.
Conditions continued to deteriorate through last fall until the project got underway in October. The inlet seems considerably tamer now, but caution is always advised while
traversing this cut.
Long Island, New York, Congressman Lee Zeldin, who was instrumental in procuring the funds to get the inlet dredged, also managed to procure more than $3 million to dredge
the ICW in Moriches Bay to a uniform depth of six feet in a nearly three-mile stretch just inside the inlet. Work was completed in late February, so boating prospects are really
looking up on this shallow bay.
Your Backyard
Not all marine improvements come with a big splash. Look around your own boating waters with a little focus, and you’ll find plenty of habitat restoration projects. Seeding
clams and oysters that help filter and clean our waters, for one. You may spot dune replenishment projects designed to rebuild and protect exposed beaches from serious erosion. Both bring more birds, fish and marine creatures within sight. They all add up to a better boating experience in the long run, so help out, keep an eye open and don’t overlook the small stuff.
If you’re in the midst of planning your own Great Loop adventure, take note of these river-lakes on or accessible from these Great Loop waterways.
All who have cruised the Great Loop Waterways—the system comprising the eastern half of the United States that enables one to circumnavigate by water—have a list of their favorite spots they added for a variety of reasons: picturesque views, fascinating history, friendly people, fabulous food, or simply serene cruising areas.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the notable expanses of water, where the river transforms into a lake that’s long and broad. Check out these Great Loop Waterways.
Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, Kentucky
From the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky, southbound Loopers have the option of taking the Tennessee River or Cumberland River, both of which require passing through a lock. Although it adds several miles to the journey, many cruisers opt for the Cumberland River due to the potential for lock delays from commercial traffic on the Tennessee River.
Barkley Lock opens up on the south side to Lake Barkley. Just past the lock to starboard is Green Turtle Bay Resort & Marina, with all the services cruisers need plus great dining options for a break from the galley, including not-to-be-missed Patti’s 1880s Settlement; order the pork chop and pie.
Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake are connected by the Barkley Canal that enables cruisers to enjoy boating on both lakes. The canal that separates the two lakes is on the north end of a long peninsula called Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
Check your charts and depth gauge and explore the coves; some have waterfalls inside. This beautiful area is best in the fall when the hardwoods explode with color and southbound cruisers can extend their enjoyment of peak fall foliage for several weeks. Don’t miss this scenic spot on the Great Loop Waterways.
Lake Champlain, Vermont
Northbound cruisers transiting from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes have several route options depending on their bridge clearance requirements, time schedule and what they want to see, and there are pros and cons for each. The route through New York Harbor and the Hudson River to Waterford, New York, continues through the Champlain Canal and leads to Lake Champlain, also known as the Adirondacks’ Great Lake.
Lake Champlain is a boating mecca, but its large size leaves plenty of room for everyone (125 miles long, 14 miles wide, 64 feet average depth). Even so, there are many bays and coves to anchor for a quiet evening, while on shore, quaint towns offer dining options galore plus farmers markets to provision locally grown produce and products nearly any day of the week.
In towns and villages on both sides of the lake—New York and Vermont—lovers of history, art and music will find a wealth of events and venues to pique their interest, including
museums, art galleries, concerts, antique shops, festivals, and celebrations.
Lake Pepin, Minnesota
Although the upper Mississippi is not part of the Great Loop route, there are a fair number of Loopers from the upper Midwest who start their Great Loop cruise in Minnesota.
There are also some who want to cruise all five of the Great Lakes, so they cruise to the far western end of Lake Superior and have their boat hauled in Duluth and transported to the Mississippi River south of the Twin Cities to continue their Great Loop journey. In addition to bragging rights of cruising all five of the Great Lakes, Loopers will also pass through all the locks on the Mississippi River, providing they choose that route rather than the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
Lake Pepin is the widest, naturally occurring expanse of the entire Mississippi River and is located south of the Minnesota town of Red Wing (Lock 3). Lake Pepin is a favorite boating destination and cruising ground for many, and picturesque in all seasons, especially the fall when both sides of the lake are flaming with autumn colors. Sailing is common in the summer months, and the Lake City municipal marina welcomes transient cruisers. Pepin City, Wisconsin, hosts a small theater group, and the Mediterranean-style winery, Villa Bellezza, is close by.
Trent-Severn Waterway, Canada
This chain of lakes, rivers, and locks really deserves a feature article of its own—look for this in a future issue—but it would be a disservice not to include it here, too. Loopers on
the northern part of the counter-clockwise route who choose to bypass Lake Erie enter the Trent-Severn Waterway at Trenton on the Bay of Quinte on the east end of Lake Ontario, and they exit at Port Severn on Georgian Bay of Lake Huron.
The 240-mile-long waterway offers a plethora of experiences too lengthy to include here, but those who have experienced this route report they’re eager to repeat their Loop experience if only to spend more time exploring this area alone.
There are, of course, many more lakes, rivers, channels, and detours on the Great Loop waiting to be explored. If you’ve completed or are in the process of cruising the Great Loop, we’d love to hear about your favorite Great Loop Waterways. Email sbletters@southernboating.com.
Northeast boaters looking to get an early start to the 2019 boating season would do best to back off the throttle coming out of the gate. Going back a few decades, a March kick-off was commonplace for skippers sailing anywhere between New Jersey and Rhode Island. That first launch time frame was often scheduled to coincide with a solid run of tasty winter flounder or open water for clamming, the latter a welcome job for part-time baymen.
As early spring fishing fortunes and shellfish populations have faded in recent years, most northeast boaters have pushed back initial forays into April or even May, especially those
who have second homes near the coast or enjoy cruising and water sports more than wetting a line. That makes it even more important than ever for early launchers to be on their toes because there are fewer eyes on the water during the early season.
Now, where did that shoal come from?
Safety Reigns
Naturally, you’ll want to start that first trip on the water with a standard pre-launch checklist to make sure there are no mechanical issues before leaving the dock or ramp. Ensure you have a full set of life preservers aboard that are Coast Guard approved, properly fit your crew and are in good working condition. It also makes sense to file a boating float plan with a responsible family member or friend. If you plan to cross any big or rough water, you might want to consider wearing a survival suit because northeast water temperatures can remain fatally cold well into May.
“Be sure that you’ve replaced your fuel filters, checked that water pumps are working properly and have fully charged all batteries because those are three things that can fail quickly after being out in the cold all winter,” says Capt. Tony DiLernia, a Manhattan, New York, charter skipper. He also notes that buoys, or lack thereof, can be a problem on some waters. “On the eastern end of Long Island, for example, some buoys that are removed for the winter months might not be returned until late April,” says the experienced skipper. “You’d better know your course ahead of time to stay in the channel and avoid possible groundings.”
Where did that channel marker go?
Capt. Ramsey Chason, a Massachusetts Sea Tow skipper whose coverage area includes Cape Cod and The Islands, notes that the further north you head up the coast, the more likely it is that markers will be lifted. “That’s because winter ice floes can grab and drag them a considerable distance,” he says. What’s more, points out Chason, is that rough seas and winter storms often shift sand, so even if a buoy is in the correct location, it’s possible the channel may have moved.
“We see this happen frequently in areas that get a lot of winter storms, like Chatham, Massachusetts,” explains Chason. “The channel there definitely moves a lot during the winter months.
The same goes for Stage Harbor where a small channel skirts Morris Island. Some years it’s wider in the spring; other years it’s completely closed off. In general, if things don’t look right, they probably aren’t, so keep an eye on your depth recorder and trust your instincts as to appearances above the water.”
Hazard Watch
Watch out!
You’ll also need to watch out for floating debris, especially loose pilings, logs, pieces of dock, or other substantial objects that may have been in the water for a prolonged period of time. Many of these potential widow-makers will be partially submerged, difficult to spot at high speeds and nearly unavoidable unless noticed well in advance.
“You are especially likely to cross paths with larger debris during full and new moon tides when more water and strong currents can dislodge such items from their resting places,”
cautions DiLernia.
Should you find any serious hazards, or inconsistencies with aids to navigation, report them immediately to the Coast Guard. They’ll issue a safety alert and see that the matter is appropriately addressed.
The cornerstone of the Bahamas’ Most Dynamic Port City
Cruising into the Nassau Harbour, you are immediately met with bright, bold, tropical colors painted across the city of Nassau. Everything except the two vehicle bridges connecting New Providence Island to the north and Paradise Island to the south is dwarfed by the mega cruise ships that tower above practically every building in downtown Nassau. Because the islands are so low-lying, the contours of buildings and green vegetation barely separate the sea from the sky across the horizon.
This is the same harbor that gave refuge to pirates and rum runners in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is the same harbor that would receive hundreds of sailboats in a massive sponge fleet bound for the Nassau Sponge Exchange. There, they would drop off boatloads of natural sea sponge from the remote Out Islands to service a booming sponge industry that thrived in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. Nassau Harbour has been a major gateway to usher in many periods of Bahamian history.
Today, Nassau Harbour is still the hub of commercial activity for much of the country. It is a bustling thoroughfare for commerce, recreation, tourism, housing, transport, and public
administration. It features a cruise port, cargo port, restaurant, marinas and docks, residences, and bathing beaches.
Container Port
Just beyond the entrance to the harbor is the 56-acre Nassau Container Port, a general cargo container port for both domestic and international bulk cargo. On average, about two to three sea vessels dock at the container port daily, captained by a local marine pilot.
Cruise Port
The most stunning images of Nassau Harbour feature the world’s largest cruise ships towering over the multicolored city with a backdrop of endless sky. Unique to the Caribbean, the harbor can hold up to six cruise ships at one time, including Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which holds 6,680 passengers and is now the largest cruise ship in the world, dethroning the Oasis of the Seas, which also calls on Nassau.
On any given day, there can be 12 or more ships in and out of the harbor.
The main thing for boaters to know about the presence of mega cruise ships in Nassau Harbour is to give way. Once a cruise ship is entering the port, it is confined to the
narrow cruise channel that’s dredged to 40 feet in order to accommodate its draft. Because maneuverability is so limited, boaters must give cruise ships clearance.
Small Boat Traffic
Nassau Harbour is abuzz with commercial traffic from small boats as well. Water taxis ferry thousands of passengers from the Prince George Wharf to the Paradise Island Ferry dock. Cruise ship passengers often use this route to visit Cabbage Beach on the northern side of Paradise Island, and guests at the various Paradise Island resorts use this route to visit downtown Nassau. In addition to ferries, there are dive boats, party boats and other tour operators that regularly cruise up and down the harbor plus the thousands of motor yachts that head to and from the many marinas.
Hazards
The depth in Nassau Harbour ranges dramatically, so the main hazard is running aground. The area dredged for cruise ships is 40 feet deep, but outside of the cruise channel, the
banks shrink to 10 to 12 feet. Boaters should also take heed of the shallow ridge on the eastern side of the harbor. It runs parallel to shore for about two-tenths of a mile, from the Nassau Yacht Haven to Bay Shore Marina. Depths around the ridge range from about three to six feet depending on the tide.
There is a buoy, known as the danger marker, that appears on charts, but the actual marker is not lit. If you follow the charts, you will avoid most of the navigational hazards, but charts won’t tell you about sailboats that often anchor on the eastern side of the harbor in the main channels. Although they have masthead lights, they often blend into the backdrop of city lights at night and become indistinguishable, so exercise caution when navigating at night and be on the lookout for sailboats.
Also, make sure you have on your own navigation lights and be alert for small boats. Although accidents in the harbor are rare, there have been a few resulting from boats cruising with no lights.
Marinas
Nassau Harbour has over 16 marinas, boatyards and fuel docks accommodating transient and long-term motor yachts. When you combine all the marinas, there are about 500 slips, including the newest megayacht slip to come on stream at Bay Street Marina. They now accommodate 500-foot yachts with a 20-foot draft, a step up from the 200-foot slips at the Atlantis Marina, formerly the largest. These are two of the three high-end, full-service marinas in the harbor, although only Atlantis and Hurricane Hole have their own man-made harbors that provide added protection.
There are five fuel docks, including those located at the Nassau Harbour Club Marina, Rubis Fuel Dock and Brown’s Boat Basin. Harbour Central Marina provides rack storage
but is largely filled with local boats. Mechanic shops are easy to find in the harbor as well.
Harbourside Marine is the Yahama distributor specializing in all Yahama maintenance and repairs. Marlin Marine offers maintenance and repairs as the distributors for Generac Generators, Sea-Doo Personal Watercrafts and Evinrude Outboard Engines. There are also several other smaller operators.
Beaches
There are four main bathing beaches in the harbor: British Colonial Hotel Beach, Junkanoo Beach, Long Wharf Beach, and Montague Beach. These are not boater’s beaches, and they are not even the best in Nassau or Paradise Island. If you want to take the boat, it’s worth being a harbor snob when it comes to beaches. Take the short run to offshore Rose Island and experience premium beaching.
There’s more to the Exumas than meets the eye. Check out this Exuma Itinerary to see parts unknown.
Of the 60,000 visitors who travel to the Exumas annually, some 64 percent are repeat visitors. Many of these travelers crave the familiarity that comes with visiting the smaller, more rural islands in The Bahamas. The faces you encounter at the marinas, shops, and restaurants infrequently change, so many of the people you meet quickly form part of your extended family.
Many travelers have also discovered it isn’t necessary to have a radically different itinerary on each return visit in order to have a unique experience. When “X” marks the spot on a popular dive site, you know the wonders of the sea will bless you, but there’s no telling if you’ll see turtles one year or dolphins another. The inhabitants of the marine underworld stay the same, but encounters with each species are not guaranteed. There is a natural anticipation and excitement for each year’s surprises.
The immovable islands don’t change position, and yet their physical character varies, dictated by the strength of the tides and shape-shifting sands, the texture of the sky and the mood of the light.
Undoubtedly, what’s common for most travelers is that the sea calls them to the Exumas. According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, even though only two percent arrive via private boat, 6 of the top 10 activities that visitors intend to engage in are marine-based: beaching, snorkeling, sailing, diving, and fishing. It is unsurprising, therefore, that 8 of the top 10 things to do on Trip Advisor are beach or boating excursions to locations such as the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Pig Beach and Stocking Island. If you count yourself among the many that are called by the sea, we recommend these few common, yet offbeat things to do in your Exuma Itinerary.
Shroud Cay
An overview of Shroud Cay.
Shroud Cay is a spongy island for which the land and the sea continuously interchange places as the tides rise and fall. Protective mangrove creeks snake across the island like saltwater rivers that flow from the windward side to the banks. They are so shallow that in some places you can only explore by dinghy, kayak or wave runner. The seemingly endless beaches on this wilderness island are completely deserted and untouched, and dive sites off the northern end of the island include the Wax Cut Drift dive and Fire Coral Reef.
Warderick Wells
A sailboat in Wardrick Wells, a must-see on your Exumas Itinerary.
Warderick Wells is home to the Exuma Land and Sea Park headquarters. Its mooring area is visually stunning with all of the quintessential elements of the Exuma landscape. The deep channel runs parallel to the island, bordered on one side by the beach and on the other side by a sand bar. Beyond, the sea stretches to the horizon in layers of undulating white sand art mixed with deep and shallow blues.
The boundaries of the park stretch from Wax Cay Cut in the north to Conch Cay Cut in the south. Warderick Wells sits roughly in the middle, with several beaches to enjoy and multiple coral gardens. Common sightings include lemon and nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays and three- to four-foot-long lobsters hiding under coral heads. All marine life is protected in the park, and anchoring is prohibited in coral reef areas. On the island, hiking trails are posted with a variety of wildlife, including many bird species and the endangered hutia rodent.
Rocky Dundas
The most well-known underwater cave in The Exumas is by far Thunderball Grotto, named after the 1965 James Bond spy film. An alternative is the Rocky Dundas, south of Little Bells Cay (Cambridge Cay) in the national park.
An incredible view of Rocky Dundas.
There are two caves to explore. As with Thunderball Grotto, at high tide, you have to swim underwater to get inside. At low tide, simply swim through the larger of the two caves to enter. A small, low tide beach is inside; many stalactites and stalagmites texture the rock, and fossilized beetles and the imprints of shells and coral cover the cave walls. Snorkel outside the cave where you’ll find a sandy bottom and colorful coral outcroppings, including a splendid piece of endangered Elkhorn coral, bright orange and swarmed with marine life. For large boats, a mooring site is on the northwestern side of Little Bells Cay where the caves are easily accessible by dinghy.
Norman’s Pond Cave
Many of Exuma’s best natural attractions are loved for their simplicity and mystery; Norman’s Pond Cave is one such example. The cave’s deep labyrinth of underwater passages is not visible from the surface. The cave is captivating at first glance because a glowing turquoise rock pool peeks out from a huge slit in the limestone rock. This natural saltwater bath is the entrance to the underwater lair that has only been explored by cave divers to a depth of 85 meters. The inland corner descends into the cave, but the rest of the pool is a shallow private playground for swimming and cooling down.
According to one family’s experience in the rock pool, “The water was warm and the salt content so high that it felt as if we were floating on air.” Norman’s Pond Cay is located amongst a cluster of cays to the north of Barreterre, Great Exuma.
Angelfish Blue Hole
Next up on the Exuma Itinerary is Stocking Island. The island is best known for its beach bar and restaurant Chat ‘N Chill, a fun, social spot to hang with friends and family. The beach has ample space for relaxing or sport, including beach volleyball. Chat ‘N Chill will provide conch slop to hand feed stingrays on the shoreline. Beyond the beach, there are other accessible marine attractions, including Angelfish Blue Hole and Mystery Cave, snorkeling and diving sites located in an enclosed bay. The bay is frequented by a school of turtles and eagle rays. The entrance to Angelfish Blue Hole has a school of horse-eye jacks as well as blue parrotfish that guard the passage. Grunts, snapper, Atlantic spadefish, and other colorful marine life congregate around Mystery Cave.
No matter how often you’ve experienced the Exumas, there’s more out there than the meets the eye. Explore.
