Spanish Wells Yacht Haven Archives

Emerald Bay is a very well run marina strategically located in Great Exuma for those cruising the southern Exumas and preparing for travels further south. As we approach the hurricane season, Emerald Bay offers a hurricane refuge for boats up to 50 feet on the inner pontoons. I would not recommend the marina for large yachts in extreme weather when there can be a dangerous surge in the area where they moor. All vessels should exercise caution when entering or leaving in strong northeasterly winds.

Spanish Wells Yacht Haven

The refit of Spanish Wells Yacht Haven is now complete. The docks have been rebuilt and have all new electrical wiring. Beautifully appointed rooms are available in four new buildings, and the restaurant, Wreckers, has a full-service bar. The food is as good as you will find anywhere in the Family Islands with a well-balanced menu: ribeye steak, cracked conch, fresh grilled fish, upscale pizza, and several Greek dishes. Head chefs Jo Douvlis and Dino Xenopoulos are in charge. The marina has been almost full every day since mid-March, so reservations are strongly recommended, especially for boats over 60′. Contact Dockmaster, Leroy Kelly, at 242-333-4255. facebook.com/swyachthaven

Hurricane season

The devastation of Hurricane Joaquin is a lesson in the power of nature and our imperfect ability to forecast approaching storms. As the next hurricane season approaches it is best to review these lessons. Plan your itinerary with potential storms in mind and take early action. Be prepared and you can have plenty of fun. It’s a great time to cruise The Bahamas.

Turks and Caicos

The Turks and Caicos now operate a radar surveillance station that can be reached by calling “Provo Radio” on VHF16. The station provides navigational warnings and weather. This service provides improved safety when operating anywhere in the country. I recommend you call the station when you get within range so they can track you and pass important information such as new navigational hazards.

Sand Dollar

Bahamian beachcombing is as good as anywhere, and it is fun to learn to identify the shells, beans, and glass that you collect. I still recommend that you carry Blair Witherington’s Florida’s Living Beaches to help in your beach endeavors. The common five keyhole sand dollar (a flat round marine animal related to sea urchins) has a legend that is fun to know. Break a sand dollar to release the five doves it has inside. These doves can be part of your collection. Find out about the legend at traditioninaction.org/religious/f024_SandDollar.htm

Watermakers Air

Cruisers who need to return to the U.S. intermittently during their Bahamas cruising season will be glad to know that Watermakers Air has expanded its services for passengers and freight. Flying out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the destinations now include:

• North Eleuthera

• Great Harbour Cay

• Chub Cay

• San Andros

• Fresh Creek

• Congo Town

• Staniel Cay

• Exuma International

Their freight and passengers services are excellent and fairly priced. Watermakers can be reached at (954) 771-0330. watermakersair.com

Blackbeard the manatee

You don’t need a big boat to have a great time on the water. Photo: Barbara Crouchley

Tracking manatees in The Bahamas has become an exciting cooperation between scientists and local observers, and anyone can join in the fun. The Bahamas Marine Mammals Organization (BMMO) run by Diane Claridge and Charlotte Dunn welcomes all observations. They ask for photos so they can make positive identification of individual animals. Sightings can be reported on their website. Anyone can follow the tracks of the manatees on BMMO’s Facebook page. bahamaswhales.org; facebook.com/bmmro

Nina Sanchez, a student in Grand Bahama, recently took a video of manatees in a canal. The video is posted on You Tube as “Manatees in Sunrise Canal.” One turned out to be a manatee named Blackbeard who can be identified by the crescent cut in the right side of his tail. Blackbeard has been tracked for several years and has been seen as far south as Long Island.

Navigation notes:

For those of us who have cruised through the Windward Passage to enter The Bahamas at night, the Matthew Town lighthouse was a very welcome sight. The good news is that this and several other lights have been put back in service, and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force says it is doing its best to relight and maintain the major lights throughout the islands. Great Isaac, Hole in the Wall and Matthew Town are now operational as are several smaller lights in the Abacos. In these days of radar, GPS and chart plotters lighthouses are not quite as essential as they were years ago. However, it only takes one lightning strike to disable your boat’s electronics and put you back in the old days, loving every functioning aid to navigation—all lighthouses included.

— by Stephen Connett, Southern Boating Magazine May 2016

Hurricane season is upon us again, but summer and early fall are great times to cruise in The Bahamas as long as you have a good hurricane strategy. (Southern Boating readers know they need a hurricane strategy any time they’re in the hurricane zone no matter where they’re cruising.) If you look carefully at the charts and read the yachting guides you will discover that there are some excellent hurricane holes throughout the north and central islands. With good planning and a close eye on the weather forecasts you can keep yourself within reach of one of these harbors and ensure you’ll be securely moored in plenty of time. Make sure that space is available in your haven of choice and that your tanks are always topped off. The choices will depend on the size and draft of your vessel, where you want to cruise and whether you plan to stay on board during the storm.

Generally you want to choose harbors that are enclosed and small enough to have little fetch. It is also good to be tucked in behind some land and not just a breakwater. If you plan to stay at anchor make very sure that the holding is perfect. A few good choices are:

• Grand Bahama: Bradford Marine in Freeport and Port Lucaya Marina in Lucaya,

• Abacos: Baker’s Bay Marina

• Berry Islands: Great Harbour Cay and Chub Cay

• North Eleuthera: Spanish Wells Yacht Haven

• Nassau: Atlantis and Hurricane Hole

• Cat Island: Hawksnest Marina

• Exumas: Compass Cay Marina and Crab Cay

The southern islands have very few natural harbors. Fast powerboats can cruise these islands with greater safety because they can run back to Hawksnest or down to the Turks and Caicos in a few hours.

If you are new in The Bahamas local knowledge is strongly advised. Inexperienced cruisers will quickly learn that Bahamians have a very healthy respect for hurricanes and are more than willing to help anyone on the water.

Be sure that you have communications systems on board that will provide you with up-to-date hurricane warnings and tracking. The Miami Hurricane Center (nhc.noaa.gov) is available on the Internet, and Chris Parker’s Marine Weather Center is available by email or single side band (mwxc.com). Be extra careful to maintain your float plan with a reliable friend or relative. We also suggest daily communications with at least one other boat cruising in your area.

San Salvador

San Salvador, the “Living Jewel” of The Bahamas, is a lovely destination with good facilities and some of the most abundant wildlife in the islands. Scuba divers swim with beautiful coral, reef fish, turtles, and sharks all along the southwestern shore. Birders find a variety of land and sea birds—Birds of San Salvador, Bahamas by R. Hays Cummins et al. is available from Kindle—and sport fishermen troll for pelagic fish on “The Hump” off the north end of the island. Bonefishermen work the flats in Pigeon Creek, and students and scientists are in residence at the Gerace Research Centre (geraceresearchcentre.com) year-round to study the island’s flora and fauna and geology. Historians still like to argue the evidence that the island was the place that Columbus first came ashore in the New World.

Best of all, the people of San Salvador know how fortunate they are and have worked relentlessly to preserve the island’s environment. For the last 10 years citizens have worked with the Bahamas National Trust, BREEF, the Gerace Research Centre, the Nature Conservancy, and the Bahamian government to achieve permanent protection for important habitats on the island and in its coastal waters.

At a ceremony in Cockburn on April 23rd the Deputy Prime Minister, Phillip “Brave” Davis, announced the establishment of five new national parks in San Salvador. The parks will be managed by the Bahamas National Trust. Most important to cruisers are the protected area on the west side, Graham’s Harbour and Pigeon Creek. These parks are part of the growing number of no-take marine protected areas that will protect at least 20 percent of Bahamian near-coastal waters by 2020 as part of the Caribbean Challenge.

By Stephen Connett, Southern Boating Magazine July, 2015

Tag: Spanish Wells Yacht Haven

Emerald Bay

Hurricane Season in The Bahamas