Sulieres Blog | Join us sailing the world in our 50ft sailing catamaran

Time 2020-12-30 04:04:11

Web Name: Sulieres Blog | Join us sailing the world in our 50ft sailing catamaran

WebSite: http://suliere.com

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Suliere s Blog Join us sailing the world in our 50ft sailing catamaran Well, we had to leave Ragged Island in May 2013 to rush back to Ft Lauderdale and home because of a family illness so there is much to tell that we have missed out of this blog.However we did make a video of the entire adventure down to Ragged and back to Lauderdale and you can see a trailer of here:-You can purchase the full video for $10 USA.To bring you up to date we are now back in Lauderdale and about to leave for the Bahamas in the morning.This time we plan our normal deep water route to Nassau to check in and then down the Exumas and the Jumnetos Cays to Cuba. This will only take a few weeks.Cuba is where we intend to spend some 3 months and will be filming our adventure. WiFi contact is very poor there, so do not expect too much in the way of blog entries. 16 May 2013We arrived  at Ragged Island around 12.30 and settled in, its always so lovely to arrive, set the anchor, get tidy and begin to relax into our new surrounds.Our Anchorage at Ragged IslandWe launched Slurpy and attempted to make it to Duncan s Town but Slurpy  had a nervous breakdown en route for reasons best know to Paul ((Turned out Paul had closed the valve which caused a lack of air.  This then caused an air lock but at least we could sort that out and we hadn’t drifted to far), Whilst trying to rectify the problem a large wave lashed us soaking us both to the skin so it was back to Suliere  for a shower, cuppa and a Chelsea bun!Some of you may already know that lesley s daughter had spinal surgery last  October and three operations to follow in an attempt to close the wound so Lesley had remained in at home while Paul departed in November to get work done on Suliere.  When Lesley eventually left home in March she was comforted by the knowledge that Laura was making a steady recovery, getting back into her working routine slowly but surely and all with the co-operation of her employer.Over the past couple of weeks we had been receiving news that she was in pain and then worse,  experienced  a serious relapse and was struggling to cope alone.  We had both been getting increasingly unhappy about Laura being alone  especially as in theory we still another 6 weeks  to cruise Cuba ahead of us.  We made the decision to go home, anything else was unthinkable and  this would be the easiest time for us to leave  rather than in another couple of weeks when we would be who know where in Cuba.  At this stage we hadn t paid medical insurance, cruising permit and entry fees etc and might get the Cuba aspect of our insurance back hopefully- which we did.Of course we arrived at this decision with mixed feelings, suddenly we were nearing the end of our adventure when it had almost been the beginning of a new adventure.  We were relieved knowing that Lesley would be heading back to assist Laura in getting the help she needed and Paul fully supportive and keen to get home himself having been away for 7 months by this time.  Cuba will still be there next year we agreed and most importantly Laura will be getting the love, help and support she so badly needs at this time.   We had always said that we would always be the masters of our cruising year and not the other way around,  situations like this exemplify our whole attitude to cruising.With this decision made our hearts felt a little lighter knowing it was the right thing to do.  We watched a movie and then input the waypoints for our journey homeward bound. 13 may 2013 Long sandy beach mile and a half.  Left Nurse cay  10.25 arrived  Buena Vista 11am!We approach Buena VistaAs we arrived, Doug came over to look at anchor and spotted huge Barracuda under boat .. about 4 foot long.  We kayaked ashore and had a walk along the deserted beach.  As there was a nice reef near the boat, upon returning to the boat we decided to snorkel to it.t Nice little reef, so decided to brave it to the one off the boat.  got back , prepared and went in.  Paul said barracuda was gone, but I looked and there he was following us.  We got spooked and went back to be safe not sorry!  Decided he was just curious and set off again thinking he wouldn’t follow twice but he came a little too close so we decided to get back on board as it was a great barracuda known to attack.  Saw his teeth and that was enough for me! We were later told by the fisherman Holland Griffin that Barracudas will follow but he’s never see one attack and he’s a spear fisherman too. Kayaked Ashore showered and cooked Larry and gorged ourselves  on lobster before heading out onto the tramps for a sleep. No sooner had we got the shade up that 8 noisy guys turned up from the fishing boat SPLISH! SPLASH! to play ball on the beach and make a racket.  Bah humbug!   After they left over an hour later I fell asleep!Fishing Vessel Splish! Splash!Woke up and had a cuppa then kayaked ashore again to take a Walk ashore before sunset.The sun goes down over Buena VistaBack to the boat to read and watch more of Earth Flight- Condor. 12 May 2013We arrived and anchored in  deserted Nurse Cay with its beautiful white sand beach  and clear waters.Nurse Cay, a beautiful unspoilt bay of white sands and turquoise waters.We could here the call of this Osprey that stayed with us all afternoon.These amazing undercuts often several meters eventually give way with further erosion and collapse.The Jumentos Islands are truly unspoilt and completely undeveloped. Here at Nurse Cay fisherman stop by to take shelter from the weather and clean their catch but only wildlife and goats live here.Sometimes the large eroded undercuts collapse.We were approached by some very friendly fisherman Fishing Boat Sweet Angeline who chatted with us before offering to bring us some Grouper for tonights Dinner.  They and sent a man ashore to cook up the bait for their fishing pots, we were glad to be upwind of the cooking pot- a huge oil drum on an open fire.We meet Ronstan Shaun and Kalvin and talk about life in the islandsRonstan brings us a lovely Grouper for dinnerWe feel so very lucky when Ronstan returns with a nice sized Grouper which he proceeded ro fillet and clean for us whilst chatting about life.  We had seen several sharks in this bay and no realised that they were used to scavenging fish guts and waste from the fishing boat.The boys from Fishing Boat Sweet Angeline.Boys and their toys! The boys mess about in their boat spaying water about with their outboard seeing how high they can make the fountain go!The boys are in high spirits and mess about in the bay before leaving us in peace.  Later we met them ashore with our friend Doug and had a bonfire and some very good rum.  Conversations of life,  of love and of course how to handle women-  seem to be of great concern wherever you are in the world.  Being the only woman their I hadn t the heart to tell them they had it all wrong! 10 May 2013We left Rocky Point at 8 am in good weather but better than that -the storm hadn’t blown a hole through the boat while we slept!   We had a great  sail hoofing along at 8- 9 knots most of the way with Main and Genoa up but both feeling very tired after last night getting very little sleep until 4am when the storm abated but then awakened at 6 by a wonderful dawn chorus.At 3pm we arrived at Flamingo Cay, we could see three other masts along the island but all appeared to be in a bay of their own. There was also a fishing boat called Double M  at anchor.Flamingo Cay, Two Palms Bay, where we found only one palm!Fishing boat Double MWe had chosen a spot in Two Palms Bay and headed in finding ourselves in the  same bay as a yacht called Gillean as there was plenty of space though we could only spot one palm not two, this was something of a mystery to us!Gillean, our companion Doug s boat.We were just setting the bridle up when we heard a voice calling to us,  it was the guy from the other  yacht who introduced himself as Doug from Gillean. We chatted for a while and he invited us to join him for a bonfire on the beach later at dusk. So now with time to relax and enjoy  so we wasted no time  in getting into the water  where we were delighted to find a marvellous reef just off our stern with a wide variety of  fish in huge numbers but one solitary fish stole the show and captured our attention with its fascination of fancy fins so hypnotic and enticing yet screaming at us to keep away .. yes, a Lion Fish.  Our attention was captivated by this graceful mover but we kept far enough away to take no risks.  Pretty  much everything about the Lionfish is  venomous , with its tan and white zebra stripes, long, showy pectoral fins, and generally cantankerous demeanor everything about it says, Don t touch! 9th May 2013Paul rattled Lesley s feet at 7.45am and  by 8 we were on our way leaving Little Farmers Cay behind us but taking our happy memories with us.  We sailed well for the first couple of hours but then things got a bit frisky for an hour and wind the dropped so we motor sailed.  As the wind picked up we sailed on a reefed genoa and full main doing the trip in some 6.5 hours as against the planned 8 hours so not bad going.We  had planned to spend the night at anchor just south of Great Exuma as an overnight stop before heading off to the deserted Ragged Islands. In going over the  Explorer charts Lesley spotted the Rocky Point anchorage and Paul agreed that it was the best place to anchor.Alone at Rocky PointRocky Point was, as expected completely deserted,  we were now leaving the beaten path and heading off to a chain of  deserted Cays. Whilst at Oceans Cabin bar at Little Farmers Cay another cruiser was surprised to hear that we were heading off to the Ragged Islands saying “but there is nothing there”. Our response was that is exactly why we wanted to go there!  The cruising guides warned that sailing in the Ragged chain of Cays required experience and self reliance we had been warned and were well prepared finding the prospect exciting and challenging.Arriving at Rocky point in the afternoon we set about relaxing and planned to have an early.  Lesley  absorbed herself  watching the mountainous clouds building all around us with an ominous glow and trying to get photos but nothing seemed to capture their magnitude .  By  4 pm as the skies darkened it was clear to see  ‘theres lightenin’ in them there clouds’  Thunder rumbling around us- GO AWAY! AWAY! . but there was nowhere else for us to go and no way of escaping what seemed to be as building thunderstorm on rather a large scale.The clouds begin to darkenTruly an unforgettable night of thunder and lightening and we with our 74 ft of mast were the highest lightening conductor for many a mile. the interesting thing was that the clouds built to the left, to the right and seemed to meet up where they had passed us but overhead the sky remained clear- could we really be that lucky?Small clouds begin to expand and tower above us on all sidesAs dusk falls the clouds get darker and we can see lightening in them with heavy rain SquallsWell was like the charge of the Light Brigade, lightening in front of us, on each side of us and sometimes behind us.  Not just single bolts coming down to the water but spectacularly with multiple bolts at a time.  We sat and watched for hours with mixed feelings of awe, wonder and primal fear.  By 1am there was no sign of a reprieve so decided to head to bed to try and get some sleep (HA!).  We  put some of our precious electricals in to the microwave, dishwasher and washing machine just in case note to self- dont forget to remove aforementioned precious items before putting a load in!   We settled ourselves on the port stern bed making sure we kept clear of the sides and stayed  the foam mattress. The centre berths are right alongside the mast and hence possibly the best place to be if you wish to experience the lightening bolt as it fires its way down the mast,  through your  barbecued body and into the sea. Funny what pictures your imagination can conjure at such times!There really is nothing much you can do in such circumstances except wait to see if you escape unscathed or not …. It’s a very helpless feeling. After many hours of Mother Nature showing off her awesome power we eventually drifted off to sleep.  It had been a scary night that had at times reminded us of our solitude and vulnerability.

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