Making New Tracks

George Town to New Bight, Cat Island |  9 Hours  |  57 Miles 

Our chartplotter records all of our travels with a black line overlayed on our navigational charts. Up to this point we've been following well-traveled routes from previous trips to The Bahamas. This morning we set out to make new tracks. Our anchor was up at 6:30 and we continued south down Elizabeth Harbor. Along the way we slowed to admire the megayacht RH Three anchored at the edge of the channel. A quick Google search found that you too could charter this vessel for $115,000 a week, plus expenses. We rounded the point into South Channel and spotted a familiar silhouette in the sun's glitter. Mercator, a 53-foot Selene was coming into George Town from Turks & Caicos. Through a quick Selene-family hello over the radio, we learned that they have lived aboard for four years. We began as the caboose behind four sailboats crossing Exuma Sound. With a 15-knot wind on the beam, the sailors were happy. With our gimpy stabilizer fin, the wind-driven beam sea made for a bumpier than we'd hoped for ride. As the wind clocked around, the sailboats fell off and we were able to pull in front of them by continuing direct to our destination. 

By lunchtime, the hills of Cat Island came into view. I made a wonderful salad for lunch with the arugula purchased at the George Town Farmers' Market and some leftover salmon. It is always a nice treat to get fresh produce. They sky darkened and a dry squall rolled over us. There was no rain, but the associated gusts whipped the wind and waves up for 20 minutes. By the time we reached the bight of Cat Island, Crossroads was covered with at thick layer of salt. It took a good hour to make our way across the bight to the town of New Bight. We spotted three trawlers in the anchorage and immediately recognized the profile of one -- a Selene 53, Salty Mare. Once our anchor was set, I immediately got to work washing the salt from every surface of Crossroads. There was just enough time for a quick shower before dropping the dinghy and dashing off for sundowners on the beach at 5:15. We had a great group and a beautiful sunset. 

We also had more than enough no-see-ums and mosquitoes. By the time the sun reached the horizon, we were all in the water up to our knees so the varmints could no longer chew on our ankles. We had hopes for a green flash, but no luck tonight. We made plans to meet as a group tomorrow morning and then headed back to our respective boats. As we arrived, Todd from Salty Mare drove over in his dinghy for another Selene family hello. The boating world is a small one, and everyone knows everybody else. After a light dinner, Barry put on his IT hat and set up his computer and television so we could cast a streamed show to the big screen. We both enjoyed catching up on missed episodes of our favorite show.