Long Island, the Bahamian Outislands

After a beautiful 37 mile sail from Rum Cay to Long Island in the Bahamian Outislands, Ben, Ruca and I pulled into the anchorage at Clarencetown.

This passage had been absolutely epic, the kind of sail we had dreamed about back in Kansas City. Perfect 15 knot winds at our beam means we spent no money on diesel to make the passage, a break from the motor-sailing we’d had to do so far on the journey. Wanderlust was keeled over at a comfortable 10 degrees, cruising at 6 knots. The swell was high, sometimes towering over our heads, but slow at ten second intervals. We rode the high ocean swell, our full sails pushing us up the backside of the waves, then swooshing down the front side a few knots faster.

In addition to the great sailing, we had been followed for some time by a friendly killer whale, just 50 feet of so from our stern. He popped his back out of the water a few times to show his shiny black and white skin. We could see him below the waves cruising alongside us, but he was too sly for me to get a picture. Plus, a pack of small grey mischievous dolphins joined us, jumping and playing at our bow, surfing in Wanderlust’s momentum.

As the cherry on top of this epic sail, Ben snagged a big Mahi just a few miles outside our anchorage at Long Island and it fed us for the next three days!

Clarencetown, the settlement just off the anchorage, was small and picturesque with brightly colored buildings on the shore. It looked like a postcard, but understandably still in recovery from Hurricane Joaquin. The only business left in Clarencetown was the marina, which was in reconstruction with many crews onsite. The marina’s main customer base is fisherman, and large sport fishing boats occupied their docks.

We’d come to the marina looking for a grocery store, and were told there used to be a grocery in Clarencetown, but it “blew away” along with all the other structures, and all the trees during the hurricane. Thankfully, a couple of nice ladies doing business in the marina office overheard us, and offered to drive Ben and I several miles to the next settlement, where a grocery store was open. We gratefully accepted the ride.

On the way to the grocery store, the ladies explained that they were both missionaries, stationed on the island for upwards of four years. They had worked here full time, supporting community programs, until the hurricane last year. Since then, their work has become a storm relief program, helping folks rebuild and recover from the devastation of Joaquin, building new roofs, reconstructing the baseball field, and rebuilding the clinic. The ladies dropped us at the small grocery and we thanked them, then went in to buy some fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, cheese, milk and bread.

Afterwards, our missionary friends helped us flag down another ride back to Clarencetown, a super friendly local woman named Sean, toting her son and his best friend in the backseat. Ben and I squeezed in her car with all our groceries, and chatted with the family all the way back to the marina.

On the ride, Sean told us a little about what it was like being home during Hurricane Joaquin. She explained that an evacuation was called, but it was too late, and there were no flights or boats out of Long Island in time to escape. The storm hit their home, and sat for TWO DAYS reaping havoc, tearing off their solar panels and part of their roof. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if the storm hadn’t stalled so long, because the islanders are used to enduring storms, but two days was the breaking point for most of the structures on the island. Even the town church “storm shelters” lay in rubble. Sean explained that even though their home was damaged, many homes were totally destroyed or blown away, and she was thankful.

Back at anchor, Ben, Ruca and I did our usual beachcombing and sightseeing around the island. We hiked along the rocky beaches, and waded in the shallows.

We explored the blue holes in the area by dinghy, and fished, however we were both a little too scared to dive for lobsters or conch. Our fellow cruisers from Sailing Serotonin had told us that the fishermen in Clarencetown habitually feed fish carcasses the sharks after they return from day trips. After years of this routine, the sharks have made a habit of hanging in the anchorage, and they expect snacks. We had seen a couple black or grey sharks swimming beneath our boat, and again at the marina, so we decided the rumors might have some truth, and was best to stay out of the water in Clarencetown.

Our time in Clarencetown was coming to an end as another gorgeous sailing window approached. Perfect winds, calm seas and a sunny day meant it was time to go! We couldn’t miss this perfect chance to up anchor and head south, on to the faraway and isolated Crooked Island!

Thanks for Reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#destinations #Bahamas