clocking around Cave Cay

Storm approaching the Bight of Abaco.

Sailing in the Bahamas in April, as we mentioned in an earlier post, brings weather challenges as cold fronts continue to move across the area. We have learned to better anticipate arrival of these powerful weather events, and to locate anchorages in advance that provide multiple options for riding out winds and seas generated by a front.

Cave Cay, located in the Bight of Abaco near the settlement of Foxtown, is such a place.   As a cold front approaches, we typically experience shifting winds that move in a clockwise direction. We first anchored Pandion on the southwest shoreline last Thursday, with winds coming from the NE, comfortably riding out the first two days of a stalled front along with two other sailboats.

When winds began to shift to the south, we lifted anchor and moved clockwise around the island to Gum Bay on Cave Cay's north shore on Sunday, and again late yesterday to the east side of the island as a new front moved in from the east coast of Florida. Last night we experienced winds gusting to 50 knots as the storm passed by us, but because we were safely on the lee side of the island, Pandion rode the weather out in good shape.

This morning, a beautiful sunrise, storm has subsided. Cave Cay fishing tournament (between Brenda and me) is on the schedule. Life is good!

View of the approaching weather from Pandion, after anchoring safely off the northeast shore of Cave Cay.