TOTAL MILES TRAVELED ON SAIL to SEE EXPEDITION: 1268 NM (Nautical Miles)
THE LAST PASSAGE
Miles traveled using SAILS – WIND POWER ONLY: 490 NM
Miles traveled using both SAILS & ENGINES together: 14 NM
Miles traveled using ENGINES – FOSSIL FUELS ONLY: 364 NM
Average Water Temperature: 75 f/24 c
Average Air Temperature: 68 f/20 c
Strongest Wind: 32 Knots (knots are a wind measurement of Nautical Miles per hour)
SHIP SIGHTINGS:
R/V Neil Armstrong – Research Vessel from Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts
Houston Pearl – Cargo ship spotted leaving Beaufort, North Carolina
Tourtourelle – Sailboat from Great Britain headed to the Bahamas
Runa – Container ship from Cyprus headed to St. Croix
ANIMAL SIGHTINGS:
Atlantic Ocean: Gannets, Dolphins, Sparrow
Bahamas: Hutias, Lizards, Osprey, Starfish, Eagle Ray, Common Stingray, Nurse Shark, Lemon Shark, Pigs, Green Sea Turtles, Hawksbill Turtle, Porcupinefish, Queen Triggerfish, Sargent Major, Coral
Plastics Collection: We have tested our Plastic Collecting Trawl. Here is a photo of the trawl in action and also what we picked up in just a short amount of time in the sieve. There were several pieces of polystyrene and a few bits of blue plastic. We will be towing the trawl more regularly soon and will report on what kinds of plastics we find.
VOS Reports Filed: VOS NOAA weather reports to begin soon - stay tuned.
Elcie departed Beaufort, North Carolina and the United States of America on November 25th. We passed many fishing boats as we sailed away from the coast of North Carolina. A small pod of dolphins welcomed us into the Atlantic Ocean.
The first night underway we crossed the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is a warm current that runs up the coast
of North America and across the Atlantic Ocean towards Ireland and Great Britain. The Gulf Stream creates a temperate climate in these far northern countries. Here is a map showing the Gulf Stream. The average speed of the Gulf Stream current is about 4 MPH (or 3.5 Knots).
For Elcie, the seas felt rough when we entered the Gulf Stream. This is most likely because the wind direction was blowing against the current. On the first night, we passed the Research Vessel Neil Armstrong. It is a research vessel that is capable of coastal and deep ocean operations, and equipped with cranes and winches for over-the-side loading of research equipment and supplies, as well as accommodations for twenty-four scientists.
You can read more about the R/V Neil Armstrong here.
For part of the passage, we had no wind and had to use the engines. During the passage, we were fishing every day with a line towed behind Elcie. We caught two Mahi Mahi’s and one Skipjack tuna. The photo here is Richard, the captain, with a fresh caught Mahi Mahi. We turned that fish into fried fish sandwiches.
The ocean passage to the Bahamas was 547 Nautical Miles long. It took 73 hours. Can you figure out our average speed in Nautical Miles per hour (also called knots)? You can find the answer below.
Here is the Captain Richard clearing Elcie into the Bahamas. We had to
go through Customs and Immigration before we were allowed to leave the boat. This is so the Bahamas government knows who’s coming into the Bahamas and make sure they are not bringing anything dangerous into the country. Boats also have to clear out. Once we are cleared in, we can take down the yellow "Q" flag for quarantine and put up a Bahamas courtesy flag in its place.
One of the nicest parts of the Bahamas is the warm weather and water. The crew enjoyed a day playing at a beach body surfing in the waves.
Our third stop in the Bahamas was a small town called Hope Town. It is believed that Hope Town was the first place the British loyalists landed in the Bahamas when they left America. The houses were very old and very quaint.
Hope Town has a lighthouse that was used to alert sailors where there was land. It was built in 1864 and is still running. It’s the oldest lighthouse that uses kerosene to power the bulb. Visitors are welcome to climb to the top of the lighthouse where there is a great view of the island and the water surrounding it.
The Bahamas has fantastic sunsets like this one in Lynyard Cay. You can see Elcie’s silhouette in the background.
One of the crew found a washed up red channel marker in Lynyard Cay. We wondered if this one was missing from somewhere important.
One of the crew found a washed up red channel marker in Lynyard Cay. We wondered if this one was missing from somewhere important.
Runa was the name of a container ship we saw while sailing between the Abacos and Eleuthera. Since we would pass close to it, Captain Richard called the ship on the radio. Most of the Islands in the Caribbean rely on ships like this for food and supplies.
In the Exuma Islands we visited a cave called Thunderball Grotto. A scene from a James Bond movie was filmed at the cave. To enter the cave, one had to swim in. It was best to wear a mask and snorkel to be able to look at all the fish and also to be
careful not to kick live coral. There was a hole in the top of the cave and my sister and I jumped through it and into the water below.
After Thunderball Grotto, we visited a beach with swimming pigs. It does not seem like a pig would be a good swimmer but they are.
Further south in the Exumas we visited the Farmer’s Cay All Age School. Cay is pronounced like “key” and is the word used for a small island. We really enjoyed meeting Ms. Collins and Ms. Rule, the two teachers at the school. On the day we visited, the students were taking exams before the holiday break. The school was painted in bright yellow and green colors that match the sunny environment of the Bahamas.
If you attended school in Big Farmer’s Cay you would:
•have only 7 students in your school and maybe only one student in your grade. There was one seventh grade student when we visited.
•leave the island to go to high school.
•wear a uniform like the one shown in the photos. The girls wear a navy jumper, light blue blouse and a small tie. The boys wear navy pants, a light blue dress shirt and a tie.
•live on an island surrounded by turquoise blue water with turtles and rays and sharks in the harbor.
Thank you to the Farmer’s Cay All Age School for making us feel welcome. We hope you had a successful Fun Day for your field trip. Also, We really liked the bulletin board about Sailing into Mathematics.
After Little Farmer's Cay, we visited another small island that had several blowholes. A blowhole is a hole in the
limestone rocks that opens to the sea below. When a wave comes it blows air and spray out of it. My sister, Molly, collected and threw a bunch of leaves into the blowhole. You can watch what happens here.
Elcie has arrived in Georgetown, Exuma and this is the end of this logbook entry. In a few days we will be sailing away from the Bahamas and toward Haiti and Panama. We will be writing about that in our 3rd Logbook Entry which we plan to post on January 5th.
WHERE WE VISITED: BAHAMAS
Official Name: Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Population: 377,374
Area: 5,358 sq. miles (13,936 sq. km)
Capital: Nassau
Type of Government: Parliamentary democracy
Currency: Bahamian dollar
Language: English
Highest Point: Mount Alvernia 207 ft. (63 m)
Climate: tropical marine
Natural Resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Major Exports: fish, crawfish, rum, salt, chemicals, fruits and vegetables
Natural Hazards: hurricanes, tropical storms
Country Flag:
Interesting Fact: The name "Bahamas" comes from the Spanish baja mar meaning shallow sea
Answer: Our speed in Nautical Miles Per Hour (Knots) was approximately 7.5