When the wind was favorable and it was time to move on, we decided to sail to Hatchet Bay because there was a bit of a storm on the way and the anchorage in Pelican Cay became very uncomfortable with the swells coming directly from the west and the wind from the south. Hatchet Bay was about nine miles from Pelican Cay, and the storm was moving relatively fast. When we got close to Rainbow Cay, we contemplated the option to go into the little bay and anchor there until the storm passes, but then, upon studying the chart more closely, realized that there would be hardly any benefit to us anchoring literally in the open ocean.
We sailed on to the tiny opening into Hatchet Bay. At first I couldn’t believe that the very small opening in the rocks was actually the entrance to the bay, but as we came closer it was obvious that it was large enough for even the mailboat to enter. As we sailed through the opening the water was all of a sudden as smooth as a mirror and everything as calm as could be. We dropped the anchor and there was only two other boats in the bay.
The previous night’s uncomfortable seas as well as the few hours of beating against the waves and storm, made us tired enough to appreciate a good nap in a very calm bay. We probably slept for about two hours and upon waking, Andre was asking in surprise why there was a heap of sand right next to the port window in the aft cabin. We immediately realized that we had dragged anchor and that the boat was stuck on the heap of sand that was dug out to build the new marina. There was no way to lower the dinghy from the davits because it would land right on the sand. The boat was stuck and wouldn’t move. Andre put it in forward and the reverse for very short bursts in the hope that the prop wash would blow away some sand. After a few minutes it actually worked and she was free! We reset the anchor and this time Andre dove down to make sure that the anchor was set properly. The whole bottom was covered in a green growth and what looked like pretty white flowers. The “flowers” were actually also floating in the water and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be jelly fish. The locals later told us that they sting like crazy, but Andre came away unscathed.
We dinghied into town in the late afternoon and explored the small town. There was no grocery store, but at least a convenience store right by the docks but unfortunately no fresh produce or dairy. There’s quite a few places to buy liquor though. The town had a beautiful very yellow church, a small “resort”, a few small restaurants or rather eateries, and on the south side a lovely restaurant on the beach.
The charts showed a laundromat about a mile away so we dinghied to shore the next day and walked the distance to the laundromat. According to the roadmap, Sweetings Pond is only about 2 miles from the laundromat, so while Andre was tending the laundry, I decided to take the walk and see if the place was actually closed or if there was a way that we can at least snorkel in the pond. On the way to the pond, which turned out to be quite a distance, was a beautiful organic farm and a lot of deserted silos.
Sweetings pond is a diverse ecosystem with all kinds of wildlife as well as the highest concentration of seahorses in the world. It also includes an unusual concentration of Caribbean Reef Octopus. This unique and sheltered ecosystem has the same salinity as the nearby ocean, but is devoid of any major predators that prey on seahorses. Unfortunately there was no way in and everything was wired closed with signs of no trespassing all over. A lease agreement was signed with the BNT (Bahamian National Trust) and the whole pond and surrounding areas are closed while the new plan for national park is being worked out.
The bay is lined by huge rocks on the ocean side, so we took the dinghy and our snorkel gear to investigate. We were not disappointed and found a lovely Nassau Grouper and a Hogfish Snapper for dinner.
We enjoyed the calm waters in the bay until the front passed and it was time to move on to our next destination.