Category: Cruising

ANDROS GOLD aka Dwight’s West Side Story (Part 9 of 9)

Written by Hans Wilson

Sunday – I got up early, got the coffee going and enjoyed a most pleasant, quiet, breezy morning topsides finishing up this log. It was moving day, back to the states. It was also clean up day and there was a laundry list of items Dave had drafted that needed to be taken care of for the next round of folks using the boat. The goal is to leave the boat clean as a whistle, with no remnants from the past users, including personal effects, food, etc. The Squirrel took on the job of cleaning the top sides, and Em was a maniac, cleaning the boat’s interior. Dave kept assigning me responsibilities from the list. Fortunately my incredible mechanical talents (right), along with the longest arms of anyone on board, made me the optimum candidate to bail the water from around the bow thruster buried deep in the anchor locker. I also filled up both water tanks, which took forever. Dave had lots of little, mechanical chores which I enjoyed doing, being Mr. Fixit at home prepared me for which end of the screw driver to use.

We finally got everything done, offloading all of our gear and dive equipment onto the dock, then took showers. I was aghast at the amount of gear sitting on the dock and wondered how we would get it all into the airplane. I swear there was even more stuff than we had before, in part because we were bringing some things back we didn’t bring when we came over. I was hoping it would be an even trade out with the beer, liquor, and groceries but was further horrified when we loaded it into the taxi.

Amazingly enough we got it all into the plane, again. Fortunately The Squirrel is one of the best pilots I have ever flown with and on the top of his game. With such a big load it was full throttle, full flaps, and a few Hail Mary’s and we were off the ground headed back to Naples. It was a relatively uneventful flight, my favorite kind. We landed, unloaded, then scattered to our various directions.

I enjoyed the adventure, and I am sure Dwight did too. There is no better feeling than to be completely exhausted; smiling inside with the memories of a wonderful time; possessing a cooler with fresh tuna, snapper, and conch; and future stories to tell. It was not unlike the gazillion boat races I shared with my Dad. I think he would have enjoyed the ride, and I hope he did, a least in spirit. I always loved when the sailing crew was headed off his boat, the Beschwipst, to their cars. As they headed off to points beyond he would tell his friends “Drive Cheerful”. I think my new expression would be “Boat Cheerful”. I can’t wait for the next adventure.

ANDROS GOLD aka Dwight’s West Side Story (Part 8 of 9)

Written by Hans Wilson

Saturday – Not starting out great this morning.  Slow to rise and feeling a touch hung over but no headache, so that was good.  I fixed a big ham and cheese sandwich and drank a bunch of cranberry juice.  I am sure my liver appreciated that.  The wind was still from the east but had simmered down to about 10 knots, like it does in the morning.  We pulled out early to go offshore while it was still relatively calm and get in a dive.  We anchored in 70’ of water and the boat rocked and rolled.  By now I was feeling better but not great.  I knew a dive would be just the thing to clear the cobwebs. Dave and The Squirrel were the first in to scope out the area, spotting some nice Hogfish and picking up some deep water conch.

Now it was mine and Em’s chance.  She wanted to take pictures and I wanted to sight see.  The reef was beautiful with coral heads rising up from the sand 12’ to 15’.  There were lots of reef fish and small groupers poking their heads around the corner.  I kept my eye on a 6’ reef shark that kept circling and getting closer. Finally, the shark annoyed Em’s photography session enough that she turned and charged him.  He took off, never to be seen again. I guess you just don’t mess with a woman when she is on a mission.

I saw a nice scamp grouper and a big Nassau that worked his way up into a hole.  I was simply intent on hovering like a bird mid air, diving low to see things under the coral heads then cruising up above them to enjoy the little reef fishes up close.  We finished out the dive at the anchor where we hung for a few minutes at 15’ for safety reasons.

After cleaning up the gear and hanging it to air dry, we struck a course for New Providence and Old Fort Bay.  Before our dive that day we had lost the starboard engine because of a broken fuel sensor. So it was a slow, agonizing five hour grind back, with the wind off our starboard quarter and the waves parallel to the boat.  Oh, it was a long slog.  My saving grace was steering the boat for a couple of hours, which made me focus on the horizon, and eventually a cold Gold Kalik.  Actually, it took two beers and half a hamburger to fully recover.  I’m not sure if it was the drinking, the relentless wind, the constant motion of the boat, or the combination of it all for a week, but I was pretty exhausted.

We were about an hour from port when we came upon a flock of birds.  They were everywhere. Dave said “I bet you can find some black tuna under them”.  Oh what a tease. Dave and I debated whether we had the energy to put out a line but I couldn’t resist.  I had not contributed any fish to the cooler all week and now was my chance.  I gamely retrieved the big rod with the cedar plug from down below as Dave circled around.  The adrenaline was pumping as I reeled in the first little tuna.  Paying out the line for another pass resulted in my second hook up.  This time the adrenaline had backed off and the fatigue set in.  For such a small fish I was whipped.  But, one more pass for good measure put a third fish in the cooler.  All right, fresh tuna!  While the boat continued it’s combination of quartering and side to side rolls, I sloshed around the aft deck with my arms in the cooler, big knife in hand, cutting off heads and gutting the fish to bleed them out.

We fueled up at Lyford Cay, home of some gorgeous old boats and big mega-yachts.  It must be nice to have money like that, for sure.  However our boat was still a beauty and a great boat to tour the Bahamas.  I bet we have more fun than the rich folks on their mega yachts. We finally got to our marina slip at dark, and ate whatever we had left on the boat.  The food was so good, we were all ravenous, and totally exhausted. I finally crashed about 10:30 with a full belly and slept poorly the entire night.  Weird dreams, light sleep, and lots of acid in my system, I will be glad to get into my own bed.

ANDROS GOLD aka Dwight’s West Side Story (Part 7 of 9)

Written by Hans Wilson

Friday – We woke up to a beautiful, quiet anchorage in the Creek. The tide came in during the evening, with high tide about 1:30 a.m.  The boat had rotated in the channel so I got up to relieve myself and check everything.  The stars were amazing and the east wind actually dropped a little to more of a breeze.

I was up early as the tide had started back out around 5:30.  The sunrise was beautiful and I enjoyed a little Spa channel on the XM satellite radio and sipped my first cup of coffee while stretching my back.  It has been a tough week for physical fitness but at least I am staying limber.  We eventually came to the conclusion that we would wait for the bottom of the tide then add a few hours before we made the trek across the North Bight.  High tide on the east side of Andros coincides with low tide on the west, with the high tide hump traveling across from east to west.  So to hit the high water in the middle we needed to leave on the low tide on the west and hope that as the tide dropped on the east we would have enough draft.

The Squirrel suggested we start the day with Bloody Mary’s, which was an excellent option considering we were in one of Dwight’s resting places and one of his world famous Bloody Mary’s seemed appropriate.  I fixed up my best mix and it was delicious, using my dad’s special blend, of which I refused to reveal the ingredients.  Dave was onto the Worstershire Sauce but could never guess the rest. I wasn’t telling.

We were all sitting enjoying the salon, reading, writing, doing puzzles and enjoying the respite from the relentless wind and doctor flies.  They had been atrocious all week.  We were killing time, waiting for the tide when we spotted a conga line of spongers headed to work.  They looked very solemn as they headed out into the open waters. I was working on this story when the next thing I see is Charlie Bethel pulled up next to us in his 31’ Jupiter, with twin 250’s.  He was headed to town to pick up a generator and had one of his crew tailing along in a big Carolina skiff.  That was our sign that is was time to up anchor and head across the Bight.  The Squirrel and I finished our third Bloody Mary (yes it was a GOOD morning), pulled anchor and headed out, thankfully with Dave at the helm.

Loggerhead Creek is a nice, wide, deep waterway with mangroves on each side with a reputation for sharks. As you proceed upstream the depth quickly peters out to nothing, except the wheel channel.  Dave eased us into this narrow channel and we continued our slow motoring to the east.  It was a nice, uneventful run with adequate water and an occasional show of a turtle or some sharks.

We arrived just off shore from Crazy Charlie’s and decided to take him some of our extra supplies. It would be me and Em this time since The Squirrel and Dave had already been there.  I mentioned to the group that Charlie Bethel, on his return from town, would probably stop by.  I suggested they invite him in for a beer and to tour the boat.  I knew he would be interested in the set up having already seen her from his helicopter.

Crazy Charlie was living in the Bang Bang Club but had no power and we wondered about his water supplies.  We took him some bottled water, beers, some things he couldn’t eat (apples, peanuts) because he had no teeth, and stuff he could eat like peanut butter.  I did a quick tour of the cottages and main building while Em engaged Charlie in conversation.

When I returned from my brief tour of the run down club, he was in full storytelling mode.  As we sipped our beers, I finally asked him how he got the name Crazy Charlie, and thus began the background.  He was guiding some corporate big wig from the United States and they were striking out on the bonefish.  Charlie had a fly that he had tied special, which is about all he does these days, called the “Nasty Charlie”.  He suggested the bigwig try it and they did very well.  The story gets a little blurry, remember now I had gone from Bloody Mary’s to beers all afternoon, but my recollection is that the Bigwig asked if he could have the fly copied.  Charlie agreed, and was paid something on the order of $80,000 for the rights. However, to market the fly, they couldn’t call it the “Nasty Charlie” so instead they opted for the “Crazy Charlie”.  He was holding the fly that was now his namesake and handed it to me to look at.  I don’t know squat about flies or fly fishing, so he could have handed me a hook with a button sewn on (The Squirrel or Dave got one of those) and I wouldn’t know the difference. I handed it back and he said “Keep it” then offered any of his flies to Em as well.  I felt very privileged to receive his namesake fly and have put it in a special place.

By now Charlie Bethel had arrived so we invited Crazy Charlie to come out to the boat and visit.  He was enjoying the cold beers and I bet he would enjoy both the coolness of the salon, no doctor flies, more beer and the company of our crew.  He elected to motor out in his flats skiff and Dave tied him off of between the dive platform and the Jupiter.  Oh what an event, having these two native Bahamians sitting in the salon telling stories.

Bahamian Story Telling Hour in the salon. L to R – Me, Diamond Dave, Charlie Bethel, The Squirrel, Crazy Charlie.

One of the stories Charlie Bethel told was of a hurricane that washed all his fuel and railing right off the deck of his 50’ sportfish they were using on a crawfish adventure.

Crazy Charlie filled in with some of the details as well, including the loss of five Bahamians that were also out on the banks.  Of course Crazy Charlie would be happy to talk all afternoon but after about an hour or so Charlie Bethel needed to leave.  He had his generator to deliver and would be traveling the wheel channel with the sun in his eyes on a falling tide.  Not the optimum situation but I am sure he has dealt with it before.

Both gents left the Gone Astray and we pulled up anchor and continued east to the North Bight.  We set anchor and the water was clear and beautiful, not like the milky waters on the west side.  Em was out snorkeling and I jumped in to sober up a little and enjoy a swim.  The sun was setting and I was perfectly comfortable resting on the dive platform enjoying the warmth of the sunset.  I don’t know for how long but soon enough I was sitting at the dinner table eating leftover spaghetti with blue crab claws in it.  The two biggest mistakes I made for the day was letting The Squirrel talk me into Bloody Mary #3 and not drinking enough water.  It seems I never drink enough water on these cruises.

ANDROS GOLD aka Dwight’s West Side Story (Part 5 of 9)

Written by Hans Wilson

Wednesday – The wind has been relentless, blowing out of the east for days, with speeds probably averaging 15 to 25 knots.  It has been good for blowing away some of the doctor flies, and keeping the boat positioned to see the sunset, but after a while you feel like you are in a wind tunnel and going below into the still air with the air conditioning is a treat.  After my usual morning stretching routine I finished off the potato salad, ate a chunk of smoked sausage, and completed my meal with a slice of pumpernickel raisin toast.  Mom would be proud to see her boy eating in the German way, for breakfast no less.

I made a list of beers to name our dive sites and continued studying the maps for the next route or river to the hidden treasure.  We decided to head north to Williams Island, home to a famous drug running airstrip, with crashed planes around it.  It was my turn in the water, so I geared up with my full wetsuit, anticipating the water temperature, which was 75 degrees, to be too chilly for a shorty.  We headed off to investigate our next round of dive sites.

I splashed in on Busch Light, which was all seagrass with some scattered sponges.  The next site, Abita, was a little different.  It was covered with lots of sponges, sea fans, and bottom algae, but again, no ledges or rocks and therefore no fish.  I modified my dive plan. Instead of swimming off and around the sites like Dave and The Squirrel did with the boat waiting in the background, instead The Squirrel would drive the boat over the site and I would tow along in the water, holding onto the grab handle at the back of the dinghy.  If something came up interesting I would free dive the 15’ to the bottom to check it out. The rest of the dive sites, Kalik Light and Rolling Rock, were all basically the same as Abita.  A beautiful dive but nothing much to shoot for dinner, not even any conch.

We decided to move on to the west side of Billy Island, to check out water depths and an anchorage for the day. We were joined by a school of dolphin at the bow of the boat.  It was a rather nice display and I got some good pictures.

At the north tip there was an old DC-3 plane wreck in about 8’ of water.  The Squirrel checked it out for fish and asked for a spear, seeing a Mutton Snapper.  Dave decided to anchor so we could all get in the water and explore the wreck.  It was pretty cool, with one of the props actually sticking into the air.  Tons of snappers, a few small nurse sharks under the debris and lionfish abounded on the wreck.  I didn’t see anything to shoot so after I explored the wreck I took up killing Lionfish.  Nasty little bastards, and they are proliferating on the reefs, so it was satisfying taking them out.

We pulled anchor and motored over to the west side of Williams Island, close enough to for a dinghy ride.  The Squirrel and I took a cooler and headed to the airstrip.  After a short hike through the clay and short mangroves we made it to the strip, checking out the three plane wrecks.  It is hard to believe that they actually landed planes on the site, but drugs and money will make you do some pretty daring things, so I am told.

Relict DC-3 from the drug running days of Williams Island. Yup, dem ders bullet holes.

We got back to the dinghy then motored up a couple of the tidal creeks.  The tide was going out and it was really cool how the channels had been cut into the clay terrain. I took some action shots of The Squirrel coming through the channel then we headed down the coast to check on a weird stick pen the locals had built, probably to hold conch, sponges, or turtles.  We came to a point where the waves were in our face so we headed back to the boat.

I took a wonderful warm shower.  All my dive gear was dry as the sun beat down relentlessly on the back deck.  It was hot so everyone was upstairs in the shade enjoying the cool breeze, although it was more like a gale.  Eventually we all went below to get out of the sun and wind.

Stick pen

Mangrove Creek & The Flying Squirrel.

The sun was finally setting so I asked The Squirrel to join me on the back deck for a martini in Dwight’s name.  We sat and talked a little then it was dinner time. Dave rustled up grilled Mutton Snapper, The Squirrel grilled some vegetables, Em cooked rice, and I was on clean up duty.  I had a lull while they were busy with dinner so I placed some of Dwight’s ashes in the water.  “I think you would like this” I said to his spirit as the ashes dispersed in the clear water and the sun set.

Sunset over Billy’s Island. Dwight would like this. 

Dinner was delicious and afterwards The Squirrel joined me on the back deck for a nightcap and a cigar.  We turned off the deck and underwater lights, then just enjoyed the night sky.  It was an early evening. Once again I was the last one down for the night, resting peacefully in my bunk listening to Blade Runner on my Droid.  I was tired and it was a busy day.  Our anchorage was very calm and even though the wind kept up, at least there wasn’t any roll in the boat like we experienced off of Wide Opening the night before.