Cruise back toward the States

We left Treasure Cay and crossed the Whale bar at Don't Rock. It helped to have current waypoints for that shallow water crossing. We ended up in the lagoon off of White Sound, Green Turtle Cay. It then rained for almost two solid days... We then moved to Black Sound, Green Turtle for two more days to refuel, get water and a few groceries. Our plan was to go to Manjack Cay and hang out a while, fishing, snorkeling, etc.

While in Black Sound there was a new Moorings 4600 Cat that had attempted to go through the rage a few days before. It was a Captained charter but the Captain made a wrong decision. The boat hobby-horsed in the middle of the rage and a wave came crashing through the windshield in the main cabin. Charterers were then washed through the rear doors, some of the getting hurt when going through. The photos show the broken windshield in the main cabin and bent stanchions on the starboard side.

Don't mess with the rage...



A group of boats saw a good window for heading back to the states and we decided to join them (Easterly winds). We sailed a great spinnaker ride of 60 miles to Great Sale Cay, passing all but a couple power boats. The Prout 34 under spinnaker is owned a a nice couple from Canada named Rob and Bev.

This photo was taken by Rob and Bev as we passed them (a slower moment that day....)
We flew passed this brand new Maine Cat 30 is sailed by a couple from the northern eastern seaboard of the States.

From Great Sale Cay we motorsailed the next day to West End.

Treasure Cay

From Hopetown we sailed back to Marsh Harbor to re-stock the galley. After spending a night there, we headed north to Treasure Cay. Home of one of National Geographic's 10 best beaches in the world. It is a nice 3 mile crescent, but we've seen some equally nice one's on the Great Lakes.. .

In that Treasure island is a private, gated community with a man-made harbor, there is a $10 per day anchoring fee. But for the $10 you get full access to the resort. Nice!!




We went by this schooner on our way over to Marsh Harbor. A good day for sailing. Our sail to Treasure Cay was a quick one, making over 15 nautical miles in 1 hour 15 minutes with a top speed of 18 knots!! Zoom, zoom ....

This photo was taken as we were leaving Hopetown. This is Don and Lynn Walton's brand new Fusion 40. Absolutely beautiful boat that looks like it is setup to actually sail well. We were hoping to get a ride on Wednesday, but the race was called because of too much wind. Don was the only Captain that was game to go sailing. Racing down here is informal and obviously pretty laid back. You break the boat mon, if it blows more than 20...

Hopetown Sailing Club

Cathie and I attended a skipper's meeting this morning for a race that ended up postponed. Running the meeting was George Holloway, formerly of Sturgeon Bay and former SBYC board member. George says a big hello to all who know him. Notice the SBYC burgee in the photo.

The burgee caused me to stop in my tracks yesterday as we were walking by... The HSC building is a neat little place without windows (there are shutters) and right on the sidewalk. See: http://www.hopetownsailingclub.com/
Fair Winds!!

Hopetown, Abacos

We pulled into Hopetown on Thursday. Anchoring is not encouraged in the inner harbor and since Hopetown is the most popular spot in the Abacos, rented moorings are hard to get. We turned around and pulled into a mangrove harbor on the way out of the inner harbor within 100 yards of the famed Elbow Cay Lighthouse, dropped a couple hooks and tied to the mangroves. The Elbow Cay Lighthouse was built in 1864 and still has a kerosene powered lamp behind the prism.

On Friday morning we found the harbor was just too tight to anchor in and pulled the hooks. Luck was with us though as we were able to get a mooring for the next four days.


Inner Hopetown Harbor...




A welcoming dinghy dock.

Most of the houses in the "downtown" have been converted to rentals. The cheap ones go for about $1,700 per week. Cathie is standing below a very nice older resort.

Wow. One of the trees off of one of Captain Bligh's ships!!

This street ends facing the entrance to the harbor. You can see one of the triangular range markers that are used to guide the boats thought the shallows at the entrance. Was a nice spot to sit and watch the traffic go by.

Walk on the Beach

Today we took a walk on the beach, as we do many times while cruising. The photos below are taken from the Eastern side of Great Abaco, oceanside, with no Cays blocking the flow from The Atlantic.





Allot of single shoes...


Tar from an oil spill...





Our legacy??

Man-O-War Cay and Little Harbor

We spent a night on Man-O-Way Cay, one of the principal present day locations of ancestors of the Loyalists from the Revolutionary War. Albury Boats have been built here since the early 1950's. They are known as a quality boat sold stateside and the Bahamas. Most are center console 18-23'. We all noticed the residents were not the friendliest lot.....

We then sailed south to Little Harbor, on the south central end of Great Abaco Island. We stopped about 4 miles north and snorkeled on Sandy Cay, a coral reef refuge. Great diving!!


Little Harbor is known for its lost wax casting in bronze art...


The old lighthouse on the island could use a little restorative work....





The Beach below the lighthouse was pretty cool. Allot of caves carved into the limestone shore. Similar to Cave Point, Door County, Wisconsin

Marsh Harbor, Abacos

From Great Guana we sailed south to Marsh Harbor, the largest town in the Abacos. They actually have a supermarket that rivals stateside (except for the prices). We are anchored off of the Marsh Harbor Marina and Jibroom Restaurant/Bar (photo on left), a local sailor's hangout. We had a great baby back ribs meal there Weds. night with new and old boating friends. We actually ran into Chuck and Bonnie Morrell on StarGazer, a Hunter 41 from Sturgeon Bay!! Small world.......


Met a couple from Florida that have been sailing their Catana 401 for the last 7 years. Larry and Bonnie included us in a cocktail gathering on their boat one evening. Nice boat... They're taking off for the BVI's non-stop in the next day or so.

Marsh Harbor is the charter hub for the Abacos. Sunsail and The Moorings both maintain a fleet of boats here. The fleets are larger than I expected.
A big cold front is about to pass through so we are hunkered down with the 22# Delta and Fortress 23 deployed. Hoping to head to the other side of the bay to check out Snappas Grill and Chill tonight..

Great Guana Cay

We sailed from Manjack, through the "Whale" to Great Guana Cay. The "Whale" is a local passage through shallows from the ocean that can create a "rage" with the wind and tides that one doesn't want to mess with. It is named after Whale Cay, located there. In fact, just south of the Whale, Disney Corp dredged out a channel to Great Guana for small cruise ships to land. The beginnings of an amusement park were built on the northern end of Great Guana, but it was soon discovered that even the cruise ships couldn't navigate the "Whale". Disney abandoned the development, but never fear, now another developer is working on a golf course resort and private development with lots starting at $4 Million.... Another story.

We spent three nights on Great Guana anchored off the beach in front of "Grabbers" Bar/restaurant. We had the great privilege of witnessing the annual Barefoot Man Concert at Nippers Bar on the ocean side. See http://www.nippersbar.com/ Basically, the Barefoot Man party is like spring break, only for mostly old farts.... I estimate about 200 boats came to the Cay for the concert. We left before the rum took over the crowd.

The beach in front of Nippers...

I have signed up for a month of way to expensive wifi but it is extremely slow and I am having issues with uploading photos. Every now and then I am able to upload some from the boat but when I get to shore I will add more...

Manjack Cay

We spent a night on Manjack, after an invite from some other boaters to join them for a beach bonfire. After this photo was taken, they showed up with some steak and lobster they grilled on the fire. Freshest lobster we've ever eaten!!

Manjack is a private Island that the owners, being former cruisers allow the boaters access. Great beaches with reefs for snorkeling just offshore. We'll be sure to stop back here when we start to head back...

Green Turtle Cay

We sailed to Green Turtle Cay on Monday to hide from a big cold front that blasted though yesterday. Allot of history here, good shore services (restaurants, groceries, Hardware, etc.). Two great harbors (White and Black Sound), we are in Black Sound nearest the village of New Plymouth.




The downtown is quaint, with allot of buildings constructed around 1860. A big hurricane blasted through here in 1932 that caused allot of Loyalist settlers to relocate to Key West.




Some of the "locals" and an Oceanside beach... Today we are going snorkeling with "Bad Betty", a Coloradoan that has wintered here for a few years.

Spanish Cay, Abacos

Well, we finally made it to the Abacos. Here is the Admiral on the porch of Spanish Cay Marina /Resort ( http://www.spanishcay.com/). This is a private island with an 85 slip marina. There are two boats in the harbor, one being us.

We've had plenty of wind, from the right direction, making for some quick rides.

In West End we met a couple of recent university Grads from England (Jade and Sarah), out cruising on their Bristol 27. A great maturing experience for a couple of great kids.



Here they are exiting West End following us through a scary cut on our way to Great Sale Cay. another quick ride.



We spent two nights on Great Sale Cay and went to the beach treasure hunting one afternoon. We checked out the ruins of an old US Missile tracking station that was built during the Bay of Pigs affair....


Here is kimosabi and Noor anchored in Great Sale Cay.



We then zoomed to Grand Cay on the northern end of the Abacos. That evening we had a great Grouper dinner at Rosie's. The next day we sailed 47 KM in 5 hours to Crab Cay for the night. Les and Barb ended up anchored off of Hawksbill Cay near Foxtown (north of us) and sailed to Green Turtle Cay today. We'll meet up with them later.

West End, Grand Bahama

Well, 14 hours of beating 90 NMiles to go 55 NM, we made it. The last five miles it blew 40, with us reaching onto an unknown shore with a partially flogging main at 12-14 knots in blinding rain. Oh, it was dark too... Thanks goodness for Steve Dodge's excellent description and photos of the entrance. Otherwise we would have had to stand off and wait it out.

We left Lake Worth at 6 am and tied to Old Bahama Bay fuel dock at 8 PM. Lesson learned: when as far North as Lake Worth, winds should be south, not SE.. It was real fun fighting the Gulf Stream.

More later, have to take a shower to wash the salt off. The inside of the boat stayed amazingly dry!!

On Monday we took a bike ride to the village. Ever wonder where conch comes from??

In Palm City/Lake Worth waiting for south winds...

Thursday we "sailed" south in the light north winds (to start with anyway) along the beach to Lake Worth/Palm City. Quick ride, 37 KM in 5 hours. Here's Barb and Les Raduenz on Noor (Green Bay, WI) motoring beside us. The two of us are traveling in tandum to the Abacos.



Morning in Palm City. Spent a peaceful night on the hook. The water is much cleaner here than in Stuart. Forecast lo0ks like Sunday will be our opportunity to cross the Gulfstream.




Went ashore last night at Sailfish Marina Resort. An artsy fest was going on. $3 Beers and $1 conch fritters!! Uhmmmm.

Soft Water!!! (versus frozen that is)

Well, we drove though blizzards, rain, and fog but we made it to Florida. We are now launched and on a mooring in Stuart, waiting for the weather window to sail to West End. As of now it looks like this coming Saturday might work. There are great southerly winds forecast for Weds., but severe thunderstorms are forecast as another cold front is blasting through...


The City of Stuart operates a first class mooring facility with service dock (self-serve) for pumpout, water or general boat cleaning. Access to the downtown is super!!





One road mishap... The trailer spare tire bracket weld failed 40 miles from Stuart. Luckily, no one was hurt or hit as the wheel flew off, some how missing the boat and trailer and all traffic on both the North and South lanes of the Florida Turnpike. Could've been a bad scene......

Still stuck in the Frozen North

Brought the boat home from the marina last week. From the photo, you can see it's hitched to the truck and ready to go. Plan to leave Feb. 4. All that's left is to pack the truck and get out of here...