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| Jeep Tour along the Lacaya Waterway |
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| Peaceful along the waterway |
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| One of the resorts that was never finished |
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| We were keeping our eyes on the skies today! |
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| Peaceful skies tonight! |
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Sunset the next night
Red Skies at Night! |
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Rhonda and Joey
Our fishing buddies! |
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| Having a drink at the Wrecking Tree |
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| A good place for lunch! |
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| The Bluff House marina in Green Turtle |
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| Sunrise over the waters |
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| NautiNell with Lil Nauti tucked in close |
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| My day at the beach |
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| Steak night! |
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| Inside the Green Turtle Club Marina |
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| Saying goodbye to Rho-Jo for now.... |
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| We get passed by so many boats... :-) |
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| Sunset on anchor |
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| Treasure Cay beach |
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More of the beach at Treasure Cay
The sand is so soft! |
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| Grabbers at Guana Cay |
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Sunset in Fishers Bay
Guana Cay - day number one |
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Sunset at Fishers Bay
Guana Cay - day number two |
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Walking the path to Nippers
Can't do it without smiling! |
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| Poisonwood Tree - don't touch! |
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| Looks like the other one but it's safe |
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| Beach at Nippers |
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| Pool at Nippers before the crowd |
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| View of the beach at Nippers from our table |
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| Lil Nauti waiting patiently |
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| Another beautiful evening |
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| One of the cute little cottages in Hopetown |
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| Hopetown Lighthouse |
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| Firefly Bar/Restaurant near Hopetown |
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| Sunset outside the harbor in Hopetown |
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| Aren't we cute! |
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| Tahiti Beach |
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| Just working on my tan |
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Fantastic view of the Atlantic from
Abaco Inn |
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| What a place to enjoy lunch! |
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| Jacque and Michele |
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I just couldn't get enough of the view
There were some rough seas out there! |
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This was how it was on the other side of the island
Sea of Abaco - calm and safe |
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| Sunrise over the harbor from NautiNell |
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| beach at Hopetown |
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| enjoying life poolside! |
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| Trying his paddle boarding skills |
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This is a "dinghy"!
Can you imagine the mother ship it belongs to! |
Friday, May 15 We
left Ocean Reef (Lacaya) about 7:30 in the morning heading to Great Sale Cay where
we planned to anchor. It’s around 63
miles to Great Sale. It was a bit bumpy
at first, however, it was only about an hour to the Lacayan Waterway which is pretty
much a canal. Of course, this part was
ezy pezy. The Lacayan Waterway is an
area of canals that were built in the 1970s in the hopes of developing homes
along the canals and also make an easier trip for those going north. You would no longer have to go all the way
around Grand Bahama Island on the west end.
If you can make the bridge height and not draw too much water you can
now cut through to the other side much easier and much quicker. The waterway was built but the housing
projects never fully came about. Many
changes in government plus the economy sent the project down the tubes. There are a few completed homes along the
Waterway but there are more homes that are left standing incomplete for years
now including a huge hotel/resort. It’s
really too bad.
Anyway, the Waterway is about 7 miles along – with no wake
zones, etc – it took us about an hour to get through it. Once we were outside again the water was
perfect. This lasted until about the
last 20 miles when we turned to the east to make Great Sale Cay. It really wasn’t too bad – just a lot windier
and somewhat choppy. We made it to the
anchorage at 4: 30.
Mike made an observation – “We tend to get a little more “chit-chatty”
when we can spy our destination after seeing nothing but water, waves and wind
for hours and hours!” He’s right
there! Let’s just say it had been a very
long day.
Saturday, May 16 We
left Great Sale at 8:30 with a few light showers and a little bumpy. We had a distance of 64 miles to go if we
were to make it to Green Turtle Cay.
Soon it became extremely bumpy.
The waves were on our nose so it made it pretty rough – especially when
they became six footers! The forecast
had said 1-2. Wrong! We rode the bronco until we got near Foxtown
(about 30 miles). We had been told that
this was a nice anchorage and a cool place to go check out. WRONG!
It was skinny water going in and once we got in - there was no
protection whatsoever! The only things
breaking any of the waves and wind were a few big rocks! This wasn’t going to work so we went back out
trying to follow the exact way we came in so as to not run aground. That was a complete waste of about an
hour! Then we were on our way again – we
really didn’t want to go another 35 miles in these conditions. We decided we’d stop at Crab Cay for the
evening. We had stopped there before a
few years ago so we were familiar with it.
That would be only about 12 miles to go.
We made it in and anchored by about 3:45. There were a few boats in the anchorage but
it wasn’t crowded. Now we only will have
about 20 miles to go to get to Green Turtle.
We rocked and rolled some that night but it was a good night. When we came in there was a boat that had run
aground. I don’t know how long he had
been there but it took at least two more hours for the tide to come up so he
could float off. He later came on in and
dropped the hook. I hope that he didn’t
do any damage.
Sunday, May 17 We
only had about 20 miles to go today! We
left the anchorage about 8:30. The wind
was still blowing and the waves were bumpy but because the area narrows down as
we get closer to Green Turtle Cay it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been the day
before. We had found out that Joey and Rhonda
(Rho-Jo) were in the Bluff House Marina at Green Turtle. We had planned to get a mooring ball but
decided we’d stay at the marina too. It
would be fun visiting with them again!
It took some doing to dock – only 10 foot long finger piers – it would
be a little tricky to get off and on NautiNell.
We finally worked it out after launching the dinghy. This allowed us to back in a little
closer. Finally time for lunch, a nap
and a shower! Then it was dinner time
with Rho-Jo at Bally-Hoo’s - the
restaurant here at the marina and an early evening.
Monday, May 18 It was
a nice night – we were up early and went out fishing in the Whaler. Rho-Jo went along in their dinghy too. They’re the only ones that caught anything! Oh well, it was fun. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride…… We saw several stingrays, starfish and even a
huge shark. We’ve been told that there
are a few nurse sharks here in the harbor and one 5 -6 foot bull shark! We won’t be getting in the water here! Had a great steak dinner back on
NautiNell.
Tuesday, May 19 It
was a nice night except about 5:30 in the morning we heard this terrible
sound. The tide had gone way down and
the wind had changed direction a bit.
NautiNell’s swim platform had gotten under the dock and when the tide
started coming up it was pretty much stuck.
Mike had to go outside and use a hammer to get us free. I’m sure our neighbors appreciated all the
banging at the wee hours of the morning.
Luckily it didn’t do any harm to the boat or the dock. Thank goodness!
Later on we took a dinghy ride over to New Plymouth, the town
that is on Green Turtle Cay. We had our
plans set to eat lunch at Sundowners but they didn’t open till 5:00. So off we went to McIntosh’s – nope closed on
Tuesday. Sheeh! Finally we ended up at the New Plymouth Café
and Liquor Store. Perfect! Had a great lunch of cracked chicken. We did a little sightseeing, hit a few
souvenir stores and Mike even got a haircut from Hubert. We were walking by and Hubert (the local
barber) was out in his orchids trimming and splicing. Mike asked him if he could get his haircut
sometime – he told him the time was right!
We then had to stop at our favorite watering hole for a cold one – The
Wrecking Tree. Didn’t pass up the
homemade pastries either!
We hung out on NautiNell for happy hour. Joey and Rhonda and another couple here –
Scott and Laurie (Creek Life) came over.
It was a nice night and a great day!
Wednesday, May 20 Fresh coconut tarts for breakfast! Yum!
Mike and Joey went fishing.
Rhonda had some things to tend to so I packed up my “stuff” and went to
the beach. A cold drink – a good book -
and my toes in the sand! Doesn’t get any
better! Later all of us dinghied over
to Green Turtle Club for steak night.
The Gully Roosters were playing!
We heard them years ago when we chartered a boat over here with our
friends, Dick and Debbie. Who would have
thought they would still be playing after all this time. They were just as good as we remembered! The steaks were good too! It would have been perfect except light rain
showers cut our evening short. We had to
dinghy between the rain drops to get back to our boats.
Thursday, May 21 We said our goodbyes to Rho-Jo. They are heading back toward West End where
they’ll cross back to the US. We’ll see
them again when we go up the east coast to Norfolk later this summer. Hopefully!!
We left Green Turtle about 11:00 a.m.
We weren’t in any hurry. It’s
only about 10 miles over to Treasure Cay.
We had planned to stop at No Name Cay and see the pigs. There are pigs on this island that will swim
out to your boat for food. However, as
we got closer we could see that there were some storms coming our way. We still had to cross through the Whale
Passage so we didn’t want to dally. The
Whale can sometimes really get nasty quick – it’s open to the Atlantic. Luckily for us – we had a great ride
through. When we got closer to Treasure
Cay we could see that it was pouring rain there so we floated around outside
the entrance and waited for the storms to pass.
That lasted about an hour. Mike
fished while we waited but no luck. We
then anchored in the Treasure Cay harbor.
We took the dinghy in to the bar and had a couple of rum drinks - then it was back to the boat for burgers. Nice day!
Friday, May 22 We had a very nice night last night on the
anchor. We were up early and ready to
check out the beach. The beach at
Treasure Cay is rated as one of the best.
We spent a few hours there relaxing.
Then it was back to the boat for lunch and off to Guana Cay. This was only about a 10 mile day too. We had a couple of fish on along the way –
but we didn’t land any. Oh well….. We grabbed a mooring ball in Fishers Bay. This is the bay where Grabbers is
located. So off to Grabbers for Happy Hour and a few
more rum drinks. We ran into another
couple that we had met in Marathon – Ross and Eva on Cool Change. It’s such a small world. We also had heard that a couple more boats
that we know would be coming in tomorrow.
Saturday, May 23 Bloody Mary morning – sitting on the sundeck
enjoying the view seems like we’re on vacation.
J We took the dinghy over to Settlement Harbor
just around the point from us. This is
where Nippers’ dinghy dock is located.
We tied up there and walked to Nippers.
Walking that trail just makes you smile!
We had lunch at Nippers enjoying the view of another gorgeous
beach. Lots of people to watch! We stopped at Milo’s to get some fresh tomatoes. I swear he’s getting crankier than ever! He’s been around here since the beginning of
time – so he says. He sells produce and
makes shell jewelry, etc. Quite a
character! What a beautiful day! Later we took a sightseeing tour in the
Whaler. We are close to an area called
Bakers Bay. This is an exclusive resort
– where the rich and famous go. Oprah,
Michael Jordan, George Strait to name a few.
In fact last time we were in Marsh Harbor a few years back we saw Cindy
Crawford taking a private water taxi to Bakers Bay. Pretty cool!
We rode around but couldn’t see anything going on. Duh! So
we just went back to Grabbers where we knew we’d be welcome. Ha! Earlier
this afternoon September Song (Bob and Stephanie) came in. We stopped and visited with them for a little
while. They’re slowly working their way
back home. It’s good to see people you
know along the way!
Sunday, May 24 We left Guana Cay about 10:30. We had 13 miles to go today! We took our time and fished along the
way. Mike reeled in dinner! We pulled into Hope Town around 1:00. I love this place! We’re staying at a really nice marina – Hope
Town Inn and Marina. It was renovated a
few years back and wasn’t open the last time we were here. However, it is a little more than we usually
pay – my bad. I read the Guide
wrong. Oh well, no wonder it’s so
nice! HA! It’s really windy today and it’s supposed to
last for a few days – looks like we’ll be probably hanging here a few more
days! Darn!
Monday, May 25 – Thursday, May
28 We’ve spent the past few days
enjoying Hope Town. They call it the
“Jewel of the Abacos”. It’s such a fun
quaint little town – everyone is friendly – and it’s easy to get around. So much has happened that I’ll just hit the highlights…….
We spent Memorial Day walking
about town and having lunch at Captain Jacks – one of our favorite spots. We treated ourselves to homemade coconut ice
cream from Munchies! You can’t beat
it! We ran into a couple at the pool
that we had met during the Loop back in 2011 – Bill and Carol (Trident)! The last time we saw them they had just
crossed their wake and were heading back to Texas. It’s so cool to run into people that you have
met along the way. It happens quite
often! Later we took a dinghy ride
outside the harbor. We were able to
enjoy a beautiful sunset!
The next day we took a dinghy
ride to Tahiti Beach. This beach is
beautiful! We met a French-Canadian
couple (Jacque and Michelle). They were
staying at the same resort. We had
planned to go to lunch at Cracker P’s but they were closed. So we headed for lunch at the Abaco Inn. When we got there we ran into them
again. We sat and visited for a while –
they were fun to talk to! When we got
back to the boat we saw that Ross and Eva (Cool Change) had made it to the
harbor. They came over for a visit. Busy day!
It has been so terribly windy
here that we’ve decided to stay put a while longer. This is a really nice marina so the idea of
being “stuck” isn’t so bad. We’ve
decided to skip Marsh Harbor and go on back to Green Turtle when we do
leave. That will probably be
Friday. So in the meantime we’ve hung
out at the pool, Mike has tried his hand at paddle boarding, shopped at ALL the
stores and haven’t missed a Happy Hour!
Oh, and we’ve had trouble with
the fridge again. It must be leaking
Freon. We found a guy here in Hope Town
to come check it. That surprised us – he
even came the same day and earlier than expected! He gassed it up again and hopefully it will
last until we get back to the states.
Keeping our fingers crossed!
This was interesting – Mike
wanted to get gas for the whaler and our Honda generator so he went up to the
Lighthouse Marina (only one that has fuel).
There was a huge fuel boat there transferring fuel to the dock pumps. The boat’s home port was Belize. We found out that they ship fuel into Nassau
on big tankers from Argentina and then it is dispersed to all the islands. Anyway,
the fuel dock was blocked for quite a while so he’ll have to wait until
tomorrow.
Tomorrow is Friday – May 29 and
we plan to leave here in the morning. We
will go over to Treasure Cay for the night – only about 10 miles. Saturday should be a good day to cross
through the Whale Passage and on to Green Turtle. We’ll stop there because that’s the last
place where we can get decent internet (weather info) before we head back to
West End. Hopefully we’ll get to West
End and be able to cross back to the states soon. If it looks like we’ll be waiting a few days
– we’ll go back to Lacaya rather than hangout at West End. It’s too expensive there! Stay tuned!
Until next time!
Admiral “C”
