Marsh Harbour to Man-O-War Cay

March 17, 2017 - March 24, 2017

We opted to stay in Marsh Harbour for St. Patrick’s Day even though there was a Barefoot Man Concert at Nippers in Guana Cay.  Our friends were going over, but Bob thought it might be too crowded and rowdy for him to enjoy the excursion.  Marsh Harbour had a parade at 5 pm and several local businesses along the two block parade route were passing out free beer, jello shots, and green cocktails.  The parade was the shortest one ever and lasted about five minutes.

The parade participants, though few in
number, exhibited plenty of enthusiasm.

What would St. Patrick's Day be without
Irish coffee and green Jello shots?

On Monday the 20th we moved on to Man-O-War Cay which was settled by loyalist during the Revolutionary War.  It was great to be back on the water again even though the trip took less than 1.5 hours.  The harbour was quite crowded, but we found a mooring ball easily.

The boats were packed into this little harbour.
 

This was our view of the settlement on
Man-O-War Cay from our mooring.

The settlement on the island is small, but very industrious.  The Albury family still makes their famous boats here, there is a shop full of items made from Bahama batiked fabric (the store clerk was busily sewing as she was answering our questions about the merchandise), and there is a Sail Loft Shop that had every type of bag imaginable made of sturdy sailcloth and Sunbrella (there were 4 or 5 ladies sewing bags in that shop while we browsed). 

We docked the dinghy at the end
of the pier leading to Albury's Sail Loft where
we purchase two sturdy bags.

This is a example of the beautiful
and well maintained homes in the settlement.

The water here is crystal clear and beautiful.  On a dinghy trip we found a lovely protected cove that was perfect for swimming.  It had a lovely beach and just over a narrow strip of land was the ocean.  

This is my favorite cove and swimming
spot so far in the Abacos. You can see
the ocean on the top left of the picture.

One day we rented a golf cart to explore the island more thoroughly.

The beauty of the ocean in the Bahamas
makes it almost impossible to take a bad picture.

Man-O-War community is a very religious one.
This Methodist church is one of four
churches in the settlement.

There is beauty everywhere you
turn on this island.

We will be staying in Man-O-War Harbour through the weekend as we are expecting high winds and unfavorable seas for the next few days.

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Marsh Harbour 1

March 11, 2017 - March 16, 2017

We have been anchored in Marsh Harbour for the week.  High winds that blew into the area with a cold front have kept us from visiting other points of interest, but we continue to enjoy this spot. 

We love the beautiful turquoise
water in the harbour.

Our friends, Nancy and Ken (s/v Hafli) and Marion and Jonathan (s/v Eleuthera II), are anchored nearby and we spent a couple of evenings with them. One night we all went to “Steak Out” at the Jib Room which consists of a huge steak cooked on the grill, baked potato, salad, and steamed vegetables.  There were lots of people there enjoying the delicious food and the music afterwards.  Another night we hosted a pizza night on our boat.  The pizza was better than we could have hoped and the conversation was great as usual.

We have explored the town extensively, done laundry, bought groceries, and seafood.  One night Bob fixed some outstandingly delicious lobster tails.  Life here is relaxing and pleasant with turquoise water, bright sunshine, and cool breezes.  I guess you might call it paradise!

Houses here are colorful and
surrounded by lush foliage. 

Local families enjoy a day on the water, too.

Snappas is a great place for fresh seafood.

Kalik, the local Bahamian beer, goes
well with seafood.

I luv da palm trees, man.

It has rained almost everyday we have been in the Bahamas, but usually just briefly.

This rain shower lasted almost
an hour one morning.

Curly Tails Restaurant has a bar
upstairs with great views of the
harbour and great food.

Outside of Curly Tails we found
this real curly tail lizard sunning
himself on a log.

Every night we are treated to a
beautiful sunset and conch horns played
by observers on land.

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Green Turtle Cay to Marsh Harbor

March 7, 2017 - March 10, 2017

March 7th was Bob's 70th birthday.  We celebrated it that evening with some boating friends at Pineapples Bar and Grill.  After being kept inside the boat the strong winds it was a welcome event.

Bob and I are celebrating his birthday
at Pineapples Bar and Grill.

Bob enjoyed a few GoomBay Smashes
and some conch fritters with friends at Pineapples.

We were up early on March 9th to get on our way to Marsh Harbour.  The winds were light, the seas were calm, and the sun was shining.  We couldn't have asked for better weather to make the Whale Cay Passage out to the ocean and back in to the Sea of Abaco via the Loggerhead Channel.  These passages can be treacherous in adverse weather.  

Once we got out of Black Sound at Green Turtle Cay the water returned to the overwhelmingly beautiful turquoise and blue colors the Bahamas are known for.  We anchored easily around 11:00 AM in Marsh Harbour.  After I checked out the anchor holding in my snorkel gear we took the dinghy in to town for lunch at Curly Tails.  

To prevent this from becoming just a travel blog I want to talk a little about the changes I have experienced since being in the Bahamas.  First, it seems that I got instantly tan without any effort except putting on sunscreen.  Next, I constantly have boat/beach hair.  My blow dryer burned up (actually caught on fire) in St. Augustine and I haven't replaced it.  It's useless to try to keep my hair styled since it is immediately blown to bits on the boat or in the humid wind/breezes.  My style now is mostly a low pony tail and a hat.  As far as fashion, I've gone completely casual.  I can't keep myself from still wearing coordinated outfits even here so it's not sloppy, just casual.  I also like to wear sundresses whenever possible although climbing in and out of the dinghy is not very modest in a dress. To dress up I just put on my Jack Rodgers Sandals. I love the places we have visited so far, each with their own unique personality, but always casual and no worries.  

I'll have some pictures of the islands we visit while in Marsh Harbour in my next blog.


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Green Turtle Cay

March 1, 2017 - March 6, 2017

We stayed on the mooring another night going into town by dinghy.  The forecast was for rain and high winds the next day so we moved the boat to Black Sound Marina thinking we would have better access to laundry facilities, wifi, showers and the settlement of New Plymouth.  The first evening we were there it was so hot we used the air conditioner. The front came through the next morning bringing high winds, rain, and cooler air.  We are now in the fourth day of this weather pattern and we are expecting high winds for a couple more days.  Consequently, it would be dangerous to continue on to Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco as planned.  Since we are here for the duration of this weather pattern we have been exploring the island and relaxing.  The biggest issue we have is getting on and off the boat.  The wind (up to 35 mph gusts) pushes the boat away from the dock and at low tide our deck is five feet below the dock.  We have to use a dock line on the winch to get the boat close enough to the dock so we can climb onto the ladder to reach the dock. 

We met some cruising friends (Nancy and Ken on s/v Hafli) we met in Vero Beach at Pineapples Bar and Grill for Happy Hour one night and they brought along another couple (Marion and Jonathan on s/v Eleuthera).  It was a great time of sharing stories about our adventures and challenges and plans for the rest of our trip.

Pineapples became our favorite Happy Hour spot
with two Goombay Smashes for $6.

One afternoon we rented a golf cart and explored the Ocean side of the island.

The ocean was at low tide and rough
because of the high winds.
You can see the waves breaking over
the barrier reef in the background.

We learned the history of the New Plymouth
Settlement in the bronze sculpture garden
commemorating prominent settlers.

One morning we enjoyed breakfast
at the Plymouth Rock Liquor Store and cafe
with some of the locals.

We came upon the bar where the
Goombay Smash is said to have been
invented in one of walks around town.

On Thursdays the mailboat delivers
everything the residents have purchased
on the "mainland" (actually Great Abaco Island).

We had lunch at Two Shorties Take Away
one day.  Bob said the conch fritters were
the best he ever had.

Mostly we just enjoyed the beauty of
the island and the fact that we have
no worries, man.

There are explosions of colorful flowers every where.

Houses painted with bright contrasting
colors are the rule not the exception.

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West End to Green Turtle Cay

February 25, 2017- February 28, 2017

We Left West End at about 8:30 am after filling up with fuel and water.  I got my first taste of watching on the bow for the changes in water color to keep Bob informed so he could stay in deep water and avoid rocks and coral (I had studied the water colors and what they indicate about  the bottom while in West End).  Once we were on the Little Bahama Bank (a body of water between the barrier cays and Grand Bahama) we could relax as the water was 12-14 feet deep our whole trip to Great Sale Cay.  It was a long  day of motoring since there was no wind, but the view of crystal clear turquoise water in every direction was amazing.  

This picture gives you an idea
of the beauty of the water.

We anchored in Great Sale Cay at about 2pm.  Unfortunately, the water was cloudy and when I put on my snorkel gear and swam out to check the anchor I couldn't find it.  Not one to give up easily I tried every technique I could to locate it, but the water was just too cloudy.  I enjoyed the swim anyway.  The water just invited me to jump in, so I did that, too.

In the morning we decided to continue on to Powell Cay hoping to find clearer water.  I was able to see the anchor this time and enjoyed swimming around looking at the shells and vegetation on the bottom, but there were no fish.  We took the dinghy in closer to shore to explore a bit. In the morning the wind was too strong to snorkel the reef on the ocean side of the cay so we pulled up the anchor and continued east to Manjack and Crab Cays. It was a much more protected anchorage, but still too windy for me to get in the water for a swim.  The next morning we explored the cays by dinghy. I even got out to beach comb a bit.  I collected a perfect sand dollar and a tiny shell. On the way back to the boat we saw a green sea turtle and followed it for a bit.  They swim amazingly fast.

The next morning it was still too windy to snorkel so we motored over to Green Turtle Cay where we followed the narrow channel into Black Sound and took a mooring. Here we were protected on all sides from the wind and the water was calm.  Since we couldn't find the dock master of The Other Shore Marina (they owned the mooring) we walked to Pineapples Bar and Grill.  The bar is open air with a pool and picnic tables right by the Bay of Abaco. It was noon so we had lunch.  The meal was a little pricey, but delicious. I'm sure the fish in my sandwich was fresh caught grouper! No one seemed worried that we couldn't check in or pay the mooring fee.

We took the dinghy into the only settlement on Green Turtle Cay, Plymouth.  This unique little village was settled by loyalist who left the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War.  

In this tiny settlement I counted five
very well maintained churches.

This is one of the two liquor stores
in town.  The other one serves breakfast.

Colorful houses and white picket
fences line the sides of the narrow roads.

Since we will be staying on Green Turtle Cay for several days my next blog post will be about our continuing exploration of this picturesque cay.


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