A Rainy Easter Sunday

We left Manjack Cay Thursday morning. The weather was still not cooperating, the winds we high and the waves big. No conch hunting again. We traveled to Green Turtle Cay and took a mooring ball in Black Sound in the Historic Town of New Plymouth. We were protected from the weather that was headed our way. Thursday and Friday we spent exploring the town and the beach. The picture was taken on top of the hill over looking the town. While we were here we provisioned at the three grocery stores. We found different things we wanted at each store.















This is a picture of Larry at Pineapples Bar on the water. You can take a dip while you get quite happy on the heavy rum drinks they serve. It was a beautiful spot.

Saturday morning we decided it was going to be a good not great day to go around the Whale to lower Abaco Sea. It was an uncomfortable ride but we have had worse rides on Lake Ontario. Some of the travel from Sodus Bay to Brockport could be quite bumpy. At the Whale for the past week a rage has been happening and made it impassable, so this was good. During that week a boat attempted to pass and three people had to be air lifted for medical help. Not smart and a paid captain was aboard.

We decided to go to Treasure Cay which is on the mainland of Abaco. Saturday turned out to be a sunny day and we went for a walk to find the beach. It was breathe taking beauty. It looked like an ad for paradise. We couldn't wait to spend Easter Sunday soaking up the sun. We had continuous rain all day Sunday so needless to say we spent the day on the boat. Oh well next visit. We are headed to Marsh Harbor today and will meet our friends Rich and Julie on Wednesday. We are very much looking forward to their visit and exploring the Bahamas with them.

Back at Manjack Cay

We left Manjack Cay Friday morning to venture out on the reef to find the two mooring balls set up for diving. The winds were just a breeze and the waves were nonexistent, the best day for diving so far. After picking our way though the coral heads there was not a ball in sight, so we dropped the anchor on a sand patch about 30 feet deep. We then donned our dive gear and went off the swim platform. The reef was teaming with sea life and beautiful color. It had been several years since we last dove and it felt good to partake of it once again. When we surfaced and rinsed the salt off ourselves and our gear we brought up the hook and worked our way across the sound to Coopers Town.

Coopers Town is truly a Bohemian town, non of the glitz of the more populated tourist resorts. It was refreshing and pleasant to greet the towns people as we walked the sidewalk and explored the town. The children were very polite and friendly as were the adults.

We ate dinner out Friday and lunch out Saturday. They were both good meals and very inexpensive.

We decided to leave Coopers Town on Sunday because of the coming front and the change in the wind direction. We also didn't get much sleep on Friday and Saturday night. As you can see from the sunset picture we were anchored not far off from the pier for the Conch Crawl Bar. It was truly just a bar and very noisy til all hours of the morning.















After a trip to shore to get rid of the trash we went across to Powell Cay in hopes of getting protection from the wind. It didn't happen but we stayed on though Monday in hopes of it calming down so we could go to shore and do some lobstering. Never happened. As you can see from the picture it was even to rough for the big boys, they joined us at anchor for the day and night.
















This was the sky at sunset last night. We weren't sure if we would get some rain but it didn't happen. This morning after breakfast we lifted the anchor and moved back to Manjack Cay for some protection. We are hoping to go conch hunting tomorrow morning. For now we are just happy to be out of the constant beating from the wind and waves.

A Rainy Day in Paradise

This picture of me was taken Tuesday afternoon on our walk though the woods to the beach on the ocean side of Manjack Cay. It was a long walk but it felt good to get some exercise. The path was narrow and thick with trees and undergrowth. The people who live on the island keep it clear and I'm sure it takes a bit of work. We thank them otherwise we would not get to the beach on the North side.















This picture is of Larry taking in the breathtaking view as we came into the clearing at the ocean. The sand was like white sugar and very fine and soft. It felt good on our feet as we walked the beach in search of shells. It's not a good beach for shells we didn't find any but the swimming and sunning was worth the walk.














This little guy was one of many that scurried into the woods as we walk by. They are called curly tails and are much larger than the gecko we see in Florida. They grow them big here!















This picture was taken Wednesday morning during the storm that rolled though and brought winds of 35 knots. It lasted a good part of the day and when it did clear it was still cloudy. We just stayed on the boat all day and read and of course ate. We pumped two large buckets of water out of our dinghy that's how much it rained.
















Now you might ask what did we do with all that water we pumped out of the dinghy! Laundry what else! As you can see from the picture we took from shore today it was a glorious day, great for drying laundry. We hand washed it and hung it in the cockpit to dry. We also returned to the beach for another day in the sun.

Enjoying The Bahamas

After waiting out some heavy thunderstorms in West End at Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort we left Thursday March 6 and headed over Little Bahama Bank to Mangrove Cay. It had rained in the morning so we waited for that thunderstorm to pass as well before departing. We had a beautiful days passage with lots of sunshine and calm seas. The water is so crystal clear you feel as though you can reach out and touch the inhabitants on the bottom. We could see starfish and urchins from the deck. The bank as we entered was shallow and I stood as sentry and look out on the bow looking for coral heads that might be of danger to us. Fortunately we didn't come across any. We traveled with Pete and Dee aboard s/v Windlass, they have a larger boat and therefore go faster than we do but they stayed behind us until Mangrove Cay, where we parted. We were concerned we would not make the next cay before dark and didn't wish to go into anchor without the aid of the sun to see the coral heads. The weather turned during the evening and the wind picked up as did the waves. In the morning we hauled anchor before sunrise, I see a pattern forming here, and continued on to Spanish Cay. We kept in radio contact with Windlass and arrived a few hours after them to Spanish Cay Marina and Resort. The picture is us secure at the dock. The weather continued to build for an interesting ride that made us glad to be finished with the days trip.















We spent two nights at this private Island waiting out the gale force winds and thunderstorms that we coming with the cold front moving in. When it hit we were very glad to be secure at a dock. Riding a gale out at anchor is not enjoyable it is rough enough at a dock. This particular harbor has a rock retaining wall but the surge still is considerable. We were on the inside and had more protection than some of the boats, we were glad for that. This picture is of one of the resort accommodations for tourists visiting Spanish Cay by plane. The beach is littered because of the North wind pushing large waves up on the shore. The Island is privately owned and has it's own airstrip. During the Summer months it gets busy here in the Bahamas, Winter is off season. Wealthy people from Florida come here to escape the heat and humidity of Summer. They bring their fishing boats and rent cottages and have their private planes fly them in and out. It's nothing for them to have a bill of $20,000 per month. We didn't even hook to water they charge 40 cents per gallon, we made our own.














Sunday afternoon we cast our dock lines and sailed to Manjack Cay pronounced Monjack or Nunjack. It is the next cay about 10 miles away. The winds were still strong about 15 to 20 knots depending if we were open to the ocean or protected by the cays. It was pleasant to be able to sail without the assistance of the engine. Our destination was a short one and no worries of the sun setting before we arrived. It was a liberated feeling as we sailed along. We had cocktail hour on our boat with Dee and Pete and spent a good night at anchor.

The picture is of the next morning as the four of us explored up the waterways within the mangroves, Pete and Dee leading the way. The Island has about three houses on it and they are very cruiser friendly folks that have wi-fi and leave it open for the sailors at anchor to use. Larry and I signed up for Skype and have made a few calls back to the US though the computer at 2 cents per minute. If the person we are calling also has Skype which is free we can talk over the computer for free. The clarity is quite good and it is nice to hear voices from home.















It's Tuesday and Dee and Pete have lifted anchor to go to Marsh Harbor to meet friends flying in to spend a week with them. We will meet up again somewhere out here.

This picture is of one of the many starfish we see in the water. The picture turned out quite clear. We took it yesterday as we explored along one of the beaches.
















This picture is of one of the two wrecks along the shore. We plan to snorkel there when the weather clears and warms up. We are planning to go to shore this morning for some hiking and sunning at the beach on the ocean side but are waiting for the sun to come out and the rain to go away. As I'm finishing this blog entry the sun is finally braking through the clouds. The same thing happened yesterday.

The Bahamas!

We left No Name Harbor around 1:00 AM. The winds were around 12 to 15 knots and about 20 knots by morning and the seas were greater than predicted at about 2 to 4 feet but some actually were coming in around 6 to 8 feet by the time we arrived here in the Bahamas. We had an uneventful night which we liked but during some of the heavy wave action had to hang on so we didn't fall off the seat. I was glad I had secured things down below but some things I hadn't thought would fly across the cabin did. Going below was difficult because of the movement of the boat so needless to say eating was very light. The photo was of the morning sun rising as it appeared from behind the clouds on the horizon.















This shot of the cruise ship in the distance was actually a Disney cruise ship. You can see some of the wave action between us and the ship. Those were some of the small waves.















This picture is of West End on Grand Bahama Island as were are approaching the channel for Old Bahama Bay were we checked into customs and spent the night. You see some of the beauty of the color of the water but the photo just doesn't do it justice. The deeper color was indigo and crisp and clean and clear and did I mention over a thousand feet deep. It is amazing how these Islands jut pop up out of such deep water.

After clearing customs yesterday and connecting to shore power to dry out the boat with the air conditioning we went to the pool. Later in the evening we gathered with the other three boats we have been traveling with for two for one cocktails and free conch fritters at Fishbones Bar and Grill. This marina is also a resort with beautiful villas for guests to stay in. If it weren't for the price I could stay a while. We have lots of exploring to do though and we will leave sometime this morning and work our way out to the banks.

Waiting For a Weather Window in No Name Harbor

My connection is good today and these are the images. This is sunrise in Boot Key Harbor the morning we left.














This is one of the beautiful sunsets we were treated to in No Name Harbor! Just beautiful isn't it?

I'm not surprised, as usual I'm having difficulty loading pictures on this site in No Name Harbor. We are a short distance form Miami but non the less on a Key or Island. I was hoping the third time was a charm but it didn't happen so I gave up. Not a quitter but will settle for text. I will try later when we go for fuel and water.

We left Marathon at sunrise one week ago yesterday, Monday and traveled the Hawk Chanel to Rodriguez and anchored on the ENE side for protection form the wind and waves. It was a quiet night with about four other boats at anchor. The Hawk Chanel in case you are not familiar with it is the water of the Atlantic Ocean the runs between the Islands of the Keys and the Great Barrier Reef running parallel to the Keys. It serves as protection form the heavier wind and waves of the open ocean. If this route is not favorable there is always the ICW route on the Florida Bay side, located between the mainland of Florida and Keys.

Tuesday morning we lifted anchor at sunrise and arrived at Key Biscayne in early afternoon, just as the wind and waves were increasing. A front was to come in from the North and get ugly. We were very happy to be safely tucked in at No Name Harbor. The heavy weather continued for the week but we have a window tonight of SW winds 10 to 15 knots and waves of 2 to 4 feet. We will leave at midnight to night. It should be a comfortable ride in the Golf stream. The stream runs from the South and goes North so anything in the wind with a North component is not advisable, unless you are into punishment. I think not! This is suppose to be fun right?

We have enjoyed the week here in No Name but are getting anxious to be under way. We have met new boaters and visited with friends of past years. It's been fun sharing stories from our adventures and watching the sun set on the horizon. We plan to set sail with two other boats tonight. Even though they will go faster due to the length and engine power it is comforting to know if a problem does arise someone is close by to assist.

We will be suspending our cell phone service and Internet service today because of the cost for international calls and lack of service. Our plan is to buy a calling card when we arrive and use the wi-fi that is available. When we get service I will update this site as much as possible. I hope I will be able to load pictures, I imagine they will be spectacular.