8 – 11 Jan 2025 West End to Green Turtle

Waited for sunrise so we could easily spot shallow water, then left West End about 10 AM for the 46 nautical mile trip to Great Sale Cay, a popular anchorage on the route to the Abacos . Arrived about 3 PM and dropped anchor among 3 other sailing boats (couple of catamarans and a single hull) and a power boat. Quiet evening. Next morning we waited for the sun to position overhead so shallow spots and damaging reefs can be spotted when sun’s at its peak window (10 AM to 2PM). (Non-transitioning sunglasses are also recommended for sighting reefs.) Off on our 58 mile sail to Green Turtle Cay, a historic settlement and a favorite stop for boaters. Arrived at 5 PM and docked at Leeward Yacht Club on Black Sound. We’ve now logged 170 nautical travel miles from Florida’s east coast and are enjoying some very nice 75-degree sunny weather. With no predetermined schedule (except for Peggy’s arrival), we awaited the arrival of our golf cart rental and had a light dinner with the required goombay smashes at the club’s poolside bar. Tough life, eh! (as the Canadians would say). It’s been 9 years since we’ve been here as the Abacos have been rebuilding after a devastating hurricane in 2019. And, of course, we have to factor in our 2017 move to Florida, followed by the now established 4-year move back to Colonial Beach! Seriously, every 4 years since our marriage we have moved! Carey likes to call them “life chapters.” As of now, we’ve been back in CB for almost 5 years. Hope this moving turmoil is over!. We’ll just Snowbird down south on the boat. Again, I hope.

Now, this is the life we’ve been fortunate to enjoy over the years! Lazy days exploring on and off the golf cart checking out the progress made rebuilding, visiting old haunts, sampling the local food and libations and meeting new folks. At Pineapples, a waterfront bar, with pool and good music, a jolly group who had just boated in from Guana Cay plopped down and asked “where ya from? ” We said “Virginia” and they responded the same. Richmond and Va Tech alumni. Good group and Carey did her usual promotion of Colonial Beach. No doubt we’ll see them in the summer, trouping into Dockside, Ice House and all other establishments! Out and about the next day, after some boat chores, we found our way to Sundowners, a local and visitor favorite waterside spot with great drinks, food and prices (more on that later). The descending group there had flown in and chartered. They were a California group (Sacramento and Bay area bunch) looking for the Forty-Niners game. Fly-ins have apparently increased here lately. Previously, cruisers were the dominant visitors, particularly from the Chesapeake and Canada. Number of visitors is way down, especially Canadians, at least so far. We’re just getting into the Abacos and arriving a little late, so we may discover earlier arrivals as we move on … which might not be until Monday, the 12th. Wind and wave predictions for passage around “the Whale” are currently not good. The Whale, is a small uninhabited cay in the middle of a dangerous inlet due to notorious breaking waves from ocean swells. It has to be transitioned as the only other route is shallow throughout. Next destination is Marsh Harbor, a small town on the Abaco mainland that is key for provisioning boaters’ needs. Our immediate need is 2 additional batteries to increase our inverter’s amp load that is being taxed during overnight anchorage due to the new installation of Starlink and keeping our TV connection active. We’re news junkies and info is definitely required these days! Below photos are a sample of local scenes.