Author: Phil

Paid our bill on the 18th and were underway by 9 AM for our 16 NM passage to Orchid Bay Yacht Club on Great Guana Cay. But, before we left Green Turtle, I filled the water tank. Boaters have to pay for water by the gallon in the Bahamas at a cost of $0.35/gallon in most places and it is all R/O. Needless to say, we monitor our usage over the 2+ months we’re here. And, before we left, Carey insisted we get a photo of an anchored sailboat with an attached menagerie of inflated ducks trailing off their stern. Note in the following photo the larger leading duck is festooned with a real set of headphones. They’re Canadians (our favs!). Then, heading out we quickly found fresh 12-15 knot winds as we made our passage to and around Whale Cay in the Atlantic Ocean. Surprise … the trip was pleasant — two-foot ocean swells with a 6 second period made for an easy ride, even with the moderate south winds. The Whale passage can be hazardous under certain conditions, but we safely ducked back into the Sea of Abaco from the 5 NM Atlantic Ocean travel and proceeded to Orchid Bay. Arriving by noon, we rented a golf cart and quickly toured the island, had lunch at Nipper’s and drinks afterward at Grabbers Restaurant on the beach, both 2 of our favorites. (DON’T FORGET — LARGER PICTURES WHEN USING WEBSITE BY HOVERING OVER PIC AND TAPPING “CTRL” TWICE. USE TWO FINGER EXTENSION ON PHONE OR TABLET).

We woke to strong moderate winds the next day (15-20 knots from the north) and a forecast indicating we may have a week of these and possibly stronger winds. So, we decided to leave tomorrow for Hope Town where there’s lots to keep us happy and busy for a week in case the weather doesn’t improve. Meantime, today, a Nippers lunch and off on the golf cart checking out any changes on the island since our last trip here. Some pictures below.

Lazy relaxing days as we continue to be moored at Leeward Marina in Green Turtle Key. Sightseeing, reading, and relaxing plus a few chores on the boat make for a relaxing time as we await the passing of a cold front associated with 20+ knots of wind from the north that can make the passage through the Whale, to get us to the rest of the Abacos, a non-starter. We’re enjoying life and will move on to the rest of the Abacos early next week.

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.

On the 5th we turned in the rental car and Carey finished storing provisions. Practically everything is imported into the Bahamas and, consequently, prices are extremely high on almost everything. As we’ll be there over 2 months, Carey ensures that we’re well-stocked. Over the years, she’s fine-tuned the process and we won’t have an inch of storage space to spare! Up and underway to Lake Worth in North Palm Beach 50 miles south. Like most transients, we anchored, but this trip we found only a couple of fellow boats awaiting the crossing. Usually, the anchorage is pretty full of folks anxious to get the show on the road…or the sea. We arose on Wednesday, and at 8 AM, headed out the Lake Worth inlet into a quiet Atlantic Ocean. Fifty-two nautical miles to West End Bahamas! However, the quiet seas were broken by 2-3 footers mid-way to West End but laid down to nearly flat by our arrival near 2 PM. Tied up quickly and relaxed as the mid-day rocking and rolling was tiring. Enjoyed a quiet dinner at the West End restaurant and after-dinner drinks aboard. Next morning we cast off on a two-day trip of ~110 nautical miles to Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, east of the Grand Bahama Island. Pictures are of the Lake Worth shores, Atlantic Seas on our crossing, West End, and their beach front bar.

Continued getting ready for trip to the Abacos. Carey made the lists of need items and we went shopping. Now we have a rental car full of stuff to move aboard the boat. That’s tomorrow’s job along with one necessary medical exam for Carey before we sail away east. We did stop today to have lunch with my cousin Jan at Manatee Island Restaurant. While there we had a surprise visit from about a dozen Belgium Police Officers that were attending a training and exchange visit with the local police here in Fort Pierce — picture taking then wasn’t on the agenda.