Great Guana and Green Turtle Cays

We had a very nice Easter on Great Guana Cay enjoying a pig roast buffet at Nippers which is on the ocean side and featured 50s music, easter egg hunting and drinks in multi-colored buildings with two levels of fresh water pools and a beautiful beach. We then went to Nippers near the dinghy dock which had a band plus bocci ball court which we all enjoyed. There we joined up with Gary and Lisa plus George and Penny who came over from Marsh Harbor where they provisioned the night before.

On April 14th, the day after Easter, we went about 12 miles to White Sound at Great Turtle Cay. It is a very nice resort area spread over the bays of the cay and a settlement that has a very old time feel with nice stores, schools and more of the ubiquitous golf carts. We had breakfast at the bakery/restaurant in the settlement then went into Black Sound to Pineapples bar and grill where we did internet and had a snack.

The first night was ok but Tuesday night a storm passed through starting just about 10 while we had Sheila and Chris from Never Bored plus her brother Berk and friend Jim plus Penny and George from Star Shot and Gary from Sia Sinana. We were monitoring the VHF radio and heard that the storm was imminent so we adjourned the party so everyone went home to take care of their boats. Shortly thereafter the rain started and my neighbor asked me to let out more anchor rode because he felt we were to close. It turns out he was dragging because just as the rain started pelting and the wind came up he was screaming at us to start our engine and drive off although his boat "Whiskers" was drifting into us over our anchor but we were holding. He started panicking in earnest yelling out orders, driving his boat crazily while his anchor was still fouled and his rode under his and our boat. Ann would not put the boat in gear with and danger of fouling plus we could not go anywhere as long as his anchor was fouled on ours. Ed managed to pull his anchor up, it had fouled with grass, and throw it clear of our boat. It was woefully inadequate, a too small Danforth versus a good Fortress he also had on the bow. He then proceeded to start to drive on our port side though his anchor was on the starboard side so we screamed at him to stop before he really wound our anchors again or his anchor grabbed pulling his boat into ours. He then almost hit our stern and our davits. Finally he went back to port so Ed jumped in the dinghy went to his boat and asked him whether he wanted assistance with his anchor. Ed then pulled it in for him and after one false attempt at setting it, a friend of his offered a raft-up to his boat which he did with no problem. Yea, because we could finally rest easy.

So today all the boats in the area agreed we had done nothing wrong, that there was no way that our chain could have dislodged his anchor and that we had done the right thing by focusing on the solution rather than the problem including making sure that Whiskers was safely secured for the night. Of course, the 83 year old guy insists that we caused the problem and that his anchor was not the problem. We moved to an isolated spot today and so did he though we aren't enemies we do disagree. Again he insisted on using the Danforth plus is back to yelling at other boats about how they should anchor and how much rode he has out. One has to watch out in crowded anchorages. End of story.

We went to the ocean beach to snorkel and walk today. I went about a 1/4 mile to the reef but saw some pretty coral but no large fish. When I got back to shore, George pointed to Penny and Ann and said go to them they were near the hole of a really large fish. Well, it was about a 4 pound grouper and Ed speared it for a wonderful dinner with George and Penny. He unfortunately forgot to take a picture for the records.

Gary and Lisa started north today while Never Bored with the Nova Scotia fisherman (Sheila's brother and friend) headed back to Treasure Cay. They will join us sometime on Friday after the guys head to Nassau for their trip home.

Right now it is dead calm but we are anticipating the wind to come up and go north which may make for an interesting night. Meanwhile, a band is playing at the resort and we are getting ready to dance.

Thursday 4-16: we danced until the midnight hour then retired to the boat with the sound of thunder. The band calls themselves the Gully Roosters and you could not help but dance. Ed bought their CD which we played as we left the harbor for Crab Cay, a scant 4 miles distance. We wisely closed all the windows and portholes, and brought in the cockpit cushions before hitting the sack. At 2AM we had lighting and a deluge of rain that lasted about an hour but the wind was low so no problem.

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4/1/09-4/12-09 Spanish Wells to Great Guana Cay

We have been moving quite a bit again. We explored Spanish Wells which is a nice island that is also a fishing village with trawlers having large arms for holding the boats steady in rolling seas while loading lobster from their ocean condos courtesy of the lobstermen. All the fisherman were back because 4/1 is the end of lobster season to allow for all the aspects of breeding and rearing the young and I'm not sure when they molt their shell or at what stages of their growth upto about 36 inches from head to tail.

Spanish Wells is much more developed with close spaced houses, several main streets each bustling with traffic related to the aforementioned suppliers of the Red Lobster restaurants plus guiding most traffic over the Devil's Backbone route to Harbor Island. The traffic includes all professionally crewed yachts plus most of the boats such as ours and two others that used Jacque receiving a discount rate of $50 for cruising boats either power or sail.

We did some snorkeling outside of Spanish Wells but much to our disappointment the reefs were very sandy and white, the coral in poor shape with few fish. We ventured over to the north of Eluethara versus staying north of Spanish Wells, perhaps it takes many trips to find the good spots because many spots are in serious decline supposedly from killer algeas possibly due to coastal nitrate levels.

We stayed three nights in Spanish Wells enjoying ourselves as we waited out a front. We ventured over to Harbor Island with the help of a pilot on 4/4 and traveled with George and Penny of Star Shot plus John and Dottie of Mufasa. Nearly all non-locals hire a pilot because of the coral that you have to weave through and the shallows. Ann was at the helm and enjoyed the tenseness of steering through the Devil's Backbone cut on the way to Harbor Island.

Harbor Island had a resort so again it was s lot of civilization to experience. We enjoyed lunch out at the Starfish Cafe sharing grouper fingers and walked past all the colorful stores of which there were many, quite the bustling place; watch out for vehicles resembling high-power and clearance golf carts for delivering people and goods on the small hilly streets. The island is only about 1/2 mile wide. It has many flowering plants. The West Side faces the large side of Eluethara which blocks all ocean swell though a large wind chop can develop across the bay it has not prevented Valentines Marina from developing a successful restaurant, fuel and moorage business with multiple megayacht and large powerboats. The east side faces the Atlantic but is protected by a coral reef. Dive boats go out from the store at the marina with gear and equipment available for rental and purchase. The beach is clean and several miles long. Many families and couple wander and play coming from the many private homes and rentals above the beach as well as many streets coming from the town which is on the west side. We dinghied from our boats to the dock at either of the two marinas and walked for food, exercise and enjoyment. The walk to the beach only took ten minutes! One could swim out to snorkel but I would not want to hunt fish that far away my dinghy. It provides close storage of prey to avoid attracting sharks as well as a fast water exit strategy.

4/6/09 we arrived at Little Harbor after a long 60nm sail starting at 6:30 am till about 4:30. We are traveling with four boats, us, Star Shot, Siya Sinana and Never Bored. Lisa and Gary are on Never Bored, Sheila and Chris and on Never Bored. We get together for cocktails and games. Petes Pub is here and a small art gallery and you can walk to the ocean side to look for sea beans, sea glass and shells. While here Lisa broke her foot so went into Marsh Harbor for a cast. We all tagged along and explored town
while her foot was set. What a bummer; trying to get in and out of a dinghy and to shore with crutches. She is the mechanic on their boat plus very much a driving force so for her to sit by while Gary does everything is frustrating to her.

4/9/09; We headed to Tilloo Cay near Elbow Cay. On the way we stopped at Pelican Cay Land and Sea Park. We were rewarded with incredible
elkhorn coral, fans and beautiful fish. We saw a group of 5 manta rays which were incredible. The fish were used to being fed by snorkel excursions
from the islands. Tilloo Cay was a busy anchorage as all seem to be in this area due to the cruisers moving north now.

4/10 took us to Hopetown also in the Abacos, a unique little town with lots of golf carts which seem to be of great use on most of these islands.
We have not experienced the golf carts. We did visit the Elbow Cay Lighthouse and were able to visit with the keeper Franklin as he lit the kerosene
for the evening. We climbed the 100+steps and were enchanted by the beautiful view. We also got to stand next to the prisms as they circled around us.

4/11/12-Great Guana Cay is where we are presently. It also has a resort and lots of golf carts; being that it is Easter there is a large buffet
today that we will indulge in and play some bocce ball if we get the chance. Time is getting short here. Our cruising time has gone by quickly.

Happy Easter to all.

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3/20-3/31

Well time certainly goes quickly. Another 10 days have sped by. We arrived 3/20/09 at Cat Island at 3:00 and after a 7 hr. motor sail we were ready for some land.
We went into town and scoped out groceries, renting a car, etc. We met a woman at the gas station and were invited to her party and the station owner
agreed to take us to the party and it was wonderful. She is a multi-millionaire with a house on the ocean, a private jet, a fishing boat and captain.
We had a wonderful time. She used to own nursing homes in Florida. The food was incredible. No rides on the jet either.

3/21/09 Cat Island is beautiful but lots of car with a population of 1500. We visited the Hermitage which was built by Father Jerome in the 1940's as his retirement home with stations of the cross and a small chapel; we climbed the 300 feet to the top with an outstanding view. He also built Holy Redeemer church on the island and churches on Long Island and a monastery in Nassau. He was first an architect; a Anglican priest and then a Catholic priest; a remarkable man. We met an islander, Carlton Rolle at church on Sunday and he had served as an altar boy for Father Jerome and could give us further history. We also had a wonderful meal at the Blue Bird diner.

3/22/09-3-24 We attended a march through the town with a youth police cadet corp and a small high school band and people from 3 different churches. We hitchiked
to the parade and met our friends from WindLass and new friends from Star Shot; Penny and George. We all were fortunate to get a ride back to New Bight in the
back of a pick up truck. We do different things here. We rented a car with WindLass for 2 days and investigated different towns from Arthur Town on the north to
Hawks Nest and Port Howe in the South. There were many abandoned homes that were used by former slaves; some people believe that the spirits live in the homes so they
remain to deteriorate. We saw cotton plants along the road and we visited some small waterfront resorts. The people are lovely and kind.

3/25/09-We had a nice last day here and picked some fresh tomatoes. We got propane for the 2nd time as the fitting wasn't tight enough so it all leaked out. Propane is essential for all our cooking. We spent a final night with WindLass which was sad as we've been together for 2 months; and you share so much boating with others. We
unfortunately didn't do any snorkeling on the island.

3/26/09-We traveled to Little San Salvador; a cruise ship island suited for all their needs. The ship was leaving as we came in at 3:00. We are now
traveling with George and Penny from Star Shot which is very nice. We did some snorkeling and the large groupers eluded Ed; I haven't learned to be a good
team fishing buddy; distracting the fish while Ed gets him. There is lots of swell in this anchorage.

3/27-30-We moved onto Rock Sound, Eluethera just as the cruise ships were arriving in the morning. It has more traffic than Cat Island and has more the feeling of
a big city. On Saturday we explored Rock Sound and walked to the Ocean Hole Park in town which is a blue hole. We walked 1 1/2 miles to Aunt Ed's restaurant to find that it was closed so we walked another 1/2 mile to find another closed restaurant. It was a very hot day and we talked with some people that we thought might be at a small bar and it was a birthday gathering and they gave us a beer and a ride into town; we felt very lucky. The people are warm and welcoming. We attended St. Anne's church Sunday and did boat chores as well as on Monday. Sometimes owning a boat is being in beautiful locations to work on the boat. Ed varnished and I removed some rust scrubbed off mildew from the ceilings

3/31/09- We had a 7 hour day of motor sailing to Rainbow Cay, Eluethera. It is the last day of lobster season until August. We had hoped to find some
good reefs to acquire some yummy lobster but we not able to find one. It was disappointing. We will only be staying the day and then doing more discovery
of other parts of Eluethera.

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