Marsh Harbor to Great Guana Cay-April 9-17-2010

We enjoyed our time in Marsh Harbor, Abacos although we feel we are getting closer to land life with ready
availability of tourist shops, grocery stores, barbers, pharmacies, and restaurants. We enjoyed getting to know more
cruisers that we met at the bars during Happy Hour. The weather was in the 60's and windy but it gave us a chance
to do laundry and other boat chores. We also enjoyed a few games of dominoes. It is such a slower pace of life.

It has been fun to reunite with our sailing friends on Star Shot, Penny and George and Never Bored, Chris and Sheila
that we spent time with last year. We enjoyed some happy hours together, dominoes and enjoyed attending the Agricultural
Fair in Marsh Harbor with crafts, food and demos of filleting lion fish which are a species that have few predators and
eat the grouper which is quite popular here.

Sat, April 17 we sailed over to Great Guana Cay. Immediately upon arrival Ed got the opportunity to enjoy the refreshing water so
that our anchor could be properly set; after 3 tries he decided it needed to be hand set. The grass here is not conducive to a sure set like sand is.
We enjoyed the local bands at Grabbers and the dancing. Nippers is a colorful bar not just the building which overlooks the beach but in the
local dancing action among the college aged group and some boaters that think they are still college age. We enjoyed the Sunday buffet and
the people watching was fun and speculating on the marvels of plastic surgery. Bocce ball was a highlight of the weekend along with beach combing.
We miss our friends but certainly enjoy this pace of life.

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Water Cay to Thompson Bay and Calabash Bay, Long Island

Snorkeling at Water Cay was interesting but with only a few hours we found one great reef with the best corals we have seen but nothing to eat. There is a blue hole nearby but it was too late in the day to spot it and we did not have the GPS in the dinghy. Oh well, maybe next time.

The run is about 40 miles; north for about 1/3 and east for about 2/3. This year we had east winds going south about half way thru the day which was just about perfect for our run and as the weather guru, Chris Parker, had predicted. Ken on Duet and I on Windswept Dreams could just sail at 38 degrees of apparent wind. Actually, when we turned the corner to go east both at the same time, we both started our engines because we did not know if we could sail it and we wanted to make sure that we did not drift off in the rather narrow Comer Channel. I had to move the blocks for the jib sheets back so I could flatten out the genoa plus I put up the staysail, a small sail that flys inside the head sail and channels air next to the main on a close reach. Otherwise, the staysail is pretty useless except as a storm-sail. Anyway, Duet and Windswept Dreams sail very closely together though with perfect sails the longer Tayana should be slightly faster. But enough about that.

I have talked about Thompson Bay before but once again we had a very nice time going to dinner at Trafina's, walking the ocean beaches, doing laundry, eating pizza (lunch) and using the internet at the Long Island Breeze club. It is a laid back island with nice people and you can also get fuel, water and groceries at the two good stores. There are two seafood companies where you can buy crayfish (lobster) and fish. We met one of the fisherman, Wayne Harding, in the Jumentos, his family owns stakes in the local petroleum company, hardware store, gas station, one seafood company and who knows what else? Ann enjoyed visiting island friends from last year.

On March 25th we went north about 20 miles to Calabash Bay, also on Long Island. We took several extended beach walks; Ann and Belinda on Duet love the walks. There ccertainly have not been enough large shells to collect this year. This resort sits on a perfect white sand beach of about two miles. The bungalos and town-houses surround a club-house restaurant. They are cruiser friendly and offer internet access by the day for $10 which we took advantage of. We meant to stay only overnight but it was too nice to leave so quickly. I would heartily recommend this place to anyone.

We had drinks outside the bar the second night and were joined by two German men which was interesting.

March 27th was goodbye Long Island and moving north.

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