Our Travels

Home to a few marinas but with a catch, the harbor is a bit shallow (or thin as it’s said in the biz) for us deep-drafted gals. Sure, we went in there last year but had to play the tides. This year, a quick look into the anchorage (iffy for us) shows a whole passel of Cats and monohulls. So, we planned to anchor “outside” of the harbor and the main commercial channel. During our “setting the hook,” one of the pins on one of the shackles on our main bridle broke…. Gee, did it know we were headed for a replacement? Or maybe it knew that Terry and Lynn wanted a new one also and had reached out to friends for a referral?

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First order of business after we anchored was to get our gear to Kevin at Island Boy Tackle & Marine, the contact gracefully offered by Kellirae and Bill. Coincidentally, Kevin is cousin to Dale, the kind fella that towed us across the bank last year. Small world.

After delivering the gear to Kevin at Island Boy, we settled in for a few days to wait. The weather was mild, so where we anchored was pleasant enough, except when the big boys used the shipping channel. Then we’d receive a serious wake, the first of which happened daily around 0600 when the large ferry, Lady Daisy, made her first run. We jokingly referred to it as the “Marsh Harbour alarm clock.”

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We cleaned and worked a bit on boat chores while passing the time in Marsh Harbour, but all work and no play would make us dull, right? So, we allowed ourselves a daytrip over to Hope Town on the small ferry service. After all, we can’t be this close to Hope Town and skip the Elbow Reef Lighthouse.

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You might remember, from our post last year, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse was first operational in 1862 and is the last manned kerosene lighthouse on earth!

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This gorgeous view doesn’t get old. Seems like you can see for miles and miles. Actually, Todd figured about 13.5 miles!

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Now that everyone’s caught their breath and enjoyed the breezy view,

Luck? Why?? Oh, yeah. No matter the state of our hips, legs, backs, whatever, we all have to wiggle back through the “doggy door” hatch to the catwalk.

Todd managed to have the camera both when coming out of the little hatch and when going back through. The rascal. He’s not still up there, though. Promise.

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After our aerobics on the stairs and post-workout stretching in the doorway, we felt we’d earned a treat. (Right. Time for a drink.) So, we took the path behind the lighthouse over to the Hope Town Inn & Marina for lunch at the tiki bar.

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The highlight was this guy (gal?)!

After our explorations, we caught the 1700 ferry back to Marsh Harbour, arriving too late to pick up our now-ready gear, both a new bridle and the repaired original. No worries. The 0600 “Marsh Harbour alarm clock” would get us up in plenty of time to get to Kevin’s shop when he opened at 0900. Ha!

With the new bridles aboard, we stowed the dinghy, weighed anchor and headed away from Marsh Harbour. Goodbye, big boat wakes! Next stop, Tilloo Cay.

First, a bit of follow-up to our last post. There was a photo caption playfully referring to Terry as “Twinkletoes.” Little did we know that Lynn was sitting on some shots of her own. So, here you go, more on dinghies.

We already said scrambling in from the water isn’t always a graceful process. (Maybe that’s why Todd’s snorkeling IN the boat. LOL) Well, at the dinghy dock, you’ll go swimming fully dressed if you aren’t careful.

We’re here all week, folks. Now, on to our regularly scheduled post.

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There aren’t very many roads, so our pleasant roaming didn’t take too long.

We stopped in our travels to photograph two sharp-looking boats in the bay. SaltyMare and Finish Grade, of course.

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Okay. Okay. Can we please get to Nipper’s now?? For 27 years, it’s been a “happenin'” spot for both cruisers and locals from nearby islands. Apparently on Sundays, Funday starts with the arrival of the 10:30 ferry bringing in folks from those other islands. They flock to Grabbers and of course Nippers!

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,…

You can’t miss the place. There are signs everywhere. After the initial sign pointing off the main road, there are plenty of whimsical signs down the sandy access road to Nipper’s.

We finally made it! We timed our visit perfectly, as it was the calm before the storm of Sunday Funday folks!

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This is Nipper’s Beach Bar & Grill, perched above the beach on the Atlantic side of the island. These were snaps taken before lunch. After, the pools, the decks, and the beach were filled with folks having fun in the sun!

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And how about that beach view? The soft, sandy beach goes in either direction for miles.

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After a tasty lunch and sampling of Nipper’s Juice, basically a Rum Runner (with a top-secret recipe, of course), it was time to hit that beautiful beach. Terry & Lynn brought along something we’d never seen, a Shibumi Shade, to create a place to rest out of the sun.

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After combing the beach for sea beans and shells, it was definitely time for a swim, or in Todd’s case, some bodysurfing.

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Totally a Sunday Funday for us, and you bet we all slept like babies that night. Good thing because Monday morning’s plan was to move along at first light. Next up, Marsh Harbour.

Last year we went straight into the heart of the Abacos and hustled our way south while dodging what seemed like constant weather fronts. This week, when we say we’ve had stunningly settled weather, we mean VERY settled cruising. So, you might have noticed we haven’t hustled; in fact, we’ve wandered… and that’s what cruising is all about.

For review, here’s a map showing our 140 nautical miles of movement in the Upper Abacos. You might ask, how about those other islands you missed? Well, there are other years coming. Ha!

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To that end, Saturday, we had a beautiful six-hour cruise to Allans-Pensacola Cay. The water was so clear we watched the bottom go by for hours!

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As soon as we got anchored in the small cove, Todd dove right in. Both crews were able to use the crystal-clear water to verify and adjust depth gauges.

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We thought we’d stay a couple of nights and then make a few more stops in the Upper Abacos, but then there was a change in the forecast. Uh-oh. Not a major change but one that suggested more vigorous weather in a couple of days or so. Since farther down the Abacos we have to come out from behind the barrier islands at some point, we decided, why not scoot through there when the weather is good and not wait for the stuff that’s coming. Hence, wanting to get through the Whale Cay Channel before some wind riled it up, we did what you do on a boat, i.e., keep your knees flexed. We dashed over to discuss the change of plans with Terry and Lynn (in the dinghy this time), took in the sunset, and charted a new course for a new spot: Great Guana Cay. Allans-Pensacola goes back on the list for a future visit. (Hope we didn’t miss out on some good sea beans!)

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And it was! Pretty, that is. Trying to describe the colors in words or capture them in photos is impossible. And the water was even more clear, if that was possible.

As a bonus, we were cruising along Great Abaco most of the day, within reach of WIFI. Susie could catch up on the photos and posts! (Ummm…is that really a “bonus,” gang?)

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We had yet another day of beautiful cruising in the Sea of Abaco, then out into the North Atlantic in the Whale Cay Channel, around Whale Cay, and back into the Sea of Abaco. Smooth as good iced tea. Love it when a plan comes together.

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Having missed out on exploring Allans-Pensacola Cay, we were anxious to step off the boats to see Great Guana Cay.

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Apparently, they will be expecting us again next year.

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We opted for dinner at Grabbers, one of two Great Guana hot spots.

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Impromptu changes in plan can be fun! 😉

After a short walk, a few bar games, and a good meal, the sun put the final note on our pleasant day.

We’ve been told “Sunday is Funday” at Great Guana Cay, so next up, Nippers!

Thursday, we opted for a short 14-nautical mile cruise northwest to Double Breasted Cay, reputed to have a sandbar to tickle the fancy of our inner swimsuit models.

We anchored outside the sandy area (pink arrow), and – perfectly timed for low tide (thank you, Captain) – launched the dinghies and headed to Sand Cay (orange arrow).

There were a couple of other boats anchored on the south side of Sand Cay, Plan Sea and Mystic. We met John & Cindy (Mystic) in November at Lady’s Island Marina in Beaufort, SC. It was good to see them cruising with their friends, and hopefully our paths will cross again.

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After swinging by to greet Plan Sea and Mystic, who were on current lee side of the little Sand Cay, we cruised over to the current side and started our exploration of the sandbar and island.

We wandered through the sandbar and ended up going around the whole cay, finding so many sea creatures. Never seen anything like it – all this in just a few inches of water. It was like snorkeling, without gear or swimming!

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Video Time!

How about a short spine sea urchin? Just walking by!

And Todd’s seen plenty of feather duster tubeworms whilst diving, but here we touch them in 3-4 inches of water!

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We momentarily interrupted this absolutely beautiful whelk having a bite to eat.

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And even in these extremely shallow waters we found anemones and live corals….

Todd tried out his new underwater camera,

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Back at the dinghies, this little guy tried so hard not to move.

And a stingray cruised through to bid us farewell. Okay, okay, it was cruising along for food.

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We didn’t know what to do after that extravaganza, but we knew we wanted more! So, we cruised into a shallow section that cut through the whole “island.” Maybe that’s where the name came from. a set of islands that kind of wrap on to one another. Anyway, we started to see glimpses of our boats and just had to snap a few.

With both vessels shipshape and their crews raring to go, we headed away from West End Tuesday morning. Aimed at Great Sale Cay, which for those cruisers headed through the Abacos, is a typical spot. Which makes one wonder why it’s still for sale! That’s right, for $9.9 million you can own these 370 acres! Seems with all the cruisers that go by, it might be a good investment! For us it was a pleasant eight-hour, EVENT FREE, cruise to tuck in for a beautiful sunset.

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A quick note about dinghies: getting in is not always accomplished with grace. We have in our possession a great video taken right after the smiling shot below, but I promised Lynn I wouldn’t post it. For now… 😉

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