Island Hopping in the Abacos

Island Hopping in the Abacos – December 10 to 24

Great Sale Cay

Having caught up on a few hours sleep Tom decided to dig out the snorkel gear and check the anchor. Much to our surprise the compartment under the bed where the fins and snorkel were stored was half full of water! The leaks were worse than we thought.

The rest of the day was spent sopping up about 5 gallons of seawater, taking the wet labels off of cans of food (they were already labeled on the ends with permanent marker), rinsing everything with fresh water, wiping out all the compartments and the foam liners and then putting it all back together like a jigsaw puzzle to make it all fit again. Except for a few rolls of toilet paper and a battery tester nothing was completely lost. Some spare bedding needed to be laundered where the zip lock bags leaked. The clean up job put a bit of a damper on our excitement of having finally arrived in the Bahamas but we were able to cure that by looking out at the beautiful blue water and the palm trees on the island.

We stayed at Great Sale Cay for three nights waiting for the winds to subside. Thanks again to Linda and Ian for the champagne to toast the Gulf Stream and make our offering to Poseidon.

Hawksbill Cays

To find your way into the anchorage at Hawksbill Cays the guidebooks tell you to watch for the tire on a post. Yes, the tire on the post really is there and is the only marker of any kind to tell you where to turn in.

An unusual aid to navigation

Our stop at this collection of small rocky islands was brief. Although we were only a short dinghy ride from the settlement of Foxtown we were still not legal to go ashore. Thanks to Donna and Howard and their Portuguese water hounds Storm and Zephyr for hosting a wonderful dinner. The night sky was absolutely clear and we had a great view of the milky way complete with a show of shooting stars.

Sunset at Hawksbill Cays

Green Turtle Cay

This was our first opportunity to clear customs since we entered Bahamian waters. We put down our anchor just off the Government Dock at New Plymouth, dropped the dinghy, and Tom went ashore with the captains off of Malolo and Decibelle to find the customs office and wait until the person in charged returned. The sign said “back in 15 minutes”. Two hours later one of the locals came by, made a quick telephone call and the lady was there in 10 minutes. The next day when we passed the office on our walk around town another group of boaters waiting to check in told us that they had once waited for three days to clear customs at that location. I guess we were lucky. With our one year cruising permit we were set to explore the Bahamas.

The ownership of mooring balls in Black Sound is a little vague. We paid “Donnie” for two nights and on day two were approached by another gentleman who advised us that we were on his mooring ball and owed him $20 for the two night stay. After Tom told him a few times that we had already paid, he eventually agreed to go and see Donnie about it. He did come back and tell us that he got his money from Donnie.

View from the mooring in Black Sound

Sightseeing in New Plymouth does not take long. These were our highlights.

Bougainvilla on the street

The old jail with stairs to nowhere

Miss Emily’s fine dining– great place for conch fritters and cracked conch

Poinsetta for Christmas

Great Guana Cay

As we approached the harbor at great Guana Cay we passed over a bed of starfish. The water was about 8 feet deep and quite clear.

Starfish in the Sea of Abaco

This island’s greatest claim to fame is a beach bar called Nipper’s. We missed the Sunday pig roast but enjoyed the beach on the ocean side and the sunset over the Sea of Abaco.

We used the water maker here for the first time. It seems to work well. It’s amazing that a machine so small can take in the sea water and turn it into pure drinking water.

Man-O-War Cay

The dry island. That means no alcohol sales anywhere on the island. Be prepared. Bring your own. The marina gave us a great rate and was well protected from the wind in all directions.What better place to get some work done, wait out the thunderstorm and go for walks.

What is it?

The puffy flower tree ?

The Queen’s Highway on Man-O-War

One big bug!

The Atlantic side of Man-O-War

Bahamian wattle.

It seems that everyone has a collection of fishing floats

Tom got a start on replacing some of the damaged tabbing. I got out the Sailrite machine and made a Sunbrella cover for the windlass and a Phifertex cover for the front window.

A yellow crested night heron at the dock

Great Abaco Island

Busy Marsh Harbour was a bit of culture shock. After being on the small out islands where the main modes of motorized transportation are boats and golf carts it was strange to see so many cars and trucks. The streets are actually paved and there is a street light.

Marsh Harbour has all of the modern conveniences; banks with ATM machines, an ACE Hardware, a well stocked grocery store and taxis.

The airport is within walking distance if you don’t mind a good walk. We did it one way to meet the first arrival of our Christmas visitors and called the taxi for the second trip.