16-30 April 2006
Georgetown, Bahamas to Marsh Harbour, Bahamas
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| Date | Destination | Log and Pictures | |
| 16 Apr | P&P Beach Club | We had Kathy and Ross and Kip (a single-handed sailor we met) over for Easter Brunch and Ross showed me how to tie the GPS in the computer, gave me many charts that I can use on the computer, using GPS. It is a great addition to our navigation capability and we're enjoying working with it as we plan our trip north up the Exumas, scheduled now for tomorrow morning. | |
| 17-19 Apr | Farmer's Cay Yacht Club & Thunder - ball Grotto |
Up and underway at 9 am from Georgetown, headed north. Carey and I smiled as we remembered the great time we had with Jack and Ann and our new friends Dave and Judy who came with their scuba gear to fix the broken trim tab. Below, Dave is just getting out of his scuba gear after the successful fix. We steamed out of Elizabeth Harbour, past a 100 foot yacht that had gone aground and headed for Little Farmer's Cay, 35 miles to the north. Exuma Sound was beautiful. A slight swell and little wind allowed us to make good time to our best stop of the trip, Farmer's Cay Yacht Club, where owner Roosevelt Nixon showed us more hospitality than we'd seen in the Exumas. We tied to his dock, ate at his restaurant, walked the small 55 person village, and relaxed. Tuesday morning, after a walk past the local grocery store and town cemetery, we headed to Black Point. Strong west winds nixed that anchorage so we continued north to Thunderball Grotto and anchored on the eastern lee shore. It's pleasant here and we're ready for bed after visiting Dave and Judy, who moved north also, and a great meal aboard. We decided to stay another night as we were enjoying the area so much. |
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| 20-22 Apr | Highborne Cay | Up at a normal time we took Sophie for a walk on the nearest beach and started our 44 mile trip to Highborn Cay. It was a gorgeous day and the water was so clear you could see 15 to 20 feet down as we traveled over the bank. We left viewing Thunderball Grotto, lower left picture, and stopped along the way when we saw a large turtle swimming near the bottom in 20 feet of water. Our next stop is Eleuthera Island and then the Abacos. The Ocean is too rough, with 4-7 foot seas so we're staying anchored in Highborne Cay until the seas settle. | |
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| 23 Apr | Current Island, Eleuthera | Beautiful sunrise greeted us this morning. We dinghied into Highborne Cay Marina, where Carey made a few phone calls. Returning to the boat, we weighed anchor and headed north 44 miles for Current Island in the Eleuthera Island chain of the Bahamas. The water was beautiful and we learned more about visual piloting in the Bahamas as we had to drive around numerous coral heads growing on the bank. They are easy to spot as you can see below, but some are less than 4 feet below the surface so you do want to drive around them. We found Current Island to be more inhabited than the islands in the Exumas, and marveled at the cut we had to pass thru, with its 5 knot current. | |
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| 24-25 Apr | Marsh Harbour Abaco Bahamass | Underway from Current Island, we made the 65 mile crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to the Abacos and anchored off Lynard Cay. The Atlantic crossing was in less than 5 knots of wind but the last days of high winds gave us a 4-5 foot swell; not waves, just large rolling swells spaced far apart. We rolled gently up and down the swells as we moved north, a pleasant trip that reminded me of my time on Destroyers in the Atlantic. We anchored off Lynard Cay for a peaceful evening then took the 20 mile trip to Marsh Harbour and moored at Harbour View Marina Tuesday evening. We're eating out, walking the town, doing laundry, and cleaning the boat. A change of pace to the anchoring we've done over the last week. A nice time. | |
| 26-30 Apr | Marsh Harbour, Aaco, Bahamas |
Still at Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour. We've fallen for the place and are making plans to spend the upcoming winter here. Today was a sad one, as we were informed Carey's mother passed away last evening. She will fly home for the funeral and I'll stay with the boat and Sophie. When she returns we will continue the trip. Carey left for the states on Saturday (29th) and Sophie and I are watching the boat. The scenery is beautiful here. In Sophie's hurry to get ashore, either to see more and do her business, she missed the jump to the pier and went swimming. She swims well, even after her 6 foot dive into the harbor. |
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