Day 23. On to Great Guana Cay. April14. Miles 16.3 Total miles 448.1

Day 23

Cloudless and slight breeze this mornin as we prepare to leave Green Turtle Cay and move on. We will travel through Whale Cut out into the Atlantic to cruise past the cay and then tuck back behind Great Guana Cay.

We enjoyed out stay at Donny's Marina. Was nice to share in the community on this small islands, but we are ready to go and explore.

We left the marina at 8:30 to take advantage of the tide at the cut, and headed east to travel between Great Abaco Island and Green Turtle in the Sea of Abaco. About 5 miles out we headed north to Whale Cut Channel which is a pretty narrow cut between to rock outcroppings out into the Atlantic. We really had to watch our heading to make sure we are in the channel.

We then turned east to cruise along Whale Cay and then into an old shipping channel that Disney Corp. dug to prepare for a resort which did not pan out.

As we pass behind Great Guana, we pass the fancy development in Bakers Bay and then the shoreline filled with homes.

We anchored in Fischer's Bay near the center of the island along with 15 other boats.

Now we get to explore. We put the dinghy in the water and took off for the dock and a walk around town.

First we walked to Nipper's to have some lunch and we were treated to beautiful view of the Atlantic beach.

After lunch we walked down to the beach and Bill had to climb all over the rocks.

After Bill finished his rock climbing we left the restaurant pictured below and walked down the beach lined with homes high up on the top of the sand dune.

At the next point of land we could see a limestone rock formation much weathered by the wind and waves.

We retraced our steps and returned to the restaurant and headed into the little town. The restaurant had some interesting signs along the path.

Here are some fun shots we took on our walk.

The town had a grocery and liquor store and a dive shop. Snorkeling and diving is very popular here as the reef is close to shore. Today the water was too rough for snorkeling.

Here is a typical street in town.

The streets are only wide enough for small vehicles, most people drive golf carts.

Outside of town, most of the homes are private cottages and many are rentals.

We returned to the boat and Bill did chores while I caught up with the blog. He did take the drone up and here are his shots.

Side trip to the Bahamas- Preparations

As we prepare for our Bahamian Adventure, we are making lists upon lists of things to do and provisions to buy for our upcoming trip to the Bahamas. Bill has spent much time readying the boat for the cruise, checking engines, batteries and all the systems on the boat - electrical, plumbing, navigation, refrigeration and air conditioning. Sure kept Bill busy!!! We took the boat out to check all the systems and to get fuel. We had to re-remember all the navigation and auto pilot workings and surprisingly we did remember!! We have spent the last two days loading the boat with provisions- water, food, tools, clothes, toiletries and cleaning supplies, and our pantry and cabinets are full. We are sitting a bit heavier in the water now that we are fully loaded. Also Bill has finally gotten his TO DO list down to the few remaining items so he sees the light at the end of the tunnel!! We have researched the charts and guide books and have a tentative pla...

On to Allan's-Pensacola Cay. Day 12. April 3. Mile 35.2. Total mile

Day 12 We left our anchorage at sunrise to head out of Great Sale Cay Harbor. Turning west and then north, we will cruise around Great Sale Cay toward Abaco's barrier islands, eventually reaching the eastern edge of the Little Bahama Bank today. As we turn Northeast, we get some spray. Crustacean is quite salty now! Winds are out of the east 10-15 knots with waves at one foot. We cruise past Little Sale Cay we see a steady stream of sailboats going both east and west. I counted 15 total. Nice wind for sailing. Halfway through our trip, you begin to see the outer barrier islands on the horizon to the north. Five miles later you can see Little Abaco Island to our south. Here is a chart of the area we traveled from Great Sale to Allan's-Pensacola Cay today. The further we travel east, the Little Bahama Bank narrows, The winds pick up and seas run 1-2 feet. Crustacean got even saltier! As we approached Allan's-Pensacola the wind and sea...

Day 24-25 April 15-16 On to Hopetown and Lay day in Hopetown. Miles 12.6. Total 460.6

Day 24 We had a change of plans. Our friends who we met cruising the Loop, Trisha and Mike, are traveling north through the Bahamas and are close, so we will join then in Hope Town. We will then back track a bit to visit Man-o-War Cay and Marsh Harbor after visiting with them. It is a bright sunny day with light winds as we weigh anchor to leave Great Guana. There is lots of freight and commercial traffic today- tugs and barges, large freighters and flat bed delivery boats. It takes all these to handle the shipping needs and construction on the islands. We trip today took along the north east side of Great Guana and then past Scotland Cay, which is all privately owned. Next we passed Fowl Cay which is a nature preserve known for its diving. Following Fowl Cay is Man-o-War Channel with its deep water access to the Atlantic and Man-o-War Cay, known for its ship building and maintenance. Sorry, pictures of the passes and islands did not turn out too well...

Crustacean Travels

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