On to Great Sale Cay. April 2 Day 11. Miles 48.8 Total miles 367.8

Day 11

We slipped our lines from the Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort

We left with eight other boats past the marina break wall and headed north and east to take the channel that leads into Little Bahama Bank. The Bank is between the north barrier islands and Grand Bahama Island. See the chart below. The first one shows the cut we had to negotiate and the second one shows almost all of the Northern Abacos -Bahamas.

Following our waypoints, we navigated through the small islands and shoals just north of West End Grand Bahama to gain access to the Little Bahama Bank. It is another sunny day with winds 8-12 knots and seas one foot or less.

As we exit the shoal areas, we head East Northeast toward Mangrove Cay, water color becomes more aquamarine with depths of mostly 10 feet. The waters are so clear, you can see the all the way through to the bottom.

We are traveling with two navigational tools, Garmin and AquaMaps as we must rely on our electronics and compass and our eyes to navigate through the Bahamian waters. There are no real marks to guide the boater, like we have in the USA.

The power cruisers that left the marina a bit before us are long gone, as they the have the speed way beyond our 8 knot average speed. But we did have quite a few sailboats out on the waters with us, some leaving the Bahamas and other just arriving here.

After three hours, we covered the 21.5 miles to get to Mangrove Cay. Yes, it is a small uninhabited island covered with mangroves and shrubs.

We then head further east to head towards Great Sale Cay, 20.5 miles away. On this stretch, Bill turned up the pirate and island music to serve to create our island ambiance onboard. We also had more wind which caused our boat to get "wet".

About 2.5 hours later, we pulled into the natural harbor of Great Sale Cay to anchor. We have since been joined by 5 other boats. This cay is flat and is covered with low lying mangrove, small pines and shrubs with a narrow beach and exposed limestone rock along the shore.

Since there was no good way to get through the thick mangroves and shrubs, we abandoned the idea of exploring.

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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