Day 56 May 17. On to Little Hall's Pond/O'Brien Cay. Miles. 2.9. Total Miles 772.1

Day 56

Spent a lazy morning enjoying the view and beautiful weather. Will actually move only a short distance to be closer to more snorkeling.

Leaving Cambridge Cay behind, we wandered our way thru to O'Brien Cut and around Pasture Island to take a mooring between O'Brien and Little Hall Pond Cays.

Some very pretty water color today!!

There are a few scattered homes on all the cays in this area so no going ashore, but boaters come here to snorkel the Sea Aquarium - two large rocks with their adjacent coral reefs which attract lots of reef fish.

This area is also famous as one of the island used to be owned by Johnny Depp, but is now owned by JK Rowlings of Harry Potter fame.

We took a mooring and settled in to enjoy this new anchorage.

During lunch we had a persistent gull come begging for food. We though he would join us on the fly bridge as he kept trying to find a way so he could share in our lunch,

Later in the afternoon when it was low tide, we launched the dinghy to snorkel the Sea Aquarium. Luckily two boats were leaving so we had the whole area to ourselves to explore.

We dove in and were greeted by lots of fish. The fish here are larger than the previous sites. We saw Queen Angelfish, colorful Parrot Fish, and White and Yellow Striped Grunts all 8-10 inches long.

New fish at this site were, Bermuda Chub, Scamp and Damsel Fish, along with the regulars - wrasses, Surgeon, Squirrel and lots and lots of Sergeant Majors.

This reef also has a lot more colorful corals, sea fans and sponges.

Bill went nuts taking pictures, so here goes!!

Next are the movies that Bill took. Never thought he'd finish filming. It was always just one more shot!!

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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