Traveling in the Bahamas - West End to Treasure Cay

Monday February 25, 2013 West End Grand Bahamas to Mangrove Cay

We got up in a leisurely fashion on Monday morning to a bright sunny day. I found a different guide book that gave better details on our geography. West End is on the western end (duh) of Grand Bahama Island, one of the Bahama chain of islands that is further west and therefore closer to Florida. It makes a good entrance point to enter customs in the Bahamas. The folks in customs are not nearly as hassled as their colleagues in larger cities. 

We put up our yellow quarantine flag and Kermit wandered down the dock to see the customs office. It took Kermit about 30 minutes and $320 to get processed. The $20 extra was for Rusty. No problem from customs that we didn’t have the proper paperwork for him since the Bahama animal permit never arrived.

Grand Bahama Island is about 60 nautical miles long and six nautical miles wide. The Cruising Guide to Abaco Bahamas 2013 says, “Its northern coast is very shallow and not approachable in cruising boats.” (p. 25) Freeport is the big city in Grand Bahama Island, about 45 minutes away by taxi. We didn’t go. I wish we could have gone because then we could have purchased new telephones from Bahama Telephone Company. We will do without for a little while.

Rusty and I went for a walk on the beach around the Old Bahama Bay Marina. Most of the sailboats were already gone but we didn’t think much of that. We met a nice couple on a sailboat from Cleveland, of course. They were very peppy, as folks from northeast Ohio tend to be. They had the usual giggle over Kermit’s name then proceeded to ask Bunny if she was Kermit’s mom! This did not go over well. We moved on quickly to avoid bloodshed.

I wrote the blog and Kermit hung out until Bunny and Evan made the point to Kermit that we had a long way to go today before we rested if we wanted to be on our way to Turtle Cay in a timely fashion. Evidently Shirley and Tony knew this too. Communication is the key to a successful trip. So we put everything in action and headed out toot sweet. We left around 10:30am. It was windy and bumpy but we needed to move.

Nothing went right on this leg of the journey. Kermit was on edge and bossy and I was crabby and tired. A nap for me did the trick. Bunny and Evan were sweet as could be and spelled Kermit for a nap in the afternoon. 

We arrived refreshed at about 4:30pm in our first anchorage, Mangrove Cay, at N26 55.710 W78 37.260, a distance of about 60 miles. The trip is a lot longer than it could have been if our draft allowed us to go through Indian Cay but our draft is too deep. So we had to go around Wood Cay to Barra at Baracuda Shoal Marker then to Mangrove Cay.

Katherine in the water holding on to the line

After arrival Bunny and I got into the water for a swim. Good thing we put out some lines because the current was really strong. The water was warm, a little less than 80 degrees. It was nice to cool off since the wind coming at us the way it did while traveling did not create much of a breeze.

Bunny enjoying the water - also holding on
to the line so she didn't float away

Bunny had some trouble getting out of the water. The ladder on the swim platform really should have one more step. It is really hard to get a foot up. She stumbled just a little and cut her foot. She bleeds a lot because of the blood thinners she takes. That cut took days to tighten up.

Preparing for the next day travel

Taking Rusty for a walk 

This rock provides good protection from SW and W winds and NE and E winds but little protection from NW winds. Guess what we got. Yup, winds directly out of the N and NW. We bounced all over all night. But the anchor held really well. It also went down really easily too. No problems at all with the windlass.

When we anchor Rusty has to go for a walk in the dinghy. He is a good sport so in he went and off they rode to get to land to go potty. Rusty is getting a little relaxed with this. He poops in the water, poops in the boat, poops on the land. Just get him out of the boat and he is ready!! Kind of gross but it is what it is. 

taking Rusty for a walk

Bunny relaxing with a drink

We had drinks with Shirley and Tony from Headquarters on Good Karma then they motored back to their boat for a good curry. We had fabulous steaks with perfectly cooked broccoli and brownies for dessert. A feast!!

We took down the dinghy and Kermit took Rusty to shore. Not much there. Just some muck and rocks. Rusty did his business and came back around 5pm, just before dark. We hoped he would be ok for the evening since no one wanted Kermit to go to shore amid what promised to be tons of bugs. Rusty had no choice in the matter. He was in for the night.

Headquarters anchored just a few yards from us at Mangrove Cay

We opened all the windows and turned off the generator for the evening. The breeze was heavenly. So was the howling wind and the banging. All night long, bang, bang, bang as we sailed from one side of the anchor line to the other, slamming at the end like an evil crack the wind game. 

We learned something though. When we anchor and it is even a little windy we need to leave the isinglass smiles open. Otherwise the entire upper part of the boat just moves us around more than necessary. When we awakened and started moving around, we opened the smiles and the moving almost stopped. Nothing else changed, just the smiles. So this is an important learning.

Sunset at Mangrove Cay

Tuesday February 26, 2013 Mangrove Cay to Great Sale Cay

We learned our lesson and left much earlier on Tuesday morning. We were up by 6:30am, Rusty pooped and peed so we left a little before 8am. Our target was Great Sale Cay halfway to our goal of Green Turtle Cay, 25 nautical miles away.

The water was really rocky again and the wind howled most of the trip. The love seat on the back deck traveled back and forth and we had to keep readjusting the cooler so it didn’t go overboard. We arrived at Great Sale Cay at about noon. The cruising guide says, “Great Sale Cay is not particularly pretty; its greatest asset is its location on the route between Florida and Abaco.” (p. 29) I am sure it will get pretty shortly.

L: Evan, Bunny, and Kermit relaxing at Sale Cay

Tony and Shirley coming over for cocktails

Good Karma at anchor at Sale Cay

Good Karma

Actually the water is an astounding turquoise, really pretty even where it is deep. We missed seeing a blue hole by a few miles. Bunny and Evan told us about blue holes. These unusual geological formations are deep holes shoals in the Bahama Banks “connected to deep ocean waters through a tunnel or tunnels cut through the limestone base of the banks by rainwater during the ice ages when sea level was several hundred feet lower than it is today.” (p. 31) I am reminded of the cenote in the Yucatan. Those are deep holes cut into limestone connecting deep rivers below ground. Evidently this is sort of the same thing. These blue holes have not been researched much. I guess it is very dangerous. They used to be filled with garbage until people figured out how cool and unusual they are. We missed seeing them but we learned something.

Kermit, Rusty, and Katherine off for an adventure on Sale Cay

Rusty wet and tired

We stopped at Mangrove Cay early enough for lunch and a swim then a dinghy ride into shore with the dog. Rusty did his unusual trick of pooping in the water, leaving landmines in an otherwise unspoiled crystal clear water. Kermit also did his trick of pooping in the water when we released the holding tank into the outgoing tide upon arrival. It was the first time we tried this trick and it worked well although it made jumping in the ocean a little… quesy… due to the recent dumping. But we had no choice. I forgot to take photos. 

After the impact of dumping the holding tank wore off, we all got into the dinghy and went to shore for a walk around and a swim. Bunny and Evan stayed on the boat because the cut on Bunny’s leg was still open. 

We met a nice couple from Minneapolis that just bought a boat and moved on to it in Florida. They are starting the loop in Florida just now with this side trip to the Bahamas. I think their names were Brent and Susan or something like that. We didn’t have cards in our swim trunks so I am not exactly sure. The funny thing is their friends said they live in Fort Pierce (where Bunny and Evan live) on a fresh water river. Bunny and Evan laughed and said that was not possible. Oh well.

Wednesday February 27, 2013 Great Sale Cay to Green Turtle Cay

This is our third Green Turtle something: 1) Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky, 2) Green Turtle Cove Marina in Tarpon Springs, and 3) Green Turtle Cay in Abacos.

A word about frigate birds. Bunny and Evan say these are really unusual. They are a family of seabirds that travel around in a family and are monogamous. They are related to pelicans with long wings, tails, and bills. We saw a bunch of them on both days we anchored out. You can identify them by the crook in their wings. They are really big. 

We came into GTC with 58 gallons of gas so we needed to fill up with gas here. We traveled over 230 miles since leaving Fort Lauderdale and put in 241 gallons of gas for $1400 almost exactly. It sort of chokes you up when you think about it like that. 

Our gas fill up was nothing compared to the 60 foot Hattaras owned by the distracted fellow from Detroit preparing to go out fishing the next day. He filled up with 670 gallons of diesel at $5.40 per gallon. I won't calculate that for you - you can do that yourself. That will put a dent in your pocketbook.

coming into Green Turtle

It takes a lot of knowledge to make this happen

Bunny checking out the guidebooks

coming into the harbor

Coming into Green Turtle Cay

Marker buoys look a little different here

Every  marina has a sign at the entrance like this

Home for sale

Bluff House on the port side of the bay

Rusty swam a bit at the Green Turtle Marina beach...

then promptly rolled in the sand. Gotta love this dog.

Staying at a marina includes other costs in the Bahamas like about a $15 daily charge for electricity and usually some sort of charge for water. All this in addition to a typical less than $1 per foot for dockage. This is why a lot of sail boaters anchor out. Sometimes the weather is such that we don’t want or need the air conditioning but we still need the refrigerator and lights. We haven’t seen metering yet but we heard about it. It costs less to stay in a marina for a month. At Treasure Cay it costs about $600 per month, or stay 3 weeks and get the  4th free. It is not crowded at any of these marinas so everything is negotiable.

Green Turtle Marina

There is not much to do at Green Turtle Cay but that is part of its charm. Rusty and I walked around the resort but we can attest to the quiet and beauty of the place. The other marina in town is the Bluff House. We couldn’t tell from the guide books which one was better. We asked the dock master and he said the food was good at GTC so we decided to stay.

Green Turtle Marina

The gimmic in this Cay is all your food and drink is deducted from your dockage bill. You can't go negative so we ended up with a few dollars on the dockage bill. What a clever idea!

The Bay

We had probably too many cocktails that evening. We killed the half gallon of rum and another of Crown so we were a little wobbly on the way out. The tide came in so the boat was riding really high. I had trouble getting off the boat and also trouble communicating the problem. Bunny took a header off the side. She rolled her landing like a pro but still got bruised. Kermit brought out the ladder. This trip is quite eventful!

Dinner was marvelous, absolutely marvelous. Bunny and Evan had cracked conch which they said was the best, most tender they ever had. I tasted it. It was good. Kermit and I had filet Mignon (it was steak night!) that we literally cut with a butter knife. It was SOOOOO good. So was the wine, not that we needed more. Then they brought out the birthday cake!!! The most delicious chocolate cake. We dug in and savored the sweet, sharp taste of dark chocolate frosting with firm, dense dark chocolate cake. MMMMMmmmmmmm I can still taste it. Everyone in the restaurant sang happy birthday. Kermit was very happy!!! I forgot the camera so no pictures. Probably the alcohol but I am not talking. 

Thursday February 28, 2013 Green Turtle Cay to Treasure Cay

The next day we learned that Kermit got his wish when he blew out the candles: he wished that Rob Ross would get his new lungs in a transplant and we learned the next day that Rob did!! Rob is recovering at the Cleveland Clinic transplant ward with new lungs and a new aorta valve. Kermit was doubly blessed that his wish came true!!! We love you, Rob! Get well soon. It is almost boating season and everyone expects you back healthy. As my mom always said, “God knows you don’t need your organs in heaven. Leave them for someone who does.” We are always eternally grateful for organ donors who give so others can live. Please be an organ donor! We are.

We had no hangovers the next morning but we should have. We had a long discussion the prior day about the plans for the remainder of the week. We wanted to hang out in Green Turtle. Our eventual target was Treasure Cay only 25 miles away, much closer as the crow flies. You can see Treasure Cay across the water. You just can’t get there directly because of reefs and shoals in the water in between.

 Weather is very important consideration because to get to Treasure Cay most boats like ours with more than a 3 foot draft have to go around Whale Cay into the Atlantic Ocean and around some more corners until we got to the Treasure Cay Marina. We decided Thursday was the day to do it even though we would have loved to stay in Green Turtle. A front was coming in over the weekend so we couldn’t dawdle. Either we left on Thursday or we were stuck until Sunday or Monday. So even though we wanted to explore Green Turtle and its historic town of New Plymouth, we had to move.

This water is about 20 miles long and five miles wide of the most beautiful water you have ever seen. You can see almost every place you want to go. You just have to figure out how to get there.

The preferred route to Treasure Cay on Great Abacos Island is around Whale Cay. You leave Green Turtle Cay at N26 45.350 W77 20.700 from the south  to NoName marker at N26 44.002 W77 19.017.  You head for a point near the northern end of the cay on a heading of about 40 degrees to avoid the shoaling. Then you head to the port to the southwest end of Whale Channel at N26 42.380 W77 17.000 where you turn into the north tip of Whale Cay at N26 43.009 W77.15.426. Continue until Whale NE at N26 43.510 W77 14.250. Now you are in the Atlantic Ocean. 

I am framing this one!

These pictures are from the east side of Whale Cay showing the water rushing over the cay from the Atlantic. I didn't correct for angle so you can see how the boat was moving with the swells. In fact, I couldn't stand up to take pictures so you can see the window on the edges of most of the pictures and you can see the angle of the boat. It was amazing!

Maybe I will frame this one...

Notice the angle - the picture reflects the angle of the boat

No, this is the one to frame!

This photo is awesome!

The view back out into the Atlantic

This required a lot of concentration

Looking back at Green Turtle Cay in the far distance

The entrance to Great Abacos Island - think this house will
survive a hurricane?

barge sunk off island off Whale Cay

Let me tell you, a camera cannot fully comprehend the awesomeness. All you can see is water as far as you can see. You can almost see Portugal in the distance. The waves are swells that roll rather than spikey waves like we are used to in the Great Lakes. The boat goes up one side and down the other, swaying so you can’t take the same picture from one second to the next. Swaying is good, according to Evan. He said it was the best possible day to make this trip. Uneventful swells. You count from the top of one swell to the top of the next swell. He was counting ten seconds, sometimes more. That is perfect ocean weather he says. We have good karma.

Dont Rock

You travel around Whale Cay on the Loggerhead Channel. NW is at N26 41.960 W77 11.930 to SE at N26 42.560 W77 12.400. This is a very dangerous place. We saw a barge sunk off one of the islands. 

At this point you turn southwest directly towards Treasure Cay for 5 nautical miles. You can see for miles so it seems like it is right over there but it takes some time to get there. The marker for Treasure Cay is at N26 39.570 W 16.800.

Along the way the landmark is Dont Rock. You can see Don’t Rock from Green Turtle Cay but you can’t get there until you are all the way around Whale Cay.

Treasure Cay is really pretty. There are colorful condos in tropical colors all along the water. There is a pool and a very active clubhouse/bar/restaurant, especially in the evening.

1st thing Kermit does - check  out the action on the dock!

The shopping center - doesn't look like much but the people
are nice and they have a laundry (they will do it for you!), a supermarket,
a phone store, a bank and a great bakery.

 

I want to do the pig roast on Sunday!

The condos outside our dock

I don't think Kermit will wear shoes ever again!

We got settled in our dock and went off to explore. We found the telephone company (yeah!!), a bakery (really yum), the resort office, a good hardware store, and a great supermarket. We decided we needed some info about the phones and Bunny and Evan needed to talk in detail to the resort office but we were so hungry first we needed food. So we walked over to the beach to have lunch. 

Check out that sugar sand- awesome!!

The beach is down one block and over a bluff. Gosh it is beautiful. We ate at this cool restaurant, Coco Beach. This stretch of beach has been voted one of the 10 best beaches in the world by National Geographic. I can believe it! Even on a windy day in the 70s it was magnificant. 

Lunch was great too: conch for Bunny and Evan again, grouper for me, and burger for Kermit. And lots of Kalik beer. Heaven!

Kermit, Bunny and Evan at the beach!

Kermit is finally happy

This guy almost took off on that kite

It is like a painting from someone's imagination

Kermit and Evan getting lunch

It was pizza night at the resort but we stayed on the boat for roast pork, rice, and asparagus - a feast! Then we sat on the back and listened and watched the party across the way. I guess the islands have special nights all the time. Thursday is pizza night, Wednesday is steak night. I wonder what happens on Friday? 

Kermit, Bunny and Evan last night enjoying the band across the way

Kermit and Evan

I am not sure how long we will be here. We are still deciding. Kermit says maybe we stay in one place for a few weeks and see if we like it. Maybe we won't. We don't know yet. Knowing Kermit I am pretty sure I will have to fight to stay in one place for any length of time. 

Bunny and Evan are leaving today (Friday) on the outgoing flight of the inbound flight bringing the Vellucci’s and Lipka’s for a week. We will quickly clean the boat and prepare for our new guests. 

Here are some important things we learned from Bunny and Evan:

Evan teaching Kermit a Bahamian
anchor

1. Shampoo your hair and bathe in the salt water then just rinse with fresh water and you conserve your fresh water supply. It really works! My hair never looked better. Salt water does something to hair that seems to make it fluffier. 
2. Reuse every bit of food in later meals. We had great meals with leftovers, even using leftovers in eggs for breakfast. We usually don't do that, but evidently everything can be recycled. Eat ate well!
3. How to tie Bahamian anchor.
4. How to tie a zeppelin knot.
5. That condiments and eggs do not have to be refrigerated, opening up lots more space in the fridge for vegetables and fruits.
6. North up on the chart plotter is not good for visual people like Kermit.
7. Slow down and smell the roses.
8. Big breakers like at Whale Cay are not always bad.
9. A boat has a lot more storage than you think.
10. Leave early in the morning, even in the dark, when the wind is lower.
11. You cannot have too much rum on board. Or Crown Royal. Ever. You can substitute mixers but not the liquor. We did not overpack. 
12. Food garbage is thrown in the ocean. Not sure that is good but that is what we do. 
13. Talk to everyone. You never know who you will meet who can add something to the mix. 
14. The best things in life are good friends.

Ways we hurt Bunny and Evan on this trip (we are SOOOO sorry...really sorry....):

Bunny's cut leg

1. Bunny cut her leg getting up the ladder onto the swim platform after a swim.
2. Evan got wacked in the wrist when the hoist backfired and the handle hit his wrist.
3. Evan got a gazillion no-see-um bites on his legs.



Bunny's black and blue mark from falling



Evan's no-see-um bites - he had them everywhere



where the handle wacked Evan on the wrist

4. Bunny fell off the boat at Green Turtle Cay when the tide came in and it was really too big a distance. We needed the ladder.

 We had a marvelous time with Bunny and Evan. We hope they forgive us for beating them up. They are good sports, great friends, and wonderful guides. They shared a lot of their knowledge. We learned a lot and enjoyed their company. Bunny is a good cook. We are thankful to have such good friends. We hope them come up to stay with us again!! We promise to try harder to keep them healthy. We sure as heck don't want their kids to hear about this...

Sunset at Treasure Cay Resort and Marina

Sunset at Treasure Cay Resort and Marina

Waiting for the party to start at Treasure Cay