Bahamas Travel – We see the sights this time

NOTE: PICTURES TO FOLLOW

This trip to the Bahamas we took several trips that we didn’t get a chance to take last time and visited some places we enjoyed the last time.

Nippers: One beautiful day we loaded up the Treasure Cay gang and took Good Karma to Nippers. The awesome bar (did you expect anything else?) is a hidey hole on Great Guana Island. One side of the island has a good harbor and the other side faces the Atlantic Ocean.

We traveled with the crews of Simple Man (Mike, Renee and their son Griffin from Manteo NC) and Jim’s Joy (Jim, Joy, Maria and Ariana). It was a splendid day, sunny, warm, about 78 degrees with a breeze coming out of the east. It was perfect.

We left at about 10am. Good Karma was growing some legs into the sea floor below us so it was time to move.

We tried to anchor in the harbor but the tide was low. We only found about 3 to 4 feet below us and we were kicking up quite a bit of sand. We decided to take a dock at Orchid Bay Marina, immediately on the south side of the harbor. Turns out dockage was free with lunch so we hung out until 11:30 and had a great lunch on their patio.

Then we walked into town (just a few blocks, not far). Some folks took advantage of a golf cart taxi to Nippers but Kermit and I walked with a few others. Down the dirt road around the harbor to the cut off to Nippers which is also a dirt road but this time shaded by trees.

At the end of the road we see Nipper’s colorful roofs. You can hear the ocean, smell the salt breeze. This road hosts a very famous Poisonwood Tree. Think “Poisonwood Bible” for those of you literarily inclined. This tree is deadly poisonous. Or so the signs and Google would lead you to believe. Our guide, the golf cart taxi driver, went right up to it and gave it a hug. He laughed at us tourists and said it was only poisonous if you touch the sap. Sorry, we weren’t taking any chances.

We spent the afternoon in heavenly comfort under a shady cover with beer and music and friends.

Many of us went down the rickety stairs to the ocean. The water was warm, probably in the mid 70s. Big swells made us giggle as they swept us off our feet. Then we enjoyed more beer while we dried off on the patio. It was wonderful!!

Cuban cigars and Tervis cups in the gift shop. Ariana took advantage of the pool but the rest of us just drank a bit, laughed and enjoyed the view.

Dogs are welcome at Nippers. So are cats. You should have seen the little kitten when this cute sheltie went by!! He arched his back like someone should care!!

As the sun moved into the afternoon sky we collected ourselves and headed back down the hill with a detour to Grabbers. Now, we have a place called Nippers and a place called Grabbers. You do the math!

Grabbers is on the outside of the harbor, still protected. This is a resort with guest quarters, hammocks, a pool and of course, a bar. We didn’t indulge anymore but just enjoyed the sun as it started down the western sky.

We enjoyed cocktails and nibblies on the way back to Treasure Cay. Smiles all around!!

Trip to Hope Town:  We visited Hope Town in 2013 with the Vellucci’s and Lipka’s. Actually I wouldn’t call it a visit as much as a drive by. There was no place to dock so we just toured the harbor and went back to Treasure Cay. I am not complaining. It was great to see our friends and the water is always awesome.

This time though we wanted to see the town.

We headed out on a kind of cloudy day. The sun peeked through a bit and the water was so calm that we could see 14 feet down as if it was right there at our fingertips. Right down to the starfish that seem to be everywhere.

Hope Town turned out to be one of our favorite places. We anchored outside of the marina entrance because, as before, there was no room in the inn. Anchoring is second nature to us now. We don’t even argue much at all. We use hand signals so we seldom have to yell directions. That sure turns the heat down low.

It is also second nature to scout out anchorages as we go past. When we tiptoed into the Hopetown harbor we spotted a big boat anchored along the northern shore. When we tiptoed back out again we anchored in about 7 feet of water within shouting distance of that anchored boat.

Very fast, bing bam boom we dropped anchor, dropped the dinghy and we were off into town. Some of the speed had to do with a client call I needed to take at 11am. But I didn’t have any BTC (Bahama Telephone Co) minutes left.

We tied the dinghy up to a dock, climbed the ladder and scooted off to explore.

Next challenge as we hurried into town was to find a place to buy BTC minutes. No luck anywhere. Oh well, I guess I will call the client another day. This was a perpetual challenge in the Bahamas. Either phone quality sucked, there was little phone service bars or I ran out of minutes. It was most frustrating!!

Since I couldn’t make my client call, I needed to calm down. We had lunch at a little place along the water – the best food yet. We split a chicken Caesar wrap with brownie sundae for dessert. And ice tea to die for!! We wandered around checking out the town (and looking for a place to charge up the phone or get Internet – no luck).

This place is adorable. So pretty with little winding paths barely wide enough for a golf cart with pastel houses that stand right along both sides of the little path and lots of flowers. Most of the homes we went passed are vacation rentals. It is a great place for relaxation. I would go back again in a minute. We even picked up some brochures for this as a possible family vacation spot for Christmas.

It doesn’t take long to tour the entire place. We went to the Atlantic side to see the beach. A beautiful church stands on the hill on top of the dune overlooking the ocean. As we walked up to it I said to myself I hope the pews face away from the ocean. Sure enough they don’t. The congregation can stare at the ocean while the preacher yammers on about this or that – a wonderful way to be churched, don’t you think?

Cemetaries in the Bahamas, probably like most of the Caribbean, are really interesting. These islands are mostly volcanic and pretty much a desert so it is hard to imagine how they handle burial. Mostly the crypts are at ground level. The cemeteries are small so I bet they bury one generation on top of the other. We don’t know for sure. There was no one to ask.

We saw the little museum and signs recognizing fallen sailors and long ago heroes from the Loyalist years after the American Revolution.

We retrieved the dinghy and set out to explore the canals in the inner harbor. We saw the usual dead boats. I love these dead boats. They each have a personality. We must have been talking loudly as we pointed at one particularly disgusting sailboat without a mast covered with dirt and garbage when the resident lifted his head and gave us a dirty look!!! How could he live like that?

The big attraction on Hope Town is the red and white striped light house still lit by a kerosene Coleman lantern. Two burly fellows live in the lighthouse keeper’s houses. They take two hour shifts each night because the light needs to be wound like a clock. It is a clock actually. Evidently it takes some muscles to wind the clockworks that turn the light.

This lighthouse was built in 1864 to keep vessels from grounding on the treacherous shoals of Elbow Reef, the island home to Hope Town. For you techies out there, it is a “rotating first-order Fresnel lens with a unique characteristic of five white flashes every fifteen seconds, 120 feet above sea level with a visibility of fifteen nautical miles.”

Climbed to the top so we could see Good Karma over the hilltop. We wanted to see the light in operation but it was not to be. The weather started to turn so we decided it was safer to go back to Treasure Cay and try again another time.

On the way back to the anchorage an incoming center console rocked the crap out of us coming into the harbor at full speed. Kermit was so mad we almost had a road rage situation when the guy turned around and started back towards us with some carefully chosen words. We avoided the situation but kept a close eye behind us to see that the crazy speed demon did not come back out to find us.

Trip to Marsh Harbor: We made 2 trips to Marsh Harbour. For the life of me I can’t see the charm of this place.

We anchored out both times in the harbor. The first time it was crowded. We snuck into a corner close to one of the marinas. The second time it was much less crowded. I guess the spring break folks had already gone home.

Marsh Harbour is the third largest city in the Bahamas. It even has a stop light! I like the big grocery store, Maxwell’s. That is always a treat. But then you have to carry your bag of groceries back to the dinghy then back to the boat.

The first time we anchored out, we got there after lunch, dinghied to shore and walked around in a big loop. We stopped at the bakery, bought a little treat then discovered a bakery further along the road with a line out the door. I guess we went to the wrong bakery. The treat wasn’t that good either.

It was the Thursday before Easter so most things in town were going to close up on Friday, Sunday and Monday. As we walked past the pharmacy Kermit wondered how much it would cost to fill his prescription, if they would fill it at all. Turns out the cost was more than half the price in the US!! So we wandered back to the boat to get the bottle. That little expedition saved us enough money to afford dinner out at a really nice restaurant with a charming server!

Marsh Harbour is base for at least two charter boat companies, Moorings and Sea Something. As we walked the docks just for the heck of it we saw a few models that would be great for a family outing. In particular a Moorings motor catamaran 546 sleeps 10 with a great layout. It is something to consider.

We discovered our antennae picked up Miami TV!! What a treat! Kermit watched a basketball game and the weather – small pleasures.

We headed out early the next morning back to Treasure Cay.

The second time we visited Marsh Harbor we again arrived in the afternoon. It seems we have that D-dock crawl with getting out of Treasure Cay. We had dinner that day at a more relaxed restaurant with a few beers to watch the sunset.

Man o’ War Cay is supposed to be completely adorable. Everyone talks about it. Man o’War Cay is just across from Hope Town on Elbow Cay. This set of islands is at the south end of the Abaco Sea. The water between the two islands is the route to the Exuma Cays.

It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get to the south end of the Abaco Sea going our usual traveling speed of about 8-9 mph. The plan was to anchor out at Man o’War to see the lights from Hope Town Lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day.

Man o’War was the biggest disappointment of the Abacos. We arrived around 2pm (after our usual late start). Finding no anchorages or slips in the harbor itself we anchored just outside the harbor on the north side of the island that protects Man o’War Cay in about 7 feet of water at low tide. We dinghied in to town and tied up on the back of Libertad, Dorie and Bob Arrington’s boat. We crossed the Atlantic with them but left them in Green Turtle Cay. They are staying longer in the Bahamas but we are still in contact.

After a brief hello we set off to see the town. This town was also settled by Loyalists after the American Revolution. Historically the island was home to sail and boat makers. They still make boats here, really attractive small wooden and fiberglass boats that cost a fortune. Kermit doesn’t see what is so great about them.

There is only one restaurant in town that we could find, but that didn’t matter since nothing was open anyway except the ice cream stand but that was packed with two Boy Scout troops lined up for a treat. We were dry.

We saw the sail shop where three ladies are the third generation of women who turn sail material and other canvas into famous bags. We were not impressed. Mike from Simple Man has several but they are very expensive so we were not tempted.

Dorie told us this is their favorite island of the entire Abacos. Not sure why but she loves it so much. There is not much “there” there. Maybe that is what she likes about it.

She directed us to the “Land Between the Water”, a place at the end of the island where you can stand in one spot and see the Abaco Sea on this side and the Atlantic on the other side. It was a LONG walk, very pretty but long. We did see the English phone booth guarding someone’s big fancy house. I guess that is an important site. Flowers everywhere but not very many people and the houses are a lot further apart than Hope Town. We did see chickens which made my day.

By this time everyone is watching the weather two or three times a day. Kermit and his buddies follow at least five or six weather sources online including someone called Barometer Bob. Actually sadly Barometer Bob died last month. Not sure who is the new BB but the weather still seems to come.

Anyway when we returned, totally parched, to Libertad Bob had the weather report. Evidently a fast storm was coming upon us from the west. Our north side anchorage was going to be a problem. We decided to head back to Treasure Cay instead of staying to see the lighthouse in operation.

The big storm. We left Man o’War Cay abruptly because we could see the storm was coming in fast. The sky got very dark with ominous clouds and a big wind. Turns out it was a really bad storm that followed us all the way home with winds at least 40 to 45 knots. We took pictures of the radar because it seemed like the center of the storm followed us all the way back. This was not our imagination either. When we looked south we could see blue skies near Elbow Cay. So much for weather reports.

It started raining about a third of the way into the trip back. We had the great idea to close the windows (duh) and make the boat water tight by zipping in the back panel. Bad idea. I was fumbling with the zippers when the wind ripped the panel out of my hands. I watched it fly way. I ran to get the boat hook thinking I could snag it when the panel went under the boat, reappearing on the other side. By the time I ran to the other side the panel sank away in the waves. My bad. I felt terrible. I lost the back panel. A moment of silence for our first damage to Good Karma.

Rain pounded. Wind whipped. We hadn’t seen a storm like this in ages. Kermit thought if we waited a bit the storm would pass but every time we waited the storm waited too. Finally dusk approached. We needed to get back fast before it was totally dark.

We saw the lights on top of the sticks that stand in for navigational markers in the Bahamas, and wound our way into Treasure Cay. We thought if we could slide into the T-Dock at the end of our pier we could tie up easily. But no, life is not that easy. Another boat at the same idea. We didn’t think we couldn’t get into our dock at Treasure Cay with the wind whipping like that. We decided to just drop anchor out in the mooring field.

Dropping anchor in a 40mph+ wind in almost total darkness is quite an adventure. I don’t recommend it. Kermit went out, opened the hatch, loosened the line, pressed the button on the windlass and let it fly. I think we were in about 3 feet of water. We couldn’t tell. The depth gauge was not giving a reading it was so shallow. Kermit let the anchor down, let out a bunch of line and headed back in to safety. He said he never felt that wet before. It was like standing under a waterfall.

So the anchor was set but the inside of the boat was soaked, not only from the missing back panel but almost everything was leaking. We had buckets to catch water in the cabin it was coming in so hard not to mention the canvas that leaks like a sieve anyway. The back carpet was wetter than “squishy”. Our feet went into water up to our ankles, at least that is what it felt like. It took days to dry.

Kermit didn’t sleep most of the night. He kept checking that the anchor held. Mike Hechtkopf sent us a picture of our SPOT that showed an absolutely wild pattern. It sure felt wild inside the boat. 

For some reason that no one understands we had great Internet that night from the mooring field in that wild storm. I was able to communicate with Joy via Facebook to tell her where we were. Turns out they saw us come in and anchor.

Naturally the storm cleared in the morning. We slept in then got up to survey the damage. We decided to wait until mid-afternoon to move the boat to allow the wind to die down. The next day Mike from Simple Man and Jim from Jim’s Joy came out in Mike’s Regulator to see if we were ok. We returned to our regular slip and drank heavily that evening. The boat didn’t dry out for days.

Swimming day:  We took Good Karma one beautiful sunny day out with 9 people to a place just south of Treasure Cay to play in the water. We put out lines to hang on to because there was a really heavy current coming out of a little rocky cove just south of where we anchored. Tanja snorkeled over to the reef but I didn’t feel I was a strong enough swimmer to do it.

The water was warm, about 75 degrees and the air temperature was warmer, about 80+ degrees. It was a perfect day!! Everyone brought snacks and drinks. Lots of laughs!

A few people got in the water. Tanja put on her snorkel gear and she was gone like a flash. She swam over to the little lagoon and brought back some really cool shells and something that looked like a sand dollar but it was puffy and hollow. Kermit and I got in the water too.

Putting the snorkel gear on reminded me how long it has been since we were in the water at all and wearing that gear. I put the mask and snorkel on but I was frustrated because I couldn’t breathe through my snorkel. After a while I figured out that this snorkel only breathes when one is horizontal, not vertical. I felt pretty silly. Then my fins didn’t go on correctly. The clasp kept unclasping. Clearly I was doing something wrong. So I chucked the fins and went in anyway because why not.

The little lagoon Tanja swam over to must have been some sort of spring because the current coming through that opening was wicked strong. We threw some lines out with fenders and our safety ring to hold on to otherwise I think I would have been carried away to Australia!!!

The water was amazingly clear and warm, in the mid-70s with a nice current that kept things moving. You could see all the way to the bottom even though we were in about 10 feet of water.

It felt great to get off the boat and into the beautiful water that we had only been looking at. Last time we visited the Bahamas in 2013 we never did get in the water. We made up for it this time!!