Every Sunday Nipper’s, on Great Guana Cay, has become famous for their pig roast and I wanted to try it.  The only problem was I in Green Turtle Cay still and the Whale Cay Cut was in the way.  The Wale Cay Cut is the only time you have to see open ocean and that is because of a sand bar between the main land and Whale Cay.  Therefore
you have to go around it, but sometimes the ocean waves make it impassable.  This is called a Rage.  Well I was a bit concerned because it had been blowing 20 knots the last two days, but there were two other boats interested and we got a favorable report from the other side so we decided to give it a shot.  Once done I can tell you it was fine.  The waves were 5-6 feet with a shorter period than I like between them.  I am not sure I would want to do it with much more wind, but since you only have three miles on the approach and 3 miles around Whale Cay, it is relatively short and we made it to Nipper’s and the spread of food more than made up for any discomfort (see photo).  The bar had a nice pool, a cool beach with some rock formations (one even formed a little pool of water for kids), and played great tunes.  It was worth the effort to get there!

Once I was south of the cut I could move about with ease again and I took advantage of it.  On Monday I sailed 10 miles to Treasure Cay (which is not really an island, but a peninsula on the main land) and anchored in the perfectly protected basin.  I walked the entire three mile beach, which is considered one of the best (see photo and judge for yourself), and found the plaque at the north end celebrating the first settlement in 1783.  On Tuesday the winds were fickle, but I was able to sail 10-12 miles of the 15 miles to Man-O-War Cay.  I anchored just north at the Fowl Cay Marine Park and took the dinghy a couple miles to the ocean side of Man-O-War in order to find the Adirondack wreck, a British Navy ship.  The GPS coordinates I had were perfect and I was able to swim around the wreck in 10-20 feet of water.  The coolest thing about this wreck was the six cannons I discovered (see photo).  Once back aboard I motored into the harbor and picked up a mooring ball, which left me two inches or less under my keels at low tide.  This worked out perfect as I got in the water and literally walked around the boat scrubbing the waterline.  Man-O-War is a very busy industrious place known for boat building and boat repair.  If you need it done they probably can do it for you.

The next day after walking around the island for a while I sailed the five miles to Hope Town, one of the most post card perfect towns you will see with the lighthouse (see photo) watching over everything.  As some of you know, in early 2006 I was married on the beach here.  At the time I took home a jar of the sand we stood on during the ceremony.  It was symbolic and romantic.  After only two and a half years she walked out and I ended up throwing it away.  I kind of wish I still had it….that way I could return it to the scene of the crime!  It may not be romantic, but it would still be symbolic, right?  🙂

When Thursday morning came I went back ashore and walked up and down the two streets looking at the houses, cemetery, bars, and I went in the museum.  By 11am I dropped my mooring ball and sailed another five miles back to the main land.  I picked up fuel and water (it was only 15 cents a gallon, which is cheaper than I can make it) at Boat Harbour and then anchored outside the entrance.  I went to shore to do all my laundry, get a propane bottle filled, and pick up a few groceries.  Not exciting, but necessary.

In the morning I sailed 15 miles south, to the end of the Sea of Abacos, and anchored in Little Harbour to wait for a front to pass through.  This harbor is a great little spot.  There are caves, a light house, beaches, reefs, and Pete’s Pub is here.  Plus there is a foundry and gallery where Pete creates bronze statues of marine life.  It is quite amazing and worth the visit.  On top of that you can walk to Cherokee, which is said to be the most immaculate settlement in the Bahamas (I would have to agree, all the lawns were freshly mowed, all the boats worked, and there was no trash anywhere) and they have the longest dock in the
Bahamas.  I was even invited aboard a charter boat for a wonderful pasta dinner.  Thank you JF, Babs, Jim, and Jan.  It was a great way to end the week.

 

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