Friday, May 31, 2019

May 29 - 30, Tilloo Cut and bank, Sandy Cay snorkeling and Lynyard Cay

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May 29, Wednesday


We decided to leave Elbow Cay, by Aunt Pats Bay and Tahiti Beach because it was just so crowded and we are still working our way south. We have a few more stops to make before getting to the turn around point. There is a narrow channel that goes south from here but it is shallow at low tide, according to the charts, it is about 4 1/2' and we need 5' to scoot across. In the ICW, we can scoot through pluff mud but not so much here if it is an area with limestone just barely under the sand. Being the patient cruisers that we are, we didn't want to wait 4-5 hours for a higher tide so we took the long road around Lubbers Quarters Cay to the south part of Tilloo Cay which was about 14 miles. It was a great day on the Sea of Abaco with low winds and very calm seas. The whole trip took us about 2 hours. It was a very pleasant cruise.
We spent the day in the dinghy going all around the bank which is a shallow (5'ish) which is known as a swimming pool and full of rays, turtles, fish and dolphins. We did see some turtles, some jack fish and a large ray. 

Quite a pleasant change in our parking spot! Marsh Harbor and Hope Town anchorages were busy and we were 1 of 2 boats!

We dinghied over to the outer cays where we could walk across the sand to the ocean side. The Atlantic Ocean and the Sea of Abaco colors are just amazing here with several colors of greens, teals, blues. 







The open space between pink lines is the shallow cut at low tide. We went around Lubbers Bank.
Miles:14.3
Total miles: 750.1
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May 30, Thursday

 This morning, we decided to move on south a bit more. There is no way for us to cross the Tilloo Bank so we had to go around again but it was a very pleasant ride across the sea. 
Sandy Cay 
But 1st, we made a stop at Sandy Cay to snorkel the Coral Garden there. It is a popular spot for tour boats to bring snorkelers or for cruisers to stop at. It was a good day for us to be there as there weren't many others. The reef was spectacular though it is not comparable to some of the diving we used to do in the old days. We did see some pretty yellow and purple corals and bright blue fish, parrot fish and others, a large spotted ray swam under us and a small sea turtle decided to play with us for a while. 
We anchored here off of Lynyard Cay and dinghied to the beach and walked around and over to the other side. 
The Atlantic Ocean side where there is some sand but mostly volcanic rock and breaking surf. Not a good place to swim even though it is a very calm day out there! 


The Sea of Abaco side, where we are anchored.
 It is a very nice beach to walk on, very small shells and lots of trash that apparently gets washed up from the ocean. Someone had made a welcome man out of the trash.

 Our beach loot! Found several small pieces of sea glass!

We had picked this coconut up at Green Turtle Cay and it was finally time to cut it open. We were hoping for some good fresh coconut water!

And since Captain Bruce is not allowed to use a machete, out comes the electric saw! I'm not quite sure it was safer but he got it open!
And we were rewarded with a good amount of coconut water that was later put to use in our new signature rum drink. 

Summer Breeze Tea
I had bought some guava juice a few days ago, so we created the Summer Breeze Tea. My recipe is 1 part rum (2 parts for Bruce), 2 parts coconut water and approximately 1 part guava juice. I have plenty of boxed coconut water on board, so it will continue on!

The doorway to Eleuthera! Next year! 
Little Harbor (on the right side) is the last safe harbor on the east side of the Abacos.

Our sunset dinner view from the fly bridge bistro table


Sandy Cay snorkel spot is where the red fish icon is

Miles:9.6
Total Miles: 759.7 






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Tuesday, May 28, 2019

May 28, South end of Elbow Cay and It's A Small World!

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May 28, Tuesday

We moved this morning from the north end of Elbow Cay, just by Hope Town to the south end, a whopping 2.4 miles. With the holiday and US vacations starting, we could see the amount of boat traffic here and decided to wait. It was relatively quiet when we got here and pleased to see that our new cruising friends, Ann and Steve were there. But it wasn't quiet for long as the litter of cats came in! Remember the catamaran rendezvous I had mentioned last weekend? Well, they are finishing their week here! Little did we know! 
This is where the picturesque Tahiti Beach is and a popular place for small boats to come up to the beach. 
And along comes a food boat! 
We went for a walk along the beach and arranged to meet friends for lunch at the Firefly Restaurant. 
Bahamian Fly (I think) but it has rum and Firefly Vodka

Yes, the same Firefly Distillery, connected with the old Irvin House Vineyards that is now Deep Water Vineyard at Wadmalaw Island that many of us in Charleston have been to! Small world! 

Lunch with Steve and Ann Bolin and Mark and LeAnn Thurman at Firefly.

And to make this world even smaller, in comes Pat and Doyle Cloud, long time and dear friends of my sister and brother in law, Becky and Charles. We just had dinner with them before we left Fort Pierce to come to the Bahamas! A really small world especially when you take into account, that we were all having a very late lunch (2-3) and we all arrived by boat. It was really fun and incredible to run into them like this! We took lots of pics! 

Pat snapped this photo and video us leaving the dinghy dock. 



Miles today: 2.4
Total: 735.8




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Monday, May 27, 2019

May 25, Our wedding anniversary and on to Hope Town, Elbow Cay


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May 25, Saturday, Hope Town, Elbow Cay

Today is our 45th wedding anniversary! What a blessing it is to be in a great place and celebrate our lives together! 

Hope Town Light house. 

We are anchored just off the light house. The harbor is just for moorings and they look to be very close together. It is a short dinghy ride into town. 
There are also a couple of marinas here but we prefer  anchoring out.

We have never seen a boom on a sail boat this long. Does anyone know about this type of sailboat? David Petty?
 The homes here are very pretty, well maintained and the whole town/village is very quaint.
Flowers line most of the homes and fences along the narrow streets.
 

It is a short 2 block walk across the island to the ocean side. Doesn't look like it, but those waves are big.

FaceTime call from Melissa, Jordan and Bella wishing us a happy anniversary.
BTW, Bella is much better!

We heard about the legendary key lime pie from Vernon's Grocery Store in town. We did pick up some fresh out of the oven hot coconut bread but no key lime pie. No worries though! I had all the makings on board so I made a fresh one topped with meringue.
Our dinner plans were to go back into town as there are several cute waterfront restaurants but the waves were a bit choppy going back to Summer Breeze so we decided to play it safe and not travel by dinghy in the dark, in the waves and after some drinks so we cooked a gourmet meal at home of blackened grouper (from Man O War Cay), yellow rice, squash, mushrooms and onions. 
We also celebrated with a real bottle of wine and Bruce's new wine opener.

 Sunset views just a few moments apart from each other. It is amazing how quickly the light can change.

45 yr anniversary left marsh harbor at 10 am 
Arrived lighthouse anchorage at hope town at 12

Miles 9.4
Total. 733.4
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May 26, Sunday 


The winds are still strong today and the summer vacationers are here! As of yesterday! The rental boat traffic coming out to Hope Town is crazy and so are the captains. 😲

We stayed in today so it was a good day to scrub the bottom of the boat (Bruce, not Rosie) and do laundry (yes, that would be Rosie).  Bruce is diving with Bryan's hookah thingy. 

Sunset tonight!

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May 27, Monday and Happy Memorial Day!
Elbow Reef Lighthouse built in 1864, the light still works today with kerosene vapor burner and runs without electricity. 
101 steps up! We walked this with our kids and baby grand daughters about 17 years ago! 

View from the stairs climbing up. That's Summer Breeze out there (the boat on the right)

 Views from the lighthouse top level.


Sands Pink.  A light beer infused with pink grapefruit juice. It is really good!

And in honor and respect of all our military, present, veterans and most of all, the fallen on this Memorial Day.



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Friday, May 24, 2019

May 22 - 24, Marsh Harbor but not before getting hankled again!


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May 22, Wednesday

We left Man O War Cay for Marsh Harbor, right across the Sea of Abaco. We could see it and Hope Town from our anchorage. But we didn't leave before checking the anchor locker as the windlass has been "struggling" a bit, so we thought, hmmmm. Hankles? Yep, we got hankled again! It took us about 2 hours to break apart 75' of chain from the twists and knots it was all in. We've got to figure out how not to get hankled any more and to set a regular "check for hankles" schedule. No pics of that, should have! 

Rib night at the Jib Room, Marsh Harbor Marina

There are a couple 100 boats in the harbor between the anchorage and several marinas. It took us a bit to figure out where to drop the hook knowing some strong winds were coming. Boats come and go here constantly. The large catamarans definitely outnumber mono hulls and trawlers. There are only 2 trawlers here. We later found out there is a catamaran rendezvous going on this weekend with 100s of them coming from everywhere! We hope to be moving south by then! 
View from the bow of Summer Breeze

Colors of the Sea restaurant in the harbor. The dock in front has not been repaired after some of the storms.

For several days, we've been hearing boaters call the Jib Room and put an order in for ribs. We looked it up and ran into some other cruisers that have been here before and they told us that the Jib Room at the MH marina is famous for the Wednesday ribs. So we called and got on the list! They were yummy and enough to bring home for a 2nd meal. Sorry, no pic of that but I really should've! 

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May 23, Thursday

The winds are blowing with some nice gusts. Our anchor is holding well in this sand and we are staying put here. Winds are between 15-20 and gusts up to 30. We stayed in all day not wanting to mess with the dinghy with those winds and waves. 
I got a little painting done and we both got caught up on some reading. 
Sunset at Great Guana Cay 
from Grabber's Beach Bar and Grill
4 x 12

We love to have our evening meal on the flybridge where we set up a small bistro table. The view is the best there! 

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May 24, Friday

Memorial Day weekend is here and more boats are in. The winds are still high so we stayed put. We did go into town to have a nice pre anniversary lunch at Wally's and then walk over to Maxwell's, the new super market. It is huge and really nice. Has everything we could want. Prices? Some things were normal but other things were definitely about 50% higher. But it is available! 
Wally's restaurant house and gardens





Man O War Cay to Marsh Harbor
5.7 miles

Total 724




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