Last Days in the Bahamas

Fires in Marsh Harbor

 

Pavilion at Man of War Cay

We could not wait to leave Marsh Harbor because of the smoke from the fires so we visited Man of War Cay next. We did the usual walking to the beach and the settlement to check out the few stores.  It was Sunday so nothing is open generally in most settlements on the various cays but I determined that I wanted to come back the next day to check out the store that has the renowned Andros batik fabric.  Several boats we knew were anchored out with us at the narrowest part of the cay where there was a pavilion with picnic tables.  We decided to stage a Happy Hour gathering there which was lovely and a fun way to gather so many people to share stores and plans for the future.  

After a quick trip to the fabric store, we headed across to Treasure Cay Resort area.  Some nasty storms were predicted for Tuesday so we wanted to be in a protected area.  The harbor here has 360 degree protection, so well worth the ten dollars a night to anchor there.  You also had use of their pool, showers, beautiful beach and internet.  We checked out the beach, and I can understand why it is considered one of the top ten in the world.  Just gorgeous!  We got the lay of the resort and were ready to enjoy for the rest of our stay.

Treasure Cay Beach

Treasure Cay Beach

The next day we enjoyed the beach and had lunch with Sandra, Chuck and Freckles at the Beach Bar.  It was so beautiful that you say to yourself, “How can we leave these beautiful waters?” knowing that in another week we will be back to dark green or muddy waters of the inter-coastal and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay.  I am not sure I can swim in the Chesapeake ever again!  We enjoyed our first land showers since December and then headed back to the boat for the skies darken and we had to prepare for the storms.  The rains and wind came but we only saw 26 knots at the most, while our friends back in Marsh Harbor had 53 knot sustained winds for about 15 minutes!  When it was over, the air was much cooler with no humidity which was a welcome treat.

Storm

Being cloudy and cooler we took advantage to walk the grounds, pick up some groceries and I did some baking in the afternoon.  Sandra and Chuck invited us for dinner which was a welcome treat.

Before leaving the next day we fueled up and paid to fill our tanks with water.  For us, it was the first time we paid for water since we left Nassau in December.  Most of the time it is 20 cents a gallon, but this was a flat fee of $9 for boats 40-50 ft.  One of the reasons people like Georgetown is because of free water being available and we took advantage of it.  We also found free water in about two other places.

New Plymouth at Green Turtle Cay

We sailed to Green Turtle and picked up a mooring in Black Sound.  We once again went to check out the settlement of New Plymouth which was a bit larger than Hopetown or the settlement at Man of War. It had many quaint small houses and businesses.  We also sped over to White Sound to see what it is all about.  It is mainly two resorts, restaurants and marinas that people enjoy there however we did not have time to try them. 

Black Sound

                  

The next day after exploring the beach which wasn’t much after seeing Treasure Cay Beach, we decided to anchor outside of New Plymouth because there was no wind or bad weather predicted.  When we went into New Plymouth to get a few things, we met up with Pam and Glen on Blue Pearl and their guest as well as Chuck and Sandra on Eliora. 

So we decided to go to Happy Hour at Pineapples after everyone was finished with their shopping.  Wow!  Powerful rum punches which made for a very happy hour!  But it also was sad because we also had to say our goodbyes because we were heading out to Great Sale Cay to prepare to cross to Florida and they weren’t leaving until later in the week.

Sunset at Great Sale Cay

As often is, the wind was right on our nose so we motored most of the way to Great Sale Cay.  We only got about a twenty minute sail at the end of the trip.  There were about ten boats in there mostly staging to cross to the USA.  We heard another two boats that had the same plan as us to go to Fort Pierce inlet.  So Al called them on the VHF and asked if they minded if we tagged along.  They were the usual friendly cruisers on boats called Oz and Star of the Sea, and said that it would be great to have us.  So our departure time was set for 3pm the next day, which was Sunday.We experienced the last beautiful sunset in the Bahamas with Al blowing his conk horn as it went down.

About quarter to three we started out engines, except that Oz’s would not start.  We waited hoping he could get the starter to work but was not being successful.  So we put our dinghy in and Al rowed over to be of assistance.  After about 30 minutes the engine was started by hot wiring it, and we were all off.  The light winds were out of the northwest not the southwest, as predicted, so once again it was a total motor trip.  The nice part was, there were very little or no waves.  The Gulf Stream was calm.

Sailing west to USA

It ended up being a easy trip which is what we want for a crossing.  We reached the Fort Pierce inlet around 11am at slack tide which is exactly what we wanted.   Then on to Vero Beach for a night or two and restocking in an American grocery store.  Woohoo!