Man of War Cay

Green Turtle is a wonderful island, truly a place that can be called a home. We spent the past few days collecting food and stocking up on wine and other miscellaneous items.

Last night, we invited all the boats around us for wine and cheese and filled our cockpit with good cheer and friends. We are so blessed to have met so many kind and fun people on this trip. Thank you all for coming! :)

Today we woke up early (earlier than normal that is) and slipped our mooring line. One more time, we left Green Turtle Cay for new ground. We made it around Whale Cay today with ease and even a little fun. We had about 3-4 foot waves with an occasional 5 foot wave. The smooth rocking motion of the boat and my combined sound effects with the bow waves put us into giggles for most of the Whale.

I napped on the deck while the parents drove and we eventually got to Man of War. The entrance, as we have been warned, is very narrow and at times, shallow. It looked downright scary coming into Man of War. Until we got through, we were sucking in on our sides and praying we didn't hit ground. We made it in and with a little aid from a neighbor gathered a mooring line. We already dingied around the harbour this afternoon, but plan to explore the land tomorrow. We hear this place is absolutely beautiful and from what we have already seen, are really happy we got here. Man of War is where the old boats were built, now replaced with fiberglass power boats, and an old sail maker's shop, which now only makes souvenirs out of old sails. We've heard about their products all over the Abacos though and hope to make a stop at their store.

Good weather and happy sailing!

Countdown to Barefoot Man: 7 days! :)

Stranded Naked....

Blogging has become a more and more sporadic thing. Since we aren't moving around as frequently as we were before, there haven't been many new things to share and even fewer photos.

Green Turtle has been a lot of fun to come back to. We've really enjoyed running into friends we met the first time around and meeting lots of new people. I feel that I can walk anywhere on the island and at least see 1 person that I've met. Everyone here is so friendly and accommodating, greeting you with a good morning/afternoon every time. On Saturday we went to Stranded Naked's Cheeseburger in Paradise Party. Stranded Naked is that house boat in one of my photo sets that traveled all the way from Florida and now resides in Green Turtle. They sponsor a big party in July every year to kick off the big Abaco regatta. Saturday they threw a party with cheeseburgers and rum punch to raise money for the Green Turtle Fire Department. Mainly tourists came out to enjoy the festivities, but there were a few locals there. Everyone made it a good time. They sold out of all their burgers almost right away, but I am not sure what the total came to be. I hope they raised as much as they were hoping to.

We've been spending the last few days lazing about on the boat. Dad threw his back out again somehow and has been in great pain. Therefore, we've decided to sit quiet until he feels better. I got sick the other day. A friend told us a stomach flu was going around the island. She got it and figures I got it hanging around with all of them somehow. I am feeling better, but we're still working on Dad.

Mom and I are talking about going to the beach today. We need to move around some. Another front is coming through, but we hope to be able to sail on Thursday. Upcoming is the Barefoot Man concert and we couldn't be more excited. It's at our favorite, Nippers, on Guana Cay. We are thinking we will have to get there early to get a mooring.

Good weather and happy sailing!

Green Turtle Cay

We enjoyed Munjack so much! It was such a beautiful island. Leslie and Bill are a couple who live on the island and have created a Mother Nature wonder. They use solar power, hydroponics, and grow all their own food. They have a created a small paradise there. There are trails all over the island and a "Yes, Trespassers!" sign that begs people to come on their property and look around. We were able to dingy around the island and scope out some excellent snorkeling spots. We saw our first turtle!!! And tried to capture a conch. We all 3 almost went over the edge of the dingy with excitement. Mom finally grabbed it, but after all that, it was too small. We tossed it back. We'll save the conch catching for another day.

We moved back over to Green Turtle on Valentine's. We were welcomed home by Donny, Tom, Jan, and several new friends with a cookout and dancing at the Green Turtle Club. The band, Gully Roosters, are a wonderful local reggae band who had us dancing the night away. Well actually... I danced a lot. :) The next day, everyone was teasing each other as we were all in recovery mode. Poor Donny said that his back was hurting from too much dancing and I have to admit, mine did too.

We've been enjoying the scenes and love that we're back here. Mom and I ventured to the local museum and got a wonderful tour and stories about the island. A hurricane in 1932 devastated the island and ruined most of the historical buildings dating from the Loyalist period. What was left standing have been restored several times and are holding on. There were some relics from the Lucayan Indians. Relics from this culture are rare. The Lucayan Indians were established throughout the Bahamas (pre-Columbus), about 10,000 of them. When Columbus came to the islands he enslaved most of them and those who didn't die from enslavement, died from disease. They were completely wiped out at an alarming rate and are now an extinct people. They were almost completely wiped off the charts as very few relics even remain to say they even existed.

We hope to get back over to Munjack for some snorkeling. We also here there are opportunities for lobster :) and hope to check those out too.

Cold fronts continue to blow through, one as recently as yesterday and another to come on Thursday. The winds, more than anything, are a pain, but we are well protected and use the time to read, write, and relax.

Good weather and happy sailing!

Running on island time...

Finally we've left Marsh. We enjoyed spending our time there, even though it wasn't our favorite part of the islands. We traveled back to our beloved Guana Cay and visited our friends up at Nippers. Already, we talked about the new bathroom installations and other changes around the place. We will be back, especially for the Barefoot Man concert on March 6th. We're so excited.

We had a wonderful visit, but hopped back out to sail up to Munjack Cay. It was a slow but nice sail yesterday and crossing back around the Whale seemed so easy. Mom and I both had out trolling lines, but to no avail... where are those fish?!

We've had several friends tell us the best snorkeling is at Munjack and we hope to test that out today. We also heard the sea shells here are amazing. I am certainly hoping to collect some more.

Good weather and happy sailing!

A long and delayed update!

We spent a couple of days in Guana Cay, home of the famous Nipper’s Bar. The island was beautiful!!! The town, small and quaint, and the beach absolutely gorgeous. We snorkeled for a little bit one day. We walked the long beach, picking up sea shells and spent afternoons enjoying Nipper’s view of the ocean. We left Guana Cay with intentions to go to Hopetown. The wind was all wrong and we ended up coming into Marsh Harbour.

Marsh Harbour is the 3rd largest city in the Bahamas, and we were able to use this to find some brass fittings for our broken water heater and provisions for the boat. We got showers!! And did some laundry. Marsh Harbour is unlike most of the other towns we have been too. It’s dustier, dirtier, and more commercial. The beautiful, classic island homes are replaced by concrete buildings that appear to be falling apart. There are no golf carts and we are back to the land of fast paced cars and even a stop light. It seems a little odd, coming from small little towns where there is hardly even a stop sign and only golf carts whiz by. Still, the area is full of neat little shops and lots of interesting people. Watch out in the grocery store though, they'll run you right over! haha

We attempted to leave after a couple days here. We had a beautiful sail down to Hopetown, came into the harbour and were shocked!!! It was packed with boats, all on moorings, that were so close together that we couldn’t believe people would be comfortable. As long as you are all facing the same direction it’s no problem, but when the wind changes and the boats swing… will you make it? We managed to find one mooring and scooped it up. We had tried to get in somewhere safe for the next upcoming cold front with its gusty winds. Unfortunately, the owner of the mooring ball came out and told us it was reserved (no mark on it whatsoever) and that we needed to get off. Bummer! Being that there were no other mooring balls and you can’t anchor inside, we turned around and had a beautiful sail back to Marsh.

Marsh Harbour! It’s become our new home. We’ve been almost stuck, but enjoying it here for over a week. We have become familiar with the town, the local bars, and even met several other cruisers and locals. We enjoyed the Super Bowl on a huge projector screen at our frequented Snappa’s and cheered along with the other Cardinals fans (rooting for the underdogs). We have had several cold fronts back to back, bringing each heavy winds, choppy waters (even in the Harbour), and even some downpour rains. We’ve been trapped mainly in the boat, it being too cold to sit outside and too windy to walk around. To top it off, the dingy motor has been acting up, either not starting period or cutting off part way. Since none of us like the idea of rowing, we have found a Yamaha dealer and are going to get it fixed. That puts us here for a few more days at least. We have read several books, Dad has polished almost all of the brass (soon to finish as I type this), and I have been making mats, coasters, and hot pads for the boat like crazy. I have cranked several out now and consider myself a professional. HAHA.

Good Weather and Happy Sailing (what little you can do today)!