Marsh Harbor and Hope Town

We stayed at Guana until Monday which gave us a chance to go to the weekly pig roast at Nippers Bar. It was all you can eat pork and sides for $20 each which was a good deal. It was very windy and the waves in the Atlantic were pretty big but it didn't stop a kite boarder from enjoying his hobby. He would go out into the waves and then do a flip over the wave and keep going. It was pretty amazing to watch.

We left Guana on Monday and headed for Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbor about 10 miles away. We had heard good things about Marsh Harbor so we were excited to be there. The marina was nice and the people were friendly but the city is bustling with people and traffic. We didn't even try to ride the bike and even walking was a challenge sometimes because you end up walking very close to some fast drivers, but they do have a lot of amenities such as a large grocery store and several well stocked liquor stores. Sid and I did get out on the dingy to snorkel at Meremaid Beach. We tied to a mooring ball and snorkeled over a coral reef. On the other side of the rode across from our marina was another upscale marina ($3.25 per foot per night) called the Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbor. We were invited to a party hosted by the Royal Bahamas Yacht Club on the beach. It was $15 for all you can drink and eat which is a great deal. The drinks were strong and burgers and hot dogs were good.

We ate on the boat the others nights so I can't tell you if the restaurants are any good. We had planned to stay 4 or 5 nights but none of us much liked Marsh Harbor so we moved to Elbow Cay and Hope Town. We had slips at the Hope Town Marina but the harbor is very crowded and the wind was blowing quite hard so we all had a tough time docking but we made it fine. The marinas are on one side of the island and the town is on the other and there is no road to get around so you have to take the dingy over. Hope Town is by far the nicest place we have stayed in the Bahamas. It is beautiful, clean, good food and easy to walk. There is a resort and marina on the South end of the island about 3 miles away which we went to by golf cart. There is a great beach called Tahiti Beach which is protected and clear water. We had lunch in town the first day and the next day we shared a golf cart with Sid and Evelyn and had a great lunch at the Abaco Inn. We went to Steak night on Friday at Capt'n Jacks.

The plan was for the group to go to Little Harbor which is about 16 miles South and then start heading back but Ginny and I are going to start heading back today while the other two boats continue together. The wind is non stop and not expected to let up for at least another week so we will go to Man-O-War Cay today and then on to Treasure Cay and wait for good weather so we can cross the whale and start heading West.

The Atlantic in front of Nippers

John and Sid on the beach below Nippers

Kite boarder

Leaving Guana Cay

Our marina in Marsh Harbor

I hope there are no more heroes because the wall is full

Sid and I going snorkeling

Party on the beach at the Abaco Resort

Big grocery store

I didn't see any police

Sid walking back from the store with his supplies

Leaving Marsh Harbor

Coming into Hope Town

Coming into the harbor

This is where we docked the dingy each day

Many bars on the beach

There are a lot of really big houses on Elbow Cay

Doing what I do best, navigating and sitting

Tahiti Beach

Another view

Nice house on a small island in the harbor

This is for Mike and Marge

Many nice rentals on the water

Bad day for somebody

Enjoying happy hour at the pool

Green Turtle and Great Guana Cays

When last we left you, we had just arrived at Green Turtle Cay on March 3.  We only planned to be in Green Turtle for 5 nights but the weather did not cooperate so we ended up staying 7 nights.  The marina we stayed at had a choice of dockage rates.  You could pay $36 a night and pay separate for the meals or you could pay $78 a night and all of that would be credited to your meals.  Guess which one I chose?  Actually everyone in our group chose the second plan so we ate most of all meals at the restaurant which had very good food.  They had different specials for lunch and dinner every day.  They had a pizza night, a prime rib night and a steak night.  Of course they had $6 rum drinks called a "Tipsy Turtle" which were pretty darn good.  I was known as the "Bud Light" man by the end of our stay. There was a pool on site but it was up on a hill away from the marina so we never used it.

We had a golf cart for three days so we got to see all of the island several times.  The city of New Plymouth is about 2 miles from the marina and is just like the post cards.  Small houses painted bright colors, narrow roads, bars and restaurants all surrounded by blue water.  There is a famous bar called the "Blue Bee Bar" that has a signature drink called the "Gombay Smash".  The recipe is a secret.  We talked to the owner and she said that the Today Show had been in a couple of days before and they tried to get the secret but she would not give it up.  She said she was already famous and didn't need to share her drink ingredients.  There are at least 3 grocery stores and two hardware stores in town for a population of 500.

We had a nice stay and we met a lot of other people who were stuck in port but we were ready to go.  Everyday we would casually talk to all of the others about the weather and when we could get through the "Whale" without capsizing.  Green Turtle as well as most of the other stops we are going to are on the Sea of Abaco which is fairly protected from Atlantic so you can travel most any day except that in order to get to the Eastern spots such as Guana and Marsh Harbor you have to leave the Sea of Abaco and go into the Atlantic for a couple of miles and then back into the Sea of Abaco.  The only way into and out of the Atlantic is through a narrow cut between rocks that can have high waves.  Basically you have to decide when the winds and the waves will be small enough so you can make it through.  Each day all of the boater would look at each other and say "So it looks like Friday" or "Thursday is iffy but Friday looks better".  As it turned out Saturday was the day so we put everything down on the floor and left at 7:30 A.M. for an 18 mile ride to Great Guana Cay.  We were all a little nervous and there were 4-6 foot swells that moved the boat around pretty good but we made it fine and landed in Orchid Bay Marina about 9:30. Orchid Bay is about in the middle of the island on the Sea of Abaco side and is very nice but pretty empty so we didn't have any trouble docking.  The water is more expensive here (.35 per gallon) then Green Turtle (.20 per gallon) but the dockage is less so it all works out.  There is another famous bar called Nippers that has a pig roast every Sunday so we are going there today for that and then leaving tomorrow for Marsh Harbor.

One of the nightly dinners at the marina restaurant

The inside of the bar area

 The town of New Plymouth in Green Turtle

 Cheap dock, need TLC

Great breakfast rolls

 Sitting around a pool at a marina across the bay from ours

 The Gombay Smash with the owner

 Tee Shirts and business cards

 We put our boat card on the wall

 Signed by the Today Show Host

Ginny and Evelyn

 Docked at Green Turtle Club

 Nice dive shop at the marina

 This is where we ate most of our meals

Our last dinner together at Green Turtle

 Leaving White Sound, headed for the Whale

 These were the rocks on the left that we had to pass to get into the Atlantic

 Coming into Orchid Bay in Great Guana Cay

 Nippers

 The Atlantic as seen from the porch at Nippers

 Craig in the Atlantic

 John and Mary from "Passport"

 The veranda at the marina on our first night

We haven't seen a sunset in a while

The Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas, horray!  We spent 5 nights in Fort Lauderdale at the Las Olas Marina which is right next to Las Olas Blvd.  The marina is very nice and there were some mighty big boats docked there.  It is amazing how many big boats are in Lauderdale and how small my boat looks.  There were 4 other Looper boats in the marina waiting to cross to the Bahamas ("Something Special", "Algonquin", "Passport" and "Brandy IV").  We got in contact with a couple we boated with in Lake Erie and they picked us up for dinner one night.  Roy and Sue are a great couple and a lot of fun.  It was great to reconnect with them over a perfect night of wine, good food and good company.  

Sid from "Something Special" and I went on a long dingy ride one day down the New River.  Unfortunately Sid was stopped by the water police for going too fast in a no wake zone.  Getting a ticket was a bummer but Sid didn't let it stop him from having a good time cruising around the big boats.  We even stopped along the river and went into town to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  

All of the boaters talked each day about the weather and what day would be good for the crossing.  We all agreed that Thursday would be the best so we got ready and waited for Thursday morning.  "Brandy IV" left at 5:30 and "Passport" left at 5:45.  The rest of us were just about to leave when "Brandy IV" called and said they were coming back because it was rough.  Passport called and we said we were going to give it a go and he said he would wait for us in the Atlantic.  Going out of the Port Everglades Inlet was very rough but it got a little better once we were in the Ocean.  Even though I agree that it was by far the best day to travel, it was rough the whole way and not very much fun.  We ran at about 12MPH and arrived at West End about 3:00 P.M. after 8 hours on the water.  We all got docked, cleared customs and checked in with the dockmaster.  Once we got settled "Sweet Pea" came in from Stuart.  It was great to see them again and we all had happy hour together.  A local fisherman came into the marina and was selling fresh lobster caught that day.  Sid invited us over to cook our lobster on his grill.  Neither of us had ever cooked lobster so we winged it and it was great.  

We decided that we would leave the next day and head for Great Sale Cay for an anchorage.  The marina was pretty empty when we got there but it filled up quite quickly with many sailboats and power boats and they all had the same idea to leave the next day.  We waited until all of the sailboats were out of the harbor and then we left about 9:15.  The wind was brisk and the sailboats were moving pretty good so it took some time for us to pass them.  We got to Great Sale Cay around 3:30 and anchored on the North side of the island because the wind was out of the South.  As soon as we anchored, Kathy on "Algonquin" called on the radio and said drinks on the beach in 15 minutes.  We got in our dinghy's and went to the beach for a nice get together.  We went back to the boat and had a good dinner and then settled in for the night on the hook.  Ginny and I don't really like to anchor so we didn't sleep very well but the boat did not move even though there were strong winds all night.  We got up early and left by 6:15 heading for Green Turtle Cay.  The wind was blowing very strong all day and it was a little rocky.  We had not make docking reservations by phone because we don't have phone service so I was a little nervous about getting into the marina.  Kathy from "Algonquin" had sent the marina an email when we were at West End and it turned out the they received it  so we were good to go (Thanks Kathy).  We got docked about 12:30 P.M.  The marina staff at the Green Turtle Club were fantastic.  They were on the radio the whole time and kept us informed about the docks and how to get in.  We will probably be here at least 5 days because of the winds (up to gale force for a short time today) so we will get to see all of Green Turtle.

Las Olas Marina in Lauderdale

Many large boats

One of the many bridges in Lauderdale

I don't know the story behind this but it was cute.

The boats are so large they need to be towed in the New River

Cruise Ship docking while we were leaving Lauderdale

Leaving Port Everglades

West End, Bahamas from the water

Nice beach at West End

Docked at last

Cooking lobster on the grill

After

Leaving West End

Kathy on "Algonquin"

One of the many islands in the Bahama Bank

Pretty blue water

Follow the leader

The anchorage at Great Sale Cay

White Harbor in Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Club and Marina