A scary day in paradise

The morning dawned with mild wind but that changed by 10 o'clock.  It started blowing in the low 20s.  The anchor looked good but one never knows.  Several boats came in and tried to anchor.  The thick turtle grass makes it difficult.  Most had to reset and clear large mounds of sand and grass from their anchors before resetting them.  We made no comments but we worried what ours was doing.

Then around 11am a boat called Mayday!  They had a person on board that was unconscious after snorkeling near Fowl Cay.  There was a dive boat nearby that attended and transported to Marsh Harbour. Don't know the outcome but it is scary.  For the most part you have to depend on family and friends and strangers for first responders.

Then around 2:30 pm we drug anchor.  It happened quickly.  I just realized  I was getting close to the marina dock and we were closing quickly.  I told Karen we were dragging and start the engine.  I turned on the breakers for windlass, wash down, etc.  she started to slowly hold us off the dock while I retrieved the anchor chain and anchor.  The anchor was a mass of grass and sand and difficult to clear.  We moved to a nearby sandy spot and dropped the anchor.  It grabbed quickly.  I put out an extra 20 feet for a total of 90 feet in 10 feet water.  It feels good and looks good in the wind gusts.  The wind is supposed to relax tonight so shouldn't be too difficult to sleep tonight.  The next few days are calling for light winds.

How windy is It?  Well my windgenerator overheated and went into free run mode --- very loud and scary.  I have to manual turn it away from the wind until the prop feathers then put a restraining line on it.

We thought about going to town for a walk but not after dragging.   It will take a few hours to rebuild confidence in this anchor set.

GTC - Feels like home

Ahhhh back in GreenTurtle Cay and anchored in White Sound.

The anchorage last night in Manjack/Crab Cay was beautiful last night.  Sky was clear and stars where magnificent with no light pollution.  Just a Lille sliver of moon was out.

With all the cruisers in the area we decided to go to White Sound to anchor.  I expected it to be crowded and it wasn't.  Heck only 5 boats at the Green Turtle Club Marina and 4 over at the Bluff House.  Only 8 boats on anchor and moorings.  However several motor yachts and trawlers came in this afternoon and all went to marinas.  One poor cruiser came in 2 hours before low tide and ran aground.  He will be there at least 5 hours before the tide takes him off.  No Boat US towing over here.

We went to town in the dinghy and just browsed a bit and bought some fresh veggies.  The settlement just has a homey feel to it.  I'm very relaxed here.  We then cruised Black Sound thinking we would move over there in a couple of days but it just feels dark over there -- not like White Sound.  The big attraction over there is the public dock that is very close to town but seeing the large boats tied there I wouldnt want to put my dingy there.

Once back I took my scuba tank over to Brendels Dive Shop for a fill.  I want to finish cleaning the bottom of my boat.

Now time to relax.

Rock and roll and roll and roll

We made it around the Whale Cay today.  Good thing we turned back yesterday because today was still a Handful with 4 foot seas - yesterday they were 6 - 7.  We rolled up and down swells on the approach and exit but across it was rolly.  Cushions all came adrift.

It was calm in the sea of Abaco and a nice ride to Manjack Cay where we anchored for the day.  Next front comes in tomorrow night so we will seek safe Harbour in either White Sound or Black Sound on Green Turtle Cay tomorrow morning.

Manjack is crowded this afternoon. - 28 boats.

We got in around 11:30 this morning.  After lunch we took the dinghy to Crab Cay to do some sea glass hunting.  We were on a falling tide.  Karen did great and found about 3 lbs in 40minutes. It took awhile to find the path over to the ocean and we relaxed awhile so we were there for probably 1.5 hours.   When we got back to the dinghy it was high and nearly dry and the water was still going down.  I had to drag that big ol dinghy nearly 70 yds before it floated.  It was tuff!

It's beautiful here in Manjack this evening.  It's about 80 degrees with a low of 67 tonight.

Don't drown turn around!

Well it wasn't quite that bad today.  We are back in Treasure Cay.

We tried the Whale Cay passage this morning.  The wind had died overnight and none in the morning.  Certainly it had to be calm out in the ocean this morning.  We left at 8:30 on the rising tide and wind and seas would be in the same direction.  Nice flat calm at the start.  We had to go 5 miles to the start of Whale Cay.  After about 2 miles we felt the swell building.  By the time we were 3/4mile from the cut the swells were 4 - 7 feet and we could feel the acceleration on the back sides.   It wasn't dangerous but uncomfortable.  We were taking the seas on the nose so it was just  and down however when we made the turn we would run 2 miles with the seas on the beam and then have a very rolly ride.  I was game but Karen wasn't.  So we turned around and had a pleasant trip back to Treasure Cay.

Tomorrow the swell is forecast to be 4 foot.  Not smooth but should be better.


Today we went to the beach here - one of the 10 best in the world.  It's beautiful but toooooo commercialized.  You have to pay to use chairs and umbrellas and you cannot bring your own and NO COOLERS ALLOWED!   That's okay --- got wasted before I went and sat on a towel.   Big deal -- I went for the swim and it was FINE.

Treasure lost

We finally untied the dock lines and left MOW this morning.  We had a great motor sail to Treasure Cay and arrived around 11am.  It was 2.5 hours after high tide but got in okay.  Much to our disappointment the anchorage area is now full of mooring balls - 22 to be exact.  Hell I can remember 22 boats anchored here when there were only 4 mooring balls back in 2014.  Grrr I really enjoyed anchoring for free  in years past.  These moorings are expensive at $30 and 2.90 for taxes and a marina fee now.  There are only 13 boats here tonight.

Well it's okay but we will spend only one night here instead of 2.  The whale cay passage was very rough today because of the strong winds over the weekend.  Should be just rolly tomorrow.  If doable for a pleasure boater then we will go to Manjack Cay for a few days of hiking and sea glass hunting at Crab Cay next door.  Then it will be in at green Turtle Cay for the blow coming Friday and Saturday.  After that we will look for a weather window to cross back to the good ol USA.

Now on the plus side the free wifi you get with you mooring fee is really great.  We are midway into the mooring field and the connection is very good and fast -- a real surprise.  The grocery store and liquor store are both well stocked and an easy walk from the marina.  The library was open from 3-5 today and we were able to buy some more reading material from the withdrawn books.  A great deal -   $5 for 2 hard back and a dollar for paperbacks.

Tonight is BINGO TACO night.  Karen's favorites.  I asked about the bingo and it is a dollar a card but no cash pot.  Only bottles of wine for prizes. Looks to be a night on the boat and a little Farley action after I eat my rib eye from the store this afternoon.  Ooh I even found Russian dressing here.  Don't you love to forage for your food?

Getting to know Man O War

We have been enjoying our easy days here on Man O War Cay. Wandering around the settlement you see very nicely maintained houses and buildings. There might be a handful of what could be considered run down.

The other thing that strikes you is how fully developed it is here. Very little wild growth areas. Housing everywhere but it doesn't feel crowded. The only real annoyance here is that ALL the natives ride in golf carts so there is a lot of traffic on the narrow lanes. They don't do much walking here and it shows... About the only walkers are the visitors and cruisers.

I think all this development aids in the absence of annoying insect life. HAven't seen a mosquito or no see ums since we have been here. However order a Conch dish from a restaurant and look out for the flies -- they are really attracted to the conch.

Yesterday they had their annual LUAU festival. The natives love there festivals and all came out. It was held here on the MArina grounds and a good time and food was had by all. Many dressed in Hawaiian shirts and the little girls (mostly under 10) wore grass skirts -- very cute. They had a limbo contest and an auction. All funds were supposed to go to support the junior athletic programs on the island.

The wind has laid down today but we are cleaning and getting the boat ready to travel again. Probably leave tomorrow morning with the high tide. You definitely need to work the tide to get in and out of MOW MAn O War.