OUR BAHAMAS ADVENTURE SLOWLY DRAWS TO A CLOSE...

            I’m sitting on the boat in Green Turtle Cay watching the heavens dump on us like a cow does to a flat rock (how’s that for a simile!) as a very strong low pressure passes over the Abacos. Thus far the dire predictions of weather guru Chris Parker have not materialized with a minimum of wind and only brief lightning storms, but we know more is to come and the rain amount is incredible! Even so, our time here has almost come to an end we have very mixed emotions about leaving. But, I get about a week ahead of myself…

One of our favorite marinas of the trip...and they
have a wonderful baker!

 After a week at Hope Town, both Diane and I were anxious to continue moving and ready for a change in venue, even though we had a wonderful time and met equally wonderful people in this picturesque harbor. Our next destination was to be our last “big city” before heading home, so we were looking forward to both a marina stay, a place to stretch our legs and do a bit of shopping. We stayed at what has become one of my favorite marinas, Mango’s Marina in the heart of Marsh Harbor. We’d had a bit of a run around with our slip reservation with both parties thinking we were coming on different days. 

The Marsh Harbor anchorage flanked by several
very nice marinas.

When I’d called them the day prior to our arrival I was told that they were “hoping” to have a slip for us. What about our reservation?!!! The morning we crossed over from Hope Town I called the marina on the radio to hopefully confirm our arrival and get a slip assignment. The voice on the other end of the mike (Ray, the dockmaster), in a heavily accented Bahamanian accent immediately came back with a; “….sorry Captain, we are full up and have no space!” There was a short delay and then he came back with;  “…JUST KIDDING, come on in, we’re ready for you!” A few minutes later we pulled into the last available slip at this small marina with Ray ready to take lines and generally scurry about both the dock and our boat to ensure we were securely and correctly tied up. I must say that he was easily the most professional dockmaster we’ve seen since leaving home last fall and actually knew what all our lines were supposed to do. During our entire stay, we was a wealth of information and interesting to chat with.

            At the same marina and in the anchorage were a couple other boats we’d been with throughout our Exuma cruise and it was fun to reunite with the crews of Pegasus, Java, Lipari, Hooligan and Sunbow. Tied up to a marina dock for the first time in over 2 months, we took advantage of the free water (almost unheard of here in the Bahamas where water is metered and costs between .20-.60/gal!), inexpensive electrical power (unlike most US marinas, power at most marinas here is metered and usually costs a fraction what is charged at home), and the ability to jump off the boat for a walk, trip to the grocery or a jog. We were livin high on the hog! Oh yea, the restaurant at Mango’s has a baker who made the best sticky buns I’ve ever eaten! Just a few second walk from Magic was bakery heaven!

            Marsh Harbor is the largest “settlement” in the Bahamas after Nassau and Freeport and has almost all the amenities found in similar-sized towns in the US, including a really nice grocery, hardware stores, shops, etc. Although this is slowly changing as the internet generation homogenizes our societies (not sure if this is entirely a good thing), every settlement in the Bahamas has a distinct flavor. Dialects and customs are different and all are fiercely independent. For those of use who sail on the Chesapeake Bay, once again the residents of Tangier and Smith Islands come to mind. Only a few miles apart geographically, they are totally different, just like all the towns here. It was interesting to meet the locals and get a flavor for each place.

The "Castle in the Clouds" in Marsh Harbor.
In an area with lots of interesting architecture,
this one stood out!

            Both Diane and I were keeping one eye on the calendar, knowing our time here in the Bahamas was necessarily coming to a close. Our stay in Marsh Harbor was only three days, but we both felt we got a great feel for the place. We walked (and occasionally jogged) all over the place and even found the “Castle in the Clouds” a beautiful home built by the “Out Island Doctor,” Evans Cottman, who moved to the Bahamas in the early 1940’s and although not a “real” MD, was licensed by the government as a “practical doctor” and traveled throughout the islands taking care of the locals until his death in the late 1970’s. A fascinating story detailed in his autobiography, “Out Island Doctor.” Anyone interested in reading about life in the islands before the days of phones, reliable transportation, electricity, etc., should pick up a copy….you just can’t have mine!

         

Cold beer, toes in a pool
Doesn't get much better!

   From Marsh Harbor we made short runs to both Guana Cay (home of one of the most famous watering holes in the Bahamas, Nipper’s), to the place with reportedly the 4^th prettiest beach in the world; Treasure Cay. At Guana we finally were able to rent bikes and explored the island on two wheels and spent Easter Sunday afternoon at Nippers watching a beach-side egg hunt and eating some pretty good local food. With more weather coming, Diane and I moved to a secure cove at Treasure Cay where we enjoyed a couple days in this snug harbor, walking the beaches, and exploring their world-class marina/resort. It was a nice place, but whoever said it was the 4^th nicest in the world missed a couple better ones in the Exumas! After our two days here we were again ready to move.

Charter catamaran. STAY CLEAR!!

In order to get to the northern part of the Abacos, we had to navigate “Whale Cut” channel which is the only passage between the lower and upper Sea of Abaco. Winds out of the wrong direction creates sea states in this area that make passage no only a bad idea, but downright dangerous! Magic was lucky, it was just about calm when we transited this tricky channel and the elephant seas this passage is infamous for produced only bunny rabbits!

Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay.
Another great place to relax for a few days!

           Our last real Bahamas stop was Green Turtle Cay, This is one of the last settlements in the Abacos chain and, in my opinion, one of the prettiest! We motored into “White Sound” at high tide (yup, we are still slaves to water level!) and proceeded to the Bluff House marina/resort. For those of you who may eventually come to the Abacos, this marina is a true do-not-miss place. First of all, it is well run with experienced, friendly staff and up-to-date facilities. Best of all it is the cheapest place we’ve been since leaving home over 5 months ago! Although we were only here 4 nights, we thoroughly enjoyed our time even though we experienced yet another bad cold frontal passage.

            Tomorrow (Sunday, 7 April), Diane and I plan to leave here and begin a two day sail back to the US mainland. We are both terribly sorry our time here in the Bahamas is coming to an end and very excited to be getting back to the “world.” If the God of calm seas and gentle winds behaves, we will drop anchor in Ft. Pierce, FL just 36 hours from now. Not sure how we’ll react when we walk into our first Publix’s SUPER GROCERY STORE, or see our first traffic light in 5 months, but we’re looking forward to it all! I'll blog more about our hopefully uneventful crossing adventure as soon as we have internet access back in the states. Thanks for reading. The adventure really does continue!

Peaceful anchorage...somewhere in the Abacos!