The middle part of the Sea of Abaco is great green bathtub about 10 feet deep 16 miles long and about 6 miles wide. It is surrounded by islands and cays thus protected from the ocean waves. The web is thick here and bandwidth plentiful. Florida is obviously not too far away. Dotted about the periphery are harbors and anchorages embellished to entice the tourist and charter cruiser. Moorings maintains a large charter fleet in Marsh Harbor. And no wonder, this spot is perfect for the beginning charter. Navigation is line of sight without significant hazard anywhere and there is a party every night.
Marsh Harbor had fewer boats anchored than I anticipated—only about 40. A few were obvious derelicts or stored on an anchor. There was a steady stream of cruisers in and out picking up crew or provisions. As a note to the regular cruiser the grocery store, Maxwell's, has moved 3 blocks and has been enlarged. It now rivals any Publix in Florida or Randall's in Texas. This takes some getting used to after using the mom and pop stores in the out islands.
Great Guana Cay is still in party mode. On Sunday we went to Nipper's for the pig roast. There must have been 500 people there. It felt like a frat party. Jan and I had to leave to get some air. We walked to Grabber's which was rocking but somewhat more sedate. Unbelievably we met old Corpus friends, Adela and Bob Nash by the pool. We hung out by the pool all Sunday afternoon and then danced the evening away. The next morning they checked out of Grabber's and came with us on the White Pepper to Man of War Cay.
Man of War Cay was settled in 1780 by the loyalist from America. Today it retains a strong religious identity and work ethic. The place is neat as a pin and there are flowers in every yard. Every yard is moved. Most of the inhabitants are named Albury. It is a very unique place in the Bahamas. At the marina William “Tom” Carpenter came down and introduced himself. Tom is a prominent “Aggie” (graduate of Texas A&M University for the foreigners reading this blog). He was very gracious--buying us all ice cream and then taking us to his island home and boat. He maintains a pristine Hinckley Bermuda 40, Larkspur. He still races the boat and once took it to the Antigua Classic Boat Regatta. As a final act of hospitality he took Bob and Adela across to Marsh Harbor in his outboard. Bob and Adela had to catch a plane all too soon. Thanks, Tom.
Finally, White Pepper had to go back to Marsh Harbor for final provisioning in preparation for the return to the US. There we met old friends, Matt and Christine, on Kaleo. Also at Marsh Harbor were Alan and Diane on Mango Groove. All of us went to the craft fair on Sunday. It was very quaint. The Ministry of Tourism was apparently subsidizing the beer as Kalik was only $2, the lowest price I ever paid in the Bahamas. Kalik and all beers are usually sold for $5.
The weather was beautiful but a weak front and then trough had settled over the area. The winds came out the west for fours days. Since we could not leave we went to Treasure Cay. At Treasure Cay is an amazing 3.5 mile sandy white beach in protected water. We spent 3 days walking the beach or hanging out at the pool. It was hard to leave as we knew this was the end of the leisure part of our stay in the Abacos. Once we cleared the Whale, which is the treacherous passage between the western and central parts of the Sea of Abaco, we knew that we were headed back to America as fast as possible.
The pics are file photos of the beach at Treasure Cay and then of Man of War Cay at sunset
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