OMINOUS SKY AS WE HEADED OUT BELL CHANNEL
It was really windy and rough going back out into Northwest Providence Channel. Fortunately, we turned to the east and it wasn't as bad heading over to the Lucayan Waterway. A number of fishing and dive boats left the marina about the same time, and we were glad we weren't on one of them, bouncing around in the rough waters.
The Lucayan Waterway is about 8 miles long and it crosses from the south side of Grand Bahama to the north side. Its placid smooth waters were a sharp contrast to the NW Providence Channel. Lots of homes have been built along the Waterway since we were last there in 2001; some of them are large and quite beautiful.
There is one fixed bridge on the Lucayan Waterway with about 27' clearance, which wasn't a problem for us.
At the north end of the Waterway, you exit into Dover Sound. It is very shallow as you exit, and we had to have a high tide to have enough depth. Our timing was perfect, so we were able to exit without waiting. It's a very narrow passage so extreme care must be taken.
EXITING LUCAYAN WATERWAY INTO DOVER SOUND
On we cruised about 40 miles to Great Sale Cay, which was our anchorage in the middle of nowhere. The weather was very nice during the afternoon, and we enjoyed the beautiful waters all around us from the flybridge.
By the time we arrived at Great Sale Cay about 7 PM, the wind was whipping at about 21 mph and the waves were rolling in from the South. We had no protection from that direction!! So we bounced and bounced all evening and throughout a very uncomfortable night. Sure made us wish we were back on the tranquil Tennessee River!
May 10 - We can pick up weather forecasts on our Single Sideband Unit each morning. The forecaster is Chris Parker, and he is a pro! After giving info for various areas throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean, he takes questions from listeners. Unfortunately, his forecast for the coming week was not good, and even his long-range outlook for the rest of May was not positive. He predicted better weather on May 10 than he predicted for the following 4-5 days, so after a morning storm and much deliberation, we headed on to the Abacos.
It was a good decision as our cruise was very pleasant. A Captain on another boat (Freedom) called us on the VHF radio in the afternoon and asked our destination. He and his wife (John and Ann) have been coming out to the Abacos for the past 18 years, and he suggested we anchor at Crab Cay for the night. He also gave us other information about getting into Green Turtle Cay that was helpful. We had a very comfortable night anchored at Crab Cay.
May 11 - We were now cruising southeast in the Sea of Abaco with Great Abaco Island on our starboard side and numerous islands (Cays) on our port side. We will stop at several of these cays on our way back north, but wanted to get to Green Turtle Cay before the bad weather arrived because it has better protection. Our new friend John suggested we join them at the Other Shore Club Marina on Black Sound, which we did. It is a rustic little marina with lots of Bahamian charm. The Dockmaster (Kevin) is a friendly Bahamian. We enjoyed meeting John, his wife Ann, and their guest Grant, all from Vero Beach.
GRANT, ANN, AND JOHN (FREEDOM)
After settling in, we took a walk about New Plymouth, the little town on Green Turtle Cay. It is a quaint community with colorful frame houses surrounding the harbor. The streets are narrow, and most of the vehicles are golf carts although there are some regular cars and trucks. You drive on the left side of the road in the Bahamas.
NEW PLYMOUTH
FORMERLY LAURA'S KITCHEN WHERE WE HAD DELICIOUS CONCH
IN 2001
BUST GARDEN IN DOWNTOWN NEW PLYMOUTH
OMEGA DOCKED AT OTHER SHORE CLUB MARINA ON BLACK SOUND
We joined our friends on Freedom for a light dinner at Pineapples, an outdoor pub on the marina property. Kevin, our Dockmaster, and two of his buddies, provided the entertainment. Kevin played keyboard and sang (great voice); one of his friends played guitar, and the other one played a pair of clangy bells as well as a saw while he danced. We had never seen anyone who could move every limb of his body so rapidly and continously. He was a hoot! A tall lean and lanky fellow with not an ounce of fat on his body, and he was amazingly limber. There were a number of young people there dancing, and we had a great time watching! Unfortunately, we didn't take our camera.
May 12 - Bill spent several hours trying to solve an electrical problem on OMEGA. As it turned out, it was caused by a bad main breaker for the marina. Fortunately, Kevin made a quick trip to town and came back with a new one, which solved the problem.
We offloaded our scooter and took off for exploration of the whole island. The roads are quite narrow and curvy, and the terrain is hilly. Some of the roads are rough pavement and some are dirt and rock. It was an real adventure on the scooter!! Along the way, we stopped at a little roadside picnic area overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The reef is very close to shore, which is great for snorkeling. However, it was way too windy and rough to be going in the water today.
We rode from Black Sound around to White Sound where there are two more marinas, more upscale than ours. Very nice facilities - Green Turtle Club Marina and Bluff House Marina.
LIFE IS GOOD AT GREEN TURTLE CLUB
DOCKS AT GREEN TURTLE CLUB MARINA
ANCHORAGE ON WHITE SOUND
After checking out Bluff House Marina, we headed back to Black Sound. Made another stop along the way at Leeward Marina which is across from us on Black Sound.
FREEDOM AND OMEGA DOCKED ACROSS THE SOUND
LIZARD'S PUB AT LEEWARD MARINA
There was a wedding taking place in New Plymouth during our afternoon walk. These two limos were parked awaiting the bride, groom, and wedding party. How cool is that!!
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