More about that next time.......

Carole-Anne has come and gone and if I could sum up her visit with one word it would be WINDY and with that came challenges.   Number one....weather controls everything.   It dictates when you can snorkel the reef,  swim,  and even move the boat.  So given that, we were not able to fit in all that we wanted while she was here but we did manage to fit in quite a lot and we're  thankful for that.  This was mostly due to Kevin and Mandy, our friends and local residents on Green Turtle Cay, who took time out of their busy schedules to show  us around.  For this we cannot thank them enough and truly appreciate everything they did for us.

It really is hard not to have a good time in Abaco even with the relentless wind.  The sun still shines,  the beaches are still lovely, the social life carries on (In fact there is a party happening somewhere every night if that's what turns you on.) or you can kick back and relax.  We did it all and then some. 

Towards the end of C.-A.'s stay the wind died down just enough for us to take Folly around the infamous "Whale Cay Passage" so that we could show her another side of Abaco with Hope Town being on the top of the list.  As expected our stay there was phenomenal and we were all glad we made the effort to get there. 

The last day of her visit was spent in Treasure Cay,  which turned out to be a lovely way to end the 10-day Abaco experience.   Yesterday we said our goodbyes. 

Today, believe it or not, we are on our way to Florida.....another Bahamian winter is over *pout*.  We left from Green Turtle Cay this morning and we plan to sail straight to Cape Canaveral inlet....about a 195-mile and 36-hour trip.  The gulf stream crossing promises to be favorable hence our decision to sail non-stop.

I'm not sure if I'm going to add any more blog posts after this one.  When we get to Florida we will put Folly into storage on dry dock at the Westland Marina in Titusville.   The next few days will be hot and tough and no doubt gruelling as we prepare the boat to be left for 6 months on the hard during hurricane season.  This is the not so fun stuff that comes with boat ownership.

Before I  sign out I want to thank everyone who read this blog.  Your encouragement helped me more than you know.  Thanks for letting me share my memories with you and for letting me vent when I  needed to.  And please don't forget these accounts and experiences were solely from my point of view.  I'm sure Harley could tell you a completely different story.   hahaha!

One thing for sure, we will both miss the Bahamas and we will be counting the days until we return......but

More about that next year!

A sea star 

Harley and Carole-Anne 

Boat kids easter egg hunting

Manjack Cay

She kept her dress bone dry!

Love the curtains

Exploring in Kevin's Whaler

Kevin was kind enough to lend us his cart for a week!

Finally a turtle picture.  We saw many but they are extremely camera shy.

Kevin and C-A selfie

Me Harley and C-A

An abandoned building in New Plymouth 

Kevin and Harley at Gilliam Beach Green Turtle Cay 

The waves crashing on "The Whale"

This is a private yacht.

Kevin took us to this secret place

Many of the private homes here have a resort feel.

Last Kick at the Can

It's  not called Green Turtle Cay (GTC) for nothing.  White Sound, where we are staying,  is loaded with large majestic turtles.  This morning I saw one with a head the size of a watermelon.  It must be the grassy bottom that attracts them but, whatever the case, I'm glad they're here.  They are sneaky little devils though.  I have yet to get a picture of one.

Incidentally, the grassy bottom may be good for turtles  but it sure makes it difficult, if not impossible, to anchor in.  It took us four tries to get hooked.  Since then we have watched many others come and experience the same problem we had, but eventually everyone manages to find a little patch of sand to drop their anchor in and all is good.

We arrived here over a week ago and since then we've been taking it easy settling into life on this delightful and historic island.  There certainly is no lack for things to do here but everything is relaxed  and lovely and easy to take. There are beaches to enjoy and many good restaurants;  you can even have lunch or even breakfast at the liquor store!  We've been enjoying it all and of course the company of fellow boaters....some we've been travelling with and some we've reunited with....and it's been very entertaining! 

It seems GTC is the last major stop before the snowbird cruisers stage to cross to the states and eventually back to their homes up north.  For some it's their last kick at the can so to speak.  We've meet up with countless cruisers that we have met this season all hating to leave yet excited to see their families again. 

Today we sadly watched the anchorage empty out as this is the weather window they were all looking for.   Harley and I are staying for at least another eleven days because....lucky for us...we have my sister-in-law Carole-Anne coming to visit on April 10th.  Also, we have our friends Mandy and Kevin, who live here on the island, to help us show her a good Ole Bahamian-style good time.   We can't wait!  ....but...

More about that next time.

Leaving the Tranquil Turtle at sunset

Some candid happy hour shots on Kiddy Kat

The Tranquil Turtle 

Bluff House Marina

Beach treasures from White Sound

Kayaking in White Sound

Panoramic view of New Plymouth, GTC

Harley, Me,  Mandy.....on Shamu

Downtown New Plymouth, GTC

It's a Tough Life

Marsh Harbour, Abaco was just as we remembered it.  A place where you can find just about anything you would ever need but beautiful it is not.  We stopped there on one day and left the next with a boat full of food and blisters on our feet.  From there it was on to Treasure Cay.  Now there's a contrast if there ever was one.

The harbour at Treasure Cay is surrounded by beautiful homes and a first class marina.  There certainly isn't any poverty here. (..except for maybe us bums that show up looking for long hot showers and decent laundry facilities.)   As an extra bonus, we had a pool to lounge around with a poolside bar, and a beach that has been rated one of the top 10 in the world!  This cruising life can be tough some times!

The day we left Marsh Harbour to go to Treasure Cay was one of those days that make you say " man, this is the life!"  On route our friends, on Island Pearl, caught a magnificent Mutton Snapper.  As soon as we got there we headed to the beach where we were blown away by it's splendor.  Once we had our fill of that, we hung out at the pool.   To finish off the day we had a fabulous feast of Mutton Snapper on Folly watching the sun set.  It was truly a perfect day.  In fact we enjoyed it so much we stayed the following  day as well.

Yesterday we left and sailed around the infamous "Whale" to Green Turtle Cay.  The Whale Cut has been known to be quite treacherous in the wrong conditions so picking the right day is imperative; I'm happy to report that we hit it right.  The wind was stronger than forcasted but the sea was tame and it was a piece of cake. 

Believe it or not, our very good friend Kevin, who lives on Green Turtle, met us out there on the water.  He just pulled his Boston Whaler up beside Folly, we tied him off, and he hopped on board.  How's that for a welcome? 

Our plan is to stay here on Green Turtle Cay for about three weeks.  Carole-Anne, Harley's sister, is coming to visit in ten days and will be staying with us for ten.  Should be a good time but.....

More about that next time.

The Mutton Snapper

Treasure Beach

Treasure Cay Marina

Kevin meeting us out there.

Little Harbour and Hope Town

I guess it's a sign that we have been out a long time when the blog posts start slowing down.  Either that or we're having too much fun to take time to do it.   Or.....perhaps it's just me being lazy.   Whatever the case, I now have a camera full of pictures and ton of catching up to do.

So let's see...it was at first light when we left Spanish Wells.  It was a dead calm day and we ended up motoring across the Northeast Providence Channel....a 50-mile open stretch.  Notice, I didn't say flat calm. (Actually, it's not dead either.)  Even on calm days the ocean is constantly moving like a living and breathing animal.  Folly glided along the surface ..... rising and falling with every breath it took.  We even passed a whale reminding us that we were not alone.  We arrived at Little Harbour, Abaco at 3:00 pm.

Little Harbour has a tricky entrance but, once in, it offers great protection from almost any weather and worth the effort.  It has quite an interesting history but what most people come for is the protection and Pete's Pub.  Pete's Pub is  a funky beach bar and kinda runs the show here.  It faces the mooring field and backs onto the ocean...indeed...very picturesque and people come from all over to experience it.  I particularly liked it there because the ocean beach, if you looked hard enough, had a fair amount of beach glass.  (If you havent noticed, I'm a bit obsessed)

But, like most everything, you can have too much of a good thing.  The light weather we had getting there turned out to be the calm before the blow and we were socked in for four days.  Pete's Pub started getting old.   The sea state was still quite turned up when we left on Sunday and I will admit we were a bit hesitant to go out that tricky entrance again with huge waves crashing against the shore.  Looks can be deceiving though and this time it looked worse than it was.  It turned out to be a fun sail up to Elbow Key.  We pulled into the harbour and the picture perfect town of Hope Town were we have been for two days.

Hope Town is, I think, one of the cutest towns on the face of the planet.  Planted in view of, just about, everywhere in town is an adorable candy stripped lighthouse.  In town, the homes are beautifully kept and painted every colour of the rainbow.  Everything is squeaky clean and on top of that the beach is stunning!  We have had a fabulous couple of days!

Lucky for us, yesterday was Sheri's (one of our travelling friends) birthday.  We had a great time helping her celebrate by going to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge  for lunch and hanging around their resort for a good part of the day. 

Today we are heading into Marsh Harbour to reprovision before we go out and explore more of the Abaco Cays but.....

More about that next time. 

These few pictures (above) were taken in Little Harbour

The ocean side at Little Harbour

Some beach creations.

Hope Town light house

Views of Hope Town (above)

Sheri the birthday girl.

Hope Town Harbour Lodge and our playground for the day.