Mike
05/28/2009, Baker's Bay, Great Guana Cay

May 25... Fishers Bay to Bakers Bay, Great Guanna, Abacos

We didn't get any weather this morning and the water is was calm and the skies were clear for the first time in at least a week. I ran ashore for some ice and checked out Milo's vegetable stand but the tomatoes were tiny so I passed them up.

We hauled our anchor up and headed north to Bakers Bay, which is only about 3.5 miles. After our arrival we took the dinghies over to an island where there are tons of shells. Kim and I hiked all the way around and found a spot on the back side where the shells and rocks were piled up in a 3 foot berm. If we didn't see anything we liked we dug with sticks causing a minor avalanche and uncovering another layer of shells.

I saved a few and found one heart bean but it was the walk that felt good. We returned after a few hours and had some lunch. We read for a while and then Kathy and I took off again for the new Bakers Bay Marina. The channel was cut out of solid rock and led about a kilometer in to a huge marina with no boats. It is still under construction but the channel goes at least a mile into the island.

At the resort last night a fisherman had given Kim a bag of Mahi... so we were invited over to "Fine Lion" to share the windfall. Steve grilled it and fixed some veggies on the grill. Kathy made some rice and some pickle roll-ups.... we had another great meal and then returned to watch a movie.

There is a low pressure system in the area that is tropical in nature. We watched the trough form last week in the southern Bahamas and are in the process of figuring out where it's going. It is not really a danger at this point with winds to 35 knots and it should be moving away from us to the northeast...

We will continue to move north slowly and wait for the trades to reestablish before heading back to the States.

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Mike
05/28/2009, Fisher's Bay, Great Guana Cay

May 24th Fisher Bay, Great Guana Cay

After coffee and a big breakfast, I took the dinghy to shore and wandered around until I found a place that sold ice. With that chore accomplished, half of my jobs for the day were finished. My other task was to make conch salad for either lunch or dinner.

On Sundays Nippers has a Pig Roast and although we weren't particularly interested in the pork, it does attract lots of people. Nippers is on the ocean side of this Great Guana Cay, and is a multi level bar with two pools and miles of perfect beach. Actually there are about 5 bars and I counted 8 bartenders behind the largest.

The entertainment today was a "The Limbo King" from Nassau who was going to perform at around 4pm so we didn't want to get there too early.

We left the boat abound 12:30 and left the dinghies on the beach. Then we walked the west side of the island around to Orchid Bay Marina, a distance of about a mile. We had a bag of books that we needed to drop off at Pirate's Cove which is an internet café, ice cream shop, laundry, and tee shirt shop. This year they've added a little tiki bar just off the street.

"Buck a Book" is a charity that a couple in Marsh Harbour operates to generate money to save the wild horses of Abaco. There are 8 left and they are the last of a Spanish Breed that either swam ashore or were left here a few hundred years ago. Anyway we had ten or 12 books that needed a new home and we dropped them off.

We felt in need of a little more walking, so we walked about a mile to the Orchid Bay Marina to check it our. It was very nice-lots of beautiful flowers. Then we head back to Pirate's Cover where we sat at their Tiki bar and had a Kalik watching droves of people turn the corner in front of us heading up the hill to Nippers. The sky was grey and threatened of rain, but that didn't seem to affect anyone. They came in all shapes, sizes and ages, dressed (or not dressed) in every imaginable fashion.

Eventually we followed the mob up the backside of the dune check things out. We walked on the ocean beach and tried to wait for the "Limbo King", but it started to rain hard so we headed back down the hill and ended up at Grabbers to listen to the band again. We were back on the boat before dark.

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Mike
05/28/2009, Fisher's Bay, Great Guana Cay

May 23rd Marsh Harbour to Great Guana, Aboacos

Finally we're out of Marsh Harbour. The day dawned cloudy again with sprinkles. I took some garbage to shore and hiked to the store for some coffee. When I returned Kathy had breakfast almost finished. After eating we took down the Windbugger and reinstalled the Ram mic in the cockpit. (Its connection had come loose and I had to go down to the basement to get things reconnected correctly.)

Within minutes our anchor was up and we were out of the harbor. Once we cleared the entrance we rolled out the jib in about 20 knots of wind and had a wonderful sail about 10 miles north to Fishers Bay, Great Guana Cay. There is a good anchorage there and a resort that has good food and music.

We arrived around noon and got the anchor down. It took a liitle work to get it to hold but the second time Kathy backed it down, it stuck.

Around one we dinghied in to Grabbers for lunch. The band was scheduled to play at 2pm so by the time we were finished with our sandwiches, they were setting up.

We ended up staying all afternoon listening to them, and on their breaks, talking to them. They are from Coco Beach, FL and are brought down about 4 times a year, all expenses paid, to play. They played a wide variety of music and were very good for a bunch of old farts.

We got back to the boat about dark and watched an episode of "Cold Case" before bed.

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