MIDORI ADVENTURES

With the time elapsed since my last blog, I realize that I sort of left you all hanging and you likely want to know how the crossing went?!
We crossed through the Whale Cay Channel and Whale Cay Passage on Sunday, May 4th under sunny skies, south winds of 5 - 10 knots and ocean swells of 3 - 4 feet across our port bow. The ride was a bit bumpy, but within an hour we were through it and protected behind Great Guana Cay. It just goes to show you that great planning for the right weather window makes all the difference!
Within another hour, we were picking up a mooring ball in Fisher's Bay, Great Guana Cay. The water was clear and green and we could see the bottom. There were several catamarans moored closeby - including our friend Mika on MORE PATIENCE whom we had first met in Boot Key Harbour, Marathon and again at the anchorage at Manjack Cay!
Mika is a female single-hander on a 36' Corsair Cat and we were both suitably impressed.

Now, I have to back up in time to tell you about the two events that took place at Green Turtle Cay on the weekend:
1. The 5th Annual Island Roots Heritage Festival.
2. Our anchor breaking free in White Sound Harbour.

I'll start with the "anchor dragging" event:
When we arrived from Manjack Cay on Friday, we decided to go into White Sound Harbour to anchor because it would be closer to the marina facilities. MIDORI's anchor held all day (while we were at the festival) and all night. We were on our second cup of coffee when a small rain squall passed through and the wind must have shifted, because the next thing you know, we were moving backwards through the anchorage! Still in our PJ's , we had to jump to attention! (Trust me, your heart is in your throat when your boat is drifting backwards past other boats and the engines aren't running!) It took two attempts to start the motors (which prefer to be warm before being put into gear), but with me at the wheel and Brian at the bow , in the rain, we attempted to reset that anchor THREE TIMES!!! Finally, totally frustrated, we decided to go into the Bluff House Marina and get a slip. It was still very windy, and thankfully the dock master gave his assistance in tying up to the piling which was about eight feet high and which I could not reach to tie the back line. What a relief to be tied up securely. Of course, nice to have shore power, showers, water, laundry ......

The Island Roots Festival was great fun. Hopefully, I can get some photos up on the blog. The marching band is fantastic! The Bahamians love their music and I have never seen a marching band dance and "shake their booty". The crowd would scream for it. (I think I did a little screaming too). Besides the local food of peas & rice, conch salad, conch fritters, fried fish, and BBQ chicken, we could also enjoy pineapple-coconut ice cream and rum drinks.
Then there was the Junkanoo Band. It is a display of art and culture with elaborate costumes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The dancers move and gyrate to the sound of the horns and whistles and the pulsating rhythms of goat-skinned drums and cowbells.

Now, back to Great Guana Cay. We made it to the Sunday pork roast at "Nipper's" (restaurant & bar on the Atlantic side) Then we went snorkeling right from the beach, then back up the stairs to the salt water pool, and great music and dancing.
On the second day at Great Guana, we packed a picnic lunch and walked about a mile down the beach (on the Atlantic side) and found a great coral reef right off of the beach and saw great coral and fish and two rays (don't know what type) Did I mention that the beach was deserted and it was only the six of us? Then we returned to Grabber's and swam in their fresh water pool - ah, heaven!

On Tuesday we traveled nine nautical miles to Marsh Harbour, on Great Abaco Island. It is the largest town in Abaco, in fact, the third largest in the Bahamas, exceeded in size by Nassau and Freeport. The population is about 5,000. It has lots of services and facilities and grocery stores, but the harbour water was murky and apparently not too clean and we just did not find the landscape very scenic. Originally, our group was planning on making this our centre of operations, but after spending only one night there and getting our provisioning done we were anxious to move on to Hope Town.

MIDORI arrived here yesterday evening at low tide and we took a mooring ball in a harbour that is about the size of a football field. However, the cottages surrounding us in their pastel colours are charming and the candy striped (working) lighthouse can be seen for miles around. This is better.

Our third boat buddy, PICADILLO, has finally arrived this morning. (These keel boats needed high tide to get in the entrance to the harbour!) It is lunch time, I hear church bells ringing. I am going to sign off. I look forward to seeing the powdery pinkish sand which comes from the conch shells finely crushed by wave action over the reef. Tonight we are invited over to CHIQUI to celebrate Rose's birthday!

It is better in the Bahamas!

Lynn