May 28, 2023

Carrie, Ken, Jessi, and Kylie arrived as scheduled on Saturday and were at the boat by 2:30. We had so many topics to discuss with this family. Kylie has just returned from her semester abroad - Florence, Italy! Jessi has new plans for the next phase of her life - a move from Richmond to Denver, submitting applications for Physician Assistant School and then, awaiting acceptance.

After settling in on the "Lady J", we dined at Wally's and discussed the upcoming week's itinerary.

Sunday morning greeted us with an early morning thunderstorm but then the skies cleared. We departed Harbour View Marina around 11:00 and cruised to Treasure Cay - not knowing exactly what to expect.

We had not been into the Treasure Cay Marina for 15 years when we were on our "Lady J" Gozzard 41 sailing vessel in 2008. At that time, the Treasure Cay Marina was the finest in the Abacos. However, the 2019 Hurricane Dorian totally destroyed the marina property. We had heard many varied stories about its recovery - or lack thereof.

As we navigated through the Treasure Cay channel, we could not help but recall our challenging arrival 38 years ago on our first bareboat charter when Carrie and Kim were young teenagers. We approached through a foggy storm with only a compass heading to guide our way - no GPS or chart plotters back in those days. When we suddenly spotted land through the mist, we saw tall pine trees only a few hundred yards away. We had to decide whether to turn right or left to look for wooden stakes that marked the channel entrance. Fortunately, we guessed correctly and found our way into this beautiful marina. But not so beautiful today . . .

The marina docks were completely destroyed by Dorian along with the condominiums that lined the harbor. This marina property is owned by a German company that has apparently decided to leave the destruction remain as is. Because of the complexity of the ownership arrangement of all of the property assets, it has impeded the start of any reconstruction or redevelopment. The local rumor is that this marina property is for sale.

This Treasure Cay development is certainly one of the saddest remnants of Hurricane Dorian that we have seen - due to its total neglect. The marina restaurant, marina bar, and beach bar no longer exist. These were the places where we created so many fond memories on previous visits. The beach bar was the site of so many delectable delights - the very best grouper sandwiches, grouper bites, and fries with Goombay Smashes or ice cold Kaliks. The unique retail shops remain as dilapidated shells of blue block buildings.

We passed through most of this remaining storm destruction on our way to the true treasure of Treasure Cay - three miles of one of the world's most beautiful white sand beaches with shimmering turquoise water! This striking picturesque scene remains as I first saw it 41 years ago - despite several devastating hurricanes over the decades. Truly a sign that Mother Nature is far more sustainable than man made structures.

We felt very blessed to be able to enjoy this three mile beach all to ourselves - rare in today's world. We basked in the sunshine, splashed in the turquoise waters, and soaked in Mother Nature's amazing creation.

Following our afternoon on this incredibly beautiful beach, we returned to the "Lady J" for a relaxing "happy hour" evening, grilled steaks, and intriguing conversations.

Monday morning - Memorial Day in the States - we took the dinghy and motored through the various canals that spawned from our mooring basin. What a surprise and sharp contrast! There were several nicely reconstructed residences combined with newly constructed properties, complete with docks and a wide variety of cruising and fishing vessels. These mini-residential communities belie the lack of reconstruction investment in the marina and its surrounding property.

May 29, 2023

We departed Treasure Cay to cruise over to Great Guana Cay with plans to have a late lunch at Nippers. On the cruise, we spotted several thunderstorms emerging at various locations on the horizon, including one that spawned a water spout. These Bahama storm cells appeared to be off in the distance and of no significant concern. Then as we approached our Guana anchorage, Ken pointed to our stern where we saw approaching dark clouds. We decided to delay our anchoring until the storm passed. The passing mild storm was accompanied by winds that were blowing directly into our proposed anchorage - foretelling a rolling anchorage with its challenging dinghy maneuvering.

So we made a midcourse correction - deciding a Nipper's experience was not worth the anchorage aggravation - and set course for Tahiti Beach, where we knew we would be well protected from the prevailing wind.

As we approached Elbow Cay, we could see another passing Bahamian storm over the island but it moved east before we arrived and proved to be no issue. After anchoring around 2:30, we joined the afternoon crowd at Tahiti at high tide, making an interesting journey through waist deep beautiful blue water to get our "Thirsty Cuda" libations.

Beach time was followed by refreshing showers back aboard the "Lady J". Sunset Happy Hour and delicious red snapper on the grill completed our day, while watching the stars with a hopeful sighting of the space station, that did not emerge. More memorable times with the Alts on the Sea of Abaco.

May 30, 2023

Ken dove into the water and took an early morning swim to the beach a quarter mile away. After a short jog on the beach, he swam back across to the boat to complete his morning exercise - oh, to be young and physically ambitious!

The Alts enjoyed spending some solo time exploring Tahiti Beach at low tide, in sharp contrast to the previous afternoon with a high tide and crowded beach. Following brunch, we hoisted anchor and returned to Hopetown Marina just prior to the arrival of the afternoon thunderstorms.

A van picked us up at 6:30 PM for our highly anticipated revisit to the Abaco Inn for dinner - where our families have created many memorable moments during past visits to the Abacos. We were seated on the covered outside patio in anticipation of viewing another beautiful sunset over the Sea of Abaco. Another thunderstorm suddenly appeared and while we thought we could outlast it by remaining on the patio, Mother Nature prevailed and we were finally moved inside at a table with a perfect setting overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Once again - expect the unexpected!

Wednesday morning we awakened to more thunderstorms. The day's forecast showed no signs of improving. Jessica departed by ferry at 11:30 to catch her plane back to Miami and then Richmond. Although our plans were to return to our Tahiti Beach anchorage, the pending storm forecast kept us at our dock for another day.

Thursday we plan to depart the dock in the morning, drop anchor off the Firefly Resort and enjoy a waterside lunch before returning to Marsh Harbour. Friday we will return to Naples for the Seaman Corporation June board meeting. Our return to Marsh Harbor will be June 11 to share "Lady J" Abaco time with Kim and her family.