April 17th, 2011
After a late breakfast we headed to shore at Great Guana Cay around 11. We wandered around the area for a while before heading to Nippers on the other side of the island for lunch. Sunday is pig-roast day and there is always a crowd. Chris was the only one who had the buffet, but we all had lunch and "people watched" for an hour or two before wandering back to the dinghy.
Back on the boat we weighed anchor and motor sailed back to Marsh Harbor to be in place to send Sam and Chris back to chilly Michigan early in the morning.
April 18th, 2011
Most of the bags had been packed the evening before but we were all up early for coffee and some breakfast. Steve and Kim came over around 6:15 to load up the luggage and the five of us dinghied to shore to find the taxi that Steve had called the evening before.
We were sad to see them leave but I think that both Sam and Chris enjoyed themselves.
The remainder of our day was spent getting the boat back to its normal two person existence and a trip to the grocery store for some provisioning. Later in the afternoon we went ashore to purchase laundry tokens and stopped for a beer at Snappa's before returning for the evening.
April 19th, 2011
Our morning was spent working. I dropped Kathy off at one of the Marinas to do laundry while I headed across the harbor to jerry can fuel and water. It took longer than it should but many times that seems to the rule rather than the exception here in the Bahamas. By the time I was finished, it was time to pick up Kathy. We put things away and after lunch made another trip to the store to make our last major purchases for the season. On our return, we made a run to the Jib Room for another twenty gallons of water which filled our tank with some to spare. We were ready to hit the road.
April 20th, 2011
Steve and Kim needed the morning for one last trip to the Grocery. But before lunch we were on our way to Treasure Cay which is about 12 miles to the north. It was a gentle down wind sail. I poled out the jib and prevented the main and for most of the trip sailed wing on wing. The last 5 miles was a little quicker after setting the last leg up for a reach. The small anchorage was quite full but after a few minutes of checking things out, we finally squeezed in between a couple of boats that we have met along the way.
We dinghied to the marina, tied up, and walked across the point to one of the nicest beaches in the Bahamas. The sand looks and feels like white flour under your feet. It was too hot to be in the sun so the four of us found a picnic table in the shade and four cold beers. At $6 a piece we sipped slowly.... watching folks cook themselves on the beach. We decided that beers on board were cheaper and returned for one more and some dinner.

April 21st, 2011
After a trip into town in the morning, we weighed anchor and motored to Bakers Bay. Bakers Bay is located at the north end of Great Guana Cay and used to be a place that curisers loved. The beach goes on forever and it is reasonably well protected. During the last few years the area has been developed into a resort complete with golf course and a huge... but empty marina. We dinghied in to the Marina in the late afternoon and checked out its growth since our last visit and found very little. Most everyone ... residents and cruisers alike are not really happy with the place and won't be sorry to see it fail.
April 22, 2011
After wasting time as we do in the morning, we weighed anchor before noon and traversed the Whale Cay passage. There is a point, about half way up, where the Sea of Abaco is so shallow that most boats have to pass through a cut to the Atlantic, make about a three mile run, and then return to shallow water. When the wind is out of the northeast and swells are breaking on the shallows, it is impassable... today however was easy with three foot swells and a little chop. We motored out but then had enough of an angle that we could sail back in and then on up to Green Turtle Cay where we anchored.
In the afternoon we dinghied in to Pineapples (another bar restaurant with a pool) for happy hour and then returned for dinner on board.
April 23, 2011
In the morning I dinghied in to White Sound and purchased fuel to top off our tank and 20 gallons of water which filled that as well. Moving a little further northward, we sailed slowly up to Manjack Cay for the evening. With crummy weather in the offing, we anchored off Crab Cay just south of Manjack, and had great protection from the south and east. It was squally in the afternoon and "Sapphire" got a good rinse. Winds were never a problem.