Great Guana Cay
08 March 2011 | Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
Nice
Great Guana Cay
March 8, 2011
Having spent way too much time at the Marsh Harbor Marina since leaving Hopetown, my A.D. D. kicked in and we decided to visit Great Guana Cay for a couple of days. It is only a two hour passage from Marsh Harbor and the winds favored a nice sail (not motoring as usual). We filled the water tanks on WK since the cost for water in GGC is $0.40 a gallon and left Marsh Harbor at 1130. The winds on the beam were 17 knots which is just right for a quiet nice sail. A fellow crew was motoring ahead of us and beat us to the harbor by over an hour. We did not care because it was the first time in a long time we were able to sit back and listen to the wind and waves without the “iron genny” making the whole thing mechanical. Why Knot enjoyed the chance to hook up and do her stuff.
We sailed over the bottom which was very visible just 13 feet below. The colors again were outstanding and the destination was new to us. The other boat chose to take a slip in the harbor but we chose to drop the hook in Fisher’s Bay. When we made the corner around the head land, we saw about 30 other boats that had the same idea. The winds were from a direction that allowed a fairly calm anchorage in the bay and we arrived around 1400. We anchored well away from other boats and the hook stuck nicely. Not long after we stopped, another bone head came in and dropped his anchor ahead of us as the wind blows. He then drifted back toward us to set his anchor. All said and done, he was only about 100 feet from us. In an anchorage where no other boats were closer than 100 yards, this fellow chose to crowd us. That might be a problem tonight. I spoke to him in my best diplomatic verse and let him know that if he drifts in the slightest he will be upon our anchor. He chose to stay. Now I am wondering if we are on the same planet since three hours later he is now 25 feet closer to us. I may have to let him know his folly in the wee hours which I will do less diplomatically.
We visited a popular Atlantic beach bar/grill called Nippers. It overlooks the North Atlantic which today was putting on quite a show. The swells were breaking on a reef a few hundred yards offshore then again on several reefs closer. The deep water comes very close to shore thus the cobalt blue water was clearly visible close in. It might have been a poor decision to sail north today.
The sunset was announced, as it usually is, by the blowing of conch shell horns. It is really a cool thing that many boats do this right at sunset. We are not sure how this got started but it welcomes the twilight and sets the tone for the view of the stars so clearly visible in the Bahamian sky. We look forward to the nightfall and the rocking of the boat that welcomes sleep. Now if that moron who is drifting down on us will leave us alone until dawn perhaps I won’t have to use naval language on him. Dang, we left the 6 pounder chaser cannon at home.