Leaving Marsh Harbour
09 November 2010 | Marsh Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas
Captain Chris
Chris with our lunch from Dock&Dine, Man-o-War Cay. More photos from the cay in the album.
We finished our errands and picked up our mail (Thanks, Lindy!) and were ready to head out when Tropical Storm Tomas started messing about. Between Tomas and the prediction for a strong cold front coming through, we determined that we wouldn't have time for a transit to Eleuthera.
Instead, we went to visit Man-O-War Cay which had eluded a visit from us despite sailing past it several times over the last few months. We sailed over in a fresh breeze, dropped the sails and navigated the narrow cut into the anchorage and picked up a mooring bouy.
The well-protected anchorage is a favorite with people leaving their boats over the hurricane season, and it was packed with boats on moorings. We picked up the only one that looked like there was room for us not to swing into anyone. Most times I've seen the mooring fields laid out so that moorings for two 40' boats will have 80' or more between the buoys, but not here. If the boats didn't swing in the same direction, there was definitely going to be some bumping going on. I didn't see fenders hanging off the unoccupied boats, so I assumed that the system worked. We stayed onboard for the first night to make sure, then left the next morning to explore the island.
We walked the length of town and got some cinnamon buns from Lola, who sells her baked goods from a golf cart. Then, after exploring the shops, we took a hike to the Atlantic side of the island to see the waves breaking over the reef. After lunch at the Dock&Dine, and waiting out a rain shower in one of the boatyards, we took the dinghy back to the boat and decided we needed to get back to Marsh Harbour before the weather got worse. As the wind was on the nose, we motored back and anchored in our usual spot.
We spent the next few days in the harbor with a decent chop and some strong winds as the cold front came through. Not having seen temperatures below 80 degrees for five months, we had to look around for socks and sweatshirts, and stretched out in the cockpit like cats whenever the sun came out.
The front has passed now, and things are much calmer. Tomas went well east of us, but swells from the seas that it kicked up will reach the islands starting Friday so we are on the move. The plan is to head down the Sea of Abaco to Little Harbor today, then out into the Atlantic this evening and transit overnight to Royal Island so we can arrive in daylight. We'll likely spend the next several days protected from the swells either around Royal Island or in Spanish Wells. Our Spot Satellite Personal Tracker should have some updates if you want to track us.