Last week, we spent four nights at the Conch Inn Marina in Marsh Harbor waiting for gentler winds. Marsh Harbor is not particularly pretty but there's a big grocery store, several excellent marinas, a large anchorage and more services than elsewhere in the Abacos. The Mursells were staying in a marina close by so we had a good visit with them including a lovely dinner and movie evening aboard Southern Vectis the night before we left.
From Marsh Harbor we were working our way toward Great Guana Cay - a good staging point for our passage through Whale Channel. "The Whale" is much feared since adverse conditions can make the 2 hour passage through it unpleasant or even dangerous. With high winds and unsettled seas, the Cruisers' Net on VHF 68 had not reported anyone going through the Whale for the last several days. We went first to Man O' War Cay to spend a night on a mooring ball there. We knew that we wouldn't be able to get through The Whale for at least the next day or two so we took the opportunity to stop and see the cay with it's pretty homes, narrow concrete streets and few stores. We felt lucky that day - we found an ice cream store that offered free Internet and a hairdressing salon where both of us got a much needed hair cut. Bob hadn't had a cut since Christmas and his curly locks were becoming unruly. My hair was becoming mop-like - well - not much has changed but the mop is shorter now. We took a mooring ball in the inner harbor at Man O' War - (there is a second larger harbor which we didn't go into). For the third time, we encountered many boats crowded into a small harbour - part of the Abaco experience, I guess.
The following morning, we traveled the short distance to Great Guana Cay where after several unsuccessful attempts to get the anchor to bite, we gave up and took a mooring ball. The harbour there has lots of space for both mooring and anchoring although the holding for anchoring is not good. I was very happy to be on a mooring ball and secure in the afternoon high winds but Bob felt defeated at being unable to drop the hook successfully. That evening we went to the Wednesday Pot Luck Dinner at Grabbers - a restaurant /bar on the beach. At the meal there were people from local cottages but also lots of cruisers - most of us sitting in the harbor waiting to get through The Whale. The talk that night was of passage possibilities and since the winds would be moderating somewhat the following day and would also be behind us, we decided to head out in the morning with Barb and Ken on Plumpuppet and Lee and Barb on Wind Dancer. We were all elated to make the passage through 5-6 foot rolling swells - not so bad really - and arrive safely in the harbour at Green Turtle Cay. Wind Dancer invited all those who had made it "through" for drinks on their boat. In addition to Bob and I and Barb and Ken - there were also crew from a boat that come had come through from Treasure Cay, and 2 shallow draft boats that traveled through the inside Don't Rock Channel (not an option for deeper keel boats like us). There were 12 of us sitting in Wind Dancer's cockpit - a beautiful 42 foot Niagara sailboat. How nice it has been to meet and get to know these people.
We expect to stay at Green Turtle for four nights waiting out strong winds. The forecast from Monday forward is very good and it is possible that we'll try a long run from Great Sale directly to Lake Worth in Florida rather than stop at West End before "crossing" - that would be about 16 hours with a midnight departure and sailing all the next day - a long run for us although there are those in the group who plan on traveling 36 hours while riding the Gulf Stream north. Since our first and only overnight sail was when we crossed to the Bahamas, we are not like these more hardy and adventurous souls. We haven't decided for sure yet what we'll do. Decisions change from one moment to the next according to weather and occasionally according to whim - although weather trumps everything. We'll see what the new week brings.
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