Bahamas Journey Update - 5/1/24
We loved our solo time in Eleuthera and our first few days in the Abacos, but we were so excited to have Shay & Randy arrive to explore the southern Abaco islands with them this week.
Thursday 4/25 - Shay & Randy Arrive; Great Guana Cay
Shay and Randy arrived at Marsh Harbor airport on Thursday morning and were met by Lady Barb, the taxi driver. She drove them over to Conch Inn and Marina, where we met them. We had a nice lunch at Snappa's restaurant before getting underway for our first stop of the week on Great Guana Cay. We had a nice (albeit short) sail over and anchored in Fishers Bay. Once we were settled, we took the dinghy over to Grabbers for sundowners and appetizers. It was a super fun bar to welcome them to the Bahamas. After drinks, we made our way back to the boat for a light dinner (salads) and some games before crashing for the night.
Friday 4/26 - Man-O-War Cay
On Friday morning, after breakfast, we took the dinghy back to shore near Grabbers and walked through town and over to the Atlantic side of the island. We had a great beach walk and checked out Nippers (the other famous bar/restaurant on Great Guana). It was closed, but it was fun to check it out. After returning to the boat, we sailed south to Man-O-War Cay, where we anchored near Old Scopley Rock. We got our snorkel gear together and decided to take the dinghy out to the reef in Fowl Cay National Park. It was rough getting out there, but we knew this was probably our only chance to do it, so we braved the seas, got Half-Pint (the dinghy) anchored out by the reef, and had a fantastic snorkel. It was a huge reef with some pretty good coral, and we saw a ton of sealife (although not as many fish as we thought we might). We had a yummy dinner on board, enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, and slept well after a busy day.
Saturday 4/27 - Hope Town (Elbow Cay)
On Saturday morning, we took the dinghy into Man-O-War and walked to the Heritage Museum, a super cute coffee shop where we had breakfast. The museum was interesting, and it was fun to learn about the history of Man-O-War Cay. After the U.S. defeated the British in the Revolutionary War, some Loyalists fled the U.S., traveling to the closest Crown territory, The Bahamas. Man-O-War Cay is one of the early Loyalist settlements in The Abacos, and beginning in 1798, its residents started farming. In 1820, a shipwrecked sailor named Benjamin Albury met Eleanor Archer, who worked on a farm and married in 1821. Their descendants are the Albury's of today, and they own many of the local businesses (including a boat-building company that makes many of the skiff-type boats you see in the Bahamas). The island has a reputation for being very conservative; the Cay, until recently, had the distinction of being the only "dry" island in the Bahamas, with absolutely no public sale or consumption of alcohol there. Our understanding is that it has been somewhat relaxed, but given they're still rebuilding from Dorian, there aren't many local restaurants beyond the coffee shop where they might serve any alcohol. At breakfast, we chatted with someone who has been visiting for 15+ years and now owns a house on the Cay, and he said that the "dry" designation was somewhat exaggerated. After breakfast, Shay & Steve took the dinghy back while Jen & Randy walked back along the island.
From Man-O-War, we made our way south to Elbow Cay and Hopetown. We anchored at the Below the Lighthouse anchorage and took the dinghy into Hopetown. After maneuvering the dinghy as far southeast as we could in the harbor, we found a place to beach it and walked the final 0.5 mile to On Da Beach restaurant on the Atlantic side. This was another cool beach bar, and we had a great lunch before making our way back. After lunch, we stopped at the Elbow Reef Lighthouse at Hopetown and walked up the steps to the top, which had a great view of the area. Elbow Reef is one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 and can be seen from 23 nmi away. The Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of only three manual lighthouses left in the world. We had dinner aboard that night and were treated to another gorgeous sunset.
Sunday 4/28 - South Elbow Cay
On Sunday morning, we moved south along Elbow Cay to an anchorage near Tahiti Beach, a beautiful beach with a sandbar at low tide. We didn't quite hit it at low tide, but walking the beach and exploring a bit was still fun. From there, we took our dinghy into White Sound Harbor, where we stopped at a cool bar at Sea Spray Marina and Resort. We had a couple of drinks and an awesome lunch, and we randomly ran into our broker, who helped us buy our boat (Dunbar Lewis). He was at the resort getting a boat ready to take north on a delivery trip. Super fun to run into him. We spent the afternoon relaxing and then got cleaned up and went back into the harbor for a nice dinner at The Abaco Inn
Monday 4/29 - Little Harbor, Lynyard Cay
On Monday, the seas were a little choppy, but we headed south with hopes to snorkel at Sandy Cay. We anchored off the west side and took the dinghy over, but it was too rough to snorkel, so after lunch on the boat, we continued south to an anchorage outside Little Harbor. It wasn't a great anchorage for the night (too much swell), but we really wanted to go to Pete's Pub in Little Harbor for dinner, and this would be an ok dinghy ride in, so we went ahead and dropped the hook and headed in for dinner at Pete's. We ate outside on the deck and had a great meal before returning to the boat. Once we returned, we quickly decided to pull up anchor and head north to a more protected spot on Lynyard Cay. We arrived just as it was getting dark and dropped the anchor and were happy with the decision. While you generally don't want to anchor without good light, we got a good hold, and we were much more comfortable overnight than we would have been outside Little Harbor.
Tuesday 4/30 - Back to Marsh Harbor
Tuesday was our last full day with Randy & Shay, and we spent the morning snorkeling near Lynyard. We saw fish, chased turtles, and even saw a few (really big) sharks. It wasn't the best snorkeling of the trip, but it was nice to spend the morning in the water. After snorkeling, we pulled up anchor and headed north back to Marsh Harbor. We arrived in Marsh Harbor late afternoon and got to see some dolphins playing in the anchorage, which was fun. After spending some time on the boat, we headed to the Jib Room for a final dinner with Shay & Randy. A final Bahamas sunset and a final night of dice games capped off a great week.
Wednesday 5/1 - Departure Day for Shay & Randy
On Wednesday morning, Shay & Randy's flight was delayed, so we had a leisurely morning with them before grabbing a quick sandwich at the deli on shore. Lady Barb took them back to the airport, and they made it back to Denver that night.
It was an awesome week, and we're so glad they could make it down to spend time with us on SV Second Half. We're now planning to spend the next week or two in the northern Abaco islands before we head back to Florida around May 11 or 12.
Photos
If you're interested in seeing photos from the last week with Shay & Randy, that album is linked below
Bahamas Week 13/14 - Abacos w/ Shay & Randy
We've also started an album for the next week or two in the Northern Abacos if you want to follow along
