Thursday, January 30, 2014

Great Harbour Cay

We are docked in Great Harbour Cay, preparing for the Super Bowl. Because that's what every good American does, and most of the rest of the world it seems too.
Here's a recap of how we totally unexpectedly ended up here.
We have learned that watching and respecting weather forecasts is paramount in this business (can we call cruising on a sailboat a business?). So,with that in mind we stayed a day in Bimini to have good weather. But more importantly to find that conch and Kalik beer dinner. And we found it at a perfect hole int the wall type joint called End Of The World bar. Sand on the floor, local tunes playing, and some good Bahamian atmosphere. Dinner for four of lobster, conch, baked potato and carrots for 40 bucks. Mission accomplished.
We swam and snorkeled that afternoon, finding lots of shells and enjoying the clear blue water.
The next day, it was time to depart to cross the Grand Bahamas Bank. Roughly 70 miles across and only 15-25 feet deep, it promised good sailing and a night anchored out on the bank with nothing in sight. Which is what we got. Its a very strange feeling to drop your anchor in the middle of nowhere, nothing but stars and perhaps a single distant ship far off and nobody knows you're there.
We arose at 4 am the next morning to a slow rolling current which we guessed must have been the massive amount of water that enters and leaves the bank with the tides. This is also the reason for the super clear water, kind of like natures toilet flushing the banks twice a day to clean it. If only I had to go twice a day.
As we approached the northwest channel, the idea was to go another 5 or 10 miles and anchor for some expected strong easterly winds. We noticed another sailboat heading opposite our direction and then turn north. A quick scramble of the charts and we deduced that they were headed for the Berry islands and Great Harbour Cay. Our proposed anchorage outside of Chubbe Cay offered nothing since there was no town and the marina was expensive and private. Do the math folks, and Great Harbour Cay offered some protection from the coming winds, a town and perhaps one of the best beaches the Bahamas has to offer. Yep, you guessed it. We did a 180 turn in the narrow channel and headed around the Berry bank for this new destination. A lot of cursing, sail changes and chart plotting occurred in 4.3 minutes as we figured out a new plan on the spur of the moment.
Turned out to be a good thing. We had a nice sail with a beam reach to the cay. As we approached the anchorage next to the town we noticed the winds remained whereas we'd like to have them desist and thus assist in in a good nights sleep, seeing as we were up at 4 that morning. Oh look, there's one of the best protected marinas in the Bahamas by the town, and what a nice flashy picture in the cruising guide to boot. Well, who said advertising doesn't work. Again, a quick radio call and abrupt course change and bada boo-bada bing we ended up in the marina, who happened to have a special on their dockage rates and a Super Bowl party for all you can eat for $20. Ok, we're in.
Above is a map of our travels in the Bahamas so far, with a beach pic to follow.

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