The Magic of Manjack Cay, Abaco

We left White sound in Green Turtle Cay and headed north to one of our favourite cays....Manjack. The weather had settled and was perfect for a kayak out into the ocean and a snorkel on the reef. Peter and Lynn joined us in their dinghy.
How can you not love this woman???

We saw lots of fish and a green turtle who wasn't too shy. It is definitely a sign of spring when you can paddle out onto the ocean. Of course everyday is different and the same ocean can look very different when a cold front blows through with 30 to 40 knot winds.
This collage shows how quiet our spot was one morning and how clear the water is. It sometimes feels like we are floating in an aquarium. Actually the night before we were sitting on the foredeck looking at the stars and I heard the distinctive sound of a dolphin at the surface. We have seen dolphins while at anchor before; however we have never had one around the boat at night. He stayed around for several minutes and we could see his outline as he came to the surface for a breath. It was very special.
Peter and Lynn had bought a new blow up tandem kayak but had not used it this season. Manjack's mangroves are made for kayaks and we had a wonderful time paddling among the baby nurse sharks, green turtles and the odd pig. We had lunch along the ocean beach and then Rob and I did some snorkelling on the way back to the boats. Peter and Lynn were delighted with their kayak and look forward to using it more in the future. It will be perfect on Mill Creek on the Chesapeake where they are building their new home.


Frist Edition and Celebrian happily anchored together at Manjaclk Cay.

We will miss sailing with First Edition and her crew next season.

The Abacos...Celebrian's Home Away From Home

Sunset on the east coast of Great Abaco.

These pictures were taken the day we were kayaking around the Manjack area.

This picture shows the difference in boating styles in The Bahamas.
We are soon to up anchor and head out of White Sound in Green Turtle. The front is through and the wind is down. We want to spend the next few days up at Manjack and Powell if the weather lets us. We will return to Black Sound in Green Turtle next Friday afternoon and plan to spend the weekend at the dock getting the boat ready to be hauled on Monday morning. This week we will be cleaning lockers, doing hand laundry and anything else that we can do while at anchor. Rob did some work replacing hoses in our anchor locker yesterday so we are already in boat yard mode which means b oat chaos.
This picture shows the Green Turtle Ferry on its route through the Sounds.
We are meeting up with Lynn and Peter today and Lynn has some veggies from Marsh Harbour for us so that will be a treat.

This is how the captain likes to end his day especially if the head or the anchor hose doesn't leak.

The East Coast of Great Abaco Island....New Anchorages for Celebrian

Celebrian anchored off of Cooperstown in the Abacos. Cooperstown is a true Bahamian settlement not affected by tourism.

The day we came north through The Whale the winds were from the west so we decided to anchor along the east coast of Great Abaco. We normally anchor at Powell or Manjack because the trade winds are blowing from the east. Since coming up from Marsh Harbour the weather has been anything but normal and we have been getting a lot of south wind and very warm spring like temperatures. The change in the wind direction has allowed us to explore the western side of the Sea of Abaco and it has been most enjoyable. Not only have we been by ourselves but we have found beaches that cruisers seldom go to so the shelling has been fabulous. On this beach we found all of these shells in the picture.
I also found this measled cowrie which is a real treasure.

We spent a day over at Manjack doing some paddling when the winds shifted but soon enough we were driven back to the other side. Since it is less than 3 miles across it is not a big deal to move. It is surprising how large the waves can build even in that distance. Every once in awhile a sport fisherman goes by and this is the result of their wake.

As most of you know my captain is a bit anal when it comes to spare parts. Our head (toilet) is 23 years old and Rob has 8 spare part kits for it. Last year we flew down a new Jabsco head (without the china bowl) but until we had tried every option it was not going to be installed. Finally the old head was pronounced dead and I can now flush without leaks....what a joy that is!??

Now Rob has to begin collecting spare part kits for the new head....heaven help us if anything goes wrong with the new head in the next week and a half!?!Having spare parts for everything is the only way to survive as a cruiser. Yesterday was a case in point. Rob stepped on the shower bag head and broke the plastic nozzle....not to worry...our spare shower part's bag had a beautiful new shower head and we are back in business.
Our first cruising season in the Abacos we stopped at Cooperstown on Great Abaco. We had enjoyed our visit so much that we decided that we would try and get back there again this year. It is a truly Bahamian settlement that gets very few tourists and we are quite the novelty when we anchor off the town dock. This year we didn't get a chance to get to the Conch Crawl Bar; however we did get a couple of loads of laundry done at the "C & C Laundrymat"and picked up our favourite take out conch dinner ...one eight dollar meal feeds us both!

The locals are very friendly and always happy to have their pictures taken.

Can you guess what this is?

There are signs through out The Bahamas about sustainable fishing but we sometimes wonder whether the fishermen are thinking in those terms. Our hope is that there will be conch and lobster here for the next generation.

We have been watching a very interesting documentary that we got from Peter and Lynn called Deadliest Catch and it is about the king crab fishing in the Bering Sea. The season is usually only about 3 days long and is based on quota. The boats can take so many crab that they have to limit the season so that the stocks can survive.
We sailed north of Cooperstown to check out another beach area and paddling spot. It was a nice private spot but not anything as special as milk conch beach. Since we are expecting a front with north and west winds it was time to head back to Green Turtle where we are today April 1st. We are anchored in White Sound because you can not anchor in Black Sound. Besides We will have to be at Abaco Yacht Services in Black Sound soon enough to get ready for haul out on the 11th. As it happened Heather and Murray from Windswept 4 are anchored here so we had cocktails with them last night on board Celebrian. It was great to see them after their trip to Cuba last month and to hear all about their adventures.

Return to the Hub ...Marsh Harbour in the Spring

Spring has sprung in Marsh Harbour and there are lots of blossoms on the trees.

Goldberry and her crew are always loaded when they leave Marsh Harbour.

This mural was painted on the side of the hardware store and it does a very good job of depicting life in The Bahamas.

Marsh Harbour is never one of our favourite stops but a necessary one for getting boat chores done....laundry and groceries being the key ones. Rob also did some looking at what batteries are available as we have been limping along with our Surettes which are five years old. We are our own electrical company so our batteries are critical to our floating home. Wives sometimes call their husands amp Nazis but since I don't have things like hair dryers etc.I usually don't get in to too much trouble over power usage. That being said even the computer uses precious amps and often I will use it on its battery and then charge it when the engine or Little Harry is running.

This is why we snorkel in The Bahamas.



From Marsh we did a day trip out to Fowl Cay to do some snorkelling as the weather was great for a paddle on the ocean. Lynn and Peter had to stay in town to pick up their daughter Beth. Beth came for a whirlwind 5 day visit from New York City where she is a chiropractor. We met them at Matt Lowe's Cay and they joined us on Celebrian for hamburgers in paradise. It was nice to see Beth again as we had met her two years ago when she joined First Edition in Staniel Cay in the Exumas.
The next day we decided to head north and get through the Whale Cay passage while the weather was good. We will meet up with First Edition in a few days after Beth goes home and they head north.

Treasures at Treasure Cay

From Guana Cay we motored over to Treasure Cay which is a resort marina on one of the top ten rated beaches in the world. The beach is like white baby powder and goes for 3.5 miles in a beautiful crescent of sand. The anchorage is in a basin off of the marina which can hold 150 boats. There is a hotel/ condo development here which was built in the 1990s. They dredged miles and miles of canal much like Fort Lauderdale for people to have their boats at their home docks. We paddled around much of the area while the wind was down and I had my wish of kayaking with a dolphin come true. While Rob was back talking to another boater I paddled up a canal watching this dolphin fish and every once in awhile he would come closer to me and take a peak at me. Of course most of my pictures show water but I did catch the odd fin at the surface. Rob arrived to see me with a big smile on my face and playing chase and peak with the dolphin. One of the folks we spoke to who live here say that the mother dolphins often bring their young into the canals to teach them how to catch snapper along the edges of the canal when the tide is low.

Today I am heading to shore to do some internet while Rob is tackling the leaking "head" (toilet) job! This is a job that he does not want me onboard for so it works well that I have some place to go and get out of his hair. Besides it isn't pretty and this way the captain can say what he wants to and the admiral won't hear a thing. For ten dollars I can use the pool, showers and internet if it is warm enough. Today the front has come through so it is a little chilly and I will have a fair row to the marina in 20 knot winds but it is good exercise.

Treasure Cay, Abaco....a New Anchorage

From Guana Cay we motored over to Treasure Cay which is a resort marina on one of the top ten rated beaches in the world.


The beach is like white baby powder and goes for 3.5 miles in a beautiful crescent of sand. The anchorage is in a basin off of the marina which can hold 150 boats. There is a hotel/ condo development here which was built in the 1990s. They dredged miles and miles of canal much like Fort Lauderdale for people to have their boats at their home docks. We paddled around much of the area while the wind was down and I had my wish of kayaking with a dolphin come true. While Rob was back talking to another boater I paddled up a canal watching this dolphin fish and every once in awhile he would come closer to me and take a peak at me. Of course most of my pictures show water but I did catch the odd fin at the surface. Rob arrived to see me with a big smile on my face and playing chase and peak with the dolphin. One of the folks we spoke to who live here say that the mother dolphins often bring their young into the canals to teach them how to catch snapper along the edges of the canal when the tide is low.

Today I am heading to shore to do some internet while Rob is tackling the leaking "head" (toilet) job! This is a job that he does not want me onboard for so it works well that I have some place to go and get out of his hair. Besides it isn't pretty and this way the captain can say what he wants to and the admiral won't hear a thing. For ten dollars I can use the pool, showers and internet if it is warm enough. Today the front has come through so it is a little chilly and I will have a fair row to the marina in 20 knot winds but it is good exercise. I am getting lots of computer work done; however even in my fleece top I am a little on the cool side. Perhaps the sun will come out this afternoon and warm things up? We really can not complain about the weather this year as it has been a great winter.

Where there is sand there are sandcastles and mermaids!

Home to The Abacos

We were up before first light and on our way on our ocean passage from Eleuthera to The Abacos as the sun rose. From Meek's Patch to Lynyard Cay was close to 60 miles so it is always a long day. We had a boisterous sail in 16 knot winds with a mix master of ocean waves. One did not want to spend anytime below decks for long and I took some sea sickness medication just to be on the safe side. We were very relieved to anchor at Lynyard Cay after our nine hours of active sailing. We fell into bed by nine pm and both the captain and admiral slept for almost 10 hours.
` The next day we motored up to Sandy Cay and went snorkelling in the park. The reef is quite nice and the high light was seeing several eagle rays flying over the bottom near the reef. This was my first time dunking my leg in sea water so we are hopeful that I have no ill effects. The Bahamian doctor had said that the sea water eventually can be healing so here is hoping that he is right. My scab wants to come off everytime it gets wet; however I clean my leg, re-apply the cream and re- dress it and seem no worse the wear.....yeah!!! I have missed swimming so much this winter....between the sharks and my leg I have not had my usual swimming. The water in the Abacos is cooler than what we have been used to, but still over 21 degrees C (low 70s F). I hope to get some snorkelling in after we leave Marsh Harbour.
We celebrated Lynn's birthday on Celebrian with cake and lots of good food. Rob made Lynn a special bowl that included a user's manual. She has always teased Rob about making broken conch shells so she got quite a kick out of the manual. We have found some beautiful conch shells this year and "Robare" has been very busy designing his bowls. Some of you reading our blog will find a bowl in your future.

There are very few anchorages in the hub area of the Abacos (Marsh, Elbow, and Man O War)that we have not explored; however we did find a new spot on Guana Cay where we could cross over to the ocean side and see some new areas.
We spent a day beach combing and walking to Nipper's Restaurant for lunch.
Nippers is perched right on the ocean beach and is one of the "must do"places to visit. We have been there a couple of times before but it is always a fun place to stop. I would have liked to have done some snorkelling but I am trying to keep the scab from coming off my leg too early so thought it best not to get my bandage wet. I did however have a brief swim off Celebrian and that was quite wonderful.

This bonker belongs in our tree at the cottage; however it was already in use at a home in Great Guana Cay!!

Rock Point to Current Cut, Eleuthera ...A New Way

Some of the stunning scenery we saw in northern Eleuthera going a different route to Current Cut.


Rock Point, Eleuthera is another popular spot for cruisers as it has a great protected harbour, decent grocery and hardware store, propane, diesel, gas and internet. The only thing lacking is laundry facilities but the local general store will make arrangements for your laundry to be sent out; however it takes over a day and someone said that they thought the clothes were being washed in sea water so that is not what we want. For now I keep on doing daily hand laundry and when we are stopped for a day we swish our sheets and towels in a bucket with ammonia. You use warm water and no soap so there is no rinsing. It saves water because it is the rinsing that takes all the water. It sounds crude but it does work and by the time things are dry the ammonia smell has disappeared.
Sometimes we clean up okay despite our 19th century laundry ways!?!?

Rose's beach restaurant in her home was our night out in Rock Point. She does a very good buffet for $17.00 and Rob had seconds. The unfortunate thing was that it was a very cool night on her porch and we were all shivering. Nonetheless it was an enjoyable evening out with Peter and Lynn.

The next day we headed north along the coast of Eleuthera to Alabaster Bay. The bay offers good protection and is quite pretty. Lynn and Peter came for a spaghetti dinner on Celebrian and as always a pleasant evening was had by all. The next morning we sailed all along the western coast which is miles and miles of rugged imposing bluffs with dark caves and crevasses carved into the weeping limestone. Adventuresome "cliffdwellers" have perched their beautiful homes right at the water's edge 100 feet or more above the water. Some have elaborate stair cases down to the water and others have even carved their stairs into the limestone. It was definitely worth the detour to go further north this year as the scenery was spectacular.

We anchored near the Glass Window, now a breached bridge at the island's narrowest part. On its ocean side , where the reef is not continuous , waves gnawed at this weak point and broke the island's natural bridge in two. The manmade bridge over this scenic crevasse was knocked seven feet to the west by a rogue wave in 1991 and was impassable for some time. It is now repaired, and land travellers can tour the whole island once again. Imagine the wave it would take to knock down a bridge 85 feet high? We anchored in the bay near the bridge and went with Peter and Lynn in their dinghy for a tour. From the bank side it was like looking through a peephole to the ocean; however it was difficult to get high enough to see the water on the ocean side, but we did see the ocean waves coming over the rocks. The limestone cliffs set against the periwinkle ocean on one side and the aqua bank on the other create a stunning view from all angles.

The next morning we sailed off to Current Cut to time our trip through the cut with an ebbing tide. The current is quite fierce in this cut and Celebrian surfed through at over 8 knots. We had no problems; however First Edition got off the track a little before the cut and ran hard aground. We were ahead of them and did not know what happened until after the fact. The friends that we had met in Rock Point on Endorphins came to their rescue in their dinghy with a 35HP motor. If you are interested in the story click on the link to Lynn and Peter's blog....it is worth reading especially if you are a sailor.