Saturday afternoon, as planned, we went over to the Beer Festival. Well……there were about six cruisers there along with a couple of locals. We chatted with a couple who have an Island Packet catamaran – nice couple.
We had a few beers and some BBQ food – but then I needed the loo and there was no facilities. So we wandered the town – everything was closed – so ended up back on Morphie. We watched from the cockpit to see if it got busier but we gave up and had an early night…. Very disappointing for the organisers – there must have been a ton of food wasted too.
Sunday morning and we picked up our anchor and headed into the White Sound anchorage. We had spoken with the people at Bluff House Marina and they were happy for us to use their laundry – so once we had got through the narrow channel and safely anchored – we headed in with our washing. Well it seems like everyone else had the same idea as we ended up in a queue for the driers. Never mind…. might as well enjoy ourselves….. So we caught up on the internet, had a fantastic lunch, and eventually headed back to Morphie later in the afternoon. It was nice to be able to see her from where we were sitting too…… Thunderstorms had been moving around us all day – and the rain came down again later – so that was it for the day.
Monday morning and we headed out to explore. We had wanted to get a golf buggy but, surprisingly, they were fully booked. So we headed off for a hike – through the Green Turtle Yacht Club – and up over the hill towards the Atlantic beaches. Well…we must have made a wrong turn…and never actually found a beach. By this time Richard is calling for ‘water….water….water….’ so I knew he had had enough LOL.
So back to the Green Turtle Yacht Club – watched more weather moving through – and back on board.
Later on that evening we headed into Bluff House Marina for happy hour and had a great time with some other visiting cruisers before heading back for the most spectacular sunset after such a stormy day.
Tuesday morning and we had more rain, more storms moving through, but waited a while until the worst had cleared. The sun didn’t really come out properly but we decided to head over the hill to the Bluff House’s own private beach and beach bar called the Tranquil Turtle. As we were walking up the hill we got a lift by a member of staff – which we were grateful for – and settled into a nice afternoon bobbing and even getting romantic with pledging our love to each other by the palm tree…. Ahhh bless…..
Later on we went into Bluff House’s Ballyhoo Bar and Grill for dinner. We knew they were having surf and turf night with live music. We were very excited about the food as we had had such an amazing lunch there before. Waiting for our order to be taken we were aware of a commotion on the dock – a woman had fallen off a boat and broken / dislocated her elbow – ouch…. They had to get medics over for her and then the ferry to transport her to Marsh Harbour where the nearest proper medical facility is… Not a great start to her holiday, that’s for sure!
By now we had enjoyed a bit of wine and the food turned up – and we were very disappointed.
No starters available, no bread, and pretty average food. The steak was rough and the mahi mahi was average….. Never mind – at least we enjoyed the musical entertainment in between a few power cuts!
We had a great night actually and left quite well hydrated if not a little poorer….
Wednesday morning we awoke to rain – so had a lay in – and then got ourselves moving. We wanted to go shopping in town for some fresh produce as we are planning on leaving on Thursday and this is our last chance before we get to Florida. As we were leaving Morphie the woman on the trawler next to us said that she thought we had dragged as we were closer to her than before…. Well, we have an anchor alarm, so we knew for fact that wasn’t true just a change in the wind meant that we appeared closer. But they were there first and she was obviously concerned about it all – bitch wings were very evident – so we picked up our anchor.
We then decided to go back through the channel and re-anchored out in Settlement Harbour. We headed ashore – Richard took me out for lunch – and then back to Morphie for a quiet night on board. We enjoyed the antics in the anchorage as boat after boat arrived – on Friday it is the start of Regatta Time in the Abacos – which starts with a very large party so boats are coming in thick and fast. We would have loved to have stayed for this – but time is ticking – and we want to do a lot of shopping for boat parts in the US when we get there, along with putting Morphie to bed properly, so have decided to leave before it starts. Will power or what!!! A beach party with free booze, burgers and hot dogs for 1500 people and we’re leaving….. Who would have thought it LOL????
This morning – Thursday – we were up early and left as more and more boats arrived.
We were going straight to Crab Cay for some exploration but decided to stop off in Spanish Cay first. The storms continue to rattle alongside us – wish they would give us a break!
At the marina they have a customs guy so we decided to enquire about checking out – everyone tells us that they don’t have to check out of the Bahamas, but we had been told we had to. Now whether that is because we are British not American we’re not sure – but thought it was worth clarifying – as to check out will add some time to our trip….. Well – the bottom line was – they don’t care! Spanish Cay Marina’s bar was very inviting – but as a private island and not guests in the marina – we knew that we shouldn’t be there….. So we left…..and spotted two huge sharks under dink waiting for us! Yikes…. Was nice to see lots of birds around too…..
Back on board we picked up anchor and carried on to Crab Cay – and dropped our hook by 5.00 pm. This isn’t what we thought it would be like at all…… Bit disappointed but hope that a sunny morning might make it look a bit more attractive.
Tomorrow we are off to Allens Pensacola – another uninhabited place – and then continue on our passage towards Florida. We are amazed we can pick up a signal here in Crab Cay from a BTC tower on Little Abaco so making the most of it. But we might not get another one…..so don’t worry….we’ll be in touch when we can.
Bye for now
Jan