Escaping the Wind!

We left Lynyard Cay on Wednesday morning and found a quiet spot a few miles north along Tiloo Cay. It was a leisurely cruise, although we did have to pass the North Bar Channel, which was a little choppy and then take a long route around a shallow sand bank. We were the only boat at the anchorage until later in the day when a huge sailing catamaran anchored nearby. There was no place to go ashore as this island is a park and mostly deserted, but the water was beautiful. We had a quiet day and night on the boat and slept well.

Before leaving on Thursday morning and while things were calm, Martha gave me my first haircut on the boat. It went surprisingly well and thankfully we had nice calm conditions. We left Tiloo Cay and headed to a very popular spot, Tahiti Beach. This location is known for its large sandbar that dries at low tide. We took a long route to get there so that we could see the east side of Marsh Harbour before heading over to Tahiti Beach. There were quite a few boats in the large anchorage area, so we took some time looking for a good spot. The bottom is a mix of sand and grass, so the anchor did not set well on the first try. The water was only 6 or 7 feet deep so you could see the bottom easily. While out on the dinghy we noticed the anchor sitting on top of the sand and grass, so we went back to the boat and reset it.

On our way to the beach, we passed the other boats at anchor and recognized one as our slip neighbor back at Old Port Cove in North Palm Beach. They came to the beach a little later and we enjoyed sharing stories of our crossings from Palm Beach to the Bahamas. As usual, we also shared stories of boat problems. They are staying at a marina that we will visit in a couple of days.

We enjoyed walking on the sandbar and Martha took some time to sit in the water. There was floating bar serving drinks and food, but we didn't take advantage of it.

We got back to the boat, had dinner and watched a DVD before going to bed. This boat did not come with DVD player so we brought the Blue Ray from home. We have used it more on the boat than at the house and are glad we have it as there is little entertainment when we are on anchor. As expected, the winds picked up during the night making it difficult to sleep. Fortunately, the anchor held us in place and we are glad we reset it earlier.

Knowing the weather conditions were going to deteriorate, I had made a reservation at Orchid Bay Marina on Great Guana Cay. As we made our way there, about 13 nautical miles away, the winds got stronger and the waves got bigger. The waves were behind us making it easier on us. We got to the marina around 11:15 and battled the wind a little to get tied up to the fixed docks. Thankfully the dockhand was very helpful and got us tied securely. The winds and waves continued to build and quite a few boats came in seeking shelter. We will stay here at least one more night and see how the winds are tomorrow.

Great Guana Cay has a good reputation among the cruisers and is well-known for the beach bar Nippers. The bar is about a 10 minute walk from the marina and has a beautiful view overlooking the Atlantic. We stopped in for rum punch in the afternoon and went back for dinner. The quaint little harbor here is fairly quiet, but local ferry boats come and go every hour or so transporting workers from other islands.

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Boats continued to arrive during the afternoon, and has become typical on this trip, we cross paths with boaters we have met in other places or come from either the Chesapeake or Philadelphia area. A large sportfish boat docked behind us has a Lansdale, PA hailing port, another sailboat down the dock is from Annapolis, and yet another sailboat two slips down was at Chub Cay while we were there. There are quite few boats, but the community is relatively small. You may have noticed that West Chester, PA is listed on the signboard in one of the pictures above.

I think we will tend to some boat chores today and perhaps explore the island a little more. It's up the to winds as to what happens next.