First the Bad, Then the Great!

We are waking up this morning at the Conch Inn Marina in Marsh Harbour. This is a very nice marina with all new docks and facilities thanks to hurricane Dorian. They have done a nice job fixing this place up and preparing it for the next big storm. The dockmaster Eric was very helpful getting us tied up and settled. He really knows his stuff and everyone here seems to have great respect for him. He is also very likable.

When we left Orchid Bay Marina, we went just a few miles across the Sea of Abaco to an anchorage off of Water Cay. Winds from the Southeast were expected and this seemed to be a protected spot. We were the only ones there until a catamaran showed up later in the day. We did not go ashore as the shoreline was very rocky. We spun around the anchor all night, but stayed securely in place. The weather has been quite a mix of sunshine, overcast conditions and some rain. The temperature has been pretty steady, only deviating a few degrees between day and night. Sometimes the nighttime temps are higher than the daytime.

The next day we headed over to Man O War Cay to find another protected anchorage. We had a great trip over and found a good spot to anchor. There was a nice little beach nearby and you could see the ocean on the other side of it. Turns out it was a narrow spot with a road between two larger parts of the same island. The road was pretty rough and I'm sure was a casualty of Dorian.

As lunch time rolled around, so did a massive rainstorm. It rained heavy for a couple of hours and was unexpected. A side benefit was the boat getting a good rinse, but we were stuck inside the boat for the duration of the storm.

The storm passed and the sun came out. We took the dinghy to the beach to check out the surroundings. We met a couple on the beach that are renting a house on the island. The husband likes to come out everyday and groom the beach some. His wife says that he enjoys having something to do and apparently the locals all appreciate his efforts.

It turns out that the weather forecast was not very accurate with regards to the winds overnight, and as a result we spun around and rocked until the early morning hours. When we woke up, the waters were like glass and the conditions were perfect. I pulled out the paddleboard to do a little paddling. The water was clear enough to see the bottom and I saw many starfish and sand dollars. I also checked out the anchor and chain. The anchor was very secure as far as I could tell. Martha got out on the board also. We both put on the snorkels and fins, and got in the water. It was cool, but we acclimated after a few minutes. I cleaned the bottom of the boat a little and did an inspection of the props and pods. All looked good.

We hated to leave, but we needed to get over to Marsh Harbour. We hauled up the anchor and made the short trip back across the Sea of Abaco. We took on fuel for the first time in over a week and waited at the fuel dock for our slip to become available.


After a trip to the grocery store to stock up, we relaxed with a glass of wine as the sun set on a great day.

We had a pleasant night of sleep in the marina with no worries about spinning around on anchor. We also met up with Robert and Mary, whom we had met at Old Port Cove before crossing over to the Bahamas and also ran into at Tahiti Beach. They are staying at this marina for a month and just two slips down from us. Today our friends, Debbie and Bill, fly in and join us for a week. It should be a lot of fun. Hope the weather cooperates and gives us some good days.