The End of a Whirlwind Tour!

We did rent a golf cart and take a tour of Green Turtle Cay. The actual town was a few miles away from the marina, but it was Sunday and most everything was closed. We had some trouble with the golf cart and had to call for a backup. In all the confusion we forgot to take many pictures. There is still significant damage from Dorian, but repairs were underway, albeit slow.

The plan was to head to Allans Cay the next day and leave during high tide. We needed to get fuel, but just as we started up the engines, a sailboat docked at the fuel dock and needed to check in with Customs and get fuel. This delayed us about an hour, but we got out ok and had a good ride.  Allans Cay is a beautiful anchorage with a lot of protection and room for quite a few boats. There were only six boats there on this particular night. The Canadian sailboat that anchored next to us had been at Green Turtle the day before. Bill and I gave them some assistance at the fuel dock as the winds were very strong while they were getting on and off the dock.

Martha swam to shore for some exercise, Debbie gave the paddleboard a try and Bill and I took the dinghy to the beach after picking up Martha. There wasn't much to see other than various pieces of trash displayed artfully, so we decided to try another beach the next morning as there is supposed to be a trail to the Atlantic side. We had another beautiful sunset and enjoyed  a very clear night of stargazing.

We woke up to another colorful sunrise and after breakfast Bill and I scouted the beaches for a trail. After we found it, we went back to the boat to get Martha and Debbie for a trek through the mangroves. The trail was marked with various pieces of ocean trash and many discarded flip-flops. It was a pretty rough trail and we decided that the flip-flops had probably given out when other boaters were trying the trail.

The Atlantic side of the island had a very rough shoreline and unfortunately was strewn with trash. I decided to create a piece of "art" to leave along the trail. "Mr. Toothbrush Man" was created from a small wheel, a piece of styrofoam, some nylon line and a toothbrush all found along the beach. I found a prominent spot for him along the trail and hung him from a tree.

After the hike to the Atlantic and back, we hauled up the anchor to head for our last anchorage in the Bahamas, Great Sale Cay. This is another popular anchorage about 35 miles from Allans Cay. It was another day of beautiful conditions and we had a wonderful trip. There were only two boats in the anchorage when we got there. One was the Canadian sailboat from the previous night's anchorage. They left Allans Cay early and made excellent time getting to Great Sale. Bill and I took the dinghy for an exploration of the shoreline, but it was very rough all the way around and there was no place to land.

The evening activities were much like the night before, dinner on the grill, beautiful sunset and perfectly clear sky for stargazing. We enjoyed seeing the Milky Way again, and the memories of our childhood when it was usually visible due to less light pollution.

I was very glad that our last travel day included another glorious sunrise and smooth trip to our final destination in the Bahamas, Grand Bahama Yacht Club in Lucaya on Grand Bahama. It's a large marina with sturdy concrete docks and resort amenities including a pool, restaurant and bar. In addition, they offer free water taxi service to the shopping and restaurant area across the lagoon, and car service to the grocery store and the airport.

Martha flew out with Bill and Debbie this morning as she has a Music At Bunker Hill event on Sunday. She will return on Tuesday and then we will plan our crossing back to Florida. Right now, the weather forecast doesn't look too promising, but we have learned that the forecast can change in a few days and nothing is guaranteed. While she is away, I will be cleaning the boat top to bottom and bow to stern in preparation for our trip back to the Chesapeake Bay. I'll probably spend some time at the pool as well.