In the Bahamas! – Eleuthera to Abacos – Apr 9, 2017

Apr 7^th – It was a hot and sunny day with moderate winds.  We moved slowly this morning and enjoyed the last few hours at a nice marina including having our final real showers, getting rid of garbage, etc. before moving back to our Royal Harbour anchorage which is our jumping off point for the Abacos.  The winds shifted to the NW thus this anchorage will be much more comfortable than the last time we were here 2 days ago.  If the weather holds then we should be leaving here tomorrow to head north to the Abacos.  The wind forecast for next week is brutal thus we may be winded in for a while after our next move.  Our daughter Amanda plans to visit us in the Abacos thus we have to ensure we make it there on time to meet her for her Bahamas getaway. 

Apr 8^th – It was a warm day with a mix of sun and cloud with moderate winds.  We looked at the weather forecast and decided we had to cross to the Abacos today otherwise we’d be stuck here for more than 1 week due to the high winds that are in the forecast.  We picked up our anchor in Royal Harbour and travelled north 66 miles across the N.E. Providence Channel to Lynyard Cay anchorage in the Abacos Bahamas.  At points during our crossing it was 15,000 feet deep … Wow … now that’s deep!  The winds were supposed to die down during the day, however the waves were giant rollers, perhaps 8 feet and we ran through them at 17 mph while salt spray covered the entire boat.  It felt like we were climbing up little mountains and then gliding or sometimes crashing down the other side.  The only thing that was good about the crossing is that the waves were directly on our bow.  Hard Dock Café left an hour before us and we passed them going north … unfortunately they had to endure the rough ride for an additional 3 hours … yikes!  Once we arrived at Lynyard Cay we dropped the hook and began to pick up all the stuff that fell as we were on route … luckily nothing broke.  Then it was cold beer time to get rid of the white knuckles from all that steering.  When Hard Dock Café arrived they went through the same process however Gerald had a Rye instead of Beer.

Apr 9^th -  It was a cool cloudy day with moderate winds.  When we woke up in the morning we learned that our anchor dragged more than 100 feet.  I went snorkeling to check to see if we are still dragging and found that our anchor dragged through a large patch of weeds and then held up in sand thus we should be good for now especially since they are calling for strong winds during the next few days.  I used the morning to do some boat jobs … check the engine fluids, top up the deep cycle batteries, etc.  At low tide we headed over to Sandy Cay by dingy with Hard Dock Café to go snorkeling and it was again the best snorkeling that I’ve ever done … yes I’ve said this before but this reef is truly amazing in both size and quality and quantity of aquatic life.  Afterwards the group of us went by dingy to Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour and I had a burger in paradise while Maria had the cracked conch.  Oh, have I mentioned that this trip is really hard on flags?  We’ve destroyed 2 Canadian flags and 2 US flags and our AGLCA flag has been patched up a couple times with nail polish on the ends to stop the fraying.  Amanda will be bringing us more Canadian flags when she visits us next Saturday.  We’ve tried to extend their life by wrapping them around the flag poles on windy days, however they still seem to deteriorate over time.

Maria's toes are dry ... what?

On our way out of Spanish Wells

Our first Abacos sunset

Pete's Pub and Gallery - They have unique bronze statues

Pete's pub ... the Rum Blasters will knock your socks off!

Many people leave a t-shirt at Pete's pub

Me with Gerald and Barb (Hard Dock Café)

Our photographer is the one in the pink

OMG ... a bird!  We don't see too many of these in the Bahamas