CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (62).

 CODA : Exploring Great Sale Cay, Bahamas.

13 March 2025 

Great Sale Cay,  Abacos, Bahamas   

Great Sale Cay northwest beach (eerily strange light here).

Marc-  Today we motor sailed halfway across the Little Bahama Bank in the Abacos.  We spent about 8 hours on autopilot in light winds and had many boat encounters along the main transit route.  All sorts of boats from a mail boat to a mega yacht.  Whoever was on watch had to keep a sharp eye for incoming boats since many boats were on autopilot.  Marine autopilots do not change course for you although some of them sound an alarm if you are on a collision course!  We deviated our course once today.  

Sue and I still have that itch to explore every new island we come to.  When we arrived here we jumped into the dinghy and headed for shore.  We found a deserted beach on a deserted island.  There were lots of shells and pieces of coral, dead trees, plastic trash, and an aluminum engine block.  We did not find the marine life described in the cruising guide book (in all fairness the guide could have been describing another part of this island). 

Coda's dinghy.

We saw one special bird and Sue caught her in action.  Her beak was orange.

We haven't seen a sunset like this since Bimini.

 

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (61).

 CODA : Exploring Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas.

12 March 2025 

New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay,  Abacos, Bahamas    

Beautiful mural on the side of the New Plymouth Water Department Building.

Marc-  Planning would dictate that today would be a low mileage and low key day.  We traveled only 25 miles from Hope Town to New Plymouth.  The severe cold front had passed through 24 hours before departure and winds were 10 knots from the east when we departed Elbow Cay.  Unfortunately for us the passage would include running "The Whale."  This means a north bound boat, or south bound boat for that matter, must leave the protected Sea of Abacos and go out in the Atlantic by going out one cut, traveling outside of Whale Cay, and re-entering it by another cut.  If there is a significant swell running in the Ocean this will cause large swells to form in the cuts.  We had a buddy boat after meeting the crew of another sailboat going our way .  We agreed to stay in radio contact.  It was a beautiful sunny day as we passed by Man-O-War Cay and Great Guana Cay on our way to "The Whale."  Our new found buddy boat decided to let Coda take the lead.  There were a number of boats doing this same passage.  Some were mega yachts, others were catamarans and then monohulls like us.  The mega yacht had no issues and reported on the radio that it had experienced a bit of a roll out there.  There was one large sailing catamaran ahead of us that pushed on.  Some other boats decided to anchor off of Great Guana Cay.  We could see breaking waves on the outer reefs as we proceeded out Loggerhead Channel (the southern cut).  Then the seas changed with the swells growing larger and larger until they reached about 12 feet in height as we passed out through the channel.  

Side note: To add a little more excitement to this passage there was a Mayday call 1/2 hour earlier that a large chartered catamaran had run up on the ocean reef outside of Marsh Harbor and was sinking.  Channel 16 on the VHF radio was abuzz with nearby boaters going to the rescue.  One large sailboat and one large fishing boat presented themselves on either side of the reef.  Neither could approach the sinking Catamaran with 9 people on board.  The sailboat sent help in the form of a large inflatable dinghy that was able to rescue everyone in two trips.  They even went back for the luggage.  The boat seemed to be torn up by the reef and a salvage company seemed interested.  There is no formal Coast Guard in The Bahamas.  There are volunteer rescue people, but they are not everywhere and certainly could not have responded as quickly as these Good Samaritans did.

Coda continued out into the ocean side of the Loggerhead Channel where the swells started to diminish.  The swells continued getting more manageable all the way through the re-entry cut north of Whale Cay.

I called our buddy boat on VHF to report conditions.  They responded that they turned back with the large swells in Loggerhead Channel.

Breaking waves on the reef outside of the start of Loggerhead Channel.

"The Whale."

Land Ho.  New Plymouth Settlement on Green Turtle Cay.

Beautifully restored home near the Settlement docks (brand new dinghy dock).

We soon discovered that Hurricane Dorian had come here in 2019 laying a path of destruction.

(The Category 5 hurricane was one of the most powerful on record in the Atlantic with sustained winds reaching a peak of 185 mph. It sat over the Abacos for 24 hours.)

Many of the homes and shops in town have not been rebuilt.

This business is doing well.

We also visited the Albert Lowe Museum.

The Museum is in Mr. Lowe's historic house that has been fully restored.

The docent is a charming lady who knows her island history starting with the British Loyalist migration to these islands after the American Revolutionary War.

A tribute to the British Loyalists who settled here in 1785 (I know it says American).

Another beautiful Bahamian sunset.

Sue:  New Plymouth obviously got its name from the British Loyalists who settled here.  Our visit comes as I am reading Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick.

"The Whale" was very bad for me.  I should have taken Bonine.

This is a pretty Cay.  The museum docent was from Toronto.  She married a local and has been here 35 years.  About 500 people live on Turtle Cay year round.  It is much smaller than Elbow Cay/Hope Town, but Elbow Cay was rebuilt much faster.  She explained that a lot of the property in Elbow Cay is foreign owned, and those owners were able to get the workmen and supplies first. Then Covid hit, and that further slowed the rebuilding.  She also told us about the church groups on Turtle Cay, Spanish Wells and Hope Town getting together (they have to travel by plane, too long otherwise).  It is a good way for the young people to socialize, and they often marry someone from one of the larger Cays, as there are not many young people on Turtle Cay to choose from.  Unfortunately this results in them losing these kids to the larger Cays where there is much more going on.

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (60).

 CODA : Exploring Elbow Cay, Bahamas.

10 March 2025 

Hope Town,  Abacos, Bahamas   

The Atlantic Ocean never looked so good.  Perfect sized waves for a couple of surfers.

Marc-  Sue and I brought our bikes into shore by dinghy today to do some land exploration.  I had thought Elbow Cay was kind of flat.  I assure you it is rather a series of rolling hills, and the Queens Highway tends to meander about rather than follow a route as the crow flies.  Part of the highway is dug out of solid coral.  We went out to Tahiti Beach at the southern end of the island.

First we came upon a sailboat repair yard at the end of Hope Town harbor.  It is a a sand lot used by the local racing fleet of traditional boats and their crews.  The following photos depict these most interesting racing boats.  A common problem seems to be frequent replacement of the barn door rudders.  The plank on oak frame hulls are covered in a heavy layer of a resin based filler. The result is a very smooth and slick looking finish.  

Barn door rudder.

These boats have very tall masts and a very long boom.  They only carry one sail.

Each island group in the Bahamas have their own boats and compete.

We discovered a lot of construction going on in Elbow Cay.  Most of this appears to me to be repairs from Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that devastated the Island.  Much of the Island is rebuilt and some new development is also taking place.  We visited the rebuilt Abacos Inn at White Sound.  The Inn has property on both the ocean and on the bay side.  

New England style architecture here at the Abacos Inn.

White Sound.

Ocean side at Abacos Inn.  Good day for foil board sailing?  Yes, it was very windy.

Amazing.

Tahiti Beach.  Large public park with palm forest and lots of pinkish sand beach.

Tahiti Beach.

Sue:  I had no idea there was so much more to this island.  There are a couple of little restaurants and convenient stores out at the southern end of the island, along with the Abacos Inn.  The homes are very high end.  Some are in developments, and others are single homes here and there.  Someone wanted ice cream and he found a nice shop with great ice cream.  The bike ride was very nice.  The colors in the photos might have been better had it been the usual super sunny day.  The wind was still blowing 20+ knots today, but has finally calmed down this evening.  Tomorrow we will head North to Green Turtle Cay.

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (59).

CODA : Exploring the Abacos, Bahamas.

10 March 2025 

Hope Town,  Abacos, Bahamas    

I feel like I am on top of the world.  On the top of Elbow Reef Lighthouse.

Marc-  Oh what a feeling getting to climb the Elbow Reef Lighthouse first thing in the morning.  The lighthouse is only about 500 feet from our slip in the Lighthouse Marina.  All in all it is quite a laid back place.  The visit is free and unescorted to the top of the only working kerosene powered lighthouse in the world.  There are several buildings on the lighthouse grounds.  Everything is clean and well kept. First, we stopped at the gift shop and met the wife of one of two lighthouse keepers.  There are two octagonal shaped homes for the keepers and their families.  Two of the kids lined up at the marina docks earlier this morning in uniform to go off to elementary school.  

Not a long walk to the light.

As you climb the spiral stairway you encounter various devices associated with the kerosene system.

I assume these gears have to do with the timing and operation of the revolving light above.

The final assent.

Looking into the lens you see the kerosene wick. 

Crawl through door to get out onto the viewing platform.

Cool doorknob eh.

Hope Town anchorage basin looking east.

A window view.

The lower walls of the lighthouse are 6 feet thick.

When we returned to the marina, a Bahamian Customs officer was boarding boats and doing Customs checks.  No problems with Coda or her crew.  All our papers were in order. The process was very friendly.  Customs has a high speed pursuit boat.  I asked a crew member if they were authorized to do rescues at sea.  He responded that yes that was part of their responsibility even if they were not a part of the coast guard.  The Bahamas has a voluntary coast guard named BASRA.

We later ventured into Town looking for a market.  There are two markets but only one was open today.  The store is operated by a rather old gentlemen and has the essentials.  We bought the last dozen eggs and a few other items.

Nice house near the market.

These cottages are almost New England style.

Maybe not this one.

The narrow streets and walkways are really nice.

We really liked these pink cottages at the Hope Town Inn & Marina.

And the flowers are beyond belief.

Picture perfect.

A traditional Bahamian wooden race boat.

Bahamian style boat.

Sue:  We are here for 3 nights.  We don't need all of that time to see everything, but need to stay because of heavy winds.  We got in 4.1 miles wandering around town.  Someone wanted ice cream, so we stopped for that, and it was quite good.  They have standard flavors, and don't have all the cookies, brownies and candies mixed into their ice creams.  We have gone through all the seltzer we brought, and really wanted some.  We bought a 12 pack of Le Croix.  It was $19.80 plus 10% tax, a total of $22.  We really paid that!  We also bought some in George Town, though we hadn't run out but knew we would, and it was $16.00.  We thought that was a lot.  Who knows with what is going in the U.S. what prices we will see when we get home, but I'm guessing that I could get 5 cases on sale for $22.

It is quiet here, not a lot going on, but the bay is pretty, the lighthouse is a real highlight, and the beach is very nice.  The little lanes between the homes are so cute, and there are a lot of nice rentals.  It would be a great place to fly over to for a week's get away.  Lots of beautiful landscaping here, as in Spanish Wells.  It's a small area with no industry.