Total Miles Traveled 6009 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY
https://share.garmin.com/RickVicars
After
a great New Years Eve celebration at the Abaco Beach Resort (ABR), we departed our
marina on January 1st and traveled 25 miles to an anchorage at
Treasure Cay. We stayed at the marina in
2017, but it was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and has yet to be
rebuilt. Hurricane Dorian was the
strongest hurricane on record to strike the Bahamas, with winds peaking at 185
mph, it destroyed most of the Abaco’s with at least 70,000 people left homeless
and 84 known fatalities.
We dropped the dinghy and explored area mangroves and saw several turtles and stingrays. As with other cays we have visited, the rebuilding is still ongoing with several businesses and homes restored. The white sand beach at Treasure Cay is what we remember the most from our last visit here. The sand reminded us of powdered sugar.
On January 3rd we traveled 25 miles, anchoring at Water Cay for a few hours, before returning to the Abaco Beach Resort Marina.
While at the marina, we were able to see a Starlink Rocket pass by the Bahamas one night.
We departed ABR marina on January 12th and traveled 16 miles to Lynyard Cay for another yacht club cookout. Finding enough firewood to last several hours was a challenge so a couple of us took our dinghies to a neighboring beach to get a few loads of firewood.
On
January 13th, we weighed anchor and traveled 3 miles to Little
Harbor, the location of Pete’s Pub and tied to a mooring ball. We departed early to catch a high tide as the
entrance channel does not have enough water depth for our boat.
The late Randolph Johnston settled in Little Harbor, Abaco in 1952 with his wife and three sons. An artist and professor, he created the first and only Art Foundry in the Bahamas producing bronze sculptures using the ancient technique of the Lost Wax Process. When Randolph passed away in 1992, his son Peter, also a talented artist, took over the foundry to continue the legacy of his father in addition to his famous Pete’s Pub. www.petespub.com/
After a few days exploring the island, on the 17th we traveled 18 miles back to our slip at Abaco Beach Resort Marina. We were just in time to attend the First Annual Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club Annual Bucket Golf “Royal Abaco Open” practice event. Bucket Golf is a yard game for all ages whether you’re a seasoned golfer or a beginner. Every hole is a par 3, hitting any part of the bucket completes the hole, chipping the ball inside the bucket deducts one stroke from your score on that hole. https://www.bucketgolfgame.com/
After returning to the marina from several days on the water, I gave our boat a good washdown. The dinghy was also a mess from salt spray and from hauling firewood for our weenie roast. We keep our water shoes in the dinghy to protect our feet from sand burs or coral when exploring the beaches and wading. While cleaning out the dinghy, I squirted the hose inside my shoes to clean out the salt and sand, I didn’t expect what came of my shoe fighting mad!
I
had no idea there were scorpions in the Bahamas. It must have fell out of the firewood I
hauled and hid somewhere in the dinghy.
After removing my shoes, it found a good home.
The club also had the 3rd Annual Cook-Off. Soup was the theme this year so everyone brought their favorite soup to be judged by all attendees.
We departed ABR Marina January 26th and traveled 14 miles to an anchorage at Fishers Bay located on Great Guana Cay. There are two very popular bar and grills located on the cay, Grabbers and Nippers. Although both were heavily damaged by hurricane Dorian, they have been newly renovated and refurbished making this a great stop for entertainment and sunsets.
We weighed anchor on January 27th and traveled 14 miles to Hope Town located on Elbow Cay, and tied to a mooring ball in the harbor. One of the main attractions of Hope Town is the candy-striped lighthouse, built in 1863, and still uses a wind-up brass mechanism to send a beam of light which can be seen for up to 20 miles. The Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of only three manual lighthouses left in the world. Yes, one of us climbed the 101 steps to the top.
On January 29th we departed Hope Town and traveled 4 miles to an anchorage at Tahiti Beach, located at the southern tip of Elbow Cay. This is an awesome anchorage near a secluded beach only accessible by foot, bike or boat.
We weighed anchor on January 30th and traveled 6 miles back to our slip at ABR, just in time for docktails at the tent, and final instructions about the Royal Abaco Open held the next day on the 31st.
