We began New Year’s Day early – awake before dawn to head out the Fort Pierce Inlet at dawn. We had to wait over 2 weeks for a good weather window but this is why we wait!
Our friend leading the way crossing to the Bahamas!
Next up was this guy – he circled around again & again until he too lost interest, so we had to find the rest of our way ourselves. Perfectly flat seas, considering this is the mighty Atlantic Ocean.
On this first day we continued an hour or so past sunset anchoring around 7 PM at Great Sale Cay.
Up anchor at dawn the next morning with continued beautiful, flat seas – just as we like it!By the afternoon of day 2, we were safety docked at the Green Turtle Club on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas. We originally were going to have to wait & clear Customs the following day, as the Customs official usually leaves back to the mainland on the 1:30 ferry. Our good luck was continuing as she was still there at 2:30 – I rushed up we & our boat were soon cleared into the Bahamas for another season.
Off to celebrate by golf-cart across island to the Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar as our friends on m/v Adventure (Gene & crew Maryella) had also arrived.
It was time for us to continue on – unlike this unlucky boater. This was near the “Don’t Rock” passage – a narrow, but deep-enough route past “The Whale” – apparently named as there can be large, whale-sized swells coming in from the ocean. In fact, Disney built a small cruise ship stop on nearby Guana Cay in the ’80’s but had to abandon it was it was often too rough for the cruise ships to pass thru. We like it calm just like this so we don’t rock nor hit the rock!We only spent a few days in Abaco before heading down to Spanish Wells, which is on Eleuthera, the next island 50 miles further south.
Along the way, my only catch while trolling was this barracuda which I threw back. They can have ciguatera, a serious toxin poison which may not kill you, but …
Spanish Wells has the most industrious waterfront you’ll see in the Bahamas. If you’ve ever had lobster at a Red Lobster restaurant, it probably came off one of these fishing vessels. Down here are Caribbean lobsters (no claws). They are loading concrete blocks which weigh down their “lobster condos” (which look like wooden pallets). The lobsters think they’ve discovered a good hiding spot … until divers tip the “condos” up & grab the surprised lobsters. Each one of these boats will travel over a hundred miles, towing 4 – 5 smaller boats so that once at their “condos”, they can split up & cover more ground, meeting back every evening to unload & rest.From here, we will continue down to the Exuma island chain to George Town where we’ll spend about a month. On our return trip, we’ll take it slower, stopping at our favorite spots back along the way including more time in Abaco.
Cruising along the East Coast and Bahamas 
FYI – We have good sailing friends from Sandusky, Ohio boating days in Georgetown for the winter months. They arrived in December. Brian and Sheryl on sailing vessel Gottalife. Great couple.
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We will find them when we down there! Hopefully before the BIG west winds this weekend!
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The last time we checked they were anchored off of Monument Beach/Stocking Island. They use their water maker so they tend to be away from large groups of boats.
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Great! That’s what we do too.
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Congrats on another safe crossing to the Bahamas!! We love receiving your updates and enjoying living vicariously thru your travels. Have fun and be safe!
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Great to hear from you and Sue!! Hard to believe we are still doing this!
And we still tell the wonderful story of how you “rescued” us in New Bern! 🤗
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Oups ! Not Crab Cay but Redshanks cay in 2 feet water, super safe.
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Woh! So you will not spend this winter in Georgetown! For us, we will be 3 months in Panama on the Pacific coast after a recommendation of a Leopard 50 feet sailing family, met in crab cay, 3 feet water, near Georgetown, with you in 2016, I believe. They had been live aboard for 10 years I believe, with their 2 children who were 16 or 17 tears old then, with the only school on board of their life after crossing the Pacific and back.
Jean and Carole ex Apollo II Greenline Hybrid
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Super! I recall you saying you’d planned to spend time in Panama.
Always great to hear from our good friends Jean and Carole! 🤗
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