Marsh Harbour Update

S/V NAVIGATOR is wintering well in Marsh Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas.  The weather has been very nice this year.  Temperatures have remained in the mid and upper seventies during the day, with occasional eighties.  Wind has been mostly 10-15 miles per hour although occasionally we have gotten 20-25.  All and all, February was a good month.  A far cry from all the wind and cool temperatures we had the first year I came down (2009-2010).  That year the winds were mostly 20-25 with periods with winds as high as 40 gusting to 50.  So I have no complaints about the weather this year.

Marsh Harbour

I have had my friends on S/V RIVERDANCE over for dinner several times this month, and they have reciprocated.  There has been a rumor that we party too hard when we get together, but it has been fun.  John from RIVERDANCE and I went to one of the marinas to watch the Super Bowl.  It ended up being a very good game, especially as my team won.  Another night I went to dinner with the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club at a local restaurant called Jamie’s.  Finding a place to eat dinner for $15.00 is really difficult in the Bahamas, but we had a great meal.

I have spent a lot of time reading this year, along with occasional walks go keep up my heart’s strength.  I have also spent time in the various cays that make up the Abacos.  NAVIGATOR sailed to Great Guana Cay with RIVERDANCE and showed them the small settlement, with its 3 bars.  Had drinks at Nipper’s before returning to RIVERDANCE for dinner.  Then back to NAVIGATOR for sleep.  The next day we took bicycles ashore and toured the cay, at least as much as we could.

Fisher's Bay - Great Guana Cay

Nipper's Bar - Great Guana Cay

The southern part of the island is a private community and they would not let us in.  So we headed north until we ran into another private community called Baker’s Bay.  I knew they had a marina with a restaurant, so we told them we wanted to have lunch at the restaurant, and they let us in to tour the place.  As we had packed a lunch, we didn’t exactly eat at the restaurant, but in a pavilion near it.  Then we headed back to the boats.  It was a lot of riding for 3 out of shape people, but we made it back to the boats, and slept real well.

As RIVERDANCE had never been to Man-O-War Cay we headed that way the next morning.  On the way we stopped at Fowl Cay, and Bahamas National Park Area that is mostly reefs, to snorkel.  There were a good number of small, colorful fish and a fair amount of coral.  John from RIVERDANCE went with me and was kind enough to spot for me for safety, as he had when I snorkeled on Sandy Cay in January.  As a reward, I fed them a steak dinner that evening.  But before eating, we anchored off Man-O-War Cay and took the dinghy in to the settlement on that cay.  Walked around town, which was a little larger than the settlement on the larger island of Great Guana.  We checked out food stores, gift shops, shell shops, etc. before heading back to the boats.  The next day we headed back to Marsh Harbor as the winds were predicted to come up in strength within the next day or two.

We took the ferry back to Man-O-War Cay the next day, Saturday, to attend an island school fund raising event.  It was sort of a flea market, island style.  Purchased a piece of art, a painted wooden parakeet made by one of the high school students in art class, along with some baked goodies and paperback books.  Had lunch, and good time, before taking the afternoon ferry back to Marsh Harbor.

Then it was repair time.  Had a problem with the generator not running.  It was overheating due to a lack of water.  With the help of John from RIVERDANCE we replaced the water pump impeller, and refilled the water reservoir with antifreeze solution (at $35 per gallon, of which I used 1 pint.  Some things are rather expensive here).  The generator works again.  Guess I will have to keep a better eye on the water level.

One day RIVERDANCE rented a car and we all went out touring Great Abaco Island, at least the south end.  Stopped at several beaches along the coast facing the Atlantic Ocean.  Stopped in Sandy Point and had a fine lobster lunch at Nancy’s Seaside Inn, a really quaint place on the water.  Did more sightseeing on the way back north to Marsh Harbor

Spent the next several days cleaning NAVIGATOR in preparation for a visit by my friends Rick and Clayton from Satellite Beach, FL.  I had gone to college with Rick.  They flew in early Sunday afternoon and I picked them up in the dinghy and brought them out to NAVIGATOR.

We partied with drinks and appetizers, and I prepared them a Caribbean dinner of curried lobster and peas and rice.  They liked it enough that we continued to party after dinner.  The next day the wind was up again, 20-25 miles per hour, so we stayed in Marsh Harbor and went a shore to tour the town.  Had lunch at the local restaurant, Jamie’s, and again it was good.  Went back to NAVIGATOR and relaxed and had drinks in the afternoon, then a dinner of Cornish Game Hens.  Even played cards in the evening.  The next day, the winds dropped so we headed out for Great Guana Cay, and had a good sail to Fisher’s Bay.  Took the dinghy ashore, did a tour of the settlement, and went to the ocean shore to walk the beach.

Rick, Cliff, and Clayton at Nipper's Bar

We went swimming for a while, then moved to the reef off of Nipper’s and did some snorkeling.  They loved the small fish around the reef.  On the way back we stopped at Nipper’s and had a Nipper (their signature rum drink).  It was then back to NAVIGATOR for a dinner of Jambalaya and cheese cake.  The next day NAVIGATOR headed for Linyard Cay and an afternoon of swimming off NAVIGATOR in crystal clear water.  I could check on the anchor in 18 feet of water.  We met RIVERDANCE at Linyard Cay, and they invited us over for evening cocktails.  Clayton made guacamole to take over, and we all had a good time.  The next day we headed back to Marsh Harbor so they could catch a plane home on Friday.  On the way, we stopped a Mermaid Reef, near Marsh harbor, and did more snorkeling.  Here there are a lot of fish, and they were very impressed with the color and diversity.  The coral was a little subdued, but the fish made it like swimming in a fish tank.  After getting back to Marsh Harbor that evening, they took me out to a very nice restaurant called Curly Tails for a great dinner.

A Curly Tail Lizard

After dinner we went back to the boat and I baked brownies for desert.  I was sad to see them head off for home the next day, as they were great company.

Since then, it has been rather windy, mostly 15-25 and 20-30, with some gusts as high as 40.  The protection is good in Marsh Harbor, but it makes it hard to get out to the other cays as they do not have the protection of Marsh Harbor.  So I sit reading (and typing!) for a while until the wind calms down, and that could take a week or longer according to the forecast.  I have friends coming down from Maryland the last week in March, and hope the winds are calmer than right now.  They most likely will be, this long a run of wind is unusual.

Well, we are up to date with what has been going on in the Abacos.  I hope all my friends are doing well up north, I understand you have been having a relatively mild winter yourselves.  In the not too distant future I must begin thinking about heading backing north.  I will probably leave around mid to late April, depending on the weather for the Gulf Stream crossing.  Please stay in touch.  I will try to keep you updated a little more often.

Cliff
S/V NAVIGATOR