The Other Shore Club

Because the bottom is all weeds the only way to stay in Black Sound is to grab a mooring ball so we grabbed one from the first marina. It's only $10 and you get showers, etc. so it's not too bad of a deal and it puts you right near town. The island was out of diesel and gas so the dockmaster took the week off till Friday. We had the marina pretty much to ourselves. Nice and quiet!!

Dan, this is the second Typhoon we have seen down here.....

Green Turtle Cay

We decided next to go to Green Turtle Cay and meet up with our friends Jim & Sharon on m/v Blue Angel. They are traveling with Ed & Connie, m/v Sea Estate. The next time we will see them will most likely be in Brewerton, NY as they are doing the "loop" all the way to Michigan this year. Remember we will be bringing the "best pizza of the world" up to you for dinner Jim!! Even if you took every lobster in Treasure Cay!!

Green Turtle, with it's picturesque settlements of New Plymouth is a great place to relax and walk around. There is plenty to do and see.

Manjack Cay

From Powell we took a short ride over to Manjack (pronounced munjack) Cay. We met up with Kismet and had a nice dinner on board with Jim & Laurie.

So far we have sailed over 260 miles coming over to and sailing around the Bahamas and have only used the engine to get in and out of anchorages/docks. Maybe a gallon or two of gas. The wind gods have been very kind to us. Sailing on the Bahama Bank is like a large "40 acres" in the Thousand Island region. The water is just crystal clear and mostly flat. You can always see the bottom, even if you are in 18-20 feet!!

A Shuttle launch!

This is a little out of order but pictures don't happen like this all the time. Based upon what we know, this was probably the last shuttle liftoff from Florida. We were at Great Sale and I happened to look to the west and the camera was right beside me.

Taking a hike at Powell Cay

We heard about a nice view from atop of a bluff so off we went in Nu-It to find it.....of course it took a few minutes but Nu-It finally got us to the right beach and off we go.....

As everyone (such as Capt. Ron) knows, when in the tropics one should watch out for gorillas, not guerrillas..... Even though the path was narrow we did keep an eye out for any of them!!

Quite a view overlooking our anchorage

sea life at Powell Key

Powell Key

Off the hook and heading south/east to Powell Key. A 56nm sail in light winds. No problem!! Arrived in time for shelling and some swimming. The beach is beautiful and water clarity amazing!

Sunset

from Double Breasted Key.

Danny brings appetizers

The Friday following the front the winds were strong and cold and we decided to put off our sail southeast for one more day. What a great decision!! Here comes Danny with some of the best stone crabs we have ever tasted!!! All for 10 bucks!!

our back yard............

How's this for a warm fuzzy feeling

Staying put..........

With a pretty strong cold front coming through we opted to stay at Double Breasted. It came through about 2:00pm Thurs and kept us on our toes for a couple of hours. Nearby Settlement Point clocked winds to 45 knts. Our new friends on Windfree, a 40' Baba even felt their boat heal as the storm came through! A very big"thank you" to Mike & Gloria (Windfree) for giving us hard copy weather reports, sending emails and single-side band communication for us. Yup, that's a complete 360 turn on the hook you see! Thanks to our big "A" spade anchor and 30' ft of chain!

Just a few more shots

On to ............

Double Breasted Keys. This is an absolutely gorgeous spot!!! GH sailed 18nm north and west to this very special spot. After a tricky entrance "shallow draft rules!!" we were in heaven! White sugar sand, great holding in about 7' of water and water so clear it's unbelievable!!

More from Great Sale

Laying at anchor and sit back and enjoy the view!

Great Sale Key, Abaco

We spent two nights here. Of course, as is the usual custom on GH after the hook is down we get ready to relax and always enjoy our "post sail brew"!! Hey, Bob & Steph!!! This particular brand is brewed in Rochester, NY and is a whopping $2.99 a six pack!! Can you say Genesee?!?