Great Guana Cay

Before Pollie and I left on this little adventure, a colleague of mine at MITRE Corp told me, “DON’T MISS GREAT GUANA CAY.”  She was right, of all of the cays and islands we have visited, Great Guana Cay rates in the top five, if not the top.  It’s not so much the infrastructure as the feeling.  We arrived at Settlement Harbour hoping to score a mooring ball, but all were taken.  So, we did a quick negotiation by radio and went into Orchid Bay Yacht Club and Marina.

By reading the local newspapers, we had learned that Orchid Bay had fallen on hard times and the electricity for the marina had been cutoff for non-payment, the restaurant was closed, no fuel at the fuel dock, and the people that had bought vacation homes in the compound were not happy campers.  It looked to us that the management was scurrying to make amends, and they gave us a slip for $1 a foot.  On the second day, the electricity came back and on the third day a fuel barge showed up.  The staff was very friendly, the grounds were great, and the pool was clean even though it had unexpected visitors.

But, the real reason cruisers visit Great Guana Cay is for the legendary Nippers Bar.

More than just a bar, Nippers has two pools, an outside and inside restaurant, and beach access.

We went snorkeling from the beach, and enjoyed the pools.

Of course, we had to try out those rope swings.

While there, we made a few new friends.

Besides Nippers, there was Grabbers, a great place for dinner while watching the sunset.

North of Settlement Bay is Baker’s Bay where a high end, controversial development is being built on a failed Disney cruise boat landing site.  Pollie and I biked up there for a quick look-see.

If you could only visit one place in the Bahamas, you might want to consider Great Guana Cay.

Waiting for FedEx

Serenity’s Raymarine ST70+ multifunction display went on the blink giving us vertical lines instead of depth, wind direction/speed, and speed through the water.  The unit was pulled and sent via FedEx back to a Raymarine repair station in Merrimack, NH on Friday, April 8^th.

I was able to configure the autopilot display to provide us with a depth display in the pilothouse, and the displays at the aft steering station were not affected.

So with depth information displayed, and wind information the old fashion way; sticking your head out the pilothouse door, we took off for Hope Town (see previous post) and Man-O-War Cay.  Hope Town and Man-O-War Cay reminded us of Herrington Harbour where we used to keep our boat.  Herrington South was a resort marina while Herrington North was a working marina.  Hope Town was definitely a resort, while Man-O-War is known for quality boat works and not quite as picturesque as Hope Town.

Note Serenity’s canvas work in the above picture of her on a buoy in Man-O-War Harbour.  Below is a better picture of the canvas taken in Hope Town.

We had canvas covers made by Captain Canvas in Deale, Maryland. We had only been using the windshield and skylight covers before, but now that it has gotten warmer, we are using them all. One covers the aft deck and has extensions for the setting sun. It provides us with a covered patio and keeps the sun off our sleeping quarters below. Another piece covers most of the coach roof helping to keep the dinette and galley cool. The air scoop over the front hatch provides us with a lot of air movement through the boat.

We found only two things of interest at Man-O-War. One was the baseball park by the ocean, and the other was the Dock & Dine Restaurant. The Dock & Dine had good food at reasonable prices. No drinks, however Man-O-War is a dry island.

One of our guide books described Man-O-War as an “island where time seems to stand still.”  If you wanted to do any banking, that is certainly true.

But, the tide waits for no man.  The people in the boat next to us with a 6’ draft were rather surprised when the wind shifted and they swung into shallow water before the tide went out.

On Thursday, April 16^th we returned to Marsh Harbour in time for FedEx to bring us a warranty replaced Raymarine ST70+ multifunction display.  Less than a week turn around with shipping, bench testing, and Bahamian customs clearance - not bad.

Hope Town

Hope Town was founded in 1785 by Loyalist escaping the American Revolution, and their descendants continue to make this village a great attraction.

The Loyalist descendants continue to welcome boat people, making cruisers feel welcome.

The main part of the village is close off to vehicular traffic except for golf carts and bicycles, so our fold-ups were perfect.

It’s a good thing that normal vehicles are prohibited, because many of the “streets” are more like wide sidewalks.

We spent a couple of outings cruising the streets looking at the brightly painted cottages.

And, the island landscaping was spectacular.

We kept looking until Pollie found her Victorian dream home.

Outside of the village, they had the obligatory sign post.  Pollie was impressed that the second from the top, “Lake Tahoe, 1610 miles.”

Every once in a while, you need a break from the cruiser lifestyle, so we checked ourselves in to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge (http://www.hopetownlodge.com/).  If you buy lunch, they let you use the beach and their pool.

Elbow Cay Lighthouse

From Marsh Harbour, we backtracked a little to Hope Town because other cruisers advised it was “must do.”  Serenity is in the center towards the far shore. 

Pollie's new camera has a panoramic feature

Besides the brightly painted houses, really narrow streets, the most prominent feature is the Elbow Cay Lighthouse.

When the lighthouse was scheduled to be built in 1864, there was outcry from the Abaconians who made their living from salvaging.  Today, the landmark stands as a sentinel for Abaco and a symbol Bahamian maritime heritage.  The Elbow Cay Lighthouse is one of the last three oil-burning, hand-wound, lighthouses in the world.  The lighthouse keeper must climb the 101 steps to the top every two hours to hand crank the weights that operate the beacon.

The light mechanism sits in mercury and its five bulls-eye lenses focus its kerosene fueled light once every 15 seconds.

Don’t tell my orthopedic surgeon

Faced with modernization, the community of Hope Town pulled together and managed to preserve the lighthouse in its original state.

Cruisers and Hope Town tourists seem to really enjoy this little slice of history.

Harbour entrance

Source: A cruising Guide to: The Nothern Bahamas, By Stephen J. Pavlidis

Spanish Wells to Marsh Harbour

Before departing Spanish Wells, we refueled and topped up the water tank.  I had checked a couple days before and was told that diesel was $5.00 per gallon, but they had an increase by the time we were ready to leave so we paid $5.42 a gallon for 86 gallons. Still not too bad as it was the first fuel we had bought since Nassau in January.

Crossing the Northeast Providence Channel from Eleuthera Island to Great Abaco Island the water is over 4000 meters deep in some parts.  Deep water allows for big waves, so we picked a good weather window for the 50 mile crossing.

Picture by Sari and Pete on Coyote

Sari and Pete were kind enough to share this picture they snapped as Serenity went by them.  We had been motor sailing with 10 knots on the beam making 7.6  knots.  The wind then started diminishing and clocking aft.  As this picture was snapped, I am dousing the head sail to prepare for dousing the mizzen then rig for wing and wing using a whisker pole on the head sail.  Pete said when he first noticed us on AIS we were three miles behind him, but when we turned in at Little Harbour, we were three miles ahead of their Catalina 320.  They ended up in the slip next to us at Mangoes in Marsh Harbour.  Pete asked, “What size engine is in that boat!”

After a fast and comfortable crossing, we anchored behind Lynyard Cay (26 22.65N/76 59.64W). Evidently this a popular anchorage for boats crossing between Eleuthera and the Abacos as there were about 10 other boats in the anchorage including Wind Dust, a Nauticat 44 we met in Spanish Wells.

Our next stop was Marsh Harbour. Because the Abacos are close to Florida, one gets the feeling that you are returning to civilization. Unlike the previous islands, we now have a choice of restaurants, grocery stores, and marine supplies.

At the recommendation of some cruisers we met in Cape Eleuthera, we checked in at Mangoes Marina, and found it to be a charming “boutique” marina.

Only one dock

Small pool

Because I had received an email pointing out that Serenity’s teak was looking a little ratty, we gave her a thorough cleaning and recoated the rails and doors with SEMCO.

This is the first place where water wasn’t 45 cents per gallon, so we took advantage of it.  Following our scrubbing, Mother Nature hit it with 50 knot winds and buckets of rain water.

Spanish Wells

The times for high and low tide varies by two hours between the Atlantic side (east) and the Eleuthera Bight (west) side.  It is important to time passage at slack tide so as to avoid over 5 knots of current in Current Cut.

+3 knots with us

Our next stop was Spanish Wells, at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven for a few days.  I removed the windlass so that it can be tapped for larger mounting bolts and have a backing plate fabricated. 

But, not at this establishment, although they had taken out a full page ad in a cruising guide touting their abilities with stainless steel, they were not able to handle the job.  I did find a place across town, On Site Marine, that was more than willing to take on the job, and did excellent work at a reasonable price.  Also, I had a blowout on my bike that tore the tire, so I ordered a new tire that was delivered via mail boat.

We had been miffed that in the “family islands” we were not able to buy more fresh fish. At Spanish Wells we hit the jackpot. We have been dinning on fresh grouper, spiny lobster, and stone crab. Good thing, Spanish Wells is quasi dry. Because of that, there is no fine dining, only carryout and a couple of diners. The fishing industry has made many Spanish Wells millionaires. Evidently, in the 50’s they figured out how to quick freeze the spiny lobster tails. Today, most of the lobster tails you see in restaurants like Red Lobster or Olive Garden come from Spanish Wells


Spanish Wells is unique in that it was settled by Loyalist that fled the Colonies during the Revolutionary War. So there are a lot more white people than you see on the other islands. They seem to have forgiven us insurgents, as they are very friendly.

Unlike in the “family islands” where most of the land is community or extended family owned and cannot be transferred, property in Spanish Wells is available.  The couple in the boat next to us at the marina was so impressed they bought property on Russell Island (attached by a bridge to Spanish Wells), and were working with a contractor to build a home.  Due to the lack of restaurants and tiki bars, Pollie was not that impressed.  So, we have moved on to the Abacos.