Mass Family Pics

Well, after two wonderful weeks, the Mass Family left Spoonbill and climbed aboard a CraigAir plane back to the States.  This was the 3^rd year in a row that they have done a captained charter aboard Spoonbill.  Their girls are always delightful, respectful of the boat, and very helpful.  Sarah and Anna became adept at piloting the skiff during the trip and even 4-year-old Lauren spent a half day with a polishing cloth cleaning the tops of all the drawers and cabinets for me!

As we were getting the boat organized and all the Mass Family’s gear ready to be loaded into a taxi, my next “charter” group arrived at the Conch Inn.  My wife, Cinda, and friends Glen & Peggy Willumson and Jeri & Laura Banta.  So, I will try to continue to post irregularly to the blog as this very crazy group heads out with me for a whirlwind week in the Abacos - but no promises.

The night before the Mass’s left, Larry downloaded to my computer the three hundred or so pictures he took on the trip.  So, I thought it might be fun to post a few of these.

Nice people.

Larry & Jennifer Mass

Bonefishers

Towing in the giant tuna

Sarah Mass

Anna Mass



Lauren "Bizzy" Mass



Sarah & Anna Paddleboarding at Cat Cay

Wreck of the Sapona

Great Stirrup Cay

Fun in the...sun?

Well, today dawned bright and...stormy at the Green Turtle Cay Club as we contemplated the day's travels.  Our plan was to head to the north end of Guana Cay for some snorkeling, but the winds were rapidly clocking around from south to west - and more storms threatened.

Anchored in the lee of Shell Island

So, instead, we set our course back through Dont Rock Passage to Shell Island.  This is a small spoil island that was formed when they dredged the now-defunct cruise ship turning basin at Baker's Bay.  But it's a nice place to explore and go shelling.  So we anchored and Larry and the girls skiffed ashore to see what they could find.

When they returned, we weighed anchor and headed for Great Guana Cay - Home of Nipper's Beach Bar - and Grabbers Bar & Grill.  Along the way, lo and behold, the SUN came out!

Not for very long, however, as it was sprinkling again by the time we picked up our mooring in Settlement Harbour.  Not ones to have our enthusiasm dampened (pun) by a little rain, we packed off into the skiff and headed in to the dock.  The Mass family turned left at the end of the dock and walked to Grabbers for lunch, bocce, and swimming.  I opted to climb the sandy road up to Nipper's for some of their conch fritters and a coldie or two.

Nipper's Beach Bar

Afterwards, I skiffed around to Fisher's Bay to see how the Mass's were getting along at Grabbers.  They were having a great time, so I headed back to Spoonbill to type up this blog entry.  A bit later, when everyone has had their fill of Guana, we will drop our mooring ball and make the short run back to Marsh Harbour for our slip at the Conch Inn and a well-deserved farewell dinner at Snappa's Grill & Chill. 

Tomorrow morning, it will be time to say a reluctant goodbye to the wonderful Mass family and send them back to the airport for their trip home to North Carolina.  It has been an amazing adventure and we are already planning next year's trip.  Maybe the Florida "Mini-Loop" across Lake Okeechobee, up into Pine Island Sound, then down to the Everglades and finally the Florida Keys.  Sounds like fun!

I will get some pictures from Larry's camera this evening and post another blog entry later tonight or tomorrow with lots more pics from the trip.  Then, my next group arrives - tomorrow morning at 9:30.  This time it is my lovely wife, Cinda, and a group of friends:  Peggy & Glen Willumson and Laura & Jeri Banta.  The parties are just beginning - so I'm not sure if I will be in any shape to continue making blog entries!


Great Guana Cay - Settlement Harbour

Manjack Cay & GTC

We got up early and cast off from beautiful Treasure Cay Marina.  Although it was still overcast, there were no lingering thunderstorms or low clouds in sight.  Looked like it was going to be a hazy day - but hopefully a dry one!  First stop, Manjack Cay.

With a light southwest wind and a rising tide, we elected to run the very shallow Dont Rock Passage instead of going all the way east to Whale Cay.  No problems encountered as we passed Dont Rock and never saw less than 2' under our keels as we continued comfortably north.

Dont Rock (yes, that is a correct spelling, no apostrophe)

An hour later we rounded the north end of Manjack Cay and anchored in the beautiful little harbor.  The Mass Family quickly jumped into the skiff and headed for the beach to do some exploring and beachcombing.


Anchorage on the north end of Manjack Cay

After a few hours of fun, everyone returned to the boat where we cooked some burgers on the grill and relaxed a bit.  The kids were all excited about the many little lemon and blacktip sharks they saw swimming in the shallows near the beach - Larry was much more enthused about FINALLY finding a fishing float this trip.  Evidently, he has quite the collection of floats hanging on his back porch at home.  He found lots of them on the Exumas cruise last year...

Around one o'clock, we hoisted the anchor and moved back south towards our evening's dockage at the lovely Green Turtle Club.  The weather continued to cooperate (we even saw a bit of sun late in the afternoon!) and we tied up about an hour later.  The girls and Jen made a beeline to the beach to hunt sea glass, while Larry and Biz headed up to GTC's pool.  Green Turtle's internet was down due to a lightning strike the day before, so your intrepid captain climbed into the skiff and crossed White Sound to see if the Bluff House Resort had an internet connection.  Alas, no luck there (that's why this update is so late), however, the Bluff House's "Thirsty Thursday" special was in full swing at the bar.  Three Kalik Lights for ten bucks INCLUDING free conch fritters!  And, they were delicious conch fritters with huge chunks of conch meat.  So, I stayed there a bit...

Dinnertime came and we all went to Green Turtle Club's casual dining room for a fine meal. What makes it even nicer is the fact that the Club offers an "eat your dockage" plan, where your dockage is deducted directly off your restaurant bill.  SWEET.

The plan for Friday is (weather permitting) to head down to Great Guana Cay to see what kind of trouble we can generate at Nipper's and Grabber's.  Should be fun.

Into Each Life, Some Rain Must Fall

Yep, that's what Longfellow said - but enough already!  Today was basically a washout.  With a weak cold front being pushed south, we had a full day of rain and thunderstorms.  So, a lot of time was spent on the iPads and laptops.  I snuck over to the Coco Beach Bar for lunch between squalls.  We even watched a movie.  But that was about it.  Tomorrow is forecast for more of the same - I sincerely hope not.  Either way, we will be moving tomorrow.  So, since there aren't any exciting new tropical pics to post today, I thought I would post some shots from the past week and a half that didn't make it onto the blog already.  Enjoy!

Bonefish Sarah

Bahamas Sea Urchins (4 of them!)

Skiff Captain Lauren

Coming in to Great Harbour

Entrance to Bimini Harbour

The Old Chalk's Seaplane Ramp at Bimini

Leaving Cat Cay (Reluctantly)

Stormy Days & Treasure

The Coco Beach Bar at Treasure Cay

Tuesday.  Today's plan was to get up early and make a break for Spanish Cay - about 40 miles north.  But, to quote Robert Burns, "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men Gang aft agley" (translated to: Whatever you plan, something will come along to screw it up.)  First of all, I probably had just one too many cold Coronas at the Hope Town Marina Pool Bar last night - so I woke up a wee bit late at about 7am.  Second, the weather was not conducive to a 6-hour ride north, with WSW winds at 15-25 knots.  In fact, Troy at DiveGuana described the Sea of Abaco as "rough" on the morning Cruiser's Net.  So, I initiated "Plan B".

You see, I have spent a lot of time cruising the Abacos, and whenever I get a weather report of strong westerly winds, I can only think of one place that I want to be - Treasure Cay.  The beach at Treasure is phenomenal when the winds blow out of the west.  It's completely protected from that direction and becomes like a huge, turquoise swimming pool.  It took a bit of convincing (of Larry anyway - Jen was onboard with it immediately), but we finally revised our plans and set our sights on Treasure Cay, with a stopover in Man-O-War Cay.

Man-O-War.  Hmmmm.  How to put this?  The Mass's are pretty normal in most respects - except one.  They have a bit of a fixation on the incredible sail canvas bags made by the ladies at Norman Albury's Sail Shop in Man-O-War.  So, of course, we had to stop there and pick up a mooring while Larry and Jen hopped into the skiff and made their annual pilgrimage to the Sail Shop.


Crowded Harbor at Man-O-War

They were gone about an hour and a half.  In the meantime, Sarah and Anna discussed the possibility of entering them in the reality show "My Strange Obsession".  But all was great when Larry & Jen finally returned with a few new bags, a few repaired old bags, a few new ipad bags for the girls, and some delicious fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and bread.

We dropped our mooring, left the harbor and began the two-hour cruise to Treasure Cay.  When we were still about a half-hour from Treasure, the skies began to darken and we suddenly saw an ominous waterspout form about 5 miles away off our starboard bow.

Storm with waterspout

We watched it for about ten minutes as we headed as quickly as possible in to our safe dock at Treasure Cay Marina.  The skies continued to darken and lightning was striking all over the place as we approached the marina.  Then the dockmaster called on the radio, asking us to hold off from docking as there was too much "sharp lightning".  We let him know that we were committed to coming in, that I was familiar with the docks, and that we could handle tying up on our own - assuring him that he didn't have to leave the safety of his office.


Having a VERY bad hair day

We backed in to our slip on T-dock and tied up just as the bottom fell out amid sheets of rain (conveniently washing the salt off of Spoonie.)  A half hour later, as the storm ended, a brand-new, fifty-three-foot Catana catamaran was towed in and pushed to the docks.  She had been struck by lightning and none of her electronics had survived. They could not even start the engines.

The sun came out and everyone headed for the pool first - and then the beach.  There is a very nice beach volleyball court here and the girls got into a spirited game.

Eventually, Larry and I joined the girls on the volleyball court.  First, I want to make it clear that I am BY FAR the oldest person on this trip, and also have the worst knees.  In spite of this - and although we did not keep score - Sarah and I still beat the crap out of Larry and Anna.  Right Sarah?

As darkness began to fall, we all headed back to the boat looking forward to grilling some more of that amazing Cat Cay Bluefin Tuna.  As I type this, the skies are again alight with lightning and everyone is finishing up their incredible tuna steak dinner.  The plan for tomorrow is to hang around for the morning and maybe rent a Hobie Cat or kayak or two.  Then we should finally head north to Spanish Cay.  But who knows what the day will actually bring, it's been another great day aboard Spoonbill!

Gotta Love Hope Town

The Elbow Cay Reef Light framed by the bandstand at the new Hope Town Marina

 

So we spent the whole day here in Tiny Town (Hope Town.)  The kids needed a break from the constant travel and, to be frank, so did I.  Everyone who comes here loves this place.  There are quaint little stores, excellent restaurants, beautiful beaches, and now, a world-class marina - Hope Town Inn & Marina.  The girls basically spent the day in the pool, while I took the marina ferry over to Harbour's Edge to visit my favorite waitress, Pippin, and to have some of their wonderful "Gully Wings" for lunch.  Larry and Jen took the skiff and spent the afternoon exploring town.  Everyone was relaxed and happy.

For dinner, Jen made spaghetti for the family, while I stayed up at the Pool Bar and enjoyed Chef Neil Albury's incredible blackened grouper caesar salad.  MMMM.


The Pool Bar at Hope Town Marina

So, it was a lazy, relaxing, much-needed day off.  We have not decided on a definite plan of action for tomorrow.  So, it will develop as we go - much as this whole trip has!  I am sure it will continue to be fun and exciting and we should have some more pictures and stories for the blog tomorrow night.



A beautiful Kevin Jenkins Sculpture

Back to Abaco

Miss Bizzy is excited to be back in Hope Town!

After our tour of Bimini, Cat Cay, and the Berry Islands, it was time this morning to head back to more familiar ground (water?)  So, at 6am I booted the nav computers, warmed up the mighty 75hp diesels, Larry cast off the lines, and we were underway once more - northeast to Abaco.

The forecast was for westerly winds until about noon with 2' seas,.  Then they would shift towards the north and increase to 2' - 4'.  The west winds were very good news as we would be heading due east for the first half of our trip, and all Great Harbours love a following sea.  It was the "north" part later in the day that was concerning me, since we would be "rounding the corner" at Hole-in-The-Wall and heading due north the rest of the way until entering the Sea of Abaco at Little Harbour bar.

Monarch of The Seas

Well, it was very breezy when we left the cut at Great Harbour.  We worked our way up the back side of Great Harbour Cay, around the Stirrup Cays (where the cruise lines have their "Bahamas Out Island" stops), and right out into a four-foot following sea.  After dodging a couple of cruise ships working their way in to their islands, we settled down to a very nice ride.  "We" being everyone aboard Spoonbill.  The poor little skiff, on the other hand, does not love a following sea and was crashing down waves sideways, threatening to rip her tow lines off.    In fact, she finally spit one of her tow lines off about halfway across.



Hole-in-The-Wall (Note: the millennia-old natural bridge that forms this hole fell into the sea during a hurricane less than a year after this picture was taken.)

As we rounded the southernmost point of Abaco at the Hole-in-The-Wall, things settled down nicely.  The forecast shift to northern winds did not occur until much later, when we were already safely into the Sea of Abaco.  It even calmed enough for us to set up the gas grill so Chef Laurence could grill up some delicious Bubba Burgers!  So, the whole day worked out pretty well.  At about 5pm, we cruised smoothly over the Little Harbour bar and into the Sea of Abaco.  At 7pm, we docked at the beautiful new Hope Town Marina and had a wonderful dinner while the girls swam in the pool.

So, we are back in familar waters once again - and ready to move a bit north.  I think the plan is to spend the day tomorrow here in Hope Town, then head north the next day for Green Turtle Cay. Or maybe Spanish Cay?

Stay tuned.

Great Harbour Trawler at Great Harbour Cay

Spoonbill - a Great Harbour at Great Harbour

Today was a lay day as we relaxed and waited for the weather to calm down just a bit before the crossing to Abaco.  Morning brought overcast skies and rain.  So I took advantage of this time to get into the skiff and scrub Spoonbill's hull.  Spent most of the morning on the project while Larry made some inquiries and rounded up a car to take the family to "Shell Beach" for, yes, some shelling.

Around noon, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and it got HOT.  I managed to escape the heat by retreating to the Rocky Hill Pool Bar for Conch Fritters and cold Kaliks.  Shortly after, the Mass Family showed up from a vigorous day of shelling and also made a beeline to Rocky Hill.  The food was excellent.

Good Food at Rocky Hill!

Rocky Hill Pool Bar

Dinner tonight will probably just be picking at leftovers and dips, as everyone is still pretty full! If we have a favorable window for the crossing to the Abacos, we might just make a dawn start tomorrow!


Captain Eric, your humble narrator.

The Berry Islands

The Mass Family, skiffing off to Flo's Conch Café for lunch

The biggest problem with the Chub Cay Club was not the incessant no-see-ums.  Nor was it the beautiful built-in spa by the pool that was full of green algae and scum.  It wasn’t even the fact that everything in the resort seemed frozen in mid-construction.  It was the price.  $4.25 per foot plus power is exorbitant – even for the Bahamas.  So we got up and left the marina about seven o'clock on Friday morning.  First stop?  Little Harbour Cay – home to the locally famous Flo’s Conch Café.

The Guide Book says that you “haven’t really been to the Berrys unless you have eaten at Flo’s.”  Plus, they were supposed to have moorings in their harbor outside the café.  So the plan was to eat there, spend the night, and get an early start towards Great Harbour in the morning.

After a fairly long slog up to Little Harbour we radioed in and were unhappy to find out that, since the Guide Book was published, old Flo had died and the channel to her café had silted in during the last hurricane. But, the café was indeed still open.  So, the intrepid Mass Family set off for lunch in the skiff while I stayed aboard Spoonbill, anchored precariously on a lee shore along the west side of Little Harbour Cay.

Alas, as with many good things, this one seems to have come to an end.  So, after an unmemorable lunch, the disappointed group returned to Spoonbill.  We pulled anchor and headed north.  Next stop:  Great Harbour Cay Marina.

All was wonderful for the first few hours with a 2’ following sea.  But a dark purple sky ahead announced in no uncertain terms that we were soon to be in for some weather.  A few minutes later, the wind shifted to the north, it got chilly, started to rain, and the seas began to pick up.  I had only tethered the skiff to Spoonbill with one small tow line (normal procedure on a benign passage).  However, now the poor little skiff was bucking and heaving behind the big boat as the seas shifted around to the bow and quickly grew to 4’, then 5’, and then well over 6’.  I was sure the tow line would part at any second.  So I pulled Spoonie back to idle, grabbed another tow line and asked Larry to help pull in the skiff.  Once pulled up close, the skiff and swim platform were heaving up and down uncontrollably, so Larry steadied the skiff as best he could while I jumped aboard with the tow line.  I laid down on the front deck and ducked my head and shoulders under water to secure the line to the lower tow eye.

Once underway again, the sea state continued to worsen, but the skiff wasn’t about to break loose now!  The bow of Spoonbill was slamming down with each set of huge waves and we had to put a cutting board through the refrigerator doors to keep the doors closed and the food inside.  But as soon as we made the turn into the lee of Little Stirrup Cay, the seas went back to the stern, the wind died down and everything was right with the world again.

Entrance to Bullock's Harbour

The beautiful little Great Harbour Marina

We pulled through the narrow entrance cut to Bullocks Harbour at 5pm and tied up to beautiful little Great Harbour Cay Marina.  It looks like we might get a chance to relax for a day or so before a weather window opens up on Sunday for the passage back to Spoonbill's home waters in Abaco.