We were in Rock Sound for 4 days, and while there met Jacqui and Mark on Kardia, Rose and Fred on Rose Anna, and Donna and Rick on Lorbas . All of us had similar plans for heading to the Abacos, so we spent the next week traveling together. Before we left, we visited a local cave and got or provisioning done.
We all left Rock Sound on Saturday morning, after the passing of the front on Friday. Entering Governor's Harbour, we were excited to be hailed by Grand Style. We were anchored near each other in Cocoa, Florida way back in November, and have seen them from time to time in the Bahamas - they are always one step ahead of us and leaving an anchorage just as we are arriving. We think we'll be able to actually visit with them one of these days.
Governor's Harbor was the first capital of the Bahamas, and is a village filled with beautiful homes, lovely gardens and an historic library. Many of the houses reminded us of New England.
We were thrilled to get a mooring (free) right in harbor, except that picking it up could have been recorded for the comedy channel. We bent a boat hook into the exact shape of the hull, and once we thought we had the line through, we found out we didn't and were drifting dangerously close to another boat. And we weren't alone three -- other boats each made multiple passes at the mooring before they finally hooked on. Once safely connected, we went to town for lunch with our friends.
We returned to the boat for what we expected to be a peaceful night . Unfortunately the wind clocked just a little too far to the north and we rocked and rolled and pounded all night long. First thing in the morning, we watched Rose Anna try to disengage from the mooring - they were tightly hooked and decided to wait until things calmed down to untie from the mooring ball. With the way Bob had rigged ours, we cast off easily and went around the corner to Laughing Bird Cay where the water was flat calm. We walked to town and over to the ocean side to see where Club Med had been. Bob and his family were there 20+ years ago and brought back a lot of memories. All the buildings were demolished in a hurricane, but the grounds are maintained by a new owner and watched by a security guard, who gave us permission to take the side path to see the beautiful pink sand beach. Maggie took a sample for show and tell this summer.
On Monday, we made a final trip to town for last-minute items (ok, Maggie had to visit the bakery), and a one-hour broad reach sail to Alabaster Bay, a quiet anchorage. Along the way, Rosie laid in diesel fuel that had leaked into our cabin. She was soaked in it. We tried to wash it off, as much as she'd let us.
Tuesday was a perfect sail in 15-20kt winds, for the 33-mile trip to Meeks Patch, going through tricky Current Cut. Fred took a picture of SeaTryst under sail. Our four boats celebrated with our own beach party on Meeks Island. We think we have come too far north, some of the party goers are wearing fleeces and jackets from the cold Canadian North.
Next day Kardia loaded us all on their boat, and with four dinghies trailing, we went 2 miles around the corner to Spanish Wells. Our original plan was to go by dinghy, but we would have been beating into the waves and been wet by the time we arrived.
A unique place, Spanish Wells is filled with charming pastel-painted cottages, fabulous gardens, and a fishing fleet that gets lobsters for all the Red Lobster restaurants. It was settled by Puritans from Bermuda who were ship wrecked on the reefs on there way to Eleuthera. They have been a close community ever since, with many of them looking alike and having their own dialect. One attraction is a private home with its own bird santuary, with every fowl you can imagine; the peacock strutted its stuff for us.
Thursday was the 60 mile sail to Little Harbour, Abaco. In 20+ kt ENE winds and 5-6-ft swells, it was a day perfect for racing, but not for an enjoyable cruise.
Rosie was quite sick for a few days from the diesel fuel (and the passage didn't help), and we were grateful she started to show signs of improvement on Friday. What we didn't know at the time was just how sick she was. It was touch and go for a few days until she got the fuel out of her system.
We went to Pete's Pub for their famous Blasters, snorkeled at Sandy Cay (one the best sites in the Bahamas), and dropped the hook off Tavern Cay for a night, still with Kardia and new friends Brian and Jenny and their twin daughters, on Miakota. We were excited to beat Grand Style (by 20 minutes!) into the harbour, and to finally enjoy a drink with them at Pete's.
Rosie was making a good recovery, but we brought her to the vet for testing as soon as we arrived in Marsh Harbour on Monday. Fortunately, there was no lasting effect, and she's back to 100%.
Marsh Harbour has the largest grocery store we've seen since the States - this is more like a Super Stop & Shop. We said farewell first to Lorbas and then Rose Anna, both of whom are in a group of buddy boats doing a 3+-day trip to Beaufort, NC. Kardia was in Marsh Harbour with us for a few days, and then left for more cays in the Abacos. We're glad to be back with Ray and Patty on CoolBreeze, who know Mark and Jacqui from Kardia who they met last year. Small world out here.
In Marsh Harbour we sadly discovered that there is another SeaTryst, a ketch out of Baltimore. Good thing they left the day after we arrived; there can't be two of us in port! We took a slip at the Conch Inn Marina for Maggie's niece Julie's arrival on Saturday, as we were getting forecasts for a front with strong energy. It is like a vacation, to use as much water as we want, to be plugged into electricity, walk to town from the dock rather than a dinghy ride, and take long hot showers. Bob quickly made friends with Shannon, the dock-boy, and taught him some knots.
We are happy that Julie and Stef arrived safely and right on time. It's too bad the weather is not cooperating for their visit, so we are hunkered down while the thunder, lightning and winds pass; we witnessed a gust of 54 kts yesterday. We hope to get underway soon so they can use the snorkel gear that Stef lugged all the way from the UK.
