Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas!!

After agonizing over a weather window that was rapidly trying to close on us (for the second time since Christmas!), we decided to 'go for it' as, at the last minute, the weather looked like it was going to hold after all.

We washed the moss off the bottom of the boat (haha), dropped our mooring line, and headed back on to the ICW, looking to exit at Fort Pierce where there is a good inlet for going out in to the Atlantic.  We reached Fort Pierce in time to catch the out-going tide and were passing the last buoy marking the inlet at 3:00pm on December 29.

heading toward the Gulf Stream

The winds were predicted to be high all morning, but decreasing about 7:00pm, until about midnight when they would be down to 5 knots.  We raised the main with one reef in for the 15-20 knot winds that were blowing outside of Fort Pierce.  The winds were south and were predicted to clock around through west and then north as the front approached, and as we were headed SE, that meant that, for now, they were on our starboard bow, as was the swell from the both the wind and the Gulf Stream, which the boat can handle well.  This SE track would work well for us, as the stream would push us north, landing us on the Little Bahama Bank where we planned to enter the Bahamas.

About an hour out, we were hit by a squall with winds hitting 25 knots and pouring rain!  Fortunately, it only lasted about 15 minutes, so we just let the boom out and headed in to the wind to keep from getting knocked down, as there was no way I was going out in that to put in a second reef!!  After it passed, we got ourselves organized and settled in for the trip across the Gulf Stream.  Just before nightfall we both agreed it felt that, despite the weather predictions, the winds were building -not weakening-, as were the seas, so we decided to put in that second reef which turned out to be a wise decision, as the night settled in to strong 20 knot winds with 3-4 meter swells and waves slopping around in all directions!!  For the first time on this trip I felt queasy going below, however, it was also far too sloppy to do any cooking of any sort anyway!  Also way too uncomfortable to try and rest below, so we both spent the night in the cockpit.  The waves were crashing over the front of the boat, with the occasional errant wave hitting us just in the wrong place, splashing over the dodger and all over us and the cockpit!!  Luckily it was warm, so being soaked was uncomfortable, but not too cold!  We were also happy that the wind actually stayed south during the night, so we were able to stay on the same tack all night, so no sail changes in the dark and sloppy seas!!

Finally, about 2:00am we were through the stream and the seas started to settle down to slightly smaller swells and far less waves, so we were both able to take turns lying down and resting for a bit!  At last, at about 5:00am we entered the Little Bahama Bank.....and were completely soaked again, only this time by a heavy rainfall!!!!  Which in fact, was just what the boat needed to wash off all that sea water that had made its way on to our decks!!  Despite the rain, the next morning once the sun had risen, when we I went on deck to shake out the second reef, I found two small fish on the deck just forward of the dodger which we decided must have come aboard with one of those waves during the night that had soaked us sitting in the cockpit!!

As the sun rose, we were greeted by smooth, emerald green water as far as the eye could see!!  We had made it!!  We marked the occasion by changing out of our wet clothes and I put my bathing suit on!!!!  The conditions were perfect for putting some miles behind us, and as we wanted to meet our friends Guy and Pika at Green Turtle Cay for New Years Eve, we decided to push on past Sale Cay, where we had initially thought we would anchor after the crossing, and made it all the way to Spanish Cay where we anchored in the lee of the island, as the front was finally catching up to us and we thought it might hit during the night.

The Sea of Abaco!!

As it turned out, it was fairly calm all night, so the next morning at 6:00am, we weighed anchor and made a run for Green Turtle Cay, about 15 miles away.  Finally, the front caught up to us!  The wind had come around from the north, so was on our port quarter, as it picked up to 20 knots and finally, just before we entered White Sound on Green Turtle Cay it started raining again!

Luckily Guy and Pika were watching for us, so were on the pier to help catch our lines in all that wind, so we were able to dock without too much incident!!  It was so nice to see them again!  We hadn't seen them since Camden Maine, so we had a lot of 'catching up' to do!

These are some photos of the leeward beach at the Bluff House Marina and where the Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar is!

The four of us partook of the New Years Eve celebrations here at Bluff House Marina where the staff worked hard to decorate and put on a nice meal for us, followed by a beach bonfire, a dance with a DJ at the beach bar (The Tranquil Turtle), and finally, a fireworks show at midnight!  The night passed quickly, and we eventually made our way back to our respective boats at 2:00am!!  WAY past our bedtime!!

The next day, the office helped to make arrangements to get us in to New Plymouth, the town here on Green Turtle Cay where the local Junkanoo was being held!  This is an annual celebration on New Years Day, where the people dress in costumes and masks, and dance through the street to the beat of the drums.  They also sell all kinds of wonderful food on the street for all the celebrants!  We had some conch ceviche, which was wonderful.  We tried to stay away from all the burgers, fries, and baked goods that were also plentiful and looked and smelled great!!!  Junkanoo can be really crazy I think, especially in Nassau, but this one was great and very family oriented.  The dancers and drummers went all around the town in a big circle, so we could walk down some of the side streets and watch it all again!  It is quite an endurance test for them, as the parade lasted about an hour and a half!  Because this is a small town, they only start to 'train' a few days before, but the participants in the Nassau Junkanoo have to train all year, as they have a much bigger route and they do it twice!!!

making conch ceviche

eating conch ceviche!

Here are some photos of the Junkanoo parade in New Plymouth!

After all that activity, we are ready to slow down and start living life on 'Bahama time'!  This has been a wonderful introduction to the Bahamas, so we will stay for a couple more days, and after the next front we will make our way south where I will try to make another entry in the blog!