April 16-22. 2022- Green Turtle

April 16, 2022

7:00am-  Had our morning coffee and breakfast. 

7:45am-Anchor is up and we are leaving Treasure Cay and heading to Green Turtle. 

Found out there was a water spout at the Whales yesterday which was probably why we got so much rain yesterday since we were anchored nearby. 

In order to go through the Whale Cay Passage you need calm seas. 

FYI 

Whale Passage is probably the best-known ocean pass in the Abacos, simply because most everyone has to go that way. It is often dreaded. If you transit the cut in any swells your vessel will be ‘beam to’ the swells for 2nm. It would be suicidal to attempt to brave the conditions known to locally as a “rage”

9:30am- Made it through the cut with no problem except for some rocking and rolling. 

We can see No Name Cay and Green Turtle in the distance. 

10:45am- After covering 12nm, we arrived at Green Turtle on a mooring at White Sound.  Sue asked Steve to help them hook up Sun Spirit to a mooring so off he went. 

11:30am- We didn’t waste any time going grocery shopping for fresh produce since the grocery stores are closed tomorrow. 

12:30pm- Had  lunch and then we went to the marina pool. First we went in the restaurant to find the FPYC burgee we put up the first year we came here. 

We found it.

We also put a dollar and signed our names on it but we haven’t found it yet. Too many dollars have been placed on the wall. 

What a difference a day makes. Today is super hot. 

It was so refreshing to be in the pool. 

Came back to the boat around 3:45pm. 

I played my guitar and ukulele while Steve read. 

 

We noticed a sailboat from Fort Pierce with a  flapping head sail having problems catching their mooring. Steve went to assist them however they did not want help. He came back to continue his reading. 

4:00pm- We both noticed the 2 men struggling with their furling head sail as the noise of the flapping sail echoed across the bay. We both decided to assist them before their sail gets torn up. Off we went. After 1/2 hour, we figured out the halyard was wrapped at the top and therefore the four of us slowly untwisted it, lowered it , reloaded the furling drum and raised the sail and then furled it in properly.  
Steve told me to back away after he got slap across the cheek with the end of the clew. Later we noticed a nice mark on his cheek. 
Joel and Norm really appreciated our efforts and took us out for drinks. We had great conversations since Joel played guitar and Susan was an artist. All things that interest me. Norm was from Burlington and Nancy told us that her nephew was moving in a lakefront house in Grimsby. Joel has a house at Green Turtle and keeps one of his sailboats here and the other one in Fort Pierce. 

7:30pm- Our plan was to go back to the boat to eat dinner however our plans changed. When we got back to the dinghy, it was wedged underneath the dock and it was high tide therefore we could not get it out. We had to wait for the tide  to recede. I was starving and Steve did not bring his wallet. I texted Sue & Gunter  to see if they could pick me up and bring me to our boat so I can put on the mooring light and get our wallet. After they did, Steve and I went for a fantastic club sandwich at the Tranquil Turtle restaurant. It was one way of killing time. Then we went for a walk and to kill time, I walked up and down the dock to get my exercise.  After waiting 2.5 hours for the tides to go down, we managed to free her. 

10:30pm-  It was nice to be back at the boat. The good thing was the moon was full and very bright. It was a gorgeous evening. 

April 17, 2022

Happy Easter.  

7:15am- Enjoyed our coffee and breakfast. 

8:30am-  If you have at least 6000.00 euros to spare you can get this great inflatable sailboat dinghy called Tiwal. We have never seen this before and thought what a great idea.  It holds up to 330 pds.

10:30am- Last night when we were taking the dinghy from underneath the dock at low tide, the magnetic piece which holds the dinghy light fell into the water. 
We went back to the dock and Steve managed to find it with a seeing bucket and retrieved it with his fishing net.  He doesn’t like diving around docks due the possible current from motor boats. We couldn’t believe we found it even with the screw intact. Glad we did because it is a part he couldn’t buy without buying the whole thing. 
11:45am-  We had to go cancel restaurant reservations at the Green Turtle marina for tonight’s dinner since we found the prices more reasonable at Tranquil Turtle. Just to give you an idea…a beer at the marina was $8.50 and at Tranquil Turtle $5. 

While we were there, we decided to go for a walk and noticed a laundromat and it was opened on Easter. Came back to the boat to get our stuff and went back to do laundry. We went for a nice walk to Coco beach during drying cycle which took 45-60 minutes. We talked to a really nice guy who was 26 years old who was doing his wash also. He told us stories of Dorian and how awful it was however you have to accept what is and move on.  He said Dorian did a lot of strange things to peoples’ minds because they did not only loose all their possessions but lost also there loved ones. I learned many lessons listening to him. Such a positive outlook. 

Came back to the boat and put away our laundry.

We went for a brief swim in the pool. Sue and Gunter were there. 

3:00pm-  Back at the boat, we showered and then Steve read while I practised my guitar/ukulele. 
5:00pm- Good deeds get rewarded. We were sitting on our boat when a guy pulled up in his dinghy and asked whether we liked fish. He went spear fishing and caught a huge Nassau grouper and only has a small freezer. He gave us already filleted pieces. What a bonus.  His name was Stephane and he is from Quebec. Unfortunately for him, he had a double masted boat and when sailing through one of the cuts, his mast broke and fell on his pulpit. He had to free it and let it go in the water. They are going to sell it really cheap when they get back to Florida. They will get another boat when they retire. He said it was too difficult to go back and forth.

The mooring owner came to collect his money for the mooring.  We paid $100 for one week. 

6:00pm- 
We had a great Easter dinner at Tranquil

Turtle. The ribs and Mac  & cheese  was really good 

They even brought shooters before the meal. 

 The perfect dinner and evening. 

We were back at the boat by 9pm. 

Watched a series of Gotham before going to bed however I fell asleep before the end. 

April 18, 2022

7:30am. Sun is out and a calm morning. Had our coffee and breakfast. 

10:00am-  We rented a golf cart for the day and drove around town. 

One of the stops was the liquor store. The store today closed at noon because of Easter Monday. 

Steve bought tequila and 2 bottles of wine for $100. 

We visited some of the beaches and drove along the coast. At one of the beaches, a dog followed us and was friendly. Apparently he greets everyone who come to the beach and walks along side them. It was funny to see him go in the water to cool off. 

It started raining around noon so we thought it was a great time to go have lunch. It just down-poured several times while we were eating. 

Everyone had to come indoor during the downpour. 

We were back at the boat around 2:30pm. Steve did some cleaning and scrubbing on the deck. 

I practiced my ukulele and guitar. 

6:00pm-  Dinner tonight is leftover gnocchis. 

6:30pm- Sue and Gunter delivered toilet paper and mayonnaise since we were low and they had extra before we went for a crews around the island. We have the cart until tomorrow morning. 

We stopped at Sundowners for a drink and watched the sunset. 

Sunset in a glass 

We were back at the boat by 8:15pm. Watched a couple of series. 

April 19, 2022

7:15am-  Did my morning exercise before having coffee and breakfast with Steve 

Beautiful calm morning. 

8:15- I noticed a can of Lacroix bursted in the fridge. Sometimes when a can sits on the fridge plates, it actually freezes. Steve went to pick up the can and cut his finger on the sharp edge of the bursted can. No stitches required. While I defrosted and cleaned the fridge, Steve picked up Sue to go get their deposit back for the golf carts rental.  He then made water when he returned. I started cleaning the walls and all the windows on the boat. Good to clean it because of all the humidity and condensation which occurs depending on the weather. 

12:00pm-  Steve decided to make hot dogs for lunch since I do not have any homemade bread made to make sandwiches. I have a new one rising and will be ready in 3 hours. 

Afterwards I did some painting while Steve read.

Around  1:30 pm, we went to the beach and I sat in under a palm tree in the shade while Steve went swimming.

It was so nice and it had a nice breeze 

Glad I was under the tree otherwise I would cook. 

Came back to the boat around 3:30 pm to bake  my bread.  

6:00pm- Dinner tonight is Wahoo cooked with tomatoes, capers and spinach along with asparagus and potatoes. 

We continued watching Gotham series before going to bed. 

April 20, 2022

7:15am- Had our coffee and made French toast for breakfast. The wind was howling and it was a cloudy day. 

8:30am- We went to get needed groceries before the wind got worse.  First we went to the hardware to to get WD40 and Sea-foam to clean the dinghy motor carburetor. SIDS  grocery store did not have much so we went to another one around the corner and was luckier. 

It wasn’t too bad when we came back. I praise Steve for not getting us wet. 

10:45am-  We decided to go for a walk. We managed to get at least 4 miles. We noticed this tree and named it the “hug” tree because it looks like two people are hugging each other. 

We ran across Sue and Gunter as we were going different directions. We ended up at the marina and went in their shop to look around. We then had a game of  Corn hole. We walked back to our dinghy.  There are a lot of homes and properties for sale. 

Back at the boat, I made brownies and chili for dinner tonight. I also painted a few cards while Steve read. Don’t know why but I have been fascinated with the Johnny Depo trial. Maybe because we went by his island and know the area he is talking about. 

The wind has not stopped all day. 

6:00pm-  We enjoyed chili with nachos and homemade brownies. We could here someone singing from the marina. It echoed across the channel. 

7:30pm-  Watched several series before bedtime as the boat was rocking and rolling as the wind howled. 

April 21, 2022

7:15am- Had our morning coffee on this sunny windy day.  The boat’s stern sways from one side to another.  8:00am-There was a big catamaran who hooked up to one of the moorings yesterday and left early this morning without paying. The mooring ball owner approached us to see how long ago he left. It is sad that some boater’s take advantage and do not pay. These locals have been through enough without trying to ‘screw’ them. 

9:15am- Steve worked on the dinghy motor while it was bouncing around. He had to adjust the linkage for the neutral position so it would stop the rattling when pulling on the starter cord.

He also put inflated the dinghy four to the colder weather. 

I scrubbed and washed some of the cushions which for soiled. 

9:45am- Went for a long walk along a few beaches. It was really rough but beautiful. We did 5km. 

12:00pm- Steve made us both a great sandwich. He then ran the engine for about an hour so I can take a shower later. I played guitar and then later painted. 

2:00pm- Went to the beach to get off of the boat for a bit. It was a little cool. 

We came across Wilson  out at the beach. We got a good laugh. 

5:00pm- Dinner tonight is wahoo fish tacos. 

Watched a few series before going to bed. 

April 22, 2022

7:00am-  Had our morning coffee and breakfast. The wind is relentless. We are trying to figure when we will be able to cross the gulf in calmer weather. Before crossing you now have to physically present yourself at Bahama Customs to exit. 

8:50am-  Steve went to talk to another boater on s/v Spellbound to see what their plans are for crossing. 

9:15am- Went for a walk and then talk to the Customs Inspector about the process of checking out of the Bahamas. Looks like there might be a window to cross the gulf on Monday. The new procedure is you go on on line to ‘Click2go’ site as we did for  inbound entry,  then report to Customs office before leaving.  That is the tricky part because they only have Customs on certain islands and they are not always opened. 

After talking with Sue and Gunter, we decided to start crossing on Monday. 

11:30am- So we filled out the ‘on line outbound form’(which you have to clone your PCR# and then get a new PCR number.) Not the easiest system to understand.  We then went in the office to hand in our Immigration papers. The officer helped us out.  We are ready to depart. 

Had lunch when we got back. I did some painting and played ukulele while Steve read all afternoon. 

5:00pm-  We went to the Tranquil Turtle for drinks before Sue and Gunter met us at 5:30pm. 

Sue thought it would be  a good idea to wear our FPYC apparel and get a group photo with the Bahamian blue water behind us. 

There was an opened coconut which Steve removed the meat and shared it with Gunter and Sue. 

We had a great dinner before we went back to our boat by 7:45pm. 

Tomorrow we will be heading to Manjack one of my favourite islands.  Actually, it is also called Nunjack Cay.  It will be nice to move on. 

8:00pm- Watched a couple of series before going to bed.