s/v Rainy Days

Treasure Cay - 2017

Apr 28 & Apr 29

--Blogpost written by Bob

During the afternoon yesterday the marina staff was setting up a tent by the Tipsy Seagull with extra tables underneath as well as extra tables around the pool. Sure enough, the tables were needed. People seemed to come out of the woodwork for "pizza night" last night. The pizza was very well made and delicious, very much like back in the U.S.

This morning, Friday, April 28, the cool breeze is blowing right into our cockpit again--from the southeast. A cloud bank obscured the sunrise this morning. It is very quiet and peaceful here in the Treasure Cay Marina. Most of the slips are empty (about 10% occupancy I would guess) but I understand that it gets much more crowded in the summer when boaters come over from Florida. Most of the boats in the marina are power boats. There are currently four sailboats in the marina, including our boat. There are several sailboats in the mooring area just outside the marina--those dozen or so moorings are owned and maintained by the marina.

Lizzie, our Maine Coon cat, was cooped up in the air conditioned boat
while we played on the beach yesterday. This morning, she
was in the cockpit enjoying the fresh air and sunshine
when she wanted Maggie's attention. She always
puts her front paw on the person
whose attention she wants.

This is a 50+ year old marina and even though it seems to be well maintained for its age, the showers need to be completely redesigned to keep with the times--there is no private changing area but one big open area to undress and dress.

I'm sure that the Bahamians who work in the marina, restaurants, and shops get a distorted view of Americans (and Canadians) from the ones they meet here--the ones that own the multi-million dollar homes by the water and the ones that come into the marina in 50-foot long sport fishing boats and huge motor yachts (and even the women who walk on the beach topless). Little do they know that only a very small fraction of Americans are able to do this.

We rented a golf cart for a half day today to explore Treasure Cay--it cost $25. (On Great Guana Cay it cost $40 for a half day rental and there was much less to see there.) We found modest homes north of the marina complex while more expensive multi-million dollar waterfront homes were located south of the marina complex.

This is one of the many modest homes that are located north
of the marina complex. They are built
on a concrete pad.

This is one of the many multi-million dollar waterfront estates
south of the marina complex. This one has
concrete walls all around it.

This photograph is of an area just inside one of the peninsulas
just south of the marina complex. Homes are
currently under construction in this area.

We spent most of the afternoon lounging by the marina's pool and reading.

The unusual event of the day was getting a photograph of
Lizzie from below sitting on the companionway
hatch. She never ceases to amaze us!

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Today is shaping up to be "another beautiful day in paradise" as the clouds move toward the northwest and the sun comes out. The wind is blowing about 15 knots out of the southeast again today. The current temperature is about 74 degrees but I'm sure it will reach the low 80's in the afternoon. I hope I'm not repeating myself too much but this weather has become a pattern lately.

Today, Saturday, April 29, will be our last full day on Treasure Cay since we are planning on going back to Marsh Harbour tomorrow (Sunday) morning. According to the weather forecast, Tuesday, May 2, presents the best opportunity to transit the Whale Cay Passage when winds drop down into the 5 to 10-knot range. We thought it best to wait for favorable wind conditions in Marsh Harbour where we could more easily provision for our last two weeks in the Bahamas and we would be waiting at anchor, rather than in a cash-consuming slip in a marina. Treasure Cay Marina doesn't really cost all that much ($1.50 per foot of boat length per night plus $10/day for water plus electricity at 65 cents per kilowatt-hour) but we tend to eat out more often since we can't use our onboard barbecue in a slip, increasing our daily expenses.

I have to admit that I like it here on Treasure Cay but it is quite a change from all the other Abaco destinations we've visited. I walked to the little bakery this morning and picked up a loaf of freshly made raisin bread. Maggie used it to make delicious French toast this morning for a later-than-usual breakfast.

I did some touch up on my external teak trim late morning--the finish was getting pretty bad in spots. It still needs a lot more touch up but that may have to wait until we get back to the Chesapeake Bay. To some degree, I miss being constructive but it is difficult to do much in the intense sun typical of the afternoons.

While here on Treasure Cay, I finished reading a book by Christian Williams entitled Alone Together: Sailing Solo to Hawaii and Beyond. The author, a retired writer, at 71 years old, sailed his Erickson 32 sailboat from southern California to Hawaii and back. The characters in the books he reads accompany him on his sailing trip. He wrote the book after receiving lots of views of his YouTube video he produced of his voyage. I highly recommend his book (available here on Amazon) and his 30-minute YouTube video. It is a very interesting story!

We went to the beach again this afternoon and walked all the way to the southern point of the beach. When we returned we were caught in a brief rain shower and ran for cover in the Coco Beach Bar. The sun was out again in 10 minutes or so.