Green Turtle Cay

Feb 28 to Mar 2

— Blogpost written by Bob

Wednesday, February 28

When we came to Green Turtle yesterday, we took a mooring buoy in White Sound because we heard that the water was clearer than in Black Sound where we stayed last year. However, we found that White Sound is a little too much like south Florida for our tastes. There are two fancy restaurants and marinas that seem hard pressed for business and lots of cottages and homes that are probably second homes owned by people from Florida. There are very few cruisers here. In the nearby Tranquil Turtle Bar they even play country & western music from the U.S.  We didn’t come to the Bahamas to be in a place like south Florida, not that there’s anything wrong with south Florida.  Consequently, we are planning our escape to Black Sound on Thursday morning at high tide.

The overcast skies finally cleared around 5 PM.  The sun shone brightly for the last daylight hour of the day.  (So, now we know what to expect when the weather forecast says “slight chance of rain shower.”)  

Wind velocity was 10 to 15 knots overnight—it was a nice cool wind. We had to take down our forepeak tent around 10 PM because the wind was having its way with it. This morning, it is currently blowing at 10 knots (but with occasional gusts up to 15 knots) out of the east northeast.  The sunrise was beautiful this morning and there are a few clouds in the sky.

The sunrise over White Sound was simply stunning 
on the last day of February 2018!

We are out of range for the Abaco’s Cruiser’s Net—we lost contact with them when we reached the Whale Cay Passage yesterday. So, now our weather forecasts come from online sources (Weather Underground and Windy) and Chris Parker’s Caribbean Weather forecast on 4.045 MHz on our HF receiver. The forecast for today is 10 to 15 knots of wind out of the northeast and another day with a “slight chance of rain shower.”

Our first order of business was to go into Black Sound by dinghy and arrange for a mooring for tomorrow--we successfully reserved at mooring at Donny's Marina.  The mooring includes showers and WiFi access.  We ran into Marion and Jonathon of Eleuthera II, who we met last season in March in Green Turtle.  They are on the mooring right next to the one we reserved.

Our second order of business was to visit Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar and have the original Goombay Smash--this is something we missed out on last season.

Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar is in
a very simple frame building.

Miss Emily passed away 21 years ago.  Miss Emily's
daughter, shown above, now runs the business.

This is a scene on our way back to the dinghy
from Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar.

I had two original Goombay Smashes--they were very tasty and strong.  Maggie had to help me finish the second one.  Needless to say, I was feeling no pain in the afternoon!

Last evening we watched two parrots fly westward over White Sound. About mid-morning today, we saw them fly back eastward over White Sound. Their squawks and their long tails in flight are very distinctive.

Thursday, March 1

It was a very still morning with not even a whisper of wind. The surface of the water reflected every detail. As the sun warmed the air, there was a color shift in the eastern sky from peach to yellow.

As the sun was coming up over white sound, the early
morning sky appeared to be a peachy color. 

Looking away from the sunrise, the reflections
from the water were extraordinary.

In the mornings, we now listen to Chris Parker on the Caribbean Weather Forecast. The broadcast includes seemingly accurate forecasts for the Bahamas, as well as for Gulf Stream crossings.

The morning was still and the colors vibrant
as the sun came up over White Sound.

We left our mooring buoy in White Sound at 7:30 AM. The channel depths were nearly 9 feet all the way out White Sound and a little over 8 feet into Black Sound—I’m glad we were traveling at high tide! We tied up to our new mooring buoy at Donny’s Marina in Black Sound at shortly after 8 AM.  It was a very short trip in the stillness of the morning.

We had a delicious lunch at the Turtle Crawl
Cafe--it is new this season.

We went into town at about 10:30 and walked around a bit.  We then had lunch at the Turtle Crawl Cafe.  It is run by the granddaughter of the original proprietor--it was closed down for 20 years.  Many years ago, the building was used as a small grocery store.

Now, this is Bahamian color at its finest!  (I photographed 
this same house last season for our blog.)

This is a rundown waterfront house in New
Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay.

This is the view in front of the above house.

Whoops!  You have to wonder how something like this
happens but it was probably as simple as coming
in at high tide and not paying attention to the
fact that your boat may swing over a
sand bar as the tide goes out.

In our travels around New Plymouth this morning we found out that there is no longer a bank here on the Green Turtle Cay.  (The banks on Elbow Cay, Man-O-War Cay, Treasure Cay, and Green Turtle Cay have all been closed down recently.  This has to hurt small businesses that operate on cash receipts.)  To get cash, we have to go back to Marsh Harbour.  We have enough cash for about 2 or 3 weeks but probably not for the entire month we're planning on staying here.  

So, we will pick a suitable weather window and head back to Marsh Harbour for cash--and we'll do some provisioning there too.  It is about a 4-hour trip to Marsh Harbour.  Working around the tides and the wind, we will have to leave on Monday around 9 AM (with about 18 knots of wind out of the north)  and return on Tuesday around 2 PM (with lighter winds out of the southwest).  We will keep monitoring this weather window.

Dusk on Black Sound on Green Turtle
Cay on March 1, 2018

Black Sound suits our tastes much better than White Sound.  Here we are close to the settlement of New Plymouth, working boatyards, and many other cruising sailboats.

Friday, March 2

This morning the wind is blowing at about 12 knots from the west northwest. As the day progresses it is forecast to intensify and clock around from the north. In Black Sound we are well protected from wind from almost any direction. Consequently, there is very little motion on the surface of the water.

The roosters in the marina are crowing as the sun is rising. There are several healthy-looking chicken families on the marina property. I was watching them yesterday while Maggie was taking her shower—the marina has only one shower.  There were two hens with baby chicks walking around on the deck and grounds, as well as two very colorful roosters.  They could fly and go anywhere they wished—the fact that could fly surprised me. They were obviously very well fed.

Lines hanging from a colorful boat
shed at Donny's Marina.

Our weather window for going back to Marsh Harbour for cash and provisions has now moved to Tuesday-Wednesday (from Monday-Tuesday) according to Chris Parker’s weather forecast this morning.

After discussing our cash situation with Donny, he suggested that we use PayPal to pay for our month's mooring rental ($250)--this worked great and allowed us to delay on a trip to Marsh Harbour for a little longer.

Today we just lounged on the boat reading. It was a beautiful day with a nice cool breeze which clocked around to the northwest by noon. We put our little “wings” up (which were made to keep the rain out of the cockpit but were useful) to keep the cockpit shaded from the afternoon sun.

What we call "wings" are triangular pieces of Sunbrella
material that are zippered to the sides of our bimini.

We went into New Plymouth, the original settlement on Green Turtle Cay, in the early afternoon.  A dark cloud was coming over the mooring field as we departed from the boat.

As we got into New Plymouth, the rain started but
it quickly passed over and the sun reappeared.

Once majestic, this old home is simply rotting away.

Donny's Marina after the storm passed through.

We're getting a little bored after 3 or 4 days here but we are getting some great photographs.  We haven't been to the beach yet.  We're saving this for tomorrow...


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