Fowl Cay to Baker's Bay

On May 5th, despite a rough night for Hope, they pulled up their anchor in Marsh Harbor and met us in Fowl Cay where we anchored for the night. Not too long after anchoring, Lauren, Ellie and Paul followed us in their dinghy to a snorkeling spot about a mile off shore. It was very rolley and it seemed like a long way to the mooring balls but just before giving up and turning around, we saw the bright orange mooring balls off in the distance and eventually tied up our dinghies to them. Once there, we did a little underwater exploring. It felt a little strange to be out in the middle of the ocean snorkeling but also fun. After snorkeling around a bit, we got back in our dinghies and went to a nearby very small beach that had a little pool that was very warm and we all sat in for a while before going back to our boats.

Not long after returning to our boats, we pulled up our anchors and headed to Marsh Harbor for provisioning and to hold up for a couple days due to some high winds expected. May 6th, we woke to very calm glass-like water and thought it would be a perfect day to go SUP’ing before things got rough. After paddling around and getting back on the boat, the girls on Hope and I went to the market. We had a very fun taxi driver, Lady K. She was so much fun and on the way back from the market, she was playing some music that her brother had put together and had entered in a contest on the island. She cranked the radio and sang and bounced around to the rythm, which had us all doing the same. Probably the best taxi ride I’ve ever experienced. Not only was she lively, you could just feel her heart..her 'Bahamian energy'(which happens to be the title of the song we were listening to)! Her home had been destroyed by Hurricane Dorian but she was still smiling, joyful and hopeful. I think we all left her taxi feeling very uplifted!

Later that evening we went on board Hope to claim that rain check for ‘movie night’! Lauren and Ellie picked out another old classic starring Audrey Hepburn, called Charade. Very ejoyable night. May 7th, it was way too windy to get off the boat, so we just worked on boat projects and I did a little catching up on the blog. May 8th, the wind had finally calmed down and it was like a mass exodus throughout the anchorage, everyone was leaving to get to better more beautiful places. We missed the mad dash, which was fine, we weren’t in any hurry…waiting for Kory who had a follow-up doctor appointment. All went well and Kory just has to take it easy for the next two weeks. After this good news, we all continued with our plans to leave Marsh Harbor and to sail to Baker’s Bay. We arrived around 3:30 in the afternoon just in time to catch a nice walk on the beach. We found a lot of shells and each of us girls, took a ‘sea biscuit’ (a more chunkier type of sand dollar) with us.

Our last day at Baker’s Bay, we took our dinghies into the marina around the corner from the anchorage where we were not very well received and basically got kicked out by security. Since it is a private marina we were not allowed to walk, go to their market or get fuel. Nothing was allowed unless you were a member. Feeling shot down, and a little embarrassed we dinghy’d back to our boats. But the day wasn’t a complete bust because the girls invited me on their boat for a little spa time..Lauren gave me a little mani/pedi, Ellie brought me an ice cold glass of water with a slice of lemon and European atmospheric music was being played in the background. They thought of everything to make it like a real spa experience! They are such great company..and the very sweetest!

Scotland Cay

In the early afternoon on May 4th at Scotland Cay, the girls got in the dinghy and we went into a small shallow bay through a cut that led to a beautiful private beach. As we tiptoed in the dinghy through the cut avoiding rocks and maneuvering around sandbars, we felt that it was much too shallow for the dinghy so we all got out and pulled it the rest of the way to the beach. We left the dinghy parked on the sand at the beach and took a walk..as always in search of little treasures. It was very peaceful and calm in the bay…the water looking very inviting. There were only a couple of other people on the beach that we saw. The guys showed up a little later by dinghy and pulled up on the beach and got into the water to cool off. As the guys stood in the water, the girls swam and relaxed on the beach. Such an enjoyable afternoon!

This is when they day turned not so lovely.....When leaving the beach and after making it through the shallow cut, the wind and waves had picked up quite a bit causing a very wild and wet ride back to our boats! Rick and I had a difficult time getting the dinghy tied up because of the sloshing and rolling waves. I was worried Rick would fall off of the dinghy in the process but all went well and the dinghy was put away safely back on it’s davits. We had planned on having a ‘movie night’ on Hope later but we were not about to get back in the dinghy in the sea conditions at that time. So, I texted Kerry to let her know we needed to take a rain check and she replied with a text that I was not expecting or prepared for which had me gasping! Apparently, Kory had fallen out of the dinghy when they got back to their boat and he cut his heel open..almost taking his heel completely off! Kerry and Paul were able to wrap the heel in bandages and then called for help on the VHF. Fortunately, help was just nearby in the Mega yacht in our anchorage that had a medic on board. The medic along with another passenger rushed over in their dinghy and climbed aboard Hope. They took one look at Kory's heel and refused to unwrap the bandages, for fear of causing it to bleed more. The medic said that he didn’t have the capability of doing sutures, which there was no doubt he needed, so he recommended that Kory get to Marsh Harbor immediately and see a doctor (since there are no hospitals on the island). The medic arranged for a taxi to meet Hope at the fuel dock when they arrived. It was so amazing how everything fell into place for Kory to get the help he needed! Paul helped drive the boat. Kerry tended to Kory and the girls did whatever they could to assist. The entire crew seemed to fall in line without question, and jumped into high gear and did what needed to be done. Rick and I offered assistance, but there really wasn’t anything we could do. We stayed at Scotland Cay on standby and planned to go to Marsh Harbor the next day. Kory called us after the doctor visit later that evening and told us he was doing fine and that he had been all stitched up....31 stitches at that!! Viewer discretion advised...

New plan is to meet Hope in Fowl Cay the next day.

Sandy Cay and Guana Cay

We left Man O War on May 1st having a nice sail on jib alone to Sandy Cay where we met up with Hope and their newest crew member Paul who would be joining them for a week. The day after arriving in Sandy Cay the girls picked me up in their dinghy and took me to their boat where we watched some singing and dancing videos that Lauren and Ellie had put together. I was very impressed to say the least with the many talents of these two! We also watched an old 1953 movie, Dangerous Crossing starring Jeanne Crain recommended by Lauren and Ellie. It was a fun afternoon on their boat for me while Rick was back on our boat working on our water-maker which I’m sure wasn’t as fun. But upon my return from Hope, Rick was happy to tell me that his work had paid off and we were getting more water per hour than we had been. Not what we were getting originally, but better.

The next morning, Kerry knowing our water supply was still a bit limited, offered to do our laundry, which was so kind! She washed, dried, folded and delivered our clothes back to our boat later that day. Kory and Paul worked on our dinghy motor and got it running!! Yay! Back in business! Not much later, we suited up, grabbed our fins and snorkels and dashed off in our dinghies to a great snorkeling spot just around the corner from where our boats were anchored. This was the best snorkeling we have ever done! The water so clear for one, making it possible to clearly see the colorful fish, occasional Rays and turtles, and the healthy and thriving coral, made it so. After snorkeling we dinghy’d to an island beach across from the snorkeling spot and wandered around soaking up the sun, taking in the breathtaking views of the brilliant blue sky, the aquamarine water, and the white powdery sand, while finding and gathering lots of shells! Just another day in Paradise!

May 3rd, we left Sandy Cay around 8a.m. and sailed to Guana Cay…arriving around 12:30p.m. And when I say, ‘sailed’, I mean SAILED! This had to be the best sailing day we have had since we have been in the Bahamas! The winds were around 24kts on our beam. We had both main and headsail up and we were going around 8.5kts pretty consistently! Woohoo! This fun day wore us out though, because when we arrived to our destination and after anchoring, Rick and I both just read and napped the rest of the day. Hope went to shore in their dinghy, walked around and had a bite to eat at Nipper’s and also Grabber’s.

The following day when Rick and I were raring to go after an afternoon of rest the previous day, we picked up Paul, Lauren and Ellie and dinghy’d to shore and tied up to the dock. We walked past a restaurant on the beach and through the small town over to the Atlantic side of the island to a very nice beach with only two other people on it. We took a long walk then went swimming in the ocean! It felt great and it was the first time we swam where there were actual waves. I loved it! After spending quite some time in the water, after drying off with colorful Turkish towels and for some reason, us girls decided to tie them on in many different configurations, making skirts, wraps, shawls, dresses and whatever else we could come up with. And of course this was a fun photo opportunity.

(Lauren and Paul in a race...you can guess who won)

After returning to our boats, we collectively decided we’d seen all there is to see at Guana Cay and sailed over to Scotland Cay which was a short sail away. Stay tuned for our lovely time in Scotland Cay… although some of it not so loveley! It's definitely not for the faint of heart!