Moving the boat back towards the US

We're moving back towards the US coast starting today.

Pulled up anchor and headed out from Treasure Cay this morning.

We decided to take the "shortcut" past Don't Rock instead of another trip out thru Whale Cut.  It saves a couple of hours, so worth it.

This is Don't Rock - just a lone rock protruding out in the shallow water.

The shortcut is very, very shallow.    The chart says the depth is .7 meters at low tide or  2.3  feet.  Since our boat draws about 4 feet, we obviously need more water than that under our keels.  So we had to time it on a rising tide (in case we run aground we'll still have some extra tide to lift us off, in theory).     Here's our path in case a fellow traveler wants to follow it - the lowest point we saw was about 6 feet so we breezed thru (but very slowly just in case!)

Strange brand new shipping facility at the north end of Great Abaco.  Looks brand new....

And completely deserted.

Arrived at Great Sale Cay about 12 hours later - great motor/sail.   Nothing much here - just a really good anchorage for the hop-off to the US coast.

 We'll probably do a 24 hour hop to the east coast of Florida since the weather is supposed to move in with a dreaded low pressure system by the weekend.  So, we'll be back with you in a day or two!

Treasure Cay

The big storm that was predicted did not really materialize.....we woke to cloudy skies and did have about an hour of heavy rain and wind.   Nice to get another "wash" of the salt crystals that grow everywhere on the boat.

The Capt'n checking things out...

After the rain stopped we set out towards clear skies and Treasure Cay (about 4 hours of motoring in choppy seas)

 Pretty entrance to Treasure Cay harbor.

There were mangroves, so of course we had to dinghy thru them.  This was the extremely shallow entrance channel into the mangroves.

Once inside, there was a mostly deep path thru.

Interesting things on the bottom.

The water was not as clear I'd hoped - looks like the shallow entrance probably traps alot of the water so it doesn't get flushed out regularly.  These fish seemed unconcerned that I was there with my camera.

More interesting coral and growth.

A little starfish.

And another different style starfish.

Back to Sojourn.  We have decided to start making our way back to the States....there is a good weather window coming up to cross the gulf stream this weekend.   We've got some normal boat maintenance that we need to do.  Plus, we need to schedule our two new engines for installation! 

Marsh Harbour

Went for a walk to check out "Boat Harbour" on the other side of the island.

Lots of big, fancy boats in this very protected marina.

Neat resort but almost deserted.  The skies look lovely but there is an approaching cold front that will make things nasty overnite and into tomorrow morning.  We'll move on after the weather passes us.

Marsh Harbour

Got a few errands done today in Marsh Harbour.

Lee and Lisa from Va Nunc invited us over to their Manta for evening snacks and conversation.

And we got to meet yet another Manta couple - Kristine and Scott from Bliss!  Neat folks, fun to hear all the cruising stories.

We'll stay in Marsh Harbour one more night to wait out a coming storm, then back to cruising!

Through Whale Cut and back to Marsh Harbour

We lifted anchor in the morning to head back thru the "Whale Cut".  It was forecast to be a little rough, but nothing we couldn't handle.  Turned out to be pretty rolly - 5-6 foot waves hitting us mostly from the side, so it rolls us to-and-fro.  But, it was only for about an hour.   

Photos are notorious for "flattening out" waves, but you get an idea here.

Once we were through the Whale Cut, the seas calmed a bit and I made some pecan sandy cookies with the last of some pecans my sweet sister gave me last year.  They had been in the freezer at home and I had taken them with me to Texas. 

I followed a Martha Stewart recipe and I'll admit they were pretty disappointing!  Look pretty but almost no flavor despite loads of butter, haha.

We needed to make water for several hours, so we stopped along the way at Fish Cays and anchored in the clear water.    I did some laundry - Duane saw me taking a photo and asked what I was doing - I told him that this photo will be named 'Laundry in Paradise'.    Back to Marsh Harbour for a couple of days.

To No Name Cay

We did a little walkabout on Green Turtle today.   My Garmin watch said we walked 3.5 miles.

Walked over to the ocean side.  Another pretty beach.  A little rough from the winds.

Took a little break at Pineapples Bar.  This black lab was "hunting" in the clear water.   We didn't see him catch anything, but he hung with it a long time.

The view from Pineapples with Sojourn in the background.

Just wandered around the inside anchorage....headed to No Name Cay later.

Books read so far

Since we have no TV, we read alot!!  I thought I'd share the list of books I've read since November when we went to Texas to pick up the boat.   Almost all are from the library and read on my Kindle.  I enjoyed almost all of them.   My online library website "suggests" books that I might enjoy.  I usually research the books a bit online - if "Goodreads" gives it over about 3.6/5 points, I'll give it a try if the subject interests me. 

Wanderer by Sterling Hayden

Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith

Try Not to Breathe: A Novel by Holly Seddon

Everything I Never Told You: A Novel by Celeste Ng

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

The Last Time They Met: A Novel by Anita Shreve

Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard

The Lying Game: A Novel by Ruth Ware

The Other Daughter: A Novel by Lisa Gardner

Me Before You: A Novel by Jojo Moyes

After You: A Novel by Jojo Moyes

The Stranger (Vintage International) by Albert Camus

True Fiction (Ian Ludlow Thrillers Book 1) by Lee Goldberg

Force of Nature: A Novel by Jane Harper

Peony: A Novel of China by Pearl S. Buck

Camino Island: A Novel by John Grisham

The Big Both Ways by John Straley

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

All Seeing Eye by Rob Thurman

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady

Never Let You Go: A Novel by Chevy Stevens

Maestra by L.S. Hilton

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

Above the Waterfall: A Novel by Ron Rash

The Cove: A Novel by Ron Rash

Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris

The Mime Order (The Bone Season Book 2) by Samantha Shannon

The Bone Season: A Novel by Samantha Shannon

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

Cover of Snow: A Novel by Jenny Milchman

Five Days in May: Book One in The Unexplainable Collection by Ninie Hammon

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production by J.K. Rowling

The Good Samaritan by John Marrs

The Silent Wife: A Novel by A. S. A. Harrison

Rainy day

We woke to squalls and thundershowers.   Nice occasionally to get a nice drenching rain to wash all the salt crystals off the boat! 

Since the winds are going to increase and move to the east, we headed back across to the Green Turtle anchorage.

And here we'll stay for a while.  There is a nasty cold front coming thru Sunday.....gusts expected to 50-60 knots, so we have to be ready.   Nothing exciting going on, just relaxing!

Cooperstown

I'd read that there was a small restaurant in Cooperstown that served cheap Bahamian fare.  So around lunchtime we put the dinghy in the water - and it wouldn't crank.  So, Duane diagnosed a battery cable that was completely corroded inside of a rubber sheath.  He cleaned it up and clamped it together in a makeshift repair.

I was sneaky and grabbed a photo....always fun to work on things as you bob around in the ocean!

 Easily found the restaurant with directions from the nice fellows at the dock.   No menu, just a nice lady that told us the 3 choices for the day.

I chose a wonderful spicy fall-off-the-bone chicken curry.   $10 and fun to have a meal "not cooked by me"!

Wandered around a little in the town just to stretch our legs.  Definitely not a tourist town.

But pretty views!

Headed south a couple of hours at 7 knots with full sails to an anchorage near Green Turtle.  We'll have some strong winds to deal with for a couple of days so will be finding protection from various wind directions.

Powell Cay

Went ashore at Powell Cay to do a couple of little hikes.


Beautiful beach.

There is a trail across the island to the ocean.  It's well marked by flotsam.  About 1/2 mile thru thick scrub.  Pleasant and shady!

A hermit crab scurried across the path - then "hid" in his borrowed shell.

Another beautiful view!

There was lots of trash washed up on the open ocean side - as often happens.  Some previous cruiser has taken it upon themselves to make a hammock out of old fishing net and line.  It's actually quite comfortable!

A different short trail to the "bluff" that is about 50' high - Sojourn at rest in the distance.

Saw this interesting thorny vine - the vine itself was thorny and the seed pods were just evil!  Will have to find out what this is called.

While we were walking, I picked up some prizes off the beach.  A floating frisbee, a heavy coconut and a cool fishing lure!

Duane made quick work of extracting the coconut from the husk.  I was excited at the prospect of some fresh coconut, but was disappointed when we cracked it we found it rotten.  Hope to find a fresher one sometime!

I made some coleslaw for lunch....thought you'd enjoy seeing the head of cabbage I bought in Green Turtle....

And we moved the boat a few miles across the See of Abaco and anchored outside of Copperstown for the night for some west wind protection.