Bahamas Day 4 & 5

Manjack/Crab/Nunjack Cay

Back in Florida, when we were planning out our Gulf Stream passage, we thought we would want a week at a dock to mentally recover once we arrived in the Bahamas. There was also a low-pressure system forecasted with some high winds the day after we planned to arrive. With this in mind, we reached out to Donny’s marina in advance and booked a few nights in the very protected Black Sound on Green Turtle Cay. 

But as we say, a sailor’s plans are made in the sand at low tide…

By the time we arrived at Green Turtle, instead of being drained, we were amped and so excited to start exploring. The weather forecast also improved and called for ideal cruising conditions for the foreseeable future – unheard of in February! So, after just two nights at Donny’s, we decided to head out to explore some of the remote islands we had passed on our passage from Great Sale Cay to Green Turtle Cay. 

First on our list was Manjack Cay, which is really three small islands right next to each other – Manjack, Nunjack and Crab Cays. We cast off our dock lines just after high tide on Sunday, February 2 and left Black Sound. A quick six miles later, we dropped anchor in the lee of Manjack Cay, right near our friends on SV Radiant Spirit. We launched Margaret and did a little exploring within the anchorage. Manjack Cay is known for its mangrove channels that you can explore by dinghy to see lots of various wildlife, including turtles! We went to the entrance of the cove but found that it was too shallow, we needed to try again at high tide. We headed back to Alaya and settled in for the afternoon. 

One of the things Lucas and I both wanted to improve upon from our last cruising season was just chilling…I know, seems silly to have to practice but if you have met me, you will understand. Manjack was really our first opportunity to just chill on Alaya in a beautiful place in beautiful weather.

What do I like to do while practicing my “chill”? It depends on the day. My hobbies this season included reading on my Kindle, coloring in my Mackinac Island coloring book, doing the NY Times puzzles and working on my various cross-stitch projects. I also like to write posts for this blog. By the time we were in Manjack, I was already pretty behind on posts given our busy boat work period and pedal-to-the-metal sailing in January (forgive me, Tony!).

What does Lucas like to do during his chill periods? Again, it depends on the day. He can be found doing deep dives into random Wikipedia articles, scrolling Reddit, noodling on new projects for Alaya, studying for his ABYC certification or reading on his Kindle. 

After a wonderfully slow afternoon, we went over to SV Radiant Spirit for sundowners and to catch up on each other’s journey. Jo and Steph left Deltaville a few weeks before we did but ran into some technical issues just before Christmas. It was fun to swap stories, they have so much to share from their 20+ years of cruising.

The next morning, we took Margaret over to the mangroves around 10 a.m., just after high tide. We spent the next few hours dinghying around in the beautiful surroundings. There were so many turtles! We also saw some stingrays and a small shark of some kind. Hush Puppy, our electric outboard, was the perfect tool for the job, we could move around almost silently as we tried to get close to the turtles. Despite our silence, most of the turtles would zoom away as we approached, I never knew sea turtles could move so fast!

After our turtle adventure, we went for a walk on the nature trail maintained by the island’s owner. The trail was marked with reclaimed trash sculptures made by fellow cruisers. Unfortunately, on most beaches, there is a plethora of washed-up plastic trash to pick from. The trail took us to a beautiful outlook looking out on the anchorage. 

Having worked up an appetite, we decided to try our new black bean burger mix for dinner. Our friends on SV Novella told us about this mix that just needs water. Intrigued, Lucas ordered a canister when we were still in the US. Upon delivery, Lucas discovered that he had ordered a metric ton of the dry mix. When Lucas mentioned the brand to his Uncle Andy, who is a professional chef, Andy told him that was a brand for doomsday preppers – hilarious! I whipped up some homemade buns and Lucas made sweet potato fries as a side. The burgers were absolutely delicious, which is good because we have enough mix to last the next four years.

After thoroughly enjoying the experience, we left Manjack Cay the following morning, hauling up the anchor out of the perfect water and setting our sights on Powell Cay.