Bahamas Day 2 and 3

Great Sale Cay and Green Turtle Cay

After our long Gulf Stream passage, we both slept like rocks on that first night. We awoke to a flat calm anchorage just in time to watch the sunrise. I went to the bow to start hauling up the anchor. Anchoring in the Bahamas is so different than anywhere else we have been. You can see everything in this beautiful water, including our anchor chain and the actual anchor on the seafloor. Novel concepts for us, it takes so much of the uncertainty out of anchoring. We were amazed every time we dropped or picked up the hook. 

Once I stopped ogling over the water and completed my job on the bow, we headed out onto the bank again. We passed by SV Radiant Spirit and SV Misty on our way out, hopefully we would see them again soon. 

The 50 miles to Green Turtle passed quickly, there was so much to see. The sun was out and the water was stunning. We arrived around 3 p.m. and anchored out in front of Green Turtle Cay’s Black Sound harbor entrance. Friends told us to wait for high tide to enter, which unfortunately was at 8 p.m. that evening. Once anchored in the outer bay, we launched Margaret to do some exploratory soundings. We debated entering the channel in the dark at high tide or waiting until high tide at 8 a.m. the next morning. As we motored into the harbor, there were marked posts but after we misread one of the arrows and found ourselves in three feet of water, we quickly decided to wait for the morning. It was super helpful to see the harbor and marina where we were headed though. We even got to say hi to our friends on SV Hannah, who we had met last year, before heading back to Alaya for the night. 

We got up early the next morning and prepared to move Alaya into the harbor. Thanks to our expedition the night before, the channel was easy this time around. As we approached the dock at Donny’s Marina, a whole welcoming committee arrived on the dock. Lucas pulled off some impressive maneuvering to get us between two large sailboats, which is always harder with an audience.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. Originally, we thought we could clear customs at a nearby government dock that was within walking distance but that turned out to be incorrect information. The only customs office was about four miles away on the other side of the island. We then decided to rent a golf cart to help us check out the island and get to customs. As we reviewed the golf cart advertisements at the marina, we met Chip and Wade. They offered to take us to customs on their golf cart. Sweet! We grabbed our immigration paperwork and hopped aboard their rental. 

On our way to customs, we got to know Chip and Wade a little more – such fun people! Friends forever, Wade is the captain of SV Aletheia and lives in Alaska during the summers, working as a flight paramedic; Chip is Aletheia’s first mate and lives in Louisiana on his rice/crayfish farm. Wade’s boat was on a mooring ball in the harbor. 

After a wild cart ride across the island, we arrived at the customs office located within Green Turtle Club and Marina. We poked around a few of the offices and learned that the agent hadn’t arrived yet. The people in the gift shop told us to come back later that afternoon. Not exactly specific. Frustrating but a good reminder that we were now on island time. Back to Alaya we went.

A few hours later, Chip very kindly offered to drive us to the customs office again. This time, we lucked out and the office was open. The check-in process was smooth and we were legal within a few minutes, excited about the fresh stamps in our passports. Our Louisianian chauffeur drove us back to the marina, showing us his favorite beach and teaching us about rice/crayfish farming as we went. Thank you, Chip and Wade!!

Now free to move about the country, we spent that afternoon switching Alaya into Bahamas mode. First on my list was switching out our winter clothes for summer clothes. It had been so cold down the entire east coast, that I had kept all of our summer clothes stowed away. A changeover was needed and fast, it was 75 degrees and I didn’t have easily accessible shorts! My other chore for the day was making a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It seemed like the best thank you gift for Chip and Wade. In exchange, they gave us the coolest boat card I’ve ever seen!

Finally dressed appropriately, we stopped by the marina’s happy hour and then we set out on a walk to explore the town. Green Turtle is home to New Plymouth, one of the oldest settlements in the Abacos. Like other islands in the Abacos, its first permanent residents were American loyalists escaping after the Revolutionary War. Some current residents, including the owner of the marina, Donny, could trace his roots back to the original loyalists. 

We followed signs to Sundowners, a bar right on the beach. They had done a nice job advertising, there were little signs everywhere pointing us in the right direction. We arrived just as the sunset and had our first rum drink of the trip. While enjoying the view and our drinks, we ran into Wade, Chip and a few other cruisers. The night grew legs as we sampled some local dishes, including our first conch fritters and cracked conch. Wade and Chip offered us another ride on their trusty golf cart, we trundled through down to the next bar, which required some off-roading. After enjoying another round of drinks and french fries at this bar, Chip and Wade gave us a ride back to the marina. Chocolate chip cookies were the best treat after a long night of Bahamian bar hopping. 

Day 3 proved to be just as awesome as the previous two (spoiler alert – every day in the Bahamas was pretty much awesome!). Before I get to that, we need to go back in time a few days. On our way to Green Turtle from Great Sale Cay, we experienced another “small world sailing” moment. About halfway through the day, we heard someone calling for Alaya on VHF. Lucas answered and here is a snippet of their conversation…

MV Mystic – “Hi Alaya. What is your homeport?”

Lucas – “Ann Arbor, Michigan”

MV Mystic – “Cool. We’re from Sandusky, Ohio! Did you buy your boat from Bob and Joanie?!”

Lucas – “Um…yes!”

MV Mystic – “We’ve sailed on your boat before! We are good friends with Bob and Joanie and have spent a ton of time on Alaya in Lake Erie”

I’m sorry what?! Turns out John and Cindy are long-time friends with Bob and Joanie, Alaya’s previous owners. We chatted for a few minutes on the radio and promised to meet up soon. They were headed for White Sound on the north side of Green Turtle Cay. 

So, back to Day 3, we set out to find Mystic. We dinghied out of the Black Sound, around a rocky outcrop and headed into White Sound, a mile or so away. We found MV Mystic in one of the small marinas in this bay, but no one was onboard. Figuring they were out for the afternoon, we killed some time at the nearby Green Turtle Club, ordering some delicious pina coladas and exploring the resort and nearby beach. 

After our excursion, it was time to try again. This time, we were in luck. Cindy and John were just getting back to their boat. Turns out they had dinghied over to Black Sound to find us! They got to see Alaya but just left us a boat card on deck since we weren’t there. We spent a few hours aboard the beautiful MV Mystic, learning about their adventures on Alaya and travels on Mystic. It was such a cool experience to meet them. We are honored to be the new owners of Alaya and to have brought her this far. Thanks for reaching out to us, John and Cindy!

We dinghied back to Alaya just as the sun set, a beautiful end to a wonderful day.