After thirty three days, we finally made it to the Abacos! We left Great Sale Cay at 7:30am, motoring 34.5nm into building East wind and seas, arriving at Allen’s Cay at 2:30. The wind and waves increasingly slowed us down, falling below 4kts at times in the gusts. It was a slow crawl.
This is a rather popular anchorage, even more so today since it provides some shelter from the strong East winds expected to last for a few days.
We celebrated our arrival in the Abacos with a bottle of Penfold’s Bin 407 Cabernet that we set aside for the occasion along with filet mignon and loaded baked potatoes while we watched the sunset.
We left the anchorage at Mangrove Cay at 8:00am, then had a lazy sail to Great Sale Cay. It was only 21nm today, which was a good thing because the wind was light and we weren’t going very fast.
We arrived at Great Sale Cay at 1:30. It was 86 degrees and the water temp was 78, so I jumped in the water to cool off a bit. Grabbed the snorkel gear to check the anchor and inspect the bottom. The bottom has a bit of slime but no barnacle growth to speak of yet. Will clean it at one of the anchorages in the Abacos later this week.
We grilled fajitas for dinner and I used the new bottle of scotch bonnet salsa from Trinidad that I bought at the local store in Freeport. Yummy!
It’s looking like it’s doable to get to Allen’s Cay in the Abacos tomorrow after all instead of waiting here for several days. We have an early start and full day of likely motoring into the wind to get to there. Probably going to be a bumpy ride. The wind is supposed to build starting tomorrow for several days.
Departed Port Lucaya at 7:20am, sailed 54.4nm around West End of Grand Bahama and anchored just about 5:00 off of a tiny island on the Bahama Bank. We left Lucaya under full sail, making over 8kts downwind with a 15-20kt S breeze. We had 3’ seas to our beam for a bit, then behind us giving us a push as we flew towards West End. Some squalls appeared ahead of us on our XM weather radar, so as much as it pained the racer in me, we put a double reef in the main to slow down and give the squalls time to pass ahead of us. We managed to avoid all but a few rain drops.
After rounding West End and turning back East, we shook the reefs out of the main. We were making good time and just after I jinxed us by saying I think we can skip Mangrove and make Great Sale Cay by sunset, the auto-pilot sheared off its mount bolts. Shortly afterwards, the wind settled down and there was no way we’d make the next cay by sunset.
Hand steering the rest of the way, we anchored in the tiny bit of lee the small Mangrove Cay offered. Gathering up tools and spare bolts, I climbed down in the bilge to repair the auto pilot for tomorrow. Squeezing through the tiny access hatch, contorting in an advanced boat yoga pose, it occurred to me this was still better than being stuck at my desk.
Repair complete, a Sands beer with a lime rewarded me for a great sail and quick repair. I grilled burgers and we ate as we watched the sunset over this little island. How lucky we are to experience this.
