Abacos to the US

Beautiful starfish beside the boat in the anchorage. s

Following the wedding, we bounced around the Sea of Abacos between the big island of Great Abacos and the various smaller barrier islands of Man-O-War, Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay, and West End. We also spent some time back at Marsh Harbor on Great Abacos to wait out heavy winds.

Man-O-War

The main industry, other than tourism on the island of Man-O-War, is the building of small boats by the Albury Brothers. This business has been passed down for several generations. You find these boats all throughout the Bahamas. I think it is the only company building small boats in the Bahamas.


Our friend Dennis checking out a freshly painted boat.


Sailboat in drydock and the anchorage of Man-O-War


Because the Loyalists that inhabited these islands tried to plant cotton (unsuccessfully for it to be profitable) you occasionally see a stray cotton plant on certain islands in the Bahamas.


Our friend Bettye posing by a huge ancient tree


Church on Man-O-War Cay


Bob and Dennis checking out a monument to local heroes of the island.


High winds on these island produce "tortured trees."


Lobster traps stacked and ready to be deployed for the season. The aren't really "traps." Lobsters go into them and hide making them easier to catch by the divers.


Man-O-War is another island with a "Fire Department." We never saw this in the Exumas or on Long Island.


Beautiful specimen of a Lignum Vitae Tree, the national tree of the Bahamas.


Pretty Penny in the anchorage

Great Guana Cay


Great Guana is known to cruisers because if has several cruiser-friendly bars on the island. Grabbers in on the lee side of the island and has a pool that cruisers can use.


Bar at Grabbers


I like what they do on this island - when something breaks - turn it into art!


Sign is correct - stay away from trees with orange patches on their bark. Not all are marked like this one.


Hike up to another bar overlooking the ocean side of the island.


View of the ocean from the deck of the bar.


Sunset view of the anchorage from Grabbers Bar


Always sad to see a boat where it should not be.


Bob and I at Grabbers for lunch with Dennis and Bettye


Sunday afternoon live music by a local musician by the Grabbers Pool


Sunset at Great Guana just before the clouds rolled in.

Green Turtle Cay


Church and harbor at Green Turtle Cay


One of many colorful signs on the island.


Statue of Jesus in front of a church building.


Historic jail. It sure had a nice recent paint job.


Unusual tree with limbs that grow perpendicular to the trunk


Our friend Dennis pumping up the dinghy before their ride back to the their boat.


Bob and I joined some other boaters for pizza! What a treat.

Bob's birthday and Mother's Day were on the same day this year. We joined Dennis and Bettye and Francie and Bob on Barefootin for Sunday Brunch Buffet.


Bettye, Penny, and Francie checking out the lovely gift shop at the restaurant.


All the mothers attending the brunch were given a lovely sea glass bracelet and we are showing off ours!


Bob and Francie, Bettye and Dennis, and Penny and Bob


Love this boat's name!


Close the hatches - rain to Starboard!


A little generator trouble - so Bob is improvising in the galley.

West End

We finally moved to West End as a jumping off point to cross to the US. Dennis and Bettye on Miss Bettye were traveling with us. We had trouble anchoring off the island and finally gave up and went in to the marina. Dennis was happy with his anchor set, so they stayed at anchor. We were still tying up the boat to the dock when we noticed a green American Tug come into the marina. Sure enough, it was My Sharona! We had not seen Wayne and Sharon for a least a month or more and were shocked to see them there. We had thought they would cross over on a more southern route.

We enjoyed dinner with them at the lovely marina and resort.


Nice pool at the resort.


Miss Bettye at anchor off West End

The Crossing

The next morning, My Sharona joined Miss Bettye and the Pretty Penny in crossing back to the US to Ft. Pierce, FL. This was our first time using this route. One advantage is that it avoids having to wait for many bridges in the ICW saving us a day in travel time.


Sunrise on the morning we left.

We had a nice calm cruise across to the US and arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Good to be back in the USA!