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I am writing this on the following Monday anchored in Black Sound on Green Turtle after a relaxing afternoon at anchor, several great rum drinks and beating Jill twice at RummyCub. The sun is setting behind a line of cumulus clouds and the wind is blowing 10 Kt from the E and the world looks good.
We listened to the cruisers net in the morning before doing anything else and
everyone was raving about the wonderful weather today and for the next few days,
perfect weather for a few days. We decided to depart around 11 for Man of War.
We only had a few things to do to get ready, I wanted the extra time for the
tide to come in a little more and have high tide at Man of War. We straightened
up the boat and Jill got ice and I paid the bill. A large sailboat that came in
yesterday was a few slips S of us, the ocean crossing type with an international
crew. They pulled out around 9 or tried to. They backed up about 10’ and could
go no further. The day was very nice and lots of boats were getting under way.
We watched all our neighbors disappear and the large sailboat also. At the
appointed time we joined the exodus. Outside the harbor we put the dingy into
the water from the foredeck and pulled it the rest of the way. There were lots
of sailboats out and about but we seemed to be the only ones headed for MOW at
that time. We had a nice sail in a light SW breeze and since it is only about 6
miles it did not take long. We pulled into the S harbor and were pleased to see
there was a fair amount of room, there were fewer boats than I have ever seen
here. We picked up a mooring anyway and relaxed for a few hours. Several boats
left and AKA a Roberts steel ketch we were next to in Little Harbor came in and
anchored. We put the motor on the dingy and headed to town. At one dock we saw
The Island Chiropractor which is based at Harbor View and left a few days ago.
They said we could tie up to the dock there and we started walking around the
town. In one store I realized I had forgotten my wallet so I left Jill to window
shop and returned to the boat. About half way back the motor stopped and I knew
I had run out of gas. Opening the gas cap proved it. Fortunately the wind was
with me and I rowed the rest of the way without much problem. From now on we
will carry the gas can in the dingy. Back in town we meet the crew of AKA and
asked about Alberys Boat Yard #2. They pointed the way but said nobody was there
at this time and the lady with them was Alberys sister and would take the
mooring fee. They swore it was true so we gave her the $7 and started walking
around the island. There were more streets and lots of new houses particularly
on the ocean side. We walked along the beach for a while and then back to the
harbor. We stopped at MOW Marina which the cruising guide said had a ‘locally
renowned chef’.
The restaurant was a large BBQ and 20 tables under a large roof
overlooking the harbor. We had a few soft drinks (the island is dry) and relaxed
for a while. A large cat sat beneath one table and begged for scraps. After
recovering a bit we walked back to the dingy and visited the grocery store to
see what they had. We watched the fish swimming under the boats at the dock
outside the grocery store for a while and then returned to the MOW Marina and
the restaurant. There were only a few people there when we left but now it was
almost full, all the locals seem to like the food so it must be good. The smoke
from the grill was very appetizing. We both ordered the grilled dolphin and it
was great. It was getting dark as we motored back to the Phoenix. We played a
little spite and malice and went to sleep.
Last night we ate at the Conch Inn. I had the sausage and noodles. They made the most terrific sauce. A tomato bisc. We listened to the boater's net this morning. A catamaran blew over around Whale Channel. The NET is a local woman named Patty who calls from Blue Dolphin. She lets boaters give messages to each other and serves as a mode of advertisement for local restaurants, bars and 'happenings'. By 11 AM it was clear blue skies and calm seas. We took off for Man of War. It is a "dry" island = quiet and lovely. One of their few restaurants had a bar - b- q cookout. We had the most wonderful dolphin steaks and all the trimmings. The restaurant is only open in the evening from 5:30 - 8 PM. Rich left me in town window shopping and went for his wallet back at our anchorage. When he was half way there he ran out of gas! So he had a long row. I thought that he made it pretty fast though. He says the wind was with him. Ha, Ha. It was a totally quiet anchorage. We had the screens in but no bugs. It was about a 7.5 mile sail from Marsh Harbor to Man-of-War. Rich won at Spite and Malice :).
The cruisers net announced another good day and we slipped the mooring at 9
and headed for Guana Cay. The net had announced a pig roast at Nippers on Guana
Cay so we headed that way. The wind was light from the SE so we motor sailed and
pulled into the anchorage NW of the resort at noon. Several boats were already
anchored there and several more were in the harbor in front of the settlement.
We could see lots of new houses and construction going on. On the point S of the
settlement was a big new development. We put down 2 anchors and headed in to the
resort dock. We found signs leading to Nippers and after a short walk arrived on
the ocean side.
Nippers overlooks the a nice ocean beach and has one large
circular bar and another 2 story kitchen with tables on the upper level. We
ordered the local drink, Nipper Juice and had the pig roast which is very
similar to the one at Pete's Pub. The place was just packed with people. I don’t
think there were half this many people on the whole island when we were here a
few years ago. After gorging ourselves we walked down a staircase about 30’ to
the beach. There are areas of rock and areas of sand on the beach and we walked
around for a while and then jumped in. The water was cool but not as cold at
Great Harbor. The wind was blowing offshore so there was only a small swell
coming in today. After swimming and resting for a while we heard music from
Nippers and returned for a few more drinks. When we returned to the settlement
we saw lots more boats in the harbor and lots of boats on the dock, people came
from all around to get to the pig roast. We walked to the point S of the
settlement to look at the new development there. They have cleared a lot of
ground and dug a foundation. It is apparently a new resort. We walked back to
the Guana Cay Resort and had Guano Grabbers and swam in their fresh water pool.
We saw the largest curly tail lizard by the pool, at least 9" from head to
curled up tail. We returned to the boat and relaxed for a while. Another Sabre
was anchored near us. It may have been the one we saw at the Jib room at Marsh
Harbor. Then returned for dinner at the resort. It was quite dark by the time we
returned to the boat. We sat in the cockpit looking for meteors but the moon was
too bright.
We woke up early and headed for Guana Cay Resort and Nipper's. We motored most of the way with the jib up. I think Rich said it was 5 miles. I sunned and read. Auto pilot helped steer. (Yesterday I steered a good part of the way.) It must have been around noon when we arrived in the little harbor of Guana ay Resort. It was real quiet. We walked on and noticed that the resort has been newly painted, numerous boats - power and sail were anchored and at a new dock at the inner harbor. There are now may new houses (over a dozen) and the smaller houses of brick and cement along the bay have been newly painted bright colors. There is a new small church that wasn't along the lane 3 years ago too. Around the inner bay there were quite a few small older and unpainted houses. Now they are gone - replaced by new houses and at the far end of the road there is a new road. Some type of redevelopment has been started - a resort? A marina. The sign says marina, resort , store, gift shop... We walked over the hill following the signs that say "Nippers". Beautiful road - past the small cemetery - down and up a couple of hills and then we saw it! What a surprise! There were 100 - 150 people of all ages. Eating, drinking, listening to music and visiting. We saw the big guy who fell during the Limbo at Little Harbor and (I got his picture) and the women who live? and were working at "The Castle" at Marsh Harbor. We really loved the food and the "Nipper Juice". We had the buffer. We went swimming in the beautiful beach. A coral reef is right off shore 100 yards - lots of rocks. I swam to one and right beyond was a BIG hole. We rested in the shade and swam some more. There was a steady bunch of people coming to that place ! We walked back to the Guana Beach Club and had a Guana Grabber and swam in the fresh water pool. Nice. I laid in the hammock for a while. Also nice :).
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