February-2 2007

February 2007
We have been cruising the Abacos for the first time and really enjoying ourselves. There are not too many boats here as most are rushing down to Marsh Harbour for the frenetic winter social life. We have not rushed with them.
Manjack and Crab Cays provided an excellent anchorage with plenty of shelter from the prevailing easterlies but we have to keep an eye out for the cold fronts arriving from the eastern USA. We have played boules on one of the white sand beaches here as well as the usual beach combing. Our goal is to find a ‘sea bean’. These are the large seeds from African trees that make the Atlantic crossing by them selves and end up on the ocean beaches. They are not easy to spot as they become festooned with other life as they make the slow journey. No luck so far...

We reprovisioned at New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay and wandered around the sleepy town. All this area has strong links to the loyalists during the US war of independence from British rule. The old houses are wooden and small but usually lovingly maintained. You needed to know when the ferry was bringing supplies to be able to buy the best supplies. Food is expensive and largely from the USA.
For one of the passing storms with 30-35 knot winds we anchored in White Sound in the northern part of Green Turtle Cay. The holding for the anchor was marginal so we used Bluff House Marina for the worst few days. At this time of the year they subtract your dockage fees from your restaurant and bar bills which makes the stay reasonably priced.
We walked everywhere we could while marooned here and were sad to see the rate of housing development - soon be just like Florida...

Wildlife abounds and much of it is unafraid of humans. There are stunning emerald green hummingbirds moving around amongst the tree blossoms and we caught sight of an immature green heron trying to hide in brush where his mother had probably told him to wait while she went hunting. He, of course, had strayed into view.
We met our first bananaquit feeding from the base of a hibiscus flower. The hummingbird hovers at the front of the open bloom and darts a long tongue to the bottom for nectar. The bananaquit sits at the base of the bloom with a long curved beak and also uses a long tongue to find nectar at the base of the flower.
Our attempts at fishing over the shallow banks in the Abacos and beyond have tended to reward us with angry baracudas. Very feisty and full of needle sharp teeth. They have to be released - very carefully indeed!

From Green Turtle Cay we went to Marsh Harbour for more provisions and fuel and then on to Little Harbour. Next stop was Royal Island at the north of Eleuthera and then down to the Exumas Land and Sea National Park at Warderick Wells. This involved two open ocean day passages which gave us no fish. Our fiends on Merlin caught a Dolphin Fish and shared the spoils with Misty and ourselves. Very tasty indeed!