Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay

What’s in a name?  Thought this should be addressed since we have had  our vessel's name, Panasea pronounced a variety of ways.  Panasy, Panseeya, Pansee and those who know the word Panacea pronounce it correctly as “pa-na-ˈsē-a”.   In Greek mythology, Panacea was a Goddess of Universal remedy but the term has general meaning as "cure all".  We liked the name and play on spelling when we bought Panasea so we made no changes and affectionately named the dinghy "Quick Fix".  

This got me to thinking about the different names of the various Cays we have visited and the following information was identified: 

Bahamas is actually 700 islands or Cays (pronounced Key, from the Spanich cayo) which means small island.  Bahamas name comes from the Spanish words "baja mar" meaning shallow sea.  The average depth of the Sea of Abaco is only 18ft.  Great Guana takes it's name from "guana" a corruption of the word "iguana".  This rather large lizard is enjoying a limited degree of acceptance as a pet in the US.  Fortunately iguanas are a protected species in most civilized parts of the world.

Treasure Cay, is no longer a Cay.  Years ago, a hurricane closed the spit over and it’s been a part of Great Abaco ever since.  It is rumored that a yet to be discovered, large pirate treasure is buried somewhere on the cay.  We looked but no luck.  If any of you reading this find it remember who put you on to it.

Nipper's

Great Guana is where we spent Father’s Day celebrating with a pig roast at Nipper’s,

followed by a swim with friends and Simon as our lifeguard.

  

 

The evening was topped off with a majestic sunset.   

Transiting from Great Guana we had nice 15kt winds on our beam to sail toward Treasure Cay.  Simon is always the hit on the beach and loves the attention.  

Man O War Cay

Rainy afternoons have provided opportunities for reading, catching up on minor boat projects and bread baking.  If you are impressed, don’t be, YouTube has a video for everything and makes it all seem so simple.  I think rebuilding the outboard carburetor may be next.

No knead Ciabatta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX_6l2bmvQI 

Replacing cord of outboard recoil:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3NjVomUQJM  

No picture of the cord replacement since fingers were too greasy to touch the camera.  It took four hands but we were able to completely rewind the spring mechanism so the outboard is much easier to start.

Leaving Marsh Harbour we traveled East to Man O War Cay which reminded us of Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay.  For the most part everyone is related and share a distinctive local dialect. 

Albury boat building circa 1960.

This hidden boat building village has been home to William Albury boat builder’s since mid 1900’s.   Their Abaco Dinghy was made of native Madeira mahogany and other Bahamian hardwoods. 

Albury Schooner

Since the majority of the boats are now built of fiberglass the local wood craftsmen applied their skill to home building.  These craftsmen are known for building homes like Ships that bolted to land.  Rafters and structure are bolted together similar to ship construction and resist the hurricanes very well. The residents stand as a reminder of the independent thinking and self-reliance of the founders of the Bahamas.

We wish all the Dad’s reading this a very Happy Father’s Day. 

 For all who love to capture wind in your sails, enjoy:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWINygISxDE

Marsh Harbour

Steve’s cousin Denis returned to his home in Florida.  Thanks Denis for the fun time and entertainment in watching you constantly tweaking the sails.  See you in August for your daughter’s wedding.

After seeing Denis off at o’dark hundred, we awaited daylight to exit Little Harbour’s  shallow channel.  As we transited North we had hoped to anchor outside Lyndard’s Cay and snorkel but the swells and winds were too stiff.    Instead we made way directly to Hope Town. 

Hope Town’s Elbow Reef Lighthouse is probably the most recognizable landmark in Abaco. It is one of the last manual lighthouses in the world using pressurized Kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle’s light into a beam directed straight towards the horizon. The lenses and burner equipment, weighing 8,000lbs, float in a circular lubricated tub. This reduces friction so that the 700lbs of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by hand, smoothly rotates the 4-ton apparatus once every 15 seconds. The lighthouse keeper on duty must wind up the weights every 2 hours in order for the red and white candy-striped lighthouse to be seen from 17 miles away. It’s impressive to see the mechanism but even more impressive is the view from the top.

We awoke June 11th to a beautiful sky and plenty of sun. Our goal was to make this anniversary a day of fun with no stress (last year we were beating a storm, transiting to ICW). After a leisurely breakfast at Hope Town Coffee House we made way to Marsh Harbour. As we entered the dock our starboard engine maneuverability failed. The winds were 15kts pushing us to starboard so this was not a particularly stress free situation. Fortunately the dock hands were available and after snagging a piling we were able to hand maneuver the boat (with the assistance of one engine) into the slip. After checking the situation we discovered that the locking washers placed on the shaft coupling had failed us with the bolts backing out. These were the same bolts we replaced in Daytona and we did not use locking nuts only locking washers as recommended by the local “bolt experts”. Fortunately we have been through this before so now we are securing the bolts with locking nuts. After the excitement abated we took a bike ride to see the local shops and get our bearings of the area. The evening ended with a lovely relaxing dinner of seared scallops and blackened grouper at Wally’s.

Thank you to all who sent us well wishes for our 36th Wedding Anniversary. It seems the years have gone by quickly and even more so with each year.

Nassau to Little Harbour Great Abaco Island

Left the Exuma Islands and traveled north to Nassau, New Providence, staying at the Atlantis Resort Marina. 

Disney World at Nassau proved a dramatic change from the remote Exumas.  Atlantis is amazing and there is sooooo much to see and do.  Like kids at Disney, we made all the water slides, tubed the rapids, saw various aquariums and many Disneyesque artifacts/ruins. 

After enjoying the many amenities at Atlantis and admiring the large mega yachts (including Jimmy Buffet’s) we headed north to a Marina in Southern Abaco, Schooner Bay.  







Arriving as the fishing tournament was completing, we were warmly welcomed and invited to a meet and greet for the fish weigh in. 

This community is in development and is patterned after SeaSide in Santa Rosa Beach, FL and aims to be self-sustaining complete with hydroponic gardens.

 The development has a lot of charm and is a great destination for fishermen since it borders the Atlantic’s deep water. 

Leaving Schooner Bay we transited North to Little Harbour Bay on Great Abaco Island. 

The swells on our stern were impressive (some 10') and made for a fun surf as we entered the channel between the Bay and Lynard Cay.  Once rounding into the Bay the land provided protection from the swells and we transited the shallow channel to obtain a mooring ball. 

 The main attraction here is Pete’s Pub and  Gallery.  Little Harbour’s remote and lush surroundings offered inspiration for bronze sculptor, the late Randoph Johnston.  The Johnston’s family has a vivid history since settling this harbor over 50 years ago.  They built a bronze art foundry to cast their renowned sculptures and a third generation Johnston continues the bronze and gold artwork depicting marine wildlife.   After a delicious hamburger, Simon's romp on the beach and exploring the area by dinghy we returned to Panasea.  Enjoying the sunset, grilled Wahoo tacos and finally beating Denis at a game of Texas Holdem.

Exuma heading North

A few days this week we have had overcast skies with afternoon rain.  Most of the rain has been light and refreshing, with one evening of heavy rainfall which provided a nice bath for the boat.  Once the rain was over we were blessed with a beautiful double rainbow.

Despite the overcast skies the pigs came out to play and we joined other cruisers on the beach for a lovely evening cookout. 

After leaving Big Major we sailed to Pipe Cay to explore these shallow waters.    The Bahamas are not known for having channel markers but we were able to spot a few...sort of.

Tendered to a small local marina to see what it had to offer.  It is generous to say Compass Cay Marina is a “small” Marina.  Tiny is more like it but the boats who are docked are anything but small.  The Marina has resident nurse sharks who await the fishermen cleaning their catch.  The Marina walls boast pictures of some celebrity visitors such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Johnny Depp and the likes.

From Compass Cay to Warderick Wells we had a leisurely sail and secured our assigned mooring ball before rain arrived.  The next day provided excellent weather for hiking the Loyalist ruins and Boo Boo Hill (named for resident ghosts).     A memento of Victoria (Denis’ Beneteau) was left on Boo Boo Hill.

After a leisurely starboard broad reach sail to Hawsbill Cay we explored the island.  While at the northern end during low tide we witnessed  Nurse sharks birthing.    What an amazing site.  Unfortunately the pictures are not posted because our underwater camera decided to fog up so only mental pictures are clear.  Throughout Exuma Land and Sea Park we have explored numerous Loyalist ruin sites and isolated beaches.

At Shroud Cay we took the tender through Sanctuary Creek and thought we were seeing some of the same scenery shot on location for the film African Queen (per local guide book).  After watching clips from African Queen we thought surely this was not so since we saw no rapids, crocodiles, natives with spears or snakes. 

Progressing north to Norman’s Cay we snorkeled a 1950’s vintage DC3.  This plane is all that is left of the 1970's drug running days of Norman’s.  Simon would watch the tender for us and taking this photo was interesting since a sailboat in the background gave the appearance that Simon was captain of a small rig.

Leaving Norman’s we went through the cut to the Sound side.  Denis and Steve put out a line and caught a 54” King Mackeral.  It was and remains good eats.  We shared some of the fish with neighbors  who provided a beach cook out at Allen’s Cay along with a playmate for Simon. 

Allen’s Cay is known for large prehistoric iguanas. 

 I failed to mention the beautiful coral heads at Highbourne.   It is hard to capture all the colors in this living aquarium.   

We have also seen a  variety indigenous creatures such as this Bananaquit and curly tail lizard.

 It has been nice having Denis along for this leg of the trip and easier for me since he helped Steve with some of the heavier duty boat projects.  Denis is a racing sailor and has been having fun with sail trim squeezing out every bit of boat speed from the wind.  

Did I mention he is allergic to dogs?  Simon seems to be the exception and they have become best friends.














We are currently in Nassau at the Atlantis Resort Marina and will post more once we arrive in Abaco Islands.

Leaving now to watch the NBA finals, Go Heat!