Treasure Cay Abacos

Treasure Cay in the Abacos is indeed a treasure. UNLESS you don't enjoy walking on one of the top 10 beaches in the world (previously chosen by National Geographic), or you don't find security in a great harbor that offers good holding and 360-degree protection, or you aren't looking for one of the least expensive and relaxing locations in the Bahamas. Yes, I did say least expensive because we have found Treasure Cay to be the best deal in our Bahamas trip so far, and for several good reasons.

Hope Town To Man O' War

Beach House and crew had a fabulous time at Hope Town. We made new friends and walked a lot of miles up and down the streets as well as a really long walk on the beaches. It is good to know that a tradition we saw 20 years ago when we first visited here is still being carried on - the tribute to beach junk. It was here we first saw artistic monuments to the trash found along the beaches. But all good things must come to an end and we had other places we wanted to see. After our normal morning weather checks, which actually take us a couple of hours, we paid our bill, topped off the water tanks and stowed everything on the boat for the very long, one-hour trip over to Man O' War. Several other boats were heading out of the harbor at the same time we were, including the local ferry which couldn't wait to get past us and throttled up just off our stern. They have places to be and don't care much about us pleasure boaters.

Cruising the Abacos, Marsh Harbour to Hope Town

Beach House and crew spent a week in Marsh Harbour enjoying the company of fellow cruisers and, of course, having repairs done. If things are going to break, this is the place to have it happen. Our windlass quit on us at Tilloo Cay and the thought of hauling the anchor and chain up by hand for the rest of the trip until we arrived back in Florida was not very appealing. Based on recommendations from other boaters, we took the windlass to a small repair shop called simply TSE that is across the street from Conch Inn and Marina. The owner Bryan did a great job for us and was able to repair the windlass instead of having to order parts and have them shipped in from the U.S. We also had him do some work on our spare alternator that was needed in case the current one fails, as it did on us once before. Bryan does work on electrical motors, starters, alternators, chargers, inverters, solar panels and a lot more. He can be reach by phone at 242-458-5418.

Heading For The Abacos

You can't spend time in Spanish Wells and not enjoy the stay. The dockmaster at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven is the local concierge and can provide boaters with about anything they might need. We rented a golf cart from there for the day and split the cost between ourselves and another cruising couple making it very inexpensive. This is a great way to reprovision and restock without carrying bags full of supplies and equipment for blocks from the store to the boat. We took the ferry to Harbour Island one day, and rented a car that our concierge arranged and drove south through Eleuthera another. We also walked the beautiful beaches along the north shore of St. Georges Cay and enjoyed all that the settlement of Spanish Wells had to offer. But it was time to move on and we looked forward to getting into the Abacos. The weather wasn't totally to blame; we had some perfect days with sunshine and light winds. The biggest, and I do mean biggest, hold up was the 8- to 9-foot seas in the Northeast Providence Channel between Spanish Wells and Little Harbor in the Abacos. But the seas couldn't stay up forever.

Spanish Wells Eleuthera

The first colonists to settle Spanish Wells were shipwrecked on the reefs at Devils Backbone. They lived in a cave on Eleuthera that exists today as Preacher's Cave and later moved to Spanish Wells. Later, British Loyalists that left the Colonies after the Revolutionary War relocated there. The name Spanish Wells comes from the Spanish ships that stopped here to replenish their water supplies from the wells on the island. For us, this is one of our favorite ports of call in the Bahamas. Our planned 3-day stay before a good weather window turned out to be a much longer stay, after the window not only slammed shut, but bad weather set in. But that's okay, if this is where we would have to wait it out.

Exumas To Eleuthera

There are just too many wonderful places to stop and experience in the Exumas to see them all in one season, given our limitations. Many will have to be left for the next time. From the Exumas, our next destination was Eleuthera. There are several ways to get there, but most cruisers will exit through the cuts at Warderick Wells or the Normans/Highbourne Cay area. We chose Warderick Wells because the cut is wide, deep and there are no reefs or obstacles to navigate around. Beach House exited the cut at 9:30 am, heading for Cape Eleuthera, and from there we would decide later. We had a good weather window for the crossing, but a strong front was due to arrive in a couple of days. A harbor with good, all around protection was an important consideration once again. It just seems like this entire trip has been weather driven for the most part. That makes it hard to really enjoy the experience.

Exuma Cays

The Exuma Cays may well be one of the most beautiful cruising grounds we have ever experienced. Beginning with Sail Rocks and Ship Channel Cay, just slightly south and east of Nassau, the Exumas stretch down to Great and Little Exuma to the southwest. The Exumas offer anything from remote anchorages, to small settlements, to busy towns like Georgetown. Many cays offer fabulous beaches, unusual wildlife and some of the greatest anchorages you may ever experience. It has been a great joy to be able to experience this wonderful cruising ground once again as we continue our research for the next edition in our Great Book Of Anchorages series, the Bahamas Edition. Someone pointed out to us that there is just no way we can call this work, so we won't try.

Nassau To Warderick Wells, Exuma

It felt good to finally leave Nassau. The forecast wasn't great, but if we didn't move, we would be in Nassau for another week. We topped up the fuel tanks at Nassau Harbor Club because the diesel was only $5.74 a gallon, pretty good for Bahamas prices. It was about 9:30 AM and the sun was just beginning to get high enough for us to use eyeball navigation around the many patch reefs at the east end of the harbor, but more importantly, to navigate the numerous coral heads we would encounter crossing the Yellow Banks. Some of these heads are only a few feet below the surface and could do serious damage to a prop. With the sun overhead, clear skies and reasonably flat seas, they are easy to pick out. They appear as a bark blob in the water surrounded by white sand. There are many of these on the section known as the Yellow Banks, only a short distance from Nassau. The conditions weren't perfect - there were some clouds and it was a bit choppy, but all in all, doable. Once we reached Porgy Rock, it was a straight line to our destination at Highbourne Cay.