With a huge sense of accomplishment, we stepped off Gaviidae in the Abacos at Donny’s Marina in Black Sound on Green Turtle Cay. Our quarantine flag was flying off the starboard halyard, which technically, restricted us to only one person getting off the boat. Donny, the colorful owner of the marina, assured us that no one was going to pay any attention to that requirement.
Mark, one of the marina’s perpetual residents, was instructed to take us to the Bahamian Customs office down island. Howard (from Gaviidae 37) and I grabbed our boat papers, passports, wallets, cash, etc. and dashed off with Mark in a golf cart. Golf carts are the primary means of transportation on the island.
Customs
We arrived at Green Turtle Club Resort and took our turns going through the process of entering the Bahamas. With fees paid and appropriate documentation numbers issued, both Gaviidaes were now free to run wild throughout the Bahamas.
But first, we all needed chill time – and some serious napping. It had been three days of anticipated stress (that didn’t materialize) and now it was time to breathe and take in our new tropical surroundings.
Afternoon Traditions
The first thing we learned about Donny’s is that every afternoon around 4:30pm the boaters from the marina and Donny’s mooring balls would descend on Donny’s beach for a little pre-dinner happy hour.
We quickly learned that the folks who helped us dock were either other seasonal or transient guests. Donny has mastered the art of delegation, and everyone seems to be happy to be part of his support crew.
With introductions all around, everyone settled into their usual discussion of what they did that day, what they were having for dinner, and what they would be doing that night, if anything. It was clear that this was a very strong, all-inclusive family that quickly embraced newcomers. This family included numerous nationalities and ages. Some were seasoned sailors and others were still novices in the learn-as-you-go mode. Most were on sailboats of various sizes and a few on trawlers or motor cruisers.
Exploring
After a day of rest, we decided it was time to start exploring New Plymouth, the tiny village at the end of the key, just over a steep hill from Donny’s. First stop – Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar to sample the Original Goombay Smash—a local rum punch. Dan, Howard, and Kerri-Ann (H&K-A) gave the drink lukewarm reviews while I enjoyed mine immensely. The ingredients are secret other than it contains rum and tropical fruit juice.
Our wanderings took us to the key grocery and convenience stores – all three of them – so we would know where to go for what. We also stopped in most of the gift shops, a tiny bakery and the hardware store. If it was open, we went in. Neither of our boats really needed provisions, but our reconnaissance set our expectations for future shopping expeditions.
Most importantly, we learned to ask when the RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) ship would arrive. RoRos bring in fresh produce, meats and other supplies once a week. The Bahamas has very little agriculture and imports most of their food.
Golf Cart = Go Cart
We quickly realized that renting a golf cart would be a necessity. Green Turtle Cay is spread out and walks anywhere other than to the village and a couple nearby restaurants are not possible, and taking a dinghy is not always practical. Splitting the cost between two boats made it quite affordable. Our cart was a noisy contraption subject to sudden jerks, startling clatters, loss of acceleration and questionable brakes.
Kerri-Ann and I hung on for dear life in the backwards-facing rumble seat as we zoomed around the island experiencing numerous washed-out roads, getting lost, finding unannounced dead ends, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.
The Green Turtle Club
I visited the Green Turtle Club in 2022 when sailing with some friends. We stopped for a drink at the Dollar Bar, and it became one of my all-time favorite watering holes. Of course, it had to be one of the places we visited so Dan, Howard, and Kerri-Ann could experience the charm of the bar.
When you walk into the Dollar Bar, you are immediately greeted with burgees from around the globe hanging everywhere. Between the burgees are dollar bills, signed by the visitors who left them stapled to every possible spot on the walls and overhead rafters.
Beneath the colorful array of burgees, the interior is rich, dark wood and big comfortable leather chairs and benches. It’s the kind of place where you could just hang out, read a book, and sip your favorite beverage.
Hurricane Dorian
When the Abacos were pummeled by Hurricane Dorian (Category 5) on September 1, 2019, the Dollar Bar remained unscathed. This was amazing considering the entire island was devastated and the overall impact was very evident when I was there in 2022.
With Covid taking over the media stream, the impact of Dorian on the Abacos got pushed aside, leaving the people of the Abacos to fend for themselves. On this visit, it was impressive to see how much work had been done by the Bahamians along with help from the boating community.
Roads were repaired and buildings repaired and painted. Trees had been planted, and flowers were everywhere. It’s not to say there are no remnants of the storm, but the work completed was impressive.
Bourbon & Barbeque
The Customs agent told me about an annual food event that was starting in a few days at the Green Turtle Club. She said the food was expected to be amazing with celebrity chefs coming in for the four-day event.
As we wondered the town, we saw posters for the Bourbon & Barbecue event – the price tag was $995 per person. Far too rich for our budget! Included in the festivities were a Junkanoo parade – a drum-banging, rattle-shaking Bahamian spectacle – live music, and much more. I contacted the resort to find out whether we could just attend one evening. The answer was yes, and the cost was $85 per person. H&K-A were all in for the occasion.
Saturday afternoon we all dressed up in our finest boat apparel and took our noisy chariot to the Turtle. We arrived early to enjoy a cocktail in the Dollar Bar. As many before us, we signed a dollar bill and stapled it and our boat cards above the burgee and dollar that had been left by the crew I was with in 2022.
Dollars Well Spent
The evening’s event started off with an authentic Junkanoo parade. A Junkanoo is a Bahamian tradition that includes steel drums, whistles and colorful costumes.
As the Junkanoo ended, four Big Green Egg grills were fired up on the edge of the club’s stone-floor patio and the celebrity chefs prepared their offerings. The food included grilled lobster, pork tenderloin and seabass. Each station included side dishes to complement the main course. In addition, there was a dessert station set up to one side by another celebrity chef who was the only female and native Bahamian. The food was delicious – and plentiful enough to go back for seconds and thirds!
After the grills and food were moved out – a very good band started and we got to do a bit of dancing!
In Search of Turtles
At one of Donny’s afternoon gatherings, we learned that nearby Manjack Cay has a mangrove creek where you were guaranteed to see lots of turtles. We departed the next afternoon on Gaviidae and headed over, a strenuous 6 nautical miles away. We dropped anchor in the bay between Manjack and Crab Cay. There were a dozen boats anchored there when we arrived with plenty of room for more.
Seeing the turtles involved crossing a sandbar a few hundred yards away at high tide in your dinghy, kayak or other small craft. We dinghied across the bar and saw turtles everywhere! Big and small! There were so many that we had to be careful not to run over them! We opted to shut the engine down and drift with the incoming tide down narrow mangrove-lined back creeks.
On our return to Gaviidae, we considered our upcoming itinerary. I knew of some places from my previous visit, but we didn’t want to miss any highlights. We designated Hopetown on Elbow Cay as our next destination–a day’s cruise southeast on a sailboat.
Whale Cay Channel
The Abacos is divided into two parts by Great Abaco Island: North Abacos and South Abacos. There are two routes to get from the northern Abacos to the southern end. One is a route that goes through on the inside of Whale Cay along the Dont Rock Channel. This route was not recommended for any boat requiring more than 3-4 feet of depth.
The outside route requires a left turn before Don’t Rock Channel and passes east of Whale Cay into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a short hop on the outside but it is subject to rage sea conditions. A rage is when breaking waves occur creating an uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous sea state in and around a passage. In this particular area, the rage occurs anytime the ocean swells are from the northeast.
Checking our resources – including monitoring VHF radio for Whale Cay conditions – we determined that we had a good window for heading out into the Atlantic.
The Boat Parade
We were not the only boat heading toward the Whale Cay channel. We could see numerous boats ahead of us and a trawler behind. The trawler hailed us on the VHF saying they had never been through the Whale Channel. They wanted to know if they could follow us. We responded affirmatively but let them know that we were novices as well.
Shortly after, a boat that had been anchored in Manjack and was now through the Whale Channel hailed to let us know they had no issues, and we could expect a pleasant journey.
Hopetown – Elbow Cay
A visit to the Abacos is not complete without a stop in Hopetown. With its picturesque “red striped barber pole” lighthouse and charming ambiance, it is a very popular cruising destination.
During our stay at Jensen Beach weeks earlier, we met a couple on SV Booger (yes, that is the name of the boat). They told us about the annual Hopetown Songwriters Festival, so we timed our arrival in Hopetown to attend some of the shows.
The first venue was in the afternoon at On Da Beach bar, which was close enough to walk. The place was packed and after waiting in line for 15 minutes, I made it to the front of the line at the upper bar and placed orders for some burgers and drinks. The musicians were playing down below on a stage, but it was so loud in the bar, you couldn’t really hear them.
It was a fun afternoon of people watching. And once we got away from the upper bar, we enjoyed the music as well.
Hopetown Cruiser’s Net
The harbour at Hopetown is filled with mooring balls, with the majority reserved for the entire season by boaters who come to the Abacos every year. It is tight-knit community and very friendly. They have weekly BYOB get-togethers as well as other activities like yoga, painting classes and pickleball.
Every morning at 0815, the Hopetown Cruiser’s Net would start up on VHF 68. Most days the net was run by Will Heyer (with help from Muffin and their little dog, Sophie), other days it was run by other volunteers. The Net shared information on all the upcoming activities as well as facilitating needs/wants from the various boaters. It was very similar to the Little Current Cruiser’s Net (North Channel – Lake Huron) that is run by Roy Eaton. Boaters helping Boaters.
Exploring Hopetown
We rented a golf cart for a day (that was all we could get!) and spent the afternoon running down to the other end of the island to the Abaco Inn for lunch and a swim in their pool. Our excursion also took us to Tahiti Beach which is a huge sandbar that expands exponentially when the tide is out. It’s a favorite spot for locals and visitors and even has its own floating bar/grill named The Thirsty Cuda that shows up when the weather is good.
After squishing our toes in the pristine white sand, we headed back to Hopetown for some groceries. After stopping at every grocery venue – we ended up with very little. Clearly, the RoRo boat had not come in recently.
More Music
We spent our last night (Valentine’s Day) in Hopetown at the Hopetown Inn for more of the Songwriter’s Festival. The music was excellent. I approached the bar to get some drinks for Dan and me. Two woman came up at the same time and ordered a couple of Lemondrop shots. Then they looked at me and told the bartender to make it three shots!
I’m sure it’s been thirty years since I last did a shot of anything and here two women who I had never seen before decided that I was their new, best bud. With much laughter, they ordered another round!
I returned to the table with a drink for Dan – and a water for me.
Eight Bells
During our time in Hopetown, we had the privilege of meeting Will, the Cruisers Net broadcaster. His sailboat, SV Antares, was very close to us. One morning, we heard someone yelling our boat name and it was Will, wanting to know if we had any garbage to take ashore. He stopped to chat and shared an abundance of local knowledge with us.
Will and Muffin had been staying in Hopetown Harbour long enough to be considered a fixture there. Besides the Net, he would volunteer his time helping to rebuild the small Bahamian racing sailboats so the local kids could learn to sail.
We learned a few days after we left Hopetown that Will had a fatal heart attack while taking his dinghy to the Hopetown Inn. He had wanted just one more season in the Bahamas, and his wish was granted. Fair winds, Will.
Look – it’s another Gozzard
Before departing Hopetown, another Gozzard 41 arrived – SV Shadow with Mike and Andrea onboard. We shared information about where we were going, some places they should visit in Hopetown, swapped boat cards, and promised to stay in touch.
January 29, 2025 – February 14, 2025 26°32.259’N 076°57.534’W 2830.7 Nautical Miles