Crab Cay to Green Turtle Cay and Leeward Yacht Club

Day 16: Wednesday March 11, 2015

What a great anchorage we have discovered in Crab Cay.  We had a calm peaceful night and both slept well.  Breakfast was pancakes and bacon.  Our goal for the day is to make it to Green Turtle Cay.  It is about 16 miles or so further east from Crab Cay.  The wind had this morning died down to a nice breeze so I thought was to get underway before the wind increase throughout the day.

Dock Master's Office, Leeward Yacht Club

We motored out of the cove at about 8:20 in very calm waters.  When we swung into the open waters of the Little Bahama Bank, the waves were moderated but still rolling.  I have finally resigned myself to the fact that since the Bahamas are located in the belt of the trade winds, I need to expect steady winds from the east and they will be moving between 10 and 15 knots.  That kind of wind creates waves.  So, we continued to slog along for the next 5 hours making between 3 and 4 knots.  The one saving grace that we have is we know that when we turn to head home, we will have nice following winds to carry us along.



And the Lizard Bar and Grill (closed currently
because of plumbing problems.)

About 3 hours into the trip, a 40 plus high end sailboat (Benateau) with whom we had shared last night’s anchorage motored up behind us and hailed us on the radio.  We talked a bit and I asked where he was headed and found that he was also heading to Green Turtle Cay.  I asked for recommendations as to a place to stay and he offered that he was staying at the Green Turtle Yacht Club.  He said that they had a reciprocal agreement with his home club so that he could get better rates.  I told him that we are not affiliated with a club and he

And the pool.  Nice and cool to get salt off.

called back with a suggestion of another new club, the Leeward Yacht Club which was supposedly really nice with $1.00/foot docking fees.  That fee is cheaper than any we have ever seen in any of our travels.  About 15 minutes later, we ran out of fuel in one of our tanks and as I was switching over to a full tank, the gentleman that had earlier called and asked if we needed help.   I assured that we were fine and thanked him for keeping an eye on us.  At the time of this call, he was already probably a mile out in front of us.  It is reassuring that there are folks out there willing to help.

And the gorgeous landscaping

The Leeward Yacht Club is located on the south end of Green Trutle Cay in Black Sound.  As we approached the sound, I called them on the radio and inquired about the cost.  The lady said that the fee was $0.90/foot and I requested reservations for at least two nights.  She said that they could accommodate us and directed us into the marina.

Waiting to greet us and help us moor was a young Bahamian man and two young ladies.  They made swift and efficient work in our tie-up and welcomed us to this beautiful place.  They have everything that we need except fuel. 

What to do when reentering civilization.  The first thing Janine did was bundle up all of our salty dingy duds in preparation for a laundry trip.  I contacted the Hake Yacht factory and the plant manager, a gentleman I hadn’t talked to was waiting for my call.  He was nice and asked when I could have the boat back at the factory so they could install the new keel.  He also needed a dimension off of our old keel so that he could build one the exact size.  He wanted me to take a tape measure underwater and measure the chord length (from front to back).  I have a tape but

And more gorgeous!

did not want to subject it to salt water so I donned my skin diving gear and took a piece of twine and made 4 trips under to get a close average.  Back on the surface, Janine would measure my twine.  When I called him back, he was happy with my results.  When I approached him with the warrantee issue, he hedged but assured me that he would have an answer tomorrow.  He said that the shop would begin building a new keel immediately and they would have it ready and could install it as soon as he were back in the states. 

Janine headed for the laundry, I headed for the pool to get the salt water off of my body.  On the way to the pool, I passed the bar and I thought Janine would enjoy a COLD beer so I stopped in and bought two (of course a lady should never drink alone). From the laundry, Janine found their book exchange library and swapped out three books.

We did boat cleanup and maintenance things until dinner time.  We dined at the local bar.  This is truly a lovely place.  We sat high above the marina on a covered patio and Janine was served mahi mahi and I had a lobster burger.  (I guess it becomes a burger when you put it on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and onions). Both meals were outstanding.  We spent the waiting for our meal period talking to the dock manager, a young bright Bahamian man.  He talked about the facility and the local village.  

We also enjoyed interacting with a number of the boaters, many of whom had been

And even more gorgeous!

or where staying here long term.  Three boats next to us are from Canada and we talked couple from Edinburgh Scotland.  Striking up a conversation with these folks is quite easy and most interesting.

 After dinner, I spent the evening inserting photos into the blog site.  Janine dug into one of her newly acquired boons.  It would be a strange night’s rest with no rocking.