It’s been a lovely couple of days anchored here at Great Harbour Cay. The wind has been strong from the north but we’ve been nicely protected in our anchorage. The biggest challenge for us is to get into the island mindset – slow down!!
On Tuesday the wind was down enough for us to head over to the beach on Cistern Cay. This was a 2 part adventure. Firstly we wanted to get off the boat and walk around a bit and secondly, Mark had a job to do (of course). The hoses to the toilet in the forward head needed some attention. Salt water and urine combine in the hoses to create calcium chloride deposits which constrict the flow of water. Every couple of years, Mark takes the hoses off and beats them up a bit to loosen the stuff. It’s a messy job but at least it’s only needed every couple of years. Our beach destination was perfect for this job and for a little walk – little being the key word. It was a small beach.
With cleaner hoses, we left the beach and did a dinghy tour around the area. First we stopped at the plane wreck which was hard to miss as it was sticking out of the water. The plane, a DC 3, was apparently a drug running plane that crashed years ago. That’s the story anyhow. It was interesting because it was very visible. We next went around to the west side of Cistern Cay and saw a few boats anchored there. It was a bit bouncy so not sure why those 2 boats chose to stay in that anchorage. Our last stop was the blue hole. A blue hole is a very deep spot amongst shallow water. This one is well over 100 ft deep and it is surrounded by water that’s about 3 ft or less at low tide.
Today, Dec. 4th, we decided to go into town. The settlement on Great Harbour Cay is called Bullocks Harbour. It’s a laid back town (like most of the Bahamas) and we were able to walk all around with little traffic. The plan was to get a good walk in and also check on the supply boat. The boat usually comes in on Wednesdays and Fridays but it hadn’t arrived yet today. We walked to the grocery store and were told that the boat didn’t come today because of the weather but should be here tomorrow. Okay – we were planning to leave tomorrow but instead we’ll stay and hopefully get some fresh produce on Thursday.
After our visit to town we decided to dinghy over to the marina which is just south of the town. We tied up there and went for a really good walk all the way out to the airport. It’s a small airport but does have an international arrivals side so there are flights from the USA. We were looking at the runway when Mark commented that they must be expecting a plane (there were a few waiting cars and people around). Mark had barely finished saying those words when a little plane landed just behind us! He was right!!
Tomorrow we’ll head back to the grocery store if the supply boat shows up. On Friday we’ll be heading south to Bond Cay. We spent a bit of time at Bond Cay last season waiting to cross to Nassau for our February flight home for Evelyn’s defence. Our goal for this stay at Bond Cay is to get our water maker up and running!!
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 