June 4 to June 10

June 4, 2009 – Allans-Pensacola Cay to Manjack Cay

We woke up around 7:00, had breakfast, and prepared to leave.  We hauled anchor at 8:45 and were on our way to Spanish Cay to do Customs.  We left Sitting Duck at the anchorage, but they would pull out shortly and meet us at Manjack Cay (pronounced Munjack). 

The skies were blue and the breeze created a moderate chop on the seas.  We passed “Center of the World Rock” out in the middle of nowhere, hence the name.  It’s only 10 miles to Spanish Cay, or about 20 minutes, so it would be a quick trip.  We have to dock the boat in the marina, in order to do Customs.  Bob will have to go up to the office alone to finish filling out the paperwork. (Bernie was kind enough to pick up the forms for us ahead of time when he checked in earlier last week.)  That would speed things up a little.  Murphy and I are not allowed to get off the boat until we clear Customs.  We have to fly a yellow quarantine flag from the boat until we get our clearance and then we can fly the Bahamian courtesy flag along with the Stars and Stripes.  We pulled into the harbor at Spanish Cay and a nice young man, who helped us tie up, told us there was a $50 charge to do Customs since it is a private island. 

Oops! Change of plans.  We would wait to do Customs at Green Turtle Cay where there is a government facility and it’s free.  We radioed Sitting Duck and told them of our change in plans. We would both go to Manjack Cay to anchor out for the night.  Our course took us along the big island of Grand Abaco and Coopers Town to Manjack Cay.  We arrived and dropped anchor at 10:45 in a shallow area near the beach.  Sitting Duck arrived around noon and took a spot across from us.  Bob used Bernie’s viewing pail to check our anchor and what do you know—it was lying of top of the sand.  We would have to try again…and again….and again for a total of 6 times.  It must be the magic number!  What we have found is that in some places there is very little sand over the top of the hard bottom making anchoring difficult. Meanwhile while we were doing our anchoring thing, Bernie and Barb were driving around in their dinghy seeing the sights.  We hung around on the boat doing crosswords, watching the anchor for awhile.  A light shower blew in and out quickly and around 3:00 we decided to go on a dinghy tour of the mangrove bayou. 

We each took our own dinghies for a slow, meandering ride.  We saw 3 sea turtles, a HUGE red starfish,
 

a spotted sting ray, and quite a few orange conchs.  We went down a side stream where we found a bunch of tropical fish hanging out around a coral rock and tons of mosquitoes.

It was quite a wildlife adventure.  Following the bayou to the very end, we came upon some boats and lines that were set up for a hurricane. 

It made a great hurricane hole.  Later on, we rafted our dinghies together and made our way back to the boats passing by some abandoned machinery on the shore. 

At the point, we could see a sailboat rounding the bend trying to beat the rain that was falling in sheets across the bay. 

We made it back to the boat as the raindrops began to fall.  The rain came in waves, with intervals of thunder and wind.  It really cooled this off and put a new freshness in the air.  I really don’t mind the rain shower every day.  It’s a nice break from the heat.  We waited awhile for the rain to end so we could grill some chicken for dinner.  There were 4 other boats in the anchorages with us tonight.  We went a total of 26.8 miles today in 2 hours with that unnecessary stop at Spanish Cay.  The storm blew through in about an hour’s time.  Bob did some wash in a bucket while I got dinner ready.

Bob took Murphy to shore before dark and got devoured by mosquitoes.  We watched a DVD movie and went to bed.  The storms and wind that came through created some residual waves that curled around the point and rocked the boat.  It will be an interesting night! 

June 5, 2009 – Manjack Cay to Green Turtle Cay

We pulled up anchor at 9:30 and headed south in the Sea of Abaco to the next island in the Abaco chain-Green Turtle Cay.  Green Turtle Cay is a small island with a population of 450.  It was a short 8.1 mile ride, but the 10-15 mph winds were coming out of the southeast and we were riding right into them.  We had 2’ waves on the bow, but the boat rode smoothly at cruise speed.  We arrived in White Sound to find an anchorage for the night.  Sitting Duck was right behind us.

White Sound is located in the central part of the island and we would try to do Customs here.  We got the boats situated and felt comfortable with our anchorage choice.  We were situated right off the Green Turtle Club Marina.

We took the dinghy to shore with Murphy and our trash.  Murphy was happy to see grass again and enjoyed walking around the marina, while Bob tried to arrange for the Customs person to check us in.  He couldn’t get a hold of anyone by phone (we found out later that the phone lines and cell service were down), so we decided to make a trip over to Black Sound  by dinghy, where the Customs Office is located.  Meanwhile, Barb did a little shopping at the marina store for a few needed items and she and I shopped a little in the gift shop.  It was fun to be near civilization again! The dark clouds played hide and seek all morning, but we finally got a brief shower as we headed back to our boats.  We had some lunch and waited for the shower to end before heading out in the dinghy around the corner to Black Sound. 

The wind was blowing the waves right into the anchorage, so we thought it might be a little dicey going out into the Sea of Abaco and into Black Sound in the dinghy.  We took it slow and made the short ride around the corner without getting wet. In Black Sound, we tied up the dinghies at The Other Shore Club Marina. 

A boat called  Stranded Naked was tied there.  This famous houseboat is the focal point of the annual Cheeseburger in Paradise Beach Party in July at Fiddle Cay.  This party is known throughout the islands and draws hundreds of people every year. Check out the website at www.strandednaked.com .  It sounds like a wild party!   Bob and I took a walk around Settlement Harbor to the historic town of New Plymouth.  Bernie and Barb would meet us there.

New Plymouth is a real Bahamian settlement and the only settlement on the island.  We asked a local about the Customs office and found out that today was a holiday-Labor Day- and most businesses were closed.

He did direct us to her house where Bob was able to do Customs.  I sat in the shade at the beach waiting for him to check us in, and for Bernie and Barb to arrive.

When he was finished, the 4 of us walked down Main Street to see what had changed since the last time we were here.  It was still the charming, clean little town that we remembered.

Most of the houses and businesses were freshly painted and well-kept.  The people still get around by golf cart or walk.  There was hardly anyone in town and it looked deserted.  I guess everyone was taking the day off and we found out later, that they were all down at the beach enjoying the day.  We walked around town and found Lowe’s Grocery Store open.  Bernie bought some peanuts (a very necessary snack item) and Bob and I bought an ice cream.  It was a welcome treat on a hot day!  We walked farther down the street towards the town dock, past the Memorial Sculpture Garden in memory of the Loyalist settlers who played important roles in Bahamian history, 

 and the Albert Lowe Museum, which was also open. The museum houses artifacts and photographs which tell the story of the history of New Plymouth.

Our final stop was at the infamous Blue Bee Bar. It’s quite an interesting place to see and Milly’s granddaughter now runs the place. 

 I had the local Kalik beer and Bob had a Goombay…a tasty pineapple juice drink with a secret ingredient.  A couple of those and you would have a hard time finding your way back home.

We tried to find a way to cool off once we got back to the boat.  Bob found a shady spot outside in the cockpit, while I sat and read near the fan.

We had heard thunder off in the distance and saw the dark clouds, but it never rained on us all afternoon.  A HUGE sportfish, a 78’Garlington, pulled into the harbor after we saw him anchored just outside the entrance most of the afternoon.

 He later told Bob that he was waiting for the tide to come up, in order to have enough water to come in.  When he did pull in, it was an awesome sight!  What a beautiful boat! Bob went to see if we could get some Internet access at the Green Turtle Club, but had no luck.  He borrowed Bernie’s viewing pail to check on the anchor and it was well buried.  We would be able to sleep well tonight. Later in the afternoon we finally gave up and turned on the AC.  Ahhh!  Another huge sportfish came into the marina.  This one was a 76’Mark Willis.  Bob was in heaven watching all the beautiful boats come in from a day of spear fishing for Lionfish.  Lionfish are an invasive species and are being eradicated from the area.  We found out there was a fund-raising Lionfish tournament going on at Green Turtle Cay this weekend, so that is why there are so many sportfishing boats here.  Just before dinner we went over to the Sitting Duck for cocktails.  We visited for about an hour and then came back to cook dinner.  We ate later than usual, took Murphy to shore, and watched part of a movie.  The evening cooled off nicely and the full moon lit up the anchorage as we called
it a night.         

 

June 6, 2009 – Green Turtle Cay

We fell asleep last night, watching the lightning flashes off in the distance from our hatch above the bed.  Murphy was restless and could sense the storm.  I got up twice in the night to close the hatch with the first raindrops, only to open it again once they stopped within a few minutes.  We woke up around 6:30 and Bob hurriedly took Murphy to shore because there were very dark clouds approaching to the south of us. 

He was only gone just a short time, when the winds began to howl.  I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, and by that time Bob had returned.  I  helped Bob pull the dinghy onto the lift, before the storm really hit.  I noticed there was a dark tunnel cloud in the northern sky and then the wind and rain came with a fury.  Bob went up on the bridge to wait and watch.   It was only a few short minutes before the 40 knot winds took over and the boat broke free from its anchor hold.  Anchor Drill #3. Bob started the engines and I ran up to the bow in the driving rain to pull up the rest of the anchor.  I was barefoot and the wind was blowing my top over my head.  To make matters worse, the windless which pulls up the anchor, tripped the breaker and I had to go down in the engine room to flip the breaker switch. (Boy, it’s loud down there!)  Then I went inside to throw on some shoes and a raincoat (I was already drenched to the bone), and back outside to finish lifting the anchor.  Meanwhile, another small catamaran had his anchor break free.  He was trying to gain control of his boat while his wife hauled up their anchor…..by hand.  Another sailor saw what was happening and blew his air horn to alert other sleeping boaters.  Another sailor flashed a warning light 5 times to alert anyone in the anchorage about what was happening.  It was quite a fiasco.  Bob motored around in the small harbor while the wind and rain continued, trying to keep the bow into the wind.  We finally spotted an open slip in the Bluff House Marina and decided we would try to tie up there until the storm passed.  Bob drove us into the slip without any trouble and we got ourselves tied up in no time.  By now the strong winds had stopped, but the rain continued.  We secured the boat in the slip and then helped the catamaran tie up as well.

By now, my blood pressure was sky high and my heart was pounding.  We were so exhausted, physically and mentally.  Luckily, this happened in the daylight and not at night.  Around 8:00, the marina opened up and Bob got us registered for the slip we were in.  We weren’t going anywhere!  Enough is enough!  We hooked up to water and electricity and I was able to do some wash.  We finally got an Internet hookup and were able to check our email.  After lunch, Bernie and Barb came over by dinghy.  We all took a walk up to the Jolly Roger Bar and Grill

and the Bluff House, which is a cute little restaurant that sits atop the bluff.

We continued on our walk around the harbor along the shoreline road to Cocoa Beach

and the Green Turtle Club.  The walk was hot and steamy and by now we were ready for a cold one at the bar.

We sat in the air conditioned sitting room and enjoyed the coolness there.  We learned more about the Lionfish Derby that was being held today.

The 22 boats that were entered were competing for prizes for the most fish caught, the largest fish, and the smallest.  At 4:00 the boats would return to get their fish measured and counted.  We would return to see the results of their spear fishing adventure.  Our walk back to the boats seemed much shorter and we were back in no time.  Bob and I changed into our swimsuits and headed off to the pool. Bernie and Barb went back to their boat to relax a little. 

After cooling off in the saltwater pool, we went back to the boat to change out of our swimsuits. We took the dinghy over to the Green Turtle Club to find out the results of the Lionfish Derby and met Bernie and Barb over there.  By now, many people had gathered and the counting and measuring had begun.

Murphy, Bob, and I walked around looking at the hundreds of fish that were caught by spear fishing today.  The larger ones were going to be filleted and used at the Bahamian Buffet tonight. We heard from the locals that last year the divers noticed a few Lionfish hanging around the coral reefs.  This year, there were hundreds.  It is a fish that is not indigenous to this area and is being eradicated because it has no natural enemies.  It is a beautiful fish, but those long tendrils are poisonous and can cause serious injury when stung by one.

Divers wear special Kevlar gloves to prevent themselves from getting stung.  Even when the fish is dead, the poison can cause problems.  We sat and watched the activity for awhile and then we took the dinghies back to our boats for the night.  Bob and I relaxed a little before dinner and ate a little earlier than the last few nights.  We had a short rain shower and then the full moon came out to light up the harbor. We finished watching our movie from last night and then turned in.  We were both wiped out!

June 7, 2009-Green Turtle Cay to Great Guana Cay

We slept until an unprecedented 7:30, after a fantastic night’s sleep tied to the dock.  We took on some water at $.20 a gallon (although we got 100 gallons free with our stay) and filled up our tanks.  We chatted with Greg from the catamaran, Off the Rails, who had been at the dock with us since our anchors broke free a day ago. They would be traveling the same direction and we would probably run into them again.  Bob also talked to the captain of a 50’ Rybovich Sportfish about anchors.  Apparently, our spare anchor, a CQR, is too small for our boat and it would not be a good anchor to use.  We had swapped out our Fortress anchor (the one giving us all the problems) for the CQR and now we decided to put the Fortress back on.  While Bob did that, I did some quick vacuuming while I had some electricity and we were ready to pull away from the dock at 9:15.  We could only cross Whale Cay Channel when the water was calm and this morning it was just right.  (There is a shoal there that creates breaking waves in the area with strong winds.)

The air was still and it was cloudy.  The clouds helped us deal with the steamy heat.  We motored through the opening into the Sea of Abaco.  Sitting Duck was anchored outside the harbor to avoid getting caught in a low tide situation while they took their dinghy over to the Anglican Church in New Plymouth for an 11:30 service.  We would meet them at Baker’s Bay or Fisher’s Bay later today.  Since the wind was light and the seas pretty flat, we were able to cross the treacherous Whale Cay Channel without any problems. 

Our first stop was Baker’s Bay on Great Guana Cay.  The anchorage was totally exposed and unprotected from winds coming from any southern quadrant.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly where the winds were predicted to come from tonight and for the next few days.  So we decided to try Fisher’s Bay, a ½ mile or less from Baker’s Bay.  Before we left Baker’s Bay, we wanted to check out the new marina development of Baker’s Bay Golf Course and Yacht Club.  We had read about it in our Bahama’s Cruising Guide.  We entered the well-marked channel to discover a posh marina with homesites selling for $2-12 million.

 

So far, there were 3 homes finished and one restaurant on the premises.  Construction was still taking place.   The slips in the marina were huge—big enough to hold a 100’ sailboat that was there.

 

From a distance, we thought the mast was a huge radio tower, that’s how big it was.  We motored around the harbor taking it all in.  After awhile, we left there and entered Fisher’s Bay.

 

Bob had arranged with the harbormaster to pick up a mooring ball for the night.  I had to use a boat pole to pick up the rope attached to the floating ball that would hold us in place.  I was able to reach it on the second try and got us tied up.  Bob didn’t like how close we were to the other boats and there were no other moorings available, so we decided to untie ourselves and move, about ½ mile further south to Orchid Bay, also on Great Guana Cay.  The dark storm clouds were moving in, so we called ahead for a reservation and got there as fast as we could. Once we got to Orchid Bay Marina around 12:15, we were met by 2 friendly men who helped get us all tied up with amazing speed.  It wasn’t long before we saw lightning streak across the sky and heard the crack of thunder.

 

We traveled a total of 21.3 miles today.  After we got settled in, the air cooled off and I decided to look around a little bit as the raindrops began to fall.  As I waited for Bob to join me under the canopy, I enjoyed watching the many boats speed into the marina to get out of the weather.

 

Orchid Bay Marina has beautiful facilities and many amenities. 

Bob and I walked around the grounds to check things out.  We sat for awhile on the veranda of the restaurant with a view of the water and watched many boats moving about.

It’s true what they say about this part of the Sea of Abaco—that it’s the busiest section of water in the Abacos.  Relaxing on the veranda, we treated ourselves to nachos for lunch and continued to watch the storm clouds as they approached.  It finally stopped raining after about an hour and we went back to the boat to get the computer, so that we could try and get on the Internet up at the office.  The signal was the strongest there.  Yesterday we bought the Outer Island Internet service.  It costs $40/week and you can connect to the Internet on any of the islands.  Meanwhile, we had been trying to contact the Sitting Duck by boat radio without any luck, so Bob asked the office if he could use their radio to reach them. It had a much stronger signal with greater output.  We were getting a little worried about them because of the weather and wanted to let them know where we were.  After a couple of attempts, Bernie finally answered our call and we were able to find out that they were still at Green Turtle because they had seen a waterspout near them.  Bernie got a great picture of it, but didn’t want to pull up the anchor until it had passed. 


When they did leave, they also had calm water passing through Whale Cay Channel and not any rain to speak of. We waited until 5:00 for Bernie and Barb to anchor and dinghy over from their anchorage at Fisher’s Bay.  We heard all about their harrowing experience getting from church, back to their boat in the thunderstorm, and seeing the waterspout.   They came aboard our boat for a drink and we discussed our plans for the next couple of days.

 

As they left to go back to their boat, we heard thunder and saw a few raindrops fall.  We hoped they would get back before the next storm arrived.  Bob and I went up to the shower house after they left.  When we got back, the wind had picked up, the skies darkened, and there were whitecaps on the water.  We are SO happy to be in a marina and not on the anchor tonight.  We made sure everything was closed up and then went in to make dinner.  The boats started to rock and roll in the marina with the surges coming in from the sea.  As darkness fell, it began to rain heavily and we settled in for the night.  We watched a DVD and went to bed.  Tomorrow we would explore the island.    I did see a couple of cute boat names while we were in the marina at Orchid Bay.  Here they are:

 


June 8, 2009 – Great Guana Cay, Orchid Bay Marina

We had another great night of sleeping.  I guess being tied to the dock gives better peace of mind than worrying about how well the anchor is going to hold.  Many people have told us that the holding here in the Bahamas is troublesome, so we haven’t questioned our skill at anchoring so much, as the sand and coral rock bottom we’re trying to get our anchor to hold in.  The storms every day haven’t helped the situation much either.  Last night we had 2 or 3 storms move through again.  The gentle rocking of the boat in the slip lulled us asleep and kept us there until 7:30 this morning.  Murphy got his walk and Bob made us a nice breakfast.  I worked up at the office on the Internet for awhile and then we made plans with Bernie and Barb to explore the island on foot.  Great Guana Cay is one of the smallest settlements in the central part of the Abacos.  At last count 163 people live on the island.  It’s principal asset is its beautiful ocean beach, which is one of the widest in the Abacos and extends almost the entire 5 1/2 mile length of the island.  

Barb and Bernie brought their dinghy over from Fisher’s Bay where they were anchored, and met us in Guana Harbor Grocery.  I was able to get a loaf of the much sought after Bahamian bread still warm and fresh from the oven.  I took a short walk back to the boat to drop off the bread and then we continued with our exploration of the town.  We walked along the paved shoreline road, busy with golf cart traffic and a “skinny” car or two.  We walked past Milo’s roadside stand.  Bob tried to “sound the conch” while we were there.


We passed the post office, Fig Tree liquors, and the Art Cafe.  At the end of the road we stopped at Grabber’s Bar for a cold one.

We met some very nice people there from Delaware who own a home on Great Guana Cay.  They spend their winters there, but also use it as a rental. 

We walked up the hill that took us across the island to the famous Nipper’s Bar.

Barefoot Man, a singer who is well-known in these parts, will be playing here for his annual Great Guana Cay concert in July.  He plays Jimmy Buffet-type music and we have one of his CD’s at home.

Nipper’s sits on a bluff overlooking the beautiful, white sand beach.

You can snorkel at this world’s 3rd largest barrier reef which is very close to the beach.  We didn’t snorkel there today because the weather today didn’t lend itself to that.  It was disappointing, although others took advantage of it in between the rain showers.

We sat at the bar making the best of the rainy weather and enjoyed  the local drink, a Slippery Nipple.


We met a couple who were vacationing here and celebrating their first wedding anniversary. She was from England and he was from Louisianna.  

We enjoyed a few too many slippery nipples that afternoon.  They were tasty….TOO tasty.  


I had 3 and they hit me like a ton of bricks!

It rained off and on all afternoon, but we didn’t mind.  We had a great time at Nipper’s.

We left there late in the afternoon and made the short walk back to our boat while Bernie and Barb took their dinghy back to their boat.  Once we got back to the boat, I slept while Bob ate dinner. 

 (Notice the daylight thru the windows!  A rum punch induced nap.) I ate a little later enjoying some of that Bahamian bread we picked up today.  I went to bed early and Bob came a little later.  The sky cleared a little overhead, but it looked stormy off to the west although we never got any rain after dark.  We really enjoyed our stay at Orchid Bay.


June 9, 2009 Great Guana Cay to Man-O-War Cay

We got up early and made preparations to leave today.  It was a sunny, humid day and the winds were light.  Today we would head for Man-O-War Cay. 
We had breakfast and pulled out around 9:30. It was a short 9 mile ride and we arrived at 10:30.  Sitting Duck would meet us there.  We read in our Cruising Guide on how to enter into the narrow channel entrance.  We made the sharp turn and were 3/4 of the way in, when a 50′ sailboat started to come out. Bob blasted his horn to get their attention.  Finally, they stopped their forward motion and allowed us to get all the way in and then they continued on through.  
That was close!  We motored down the narrow channel to the Man-O-War Marina where we would take a slip on the main dock.
 

We got all tied up, settled in, and waited for Sitting Duck to arrive.
Their intent was to anchor in a bay north of here, but they couldn’t get their anchor to hold.  His next option was to take a mooring ball in the harbor near us. 
Bob scouted out the available mooring balls and helped Sitting Duck get tied up to one.  Meanwhile, I worked on the Internet and finally got ALL my pictures loaded into my blog.  Yahoo!  Once Bernie and Barb got all settled in, we would explore the area together.  Man-O-War Cay has been a center for boat building and repair for many years.  Albury Brothers’ Boat Building is located here and is well-known for its deep V fiberglass outboard boats.  Man-O-War Marina is centrally located and offers full services to boaters, including a fresh water swimming pool, free showers (water is always at a premium),

Dock and Dine Restaurant, cable TV, and high speed FREE Internet.  No alcoholic beverages are sold anywhere on Man-O-War Cay.  We did a walking tour of the island, past quaint little houses,
the local Post Office,
and the Sail Shop, were colorful canvas bags are sewn and sold on the premises.
Barb and I visited both grocery stores on the island and some unique little shops, while the guys waited patiently on the bench.
They were more interested in checking out the boatyard and the boat building shops, along with the local marine hardware store. We discovered the “National Tree”- the Lignum Vitae, on one of the town streets.
We covered the lower 2 streets that parallel the water and then headed back to the boat.  Bernie and Barb went back to their boat and we would meet them there about 4:00 for drinks.  We took the dinghy over and visited for about an hour before going back to start dinner.
We showered and cooked some pork chops on the grill.  We relaxed watching some real TV as the sun set, creating beautiful colors in the sky. 
We would have another restful night.


June 10, 2009 – Man-O-War Cay

We woke up a little earlier today to blue sky and fluffly white clouds.  We got caught up on some news via TV and Internet and then made plans for a dinghy ride.  Bernie and Barb met us at the boat and we left on a dinghy excursion.  We motored slowly out of the harbor.


The water is so clear that we were able to see tons of red starfish of all sizes on the bottom along with some interesting shells. 

I wanted to jump right in and collect them all.  The water was as smooth as glass, so it was easy to see down to the bottom.  We motored over to a beautiful white sand beach, beached the dinghy, and walked over the top of the sand dune to the other side.  Standing on top, we could see both sides at once-the Sea of Abaco and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The water color was a gorgeous turquoise blue. 

We hung close close to the shore in our dinghies, but watched out for numerous coral rock outcroppings. 

Around the coral rocks, we could see many colorful, tropical fish darting in and out of the rocks.  We didn’t even need to use any of our snorkel gear to see them.  Bob spotted a huge brown sea turtle swimming along the sandy bottom close to shore.


We toured all around the entire island by dinghy as the storm clouds moved in all around us.


We saw it raining in 3 different places, but we never got a drop of rain on us.  We left Bernie and Barb and returned more quickly than their little 3 1/2 HP motor could carry them.  We got back to the boat and made lunch, while waiting for them to return.  We kept calling them on the radio, but to no avail.  We got a little worried, so Bob went out in the dinghy to check on where they were.  Meanwhile, the sportfish that went out fishing this morning, returned with 2 Mahi Mahi.  What a beautiful looking fish!  They were an irredescent blue.  The owners kids struggled to hold up the large fish. 

They were probably 42″ and about 15 pounds each.  Around 1:00 we began to hear thunder off in the distance, but we never got any rain.  Bob finally returned to tell me that he found Bernie and Barb back at their boat.  Sitting Duck was slightly aground because the direction of the wind had changed and the tide was going out.  By the time Bob got there, they had figured out how to get Sitting Duck off the sandbar.  Bob invited them to go with us to the beach to do some snorkeling.  When Bob returned, we packed up our gear and walked up and over the top of the island to the beach on the ocean side. 

 After putting on our snorkel gear, we gave it a try.


 We had to be careful of the coral rocks along the shore, but the water temperature was perfect.  Bob went way out and saw a bunch of fish swimming about under the cliff. 

Bernie gave it a try too.  We walked back down to the marina, with a stop at the fresh water pool.  We had the pool to ourselves for awhile and it was very refreshing.  While Barb and I relaxed around the pool, Bob and Bernie offered to fillet the fish, in hopes of getting a couple of fresh fillets for dinner. 

A bunch of kids who had come down to the pool, were intrigued with the fish and stopped by to watch Bob fillet. 

After Bob and Bernie were done, they were rewarded with a couple of fillets to take home.  We sat at the pool a little longer and then returned to the boat.  Bernie and Barb went back to their boat and we relaxed a little before dinner.  We had a delicious dinner of fresh Mahi Mahi tonight.  After dinner, we sat out back in the cockpit and enjoyed the evening sky until the mosquitoes took over.  We watched some TV before going to bed.  (Today we learned to use Skype and had a ball talking to family via our computer.  We even tried a video call.  It was free to call other Skype users and totally amazing!  We’re in the computer age now! )