So far, our favorite spot in the Abacos is Manjack Cay, which is only three miles from Green Turtle. We’ve visited twice – the first time, we had hoped to spend the night, but a storm was supposed to blow through, and at the last minute we thought better of staying.
There’s a really cool art trail, lined with imaginative pieces created from flotsam and other found materials. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the bee, the mosquito, and the pig were up there.
We met some other cruisers who told us how to get to the ocean beach, and I couldn’t believe we had such a stunningly gorgeous spot all to ourselves.
Engine issues delayed our departure from GTC on our second visit. When I started her up, I wasn’t seeing any water flow at all. We checked all the usual suspects – the seacock was open, the sea strainer wasn’t clogged (but I cleaned it anyway), the raw water pump wasn’t leaking and the impeller was fine, no water in the bilge, and the laser thermometer showed normal readings all around the engine block. Eventually we tried backing down at low rpms (still on the mooring), and then we had normal water flow. No idea what the problem was, but I’m glad it solved itself.
We briefly dropped the hook in the anchorage off New Plymouth and took Squall in to get provisions. It was a bit of a bumpy ride in and a rather wet ride back with 1’+ waves on the beam, but we laughed like idiots the whole way, and our reward was a fever of spotted eagle rays that came to visit us while we had (a very late) breakfast (from the liquor store, of course) on the dinghy dock. I contend that a group of rays should be a flap, and I’d like to speak to the manager.
We had a lazy sail under jib only, and as we sailed the clouds passed and the wind slowly faded off. The anchorage was much busier but there was still plenty of room to anchor in good holding without feeling like we were on top of our neighbors.
Chris suited up in his scuba gear and started tackling the bottom. I think the last time we hired a diver was in Titusville, so it’s been a while and was much needed! We did some work on the waterline in Allans-Pensacola, but we didn’t get all that far. He didn’t get the whole thing done, but he was able to get at the worst of the growth.
After he was done, we went over to Crab Cay to meet the pig that lives there and bring her an apple. I admit I was equal parts excited to meet her and terrified of her – sometimes they can be a bit aggressive. But she was really friendly and just seemed to want some food and company, and she seemed sad when we left. I felt really bad for her since sows tend to live in groups and she’s over there all by herself.
The wind picked up overnight, but we were well protected from the northwest. We spent a rainy morning aboard, but all the squalls blowing through were beautiful, and we got several intense rainbows as a reward.
We took Squall to explore in hopes of seeing some rays or one of the resident sharks. We didn’t see any on our run to the north end of the island, but the beach there is gorgeous. We headed back to the anchorage with the intent of walking to the ocean beach, but the approaching clouds looked promising, and a short time later, we found ourselves hiding under a coconut palm in a downpour (it gave better protection than I’d hoped – we didn’t stay dry, but we weren’t soaked either). While we waited out the rain, we watched a couple sting rays glide by and a huge one settled into the sand right off the beach. Since it was a mile walk and the weather was still iffy, instead of heading to the ocean beach, we decided to go explore the mangroves and saw some cool sea life – brilliantly-colored fish, some kind of urchin/anemone creature, and another fever of spotted eagle rays. I was so glad we got a second chance to explore this pretty little island, and I can’t wait to visit again sometime.
