Green Turtle Cay

January 13, 2023

Thank goodness for our subscription, personalized weather forecast…

We had a glorious trip from West End to Green Turtle Key on Wednesday. 100 miles of calm, crystalline water.
Here’s a shot of Lynn on the bow, looking down at the bottom 12 feet below us.

The weather forecast warned boaters to be safely in port by Friday afternoon, because we are in for rain at 4PM, followed by a two-day blow with gusts to 35mph. We were all tucked in by Thursday at 1PM.

As a consequence, we were able to rent a golf cart today and explore the island. There are two sounds: White Sound at the north end of the island, and Black Sound at the south. White Sound is all residences and resorts. Black Sound is locals and commerce. The commercial ferry, for instance, lands at Black Sound, and the landing wharf is all trucks and forklifts. All the food and produce, all the building materials, etc., all has to come in by ferry. That’s why everything is so expensive. I won’t even tell you what we paid for a case of soda and a case of beer…you would question our sanity.

Once we finished our tour and shopping, we spent the afternoon at the beach on the east side of the island – the Atlantic side. As we drove around the island this morning, we could see the Southeast wind stirring up the waves on the west side of the island – Abaco Sound.

But at the beach, the water was calm, and we enjoyed the sun and the gentle surf. Guinness had a ball.

We had the mile-long beach entirely to ourselves! Heaven.

The hood is up to keep from getting sunburned ears – the weather was perfect.

Now, we’re back at the boat. We had a passing shower at 4PM, followed by a perfect rainbow.

I expected the Green Turtle Club to be rather chi-chi, but I am starting to realize that things need to be measured by Bahama out-island standards. The staff is nice; the marina is well maintained; the food is quite good; but the buildings themselves are unpretentious. This place has been a favorite for visiting yachtsmen since 1964, and the walls and ceiling of the bar are covered with dollar bills and burgees left as mementos.

For the next leg of our trip, we have to transit a pair of “Cuts” between islands: Whale Cay Channel and Loggerhead Channel. They are EZ-PZ in fair weather, but they are susceptible to what the locals call a “Rage” when the wind and current disagree. We know there are two days of strong winds coming up, so we’ll have to wait until Monday or even Tuesday to leave for Marsh Harbor.

Hopefully, we’ll get to spend some of that time on the Eastern beaches, sheltered from the wind in the lee of the island.