Good morning from Green Turtle Cay and the Green Turtle Cay Club. Since the last post we rode out the storms at Orchid Bay on Great Guana Cay and survived just fine with a lot of rocking in the slip. We then moved through the famous and dangerous Whale Cay Cut and are now safely tied to the dock at the Green Turtle Club.

The storms came as predicted and we had winds over 40 knots for 5 hours. The marina was not well protected with a very small break wall to protect from the south winds and waves. At high tide the waves were crashing over the break wall and we were going up and down 1-2′ tied in the slip. Not a lot of fun and I had all but one line aboard securing the boat. Yes we had 19 lines securing the boat! We were lucky as the worst of the storms tracked west and south of us. There were several boats damaged and even 6 boats struck by lightning in the Exumas. I guess we were lucky to just have wind and waves with a little rain.

The wall at low tide, and we are experiencing at 3.5′ tide. As the waves built and the tide came up, the waves were washing over the wall.

Starting to get angry out there!

After the winds starting rotating to the west and north, we were able to get some sleep. It was a long two days rocking in that harbor. We did have time for one meal at the famous Nippers.

Memphis, running the beach below Nippers Beach Bar on Great Guana Cay. Still plenty of damage to be fixed.

Our next challenge was to move through the famous and dangerous Whale Cay Cut. You have to go outside in the Atlantic because it is too shallow inside the cays. This is dangerous because you go out to the Atlantic Ocean where the depth goes from 4000′ to 600′ and then to 30′ in a very short distance. This creates what they call rage waves that look like a Hawaiian surf scene. We moved through the area early Sunday morning to take advantage of the tide and winds from a less dangerous direction. We only experienced 3-5′ waves through the cut. We moved a couple of days early, as the waves are predicted to be 9-14′ for the next week. This would have meant we were stuck at Orchid for another week!

Looking back out at the cut area after we were on Green Turtle Cay.

The same area on Monday. You can see the waves way out there being pushed up! Didn’t want to run through that stuff!

Amy was very nervous to go through the Whale Cay Cut after reading lots of horror stories from other boaters. She was very happy once we were through and back into the protection of the cays in the Sea of Abaco.

It was then time once again to wash the boat down and get all the salt off. We can’t wait to get into fresh water and stop washing every time we move the boat. Then it was time to explore Green Turtle Cay by scooter. We did donate our bikes to a local on Great Guana Cay with a little (a lot) of rust on them. He was very happy and excited to get them! We saw him riding one of the bikes around for two days before we left.

This is the “big” town on the south end of Green Turtle Cay.

The picture does not do justice to the hill we are about to go down. Look at the telephone poles down the hill and you can see we are almost level with them.

Still a lot of damage on this island from Dorian in 2019. A lot has been rebuilt, but sill a lot more to rebuild around here.

Who Dat tied up in her slip for a few days.

We ended the afternoon with a local punch at the Bluffs Beach bar. There are a lot of little beach bars on this island.

Yesterday, we rented a golf cart and explored the island with our friends from Three Sons. Even found the Pineapple Beach Bar for a quick drink.

Lots of great beaches to walk and explore.

Found the parking lot by a trail to explore. Everything is very well marked down here.

The roads on the island are not the best! There are some paved roads, but at least half the roads are like this.

The Pineapple Beach Bar. Not much, but had great drinks.

Friends from Three Sons at the Pineapple!

We also found a small beach known for turtles and rays close to the shore.

The water here is not as clear as in the Exumas, but still nice.

Fun to watch them swim in formation! There were also a couple of smaller rays, but I did not get a picture of them, sorry!

Today we will explore the island a little more and then prep the boat for crossing to the West End. This will be a 120-mile crossing to get into position to cross back to the US. We should have ok conditions for the move tomorrow so, off we go. It will be a long run for me as the depths will be 8-20′ the entire way. There are also lots of coral heads to watch out for and many sand bars. I will be tired after that run and ready for a rest before the next crossing to FL.

The weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream back to Florida looks like favorable winds and seas around April 1st. We will be ready to go from the West End as soon as weather permits.

I will try to post again from the West End, if possible. Hope you have a great rest of you week and looking forward to the Sweet 16 this weekend!