"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

Mar. 7 – Great Sale Cay, The Bahamas

Great Sale 1 – Anchorage

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” —Neale Donald Walsch

If that statement is true…my life began today! Stan and The Pearl were well in their comfort zone, but I was definitely out of mine. We spent eight hours in high seas and high winds…over 25 MPH. The waves were crashing up onto the flybridge…everything on the boat was wet and covered in salt. We knew the seas would be rough, but the only other option was to stay at Old Bahama Bay in the rain and wait 2-3 days for the winds to lay down and then take the chance at getting stuck at one of the small uninhabited cays when the next front comes through. After a long day on the water we were both glad to get out of the wind and waves in our protected anchorage behind Great Sale Cay. We enjoyed a peaceful evening and were in bed early.

The lure of the Bahamas is its closeness to the U.S. There truly are tropical islands within reasonable reach. The bright sunshine, clear water and beaches where you can squeeze white sand between your toes is a good way to lose those winter blues. The people are friendly, there are no language issues, the U.S. dollar is interchangeable with local currency and crime is very low.

When we started telling people we were going to Abaco, non-cruisers asked where that was. Once we explained it was in the Bahamas the next question was how or why we picked the Abacos over other places in the Bahamas. Here’s my answer: The Abacos are much less remote and more like the U.S. than the Exumas. For that reason a lot of seasoned cruisers would rather go further south to the Exumas, but for our first trip to the Bahamas, this appealed to us. It’s much easier in the Abacos to find restaurants, stores, marinas and repair facilities, plus they still have beautiful beaches and places to snorkel. I’m ready to find those great little beaches and relax.
A few storms on the horizon

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