Monday & Tuesday May 2 - 3:  Tilloo Cay to Man o War Cay

     We joined Rosare and Nina from La Maitresse for a dinghy run through a passage they had in their guide (neither our Waterways Guide nor our Explorer chart book mentioned this passage).  The passage ran along the West coast of some of the Angel Cays.  (The Angel Cays seem to be misnamed - Guano Cay, Cormorant Cay, Snake Cay, Deep Sea Cay, and Mockingbird Cay do not sound very angelic.)  This passage ran along Snake and Deep Sea Cay, between them and Great Abaco Island.  We started for the Northern entrance, between Snake and Cormorant Cays, and found it to be very, very shallow.  After some discussion and a lot of mud-stirring, we turned around and headed for the Southern entrance, between Snake and Deep Sea Cays.  

Nina consults her i-pad as we try to navigate the dinghy passage.

     It was still very shallow, and only somewhat passable.  Our dinghies both bumped along the bottom a couple of times.  Rosare was hoping for conch;  they had brought along a looky-bucket (a five gallon bucket with a plexiglass bottom) and Nina spied a lot of coral but no conchs.  We did, however, see a few conch crawls set up in the most unlikely places.  We could get close to only one of them and saw it was empty.  It seemed odd to us to find these here in such a hard to access, out of the way place.  They looked like they were fairly new, and in good repair, so they were being used.  But if our fatty knees, which draws less than six inches, had trouble getting around, how did the conch tenders get here?  We began to wonder if the area was used for other, more clandestine reasons.

Conch crawl.

     We discovered why our guides didn’t talk about this dinghy passage - there is no real passage, and probably hasn’t been one for some time.  Mangroves have filled in channels.  A small causeway connects Great Abaco Island to Snake Cay.  And it is simply too shallow in many areas to get around.  We finally gave up and headed back the way we came in, rounding Snake Cay along a crumbling wall of rusting iron and into the confused seas back to the Willie.  We made plans with La Maitresse to travel a few miles up along Tilloo Cay to a different anchorage than last night, and once we’d set the hook there they called on the radio and asked us to join them in an evening out to dinner.

     Cracker P’s is listed as a must-see, with a famous fish dip.  Cruisers have been stopping at this boat-friendly restaurant/bar on Tavern Cay for thirty years.  Sounded good to us.  We got into their inflatable and headed off.  

Cracker P's.  Closed.

     Well.  This was a disappointment.  We wondered if they were just closed on Mondays, but the place had an air of neglect and the property nearby was listed for sale.  As were the next two places with docks.  Dan and I told Rosare and Nina about the time we’d chartered in the British Virgin Islands, when every single restaurant we went to was closed.  Some were closed on that particular day of the week, some had been boarded up for a long time, and a few were closed until the week or two later, when the cruising season officially started.  (We were there in mid-November.)  Rosare turned the dinghy around and we started slowly back to our boats.

     Inflatable dinghies aren’t known to give you a dry ride.   Dan and I missed our fatty knees as we were splashed several times by the waves we headed into.  At least the water was warm.  As we passed by Cracker P’s, we noticed boats tying up at the dock next door.  Lubber’s Landing Bar and Restaurant was open.  We had been so intent on Cracker P’s, we completely missed this place right next door.  We hailed some people on the dock - was the place really open?  Was the food good?  Yes, and yes, we were told, so we tied up.

Lubber's Landing. Open.

     Lubber’s Landing is a charming open-air bar and restaurant with a small beach and several levels of decks.  New wooden walkways lead from the back of the thatched-roof building through a small woods to a few small rental cottages nestled behind the bar.  This place is known for their “Island Burger” which is a tuna burger served with fries.  They had plenty of the burger, Pam the bartender/cook told us, but they only had two orders of fries left.  We four settled at the bar and ordered the last two fries to split amongst us, along with the famous burger and a fried cauliflower appetizer.  It was all very good.  After our meal we lounged on the sofas near the bar and talked with other people in the bar.  It was a fun, relaxed place with similar people.  We had a great time there.  Good thing Cracker P’s was closed!

    Tuesday morning, after Dan listened to Chris Parker’s morning weather report, he told me we were in for fifty-knot squalls and he felt we should head over to Man o War Cay and take a mooring for the next couple of days.  It would be protected there, and we could resupply.  We called for information - yes moorings were available, on a first come first served basis, and no the price of a mooring did not include any marina facilities. If we wanted showers, wifi, or use of the laundry it would be extra.  Dumping trash or filling up with water would also cost extra.  I told Dan I didn’t need a $5 shower, I could still set up a hot spot with my phone for our own wifi, and the laundry would cost us extra anyway even if we stayed in a marina slip.  If it rained, we’d be able to collect the water, and it doesn’t bother us to pay to dump trash.  There is no such thing as “free trash”.  

     First, though, we kept our snorkel date with La Maitresse.  We swam around two small rocky outcrops not too far from our boat.  We always see something new when we snorkel - today it was turtles.  There were several sitting on the bottom, hoping we’d just go away.  I spotted a small octopus pulling a small conch into its lair, and Dan saw several large grouper hanging out in front of a small underwater cave.  He went back to get his Hawaiian sling and came back with Nina and Rosare.  Rosare was similarly armed, Nina had her Go-Pro camera to record everything.  The two of them tried again and again - and Dan actually managed to spear one grouper - but in the end we got no fish for lunch.  Dan said when he was swimming down to just look at the grouper, they just looked back, unconcerned.  But when he returned with the sling, they all hid.  

Hawksbill turtle.  Internet stock photo,

Nassau groupers like to hide.  Internet stock photo.

     We discussed our mooring plans with La Maitresse.  They hadn’t heard the latest weather forecast, and agreed a mooring in a protected harbor sounded like a good plan, but they had friends in Marsh Harbor and chose to go there instead.  We made plans to stay in touch.  We do want to make the crossing to Florida together.

     Dan and I weighed anchor and took a swing through Hope Town before heading over to Man o War Cay.  Hope Town has a pretty, and very busy little harbor clotted with moorings and ringed with docks.  A red and white striped light house overlooks everything.  Sunsail and the Moorings both offer charter boats here.  We thought it was very charming, but too busy and perhaps too built up for the tourist trade here.  

Hope Town light house.

Hope Town shore front.

     Man o War Cay is the boat building capitol of the Bahamas.  It’s also quite charming, and a bit touristy, but it’s also obviously a working town.  They used to build wooden boats on the beaches, but now all the work is confined to the two boatyards, and it’s about fiberglass, not wood.  There are two coves, both very narrow, and a lot of very dubious moorings.  We had been told they were “all sizes, all colors” and not to take one marked private, but few of the moorings are balls.  Most of jugs of any kind, and some look like pot buoys.  They are also very close to each other, with no thought to size and type of boat that might occupy them.  We first picked up one set of jugs but ended up very close to a large workboat, so we moved to another mooring that obviously hadn’t been used for a long time.  Dan dove on the mooring block, and attached our own line directly to it.  He’ll sleep better, knowing we are that much more secure.

Entrance to Man o War harbor.