Tahitti Beach

April 11-13
Tahiti Beach is located at the very end of Elbow Cay.  It is a popular spot among the boaters, when it is calm and when there is an east wind. There are also a few vacation rentals nearby which adds quite a few people coming to the beach by foot. Between the small rental boats, the families walking to the beach and the larger boats anchored out Tahiti was a great people watching beach. We enjoyed watching the kids build sand castles and run up and down in the shallow waters at low tide. Low tide made a great swimming hole for the little bitty kiddy's. Although it was great fun to watch the little ones play it did cause a little homesickness for the grandkids. While Tom and Peanut relaxed on the beach I waded in the water looking for treasures. When the tide is out you can walk out into the Sea of Abaco for quite a ways but after a while the sandy bottom becomes grass mixed with rock. Wearing water shoes allowed me to go out into the grassy area which was much less picked over by visitors. I found a few sea biscuits and a hand full of sea glass. I was pretty excited about how far out I was from shore and how close I was able to get to the cut through to the ocean until I saw a large ray then a large fin out of the water that was attached to something I wasn't sure I wanted to see. So I picked up the pace and moved towards shore. Our second day at Tahiti we rode the dinghy across to Lubbers Cay. There are two establishments that are well known and we of course did not want to miss seeing them. Lubbers Landing and Cracker P's. After checking out Cracker P's Tom settled in on one of their chase lounges on the beach and napped while I checked out Lubbers Landing and walked through a path leading to the other side of the island.  The following morning the weather report was not positive. The winds were going to pick up and a possible thunderstorm come through so we moved down Elbow Cay to Hope Town and took a mooring ball in the harbor. Sorry that a couple of the photos are blury. My camera has started to act up a little.

                           One side of Tahiti Beach. This side is very shallow especially at low tide

                                           The cut to the ocean is in the background

                                                 Laughter anchored at Tahiti Beach

                                                              Sunset at Tahiti Beach

                                                  A blury photo of Tahiti at low tide

                                           A blury photo f Tom and our chairs on the beach

                                            The rentals and anchorage area at Tahiti

                                                         Cracker P's bar

                                                                   Cracker P's deck

                                           The nature path to the other side of Lubbers Cay

                                                              Lubbers Landing

Inside Lubbers Landing

                                          Walkway to the cottages of Lubbers Landing

Back to Lynyard Cay

We woke up to sunshine and calmer waters so back to Lynyard Cay we went to finish our exploring. Quite a few, 16 to be exact, boats were also going to take advantage of the weather and explore the area. We were able to anchor very near the spot we had before.  Once anchor we took the dinghy to the beach at the far end of the island. It really wasn't much of a beach and we ended up climbing the rock formations at the end of the island. Tom looked through the junk that had washed up on the rocks, rope, wood, plastic, etc.,  and I looked for unusal shells and sea glass. It was fascinating to see how the water had carved holes, indentations and inlets in the rock and because it was low tide I was able to get a close look at some sea urchins living in holes in the rocks. An hour later we headed for the dinghy carrying a large boat cushion, a bouy, and various other pieces of junk. One mans trash another mans treasure?  We motored down a little ways to the next beach. Now this was my kind of beach! My bucket quickly filled with unusual and beautiful shells and quite a few pieces of sea glass. The rising tide was our signal that it was time to give up the hunt and return to the boat. It was a fun day!  The next morning we took a different path to the ocean side of the island. The area had a number of jagged rocky ledges with sections of sand behind them. I found sea glass stuck in holes in the rocks and buried in the sand around some large singular rocks. After lunch we headed across to another island to explore the beach there. It was a totally different. Instead of rocks the background for this beach was a forest of long needled pine trees.  After dinner I decided to put out a fishing pole with a piece of fish on the hook.  About 10:30 the reel screamed and Peanut began barking. I ran to the pole ( as fast as you can run on a boat!) and started reeling. Once I realized I had a fish I also realized I had a problem. Tom was asleep and Peanut, although excited, was not going to help get him in the boat. I had nothing to loose so once I had him beside the boat I flipped him in the air and onto the bow pad! He bounced off and landed in the walkway. I couldn't believe he didn't fall of the hook while in the air! While Peanut was busy trying to bite the fish I woke Tom up to help me figure out what to do with him. It's a good thing Peanut was watching over the fish for me because when Tom picked him up he was already off the hook! Tom cleaned him,(only fair since I caught him don't you think?!)  We enjoyed a dinner of snapper the next nite.

                                            A rocky cliff with a huge piece of net stuck on it

                                                 A ledge on the ocean side of Lynyard Cay

Winds require a move to another anchorage - April 3rd

Although Tom and I weren't done exploring at Lynyard Cay, the winds and possible thunderstorms forced us to move from Lynyard to Buckeroon Bay, a more protected area. We had a mini parade that included Salty Dog, Tan Dam and us.  It wasn't far but because you have to maneuver around several shallows it took about an hour to reach our destination.  Once anchored  we all met on shore for a happy hour. It was a small beach that was covered in sea grass.  The winds did arrive overnight making sleeping a bit bouncy. The winds remained brisk throughout the day. This made climbing in and out of the dinghy a bit of a challenge and a wet ride to shore. Tom and I spent the morning exploring the shoreline to the point. A conch hunter had left quite a few empty shells on a rock ledge so I thankfully choose one to add to my collection.  About 4:00 the winds died down. Tan Dam decided to head over to Tahiti beach. Tom and I stayed another night then headed back to Lynyard to finish exploring the island.

                                                   Jim and Barb headed back to their boat after happy hour

                                                Jim(on left) and Jeff talking boat stuff

                                                Laughter at anchor in Buckeroon Bay

                                                             Sunset at Buckeroon

Day 3 at Lynyard

This morning the four of us dinked to shore and headed over the hill to the ocean. We walked over the rocks and around the point to a beach. Here we were again on a quest for sea glass. Tom used his basket to drag the surf. He was very successful at finding sand fleas and I think had just as much fun collecting them in his bucket. I found a spot in the surf that had quite a few pieces, most of them green. Our guess is that green is most plentiful because most bottles of beer are green. Jeff walked across the rocky area to the corner and found a float and a great little bucket he could use to collect treasures. Then it was back to our respective boats to pick up snorkling gear. Our next adventure was a snorkling trip over to Sandy Cay. The area around the Cay is a preserve which means no fishing and look but don't touch. It was quite a hall to the reef and the water was pretty rough. We bounced all the way there. Because the water was rough Tom chose to stay in the dinghy, which was a good decision. Although I love snorkling today was not fun. Between the current and the waves it was really hard to stay in control of where you were in relation to the reef. I did enjoy seeing the beautiful fans a large ray and a school of beautiful bright blue fish. A busy day on the water.

                                           View of the ocean from the top of the hill

Tom and Jeff hunting for treasures

                                                                   Don't I look cute :(

                                             following Jeff. Cindy, Barb and Jim to snorkal

Day Two at Lynyard

This morning we picked up another couple in our dinghy and crossed over to Little Harbor about a mile by dinghy. We didn't take Laughter in Little Harbor because we would have to go in and out on high tide and didn't want to deal with that. The sea was a little choppy so Tom had his hands full trying to keep us all dry on the trip over. Little Harbor is the home of Pete's Pub. Next to Pete's is a museum and foundry. Randolf and Margot Johnston founded an art colony in Little Harbor in the 50,s. Randolf was an internationally known artist renowned for his lost wax casting in Bronze. Their son Pete now runs Pete's Pub and Gallery and makes life size marine bronzes and jewelry inspired by local motifs. We toured the museum/gift shop and then met another couple at the pub. The four of us hiked to a hidden beach area to hunt for Sea Glass. As Cindy put it we hit the mother load of sea glass. We were all happy with our new treasures. Sea glass is really nothing more than pieces of bottle that have rolled around in the surf for years. The sand and water has smoothed their edges and polished the glass. Jewelry made from sea glass is found in many of the gift shops and it's not cheap! The rarest find is a deep deep blue or purple. After a day of digging in the stones and hunting through the surf we returned to Pete's for a cold drink and dinner. As Tom says "another beautiful day in Paradise.
                                          

                                                                           Pete's Pub

                                                       T-shirts over the bar at Pete's

A hop back to Marsh Harbor then on to Lynyard Cay

I enjoy staying in one location long enough to explore the area a little each day. Not having to rush around the entire day trying to see everything is a much more relaxing mode of operation. When we do leave it feels sooooo good to be back on open water. The wind in my face as I sit at the helm, looking out over the water as we meander to our next spot. Hard to beat!  We left Treasure Cay, made a short over night stop in Marsh Harbor for engine fuses, groceries and other incidentals then moved on to Lynyard Cay. Passage to Lynyard took about 2 1/2 hours most of it relatively uneventful. You noticed I said most of it. There are several areas between islands referred to as cuts. If the ocean is rough crossing the cuts can be rough to impossible. Today was a rough day. We rolled and bounced all the way across. It was pretty uncomfortable but only lasted a short time.  The anchorage area at Lynyard is nothing more than an indentation in the island(Cay). The number of boats in the anchorage or any anchorage for that matter depends on the direction of the wind. There were 13 boats anchored because of the forcasted light winds.  We found a spot, settled in then took the dinghy ashore. The beach was small and reminded me of Gilligan's Island. Hung from the trees were items that had been found in the area, floats of various sizes, Styrofoam bobbers, rope, nets, etc. There was even a sign post that was built from old wood. A path led us from the beach over a hill to the ocean. Most of the ocean side was rocky.  There was so much trash on the ocean side it was disheartening. Plastic, plastic and more plastic!  We all really need to reduce the amount of plastic used! Tom and I split up to hunt for treasures. When we came together to share our finds I had sea glass and shells. Tom had string, some net and parts of old flip flops he found( he was going to use the parts to fix his). Can you say Sanford and Son? We packed up our treasures and headed back to the boat for the evening.

Plastic and garbage that has washed up on the beach

Stuff hanging from the trees at the beach

                                                 The rocky cliffs ocean side of Lynyard Cay

Sunset

 

Laughter sitting pretty at dusk

I HATE STORMS WHEN ANCHORED!

Our intention was to stay a few days in Treasure Cay. We stayed nine. Most of days were beautiful, warm and sunny but the day the storm blew through is the day everyone remembers and talks about.  There are few things in this life that I strongly dislike such as Brussels sprouts, spiders, mosquitoes, and mean people, but I HATE STORMS when anchored. I dislike them when in a marina but I HATE THEM when anchored. You think I have strong feelings about storms? Anyway, we received word that a pretty strong storm was on it's way so we double checked the anchor line and waited, and waited, and waited.  The wind picked up and several boats moved from the anchorage to the marina. I began to wonder if sticking it out in the anchorage was such a good idea. What did they know that we didn't? Evening came and other than some wind and a pretty lightning show in the distance it appeared the storm was going to miss us! Tom went to bed and as usual I stayed up to play on the computer. Then it happened. About 10:30 all heck broke loose! The wind was blowing so hard we were nearly spinning on our anchor. One minute you could see the entire harbor as if someone had turned on a sky light, the next streaks of lightning would hit the ground and water nearby. The thunder was almost a constant rumble.  I woke Tom up, we needed two people on watch. You could see flashlights on all the boats, everyone on watch.  The space between boats in an anchorage is crucial in this situation, as you swing you must remember that the boat next to you will also, and not necessarily in the same direction at the same time. You also have to remember that you have no clue how much rode he put out compared to you.  We watched as two sailboats put out fenders, they were swinging dangerously close, their owners out in the rain checking anchors. I couldn't sit, finding myself moving from the aft deck to the fly bridge and back. It seemed the storm would never let up. Finally at 12:30 am, the rain quit and wind died down. The lightning continued to light up the sky in the distance but we felt as if this nasty beast had finally moved on. Now exhausted but pleased that our anchor held we went to bed. Laughter really needed a fresh water rinse but I would have rather used a hose.