Day 4 -Tuesday
The Cannons Marina Grady White Club took some well deserved R & R.
The Neumans rented a car and drove to Freeport for a little sightseeing.
The rest of the crews lounged around the pool or took naps or hung out on the beach with pool drinks in hand.
A planning session was held at 5:00 p.m., with the captains arriving at a consensus as to the best waypoints to program into the GPS systems.
Then, as the sun sank over the proverbial yardarm, whatever that is, the crews fell into some tropical drink, a little dinner on the patio overlooking the yacht basin, and then to bed. A quiet day on a beautiful island.
Day 5 – Wednesday
L-R Captains': Neuman, Pock, Lyons, Griffin
At 10:30 am, the little armada headed out of Old Bahama Bay, threaded our way through the rocks that jut north from the tip of Grand Bahama Island and came onto the Little Bahama Bank, headed for Green Turtle Cay, 93 nautical miles away.
It was one of those days about which poets wax - eloquent.
The green water was as clear as bath water BEFORE you get in it. We were running generally over 9 – 12 feet of water, the bottom visible all the way.
The sky above was clear, the sun hot, and cumulus clouds defined the horizon. The Bank was a little bumpy, about like Sarasota Bay with a 5 knot wind. Moving at 32 mph, we hardly felt it.
Grady White Boat: Pharmasea
Soon, the radars were picking up signs of land and we began to see other islands as we moved further onto the Bank.
We ate lunch underway, enjoying the cruise and the sights.
After about two hours of running, we came into the Sea of Abaco.
The wind had picked up and the chop got choppier, the ride a little rougher. We pulled into White Sound at Green Turtle Key about two o’clock.
We again moored stern to at docks built for much bigger boats. I think we scared some of the large yacht captains out of their flip-flops.
They came running to the rails of their boats, large fenders in hand, protecting their employers’ investments.
They had nothing to fear. After the mooring action at Stuart, we had become old pros.
We checked into the hotel and found, much to our chagrin, that two free rum punches were included in the price of the room. The stampede to the bar was rather restrained as befits Grady-White people, but at least one Bahamian was heard to threaten to sue over his trampling.
Lunch at Cabbage Key: L-R, Jean Griffin, Guest, Captain Mike Seery
The only hitch came when word was passed to Griffin that he had not registered.
He was sure he had, since he had two free rum punch tickets. Alas, he had used the tickets shortly after the stampede to settle his nerves and was afraid he could not prove that he belonged in the hotel.
However, thanks to the intervention of Captain Mike Seery, it was determined that the confusion arose when the dockmaster mistook the logo on Recess for its name and had registed it into slip 25 as the Grady White.
Captain Bob Gault, Jean and Captain Terry Griffin
Bob and Shannon Gault met us at the dock as we arrived. They’d flown over [WHAT?} on Monday and were staying the week.
They joined, maybe even precipitated, the afore mentioned stampede to the bar.
Some time later in the evening all thirteen of us went across White Sound to the Bluff House for dinner.
When we returned to the Green Turtle Club, the Gully Rooster band was playing.
It is apparently a very popular group in these precincts, but about the nicest thing your erstwhile reporter can say about it was that it was loud. No problem. We headed for bed. A glorious day behind us.
by Florida Author, Terry Griffin and Photos by Mike Seery
Article by LucyLu
I was born a commercial fisherman's daughter in Cortez, an old fishing village off the west coast of Florida where you can still experience "Old Florida" and get a really good grouper sandwich. I went to school and became an anesthetist, after privileged years of practice, I jumped ship to work in the family business - Cannons Marina. I love my job and the view. I am crazy about my dog. Being out on the water is magical. I still get giddy every time I see a dolphin. Often I brag that I had the opportunity to swim alongside a humpback whale - it was freaky and pretty amazing. Fishing for tarpon and marlin make me happy. My life is no doubt boating, but I also love paddle-boarding cooking and travel.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow!! I’m jealous. Sounds like ya’ll are having a ball. Hey drink a rum punch for me! Have fun!!
Okay guys, where are all the women on this trip? They cannot possibly be shopping that much?
All I can say is I wish David and I were there!