Green Turtle Cay

Day 1 – Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023 – Great Sale Cay to Green Turtle Cay

It was a long day, but a good day. We left Great Sale Cay at 6:40am for a nine-hour sail to Green Turtle Cay, one of the barrier islands off mainland Great Abaco. The winds were predicted to pick up in the early evening, so we wanted to arrive well before dark to find a protected anchorage and get a good holding.

It turned out to be a great day of sailing for all of us boats. We had Hope leading the pack, navigating the way, followed by Unfettered, SeaBreeze, and Not so Normal Nomads, a catamaran that left the same anchorage when we did.

Aside for using our engines when we left the anchorage, and turning them back on when we arrived at our new anchorage, all of our boats sailed the whole day with engines off! The wind was a little confused throughout the day and we were trying all sorts of things to get our sails filled properly on a broad reach (almost a run) all day. We sailed most of the day with a wing-on-wing configuration. The 10-17 knot winds kept clocking back and forth from 170-190 degrees so we had to tack often to switch from a starboard tack to a port tack, and vice-versa. It was a lot of work sailing, but it was fun, especially for the guys. Thankfully, the 2-3 foot waves were pushing us from behind so it was a smooth and comfortable ride.

We arrived at Green Turtle and dropped anchor in 3.5 feet of water at low tied in the White Sound anchorage. We tried to tuck in to the shore as far as possible to get protection from a north wind. It turned out not be as strong of a wind as predicted, and we were quite comfortable at our anchorage our whole stay there. We took a dinghy ride to the beach to stretch our legs and let the dogs run. It’s great to be back here again!

Day 2 – Monday, Nov. 27, 2023 – Green Turtle Cay and New Plymouth

We woke up refreshed, after a lulling to sleep by the gentle rocking of the boat, with roosters crowing in the distance. I had a great Bible and prayer time, studying the Book of Philippians, and pondering the amazing Humility of Jesus Christ and my need for that in my own life. I did a load of laundry while Kory ran the water maker to fill our tanks.

We picked up Rick and Maryalice in our dinghy at 9:30am, with the Fett family following behind. We docked at the town of New Plymouth on the southeastern end of Green Turtle Cay. New Plymouth is a small, peaceful, 18th century village-by-the sea. We took a walk through town, observing the cute bread shop, coffee shop, family-owned restaurants, gift shops, and markets.

This town was hit hard by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and the residents are still trying to recover. The townspeople seem to be hardworking folks. We observed many of them laboring on new construction, repairing old buildings, and working on sprucing up the outdoor museum of historical figureheads.

One resident woman was going around town picking up trash, and everyone seemed to be working together to revitalize the community and keep the town clean. Christmas decorations were being put up all around, and the owner of the grocery store shared that she is a 7th generation native to the island. She took pride in her heritage and surroundings and was a joy to get to know. The pace of life seems slower and relaxed here. There were some small cars driving through town, but many residents drive golf carts. It is a tranquil and quaint place to live.

After exploring the town of New Plymouth, we went back to our boats for lunch and a short rest, only to be called out again to find the nearby sea turtles. Five dinghies from the various boats in our anchorage all met up at the dock near Green Turtle Resort, walked about a half mile to a beautiful beach, and then down a dock to see large sea turtles swimming around. There were about a half dozen of them swimming around the docks. Some of the children got in the water to swim with them. We also saw a stingray and enjoyed conversing with fellow boaters and making more friends.

We’re spending extra time on anchor at Green Turtle Cay because we’re waiting for the right weather window to make it through Whale Cay Cut. More about the cut later. For now, while we’re held up here at Green Turtle, we’re passing the time well. Here are some of the things we’ve been doing, waiting for our trip to The Abacos from the out islands.

Days 3 at Green Turtle Cay – Tues. Nov. 28, 2023

This was mostly a hang-around-the-boat day. I washed sheets, did some dusting and vacuuming, pre-cooked some meals, worked on the blog, and ordered Christmas gifts for family. Kory helped Rick, on SeaBreeze, with his Navionics subscription updates, looked at upcoming weather forecasts and conditions through Whale Cay Cut, researched our options for getting to the Eastern Caribbean early next year from The Bahamas, and worked on our water pump. It was a good working day and we got a lot accomplished.

Days 4 at Green Turtle Cay – Wed. Nov. 29, 2023

We went on a nice long walk through town and along the beach with Rick, Maryalice, and the two dogs. We are surprised at the amount of diverse foliage on this island, from pine trees to palm trees.

We had dinner at the Green Turtle Club Resort with a waterfront view of White Sound Harbor on a covered patio, with a white linen table cloth and candlelight. This was a special treat for Maryalice and me. We enjoy cooking on our boat, but it’s always nice to have a break from all the meal planning and preparation. The guys seem to know the right time to treat us ladies to a nice meal!

Days 5 at Green Turtle Cay – Thursday. Nov. 30, 2023

On our last full day at Green Turtle, I enjoyed decorating our boat for Christmas with what little decorations I had. I’m hoping to find a few more things in Marsh Harbour, but I’m thankful to at least have some items to make our boat more festive. The traditional Christmas music playing in the background brings merriment, while we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!