On our 30th day in The Bahamas, after leaving the United States, we decided to head south from Marsh Harbour to take our friends snorkeling at Sandy Cay. This would also prove to be a good staging area for our passage further south the following morning.
We stopped at the fuel dock in Marsh Harbour to top off our tanks. At a price of $6.18 per gallon (cash price), we’re glad we didn’t need too much. The great thing about sailing is that you don’t burn fuel, but we can’t always rely on having the wind in our favor to do so, so we do end up having to motor or motor-sail when necessary. Sailing is always the goal, however, rather than motoring!
After both Hope and Unfettered got fuel and emptied our garbage, we “sailed” south for a three-hour trip to Sandy Cay. We had the main sail up and the head sail out on a starboard tack. Engines were off almost the whole trip and we were doing over 8 knots at one point. It was a quick sail, but a fun one!
We anchored right behind Sandy Cay in crystal clear waters. The all-sand bottom made it easy to anchor and hold tight quickly. We rode the dinghy near the reefs, tied it to a mooring ball specifically placed for snorkelers, and jumped into the beautiful, clean water. It was warmer than I expected.
We snorkeled with the Fett family for about an hour. They were in awe, as none of them had ever snorkeled along a reef before. The reef fish were plentiful. We saw the following fish. The photos are complements of Snorkeling Report, but the videos are ours.
Sandy Cay has a healthy reef with beautiful underwater life. After having gotten some exercise swimming against the current for a bit, we hopped back in our dinghies and returned to our boats. Kory and I rinsed off all of our snorkeling gear and laid it out in the sun to dry. I made a spaghetti dinner while we planned our route south for the following morning.
The plan was to leave Sandy Cay in The Abacos, make our way through North Bar Cut into the Atlantic, and head to Spanish Wells on Eleuthera. It would be an 8-9 hour journey, so we prepared the boat the night before and went to bed early to be well-rested for the passage.
