Nippers, Grabbers and Blasters!

Well a year ago Mike said he wanted to go to the Bahamas, I told him he was crazy. That was big waters we had to cross, and remember we had no idea how to sail. Fast forward a year and here we are in the Abacos!

It is crazy to think back on our experience with sailing. We can see how steep our learning curve has been even in the past 6 months since we have gotten Unspoken. Last October we were intimidated by the Gulf of Mexico, now here we are having crossed the Gulf Stream and have worked our way through the entire Abacos.

Fortunately, the day we decided to cross the Gulf was a perfect day, we started off with mild winds and calm seas, as the sun rose the wind picked up and made for perfect sailing conditions. With the help of the Gulf Stream we were doing 6-7 knots in 12-15 knots of apparent wind. The last few hours our wind died and we had to motor in to West End, but for our first Gulf Stream crossing, first big waters, and first leaving the safety of known waters we were extremely happy.

Once we were checked in to West End, Bahamas we started working our way east to the Abacos. We were happy we had so much time sailing in the Gulf since the waters here are skinny, and it was pretty common to find ourselves in 6-10 feet of water. We were loving our 3ft 8 draft on Unspoken. We were diligent about following the charts and appreciated the attention to detail we had between C-map, Navionics and the Explorer Charts.

We have currently been in the Bahamas for 10 days, and we are about to start making our way back to Florida. We have visited West End, Great Sale, Allans/Pensacola, Green Turtle Cay, Fowl Cay, Man O War, Great Guana, No Name, Hope Town, Tahiti Beach/Elbow Cay, Sandy Cay and Little Harbor. We have experienced the party scene at Nippers pig roast on Sundays followed by Grabbers for some friendly games of Jenga. The quiet anchorages of Allans and Man O War where the beaches were desolate and London could run and explore until she was exhausted. No Name where we were treated to the pig beach, Mike even had a mother pig nip at him! Violet at Little Bees on Green Turtle could not have been more hospitable. Tahiti Beach we spent an evening and morning, the water was so clear, calm and shallow we could spend hours enjoying and by far was one of my favorite beaches to relax on. Sandy Cay lived up to all the reviews for the snorkeling and we saw some huge tropical fish, a turtle who played with us for a little while, and I saw my first shark! I am pleased to write I did not freak out, it was about 4-5 feet long and far enough away from me to observe but not close enough to taste me. There must be resident sea turtles in Little Harbor because as we came in the channel we had some greet us for the rest of the evening as we paddle boarded around the harbor. Our best meal we enjoyed was at Pete’s Pub in Little Harbor, a little out of the way but definitely worth heading to, minus the mosquitos. When we left for dinner we had some flies but we didn’t think anything of it, so we left the windows open with London on the boat. When we arrived back to Unspoken London greeted us on the dinghy and as soon as we opened the sliding glass door we were greeted by thousands of mosquitos. I am not exaggerating when I say thousands. We spent the better part of 2 hours killing every single one and we promptly closed every hatch, turned on the generator and cranked the AC. The boat was literally a blood bath, but we definitely won the battle!

Our time in the Abacos has been amazing, and we are looking forward to spending a few months here next winter. Taking our time at some amazing anchorages, enjoying the local scene as well as being part time live a boards. We feel like these 2 weeks we spent here gave us a great taste of cruising and all the Abacos has to offer, which is so much, we just touched the tip of it. There is so much more to see and do, and we can’t wait to really take our time and enjoy. The best part about the Bahamas is London is welcomed everywhere. We are fortunate she is such a good dog and really minds her own business, but every beach, restaurant, marina and town welcome dogs like they were children. Making it that much easier for us to fall in love with the Bahamas. Anyone who loves London as much as we do will always have a special place in our hearts. London even got her first passport stamp on this trip! Tahiti Beach was by far her favorite, I swear she could have spent hours swimming around in the shallow calm waters there. She had the biggest smile on her face and it was so great to see her really enjoying life, not bad for a dog that was rescued at 6 weeks old and parents who were so consumed with work and life…she better not be complaining!

Until our next adventure….