It’s Friday morning and we are tied up in the Highbourne Cay Marina (http://www.
The year round variation of temperatures in the Bahamas is less than ten degrees. However, in the winter the winds are stronger and are influenced by the gales off of the US east coast. As winter turns to spring, the weather here moderates as it does up north. This is good for us as the Abacos, the most northern islands in the Bahamas, have much windier weather from December through April than do the rest of the Bahamas. As a result, many cruisers opt to visit there in the spring and spend the earlier winter months in the southern portions of the Bahamas. With the spring weather we too will head north to the Abacos. The islands in the Abacos are much more developed than the areas that we have been cruising so far so our last month in the Bahamas will offer more civilized opportunites and we are ready for that.
Our visit to the Highbourne Cay marina is our first time in a marina since Rum Cay and our first time in the Bahamas to pay for a slip. However, as it’s been weeks since we have been anywhere with even a rudimentary grocery store and laundry so we decided to treat ourselves with a few days tied up in a protected marina. Another good reason, beyond the desire to be pampered, for tying up in a marina is that this cold front is expected to be accompanied by some nasty squalls, and being tied up in comfort beats being buffeted at anchor by 50+kt winds. Somewhat north of here the winds are expected to be as high as 70kts which is a scary thought.
We chose Highbourne Cay as it is also home to one of the best restraunts in the Bahamas and our dinner last night bore this out. The restraunt, Xuma, is an open air spot overlooking the neighboring islands and the views of the setting sun last evening was spectacular. The evening was so nice that there was a camera crew shooting some footage for a travel program highlighting luxery getaways. A two bedroom cottage here goes for $1,000 a night in high season, a bit above the Pandora crew’s pay grade.
The grounds are lovely with very nice buildings and well kept docks.
They even have nice spots to grill out if you are so inclined.
The nearby two mile long beach is spectacular and perfectly groomed regularly so it’s free of debris. They even provide thatched umbrellas for you to lounge under. Not bad. Believe it or not, even the paths to the beach are raked and are lined with stone walls. Very civilized indeed.
Of course, this spot, being so tony attracts some well heeled visitors. You can get to the resort, and the entire island is a private resort, with your own boat. Or, you can come by seaplane, one of which landed just ouside of the marina when we were coming in.
Speaking of coming by boat, Pandora is like a canoe compared to some of the other “boats” in residence. We had a nice talk with a crew member of this huge yacht Dreamer, last night at the bar and heard that the launch forDreamer, Olivia, was brand new and cost $400,000 with her tripple 300hp outboards. Dreamer is nearly new being built in Turkey in 2011 for a guy out of NY. Of course, he’s in finance. It seems that the recession didn’t hurt everyone.
There was also a massive go fast yacht, a sort of 150’ speed boat, that came in briefly last afternoon to discharge it’s bikini clad passengers who were dancing on the bow to disco music. They were dropped, some dozen of them, at the dock for a visit to the bar. Following afternoon cocktails, they were whisked out, by launch, to the yacht which had anchored outside of the marina where they all showered and dressed for dinner. An hour or so later they returned, by launch, dressed to kill and ready to party, compliments of the owner who looked like he couldn’t be a day over 40. Happily, my back was to the action as the view would have been even more difficult to ignore than it was for Brenda who was facing them. Of course, Brenda kept me entertained with a running commentary of the antics of the revilers. I expect that they are running a bit slow this morning. One can only hope.
Well, all isn’t totally perfect here today as it’s cloudy and a little cool (a relative term) given the approaching front. However, all the better for a nice walk. We wouldn’t want to sweat too much, would we?
And, now for something completely random. How about a shot of one of the iguanas , some up to 20 lbs, at nearby Allen Cay, where we anchored the other day. These guys are very used to people and are always ready for a handout. Yes, I was as close to him as the photo suggests.
Oh yea, speaking of wildlife, I almost forgot. Yesterday we bought fresh grouper filets from a local fisherman. We’ll have them aboard Pandora for dinner tonigh. A guy’s gotta eat…