26 January 2007

Double Breasted Cays, Abacos, Bahamas

January 26, 2007


The fishing dock at Grand Cay

The main street in Grand Cay--just big enough for a golf cart, which is how people get around town.


We left Grand Cays and motored a short one hour to Double Breasted Cays, just east of Grand Cays. These are uninhabited cays and are considered to be some of the most beautiful in the Abacos, some even think in the entire Bahamas. When we arrived we found it easy to agree with the guidebooks. The are comprised of many small cays, mostly rocky with shrubs, and one cay, Sand Cay which is a large sand bar and is picture postcard material. Some people had been there before and we found remnants of a bonfire, but besides that, it was untouched and pristine.





Above, some images from Sand Cay at Double Breasted Cays

The warm waters of Florida and now the Bahamas have steadily eaten away at the zincs which protect our engine and propeller so Hans took on the noble task of diving in 21 degree (Celsius) water to change the propeller shaft zinc and check on the raw water intake seacock (the engine temperature seems to be marginally higher these days, but we think it is just a result of the rise in water temperature and perhaps running Boris at a higher RPM than we did down the ICW).


The old zinc from the propeller shaft compared to the new zinc.

We picked up the anchor on Saturday morning to head to Spanish Cay, some 40 miles away, before the next cold front. We would have stayed longer but felt that we needed to be in a more protected harbor. These more northern parts of the Abacos consist of smaller cays with only a few anchorages offering all-around protection, so after much debating and hemming and hawing, we decided that our best option was to move south, although quicker than we wanted.

We're trying to set the record straight about Kit Kat. See, she seems pretty happy, enjoys the sun, enjoys being in the cockpit when we're sailing, and, yes, she enjoys her food. But she's not starving, she's just on a diet for her own good. So don't let her pathetic postings fool you.