To the Abacos!

Bimini may seem like a strange stop, if you are headed to the Abacos.  Indeed, most people head to Bimini on their way east toward Nassau and beyond.  However, we were interested in avoiding the mess that is Miami, along with about a million of the people there, too.  So, east to Bimini, and then north to West End.  Nevermind that wind was conveniently blowing us this way, too.

So just where is West End you ask?  It the west end of the Great Bahama Island, nearly due north of Bimini and across the Northwest Providence Channel.  Since our ultimate cruising destination was the Sea of Abaco, it would require going around the north end of the Great Bahama Island and then east of the Great Abaco Island.  It doesn't look like much of a destination, but the Sea of Abaco (which I would call more of a sound) is actually a wonderful cruising area.   Once we made it around West End and onto the "bank", the great cruising began.  The passage across the NW channel went well, the highlight being all the flying fish.  Our night at the posh Old Bahama Bay marina at West End was great - we took advantage of laundry machines and filled our water tanks.   Once we got on the Little Bahama Banks, we did not see water over 20 feet deep for a whale of the a time, but I get ahead of myself.

The deck hand enjoying the view from the helm on the outside passage from West End end before entering the banks. 

The Banks are protected from the ocean swell, and make for wonderful sailing conditions.   We sailed across the Banks and anchored at Great Sale and Crab Cays along the way.  Just around the corner from Crab Cay, the Sea of Abaco begins.

Our first cay in the Sea was Powell Cay.  It was here where we finally had our "we arrived" moment.  It has been a lot of go go go to get here.   At last, we found ourselves on an isolated idyllic beach, and no where else to be but here.  Powell is uninhabited, but there is a trail across the cay to the Atlantic Ocean side.

The ocean side of Powell Cay

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Who needs structure when you snorkel sporting your very own fish attracter pants?

We stayed at Powell Cay two nights, and then the wind turned and it was time to move.  The great thing about this area is that there are a lot of anchoring options nearby =  less work and more play.  :)