After re-entering the Sea of Abaco, Great
Guana Cay was to our port. The first bay
is called Baker’s Bay and is a private part of the island. Basically the two ends are private
developments and the little town and public portions are in the middle. Orchid Bay is at the southeast end and
includes the marina we stayed in. We
arrived at 11:20 am to bright sunny skies.
A trawler, Dream Catcher, was
next to us. The owners are from Mound,
Minnesota, and are also doing the Loop.
Like us, they were taking a side trip to the Bahamas.
We
walked into the town that has a public dock, grocery store, liquor store, a
couple of gift shops, and a few small restaurants, all along Settlement Harbour. From there we walked across the Cay to the “famous”
Nippers, a beach bar and restaurant on the Atlantic Ocean. Another beautiful beach! We walked the beach and then shared a lobster
salad wrap on one of the multi-level decks.
Nippers also has a pool and gift shop.
They feature a pig roast on Sunday afternoons which we heard brings
everyone out. Although we had planned to
leave on Sunday, we decided to stay another day and go to the pig roast.
On
the way back to the marina, Captain Randy bought 2 kinds of rum, Black Seal from
Bermuda and Ricardo from the Bahamas. We
relaxed by the pool for a while then cleaned up the boat. Later we watched the sunset over the Sea of
Abaco from the marina porch. We walked
over to Grabbers Bed, Bar and Restaurant for cocktails and a casual dinner of
lobster bites, crab-stuffed mushrooms and flatbread pizza. The pizza was not quite what we were used to,
but it was fine. Grabber’s was offering
a pig roast that night, but we did not partake as we planned to go to Nippers
for theirs the next day.
While
waiting for our food we saw some familiar faces. We first saw the 2 sailboats at Spanish Cay,
then again at Green Turtle Cay. They
were manned by two groups of “twenty-something’s”, one with a dog named
Mariana, pulling a red dinghy, and the other pulling an inflatable catamaran (pictured above as we passed it in Whale Cay Channel). We did not get their names, but the guy we
talked to had crewed for a 35 foot sailboat for 3 years previous to making this
trip. He was a self-declared
inexperienced captain, but learning as he went along. As the group filled plates with the pig roast
dinner, Mariana happily feasted on whatever fell to the sand. She came over to see what we might have and I
gave her some sausage from the pizza. Of
course she was my new best friend until I had nothing more to offer.
As
we walked back to the marina a couple in a golf cart stopped and gave us a ride
the rest of the way. They have a home in
the Orchid Bay gated community and seemed used to picking up boaters! Back on the boat we were ready to call it a
night.
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