Great Harbour Cay – Berry Islands, Bahamas

It was a good thing we had called ahead a week ago to reserve a spot at our marina at Great Harbour Cay Marina. It was even better that we told them we needed to keep the boat there for a month. Otherwise, we could not have gotten in!

With the tiny weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream to get to the Bahamas, there was quite a flock of boaters who took advantage of the crossing opportunity. At one point we counted 18 boats anchored in the outer harbor and probably 50 tied up in slips in the marina. The marina was packed to the gills!

Typically, once you get to the Bahamas, you then need to wait for another weather window to continue moving around. Otherwise the wind tends to be wrong and the seas tend to be strong. Besides, when in the Bahamas, you enter a different time zone - - “It’s the Bahamas, mon!”

Tuesday, we unpacked our bikes and headed the 2 ½ miles to the beach clear at the end of the island. The last mile is off road and more akin to mountain biking than riding on a road. BUT, it is sooo worth it as it is incredibly beautiful - - and secluded.

The beach here is spectacular, deserted and it goes for miles.

We arrived at high tide, so the water was particularly lovely.

For lunch, we rode to a little beach bar which also has an amazing view of the water.

A local “bottle etcher” artisan set up shop in the marina to show boaters his wares. He loves to do special etchings for boats, so we took him the champagne bottle we used to celebrate our arrival in the Bahamas. With a scrap piece of paper, he went over to Samba & sketched her out. Then, for $35, created a wonderful etching we plan to keep at home.

He used a Dremel tool with a diamond point and some hydrofluoric acid for shading and created a wonderful keepsake!

Wednesday evening, the marina manager had a chill & grill night for the boaters. He gave away free rum punch and we could get wonderful barbecued ribs or chicken, slaw and an excellent spiced mac & cheese. We had a wonderful time meeting other boaters and sharing stories.

Thursday, we headed back over to the beach, but at low tide.

With a 3-to-4-foot tidal swing, the change in the beach was quite dramatic.

Jim took advantage of the low water and worked his way over to the adjoining island for some nice photos.

Friday, we got the dinghy down & headed out to do some exploring. Our main goal was to check out the dinghy engine to make sure she would be OK. It’s a good thing we did because she wasn’t.

While out, we explored one of the nearby deserted islands.

This is Carol’s, “I’m not a mountain goat” picture on the craggy rocks.

Once it was time to leave, the tide was going down so we had to work to get the dinghy back into deep enough water to use the engine.

This is what’s left of an old DC3 airplane that crashed in the shallow water.

While out, we learned that the dinghy engine water pump wasn’t working right so once back, we put the dinghy back up on the top deck so Jim could work on the engine.

Saturday, he took the water pump apart & finally figured out the problem. Phew!

Saturday afternoon, we walked a little under a mile to a place called Sunset Point; a lovely spot to watch the sun go down.

From this vantage point, we could see the outer harbour with all of the anchored boats. When zoomed in, you can see the cruise ship anchored off Coco Cay.

While walking, Jim found what appeared to be an old trail leading off into the jungle. He always likes to check these out. In this case, though, there were some pretty healthy sentries guarding the entrance so he opted not to go.

We then found our way to “Bardot Beach”. This is where Bridget Bardot came to work on her full body tan back in the late 50’s.

As luck would have it, our neighbors in the marina had brought guests there on their dinghy so we had a nice talk with them.

Our Canadian marina neighbors on the other side had rented a golf cart & invited us to join them for sundowners at the only B&B pub on the island. It was a great chance to learn more about them, their family & all they had to deal with in Canada during COVID.

Monday morning, early, we leave Samba in the marina and fly home for a month. It’s probably a good time as the wind is blowing 20 to 30 knots with gusts to 40 knots all this week. Wow!

No one is going anywhere!

We’ll see you in a month when we return to Samba to resume our great 2022 adventure.

All our love,

Jim & Carol