Leg 5 - Great Harbor Cay Berry Islands, Bahamas

4/12/24 - 4/14/24

124 Miles

Cape Eleuthera to Great Harbor Cay was more exciting weather than forecasted and thus we expected. The wind/wave calculations were off, about 60 miles into our passage we hit a squall. We were fine and the boat performed perfectly, regardless storms are no fun! As one would expect we were thrilled to arrive at Great Harbor Cay! The marina is home to a close knit community; many repeat boaters, live aboard families with young children and a strong French Canadian seasonal community. We were greeted by Freddy, we called him Friendly Freddy, I wish I had a picture of him. Freddy was the welcome we needed after a long day with rough seas. He literally whistled while he worked! While we were settling in, no less than a half a dozen people came by to greet us and invite us to the BBQ night and live music. We were recommended Great Harbor Cay by a sailing couple we met at Cape Eleuthera, they raved about the community and the marina owner Steve. Unfortunately Steve was out of town while we were visiting, we certainly felt his presence in the family like community he fosters. Not sure why we believed the forecast after the miss we had the first day, nevertheless we fully believed we would leave the next morning. We learned from fellow boaters the forecasting has been off in the area for most of the season, they highly suggest we not only use our forecasting tools but also seek local knowledge. With what we learned about the expected conditions from the marina dockhands we went from staying 1 day to 3. Always a good idea to wait it out and especially for longer passages and eventually back to the United States.

The angry sky and sea of the squall.

We love Marina bikes!

Great Harbor Cay marina office.

Surrounding the marina is a large collection of brightly colored townhouses. Many of the seasonal boaters rent the townhouses when family or friends come to visit and it might be a little tight on the boat.

Great Harbor Cay townhouses.

Bullock Harbor is a 10 minute bike ride from the marina. TINY. There is a small grocery store, a church, a school and the harbor where all supplies for the island arrive.

Delivery boat arrived after a week delay due to wind and rough seas.

Walt is a bike fan too!

The perfectly pink house overlooks the marina, we could see it from our boat.

I had to take a bike ride to get a picture of it!

There were 3 families with school age children spending the year or more on their boats, homeschooling their children. We loved the fun their youth brought to the scene. Young Ian was proudly promoting his fresh coconut water business. A true entrepreneur in the making!