Great Harbour Cay
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Howard [ Just Imagine ] 31-Dec-1969
Great Harbour Marina (Marina)
An nice, secure marina and an official entry point to the Bahamas. This was our first landfall after a rough crossing from Fort Lauderdale.
We stayed here a couple of nights drying out our bedding and licking our wounds.
Nice seafood restaurant in the marina.
A pleasant walk over to the perfect half moon beach on the eastern shore.
Howard and Jayne [ Rynegiest ] 09-Jul-1992
Half Moon Bay (Anchorage)
We anchored here for the day behind Petit Cay and spent a wonderful day on the picturesque, half moon beach.
At the end of the day the wind blew up and we had to head back to Panton Cove on Great Stirrup.
At low tide you can walk out across the sand bar to Hawks Nest Cay in the SE corner.
Little planes land on the airstrip next to the beach.
I seem to remember a nice cabana beach bar on the beach.
We also walked to the beach when we were in the Great Harbour Marina a few days before
Howard and Jayne [ Rynegiest ] 14-Jul-1992
Great and Little Stirrup Cays
Little Stirrup Cay (Anchorage)
Slaughter Harbour
This is one of the Royal Caribbean Cruises private islands where the cruise ship anchors and ferries the passengers ashore for a barbecue and a day on the beach.
We are a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but we had heard that it was common practice for cruising yachts. We anchored in Slaughter Harbour and rowed ashore to join the cruise ship passengers for lunch. Since we did not have any onboard refrigeration, we were out of fresh meat at this stage and were left with only canned and dried goods onboard, which were not nearly as appealing as the hamburgers that were being served onshore.
We simply stood in line with the others and had a wonderful lunch. We had been told in the marina that cruisers do this all the time.
It got a bit confusing when we tried to buy a beer, and they asked for our cabin number, so we had to settle for juice and iced tea, which was free.
There is supposedly a plane wreck underwater in the anchorage, but the water was too murky to see.
Howard and Jayne [ Rynegiest ] 12-Jul-1992
Great Stirrup Cay (Anchorage)
Private Cruise Ship Island
We anchored off here next to the old Norwegian Cruise Line Norway and rowed ashore again for another fine barbecue rib lunch with the cruise ship passengers. We were quite seasoned at this after doing the same at Little Stirrup Cay the day before.
We had been told by someone at Great Harbour Marina that it was common practice for cruisers to partake with the passengers.
We got here early in the morning and went snorkeling on the reef. A few minutes after the Norway dropped anchor we were greeted by one of those memorable scenes, with about 75 cruise ship passengers all equipped with the the same color masks, snorkels, and buoyancy vests, swimming frantically out toward the reef. It was somehow reminiscent of that famous 1952 Life magazine photo of an audience watching a 3D movie all wearing their 3D glasses. I wish I had a camera with me.
Howard and Jayne [ Rynegiest ] 13-Jul-1992
Panton Cove (Anchorage)
We spent a couple of nights anchored in here.
The first day we took a nice stroll on the path over to the north shore.
The next day we sailed down to anchor in Half Moon Bay for the day, but hightailed it back here when the wind direction changed. We got back as it was getting dark and were grateful that we knew our way in, and the entrance can be quite scary.
Howard and Jayne [ Rynegiest ] 14-Jul-1992
Little Harbour Cay
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Howard [ Just Imagine ] 15-Jul-1992
Flo's (Restaurant)
Lunch at Flo's is a must.Conch fritters are the specialty. Call Flo's on Ch. 68 3 hours before arriving to order.
Enter the channel at the southern end of Little Harbour, going north until you see Flo's on your right.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 22-Sep-1998
Chub Cay
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Howard [ Just Imagine ] 17-Jul-1992
Hoffmans Cay
Blue Hole (Point of Interest)
A round, 600 ft, deep, salt-water hole in the middle of the island. You can jump 25ft off an overhanging rock platform to the water below and float on the crystal clear water.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 22-Sep-1998