Category: 2019 Great Harbour

Out tow boat was on the way. We were to meet him 5 miles offshore around noon. Before then we explored Bimini a bit.

We had to leave a Fish-N-Chip sticker!

After our slow morning it was time to head offshore. We did a little trolling while we waited on our tow. No takers.

After years of paying for service, it felt good to have it. They would tow us 90 miles home. Since we still had 2 engines working we ran the two engines to keep us on plane. The seas were flat calm and other than potential rainstorms it was an uneventful trip.. and we saved a ton of fuel!

After getting back to the marina, we raced to pack and head home before the rain. It was a great trip even with the mishap, but we knew had some work to do to get everything repaired. Fortunately we still had a month left of warranty!

We attempted to get an early start for our journey, but we had a lot to pack from the house. We were all a little sad to be leaving GHC. The kids said goodbye to the cat friends.

Without our air conditioning (i.e. cruising speed), it was getting quite warm, so Charles rigged up our shade to the stern.

We rode near some storms but miraculously stayed dry.

With the sun going down, the shade was no longer needed.

We pulled into Bimini where we had reservations at the Big Game Club. It has been quite a few years since I have been there, and the Club definitely has some history in Bimini.

After a long day, we enjoyed some food at the marina and swimming in their pool. We hired some local school kids to wash the boat for us to give us a good break before meeting TowBoats US the next day.

Knowing we were getting close to the end of our trip, we tried running back towards Devils Cay to explore some new areas. Unfortunately about halfway there we heard a sound that sounded like we might have hit bottom, even though we were in a sandy area. Upon further investigation, there was oil everywhere. We knew something serious had happened. We decided to head back slowly to the Marina with rainstorms building in the distance again.

Once back at the Marina, we were able to find a mechanic, but not good news. We had blown the engine. We made several attempts to see if we could find a place to extend our stay without luck. Fortunately, we called TowBoatUS who could pick us up in Bimini. We just had to make the slow crawl to Bimini the next day. We decided not to push our two engines and take it at close to idle speed. It will be a full day for us.

On a funny note, Charles was shocked to see his picture being taken in the outdoor shower! Chip showered there almost every day, it was peaceful (until the paparazzi shows up!).

Without much attempt the day prior we were determined to find some Lobster territory prior to the Lobster Fest tournament starting the next day. We started the morning with some sunrise pictures at the rocky beach so the kids would have some pictures for school assignments.

After about 30 minutes of Charles, John, and Chip all spearing and trying to get the lobster out of his hole, we finally scored the best lobster we have ever gotten on a spear. He was a monster!

Now motivated by our catch, we went to find some more!

After a few hours of diving, we ended up with 3 nice lobster and a hogfish. We kept saying. “these aren’t west end lobsters”. All the lobsters we saw were bigger than any we had seen spearing in west end.

After some spearing we anchored up and made lunch on the boat. A few flicks of bread in the air and we were surrounded by birds!

After getting back to the marina we debated keeping our biggest lobster for the lobster tournament that was to start the next day. We went in to pay our admission fee only to find out they moved the tournament to the next week because of weather. At least we had plenty of dinner!

We woke to a tropical depression rolling through with lots of rain and clouds and heavier winds. We managed to try some diving close by and saw a lot of life. We picked up a lobster and Nassau grouper before the rain really started coming down (no pics). We raced back to the marina through a storm to add a little fun to the trip. We headed back to the house to grill burgers and nap in the rain.

We woke from our naps and headed back to the rocky beach to enjoy the waves and breeze.

We ended the day with fish sangwhiches for dinner and nice conversations with our kids. Gillian made some of our typical Bahamas brownies to keep the conversations going. Still a great day even though we were almost inside all day!

After hitting it hard on Charles’ birthday and the anticipation of the Lobster Tournament coming, we decided to rest up. We headed to one of our favorite spots for some photos and to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

After enjoying the scenery we headed to the Beach Club for some fish sandwiches. Yummy!

For Charles’ birthday we woke to more fish hash, a quick walk on the beach, and then headed to Devil’s Cay for some snorkeling and spearing.

The route to Devils Cay is one of our favorites.. flying along at 40 mph in crystal clear water is always fun. To be in the deep water (4-6ft), you have to stay close to shore.

Diving was great. We saw lots of lobster (not in season till 8/1) and grouper. We only managed to put one grouper in the box though.

Our beautiful captain did a great job pulling us around!

We decided to head to Flo’s for some conch fritters. We had trouble reaching them on the radio all day. Apparently they weren’t open!

There are always sharks swimming around the docks.

With no conch fritters at Flo’s, we decided to find our own private island (Cabbage Cay) for a late lunch and exploring.

More Ocean to Plate fish tacos!

The boys headed out fishing in the evening while the girls prepared Charles’ birthday festivities.

Happy Birthday Charles!!

We woke early for Charles to paddle board to Petit Cay. Over a mile and a half away, he took his time on the way out and saw lots of birds. We billed it as “Charles’ Last Teenage Adventure” as he will be turning 20 tomorrow!

It was a long way away, with nothing east of him if he got blown away!

He ended up getting some rain on the way back.

Finally back to the beach!

He filmed some video of his adventure.

After his adventure, we made fish hash and eggs for breakfast with the leftover dinner. After breakfast we headed out to explore some new areas of GHC. We had to stop one exploration short as we got stuck. We ended up going around great stirrup cay to get to our destination. As I have often heard.. “its not if you hit bottom in the Bahamas.. but when!”. Fortunately it wasn’t as bad as when we hit bottom in Green Turtle many moons ago!

After reversing course, we took the long way around little Stirrup Cay to find some diving areas. We saw stingrays and tons of small fish.

John was able to get a nice grouper and a hog snapper.

We pulled into a cove for a quick lunch. Fresh grilled fish on the boat. Surf to Plate in less than a couple hours!

On the way back we did some jigging.. John fought this nice amberjack! It was quite a battle.

Back at the house we did some cooling off and some handstands!

Brandy made some fish tacos and french fries for dinner!

The house we rented was right on sugar beach. This was our second stay at the house as we loved it so much last year. We were disappointed to hear the house was sold and we were the last renters. At least we got to stay a second time!

There was a bit of rain so we kept going in the water and then escaping the rain. We played in the water on Sugar Beach all day.

The house had a detached Master. This really provided some quiet time for Brandy and Chip.

The view from the Kitchen and Den was beautiful… but not as nice as from the veranda!

The veranda gave us a nice area to watch the rain come in.

After a break in the rain it was time for some paddle boarding.

And more rain!

And back to paddle boarding again.

We found some starfish, a weird looking flounder, and lots of fish in the sand off the beach.

If we kicked up some sand these angel fish would come swim next to our feet.

Gillian got some alone time in the hammock.

Charles and Chip grilled up some burgers for lunch.

Gillian and John went paddle-boarding again and were harassed by a huge Manta Ray. They thought they were being attacked!

We tried to track down the ray again without success.

Charles and John attempted to beat Chip and Gillian back to the beach. John wasnt working very hard!

Brandy was able to spot the manta Ray again for some more video!

For dinner, the boys went down to the boat and cleaned the fish we speared the day before. Gillian loves panko fish fried in bacon grease.. as does everyone else. It was a yummy dinner and Chip enjoyed teaching Gillian and John how to cook it up!

Another successful day in Great Harbour. After a dinner and a beautiful sunset we laid on the porch and gazed at the stars.

We headed from West End to the Gingerbreads to do some spearfishing on the way to Great Harbour. The stop breaks up the trip a little and we had some decent success spearing there earlier in the year. Usually one of the first to wake, John needed a nudge to get moving this year! He is turning into a full-fledged teenager!

It was a little bumpier than the crossing and we had a few sporadic rain showers. We dropped some live baits on a weedline on the way to the Gingerbreads, but no one was home.

Upon arrival at the Gingerbreads we jumped in for some spearfishing for a couple of hours. We put some grouper and hogfish in the box. Yummy!

Nice hogfish Charles!

The colors on this grouper were awesome!

Upon arrival at GHC, we dropped off the chairs at my friends “Boatel” and checked in with Smokey (dockmaster) and tracked down our rental car. Its always fun bringing the gear to the house (NOT!).

After a long couple of days, it was nice that the Marina was having a Junkanoo night. There where a lot of Bahamanians cooking food… stuffed fish, bbq chicken, peas and rice, crab and rice, spicy potato salad and of course mac-n-cheese .. The food filled our bellies and we quickly returned home exhausted and ready to sleep.