The sea was dead calm which made for a perfect 7-hour passage to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands...the sun was hot but cool in the shade of the fly bridge hardtop. The only bummer for the day was I fished but didn't catch anything edible. As we got closer to Chub Cay I got a hit - we were excited to think we'd have fresh fish for dinner - NOT!
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| He still has my ballyhoo (bait) in his mouth! |
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| Map of the Berry Islands |
per Wikipedia: The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about thirty square miles...of the northwestern part of the Out Islands. The Berry Islands consist of about thirty islands and over one hundred small islands or cays, often referred to as "The Fish Bowl of the Bahamas." They have a population of only about seven hundred, most of whom are on Great Harbour Cay. The islands were settled in 1836 by Governor William Colebrooke with a group of freed slaves....
The Berry islands are still relatively undeveloped, with no major airport, hotel or other attractions. Most of the islands are uninhabited, or owned by a single wealthy person as a second home...but the difficulty of reaching the Berry Islands and the lack of infrastructure keeps things low-key. Due to seasonal residents, the Berry islands can say that they have more resident millionaires per unit area than any other place in the world...
Great Harbour Cay is the most northern and the largest of the Berry Islands. It is eight miles long and one and a half miles wide. The largest port of the Berries is on Great Harbour Cay.
Chub Cay, site of Chub Cay International Airport, is the second largest island in the chain and is known an "the billfish capital of the Bahamas."
Little Stirrup Cay is leased by Royal Caribbean International, which calls it Coco Cay, and acts as a private island for tropical activities engaged in by visitors on its cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises labels.
Great Stirrup Cay is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line and is used for similar purposes.
Cistern Cay is a private island located next to Great Harbour Cay.
Little Whale Cay a private island that was developed as residence by Wallace Groves in the 1930s. It is served by the Lt. Whale Cay Airport.
As an aside I found, for me, the most interesting information on a web site about Little Whale Cay: "In the center of the Bahamas, nestled in the Berry Islands, lies a beautiful six mile island named Big whale cay. Formerly the exclusive domain of the extraordinary millionairess Marion (Joe) Carstairs. This 850 acre island was fashioned into her personal kingdom complete with winding roads, village, church and museum. Carstairs, a lesbian who did her best to live as a man was a champion speedboat racer who could fly her own plane and even drove ambulances for the red cross during the first world war. Carstairs a formidable character donned men's clothing, sported tattoos and of course kept her hair short. 35 years after she left her island in the Bahamas people still talk about the Standard Oil Heiress who inherited a immense fortune at a very young age. Although it seemed that residing In the Bahamas afforded Carstairs her unconventional lifestyle and a distinct tax advantage, the project of developing Big Whale Cay employed hundreds of locals who had been impoverished by the depression. She was a generous and caring employer who was an activist in the betterment of the Bahamian people.
Her employees included maids, laborers and a 200 man army she kept busy maintaining the islands roads. One of her daily pastimes was racing up and down her island In an assortment of sports cars and motorcycles.
Carstairs was a gracious host who's guests included Marlene Deitrich, Noel Coward, Rock Hudson and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It is said she would entertain her guests in her fabulous "Great" house wearing tailored men's suits and after dinner, retire with the men to imbibe brandy and cigars. In the years Carstairs reigned on her island, indeed she dubbed herself Queen of Whale Cay, she certainly enjoyed herself to the fullest. From playing with her vast doll collection to raiding her brother's neighboring island (Bird Cay), or playing hi jinx on unsuspecting tourists by capturing them and having her staff pretend to be wild natives. She loved her island. Unfortunately, over time, Carstairs developed serious hip problems and had to give up her island to live out her days in Florida. She grew reclusive but happily lived to the ripe old age of 93."
Anchoring at Chub Cay was supposed to be an overnight stop en-route to Great Harbor Cay where we will reunite with Jay & Karen.
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| Our digital chart of Chub Cay. you can barely see BLUE MAX near the anchor sign. |
However, (isn't there usually a 'however or a but?) that night I developed sudden & severe, Salmonella-like symptoms. Sure, here we are in the middle of no where with no chance of getting medical attention if needed. Most of the small islands have a clinic - but not Chub...it's pretty much deserted now.
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| (circa 2011) Chub Cay - Mostly uninhabited housing & club house still unfinished |
On 9/5 we anchored just outside the Great Harbor Marina by Bullock Harbor Settlement.
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| From the web - air shot of the harbor |
We met with Jay & Karen having dinner at the only restaurant open this time of year - Rocky Hill - which is located on the marina property. Cozy spot that has a pool but, unfortunately, drained of water now...It was so hot every day we wished they'd fill it back up.
Friday night is a cook out with fish, chicken, ribs, rice & peas & if we were lucky, lobster tail.
Jay & Karen were kept very busy for a few days after they discovered a roach infestation on LARGO - Yikes!
We all remembered the 14th anniversary of 9/11. The marina lowered our flag to half mast.
I bought 5 Lobster tails & had my knives sharpened by the local fishermen.
Some interesting history about Great Harbor Cay taken from the internet: " The original development of Great Harbour Cay began in the mid-1960s with a $38 million investment and the dream of creating a hideaway for a very privileged few. A trust held the majority of the island's real estate holdings over the last 25 years, until recently when Pristine Resorts Limited purchased the assets of the trust.
Great Harbour Cay's close proximity to the southeastern United States, combined with its unspoiled beauty and seeming remoteness, made it a tropical, private and very exclusive haven for the rich and famous during the late 1960s. Golf course designer Joe Lee fashioned an 18-hole championship golf course on rises of land that overlooked the sea. With over 125 golf courses designed in seven countries, Joe considered the original 18-hole, par 72-regulation golf course to be one of his best. A marina basin lined with waterfront town homes and luxurious yachts became the social centre of the community.
In the beginning, famous and some say the infamous, including Hollywood celebrities, came to play in this idyllic environment. Cary Grant danced the night away in the clubhouse. Brigitte Bardot graced the beaches with her beauty. Jack Nicklaus had a house on a hilltop along the back nine. Earl Blackwell, author of the celebrity best dressed list, enjoyed a home on the island. Great Harbour Cay was popular with the socially elite Rockefeller clan. Dame Margot Fonteyn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Ingrid Bergman and Hugh O'Brian were regular visitors; Curt Jurgens also lived on the island".
During the development they built a lavish 'clubhouse' on a hill overlooking the marina/harbor. I can't find much information about its' demise but did learn it succumbed to fire. We took the pups & walked up to see it. Such a shame - from what we could see, it must have been magnificent. You could almost picture yourself here in its' heyday. Seems they used the best materials available at the time. Inside & outside bars & seating areas, large dining rooms with massive fireplaces.
A mistake to bring Jack & Scupper as we didn't know the floors were full of debris - but too late now. I let Scupper's leash go while I was taking pictures...thought it was safe as she rarely wanders away from us. On the bridge (pic above) was the last time we saw her. We searched every inch of this huge building & calling her name. Just as we began the search, I thought I heard men's voices in the direction of the main street or the small dirt road to the golf course. I went back over the bridge then to the golf course. Nothing, no Scupper or signs of anyone - we started to panic. We thought, maybe she went back to the marina so we headed back down the road...we thought we heard a dog bark ?? Called out for her. Another bark-we followed the sound. We got to the road that leads into the marina & one of the workers pointed up a small hill. There she was tied to a tree with three men around her. We were so relieved we weren't really thinking straight - I just held her close to me. Then we asked where he found her..."up the road"...where up the road?..."just up the road". Sounded 'off' to me but Wayne offered the guy $10. The guy said, "is that all she's worth & for me saving her"? The guy really pushed for Wayne to give him more. By the time it was all said & done, Wayne gave him $50.
If it had been Jack, they would have never been able to take him so easily - he would have barked like crazy & run away.
We told Jay & Karen about the ordeal & we all agreed to tell Hans (marina manager) about it because this nice little, out of the way marina can't afford to get a bad rap. Much to our surprise & delight, the marina staff gave us $50. They knew who the guy was - tiny island - everyone knows everyone & what everyone is doing. That's how these guys knew where we went with the pups.
There was a local man cleaning the bottom of a boat near us. He said he felt a nudge that scared him...this is what nudged him:
We're glad we made the decision to head North as August & September are the most active months for Tropical Storms (T/S) & Hurricanes.
August, for example, we had three named storms:
T/S Fred (8/31) - was never a threat but did turn into a Hurricane.
September, we had:
T/S Grace - (9/1) - which was downgraded to a Tropical Depression & no threat;
T/S - T/D Henri - (9/8) - no threat to land;
T/S Ida - (9/20) - no threat to land;
Relaxing time at Great Harbor, but for some reason, I didn't take many pictures especially when Karen & I went to the 'grocery' store. The stores are located in small houses scattered around the settlement - same for the liquor stores. It's a rather long trip so you must have a car. The supply boat arrives three Wednesdays a month. I was told when it's 'season' there's a mad dash by the boaters to be the first to arrive at the 'grocery' & there are long lines outside to get in - after the rush, there is little left until the next Wednesday.
We really wanted to go south to Georgetown in Great Exuma but it was still September with the ever-present threats of storms. We had a time share week in Freeport, Grand Bahamas that was about to expire the end of September. We checked - it was available 9/18. It was already 9/16 & the chart shows 62nm from Great Harbor to Freeport...better get a move on.
After a delightful evening with Jay & Karen aboard LARGO we left the dock about 8pm & once again anchored outside the harbor. Thunder, lightening & rain during the night.
We pulled anchor about 8am & arrived & anchored in the Grand Lucayan Waterway at 5pm.
During the development they built a lavish 'clubhouse' on a hill overlooking the marina/harbor. I can't find much information about its' demise but did learn it succumbed to fire. We took the pups & walked up to see it. Such a shame - from what we could see, it must have been magnificent. You could almost picture yourself here in its' heyday. Seems they used the best materials available at the time. Inside & outside bars & seating areas, large dining rooms with massive fireplaces.
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| Looks like it was a kitchen ahead of its' time |
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| Wayne walking on a bridge over the road that leads to parking etc. To the right is direct access to the golf course. |
A mistake to bring Jack & Scupper as we didn't know the floors were full of debris - but too late now. I let Scupper's leash go while I was taking pictures...thought it was safe as she rarely wanders away from us. On the bridge (pic above) was the last time we saw her. We searched every inch of this huge building & calling her name. Just as we began the search, I thought I heard men's voices in the direction of the main street or the small dirt road to the golf course. I went back over the bridge then to the golf course. Nothing, no Scupper or signs of anyone - we started to panic. We thought, maybe she went back to the marina so we headed back down the road...we thought we heard a dog bark ?? Called out for her. Another bark-we followed the sound. We got to the road that leads into the marina & one of the workers pointed up a small hill. There she was tied to a tree with three men around her. We were so relieved we weren't really thinking straight - I just held her close to me. Then we asked where he found her..."up the road"...where up the road?..."just up the road". Sounded 'off' to me but Wayne offered the guy $10. The guy said, "is that all she's worth & for me saving her"? The guy really pushed for Wayne to give him more. By the time it was all said & done, Wayne gave him $50.
If it had been Jack, they would have never been able to take him so easily - he would have barked like crazy & run away.
We told Jay & Karen about the ordeal & we all agreed to tell Hans (marina manager) about it because this nice little, out of the way marina can't afford to get a bad rap. Much to our surprise & delight, the marina staff gave us $50. They knew who the guy was - tiny island - everyone knows everyone & what everyone is doing. That's how these guys knew where we went with the pups.
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| There was a mamma & baby Manatee |
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| They seem to loved to be rubbed - I've never seen a Manatee do this before |
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| Mamma & baby - He cleaned them with a soft brush & they loved it |
August, for example, we had three named storms:
T/S Danny- Danny formed on Aug. 18 as Tropical Depression Four and strengthened into a tropical storm later that day. Danny
then became a hurricane on Aug. 20, and peaked as a Category 3 with
maximum sustained winds up to 115 mph on the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2015.
This made Danny the first major hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic
hurricane season;
T/S Erika that dissipated over Cuba but was a direct threat to the Bahamas;T/S Fred (8/31) - was never a threat but did turn into a Hurricane.
September, we had:
T/S Grace - (9/1) - which was downgraded to a Tropical Depression & no threat;
T/S - T/D Henri - (9/8) - no threat to land;
T/S Ida - (9/20) - no threat to land;
Relaxing time at Great Harbor, but for some reason, I didn't take many pictures especially when Karen & I went to the 'grocery' store. The stores are located in small houses scattered around the settlement - same for the liquor stores. It's a rather long trip so you must have a car. The supply boat arrives three Wednesdays a month. I was told when it's 'season' there's a mad dash by the boaters to be the first to arrive at the 'grocery' & there are long lines outside to get in - after the rush, there is little left until the next Wednesday.
We really wanted to go south to Georgetown in Great Exuma but it was still September with the ever-present threats of storms. We had a time share week in Freeport, Grand Bahamas that was about to expire the end of September. We checked - it was available 9/18. It was already 9/16 & the chart shows 62nm from Great Harbor to Freeport...better get a move on.
After a delightful evening with Jay & Karen aboard LARGO we left the dock about 8pm & once again anchored outside the harbor. Thunder, lightening & rain during the night.
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| I never did get a picture of us that night so I included this one from Christmas just in case you forgot what we look like (tee hee) |
We pulled anchor about 8am & arrived & anchored in the Grand Lucayan Waterway at 5pm.
