From there we took the dinghy to the reef and grabbed one of the moorings there. We went for two dives in this beautiful marine sanctuary. The water was crystal clear and though we didn’t have an underwater camera, we were able to capture just a bit of the beauty there. These shimmering images of the coral beneath the water remind us of an impressionistic painting.
The coral reefs were extensive and very healthy. We were especially taken by the massive elk horn coral. We saw a lot of fish including Sergeant Majors, parrot fish and many others whose names we don’t know.
From there we headed over to Little Harbour where we planned to anchor for the night. Little Harbour is a beautiful, small, fully-protected anchorage. It is known for Pete’s Pub, a famous watering hole. It has also been home to an artist named Randolph Johnston and his wife, Margot, who founded an art colony there in the 1950’s. He was a sculptor and his wife worked in ceramics. Randolph has since died and their son, Pete, now runs the pub and gallery there.
Unfortunately the studio had closed for the day. But lucky for us, scattered around the grounds were many interesting samples of Randolph’s beautiful works.
Pete's Pub is an open air bar perched on the side of a hill overlooking the enclosed harbor. We grabbed a drink and followed the bartender’s advice to walk up and over the ridge for a view of the ocean.
And what a view it was with the crashing waves on the rocky beach!
The restaurant at Pete’s has a good reputation but we had to wait until 6 for
the menu to be posted. We were contemplating whether we would stay at the
anchorage in the harbor or venture outside. We had to make a decision before
the tide turned as the entrance to the harbor was very shallow at low tide. We
were concerned about staying in the harbor as we wouldn’t be able to leave the
next morning until 11 when the tide was high enough. Also, the harbor was so
enclosed (a great hurricane hole) that there were no breezes and it was very
hot. By 6p.m. the menu was posted and although it was clearly the most
interesting selection of anything we’ve seen in the Abacos, we decided to pass and find an alternative anchorage.
We found a great one in Lynyard Cay - just a short hop away from Sandy Cay where we had been snorkeling earlier. There were several boats anchored along a very long stretch of Lynyard Cay, all separated by large distances. The water was very calm and we were able to catch a slight breeze. We tucked in for the night after hearing from one of the boats we passed on our way to anchor. They recognized our MTOA flag and hailed us to let us know that although they were originally planning to attend the MTOA event at Treasure Cay, they were no longer able to having been delayed in their journey. They asked us to pass on their regrets to the organizers.
After dinner onboard we did some star gazing with an amazing app called SkyView. When pointing your phone with this app at the night sky, it shows all the planets and constellations with their names and accompanying drawings and it is accompanied by evocative music. It’s the coolest
thing!
The next morning we took the dinghy to the beach at Pelican Cay Park near Sandy Cay (where we had snorkeled the day before). We were the first to arrive on this pristine beach. There was only one small structure on the cay that provided a modicum of shade. We explored it for a little while before we headed back to snorkel again off of Sandy Cay.
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