Man-O-War Cay, Abacos

After two nights at Green Turtle Cay, we decided to move on to Man-O-War Cay.  We had been there before on a previous Bahamian vacation many years ago and we had good memories of it as well as a tee shirt that Lynn still wears!  Early in the morning it appeared that the weather would be okay for the passage through Whale Cay Channel.  This was important because this channel consists of a narrow passage between two cays and back again through another narrow passage. There are times when the weather can produce a ‘rage’ which results in large ocean swells that break along the reefs lining those cays. Fortunately for us, the passage through Whale Cay Channel was predicted to be (and was) relatively calm.

However, as soon as we left the dock at the yacht club, we saw storm clouds in the distance.  We decided to proceed anyway and for awhile we were running ahead of the storm.  But not for long!  We hastily closed our Strataglass curtains and hunkered down during a spell of pouring rain.  Jonny started getting nervous as we got closer to Whale Cay Channel because we were beginning to experience white out conditions and our radar was not working as well for us here in the Bahamas as it did during our Down East journey. (out of practice!) Fortunately, the conditions improved and though it was still raining, we were able to navigate the channel successfully. 

If the weather had been better, we would have stopped and anchored off of Great Guana Cay where there are beautiful  beaches and snorkeling.  But because the weather was predicted to be overcast and rainy and the winds did not favor those anchorages, we proceeded on to Man-O-War Cay.

We arrived at the narrow entrance to that well-protected harbor at about 2 p.m. and picked up a mooring ball (after several attempts).  The mooring field can be quite crowded but this time of year it’s not as busy and we were fine. 

We took the dinghy in to Man-O-War and strolled through town. Man-0-War Cay was settled by Loyalists after the Revolutionary War.  This town’s main industry is boat building and the main street and coast are lined with boat building establishments.

We strolled along and visited a couple of shops that sold fabrics.  Lynn had purchased a robe here many years ago as women in the Bahamas weave beautiful colorful fabrics that they use to make garments, tablecloths, etc.  The prices were exorbitant however so Lynn passed.

We also visited a sail cloth making shop where women busily sewing very nice bags of all sorts from colorful sail cloth. Again, a pass,  Jonny was looking for some boat supplies but we keep getting referred to Marsh Harbour for these needs.

We strolled through the residential area where there were colorful homes, many lined with conch shells and whimsical decorations.

We stopped for a refreshing ice cream cone and watched the world go by.  There are golf carts here instead of cars.

The island has historically been dry until just recently.

As a result there are no bars on the island though we understand the restaurants (2) now serve drinks.  We thought we would grab one at the Dock and Dine restaurant next to our marina but at 5 p.m. it showed no sign of being open soon nor was there a bar – so we created our own happy hour aboard Zendo.

We had a delicious dinner of eggplant parmesan that Lynn had made prior to the trip and settled in for the evening to watch one more movie, Pitch Perfect 2.