We arrived at Chub Cay, in the Berry chain of the Bahamas on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 after cruising about 35 miles from Nassau.  We fueled up, paying $6.80/gallon for diesel fuel.

The marina is located at Latitude: 25.41002 and Longitude: -77.90466. The dockage rate was $4.35/foot plus $30/day electric and 40 cents per gallon of water.  We were soon tied up in a slip on Dock C, right in front of the marina office and restaurant.  We received a short tour of the area and were told where we could find the infinity pool on the beach.  They had just started a construction project on the building by the pool and even though the pool was open, the pool bar was not.  We solved that problem by bringing our own drinks.

Chub Cay Club’s marina provides free WIFI as part of their amenities.  We ate dinner at the Harbour House Restaurant after having a drink at Harry’s Bar.  Both are on site.

Through the 1950’s to 70’s, Chub Cay was home to the Crown Colony Club, where Hemingway, among others, came to fish.  It was the perfect get-away-from-it-all destination for the rich and famous, home to fishing tournaments and boating rendezvous.  In the early 1990’s, investors flocked to the Bahamas buying up whatever land the Bahamian Government would allow them to take – Chub Cay was one of those.  Chub Cay was badly hit by hurricane Andrew in 1992, but little evidence of the devastation remains. It is now privately owned and home to the Chub Cay Club fishing resort and marina which opened in 2006. In 2009, the Cay went into receivership.  An article published February 17, 2012 reported that a legal dispute (that had been ongoing since the 2004 collapse of the $24 million resort) was settled.

There are nice floating docks here and although the pool facility is a little run down, it is still usable.  We found something unique in the marina – a “fish cleaning house.”    Inside, there is a table along the wall and a bucket to leave what you didn’t want from the fish.  There was a drain in the middle of the room and lots of water spigots.

A dockhand told us that if we followed the road past the church for about a mile, we would find the airport and a bar/restaurant, so we set off on a pleasant walk.
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The island is be pretty flat and the road which we followed by was lined by Casuarina trees (which we call Australian Pines in Florida) which provided a nice amount of shade.  About an hour after we left the boat (some people would say that I stroll – not walk) , we came upon the airstrip, crossed over it and walked to a brightly colored building known as the Bonefish Bar and Grill.

We enjoyed a couple of drinks and conversation Solly, the bar man.  We learned from him that Chub Cay has been sold and the new owner of the island was due to fly in on a jet that afternoon.  About an hour after our arrival he offered to drive us back to the marina and we gratefully accepted.

In addition to lunch and supper, the Harbour House at the Chub Cay Club serves breakfast from 7 to 9 am.

We paid $9.95 for Rick’s two-egg breakfast and $11.95 for my no-meat omelet breakfast.  They included a large glass of orange juice, all the coffee you wished to drink, hash browns or grits and an English muffin or Bahamian toast.  The portions were large and I couldn’t eat all of mine.  Remedy is one of the long-time staffers there. When we were looking at the list of club members posted in the entryway, we noticed the name Ed Dunn.  Rick went to school with a fellow named Ed Dunn, who later became Florida’s Volusia County Sheriff.  Rick asked Remedy if he knew where their member, Ed Dunn, was from and he replied that he thought he lived in the Daytona Beach area – so that means, it is probably the guy with whom Rick went to High School.  We will have to ask him when we attend their next class reunion.

We left the Chub Cay Club marina on Monday, March 3, 2014.

By August of 2012, we had made our way to Staniel Cay in the Exumas.  The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is owned by David Hocker, who also owns Watermakers Air.  They operate out of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and usually fly twice a day between Fort Lauderdale and Staniel Cay.  We, along with friends and family, have been regular customers of this airline since then.  In the fall of 2014, they became Watermakers Air and Exuma Cays Travel and now offer regularly scheduled flights to multiple destinations in Andros (San Andros, Fresh Creek, Congo Town) and to the Berry Islands (Chub Cay, Great Harbour Cay) along with Staniel Cay.  You can learn more about them at www.watermakersair.com.  
When we flew back to Compass Cay on December 27, 2014, we were scheduled to stop at Great Harbour to clear customs.

The map below may be a little hard to read, but it shows the Berry Islands in the Bahamas with Great Stirrup Cay at the north (a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line) and Chub Cay at the South.  There is a better map of Great Harbour Cay later in this article.  The Berry Islands are a chain of thirty large cays and numerous small cays of about thirty-two miles in length. The islands are located to the south of Great Abaco and about forty miles north-northwest of Nassau.

Just west of Great Stirrup Cay is Little Stirrup Cay, which is also owned by the cruise line.  Charts, and cruising guides, give clear directions on getting to Great Harbour Cay from all points in South Florida and throughout the Bahamas. Once you have navigated your way to or around Little Stirrup Cay, you will follow these 6 way points to get to the marina.

SITE 1 – LITTLE STIRRUP CAY – LAT 25 48.88N LON 77 56.89W
SITE 2 – SAFETY POSITION – LAT 25 48.80N LON 77 57.35W
SITE 3 – BH UNITE RW BN – LAT 25 46.09N LON 77 56.65W
SITE 4 – GR BN – LAT 25 45.27N LON 77 53.68W
SITE 5 – RED BN – LAT 25 44.79N LON 77 52.12W
SITE 6 – INTERIOR OF HARBOUR (JUST INSIDE CUT) – RED AND GREEN MARKERS

We came to Great Harbour in January, 2012.  At that time, most of the “sites” listed above were not designated by markers.  Use your GPS and head in the general direction of the communications tower.  There was a red marker just before the “cut” (shown below).  Great Harbour Cay Marina, monitors channel 16, and can help guide your vessel at any point during your approach.

Great Harbour Cay Marina, located at Latitude: N 25° 44′ 51″ Longitude: W 77° 51′ 34″, has 65 slips inside a serene harbor and can accommodate yachts up to 130 feet. This “Hurricane Hole” is one of the most protected marinas in the Bahamas.  When we were there, the dockage rate was $1.50/ft. for less than a week.  $1.20/ft. for a week. Plus metered electric at $.75/kh.  They charged $.50/gallon for water and registered guests received free Wi-Fi.

Fuel is not available at the marina but there is a gas station with fuel dock located just inside the “cut”, next to the power plant. Gas and Diesel fuel is available and Visa, MasterCard, and cash are accepted.  Their hours of operation are:  Monday – Saturday 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 1:00PM – 4:00 PM and Sundays and Holidays: 7:00 AM – Noon.

I found what Ernie Marti says on www.consultantresearch.comto be pretty accurate and thank him for the following annotated map of Great Harbour Cay.

“Only 126 nautical miles east of Miami (and pronounced Great Harbour Key), GHC is a secluded out-island 6.7 miles long by 1.5 miles wide. It had its heyday in the 1960’s, after being developed as a luxury resort and attracting such vacationers as Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Brigitte Bardot. Ten years later the development stopped and over the years some of the resort’s opulent facilities deteriorated; however, key infrastructure elements (e.g., roads, airport runway, electrical power, telephone service, marina) are in good condition and well maintained. Today the island is a quiet, simple paradise, with beautiful beaches, great fishing and a well-protected marina. More importantly, it is blessed with wonderful people (about 500 live on the island). There is very little shopping and virtually all transactions are cash (both U.S. and Bahamian currency circulate) — there are no ATMs, and credit cards are accepted only for marina slips/services/fuel (they take only Visa and Mastercard and add a 5% surcharge) and in some instances for lodging.”

“Near the southern end of GHC, just north of Haines Cay, is a shallow area which the Cuban-Americans (many of whom have houses on the island) call the “Bajito” (pronounced bahitoh). Roughly a square mile in size, this sand bank comes out of the water at low tide and is a treasure trove of sand-dollars and shells for children of all ages.”

We met so many wonderful people while staying on this island in January/February.  With Jon and Arline, sailors spending the winter here, we walked across the Bajito to Hawksnest Cay.  We learned a valuable lesson from them.  When you arrive at the island on an out-going tide, put conch shells at the water line.  That way you will know when you have to start back before the water gets to deep to walk.

While Jon and Rick dove, Arline and I checked out the beach.

This beach is just one of several beaches.  If you can rent a vehicle, you can see them all, but if not, you can see the best of them by walking over the ridge of the island from the marina.
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One of the beaches that Jon and Arline took us to see was Cave Beach.

The beach that we went to most often was a beautiful crescent-shaped beach approximately four miles long and within walking distance from the marina.  I don’t think I’ve seen any prettier beaches in all of the Bahamas.

There are about a half dozen places to eat on the island.  We ate several times at the Beach Club, right on the beach, across from the airport.  We would take a short-cut to get there by walking part of the golf course where the tee markers are painted conch shells.

There is also an open-air restaurant, the Pool Bar, at the top of the hill above the marina.  And, the CarriEarl Boutique Hotel has a good restaurant where we ate brunch with a group from the marina and where I was invited to join the ladies of the island for a luncheon.

The CarriEarl Boutique Hotel used to be the home of Earl Blackwell of the famous “best dressed” list.  It is run by a charming English couple and the food is terrific.  There is also a tiki bar by the pool where they serve really good drinks.  You can learn more about it at http://www.carriearl.com.

Next to the marina is the Tamboo Club, which also serves food.  This club was built along with the original development and, while a little run-down since then, continues to serve as a social hub of the island.  We attended a “Super Bowl Party” and many activities associated with a fishing tournament at this club.

The tournament had been held around the third weekend of February every year, as it was in 2012.  But this year, Great Harbour Cay’s “Wahoo Weekend” was held January 08, 09 and 10, 2015.  You can check the marina website to learn more about future tournaments.  They sell a “social” ticket for those who don’t want to fish, but enjoy participating in the other activities.  We attended the “Captains’ cocktail party at the Pool Bar, enjoyed the “Low Country Boil” on the docks (supplied by participants from Savannah), had a terrific steak and lobster dinner on the night of the tournament, and ate a great breakfast brunch the next morning for the price of our tickets. We would definitely recommend it to anyone.

We met some wonderful people staying in the marina for the season and, through them, many of the island’s residents.  As I mentioned earlier, I was invited to join the “ladies of the island” for a brunch and we were invited to a number of homes on the island as well.

The town on the island is known as Bullocks Harbour.

Access from Great Harbour Cay to Bullocks Harbour used to be over a manual-crank bridge over the cut which was left open every night making it impossible for the residents of the town to cross over to the rest of the island.  But, that has been removed and there is now a causeway with a small bridge that connects the town to the rest of the island.  There are a few places to buy groceries and a few restaurants and bars on that part of the island as well.

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 1960’s. 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 considers the original 18-hole, par 72-regulation golf course to be one of his best. A magnificent multi-story clubhouse offered sweeping panoramic views of the island from its wooded hillside.  Currently, the homeowner’s association tries to maintain 9 holes on the golf course (with no working sprinkler system).  The two-story clubhouse has been abandoned.

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. Telly Savalas and F. Lee Bailey also vacationed here.  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.  While Jack Nicklaus may not own property on the island anymore, he is still a frequent visitor and was there in his boat, Sea Bear, while we were there.  It seems that he loves to go bone fishing and he practices that sport between Great Harbour and Chub.

Development slowed and then stopped in the late 1970s. Attempts were made in the late 1970s into the early 1980s to revitalize Great Harbour Cay; but these were overshadowed by drug and weapons traffic in 1983. With the cooperation of the United States and Bahamian governments, the huge drug problem in the islands was overcome and the island has been quiet since.  My research of the island indicated that F. Lee Bailey represented one of the reputedly biggest drug lords of the time who also owned property on the island.

When we entered the harbour, we thought we’d stay for seven days, instead, we stayed for seven weeks and enjoyed every minute of it.

We are looking forward to flying back to Florida for 10 days over the Christmas holiday.  This month, birthday wishes go out to our nephews Randy, Rich and Tim as well as to our friend, Ken Sosville.  As you can tell from last month’s blog, boats are in and out of the Compass Cay Marina almost every day (and the season is just getting started).  I am going to try something new this month.  Instead of listing the boat arrivals and departures every day, I will post a log at the end of the month.  Let me know what you think of it.December 1-8, 2014

People:  This week, Jeff and Leigh left the island after staying in the Lilly House for about a week.  Tucker accompanied them on their flight to Nassau.  They continued on in their own plane from there to Winter Park, Florida.  Tucker returned to the Cay that afternoon.  We heard from Tokkie Elliot.  He said that the ATA Marie is currently in St. Augustine, Florida, and that they expect to be here in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully, we will see Tokkie and his mate, Gail, before we leave.  We wanted to see them on our road trip this summer, so we planned to go to Newport – turns out they were in Annapolis.  A sailboat came in overnight with a couple that told Rick that they have made a bunch of movies.  I did some research and Wikipedia, tells us that Distant Shores is an adventure tourism television series produced by Shard Multimedia Inc. Distant Shores is broadcast in over 50 countries on the Travel Channel and Wealth TV.  The series follow the voyages of a Canadian couple, Sheryl and Paul Shard, in their 49-foot Southerly sail boat called Distant Shores II.  You can learn more about these adventures at http://www.distantshores.ca Bonnie and Marino flew back to their hometown of Barrie, Ontario, Canada.  We look forward to their return, along with his Mom, this coming winter.  Tyrone Rolle has been dealing with a kidney stone problem ever since we returned to Compass Cay.  His symptoms got worse, so Tucker insisted that he go back to Nassau to see the doctor again.

Projects:  Work continues sporadically on Dock A.  They work on it until they run out of something and then wait for the next supply boat to come in.  They also have started to extend both the electrical and water supply on Dock G.  This dock used to be isolated.  In order to get to the marina office, you had to walk along a dirt road, up into the wooded area and then back down to the water.  The new walk bridge extended that dock right up next to the office and it also gave them room to put one more boat on it.  We are planning to move over there as soon as the needed electricity is added.  Because of our vested interest in this, Rick stood in a boat handing things to Mano as he extended the water line.

Places:  The weather has included a little of everything – but mostly wind.  So, it was a bit of a bumpy ride when we took Tyrone to Black Point to prepare to go to Nassau. On the way back, we stopped at Staniel Cay at the Isles General Store to get some provisions, then went to the government dock to pick up a half-dozen propane tanks that were delivered, for Tucker’s grill, by the freight boat this morning.  We also walked up to the Blue Store and picked up a few items as well.  It started raining about half an hour after we returned to the Cay that day.  Even though you have to deal with occasional wind, rain and bugs, the weather is one of the reasons that people come to the Bahamas.  We took advantage of one extraordinarily beautiful day this week by spending a couple of hours in the water at Rachel’s Bubble Bath at the north end of the Cay.  That’s right – we went swimming in December!

Problems:  We had noticed that the Watermaker didn’t seem to be making as much water as usual.  Rick thought the problem was the filter, but when he checked, he found that one of the pumps had burned out.  This means that we can only make half of the normal capacity of water.  He is trying to arrange to have a new pump sent over.  In the meantime, I’ll conserve water.

Peace and Joy:  I put up our Christmas tree while Rick put up lights on the outside.  We will be able to enjoy the decorations for two weeks before we leave here for the holidays.

We were unable to watch the ACC Championship football game on Saturday night but did hear the report that FSU beat Georgia Tech (sorry Tim) by 2 points!  Then on Sunday, we watched the college football championship selection show on ESPN to learn that FSU is now ranked #3 and will be playing against the University of Oregon (ranked #2) in the Rose Bowl on the afternoon of January 1.  Alabama (#1) will play Ohio State (#4) later that evening in the Sugar Bowl.  I baked pecan sugar cookies to celebrate.

December 9-17, 2014

People:  This week, Rick picked Jamaal up at Black Point and they returned to Compass.  We welcomed back our friends on the ATA Marie, Tokkie and Gail.  Along with them came a re-supply of red wine for us.  Trevon and his cousin went to Black Point.  Trevon will fly from there back to his home in Nassau.  He has an appointment this coming week about getting into an electricians training program.  Jamaal hosted a fish dinner for everyone on the dock.  The Panamanians on Sha Sha Sha (13th of them) provided steak and lobster, rice and a scrumptious mixed green salad.  Rick made conch fritters which everyone raved about.  I made way too many cheese grits and Gail made crabmeat deviled eggs and lobster mac and cheese.  Everything was delicious and the party went on past midnight.

Projects:  Rick helped Tucker set out red and green lights on the rocks at the entrance to the marina.  They will come on two minutes after dark.  A circuit breaker arrived and was installed on Dock G in order to extend the electricity to the new pedestal where we will plug in after we move.

Places:  Rick took Tucker’s Albury down to Staniel Cay to pick up the marine construction crew.  They told him that their flight had been delayed by two hours, so they were very anxious to get on their way leaving us the only boat in the marina for one night.

We moved the boat.  Rick didn’t even start the engines.  They tied some long lines on the port (left) side of the boat and just pulled her across the waterway to the new dock.  We are plugged in and the new pedestal is providing the electricity that we need.  Now, we have to re-arrange the pilot house as we will be using the port door to get in and out.  I am glad to be relocated.

We went to Rachel’s Bubble Bath and stayed a few hours.  While there, we met a nice couple from Austin, Texas, Mat and Casey, who are staying in one of the new villas at Staniel Cay.  Later a bunch of folks that are here on a boat from Panama called Sha Sha Sha came up to swim as well.  A good time was had by all.

On Wednesday, we went to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club in time to enjoy a leisurely lunch (with drinks) with Tokkie and Gail before boarding the mid-afternoon flight to take us to Ft. Lauderdale where we will picked up a rental car and drove to Palmetto.

Good News:    We are very excited to learn that our son’s wife, Kellie, has an offer on her house and the closing is set for December 23^rd.

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December 18, 2014 thru December 27 was spent in Florida

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we tried to get most of our Christmas shopping done.  We ate supper with our son on Thursday, our friends Bill and Ruth on Friday and with our friends, Ken and Jackie on Saturday.  On Sunday, we drove to the Ocala Forrest and spent the night visiting with my Dad.  Monday morning, we drove to the Daytona Beach area where we had a short visit with my brother, Bill, and then with Rick’s mother and brother before returning to Palmetto.  Rick’s mother and brother drove over to Palmetto on Tuesday; Kellie closed on the sale of her house that afternoon and all of our family had a nice celebratory dinner at the yacht club that evening.  Wednesday morning found us driving to the St. Pete-Clearwater airport to pick up our nephew, Mat.  He flew in on Allegiant Airlines from Knoxville, Tennessee, to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with the family.  After picking up Rick’s mother (Mat’s grandmother) and brother we had a short visit with JP, Kellie and baby Emma before her naptime.  After lunch and some more shopping, we took Mat, Mom and Ed to Motorworks Brewing (1014 9th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34205) www.motorworksbrewing.com to sample some of their craft beer.  Later that evening (Christmas Eve) the five of us attended a party at Bill and Ruth’s house where we enjoyed seeing most of his family including his granddaughter, Jamie, who was down from Tallahassee where she attends FSU. Christmas day was spent quietly with the extended family opening gifts and eating. On Friday, Rick and I took Mat back to the airport (picked him up at 4:45 a.m.) for his return flight to Knoxville.  Then we did some last minute shopping for the Bahamas and met his mother and brother just after 11 a.m.  She was not feeling well, so they decided to go home a day early.  We met Bill and Ruth for lunch, packed our bags and Ken and Jackie picked us up around 6 p.m.  On Saturday, December 27, we left Ken and Jackie’s house around 7 a.m. and drove to Ft. Lauderdale.  We did some more last minute shopping and then went to the Watermaker Air terminal around 11:30.  We grabbed a quick lunch at the nearby Jet Port Café and then flew to Staniel Cay where Captain Barry (of Sea Clef) picked us up at the dock across from the airport and brought the four of us back to Compass Cay.

Compass Cay – December 28 through December 31, 2014 (BD2-0087 – BD2-0090) –

We returned to Compass Cay on Saturday, December 27, 2014, along with our friends Ken and Jackie who will be staying with us until January 4, 2015.

Tokkie’s son, Tommie, and family and daughter, Angela, and family are visiting from California.  He invited us to join them for a picnic lunch at Rachel’s Bubble Bath on Sunday along with Ed and Karen, the owners of Sea Clef.  We all enjoyed a couple of hours in the sun.  Ken and Jackie were surprised that the air and water were a comfortable temperature.

On Monday, Rick took Ken and Jackie up to Hester’s Ruins.  He returned and let them explore finding their own way back.  They cut through a slough to the creek and then walked back from there.  Jackie said that it felt like they were walking in quick sand for part of the way.  Rick battered and fried fish bites provided by Jamaal and I made a pot of corn which about 20 of us enjoyed on the dock that evening.

On Tuesday we were “dock rats.”  Rick and Ken helped tie and untie a lot of boats.

Ken and Jackie, Rick and I hiked the South Cliff Walk on Wednesday.  It took us about three and a half hours, but we all enjoyed it.

Rick had to take a picture of the “monster rock”.  (You may have to use a little imagination.)

Near the end of the walk, we stopped at Tucker’s Bat Cave to see the new addition.  You can click on the picture below to get a better view.

Tucker’s extended family (including Bob and Kat Weems), Tokkie’s extended family, Mano and the four of us shared a terrific “pot luck supper” in the Boaters’ Grille which was followed by a great display of fireworks about 9:00 p.m.  Our supper was enhanced by lovely centerpieces created by Jamaal’s fiancée, Lisa and with music provided by Bob (who later played the spoons).

Then, at midnight, we had a second fireworks show which was an awesome way to ring in the New Year.

I had intended to post a log of all of the boats that came in and out of the marina this month, but with us being gone for part of the month, it became too confusing.  So, I will just say that when we left on December 17, there were three boats in the marina and on December 31^st, it was full.