Great Sail Cay

We were getting ready to leave around 8:00 AM and while we are down below we hear some yelling. We run up to see Sea-Vu-Play swinging by on their way to Great Sail Cay. They had just left Green Turtle and decided to catch the predicted weather window, before it closes to head back to Florida. Great Sail Cay is a jumping off point for cruisers heading back to Florida. It is north of Grand Bahama in the middle of nowhere. No one lives there. NASA once had a tracking station, but nothing but foundations exist any more.

Tug towing a barge full of sand, Why ?

We motor-sail most of the day since we had a good distance to cover. The water has a good chop. But since we are on the shallow banks, 15-30 feet deep, ocean swells do not penetrate this area. With all the wind lately the water is not very clear. We can not see the bottom at 15 feet. Last time traveling through here the water was crystal clear, we could see the boat and our shadows on the bottom as we were sailing along.

After we arrive and anchor on the west side of Great Sail, Mark and I decide we have one last chance to clean our boat bottoms. Mark has the benefit of his scuba tank, I have to dive and hold my breath. The water here was very murky, I could not even see our boat length under water. Very unusual. Manana had some serious growth going on. It took over an hour to get the bottom relatively clean. 

 

Bottom growth and bottom paint falling off our new rudder due to poor prep.