2023-04-23 BMMRO and traveling the Bight of Abaco

We are continuing to buddy boat with Jason on Monica on Breathe - a Manta 40.  They take much better photos than us - and you can view daily photos and their blog on their facebook page.   We left our nice anchorage at Hawksnest Cay in the Berry Islands on Monday sailed the 30 miles up to Sandy Point, on Great Abaco Island.  Winds much higher than forecast, so bit of a bumpy ride.  Did have a nice sunrise to start the day.

 Sandy Point is on the SW corner of the island.  We went there as there are new Manta catamaran owners that have a house there.  The boat they bought is located in Anacortes, Washington, and they will head there to spend some time on it, and eventually bring it through the canal over to the Bahamas.  We wanted to say hello to them, and also learn about their work with Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization. (BMMRO).  Charlotte and Diane pretty much are the BMMRO, and study several different variety of whales, dolphins, manatees in the Bahamas.  They have done some fascinating work.  We went over to their very nice home on the beach on Sandy Point for dinner on Monday after we arrived.   Had a good time and great conversation.   The anchorage was a bit bumpy, but forecast winds were to switch around to the NE and die down.

Next day turned out to be a boat day, as the winds forecasted did not happen, and we ended up spending a very lumpy day on the boat with swell and wind not the same direction, so very confused waters.

Next day we were able to get off the boat, and had a nice walk into town.  The town is quite small, but clean and nice for the most part.

 

Very small community, surprised to see a fire station - old trucks but appear to still work.

Nice school, with some pretty nice murals on the building

Stopped at small grocery and got a few supplies.

Nicely maintained roads

Nice palm on the beach

On Thursday, we went again into Diane and Charlottes home, where they showed us the varied bones from marine mammals, and explained more about their work, which is quite fascinating.  Learn more here: http://www.bahamaswhales.org/home.aspx

Small seahorse sitting on sperm whale tooth  (tooth is about 6" long)

Diane, showing the skull collection, and educating us 

Charlotte in the computer lab/office with more interesting information

They then took us down to Rock Point, where they knew there was good snorkeling, and they were right.  Lots of fish, and healthy corals.   Had a great snorkel.

Beautiful large area full of sea fans

Healthy coral, nice to see

There were lots of healthy Elkhorn coral, and lots of fish

A truly beautiful spot to snorkel.

Later in the evening we met Charlotte and Diane for dinner at a local restaurant for a nice dinner out.

Left to right on top row: Monica, Jason, Diane.  Bottom row left to right: Charlotte, Dean, Kris

A change in winds forecasted so we left early Friday, and sailed about 25 miles north into the The Marls.

 The Marls are a large area  of shallow water  and low lying small islands  dotted by mangrove stand.  It is a popular area for Bonefishing, and is supposed to be one of the most unique and productive fisheries in the Bahamas.  We did see some fish, and turtles, but there is lots of hurricane damage still, and not as much wildlife as we thought there might be. 

 

We will move today and do some more exploring in The Marls for a few more days.