As our winter odyssey draws to a close, we need to find a home for Motu Iti for the summer. So we traveled to Green Turtle Cay to check out Abaco Yacht Services, located on Black Sound. Due to unfavorable weather for sailing there, we ferried to Marsh Harbour, rented a car, and drove to the Green Turtle ferry, north of Treasure Cay.
Not much of a ferry dock, but the boats are well-maintained and do their job.
New Plymouth is the settlement on Green Turtle, but we paid $2 extra to be delivered right to the AYS dock.
The AYS facilities are clean and the people friendly and helpful. Stored boats are secured with jack stands, wooden cradles and straps. The yard is paved and protected – a sound within a sound.
There are showers and a laundry, but no internet. We can store the dinghy motor inside, but not the dinghy, which will have to be rolled up, bagged and left in the cockpit. AYS has a great reputation among cruisers. The disadvantages? It is north of Whale Cay, which requires the right weather window to transit. Boats are sometimes “stuck” on one side or the other for days waiting for a weather window. Green Turtle is also a $100 taxi ride from the Marsh Harbour airport, although there is an airport at nearby Treasure Cay, serviced by JetBlue and a combination of Silver Airways and Spirit (scary). So the logistics are more complicated.
We found a wonderful restaurant at Leeward Marina, the Lizard Bar and Grill, a short walk from AYS. Where we enjoyed a lobster sandwich with sweet potato fries and a grouper sandwich with mac n’ cheese. Super yummy.
And a great view of Black Sound.
On the drive back to Marsh Harbour, we stopped for a quick tour of Treasure Cay. A Florida-like enclave with a Bahamian vibe. Miles of sprawling low-rise condos and private residences. Lots of shops and restaurants, all connected via golf cart. Not our thing, except for this:
One of the most stunning beaches we’ve every seen. Ever.
Back in Marsh Harbour, we had time to stop at Maxwell’s grocery, (where we bought strawberries from Watsonville, CA), before returning to Hope Town on the last Donnie ferry, and dinghied from the Post Office dock to our boat home.
A full day. Now we have to decide between AYS and the much closer and convenient Marsh Harbour Boat Yard, Motu Iti’s home last summer.
SAIL MOTU ITI 