Mayaguana: Our Last Stop in the Bahamas

After topping off our fuel tanks at the Flying Fish Marina, we left Clarence Town around 10:00 am. Even though we replaced our fuel filter system and tightened all of the hose connections, we weren’t convinced that our fuel supply issues were fixed. This would be our first overnight sail and we expected to change filters and bleed fuel lines along the way. Sure we’ve left anchorages at dark before, but this would be the first time we’d watch the sunset while in route. The last thing we wanted to do was repeatedly bleed the engine fuel lines while underway in the dark, but there is only one way to test fuel supply issues—and that’s to run the motor. We planned to bail out into Atwood Harbor in Acklins Island if things became too difficult. All of our safety equipment was set up, we emailed out our float plan, and we had a backup plan if something went wrong. We were prepared for our first all-nighter.

We immediately began taking two hour shifts at the helm, which left me with the first night shift and Rob with the last. Things were going well, so we passed right by Atwood Harbor without even discussing stopping. Neither of us would say it out loud for fear of jinxing ourselves, but after 8 hours of problem free motoring we began to wonder if our fuel supply issues were finally solved. As the sun set and we put on our harnesses, the butterflies began fluttering in our stomachs.

Wow, it was dark. Really dark. We could no longer see the sea and had to trust our instruments. The moon was only a small sliver that barely glowed. Oh but the stars! The stars were amazing. With no nearby light pollution, the sky seemed to contain twice as many stars. On a night shift, with nothing else to do, it was easy to get lost in them. Then I noticed the glow in the water.

As our boat parted the water, we could see green specs light up in the wake. Bioluminescence! I was so memorized, that I spent nearly every minute with my head hanging over the side watching the light show. Don’t worry, I was still on the lookout for other boats, but the glowing lights in the water saved me from complete boredom during those wee hours.

18 hours after leaving Clarence Town, we arrived in Mayaguana at 4:00am. It was too dark to make out land, but our charts and noses told us it was there. We could smell the muddy soil. We decided to anchor in Betsy’s Bay for a nap. As we got closer, we were finally able to spot land with our spotlight.

After a little bit of rest, we motored down the coast into Abraham’s Bay anchorage during daylight hours in order to avoid the coral heads. I wonder if Christopher Columbus was as in awe of this gorgeous island as we were when he first made landfall here. Mayaguana is the eastern most island in the Bahamas and the least developed of the inhabited islands that we visited.  Abraham’s Bay anchorage is surrounded by coral reefs. As we were anchoring in the turquoise water, we watched the ocean waves break on the miles of reefs. Absolutely gorgeous.

We were preparing for our dinghy ride to shore, when Jaela decided that she couldn’t wait any longer. After 26 hours, she marched right over and peed on the doggie pad. She’d known this entire time what she was supposed to do, but it took an overnight passage to make her do it. We were thrilled. The dogs clearly prefer to do their business on land, but it’s nice knowing that they can use the pad when we can’t take them to shore.

We also found a stow-away on deck. This little guy must have jumped on the boat in the middle of the night. We tossed him into the freezer to use later as bait.

After taking the pups to shore, we took showers and decided to check out town. The Abraham’s Bay settlement is the largest of the three on the island, but there’s very little there. The mail boat comes once a week to deliver supplies. Even though it had just come that day, the shelves in the grocery store were bare. We purchased a couple of apples from the store’s owner Reggie. We learned that Reggie also owned the restaurant next door and we made arrangements for dinner. Our options were cracked conch or chicken. We had our fill of conch in Clarence Town so we opted for chicken. He said it would be a couple of hours so we wandered over to the bar.

You might starve in Mayaguana, but you don’t have to be sober for it. While the grocery store was lacking supplies, the bar (really just a liquor store with picnic tables outside) was well stocked and had an impressive selection.  We enjoyed a few drinks while we chatted with locals. That’s when we met Scully. Scully is the unofficial ambassador of the island and the go-to guy for anything. Diesel is not readily available, but he said he could track some down for us. If we were going to make it to Luperon, we needed another 15 gallons.

A bar in Mayaguana

Reggie’s dinner was fabulous. It’s my favorite meal we’ve had on this adventure. We were the only ones in the dark, poorly decorated, small restaurant. Reggie was cooking just for us. We had a salad as a starter and then stewed chicken with crab and mystery meat rice. It’s a special feeling when someone cooks for just you. It was absolutely nothing like our favorite restaurants in Denver, but we loved our dining experience all the same.

After dinner, we returned to the boat in our dinghy. The sun had already set and we were surprised with a light show again. Bioluminescence waters are pretty cool.

Over the next four days, we walked the shores with our dogs, snorkeled, had drinks in town, and even caught a lobster. The clear waters and vibrant underwater reefs in Mayaguana are a fisherman’s dream.

Before we left, Scully came through for us. He was able to get 15 gallons of diesel from a relative that works at the water and sewage plant. He brought it to the dock in a barrel and then siphoned it (using his mouth) into our jerry cans. Islands, like Mayaguana, that have very little make us appreciate how convenient our previous lives were.

Now that we were stocked up on fuel, we prepared for our 36 hour sail to Luperon in the Dominican Republic. The last 5 weeks in the Bahamas had been amazing. We saw the most beautiful turquoise water and white sand beaches. It’s easy to see why cruisers never leave. But we are looking forward to seeing the Dominican Republic’s mountains and lush, green forests and experience a different culture. Leaving the Bahamas was bittersweet, but even our courtesy flag was telling us it was time to go.

That evening we watched our last Bahamian sunset and set our alarms for 11:30pm. We pulled our anchor up at 12:30am and sailed into the dark. Our next stop would be Luperon…or so we thought.