TEXAS RANGER: Port Lucaya to Great Harbor Cay, Berry Islands April 19

After a number of days in Port Lucaya, and a brief grocery store trip with new sailboat friends from Denmark, Cuba, and Venezuela, it is time to move on. The weather is not perfect, but is better than it may be for another few days. We left the dock about 0530 to arrive with the sun high overhead, and after a bumpy, but not unpleasant, day crossing the Northwest Providence Channel (4000 ft depth), we arrived in the Berry Islands chain at Great Harbour Cay about 1430. We navigated the very shallow entrance visually (there are minimal if any channel markers), passed through a rock ledge cut, and entered the tortuous channel to the marina. This would indeed be a hurricane hole! As is common, the docks are high, concrete, and fixed, so one has to choose the direction of docking so that escape from the boat is possible at various tide heights. Sometimes that is from forward, where the decks are high, and sometimes from the cockpit, where the gate is lower. The dock staff here was quite efficient and friendly, and the marina is bustling. Jeff and Karen (and their two yellow labs), founders/owners of Active Captain, have been here several weeks, and it is good to visit with them again in person.

As is common here, both electricity and potable water are metered (0.75/KwH; 0.50/gal). I can see why others prefer rum...it's not much more expensive, I'm told! There are lots of offshore fishermen here...serious, BIG boats. We have ordered a loaf of coconut bread from a local woman; it will be delivered tomorrow. We will stay here for a few days before moving farther south.