Tom and Judy's 2001 Abaco Vacation

In 2001 we took a trip with our friends, Mike and Carol Marshall, aboard their F-36 trimaran, Unconditional. After 3 weeks in the Bahmas we knew we had to go for a longer trip on our own boat.

Our first stop was West End (on Grand Bahama Island), where we anchored for two nights. The next 3 weeks included anchorages at Mangrove Cay (not on map), Walker's Cay, Grand Cay, Double Breasted (a beautiful chain of uninhabited island), Alan's/Pennsacola, Cooper's Town, Manjack Cay, Green Turtle, Great Guana, Man-O-War, Marsh Harbour, Elbow Cay and Tilloo Cay (right below Elbow Cay). From there it was a 36 hour sail back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Scroll down to see more photos from our trip.

Unconditional

Aerial View of Unconditional

Tom shot this picture from the top of the mast.

West End, Grand Bahama

Unconditional in West End, Grand Bahama.

Mike and Carol Marshall

Mike and Carol

 Tom and Judy

Tom and Judy

West End
West End West End is a fishing village on the tip of Grand Bahama. Hit hard by hurricane Floyd last year, the village is still undergoing major repair and construction.
Beached Boat  
West End School Kids Fisherman

Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay
Walker's Cay is a tiny island that caters to sport fishermen and scuba divers.

Brenda and Brittany
Brenda (left) is Marketing Manager for Walker's Cay and her husband manages the marina. Their daughter Brittany (right) is home schooled. They have lived on Walkers Cay (pop. 20) for 7 years.
Underwater scene

The best diving in the Abacos is on the reefs surrounding Walker's Cay. This hogfish that Tom speared (right) made a tasty meal. 

 Tom spears a hog fish.
Lobster dinner
The lobster and his friend made a great lunch.		 Lobster hiding in rock
Tom caught dinner most nights with his spear, snare and lure. (above) An unfortunate lobster hides under a rock.

Grand Cay
Grand Cay Gran Cay
Kids on Grand Cay School kids

Grand Cay is a friendly native island with a population of about 400. School kids pose for a picture (top) and then crowd around Mike (left) to see their picture on his digital camera.

Coopers Town
Fisherman under the dock

We stopped at Cooper's Town, another native town, to do laundry and explore. Tom saw someone under the dock and peered underneath to talk to the fisherman, who was cleaning fish in the shade of the dock.

 Fisherman under dock

Green Turtle Cay
Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay was one of our favorite islands... quaint, quiet (tourist season hadn't started yet), and clean. Many of the buildings date back to the 1700s when the island was settled by Loyalists.

 Ye Olde Gael

New Friends

This Side Up, piver trimaran
We met a lot of fellow Multihullers along the way. Rick, Jeri and Joe McGriff have been cruising on their handbuilt Piver trimaran for over a year. Joe (right) has his own room in the port ama.
Conser 47 Jeff and DiegoWe met Jeff (right) and his friend Diego as they sailed Jeff's beautiful Conser 47 into Green Turtle.

Jeff is a contractor, building some of the new vacation homes on Elbow Cay.
Spanish Mackeral
Tom caught this Spanish Mackerel with a lure that Jeff made for him.		 Diego and his dog

Diego and his dog outside his home on Tilloo Cay (a small sparsely settled island south of Elbow Cay).

Guana Cay
Guana Cay
Guana Cay is a small island where many people had recently built vacation homes. Beautiful beach but not much else.

Man 'O War
Man O War

Man O' War is a tidy, "dry" island known for it's shipbuilding and sail making.

Hope Town, Elbow Cay
Hope Town

Hope Town is another civilized, vacation island complete with quaint rental cottages, a secure harbor, and beautiful beaches.

  
Hope Town Tom holds starfish

Tom Cox
Mike Marshall
Judy Cox