Little Harbour to Man o' War Cay and back to Marsh Harbour

AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Sat 30 Jan 2010 19:54
26:35.70N, 77.00.384W Man o' War Cay
 
We enjoyed two very pleasant nights at Little Harbour, where our friends Steve and Sheila were able to head off to Winding Bay courtesy of a local resident and his quad bike (lucky devils). Sundowners at Pete's Pub were the order of the day before we finally left early on Thursday morning to have breakfast anchored off Lynyard Cay before heading northwards once more through the Sea of Abaco to spend the night at Man o' War Cay.
 
On the way we decided to try the fishing again. An early success proved so small to be worthy of not keeping (the fish heartily agreed) so he/she went back in to live for a few more days. Then we did have a good strike but it got away and that was that for the day. We'll keep trying though.
 
Man o' War proved to be a facinating stopover. Populated by loyalists that escaped the American Revolution, it's famous for boatbuilding and for having lots of people with the surname of Albury, which originates from East Anglia region of UK. Just about everyone there seems to be an Albury - Real Estate, the local ferry, boatbuilding, canvas work and much more. Like one big family really, all like to chat and show you what they are doing in their respective crafts. The Cay is also known for its alcohol restriction. You can't even buy a can of beer let alone a bottle of rum. But we had a great meal in the restaurant at the end of the dock looking over the harbour.  We of course left the place just as sober as we had arrived. But we did declare Ajaya an alcohol full zone so the after dinner drinks were once again comprised of the devils own brew.
 
  
Phil & Sheila survey the pool at Man o' War Marina                                  Local boatbuilding at it's best - how pretty is that !                              The Auburys rein supreme on Man o'War
 
 
  
The eastern shoreline                                                                          Steve befriends a local alligator or is it a crocodile                             Don't ask
 
  
Just another cotton-pickin' picture                                                         Pressed button B, no money came out so he got very angry                  Sunset over Man o' War
 
 
We did the same as on leaving Little Harbour - that is slipping before breakfast and motoring over to the exclusive Matt Lowes Cay 26:33.7N, 77:01.10W, which is named Sugar Loaf Cay on Google Earth for some reason?? It features a fantastic palm fringed beach backdrop on which you are forbidden to set foot on. But anchoring off is permitted so we enjoyed our scrambled eggs on toast looking at that wonderful vista through the boat window. A dinghy expedition around the anchorage ...
 
   
Steve dives, Phil's aghast, Nikki runs for the 'hypo' blanket                               Exploring Matt Lowes Cay anchorage                                               All too much for the skipper to bear
 
 
 
then it was time to head back to Marsh Harbour in time for our guests to take a taxi to the airport for their flight to Nassau then on to London.
 
                     
                     Our guests depart for the No 17 taxi                                                                            Sunset at Marsh Hbr - conch shells are blown to signify its time for sundowners!
 
 
 
Today the boat is back to its usual crew of two - us, but we had a fantastic 9 days with not even a sniff of mutiny in the air or any embarrassing disasters like going aground. It was a great success.