Treasure Cay

Monday we made a nice quiet departure from Man-O-War by sailing out of the anchorage. With few boats around us, it was fairly easy, and we enjoyed a great sail (no motoring!) until noon. We were approaching the Treasure Cay channel when we noticed a fuel freighter approaching our stern. Treasure Cay and the Whale cut to the ocean are fairly near each other, so it was hard to determine where he was headed. We tried to contact them on the radio, but no answer. Shortly after our radio calls, 'Ocean Trader' made a securite call on the radio announcing their intention to enter the Treasure Cay channel in 17 minutes, all concerned traffic must stand by. Our ETA: 20 minutes. So we knew we would have to follow this huge ship in, and likely circle a few times on the bank while he established alongside the fuel dock. A further glance around showed that we were one of 3 boats in the vicinity that would have to order ourselves into the narrow, shallow channel. Turn the engine on, drop the sails, turn around into the wind, bang into the 4' waves that were no issue when they were a following sea, and wait the 10 minutes for Ocean Trader to clear the channel. Half an hour later we were anchored in the protected harbour. While we were getting organized, a float plane taxied around the anchorage and departed, dodging masts on his climb! A short dinghy ride took us to their dock where we enjoyed the beach, frozen drinks and pool with Hi-5, then off to the showers. Sweaters were retrieved from the boat as the night cooled and we headed to Julie and Kerry's boat, which was on a dock, for a few more drinks and snacks.

Tuesday morning we walked to the bakery beside the marina and enjoyed the most delicious cinnamon buns. The proprietor begins her day at the bakery and makes dozens every day. The line up was to the door. I asked her secret: Robin Hood flour from Canada. It isn't the same with any other flour, she told me, they just don't taste as good!
Back to the pool for a short swim, over to the beach to see what the ocean looked like. We were scoping out the conditions, as were planning to go through the Whale Cut in the afternoon.
Back at the dock we said good bye to Hi-5, as they are staying in Treasure Cay for another couple of weeks.
While we were prepping the boat, securing loose items and getting ready for what could be a bit of a bumpy 45 minutes on the ocean, Ocean Trader left the fuel dock, came into the anchorage and did a 3-point turn to get back out. Pretty impressive!

At noon, as we had planned, we lifted the anchor and set out.