Great Guana Cay

After spending a night at anchorage on the west shore of the Sea of Abaco, we raised the anchor early Tuesday morning to head further north. The skies were threatening and eventually they opened up with a series of light squalls. It was the first rain we have seen in quite a while. We had wanted to spend a few days in Hope Town but our expectations were low since there are so many boats in the area.  Sure enough, we heard on the radio that there were no mooring balls available in the harbor so we continued on. 

As we turned to the northwest the wind picked up and we were able to sail the last few miles to our destination, Great Guana Cay. We thought the anchorage here might provide good protection from the north wind and give us an opportunity to go to shore and walk around. Although there was a lot of grass on the bottom the anchor just hit a small sandy spot and held on the first attempt. 

We dinghied ashore for a late lunch at Grabber’s—and it was quite the beach party scene. The food was good but the music was way too loud for our elderly tastes. After lunch we walked around the harbor and looked at the construction that has taken place since Hurricane Dorian hit in 2019. 

Yesterday we went ashore again and walked the other direction on the island. We saw a few damaged houses and empty slabs but, for the most part, the houses looked new and in good condition. We saw ongoing construction and numerous construction workers. Overall, we were impressed by how well this island has recovered from the category 5 hurricane. 

Threatening skies which brought several squalls. 

Grabbers. Way too noisy for us. 

Damaged house and denuded trees on the Atlantic side of the island. 




We saw a few houses like this…

…but most were more like this. 

Construction was still ongoing and there were construction trucks and workers everywhere. 




Lots of materials for rebuilding. 




Most of the docks had been replaced. The one in the background had not been replaced.