The Sailing Coopers: West End > Great Sale Cay

Monday morning dawned peacefully so we headed out of West End around sunrise, shot north toward Memory Rock where we headed east into the relatively shallow Little Bahama Bank. The crystal clear water was between 15-20’ deep across the Bank. Since there was no wind (again), I spent a fair amount of time standing at the bow looking for wildlife :) Dolphins, turtles, a young hammerhead shark (4-5’), and hundreds of sea stars were spotted – and I didn’t get a picture of the shark. By the time I saw him on our port bow, he moved swiftly toward the stern and disappeared. You’ll just have to take my word for it!

Sunrise at Old Bahama Bay, West End

There are literally thousands of sea stars under us

I don't know what these round things are, but they move and make tracks

Took this photo from the bow of the boat through 18' of water

Love when dolphins join us!

Watching the world go by

We arrived at a nice anchorage in Northwest Harbor on Great Sale Cay around 4:30. By dusk, there were ~25 boats at anchor. Sunset was beautiful and David grilled chicken and vegetables before it got dark. Tio Roberto’s homemade BBQ sauce was delicious……we’ll ration it out to make it last!

Great Sale in sight

Great Sale (uninhabited) and pretty clouds to the east

Tio Roberto's BBQ sauce

Sunset from Great Sale

The sunset gave way to the moon and a star-filled sky

Most people were heading east the following morning, only about three of us were heading west. We raised the sails early and enjoyed the quietude of the wind and water, but by mid morning the engine was back on and pushing us toward Spanish Cay. Since winds were predicted to blow from the W-SW last night, we decided to get a slip in a marina since there were no protected anchorages nearby. And, having seen a sailboat ON THE ROCKS, we will always err on the safe side where the weather is concerned!