Treasure Cay

Very early the next morning we slipped our lines and began the short 2 hour journey over to Treasure Cay. In this part of the Bahamas it’s necessary to “play the tides” in order to make it in to some of the anchorages without running aground. We had never been through the passage to Treasure before and so decided to leave Fishers Bay just before 7:00am to ensure a “rising tide” and lots of water to allow us to enter this area without difficulty. As it was, we had nothing to be concerned about. There was lots of water under the boat and we probably could pass through this way easily on anything but a dead low tide.

We arrived to find the little “pocket” anchorage filled with half a dozen boats with good holding and lots of protection from all directions. “Missing Link” was already here and so was “Legacy”--cruisers we had first met over 4 years ago in the Chesapeake and hadn’t seen since! We had often thought about them over the years--their boat was a magnificent “Fever 44” trawler--a virtual floating cottage--with all the space and conveniences of home. Even more impressive however were her owners--Pam and

Ron--one of the most likeable couples one could ever meet--and so we knew we’d be in for a memorable time. And it was.

Treasure Cay has everything one could wish for a comfortable stay in the Bahamas. The inexpensive anchoring fee of $10/day--which is on an “honour system”-- provides cruisers with access to the dinghy dock, swimming pool, showers/restrooms, open air bar, formal dining room, and beach bar/restaurant. The amenity we appreciated most however were the thatched palapas and colourful umbrellas shading comfortable loungers sprinkled across the wide white beach. Nowhere else in our travels across the Bahamas did we have access to these. And as much as we enjoy strolling for miles along the surf, it IS nice to be able to finally stop once in while and actually be able to stretch out in the shade, rest, and just enjoy the scenery. We were able to do this here. And after enjoying breakfast either aboard or at the restaurant, we’d choose a little palapa on the beach, arrange ourselves and our “stuff” comfortably around two loungers and spend the better part of the day there reading, beachcombing, people-watching and visiting with friends who’d eventually stroll by.

The beach at Treasure Cay is truly spectacular. It is touted in travel magazines as one of the top 10 beaches in the world and it is easy to see why. The soft white sandy crescent stretches for more than 3 miles and is easy to walk on. The waters of this beach are a bright turquoise blue and stretch far out over a shallow sandy bottom. It is completely safe--no undertows or strong waves, and utterly beautiful. For me the only downside was poor shelling and no snorkelling. But hey, I can live with that--considering everything else that was available--including a wonderful bakery with fat fragrant cinnamon buns every morning, a well-stocked grocery store, boutiques, bank, post office, and lots of interesting people to meet and get to know. This is a real “resort community” with hundreds of villas and condo colonies hidden under palms and nestled in lush foliage just off the beach. And speaking of interesting people--you’ll never guess who I saw and actually spoke to during the week we were here. None other than Kelly McGillis--the female lead in Top Gun and Witness!! She and a friend were working on their computers at the marina’s open air bar one morning when we happened to be there. She was giving advice about computer hook-ups to another boater and, since I was in need of the same information, she helped me too. At first I didn’t realize who she was because it was 25 years since she’d made those movies and a lot can change over time. But there are aspects of her face that are SO distinctive--especially around the mouth and chin, and the way she holds her head that the more I glanced her way, the more I became convinced it was her. Later, back at the boat we googled “Kelly McGillis” and sure enough, a present day photo appeared and our suspicions were confirmed as the picture was the spitting image of the woman I had met at the marina. You never know who’ll you’ll run into while in the Bahamas.

We loved being at Treasure Cay. There were sundowners with Consort, Sweetwater, Legacy and Missing Link and visits with people we met living in condos here. And we would have definitely stayed longer had the boat not developed some serious problems! One morning when Vince tried to start the engine it wouldn’t turn over. And then we discovered the batteries weren’t charging and instruments failed to read. We needed help bigtime and quick!! Luckily the boat-building center of the Bahamas on Man 0 War Cay was only a short 3 hour sail away and we knew that once there we could get power to our boat at their marina, with help and parts available at Edwin’s Boat Yard. So after jury-rigging the starter to get the boat going again, we set off, under sail for that Cay.