West Plana Cay and Mayaguana, Bahamas

Instead of another overnight passage, we decided to sail to West Plana Cay, a 35 mile trip, before going on to Mayaguana.  West Plana Cay had many coral heads which made our entrance to the anchorage somewhat difficult.  Our passages are longer than a direct line to the next destination, because we have to sail as much as possible to conserve fuel.  The winds are directly on the nose, which means we must tack back and forth.  Mayaguana is the last island in the Bahamas before we cross to the Turks and Caicos.  We departed West Plana Cay on May 15, 2015 and ended up traveling over 12 hours for a 58 mile trip.  We wanted to motor some but developed a problem with the 5 foot seas as it stirred up more strange stuff in the fuel tank causing the engine to constantly stall.  Once we arrived, we found we had to change the fuel filter – none of which you can do in 18-22 knots of wind and 3-5 foot waves. We had a hair like substance in the filter plugging it up.  We sailed into Abrahams Bay, which is a barrier reef about 5 miles long and 2 miles wide with numerous coral heads which you must avoid.  Try to do this while your engine keeps stalling!   There are only about 350 people living on this island.  There is little here, but used as a stopping point on our way to the Turks and Caicos.  The sunsets are beautiful and there are millions of stars at night.  On May 18, 2015 we motor sailed 13 miles to the South West Point of Mayaguana in the afternoon to prepare for our overnight passage to the Turks and Caicos.