A Final Walk In The White Sand

Great Harbour  

Sunshine, blue sky, and low winds greeted us this morning. We lowered the dinghy and set off for Great Harbour Cay Marina. Our first stop was the fuel dock to pick up just shy of a gallon of diesel. We'll keep that jug onboard to hopefully make life easier the next time we change fuel filters. We then cut across the inside anchorage, which only had five sailboats, and tied up at the marina. Barry returned our completed immigration papers to the marina office. We still have to check out via Click2Clear when we raise anchor in The Bahamas for the final time. From the office we traveled a well-known route toward the airport. The terminal facilities have sure expanded since our first visit. We stopped for a quick photo at the Welcome sign.

Our next stop was directly across from the airport at The Beach Club restaurant. We had an enjoyable lunch and an incredible view from our table at the edge of the deck. In the time it took to eat our sandwiches, we could see the sandbars emerging in the distance. Our timing to arrive at Seashell Beach was going to be perfect. We exited and turned left out of the restaurant and followed the road south past the end of the runway, then past where we ran out of asphalt. As with most other islands we've visited this trip, signs of development are everywhere. Beachside trees have been pushed over and burned to make way for large private residences. We spotted the sign to our destination and followed a short path to the beach. We removed our walking shoes and put our toes in the sand near Shark Creek.

Large clumps of sea grass, see weed, and sargassum covered the white sand in the tidal zone. Thankfully the sandbar had far less vegetation. Beautiful sand ripples ran from shore to the horizon, created by wave action in the receding water. An occasional young mangrove stood proudly and defiantly in the otherwise barren area.

Seashell Beach lived up to its name. We walked through the shallows and spotted live brown sand dollars, deceased white sand dollars, as well as colorful pairs of angel wings. I tended to wander much further out than Barry who preferred to stay drier than me. Along the way, we encountered an excavator removing more beachfront trees.

Aside from the construction destruction, it was a great day and a fitting way to end our time in The Bahamas. We were the only folks on the whole beach. One section of the sandbar was covered with live starfish. It was interesting to follow "footprints" in the sand from a wide variety of starfish, of different sizes and shapes. 

The vast sandbar extended to the horizon and, at this time of the day, was only covered in a few inches of water. We followed the beach north preferring the sand route to the road. One section in particular was covered in thick vegetation. We walked through it and were thankful that it was soft. Large clumps moved around like tumbleweed in the sea breeze. Once we cleared that patch, it was back to all smiles.

As we neared The Beach Club we turned for a look behind us and took in where we had been. I went in for a final dip in the surf before we crossed the beach, rinsed off our feet, and put on our walking shoes. One final glance over my shoulder was made to fix the image in my mind. Soon these scenes will be only a memory.

On the back of the airport's Welcome sign was a perfectly placed "Please Come Back Again" sign. See you next year. Back in the dinghy, we exited the narrow cut and zipped across the anchorage to Crossroads. 

All but one collected sand dollar survived the return trip. I read for a while on the upper deck before dinner. The day closed with high hopes for brilliant sunset which was great to a point then got snuffed out by clouds on the horizon. We will check the weather once more in the morning, but as of right now we will depart tomorrow and head to Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina. We have multiple contingency plans depending on the sea state and general conditions from approaching fronts.