Turtle Cove, second part

I had intended to post some more photos of the boats in Turtle Cove Marina this weekend,and then got sidetracked by our house visit. I hope it's understandable that we are somewhat preoccupied by the prospect of finally moving in after over two years of planning and watching every single step of the process from the first bulldozer day to applying the paint. even before the bulldozer, we spent six months in the planning, design, and contractor bidding processes. It's been a long haul. And it's not over yet but it's getting real close.

Now,back to our Friday visit to Turtle Cove, here is an image of the dining area and bar of the Tiki Hut restaurant:



The Tiki Hut is a local favorite, and is just one of the restaurants at the marina. I have already mentioned SharkBite, and there are several others. I think we have tried all of them that are directly on the water, except the Banana Boat. We just haven't gotten around to it, yet.

The boats at the marina this week include this beauty, the M/Y "Patience":



The home port for "Patience" is Bikini. That must have been a fun trip, from the far Pacific to the TCI. I think I can honestly say that I have never seen the Bikini, or Marshall Island flag before. At least not that I know of. I am curious about the boat, of course. I did a Google search on "Bikini Atoll" and read this:

"Today, while the people of Bikini have yet to resettle their homeland, the island is populated by Bikini Atoll Divers employees (some of whom are Bikinians), Bikini Project Department construction workers, and some U.S. Department of Energy staff. There is, however, a large population of Bikinians living elsewhere in the Marshall Islands and overseas who hope to have the ability to return to their homeland someday soon. "

So I tried looking up info for the "Patience" and found nothing. I had noted the pennant on the bow said "Marlow Explorer", and searching that brought up an excellent website for the yacht manufacturer, but no info on "Patience" herself. Oh well. Another of life's little mysteries, for now.

Here's a stern view:



showing that great looking flag. I also noticed the outboard on that RIB tender. Man, that little thing must fly!!

One of the largest boats in Turtle Cove at the moment is the 134 foot "Bossy Boots":



I read online that this boat did a stint as a dive boat in the Galapagos. Man, that must be some comfy dive boat.

Another of the larger boats here at the moment is the "SeaQuest":



All I know about it is that it is an 130 ft. Westport,owned by an American. Beautiful boat, and it's pretty humbling to realize that we would have a hard time carrying their forward fender in our little Andros panga. Then again, we don't see their fuel bills, either.

I could not find any info on the American flagged "Nazmar":



But it looks to me like a boat set up to cruise cold waters.

Not all the boats at the marina are the big luxury yachts. There are plenty of smaller sportfishermen and special purpose boats. Many of the smaller ones tie up near the Tiki Hut. I like the attitude on this Mako center console, "Buzz Off":



Here's one of the local fishing charter power catamarans. I believe this is the boat used by "Bite Me" fishing excursions.



The cruising sailboats don't seem to be down here in any abundance yet this season. I am assuming the ones that started heading south from North America are still in the Bahamas, and the boats that spent hurricane season down in Trinidad haven't made it up yet, either. But in another month we would expect to see a few more 40 foot. catamarans tied up next to this local trimaran "Minx":



And of all the boats presently at Turtle Cove, this is the one that caught my imagination more than any other, the motorsailor "Lily May":



The only info I could find online was a reference to a boat of this name as a 38 foot monohull out of Maryland, USA. But there's something about this boat that speaks to me. It's got that whole "Adventures in Paradise" or "Tales of the South Pacific" thing going on. I like the idea of a boat that is comfortable enough to live on, can run under it's own power at a reasonable speed, and can put the sails up when you want some peace and quiet, or to save fuel, or because you are waiting on parts. This would be the type of boat I think we would be most likely to look at if we were not totally enamored of sailing catamarans. It strikes me as the kind of boat someone who likes Land Rovers would appreciate.