Boat rentals
Boat rental is surprisingly economical on Green Turtle Cay. Renting a boat will significantly expand your horizons, allowing you to explore neighboring cays to swim, picnic or look for seashells on the deserted, white-sand beaches. Or, you can try your hand at fishing with your own (or rented) tackle. For island hopping, exploring mangrove-lined bays and remote sand beaches, or fishing – a small boat rental is perfect!
Renting A Boat in Green Turtle Cay
Three local rental outlets offer well-maintained outboard engine boats ranging from 17- to 26-feet in length. They all come with the required number of PFDs, two anchors and other safety gear; most are equipped with 2-way marine radios and coolers; and some offer sophisticated sonar depth/fish finders. Weekly rates range from $600 to $1,200, depending on the size of the boat – plus whatever gasoline you use during the rental period. Most boats are also available for shorter rental periods of one to three days.
A 17' - 20' boat will be plenty seaworthy for island hopping, exploring the beaches on surrounding cays, or fishing in the Sea of Abaco. If you want to venture into the Atlantic Ocean for snorkeling or fishing the reefs, or if you have a larger group, you’ll need a boat of 20’ or more. If you want to troll for bluewater species out beyond the reefs, be sure to check with the rental company to see if they will allow you to take their boats offshore when you make your reservation.
Some Helpful Tips About Boat Rental
If you are an inexperienced boater, all three rental companies are happy to provide lessons in operating their boats. Operating a powerboat is easy to learn, and, other than running aground, the only real trouble you can get into is if you pull your boat up onto a beach when the tide is falling, which will leave you high and dry – and stranded – for a full 12 hours until the tide rises again. So, any time you want to explore a beach after the tide has reached its peak, we recommend anchoring your boat in deeper water (with one anchor dug into the sand up on the beach and a second anchored off the stern) and wading ashore. Ask the folks at the boat rental to show you how.
ABOUT TIDES:
The tides around Green Turtle Cay fluctuate by as much as three to four feet between the high and low – the more extreme tide changes take place during the full or new moon phases. High and low tides occur twice each 24-hour period, on a 25-hour cycle. That means if high tide on your first day is at 8 AM, it will be low at 2:15 PM that afternoon, high again at 8:30 PM, low at 2:30 AM and high the next morning at 9 AM. In other words, high tide “advances” about an hour every day.
http://www.sunsetmarineandboatrentals.com
http://donnysboatrental.tripod.com/index.html
BEACHES
The Beautiful Beaches of Green Turtle Cay
Bita Bay, a sandy cove protected from north winds with excellent snorkeling along a small reef right off the shore.
Gilliam Bay beach – with the remote and deserted Town Flat beach just around the sandy point at the southernmost end of the island.
At the north end of the island, you can explore Ocean Beach, comprised of North Pointe Beach and Middle Beach on the Atlantic side. Lovely Coco Bay faces the Sea of Abaco, and is an ideal beach to visit during west and south winds.
If you rent a small boat, you can visit beaches on undeveloped islands to the north and south of Green Turtle Cay – or explore the vast, deserted beaches that stretch north of the ferry dock along the eastern shore of Great Abaco Island, just a short ride across the Sea of Abaco.
No matter how you count them, there are enough miles of beautiful white sand beaches to keep beachcombers, shellers and explorers busy for days on end.
Discover The Underwater World of Green Turtle Cay
Experienced snorkelers should have no difficulty exploring the reefs on their own, and we recommend asking the locals where you rent your boat to direct you to their favorite dive spots. Please remember to anchor only in sandy areas and never over a reef, so as not to damage the fragile coral.
One of the best snorkeling spots on the island is Bita Bay, where a reef juts out from shore to provide a safe and convenient snorkeling experience for beginners and experts alike. There is also great snorkeling from shore in shallow water reefs right off North Pointe Beach, a short golf cart ride up to the north end of the island. Just remember the cardinal rule “Never Dive Alone!”
To schedule a scuba diving trip while you are staying with us, contact Brendal's Dive Center: www.brendal.com
To schedule a snorkeling or skin diving trip, contact either Sherlin Russell or Lincoln Jones:
Lincoln Jones | http://www.go-abacos.com/lincoln/index.html
Telephone: 242-365-4223
Famous for his all-day Manjack Cay outings, Lincoln Jones offers fantastically fun “reef parties” which include a morning of fishing (all bait and tackle provided) and snorkeling, followed by an elaborate beach party cook-out featuring your freshly caught fish, lobster (in season) and a sip of rum punch (or three). While not recommended for true hardcore anglers, Lincoln’s expeditions are very popular, so make your reservations as soon as you are able.
Sherllin Russell | [email protected]
Telephone: 242-475-2811
Sherllin Russell at the Other Shore Club (across from Linton’s dock on Black Sound) offers wonderful, personally guided fishing, diving and snorkeling trips – including diving for lobsters, beach picnics and general exploring – all in your rental boat (his motto is “Your boat, my time”). If you’d like, he’ll even cook your catch back at your cottage – or out on a secluded beach. You can find him making fresh conch salad at Pineapple’s most evenings (be sure to ask for a lesson on how to clean a conch).
Offshore Fishing:
The bluewater fishing beyond the barrier reef off Green Turtle Cay rivals any in the Caribbean. Depending on the time of year, a good day’s catch can include wahoo, mahi, tuna and a variety of billfish. Experienced anglers will have good success trolling ballyhoo or artifical baits along the 1,100-foot drop-off that parallels the outermost reef and runs north of Green Turtle Cay for five miles or more. Sunset Marine at the outlet of Black Sound has the best selection of 22-foot and larger boats, all of which are equipped with 4-color depth finders and marine radios. They also rent tackle and have a good selection of frozen ballyhoo, squid and other bait for sale.
For larger groups, we recommend a full- or half-day charter with Capt. Rick Sawyer in his comfortable Tiara or Eddie Bodie in his spacious Grady-White.
For More Information, or to book offshore fishing, contact:
Capt. Rick Sawyer | www.abacoflyfish.com
[email protected] | Telephone: 242-365-4261
Eddie Bodie | The-Rock-Fishing-Charters-with-Captain-Eddie-Bodie
Telephone: 242-365-4069 or 242-365-6784.
Reef Fishing:
Trolling or jigging the reefs located offshore from Green Turtle, No Name and Manjack (pronounced Mun•jack by the locals) Cays is an exciting way to catch your dinner. We’ve had excellent luck using 1/4 and 1/2 oz. jigs rigged with Berkeley’s Gulp Shrimp. The reefs abound with grouper and snapper, and trolling a rigged ballyhoo, Yo-Zuri minnow or saltwater Rapala will usually get their attention. Just make sure to rig up with a wire leader to prevent bite-offs when the occasional barracuda grabs your bait!
For those without a boat, we recommend a full- or half-day with any of these experienced fishing guides:
Eddie Bodie | The-Rock-Fishing-Charters-with-Captain-Eddie-Bodie
Telephone: 242-365-4069 or 242-365-6784.
You can spend a delightful day of fishing and picnicking with Eddie Bodie, who offers a full day of reef fishing, with a shore lunch featuring the fish you caught that morning.
Lincoln Jones | http://www.go-abacos.com/lincoln/index.html
Telephone: 242-365-4223
Lincoln Jones offers fantastically fun “reef parties” which include a morning of fishing (all bait and tackle provided) and snorkeling, followed by an elaborate beach party cook-out featuring your freshly caught fish, lobster (in season) and a sip of rum punch (or three). While not recommended for true hardcore anglers, Lincoln’s expeditions are very popular, so make your reservations as soon as you are able.
Sherllin Russell | [email protected]
Telephone: 242-475-2811
Sherllin Russell at the Other Shore Club (across from Linton’s dock on Black Sound) offers personally guided fishing, diving and snorkeling trips – including diving for lobsters, beach picnics and general exploring – all in your rental boat (his motto is “Your boat, my time”). If you’d like, he’ll even cook your catch back at your cottage – or out on a secluded beach. You can find him making fresh conch salad at Pineapple’s most evenings (be sure to ask for a lesson on how to clean a conch).
A Fisherman's Paradise!
Visiting anglers can choose between hiring experienced local guides and charter boats, renting their own boat (Sunset Marine also sells frozen bait and offers a selection of fishing tackle for rent), or fishing any of Green Turtle Cay’s three bonefish flats that are easily accessible by golf cart or on foot.
Inshore Fishing:
Some of the region’s most exciting fishing is trolling ballyhoo or shallow-running Yo-Zuri minnow baits along the edges of the many bonefish flats and beaches off Green Turtle Cay and the nearby cays. Big barracuda and the occasional Houndfish (a very large needlefish native to the Bahamas) often lurk in the deeper water hoping to ambush a bonefish or snapper exiting the flats. This kind of fishing is ideal whenever an onshore wind or high waves make venturing into the ocean too rough to be enjoyable. It is also a wonderful thing to do on your own if you are an avid angler, with a rental boat from one of the three rental boat companies on Green Turtle Cay.
Flats Fishing:
Green Turtle Cay and the surrounding islands offer an array of expansive flats that are home to some of the largest bonefish in the world. Unlike most destinations that consider a “big” bonefish to be anything over five or six pounds, bonefish in the Abacos range from six to ten pounds, with fish larger than that caught several times a year. But, bonefish don’t get that big by being stupid, so it will take plenty of perfect presentations to hook up – but when you do, hold on!
DIY anglers can access three very productive hard-bottom flats without a boat. The largest and most productive is the Town Flat, located south of New Plymouth on the Sea of Abaco. It’s easy to reach by taking the narrow two-track that turns off the main road at the baseball field south of town down to the dead end on Gilliam Bay. Then, walk down the beach until you see a path cutting through the pine forest that leads to the beach on the other side of the point (or walk all the way around the point – watching for cruising fish the whole way). The Town Flat runs for almost a mile up the western shore of the island. It fishes best on either side of a high tide.
The next best flat is at the north end of Green Turtle Cay, starting at the bottom of Coco Bay and running up to the very top of the island. You can ride a bike or drive to Coco Bay by taking the main road north from the cottages and turning right on the dirt road just before you come to Brendal’s Dive Shop and the Green Turtle Club. By law, all beaches in the Bahamas are open to the public, so you can access the Coco Bay beach where the road runs along the shore. Bonefish work the Coco Bay flats on every tide, and some of the better water is farther north up the beach, which fishes best on a rising tide.
A strong wind from the west can make Coco Bay and the Town Flat difficult to fish, so we always head back down to Gilliam Bay and walk the beach out to the end of the point to fish Sand Dollar Flat – a vast expanse of hard sand that slopes gradually eastward towards Pelican Cay – a beautiful private island about a mile directly to the east of Gilliam Bay. It fishes well on every tide (just wade out to the edge when the tide is low), and the west wind will be at your back making longer casts much easier to execute.
But, the most productive way to fish for bonefish is to hire a guide, and Green Turtle Cay is home to two excellent ones – both named Sawyer.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO BOOK FLATS FISHING,
CONTACT ON OF THE TWO GUIDES BELOW:
Ronnie Sawyer is a Green Turtle Cay native with 25 years of experience as a bonefish guide. He’s been featured in numerous fishing magazines and was the subject of a half hour show on ESPN2's television series “George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing”. He offers both full and half-day charters, and keeps a boat on Great Abaco Island for fishing the well-known Abaco marls.
Telephone: 877-459-9108, 242-357-6667 (cell) or 242-365-4070
www.go-abacos.com/ronnie/about.html
Rick Sawyer is an island-born Bahamian who knows the bonefish flats around Green Turtle and neighboring cays like the back of his hand. He is a licensed and IGFA-certified captain and guide with over 25 years experience. He offers full, 3/4 and half day bonefish charters, and we usually opt for the 3/4 day outing because it gives us plenty of time on the water without totally frying in the hot sun.
www.abacoflyfish.com | [email protected] | Telephone: 242-365-4261
Exploring
Golf cart rental on green turtle
https://www.dpcartrentals.com
Car Rental on Treasure Cay
Cornish Car Rentals (near Treasure Cay Airport) | (242) 365-8623
Triple J Car Rentals (in Treasure Cay Shopping Center) | (242) 365-08761
Exploring the Town: New Plymouth
New Plymouth is one of the most historic and best-preserved Loyalist settlements in the Bahamas. The New-England style clapboard architecture and narrow streets tell you it’s an authentic town, not something recently constructed for tourists. The island’s original jail, located across from Abaco Seafood and the basketball court, is now painted bright pink – but would have been a mighty deterrent to wrongdoing during its days as a hoosegow.
Farther down Parliament Street are the police station, customs house, post office and town bulletin board, and next to that is the fascinating Albert Lowe Museum – a perfectly restored Loyalist House with a great collection of early photographs, ship models and paintings by the acclaimed Bahamian artist, Alton Lowe.
The next stop is the town’s sculpture garden featuring bronze busts of prominent Bahamians and a monument to the Loyalists who fled the former American colonies after the War of Independence. If you pause to read the inscription on the brass plaque, it will give you a very different perspective on the aftermath of our revolutionary war.
Exploring the Mainland of Great Abaco:
On the main island of Abaco, rental cars and vans are available in Treasure Cay for about $75 per day for those who want to explore the mainland of Great Abaco Island. Abaco is famous for its mysterious Blue Holes, and it’s fun to explore the many beaches and settlements along the Sea of Abaco. Birders will see rare Abaco Parrots and many species of warblers and other wintering birds in the Abaco National Park at the south end of the island.
