Lew and Florrie on ‘Harmony” asked us if we wanted to share a golf cart today and explore the island. What a great idea! Florrie and I got in the rear facing rumble seat, held on tight and did rear view mirror duty. Although I love to walk and bike, no trip to this island is complete without the golf cart experience. Many of the roads are bumpy and curvy which only adds to the fun.
We made a full day of it starting with lunch at the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant where they serve delicious blackened grouper sandwiches and spicy curly fries.
It was a short walk to the Wyannie Malone Museum to learn more about this special place. The islands were first settled by the Lucayans and there are a number of current archeological digs to unearth their artifacts. The area was popular with pirates like Bluebeard during the 1600-1700’s as the treacherous reefs and uncharted islands gave them so many places to hide. After the American Revolution was won, Loyalist sympathetic with England and unsure that the democracy could work emigrated to the Bahamas, but civil strife, meager agricultural productivity and hurricanes challenged them greatly. Wind from the Carolinas by Robert Wilder is a fictionalized account of this period and was highly recommended by Florrie and the museum curator.
During the American Civil War, the Bahamas operated as a base for the Confederates running the Union naval blockades, and later during Prohibition, rum runners were very active. The islands have an extensive history of boat building and here is a picture of an Abaco sailing dinghy and the tradition continues with the sturdy Albury boats. The Bahamas became an independent country from Britain in 1973.
Since we had the golf cart for a full 24 hours, there was time to provision at LVA grocery as well as head down to Tahiti Beach to explore. The beach was at low tide and there was plenty to see. You could even walk out closer to the Tiloo Cut to get a better view of the surf. We ended the day with drinks at Abaco Inn and made a plan to go early Thursday to Vernon’s Grocery to pick up a homemade pie before “Harmony” departs Sea Spray Marina.
The best part of the day was sharing it with Lew and Florrie. They are such generous, fun, interesting and adventurous sailors. Florrie is an accomplished artist and gave me one of her colorful prints, entitled
“Hopetown Houses” which I will treasure always. Thank you so much.
We made a full day of it starting with lunch at the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant where they serve delicious blackened grouper sandwiches and spicy curly fries.
It was a short walk to the Wyannie Malone Museum to learn more about this special place. The islands were first settled by the Lucayans and there are a number of current archeological digs to unearth their artifacts. The area was popular with pirates like Bluebeard during the 1600-1700’s as the treacherous reefs and uncharted islands gave them so many places to hide. After the American Revolution was won, Loyalist sympathetic with England and unsure that the democracy could work emigrated to the Bahamas, but civil strife, meager agricultural productivity and hurricanes challenged them greatly. Wind from the Carolinas by Robert Wilder is a fictionalized account of this period and was highly recommended by Florrie and the museum curator.
During the American Civil War, the Bahamas operated as a base for the Confederates running the Union naval blockades, and later during Prohibition, rum runners were very active. The islands have an extensive history of boat building and here is a picture of an Abaco sailing dinghy and the tradition continues with the sturdy Albury boats. The Bahamas became an independent country from Britain in 1973.
Since we had the golf cart for a full 24 hours, there was time to provision at LVA grocery as well as head down to Tahiti Beach to explore. The beach was at low tide and there was plenty to see. You could even walk out closer to the Tiloo Cut to get a better view of the surf. We ended the day with drinks at Abaco Inn and made a plan to go early Thursday to Vernon’s Grocery to pick up a homemade pie before “Harmony” departs Sea Spray Marina.
The best part of the day was sharing it with Lew and Florrie. They are such generous, fun, interesting and adventurous sailors. Florrie is an accomplished artist and gave me one of her colorful prints, entitled
“Hopetown Houses” which I will treasure always. Thank you so much. 
