A Little Bit of England 4-2-09

Bob and I took a long walk today down the Queen’s Highway and were transported to England. From the country lanes lined with tidy rock walls, to the telephone and mailboxes, and the decidedly English accent of the people, England is recreated here. Instead of the colorful house signs of Elbow Cay, we found subtle but beautiful bells that visitors ring from the road to announce their presence. We followed the narrow path to spectacular views of the calm ocean and found a picnic shelter positioned between the bay and ocean from which you can view sunrise and sunset.

After a pretty calm and restorative day, we had some excitement. We had contacted Froggies Abaco to clean the hull of our boat. You may remember that Bob cleaned the grass last week but we thought we had better have a pro look at the underside. Much to our surprise, the diver brought up a 15 foot crab pot line that was wrapped around our propeller. We had not experienced any vibration and had not noticed any speed drop as we got the speed boost in the Gulf Stream and when we were traveling the Sea of Abaco we had such wind that we thought that had reduced our speed. Where did we pick it up—it’s a mystery to us but we are glad to be rid of it. Just as Bob was posing for the picture with the crab pot line, another boater came by with an urgent appeal to have our diver come immediately as a trawler in the Eastern Harbour had run over a mooring chain and line, had fouled its prop terribly, was swinging wildly in the 20 knot wind in the harbor and threatened to crash into other moored boats. Divers to the rescue…

Crisis on the water brings everyone out and we met our neighbors, Philip and Paula on another trawler, “Tramp”, a beautiful Grand Banks 46. Phillip was a naval architect, sailed all over the world, and he and Paula have been coming to the Bahamas on this trawler for 10 years but this will their last trip as they take “Tramp” back to Maine. They also did the Loop in 2001 and even journeyed into Lake Superior. We enjoyed spending the evening with them. I was so impressed with their Jack Russell, Rudy, who is so acrobatic and positions himself on the bow of the dinghy and leaps to shore.

Man-O-War Cay 4-1-09

We had hoped to get to Sandy Cay to snorkel and to Snake Cay to look for turtles but April Fool's Day on us as the winds and seas are up again. It is a harsher reality for the Hope Town Sailing Club which again had to cancel their sailing cup races.

We had a delightful evening here on the mooring ball at Little Harbour and waited until after 10 am to catch a higher tide to transit the channel opening which can go as low as 3 feet. As we headed out, we were greeted with a SE wind of 15-20 knots and a 2 foot beam sea. We went 22 miles today in sloppy conditions and decided with the SE wind conditions that our choice for the night was Man-O-War Cay.

As we made the final approach to Man-O-War, we had some following seas and then spied the narrow opening with a lot of traffic exiting. Then we played the game of trying to find the mooring ball—do not go to the Eastern Harbour as these are mostly private, go to the Man-O-War Harbour and try your luck. We located a mooring ball perilously close to other boats but since we are only 32 feet, we fit. Thank goodness, as the wind is howling and we want to get tucked in for the night.

After making sure our boat would not crash into another closely moored boat, we took the dinghy into Man-O-War Settlement. This is a very different side of the Bahamas and the sign in the marina office from Thessalonians 4:11 captures the spirit: “Study to be quiet. Do your own business and work with your hands.” There are many churches and no bars on this island although we did get Rum Raisin waffle cones at the Island Treat.

In contrast to the color of Elbow Cay, Man-o-War is white, very white. The houses are white and beige and the only color was from the flowers at the local school yard. The settlement was founded by descendants of the Loyalists and self-sufficiency in farming, fishing and boat building were prized then and now. Albury boat building and allied businesses dominate on this island. This self-sufficiency was needed during our visit as the power is out on the island but everything kept on running due to their powerful generators.

Locals are called sojers like the crab and the town is having their first annual “Sojers Day” this weekend. They hope to raise money for various causes including funds for a new ‘high school structure” and everyone is making food and crafts for the big day. We are thinking of staying through Sunday as the winds are up and it is protected here.

Little Harbour 3-31-09

After 18 days at Sea Spray Marina, Elbow Cay, we cast off the dock lines and headed for Little Harbour on Great Abaco Island. It was an easy journey of 19 miles with light SE winds and a slight chop. What a change after the turbulent winds of the past few weeks!

We attached to a mooring ball and headed in by dinghy to Little Harbour. It is the home of Pete’s Pub, Gallery and Foundry and is definitely worth a visit. Artists, Pete Johnston and Bob Zwickel, have an array of sculptures and paintings depicting sea life and nautical themes as well as a provocative sculpture piece, “Stages of Man”. After this dose of culture, we went back to the funky outdoor pub for some liquid refreshments and had to pick a t-shirt from these—“Rehab is For Quitters”, “The Elite Eat in Barefeet” or a pirate flag. My camera apparently jammed when I was taking a picture of the inside of Pete’s Pub but I would describe it as the Bahamian version of Tom’s Burned Down Café on Madeline Island.

It is a short walk down a winding road to a snorkel and shell beach or take the high road to the remains of an old lighthouse. Notice the sailboat through the window—we saw a steady procession of sailboats heading back to the Abacos from the Exumas as the ocean seas were calm for a crossing.

Farewell to Elbow Cay 3-30-09

Sometimes you find a place that seems so familiar and yet is so new and exciting—Elbow Cay is that place for us. Our highest form of praise is when we say to each other, “It’s like Bayfield and the Apostle Islands” only the water is warm and blue rather than cold and green, the fish are bright and colorful rather than brown, the islands are populated with people rather than bears, there are no bugs and we can be boating in the winter. The cruising area in the Hub of the Abacos from Whale Cay down to Little Harbour on Great Abaco Island is about the same size area. Other than the above differences, the Abacos and the Apostle Islands are twins. Okay—so I did not factor in that you might need a down sleeping bag in July on Lake Superior.

Elbow Cay has Hope Town, a charming town which time forgot and has a lighthouse watching over it. Its narrow winding roads and paths take you all over by foot, bike and cart and lead to the most spectacular views of beach, ocean and sky. The bold pastel Bahamian houses are framed by this and every color combination works against this backdrop. On my daily walkabouts to Hope Town, the North End and Tahiti Beach, I would constantly be renewed by all of this.

Life on Elbow Cay is simple—you have what you need and you can do without the rest. I was pleasantly surprised that the small grocery shops had fresh produce, frozen meats and fresh fish so we do not have to eat the canned stuff I bought in FL. You have to remember that the bank is only open on Tuesday morning and that the grocery shops close from 12 noon to 2pm daily and most everything, except restaurants, are closed on Sundays. You start your day by listening to Patty and crew on the Cruisers’ Net on Channel 68 and learn what is going on and plan accordingly. Our marina did not have reliable internet so every other day, we would walk down the road to the beautiful Abaco Inn or into Hope Town to plug in at Harbour Edge Restaurant or the Harbour Coffee Shop. Friday is fresh fish day at the Hope Town dock, Abaco Inn has the 2 for 1 Specials on Sundays and Wednesdays and you always look for a key lime pie at Vernon’s. Add in the potlucks and informal get-togethers and you have a full schedule.

The Bahamian spirit of friendliness and hospitality is contagious and everyone in town and on the road greets you with a wave and “hello.” The staff at Sea Spray, especially Rodney and Junior, were so accommodating and helpful, and since they were also 2/4 of the Sea Spray Bahamian band, they also rock. Our previous blogs note all the wonderful boaters and Loopers that we have met here and we hope that our wakes cross in the near future.

It is the end of March and cruisers are starting to head west to journey back to FL. I went down to Tahiti Beach one last time at sunset and watched the tide erase our footsteps but our memories will live on.

Marsh Harbour 3-28-09

It has been so windy here that the Hopetown Sailing Club cancelled their race dates twice this month. We figured that the only way we were going to get over to Marsh Harbour was to take the ferry. There was a lot of excitement down on the ferry dock this morning as dogs were coming in for the Humane Society Dog Walk in Hopetown.

We had arranged to meet Bill and Mary from ‘Harbour Reach” in Marsh Harbour. Our paths have crossed a number of times on the Loop and we had hoped to do more cruising with them in the Bahamas. They are at Abaco Boat Harbour Marina and are members of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. This is quite a club with many membership perks of lower dock rates, a full schedule of activities from walking, water aerobics, yoga, pot lucks and catered parties. There are many Loopers here and if we come back to the Abacos, we would definitely look into a membership.

We had a great time with Bill and Mary touring their classic Pacific trawler, having lunch at the Abaco Beach Resort, checking out the art fair there and exploring Marsh Harbour with Mary as our guide. Bob and I were not used to fast traffic and had a bit of a culture shock getting honked at in Marsh Harbour. Mary and Bill have been doing the Loop for the past 10 years in 4+ month increments and really get to know each area thoroughly. They are so knowledgeable and always ready to help other cruisers succeed.

We had a long walk back to our marina when we docked at Hopetown but found 2 ways to make it more enjoyable—here’s Bob with liquid refreshment and me with an ice cream cup.

This is our last Saturday here in Sea Spray and the Bahamian band was back and everyone was groovin’.