Marsh Harbor to Little Harbor

 We left Hope Town on Monday, February 20. We were in need of provisions. Mainly Fuel for SHIFT and water for our main tanks. We carry 100 gallons of water and we had made it almost 3 weeks. We also wanted to restock some food items. We had heard from other cruisers, that Marsh Harbor was the best place to do all those things. Marsh is on the mainland of Great Abaco Island. They have much more infrastructure than the islands, so they get supplied more often. 

We came out of the Hope Town Harbor and unfurled our Genoa for the short trip south and back east about 8.3 nm to Marsh Harbor. 

The water was so clear and beautiful

You could see the shadow of our sail on the bottom. It was a very lazy sail. In a little over 2 hours we were dropping the anchor.

   We got the dinghy down and asked some other boats how to get on land. We found the dock and climbed up about 8 feet because it was low tide. It became obvious very quickly that this area has not recovered from Hurricane Dorian nearly as much as the islands. There are a few marinas that have been rebuilt and a few other buildings, but there are more that are in ruins. We made the half mile walk up to Maxwells Grocery. We walked in and were amazed. The store was just as big as an American supermarket and just as well stocked. The name brands were there, but they were about 1.5 times the cost of Florida. There were store brands that were close to the price of items in Florida for name brands. We ended up spending about $100, which is about all we could put on the cart we had brought for this type of trip. We also hit the ATM to restock our cash. We returned the following morning to do a second hit on the ATM. I was astonished when I got my bank statement at the end of the month and it only cost me $2.00 for the ATM fee and that came from my bank. We love Maxwells!

We had a nice sunset in Marsh Harbor. There were lots of other boats there doing exactly what we were doing.

Honestly, Marsh Harbor looked pretty depressed. I don't know what it will take to bring it back, but it obviously hasn't happened in the past 3.5 years. 

On February 21, we were ready to move along. I had been looking for weather windows to make the jump south to Eleuthera. That is an open ocean sail of about 50 miles and I wanted to do it in good weather. I was seeing a weather window for the 24th, so we started setting up for that plan. 

The first order of business was to go to a marina and get fuel and water. The wind had come up to about 15 knots and the current runs strong in the harbor. It was a bit tough to get us on the dock, but with the help of a great dock hand we got it done. We ended up taking over 100 gallons of water by the time we refilled some extra jugs. We were almost out of water. Fuel was $6.00 a gallon, but we only took on 9 gallons. We then left Marsh Harbor and headed south. We decided to stop at a spot just south of Hope Town called Tahiti Beach. It is a cool sand spit that uncovers at low tide. We arrived late enough in the day that we decided to stay on the boat and relax. 

A nice evening with a few other boats at Tahiti Beach

I tried to take a picture of the sand spit, but it does not show up in this shot. It is just the other side of those boats by that small island.

That boat just behind us is Skyler and Miranda on As You Wish

On the 22nd we motored down the Sea of Abaco, zig zagging through a number of reefs. It was a trip of about 12.6 nm to Little Harbor. We had to time our arrival to get in there at high tide. The entrance is very shallow. Our timing worked out well, and we went in and picked up a mooring ball. Little Harbor is a very cool place. It was founded back in the 1950's by an artist named Randolph Johnston. He did his sculptures in Bronze. He built a foundry and became quite famous in the art world. His son, Pete is there and runs the mooring field and a beach restaurant/bar called Pete's pub. It is a very cool place and a beautiful little harbor. We went to the restaurant and had a Mahi Mahi taco and a Wahoo Taco. It only took about 2 hours to get our food, but the setting was idyllic. We met another couple there named Sam and Jerri on a boat named Encore. We made plans to make the crossing together in two days on  the 24th. 

The approach to Little Harbor looked a bit tough, but turned out to be pretty easy. 

The view of the beach from the top of the restaurant was very nice.

Looking north to the tip of the island

Kim enjoyed the views

There are many of Johnston's Bronze sculptures around the island. This is a bird and a mahi mahi and some flying fish

An eagle, fish and cougar

Hammerhead shark, check out the background. 

We walked around the coast and enjoyed many views

The harbor is very protected and stays very calm. SHIFT is right behind all of those charter Cats

Legend has it that Johnston stayed in this cave when they first arrived on a wooden sailboat. They used the wood from the boat to build their first home. 

The harbor at sunset. That boat with the lights on is an interesting story. Karma's owners are John and Robin. They invited us over to talk about Eleuthera. They were leaving the next day and needed an early morning ride to shore. I was happy to help, but they gave us a bunch of fresh food that would have just gone bad while they were gone at their son's wedding. 

We left Little Harbor on the 23rd to get staged for an early departure south the following morning. We wanted to leave at first light and the tide restrictions in Little Harbor would not allow that to happen. We first took a long walk all over the area. which was very needed. High tide was at 10 AM, so we headed out and went two miles to Lynyrd Cay and anchored in front of a beautiful beach. I took a nice swim to shore and enjoyed the beautiful water before going to bed early. 

This huge ray swam under the boat right before we left Little harbor, this picture is not great, but that is what the black blob is.

At anchor at Lynyrd Cay. Encore is the Cat in front of us. 

Nice beach in clear water. I made the swim over and looked for Conch. I found one, but didn't keep it. 

Sunset at Lynyrd Cay

Encore and another boat that would join us named Bees Knees. Ann is a single handed woman. It is just her and her dog, a 13 year old Springer Spaniel. 

The beach became a party at sunset. We did not participate. We were all ready to depart.

Final sunset in the Abaco's. We loved it there. Thanks for teaching us the ropes in the Bahamas. Now it was on to another island group.

I checked the weather forecast again before going to bed and all looked good for the crossing the following day. We would be going though a section of the Atlantic Ocean that is over 15000 feet deep. That is three times as deep as the Grand Canyon. I will tell the story of the crossing, and what happened when we arrived, in my next entry. 

Hope Town (Part 2) Life in Paradise is Not Always Easy

 When you look at the pictures of Hope Town in the Abaco District of the Bahamas you could easily call it paradise. I can tell you that it is a very cool place. The problem is that when you live on a boat, things are going to break and you are going to have to fix them. That is why many people call cruising life: "Doing boat work in exotic places". 

Here is a beach shot to set the mood. This beach was a short walk from our boat. 

There are many systems in our boat that periodically need to be maintained or fixed. The least desirable to work on, is the waste system. Yep, the toilet and holding tank system. In the US, you use the holding tank until it is full and then go to a marina that has a pump out system that literally sucks the waste out of the holding tank and you are now ready to fill it up again. As you may recall, I replaced my holding tank back in 2021, because the old tank started to leak. In the Bahamas and anytime you are offshore you use a macerator to pump the waste overboard. There are virtually no pump out systems located in the Bahamas. I guess there is so much water and so few people that they feel that it is not an issue. You could have probably gone all day without knowing that, but the point is that my macerator has been giving me problems since I have been over here. The good news is that I had a new pump on board. The bad news is replacing it did not totally fix the problem. I went to an awesome boat supply shop while we were in Man O War Cay and found a replacement vent for the outside of the boat. It has been having clogging problems and I thought I should just replace it. When I removed the old one, I found the problem I had been chasing for a while. Although, I had run a wire up through it to clean it out multiple times, it still had a very small opening. Replacing the vent was not easy, but I got it done and the system now works correctly. Just a little reality to add to the awesome pictures of Paradise. 

What my macerator looks like. Double clamps wherever possible on a boat. 

The rest of our time in Hope Town was very enjoyable. We took long walks to both ends of the island. We walked to the south end of Elbow Key to go to the last of the performances of the Music and Rum Festival. The weather turned bad and they had to move it indoors at the Abaco Inn. We were early because we had walked and planned to have lunch first, so we scored a great table. We called our friends David and Paula to join us. We had a great time while the rain and wind pounded outside. We got on the first shuttle back to town, so all went well. 

We came upon the local cemetery with an awesome view. 

All over the islands they post signs that show the distance and name of their home town. Very few people are from here.

The walk along the ocean side was beautiful on this stormy day.

Can you see the two surfers in this shot?

The musicians sat in the middle of the room and used no sound equipment. it was a very enjoyable performance. The artist that wrote "10 rounds with Jose Cuervo" was there, and performed her song.

 On another day we decided to walk to the north end of the island. We met a man that has lived on the island for over 30 years. We learned a bunch about life on Elbow Key. We love those kind of meet ups. It was a wonderful walk and it ended at the beach in the picture at the beginning of this entry. 

That is about all I need.

The ocean side of the island

We did love this beach.

The clarity of the water never gets old

I wonder if they get tired of the view

Kim found her spot under that palm tree. We stayed a while. 

We had a very calm day, so we decided to go snorkeling on the ocean side of the island. We had an amazing time. The coral heads were huge and there were all kinds of fish. After we came back to the beach, we saw a fin in the water. It was our first encounter with a shark. It was about 5 feet long, and I am sure he was not dangerous. We did warn some other swimmers when he came back a few minutes later.

See that dark patch just out from me. Yep, that is the shark.

Just another beautiful evening in the harbor. 

Many things we do are the same as every one else. Like laundry. 

This is where Kim was waiting for her laundry to be done. 

Things are expensive in the Bahamas. $7.00 to wash and $7.00 to dry. The good news is we don't wear a lot of clothes.  

Or she waits here at the laundromat. Tough life.

Our last day in Hope Town was February 19th. We had heard on the cruisers net that there was a fundraiser at a local bar called "On Da Beach" for a local school teacher that needed medical attention in the US. We went and some amazing things happened. 

It is a very cool place 

We met this couple and talked for a long time. I have no idea what their names are, but they were fun to talk to.

Here is a shot of the band. Skylar is in the back on the keyboards. 

Our friends Rich and Laura that we met in Washington, NC came by. That would be the last time we would see them as they sailed on. 

While I was sitting there talking to some folks I saw someone across the bar that looked familiar. It took me a minute, but it was Skyler and Miranda. We met them last year in Carolina Beach. They told us about Southall Landings Marina in Hampton, VA. We saw them again there. As it turns out, Skylar and his friend used to play professionally in a band. They were there to jam with the band that was doing the benefit concert. To say they were good would be a gross understatement. Skylar on the keyboards and his friend on the saxophone were amazing. While sitting there watching them play I saw another couple that looked familiar. I had to go talk to them. They were a young couple I had been following on Instagram. They wrote all about cruising in North Carolina and inspired us to go to Edenton. They are sailing in the Bahamas, but unfortunately, their engine is not working. They decided to press on and do it all under sail alone. I am staying in touch and rooting for them.  

I know this is a long one, but so much happened in Hope Town, that I wanted to remember. We had plans to head south and leave the Abaco's, but we needed to get some things done. The next day we were finally on the move again after 9 days on the mooring ball in Hope Town. In my next entry, I will tell you where we went, and what we did. 
  

 

Hope Town (Part 1)

 We left Man O War on February 9th and made the 4.5 nm trip over to Hope Town. One of the nice things about traveling around in this part of the Bahamas is that everything is very close together. The trip was short, but the change was dramatic. Hope Town has a totally different vibe. There is a nice harbor with about 30 mooring balls. We arrived early and picked one up with no drama. 

 

Hope Town is famous for it's lighthouse. You can see it for miles around. This picture is taken as we are on approach to the harbor in the well marked channel. 

Here is a shot of the lighthouse from inside the harbor. 

The first order of business was to go ashore and take a walk around town. Here is a shot of the harbor. SHIFT is out there in that sea of boats.

We had to go check out the beach. It is of course beautiful.

The mooring balls are very close together, but nothing to worry about.

Kim enjoying the beautiful water.

We always need a Kim on a beach shot.

The colors never get old. 

This monument was erected in honor of the people that died in a Cholera Epidemic in the 19th century.

It was a very calm day when we arrived, so we decided to go on a snorkeling mission in the dinghy. We did not see much, but I did find my first keeper Queen Conch.

We decided that we were not ready to make a Conch Salad, so we ended up throwing it back. 

 That night we went to our first performance of the Hope Town Music and Rum Festival. There is a famous Country Singer Songwriter, Phillip Lammond, from Nashville that has been coming to Hope Town for years. He has invited a bunch of his songwriter friends and they perform many of their songs live on stage. The show is at a different venue each night. This night was at the Hope Town Marina that was a short distance from our boat. Some of the songs we have heard and some not, but it is all great music performed by some very talented folks. 

We had some seats just behind the stage, but we could see fairly well and could hear great. We enjoyed the evening and Kim found that she really likes a Pink Sands Beer. 

The following day we decided to take a tour of the Lighthouse. We really enjoyed that.

The Hope Town Lighthouse was built in 1860 and is still operating on Kerosene and hand winding today. The oldest to do so in the world.

It is 101 steps to the top. We had to go for it.

Can the old man make it?

The view of the harbor from one of the windows. The thickness of the walls is why it has withstood so many storms. 

The view of the harbor from the top is very cool. SHIFT is down there in the center.

This is the entrance channel to the harbor

Evidence I made it. No I wasn't scared...really!

The Fresnel Lens is very cool. You can see the light from our boat each evening.

The view of the Sea of Abaco side. 

I think I will stop this entry there after day 3. We ended up Staying in Hope Town 9 days. Why so long? I will tell you all about the other 6 days in my next entry. I will tell you now, it was not all enjoyable.