4/20 – 5/10/16
On a clear and crisp Wednesday morning (April 20) we
left Man Island, headed halfway through the Devil’s Backbone. At the Bridges
Point waypoint, we turned north to cross to Great Abaco and although we had 6’ seas, we double reefed for a comfortable and balanced ride due to 16 kts true wind speed. It wasn’t a bad ride. A
little rolly, but no banging and by 3:30 we were through the Little Harbour cut
and anchored in the lee of Lynyard Cay. The
next morning it was high tide and we were able to make it through the shallow
channel into Little Harbour with our 5’9” draft, and pick up one of Pete’s
mooring balls. We took the dinghy ashore and were happy to enjoy coconut cracked
conch at the Pub for lunch and do a little beachcombing.
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| Little Harbour |
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| View of Pete's Pub from our mooring |
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| The t-shirt we hung is still there |
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| Coconut Cracked Conch. YUM! |
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| An unusual sight in Little Harbour - it's not often you see a woodpecker here |
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| Today there were two! |
Friday morning we met up with Susan, our friend who
enjoys living in Little Harbour, checked out her fabulous garden from which she
picked herbs and tomatoes for us. That evening we had Susan, Carl &
Jennifer (as well as Bella their dog) onboard for lobster dip and a cocktail.
We all went ashore for dinner at the Pub – always a wonderfully fresh treat! It’s
Jeff’s favorite fish place in all of the Bahamas.
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| Who wouldn't love this entry to Susan's place! |
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| Susan's above ground vegetable and herb garden |
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| Susan and Wellington have an incredible view from their porch |
We said goodbye to all our friends on Friday evening
and left Little Harbour Saturday morning. Four hours later we sailed into Hope
Town and found a mooring near the dock where we were married in June of 2013
with the lighthouse in clear view. The next five days we spent in Hope Town
where we usually find many things to do. Jeff continued working inside the
lighthouse – polishing grates and repairing windows and I volunteered to work
in the brand new gift shop there which was just opened in December. The proceeds from the gift shop contribute to the ongoing maintenance of this gem. It’s a fun way
to donate our time and energy in order to help keep the light on. The Elbow
Reef Lighthouse is one of the few hand wound, kerosene burning lighthouses in
the Bahamas and the world. Speaking of world, it's a small one; while manning the gift shop two couples stopped in to shop... turned out the two sisters, Barbara and Ellen Ryan (maiden name) graduated from the same high school I did. Although I didn't remember them - one three years older, the other one year younger - we knew many of the same people and reminisced about the "old days". The next couple who stopped in, summer in Jeff's hometown in Maine.
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| Hello Hope Town |
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| Lyman Hall High School alumni! |
April 29th was a special day, as we were
expecting a visitor to arrive in Marsh Harbour.
We picked up my son Brian, who flew in from NY for his very first visit to the
Bahamas and would be with us for a week, which proved to be a truly enjoyable
time in every way. After meeting him at the airport, we got back aboard and
sailed back to Hope Town. Saturday
morning we headed to the lighthouse where Brian was totally amazed at the view
from the top. Later we rented a golf cart, toured the island and had lunch at a
great beach bar called (appropriately named) On Da Beach where they have the
most incredible fish melt sandwich. Jeff has been waiting since last year to
have one of these tasty treats once again. We think we have the "secret" recipe!
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| Let the fun begin! |
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| Way more relaxing than the hustle bustle in New York |
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| Lunch On Da Beach |
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| Atop the lighthouse |
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| Brian's first taste ever of George's conch salad |
After lunch we left Hope Town and sailed back to
Lynyard Cay to introduce Brian to Little Harbour. We climbed into the cave
where Randolph Johnston and his children lived after sailing there from the US
to escape the “grind”. “An Artist on his Island” is a great book and tells their family story. The bronze castings that Pete (one of Randolph's sons) makes there at the foundry are
quite beautiful and are typically of dolphins, rays and the evolution of
mankind. As you can well imagine, they are very unique and valuable pieces of art.
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| Checking the water at the end of the road where the range markers and adirondack chairs are located |
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| Sting ray swimming by |
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| Cocktails on the beach at Lynyard Cay |
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| The cave |
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| The gallery |
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| The quintessential beach bar |
We anchored at Tilloo Cay Sunday evening and chef Brian made us French Toast with freshly baked Bahamian bread. It was delicious!
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| Hunting for dinner |
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| The ultimate hammock |
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| Covering up |
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| Brian checked out this beach |
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| Evening at anchor |
The next morning we sailed to Man O War where we enjoyed lunch on the water at Dock & Dine (I had conch pizza! YUM!), toured the small island and once back aboard headed to Guana Cay where the “famous” Nippers is located. We grabbed a cocktail and walked the beautiful beach there, then back to the boat for Mahi burgers. We had planned on visiting New Plymouth in Green Turtle but the weather wasn’t going to cooperate for our return to Marsh Harbour so we went back to Hope Town and enjoyed dinner at the marina. Once again we climbed the lighthouse, and Brian enjoyed trying some Bahamian food at the Hope Town Lodge. All of these restaurants look out over the water, so no matter where you go – it’s paradise.
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| Brian at the helm |
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| The Sugar Loaves |
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| Brian and Jeff walking the beach at Nippers |
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| A nip at Nippers |
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| And a little silly fun |
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| Don't lose your head while drinking Sands? |
Snorkeling the reefs just off the Lodge was incredible. The sun was shining, we were in the lee of the blustery wind on the harbor side and the fish were plentiful. I had heard once that if you take a can of “squirt” cheese and spray it near the schools of fish, they love to eat it…. and they DID! What fun to watch. Oops – I got a little crazy with it and accidently squirted it on my mask. Brian suggested it would have been better if I hadn’t wiped it off – that perhaps the fish would swim right up to my face!
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| The water is so clear! |
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| Anchor aweigh |
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A parrot fish. "Welcome to my world"
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| Cheesy mask... |
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| Hope Town Harbour entrance taken from the lighthouse |
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| EXILE - closest to the "wedding dock" |
Brian treated us to our final dinner together in Hope Town at the Harbour's Edge before
his intended departure on Friday. Boy – a week sure flies by fast! We all
boarded the Hope Town Ferry the next morning to Marsh Harbour and walked around
town before catching a cab to the airport. A quick lunch at the newly opened grill at the airport, and it was time to go. It was hard to say goodbye but we’ll be
heading back to the states in a week or so and will get to see all the kids and
grandkids again soon as we travel north to Maine in mid June. Oh, the special
memories we shared. I do believe that this island lifestyle suits Brian as much as it does us!
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| An afternoon storm passed by and gave EXILE a fresh water rinse |
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| Knot man! |
