We’ve spent the last few days soaking in the culture of Hopetown on Elbow Cay. Hopetown is somewhat of a destination in it’s own right. Quite a few people come here to spend the winter either on their boat or in one of the many quaint rentals or residences around the island.
The lighthouse here in Hopetown is the last hand-wound kerosene lighthouses in the world. It’s currently undergoing some much needed repair work. While we may love lighthouses, not everyone on the island was in favor of building it in the first place. Turns out a major source of income on the island was wrecking – the salvaging of goods from ships that wrecked on the reef just off the island.
Wrecking was a very serious pursuit. We were told one story that highlights that seriousness. The local Methodist church building is beautiful and is located on top of a small hill overlooking both the harbor and the ocean reef. One Sunday, during their worship service, the pastor asked the congregation to bow their heads for a few minutes of silent prayer. While heads were bowed and eyes closed, the pastor slipped out the door of the church and ran for the beach. He had seen a ship go on to the reef and wanted to be the first to reach it! The next week, the church members rearranged the building so the pastor was facing the harbor and the pews were facing the reef.
Methodist Church
View from Methodist Church
Shopping on the small islands is something of an adventure. Stores are small, stock just a few items and have to charge quite high prices to cover the cost of getting the goods here. Realizing that goods have to be shipped from the US or Europe to one of the major ports, then loaded onto small ferries and shipped again to the outer islands, it’s easy to see why the prices are what they are. We did most of our provisioning before leaving, but we have managed to find ice cream (a treat at only $9/ half-gl) and coconut bread (baked fresh daily).
If you’re looking for Wal-mart it’s 200 miles to the right!
Today we had a delightful lunch with some other cruisers we met here in Hopetown. He is an avid conch diver and they treated us to breaded, tenderized fresh conch. A great meal and great fellowship around the table!
But if not…
Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island
We left Great Guana Cay and had a fabulous sail across the turquoise waters of the Sea of Abaco. Wind was about 10 kts on the beam.
In the early afternoon we motored into Marsh Harbour and dropped anchor in about 7 ft of water.
Early the next morning we headed to the dinghy dock with a long “to do” list.
We had a part go bad on our propane system so we went to the hardware store…no luck there. We went to the Corner Value store and checked there…no luck, but did buy a part that we could use to bypass the broken piece. And we left our propane tank to be filled. We stopped by the Marine store…no luck there.
Next we walked to the other end of town to see if the local Moorings charter base might have an extra part. On the way, we found a little restaurant and had breakfast. Turns out they had just opened after moving here from Man-of-War Cay after selling the Dock & Dine restaurant there.
Jake’s Restaurant
The Moorings did have the part, but only one and they wouldn’t let it go since they might need it for one of the charter boats. We were told about another, larger, hardware store so walked back through town…no luck there either. That put us close to the BaTelCo store so we went there to buy a sim card and some airtime for our local phone.
Then it was off to the biggest grocery store in the Bahamas – Maxwells. It is large and nice…very much like the stores in the States. Mostly we went to see it but did buy some lettuce and fresh fruit.
We found a jeweler down past the marinas that fixed Greg’s glasses where the little screw that holds the arm and lens had come out. She put it all back together with a tiny piece of gold wire at no charge , because she didn’t have any of the tine screws . We were very thankful for her willingness to fix them until we can get to an eyeglass place.
Then it was back to Corner Value to pick up our now full propane bottle and walk back to the dinghy.
I think we saw all of Marsh Harbor in one day by walking from one end to the other and back again!! We got our exercise too!
When we got back to the boat, Greg installed the bypass coupling in the propane line. Now we have to turn it on and off manually at the tank. Not a big deal. Such is cruising!
He quieted the sea with His Power
We left Green Turtle Cay at high tide to get across the entrance bar in Black Sound. With the tide in our favor, we had 10 ft through the shallow spot. We headed through the Whale Cut with calm seas, thankfully! Whale Cut is a short passage outside the protection of the Cays that can be very rough with breaking seas if there is any NE swell running. We came back into the Sea of Abaco via Loggerhead Channel through a deep channel originally dredged for cruise ships, but abandoned in the 90s due to frequent rough seas in the Whale. We sailed toward Marsh Harbour until we came to Great Guana Cay. It was so beautiful we decided to stop in the calm anchorage of Fischers Bay for the night. We put the dinghy in the water and went ashore and walked to the beach on the other side of the island. Of course we had to stop at Grabba’s for conch fritters! It was a beautiful day!!
He quieted the sea with His power
We have had an amazing time on Green Turtle Cay (pro like key). The pictures will show you what life is like here.
Watching a local artist along the street one day.
A park commemerating the Loyalists who settled here.
Phil and Kathy – do you remember these trees? Our Christmas tree on Ponape was the top of a tall one cut off.
A wild horse that roams around the island.
Some island decoration. Since the top speed is about 20 mph, traffic rules are pretty lax.
A Rake and Scrape…live Bahamian music. Kevin played a keyboard and sang.
Yes, the homemade bread is as good as we had heard!!
The Green building on the right is where Donny’s church is moving to starting next week. Volunteers from the congregation were painting and fixing it up.
One of the main streets in New Plymouth
The Wrecking Tree restaurant. Great conch fritters!
The story of the Wreckers
Buying fuel by dinghy.
Transferring fuel into fuel tanks
Dinghy dock at low tide
Low tide
Lots of golf carts on the roads here.
Donny, our wonderful host at Green Turtle Cay, with his prize fishing rod. Yes, Phil, it is electric!
Our view.
He quieted the sea with His power
At times it seemed like we would be stuck in FL for the entire winter. Then all of sudden a window opened up to cross the gulf stream. On Monday, it looked like Tuesday would be a great day.
Prepping the boat for crossing the Gulf Stream.
But Tue, the weather wasn’t matching the forecast, so we listened to the weather guru again and then waited to see if things would calm down during the day. About mid-day, several people that left in the morning came back saying it was too rough. Phew! But then in the early afternoon, the wind died completely. So we waited until about 5 pm to give the waves time to settle down and off we went like a herd of turtles. The herd consisted of about 20 boats that all made the same decision at the same time.
Sunset as we leave Palm Beach and head off shore.
It was strange seeing so many running lights all heading offshore! Turns out waiting was good. There were 3-5 foot waves from various directions making it a bit uncomfortable but not too bad. As the night progressed, everyone spread out due to different boat speeds and different destinations. Some were headed for Lucaya, some for West End and about 4 of us set a course for Great Sale Cay – an uninhabited spot of land in the northern part of Abaco. All of us arrived there about 9 am Wed morning. We spent some time putting back together the couple things that had bounced apart during the night, then napped and tried to recover from the overnighter (did we really used to do that for fun??)
Thurs we got up early and motorsailed from Great Sale to Green Turtle Cay. We are sitting here now near New Plymouth, waiting for the customs office to open in the morning so we can clear in and get our cruising permit. New Plymouth is a town founded by the Loyalists who fled the US after the Revolutionary War.
We were just reflecting on how long, physically and metaphorically, this journey has taken us to get our own boat over to the Bahamas. It’s been a whimsy, then a dream, then a plan for so long that it’s hard to believe that it’s now a reality.
Sunrise Wed. morning heading to Great Sale Cay in the Bahamas.
But if not…
Hello Becca, Eliana, Zach, Noah and Bennett!!
These are some slides we have seen along the way. We always think of you guys when we see something fun like these. Gramps and I talk about how much fun you would have playing on them and how much fun we would have playing with you!!
Which one do you like the best?
We love you,
Nana and Gramps
He quieted the sea with His power
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
Hey everybody….yes, we are still out here. We had a fun Christmas in Vero Beach with a bunch of cruisers then moved on down the waterway. We met up with a classmate of Greg’s at Peck Lake. We picked them up in our dinghy and they had a tour of our boat then we walked the beach before taking them back to their car. It was fun catching up.
Greg’s classmate, Craig and his wife Lisa at Hobe Sound
After Christmas, I flew home to Maryland for a few days to help out with the Grandkids because our daughter got a kidney infection from a kidney stone and was put in the hospital for IV antibiotics.
Hi, sweet Zachary!!
While I was watching /playing with the grandkids Greg took care of the boat where we anchored her in North Lake Worth in West Palm Beach Fl. He used the time to finish up a couple boat projects to get ready to cross over to the Bahamas.
Since I came back we’ve been watching the weather for a “weather window” to cross to the Bahamas.
Breakfast at a French Cafe
This is where we’ve learned that cruisers use the term ‘stuck!’ We prefer wind from the S or W so we can sail. Light and variable is OK because we can motor. But no wind from the north! That’s because a north wind causes big square waves in the Gulf Stream – not fun. So, while waiting, they say they are “stuck” in…(fill in the blank.) Right now we are stuck in North Palm Beach FL.
Learning from others at the dinghy landing.
Being stuck isn’t all bad. Some days the weather isn’t great and we stay on the boat. We read, listen to the weather, work, clean, listen to the weather, fix things that are broken, quilt, cook, listen to the weather, study routes so we are ready when the wind is right and listen to the weather some more.
Getting groceries back to the boat
Other days we head into town. Today we rode our bikes a couple of miles down to John D MacArthur Beach State Park and went through the nature center then walked a mile or so down the beach and back. Then we rode our bikes a couple of miles into town to a Subway for lunch. On the way back to the boat, we stopped at the grocery store for chicken and veggies to cook on the grill for dinner. After all that riding and walking, we came back and swam off the back of the boat for a little while.
Then we sat in the cockpit and read before dinnertime. One of the things we read about was the snow up in Maryland. It sounds like it caused a mess out on the roads!! Some people were probably even “stuck”!!
Well, we’ve learned that being “stuck” isn’t so bad sometimes! We are enjoying FL while we wait for the right weather window to sail over to the Bahamas.
He quieted the sea with His Power
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is 9:6
He quieted the sea with His power
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name “Emmanuel” which means, God with us. Mat 1:23
Some of the ways we have seen Christmas along the waterway….
He quieted the sea with His Power
Well, we’d read about it and wondered about it. Now we know about it. Vero Beach is an amazing cruising stop. For some it’s a place to refuel, rewater and reprovision. For some it’s a destination for the winter. For others, the velcro becomes permanent. In any event, it’s immediately obvious why it’s known as Velcro beach.
We pulled in yesterday and picked up a mooring. The mooring field is just about full, but we found an empty spot. When full, they start rafting boats 2 and 3 to a mooring ball. We dropped off our empty propane bottle this morning by the marina office and picked it up full this afternoon. We met up with a couple of boats that we enjoyed Thanksgiving with in St Mary’s, and we’ve met several new couples. We took advantage of the free bus service into town and partook of the local Asian buffet, apparently a cruisers staple. Tomorrow is the weekly cruisers social at the picnic area. And we’re scouting out churches for this Sunday and Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, the anchorage this evening is glassy, peaceful and absolutely beautiful!
We’re planning on spending a few days here relaxing, getting some chores done, and enjoying Christmas with other cruisers before moving on to Miami to wait for a weather window to cross the gulf stream.
But if not…
