Pete's Pub the hard way

We finished our time at Sea Spray and left on a relatively windy day (24 mph sustained) for Little Harbour. The notion was the Southwest wind would knock down the ocean since the ocean would be in the lee of the Abaco bank thus not contributing to a rough ride.

We turned South out of Sea Spray and located the path others had provided. Since we confirmed it and the depths on charts we were confident that things would go well. We left a churn trail half way down Lubbers and out beyond the end of the cay. I think I saw a plane wing waving at us... Not sure what he was thinking but I'll wager the pilot was laughing. Once beyond Lubber's we think we saw a couple of Manta rays shoot under the bow. They had to be 6 to 7 feet across.

The Sea of Abaco was good and choppy once south of Lubbers Cay at two feet. This would be the easy part. When we rounded Tilloo Bar heading for North Bar things got ugly. Our departure from Sea Spray timed our arrival at Little Harbour so as to coincide with a rising tide. This is because the entrance to Little harbour is shallow at 3.5 feet. We thought we had it figured out.

Looking at a charts a more learned person than either of us at that point might conclude that the South West wind would conspire with the Sea of Abaco incoming tidal flow to make for some lumps. It did. We found ourselves in 4-6 seas near breaking heading towards the inlet at the South end of Tilloo. This built a little more as we approached the midway point to the tip of Tilloo.

Once we were well clear of Channel Cay we started our turn South and then found ourselves in the washing machine on wash cycle. We had breakers off to our stbd and nice big rollers off the port. Dan was busy holding onto the boat since we were now in a quarter following sea but now we also had the bonus round of reflections off of Channel Cay. It's not much fun when you approach near weightlessness in Freedom. Soldiering on in this slop we eventually got into a 4 to 6 beam sea which was not the least bit pleasant but it was more manageable. This ride continued until Lynyard Cay where we got a break for a while.

South of Lynyard the washing machine spin cycle started up. The South side of the entrance is a rock wall that would love to munch on fiberglass and it was a foaming cauldron of water. Fortunately this abated as we neared the shallow spot at the entrance to the harbour and while we sweat it out the depth sounder indicated we were fine.

After all this, we eventually found a mooring ball and after picking up a private mooring by accident and dropping it, we found one on the North East side of the harbour and settled in. Freedom had a good thick crust of salt. So much so that walking along the deck up front deposited enough on our feet to leave foot prints on the aft deck carpet.

And then we proceeded to drink.

Once relaxed enough I dropped the dink and headed to the pub to get acquainted and double check the mooring being sufficient for us. It was a short walk to the Pub but there were some localized gravity anomalies affecting my stride. Tricky those areas are. Once business (if you could call it that) was settled, I went back to the boat and then,

proceeded to drink more.

We grilled up some Mahi we bought from Crackerjack in Hopetown and it was terrific. We have not been able to use the grill at the dock at Sea Spray due to their regulations so this was welcome. The next day several boats from Boat Harbour showed up and Dan was busy helping them in since the moorings they were working were without pennants. We had met these folks so it was more than enough to justify helping out. Once they were settled we walked around a bit visiting the lighthouse remnants and the beaches of the Atlantic side.

Surfers were out enjoying the rides provided by good waves. They also had a smooth beach here instead of the rock wall they were going to by the Abaco Inn.

Going back to the boat at night we came upon the glowing squids. Luminescent green bodies anywhere from a foot to three feet were moving slowly through the water. I was able to get the dink within a couple of feet of them but every time I did the lights went out. Fun none the less. People on shore were probably now wondering if I was directionally challenged as opposed to being affected by gravity. Back on the boat we turned on the transom lights only to see some small bait fish but we enjoyed grilling again.

The ride back to Marsh was uneventful if a bit early due to a misinterpretation of the weather but we'll take it. We should have stayed another day but we could not hear the cruiser net bcast and had to rely on second hand information. The sad part is we heard it clear as a bell the day before. We'll be here at Harbourview for a week and then head up to Treasure Cay where we intend to stay for the month of March. From there we work our way back up the bank, and across to Fla..

The current plan has us going across Fla. on the canal and looking for a house. We'll see how it unfolds. And I am now the owner of my very own "Rehab is for quitters" Tee which I may proudly display at Nippers for the barefoot man concert coming on Mar. 6th I believe. Possibly we will be at Orchid for that weekend. I may blow them off due to ridiculous dock rates and take the ferry instead.

This photo is of the entrance to Little Harbour on a calm day. We are looking west and the harbour is to the left. The channel in marked with some scratchy old ball fenders is about 15 yards wide.