Merry Christmas from Hope Town, Elbow Cay

  Here we are on Christmas hoping everyone back home is warm and enjoying a great feast of Prime Rib or Turkey. Here is a view of the harbour at Hope Town from the lighthouse. It's something like one of a few kerosene fired hand wound  lighthouses still in existance. It's really a treat to be able to walk up to the top of the light and then around the balcony at the top. Mind you when the wind is blowing you won't feel all that secure because the fence around the platform is only a couple of feet high. But if you like you can walk all of the way around the light. It must be quite a sight at night now because many of the sailboats have Christmas lights strung down along the stays.

 Sitting down there somewhere you will see Freedom tied up against a dock near the construction zone. Fortunately for us the construction has shut down for the holidays and it is not the least bit noisy. In spite of the strong wind blowing through the harbour it's quite pleasant here with some really great dock mates to share time with.  I guess that the construction will start up again but hopefully it holds through the New Years Eve celebration. About the only exceptional sounds we have right now are the sounds of wind moving through the sailboat stays and the screach of a parrot in the distance. Someone must have a pet parrot around here somewhere because it really is quite vocal. But anyway they are hoping to have fireworks here in the harbour at midnight New Years Eve so perhaps we will have a treat during the celebration.

Hope Town on Elbow Cay

 Today we moved Freedom over to Hopetown for the holidays. The crossing to Hope Town went very well even though we were heading into about 30 knots of wind. Because the wind was out of the East the water did not have sufficient fetch to roil up beyond a foot or two of chop. The Man Of War inlets allowed some swell through but all in all it went very well.
 We intend to stay here through New Years Eve and take in some of the festivities here. It's a great little harbour with plenty of folks we've met last year which makes it all that much better. We've also run into boaters that have seen us on the ICW or elsewhere but not had the chance to meet face to face. So life is good here with plenty of interest.
 Hope Town itself is an unusual place to walk around in. For me, it makes me feel like I'm in a Dr. Suess sort of place not unlike Whoville. The houses are small and almost on top of each other with narrow passages and roads between. All of them are brightly colored which makes the town that much more interesting to the eye. If I was shorter I would certainly fit in better.
 This morning the Crusier Net on channel 68 announced that Down Deep would have fresh fish at the dock today so after we tied up I launched the dink and set it up for the trip across the harbour. This is not a big deal since it's a very small harbour. Once on the town dock I realised that the town has decided to build a pavillion on the end of the dock to protect the folks waiting for the ferry or the Down Deep fish market. Cudos to the island for making this happen it's a welcome addition.
 Once back aboard after shopping Freedom got a long over due wash down. She had a very thick salt crust from all of the Sea of Abaco crossings that exposed us to weather.
 Once the engine room cools down I can start in on the repairs to various items of interest like the water maker. On an aside, folks nearby have a Spectra unit installed they claim produces water at 100 ppm of total dissolved solids. Given others claim to be able to hit 200 with Filmtec I'm interested to see what we wind up with. There are many testers over here since everyone is concerned with the quality of water they get.
 Since I went to the additional expense of locating and getting more hoses I think I can get an accurate measurement of the flow coming out of the regulator without over heating the boost pump. I'll probably perform one more test prior to ripping things up. PITA.

 Garmin data has been updated.

 PS Lani and Mads we're keeping your slip warm.

As they say at Nippers Time Flies

 While you're having rum. With that Rich is gone and we are back at Orchid Bay. After some clean up and dealing with parts coming via Fedex we went to Nippers and looked over the ocean. It was a bit rough, certainly beyond what we'd want to experience. But the view was good and so were the frozen nippers so we each and one and split another.
 Afterwards it was back to the boat where we did some cleaning and thought about where we'd be next and for how long. After January expires our plan is wide open so who knows where we wind up. Given Village Marine got the new membranes for our water maker delivered today some of the itinerary depends on the quality of water we get. If it's good we have no excuses and will try to push further South. How that all happens we don't know because the Atlantic is about as fickle as anything gets. But we could circumvent part of this by back tracking and doing the canal. Once in Lucaya we could head South in the lee of the Bahamas until we hit the Berry's and then on to Nassau. Having seen the likes of Little Harbour inlet with a gale blowing we question whether or not we want to pursue the Eastern path to Eluthera or the Western Path.
 Time will tell.

Over to Marsh Harbour

 Rich's time with us is coming to and end so we moved the boat over to Marsh Harbour so we could drop him off at the airport. We have gale force winds predicted today so we hustled out of Orchid bay as early as we could yesterday. The winds were supposed to pick up in the afternoon but as soon as we got out of the Sea of Abaco we found ourselves in 40 knots of wind with building seas. Fortunately the Sea of Abaco is shallow so it never gets to serious out there even in 40 knots.  But we did get an unpleasant surprise in that the depth sounder was going off occassionally, and it was set to alarm us at 3 feet of water. So the threat of bottom bouncing was real and it was a concern! But we made it across fine even though the ride was extremely WET. We had to travel almost directly into the wind and waves so we slammed a bit. I have to admit Freedom is a solid boat and never quivered like others I have been on.

 This is an example of the spray we had coming over the bridge on a regular basis. On several occassions we had water sheeting down the enclosure making it difficult to see where the next wave was.  Today the gale force winds have cranked up and we are being pounded into the dock.

Yet another great day in the dink

 Today we were fortunate to have the Atlantic lay down to the point I did not have to pump Deb or Rich up with frozen Nippers to get them out on it. We first went South around Guana and found ourselves on the Atlantic in calm seas that were rolling to the tune of about 6 inches. The sun was coming up strong at 10:30 but we were low on fuel and had to return after spending perhaps 15 minutes over the Southern reef areas.
 But once back at Orchid bay and fueled up I figured we might still be lucky and get out on the Atlantic at the North end of Guana.
 Fortunately this turned out to be the case and we were outside on the Atlantic in the dink over the reef for what seemed like an hour. Several other dinks were out there as well so it seems the water was calm enough for everyone today.

 Rich's camera is good to 60 feet so with view bucket in hand we looked for some good shots and found them. 

 It's tough to imagine just how good it looks on the North end of Guana but after a couple of visits out here one can easily understand why some folks would be questioning the logic behind fertilizing a golf course near by. The amount of reef area this close to shore is limited and if they start to lay down tons of fertilizer looking for green grass it's sure to run off into this fragile environment.

 These photos don't do the scenery justice. Even though I was relagated to the chore of driving the water was very clear and I could see just about everything that could be seen with the view bucket. Especially when the water was extremely shallow. Since we were in the dink I was able to set the motor up high for shallow water. That enabled us to skim over areas that were only a couple of feet deep, while not disturbing any of the coral.

 If you look over the GPS data it's going to become obvious that we've covered most of what there is to see around Guana Cay. And that's a good thing because the weather is supposed to sour Friday with Gale force winds on Saturday. We'll be in Marsh Harbour then sending Rich back to the states.

And we're back.

 Sorry we did not have an update in a while we've been busy. You know how it is being retired. Anyway Deb's brother Rich is here now and has another week left before he returns North to the snow and freezing rain that everyone lives for.
 Previously I spoke of sharks and how they show up now and again. If you click on this photo and zoom in a bit  you will find a black tipped reef shark swimming in the water. It's just above and to the right of the man walking in the water. We figure the water was maybe a foot and a half deep where it was swimming. Deb was walking in the water and came out when she saw people approaching us, little did she know.
 The funny part of this is that this photo was taken a very short distance from Nipper's Bar and Grill where people swim all the time.

 After this day we took Freedom down to the Sea Spray Resort and Marina for a few nights so Rich could see Elbow Cay. We had one day where the weather cooperated and allowed us to dink up to Hope Town for lunch. In this photo you'll see a statue that someone set out on a point into the sea of Abaco their property has. It looks like a young girl with sneakers and a skirt doing flips or something. It's quite detailed and the closer you get the better it looks. It can be found running in the dink up to Hope Town from White Sound on the West shore of Elbow Cay. It's worth a close pass to get a good look.

 Since it was cloudy the second day we elected to walk from White Sound up to Hope Town where we had lunch out again and got a ride back with Junior in his truck. Rich and I had to stand in the back holding onto the cage which made for an interesting ride. All one has to do is get distracted and you may find yourself getting slapped with a palm frond at 40 mph.

 After three nights in White Sound our ride back to Orchid Bay was uneventful except for some chop but since it was following us the ride was fine. Perhaps there was a bit of a roll due to the swell coming through the inlets we passed along the way back but it was nothing bad at all.
 Yesterday we went up to Nipper's where we ran into several folks we met last year. There is a kind member of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club who brings people over to Guana Cay from Marsh Harbour for the weekly pig roast. It was great to meet the folks again and share our passage stories with them and hear theirs. It seems there is always a good story to be heard. I know some of them were interested to see the photo of the shark we took a few days earlier. By the way we joined the yacht club. This leaves us the option to stay at Boat Harbour next year if we choose to.

 I've updated the Garmin tracks, and we'll work on some photos to share later in the day when the dink ride is complete. It's supposed to be calm today so we may try to go out on the Atlantic at the North end of Guana to visit the reef.

 And yes, our buddy the Green Heron found us as soon as we returned to Orchid Bay. There's dinner to be had when the transom lights are lit.

A Bonus Day in the Dink

 Before I get started on what today was like, I'll point out that on the left here, we have a nurse shark that is about 3 feet long swimming along the shoreline.
 So when we say we see sharks, we are not messin' with you. We really see them. This time we were a bit less awe struck since we were looking for fish and found them. When we saw the Bull sharks swimming under the boat at night, we were caught up in the moment knowing that night time is feeding time and we were wondering how many snapper they would catch under our boat.
 Next time we'll be more alert.

 Today we had east wind that was very calm. That being the case we took the Avon for a ride to the Southern tip of Guana, peeked out at the Atlantic, and turned around. There was a bit of a swell and while it looked calm enough we opted to stay inside. That being the case we worked our way back North and then went over to Fish Cays. In the middle of the Sea of Abaco. On the way over we saw two golf carts on the bottom that were now part of an artificial reef. Personally I think a gang of folks had a good time at Nippers and had a bad drive home.
 Anyway,
 It was a great ride over and when we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see some coral and plenty of fish swimming around. Maybe that had something to do with the name. Once done with Fish Cays we returned back to Guana and went over to Grabbers for lunch. Along with lunch we had a couple of frozen Grabbers to wash down the food. You know what Captain Ron says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmcsr0wt4wk

 And then took off in the dink again. We went back South since Deb wanted to see the coral off one of the houses again. What she did not know, was what I had in store for her. Yup. We went back out to the Atlantic and all the way around Guana Cay (see the GPS data).
 The North end of Guana Cay has some really terrific snorkeling that we will have to try out. There was coral everywhere and the water was flat. It was also crystal clear so that while driving I could see everything Deb did even though she had the advantage of a view bucket.
 Upon returning to the Sea of Abaco at the North end of Guana Deb said "you know if it wasn't for those two Grabbers I would have never let you do that". Meaning, go out in the Atlantic and around the island.
 I said, I know.
 And with that we continued on back to the marina.
 Here's Nippers from the Ocean