Parting Shots

 With a bit of a heavy heart we left Hope Town today. It was a rather sudden decision to leave this morning but it all worked out well. Sadly we did not get to say good by to everyone we should have but I am sure they will understand. Normally people will announce their arrival or departure during the morning "Cruiser's Net" on VHF 68. By the way one can listen to this b'cast on the Internet thanks to Outer Island Internet. At Outer Island Internet one can click on the audio services link and follow the next links to hear what is going on. The "net" and the volunteers that make it happen do an excellent job of keeping the inhabitants of the outer islands informed with weather, community and commercial activities.
 Our decision to leave was almost cast, but not until after coffee, breakfast and the net did we decide it was time to go. The largest contributor to the decision was the weather and sea conditions going around Whale Cay. Ultimately our goal today was only about 25 nautical miles away but the path included a stretch in the Atlantic as well as traversing Whale Cay channel. We had several serious storms move through the area including one last night so there was a certain amount of apprehension associated with the path. After all wave height predictions for the Atlantic were high. But -
 The storm wind was out of the South. That, in my humble opinion would knock down any prevailing swell out of the North East and we always have swell from that direction. Subsequently in the morning the wind was due to be out of the West. That would line up well with an out going tide when we arrived at Whale Channel. Given these assumptions, we shoved off and reviewed the openings to the Atlantic at Hope Town, South Man O War, and North Man O War channels as we passed them by along our way to Green Turtle Cay. To our surprise all of the openings to the Atlantic were all relatively calm. Less than 2 feet and very little breaking on the reefs. So we skipped over Guana Cay and Nippers. After all., there are only soooo mannnyyy frozen nippers one can consume in a Winter and we had our fill. We proceeded into Loggerhead Channel after passing Bakers Bay with high hopes of a smooth passage to Green Turtle Cay.
 In reality, it went very well. The seas were out of the NNW and about 4 feet with one or two feet of chop on top. While relatively closely spaced, by putting the throttles forward to the tune of 10 knots the bow lifted up and Freedom punched into it like it was business as usual. Afterwards we did (however) find a few items had shifted in the cabinets when they were opened later on. Spice jars, utensils, all sorts of things unloaded when the doors were opened. Anyway the only uncomfortable portion of the ride occurred when we had to turn to the West to cross over the reef and head into Whale Channel. That put the seas on the beam and we rolled a bit but it didn't last long. In a short while we were back on the Sea of Abaco inside the reef in docile water.
 Cool. We have arrived at the Leeward Yacht Club in Black Sound. For a  26 year old boat Freedom ran well and brought us to the next stop handily. While this marks the start of the trip back to the United States its all good.
 Closing out the season on Elbow Cay, the Hope Town Inn and Marina is coming together. They have opened up the pool, restaurant and bar as well as several rooms and the new docks. In support of that notion we had lunch pool side at HTM and it was quite good. Since they have brought in an award winning chef the food offered is well prepared. Daily specials are interesting and reasonably priced. While the above photo is at Leeward, and they have a great facility there, the HTM facility (at right) is expansive and filling a void the boating community has had in Hope Town for many years. Once all of the dock power comes online and the rooms are completed this is going to be a terrific stop in the Outer Islands of the Abacos.
 Hopefully we get to enjoy all of this again next Fall. We're sad to leave but it's time to go. 

Spring has definitely Sprung

 Here it is the end of April which ends yet another month, our forth month this year in the Bahamas. Once we arrived over here, things have gone well enough and in spite of our lack of movement we have had a good time and look forward to more. Along with the end of April we have Deb's birthday on which she reached the milestone of 31 yet again. But coincident with this time of year many of the folks we know move back to the States. But it's not all bad, and new folks come into the Harbour all the time to hang out with us stay outs.

 In the last entry I mentioned that I had the opportunity to get up into the Hope Town Lighthouse in the early evening as Sam's guest so I could watch the ignition of the light. Sam shares the duty of maintaining the light as well as helping out as dock master here at the Hope Town Inn and Marina. Having missed one opportunity due to a long lasting party, on this second opportunity I made my way up the lighthouse stairs and waited for Sam. On queue he shows up and proceeds to unlock the upper deck of the light that contains the lamp and other gear. Little did we know what we were getting into as 4 of us clambered up the narrow stairs into the rotating lens and lamp deck. I'll guess it has an internal diameter of 10 feet of which space has to be left so as to stay away from the lens. There was just enough room for the five of us up there when Sam ignited the lamp.
 Let's say I'm lucky to still have eyebrows. While that is a bit of an exaggeration, consider what it would be like to sit inside a Coleman lantern OK? While that comparison sounds out of place, the light is basically illuminated by a very large mantle fueled by kerosene instead of white gas. This photo is representative of the lamp in the early stages of lighting but well after the initial WHHOOOMMMMMP. Fire shoots out all over the place and after some adjusting the flame settles down and brightens. After watching Sam work the lamp to get more out of it we all worked our way down the ladder feeling lucky to have hair on our heads yet grateful to know people like Sam are still out there keeping a light lit. We all put a donation into the box at the bottom of the stairs at the ground level. It's great to see history like this in action.
 One of the social events here in Hope Town is the full moon drift. As you might be able to figure out, it normally happens on an evening coincident with a full moon. Normally someone will make an announcement on VHF 68 during the morning cruiser's net broadcast indicating the drift will occur and where it will start. This particular drift was well attended and given my invitation to go up into the light we had to sit this edition out. In spite of not participating as fate would have it the winds carried them past our transom where we were the butt of many remarks about not drifting. It was all good and hopefully we have the opportunity next year when the weather cooperates and the crew is willing!
 I should have taken some pictures of the fishing I was able to get done. Since the weather laid down I chartered with Local Boy, Hope Town Fishing and I am happy to say Justin and Peter did a terrific job of finding some fish and keeping the trip interesting. It was only a half day charter but we managed to land 5 Wahoo and a Mahi. Upon pulling into the dock Justin and Peter filleted the fish and wrapped it up providing some excellent pointers on storage and preparation. For example, did you know that fish will discolor if you wash it in fresh water and freeze it? Interesting and we noticed that our Mahi looked better when thawed versus some of the fish we've bought in NYS.
 This was not the only fishing adventure I was fortunate to experience as a new friend invited us out on his Hatteras Sporty for a day of fishing. This trip turned out to be a bit slower with regard to the catch, but we still managed to pull in a couple of Mahi, one being a very good size. We probably would have done better but a couple of rookie mistakes kept us out of the school of fish we located. First, we backed over the fishing lines while I was pulling in the first Mahi, and second I snagged up some lines in a teaser. Both resulted in stalling the troll to the point we lost sight of the fish. The pole in this photo is bent because the line is thoroughly wrapped up in both props. I was especially happy I had no mask, snorkel and fins with me since I would have been diving the boat well off shore in several thousand feet with seas of 3-4' rolling the boat around. Think about being under a boat when the waves drop it on you. It can get very ugly in a hurry and fortunately that was not the case this day.
 So it goes. I started to type this back at the end of April, and here it is May 10th already! May is going by too quickly and we have pretty much attributed this to the notion that at the end of May we start moving back to the States. With any luck Lake Okeechobee will not drain off too much more and we can still make it across to the West coast of Florida. But if the lake level does drop traveling through the Florida Keys won't be so bad.
 By the way, it's images like this that make me feel ok with being a power boater. Bob our neighbor getting it done at the top of the mast...