Life on Elbow

 It's been rather quiet of late so we haven't had much to talk about. Kind of sedate, not moving around much at all. Life here at the Hope Town Marina is good with progress on the renovation moving along very well. It's going to be a very special place when it all comes together!
 As a sign of the seasons we've seen quite a bit of boats passing through the mooring field in Hope Town Harbour. Many have returned North from the Exumas through Little Harbour to Hope Town Harbour on their way back to the States. Spring has sprung and Summer is not far away so many are on the move. Well, with the weather and time of year it seems that way to us but up North the Spring storms are certainly a twist of Winter's last thrust of the dagger. Hopefully this will pass quickly.

 Down here the weather has been quite warm and dry. In fact we had to run the air conditioning the other night since it was almost 80 degrees over night. We are used to the temperatures for the most part but there is quite a bit smoke coming across the Sea of Abaco with West winds. Many fires are burning in the brush on the island of Abaco. Westerly winds carry the ash over and across the sea and it has been piling up on the decks of Freedom. With the dew of the morning it runs along the side of the boat pooling up where it forms black sooty spots. Without rain to help extinguish the fires, the ash is not washed off of the decks turning them a pale grey as well as forming the dark spots. I'm not totally anal about cleaning Freedom up all the time, I'm just trying to outline how much ash is in the air over here. Let's face it, water is a commodity to conserve down here and washing a boat on a regular basis might make some enemies.
 While we have some foul smokey air from the fires to contend with it pales in comparison with what the volunteer fire fighters are dealing with. They have been working these fires non stop for several weeks. And they have been working them twenty four hours a day seven days a week! Requests for help to any and all volunteers with any fire fighting experience have been made on VHF 68. Let's also consider they need contributions to pay for all of the diesel that is fueling their efforts. Hopefully we get some serious rain that gives everyone a break by extinguishing the fires. The first photo is not at all representative of the amount of smoke these fires are sending into the sky. It was taken just outside White Sound at the North end of Lubbers Quarters. This second photo was taken prior to the rain we had yesterday and it was shot from Elbow Cay in Hope Town by the public dinghy dock. The outline of clouds is really smoke in this second photo. It doesn't do the situation justice.  So with that let's all hope they get some rain or other luck that helps put these fires out.

 Otherwise, we were fortunate to get out in the dink a few times and chase around some 4-5 foot sharks. I'm not sure what variety these are, but they are distinct in that from above they have a ray like appearance with wide flat fins but they definitely taper into a shark like body. They are not hammer heads because the fins start aft of their eyes from what we can see. I couldn't convince Deb to put the look bucket over the side so we don't have identification of the fish. While we were out in the dink today there were several of them loafing around in the shallows just outside Hope Town at the North end of Elbow cay.
 But yesterday, the wind was out of the North West and strong. The Sea of Abaco was whipped up well. We knew this was coming based on forecast data. At least we had an inkling it was coming. After all how much faith can we put in forecasts these days? But based on the data and the fact that Orchid Bay Marina has no power for boats these days, we elected to hop aboard "Last One" managed by Froggy's in Hope Town. They gave us a great ride to and from Guana Cay so we could get to Nippers and attend the Barefoot Man concert. The ride over was worth the price of the fare alone. I'd say it was blowing about 30 knots and the sea states were about 2-3 feet a second apart. This state makes for a very uncomfortable ride in Freedom that is better left avoided. Once ashore we made our way up to Nippers so we could take in the Barefoot Man Concert.
 I have to admit the folks at Nippers have their act together with regard to this show which is free. That's right, in this day and age there is a no cover charge concert in the Bahamas! Not only does the bar work extremely well but the kitchen some how manages to keep up with a very large crowd. Their seared Tuna and Burgers in Paradise were thoroughly enjoyable and washed down with some cool frozen drinks.  When the BFM is in town it's a fun time to visit Guana Cay because well, it's a time when many adults forget their age and have a good time. Nothing outrageous, just everyone seems to unwind and smile. People dance and sing, and helicopters buzz the bash. Check out this high end helicopter that did a curtsey, flew North a bit, flipped around and then buzzed the bash. Really cool for everyone in attendance. I have to admit this helicopter was quiet as it shot by towards the end of the video, but perhaps it was drowned out by everyone cheering over its appearance.
 And now, we're back at the marina, the sky is clear the stars are out, and Uconn is kickin' butt. Gotta run.


 I've added some photos to the bucket linked below, the tracks are pretty much up to date as well.