Small boat travels

 So with Rich's vacation winding down we figured getting out into a run-about would work well towards the goal of capping his vacation with a good and different experience. The Atlantic has been stirred up quite a bit and a window of calm weather approached that meant we had the opportunity to either move Freedom for a weekend, or rent a boat and travel about the Sea of Abaco. The dink is ok for two when it is flat calm but unacceptable for three even then. It only takes a light breeze to turn a few miles in the dink into a very sour experience. Little Harbour was on the plate, and North Bar Inlet was in between us and Little Harbour. It can get damn ugly there. Souls have been lost trying to enter it, and experienced freighters have run ground there in foul weather. All of this as recently as this past year.
 Regardless, all along we had been hoping to get to Little Harbour and other spots during the vacation. Since the Atlantic and Sea of Abaco were rough, and hearing of the reputation Albury Brothers boats have, I picked up a 20 foot center console from Island Marine on Parrot Cay. http://www.islandmarine.com/ They have a great operation going and they offer several models and sizes to work with every one's budget or preference. I had called every boat rental shop over here within easy access of Hope Town and all of their boats were out! With good weather approaching everyone else had the same idea. But Island had a 20 footer instead of the 23 I hoped for so given it was close to what I was looking for we jumped on it because this was the last boat available in the area. That, and I figured a smaller boat with a low center of gravity and plenty of pep is going to be better than Freedom in the rollers and chop that North Bar can present. Deb and I have been thrown around in Freedom down there and were up for some change given all the circumstances.
 So with what was supposed to be a calm forecast we hopped into the Albury and went over to Man O War from Hope Town to check out Dock and Dine. The ride North was smooth and the boat performed very well. Upon sitting down, we observed that they had just finished seating a table of about 20 people and many others followed us in. In spite of this and very fortunately for us our waitress had mercy (we didn't need to ask) and pushed our order into the kitchen. The large table was full of fussy patrons that had many questions and they were going to chew up all the staff resources. So we had a great lunch, one of the best Mahi burgers I've ever had. No beers, since Man O War is dry but since we were boating it was all for the better.
 And we left the restaurant and proceeded out of Man O War into the Sea of Abaco and met 1 or 2 feet of chop. At this point I decided to see what the boat was made of and pushed the throttle forward. The bow rose up a bit and the chop disappeared in spray to the sides of the boat leaving us dry. Wow, this is a good thing I thought, and the ride stayed that way all the way back to Hope Town except for one point when everyone tried to talk to me. Since I could not hear anything, I slowed, and they got soaked with the change in the boat's attitude. Needless to say they encouraged me on. You know, never mind? Bwa ha ha! Anyway upon entering the channel into Hope Town we were greeted by a float plane banking steeply to pass around the point with the Light House. Yep. It was going to land and it did, right next to us. It was far enough away to be safe yet close enough to be cool. So day one on the Albury went very well.
 Day two was predicted to be the calmest water day we had the boat so we (not really we, but in hind sight everyone agreed it was an ok call) decided to try for Pete's Pub in Little Harbour. The notion was that if North Bar was acting up we could always turn around. Once aboard we set out, and went to Snake Cay which is sort of on the way. The sun was up and the tide was changing making for a possible good experience there and the gamble on the detour paid off. Spotted eagle rays were all over the place and they treated us to several jumps right out in front of our ride. Yet again, we have disturbed Ray. Having determined Ray has had enough of us we moved on towards Little Harbour and our entertainment at North Bar Inlet. Moving around Tilloo Bank and then heading East towards Pelican Cay I had suspicions that things were a bit sloppy at North Bar and when we approached Sandy Cay my thoughts were justified.
 We ran into what some minds will call 4-5 foot seas that were quite closely spaced. It's not like they were 4-5 immediately. As we moved closer to the inlet they grew. This is when I realized the Albury was making life easy for me but only to a point. Everything has a limit. I found the crew's limit after launching off two waves. After the first wave I was able to yank back the throttle in time to keep the engine from over revving when we completely left the water off the second wave.
 Slowing down turned out well and we moved on through this with relative ease finally arriving behind Lynyard Cay where things settled down substantially, leaving us with a smoother ride to Little Harbour. With our goal in sight and relatively calm (yuk!) water we rode on into the Harbour knowing it went much better in the Albury than it could have ever gone with Freedom.
 I settled into diet Coke and the crew enjoyed Pete's Pub's signature drink the Blaster followed by beers. I guess they were anticipating the ride back North to Hope Town. But we forgot about that for the time being (their task at forgetting having been booze enhanced) and enjoyed walking around in the foundry there, as well as checking out the light house and light that are no longer functional. The light house was blown away many years ago, but the modern light was knocked out by Irene. Once back from the light we stopped in for a quick visit with friends and then made our way back to the boat.
 Once outside the harbour we learned that the water calmed down significantly so we stopped in at Lynyard for a bit of beach combing and then pressed on to Sandy Cay hoping to pick up a mooring ball for a few minutes. Once there, we learned North Bar was not going to be as cooperative as the Little Harbour inlet so I gave up on the mooring and we shot North to Hope Town and the relaxing view offered up by Firefly on Elbow Cay. It wasn't long before we capped this day off on Freedom! Looking back on the day and others with the Albury I'd say the mission was accomplished and we had a great time using the run about instead of Freedom. But the excitement wasn't over.
 We took Rich over to Marsh Harbour the day before his flight left and spent the night at the Harbour View Marina. This is (as well as all of the others around here) a good stop in town that offers access to restaurant row as well as shopping and other services. After a great dinner out at the Conch Inn we conched out on Freedom. Somewhere around midnight I woke up because Freedom was bouncing up and down like she was doing 15 knots in rough water.

 A super cell had formed and moved just North of us. We were fortunate to be tied up at the dock as some folks on the hook learned the hard way that Mother Nature can be quite the adversary. In fact at least two boats only yards away from us lost their enclosures and one over in Hope Town was blown ashore into the rocks. Supporting the notion it was windy one station recorded winds in excess of 70 miles per hour.
 It's all part of It's Da Bahamas Mon....

   

A little excitement to mix things up

 The last month we whiled away time at the Sea Spray Resort and Marina and then returned up to the Hope Town Inn and Marina which continues to move forward in its development. Along the way these past weeks we attended a Hope Town Fire and Rescue Fair, did some shelling, endured a stretch of high winds, and went to pick up Rich in Marsh Harbour so he could vacation away from the misery of Winter up North.
 BASRA or Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association and the Hope Town Fire and Rescue teams are volunteer organizations that provide medical assistance, fight fires, and assist stranded mariners. Considering the area these two teams provide assistance for, it's no surprise they are spread thin. Even on Great Abaco, the island is protected solely by volunteers. A quick look at this link http://www.basra.org/fleet.html will illustrate how little BASRA has to work with, and looking here http://www.hopetownfirerescue.com/apparatus.htm points out what is available to assist those on Elbow Cay. Certainly BASRA has full plate. So when they have fairs to generate some cash we attend and purchase a few things to help out. They do a great job of helping people out and making the Abacos a safer environment.
 The United States Coast Guard is also a valuable player over here and we see them once in a while. The cutters are present in the Gulf Stream when we cross and their helicopters are seen on patrol along the East Side of the Cays every once in a while. In fact one of their planes performed a number of low passes over Hope Town while the Hope Town Fair was active. They are always a welcome sight whether or not we are traveling as we occasionally hear of someone in distress.
 As usual during the Winter here in Abaco, we get high winds that can last quite a while and this year was no exception. On a few occasions it blew at levels near gale force for a day or so. Here in this photo we see the road linking the North and South communities on Elbow Cay. This portion of the road was severely damaged when hurricane Irene scored a direct hit on Elbow Cay but it is passable now since sand has been pushed back up into place from the Atlantic side beach to support it again. It has been reduced to a single lane but it is passable and everyone cooperates. The stone blocks are new this year and provide a certain amount of safety to the vehicles that make their way towards the Abaco Inn, Sea Spray, and the communities South of White Sound which would be on the left. Since the sand was pushed up to the road and vegetation has not had a chance to take root, the dune is starting to take over the road. It's not all bad though because the sand is filling the pot holes that can rip an axle out of a small truck or bend the frame of a golf cart. But it beats rolling down the dune to the right which is about 20 feet high and a steep angle of about 30 degrees. Walking South to Sea Spray or the Abaco Inn on the beach is certainly possible and quite pleasant but during periods of high winds, one pass on the beach is all you need for a year's worth of facial exfoliation. These tans are expensive and we don't want them blown off in an hour.
 Back on the 9th of March we moved Freedom over to Mangoes marina and restaurant in Marsh Harbour. The dock master Ray was really busy because as we were approaching half of the boats at the marina decided to leave and he was making sure it all went well. Finally he got us into a slip and tied up with power and water. In fact he hopped on and grabbed a couple of lines to make sure we did not mash our freshly painted bow pulpit into the main dock. Since we were in Marsh before Rich arrived it gave us a chance to rent a car and perform some shopping. Note, I had not driven in several months then, and, they drive on the correct side of the road here. Suffice it to say Deb had some practice with the word "LEFT!". Fortunately it went well. All of the shopping and the trip to the airport went very smoothly if only for me. In the evening we settled into a great dinner at Mangoes followed by a beverage on the aft deck and a nights rest.
 It's a good thing we rested well.
 The trip back to Hope Town Harbour was calm which allowed me to open up Freedom in an attempt to shake off some of the beard growing below the water line. Since she sits around quite a bit the growth starts within a few days of docking and builds quickly. In full bloom can take 10 knots off the 21 she is capable of. That day all we could muster was 16.4 after a good stretch at full throttle. Anyway given the increased pace before we knew it we were idling along within the narrow channel into Hope Town Harbour when it happened. A boat issued a security call saying it was 30 feet wide and coming into the channel from the Harbour. I replied we are in the channel, being followed by the ferry and we have no where to go. He responds don't block the channel. At this point that is an impossibility but we have no option other than to stop and move as close to the channel edge on our starboard as we can. Fortunately the ferry stops as well, and then, here comes this spindly trimaran with an outboard out of a blind corner. We hailed him again demanding him to move to starboard and he just missed us. In passing he and his crew exclaimed they could not steer. Since he missed us I am thinking he is not capable or willing to spend the effort required to steer but that is my opinion. Subsequently we heard he has a bad habit of pulling stunts like this. At the time and as part of our passing I offered him some direction and related a bit of judgement many were able to hear. Hollering security on the radio does not grant you passage in a narrow channel. That is a negotiated process and failing negotiation, which he had the burden of accomplishing, all vessels are required to take all possible actions to avoid an accident. All this because he couldn't wait a half a minute. Once tied up at the marina we were approached by a few folks that heard the passing situation develop on the radio and they offered their condolences and support regarding the encounter.
 Anyway it's all good no one was injured, and no damage was done. Since we were keeping a sharp lookout in a busy narrow channel it went as smoothly as it could given the pushy uncontrolled attitude of the trimaran operator. Being tied up and safe we began to consider our options for lunch.
 This is when the saturation effect started. Rich and I stepped on a scale upon his arrival aboard Freedom back on the 9th. Given this is a vacation scenario we anticipated some weight gain and decided to make a contest of it. Exactly which way the contest turns out is yet to be decided. That is, do we race for the most or least gain?
 In preparation of his arrival and even before we left Florida we stocked up on good booze, mixers, and beer. Now it's only one week in, and it's all gone. Something tells me I'm going to lose the bet on weight given diets that include deep fried pickles, wings, conch fritters and crab dip. As if that wasn't enough to push the needle on the scale over, we took Freedom to Guana Cay for a weekend.
 The Barefoot Man was in town and we decided to break up the monotony by hitting Nippers during one of their busy weekends. Friday afternoon the Barefoot Man and his band put on a show that pulled in people from all over the Abacos. It was a zoo. Image about 1000 mature people singing the refrain to Smokie's "Living Next Door to Alice". We stayed long enough for three frozen Nippers and moved on to Grabbers for a snack. The music was good, so was a walk on the beach, but we needed some space and moved on. We were re-introduced to the policy at Grabbers where they hold your credit card while you sit there. We told them we would never be back. More over, the menu there has been reduced to a very few fried items which were good, but did not seem satisfying. Perhaps we are a bit spoiled by the good lunch work being done at Firefly. By the way, some of the Grabber staff were at Firefly the Monday after the Barefoot Man weekend! I guess that says quite a bit given they have to ride about 12 miles in a boat to get there.
 The next day we are back at the marina with an uneventful crossing from Guana Cay back to Elbow and getting into the dink. We're interested in lunch over on Elbow Cay so we are going to dink across the harbour, land, and then take a walk to On Da Beach. Before getting far at all we hear some strange noises coming from the boat next to us. She is a well outfitted Flemming and this raises concern. After all, the boat is well designed and manufactured thus the brand is held as a highly regarded passage maker. We ignored the noise initially thinking it was the air conditioning but as we motored around it's starboard side we saw water going over the side from a discharge we had never seen active before. I decided lunch was going to have to wait and went back to the transom and hopped aboard. Since the owner, a good man, had shown me where the keys were prior to flying out, I opened her up and it wasn't long before I found the issue.
 It was merely a HIGH WATER ALARM.
 Swell.
 No, not waves (swells) in the bilge, just an exclamation of how I felt at this point being on a strange boat in that was in distress. I called the marina crew on the phone several times and only got phone mail. So lunch was going to have to wait even longer while I tried to resolve an issue on an expensive boat I did not own and didn't know anything about. Eventually I was able to sort things out and get the boat stable. After a few more calls on the phone I managed to reach someone and pass the baton associated with making sure the boat stayed afloat.
 And finally things are settling down a bit. But we need to restock the cabinet and it's expensive out here. Back to box wine and mixed drinks with cheap rum! We have to keep Rich happy and ignorant of the notion that the weather is unusually warm in NYS this Winter.