Road Trip!

 There are several of us sitting at West End Grand Bahama waiting for good weather to cross the Gulf Stream to Florida. Every now and again it looks good, like perhaps this last Friday. We all woke up early and looked over the weather with our VHF radios on. The stream looked fine, the wind looked good as well. But the radar for the Southern crossing from Miami to Bimini was all lit up, and it looked like it was moving North. Once reviewing that it wasn't long before we all shut off the radios and went back to bed. No one wanted to chance an encounter with severe thunderstorms in the open water.
 Later on we all realized we should have gone because it all stayed East of our lines of travel but as they say hind sight is a clear view of your own butt in public. It's also 20-20. With emotions running low and energy levels faltering due to poor sleep habits caused by the stress of the crossing, it was decided.
 ROAD TRIP!
 Me, being the easily swayed gullible fool (yet subsequently knighted) volunteered to rent a van and cart as many as could fit into it to Lucaya. I was only interested in going to Lucaya and that is the way I presented it to the folks sitting around the table at happy hour. Everyone agreed that was a good idea and that splitting the cost of travel was appropriate. So the next morning I rented the ride.
 We worked with Eric who is recommended by Old Bamaha Bay and he delivered us a van in great condition. It all worked, the A.C. was strong, the tires good and it was ready to roll. So we all piled in. I had five brave souls in my hands that were totally unaware of what I had done as a teenager in cars. They did however know an idiot drove his boat over us on Great South Bay N.Y., so apparently they had thick skin, were forgiving, or, had several transgressions in the automotive field that were on par or surpassed my antics dulling their senses.
 Anyway, we had about 9/16 of a tank of gasoline in the van when we pulled out. I had my cell phone and Glenn had his Ipad. What could go wrong? Pulling into Lucaya we stopped at the Market where all tourists of Grand Bahama pay homage. We walked around looking at the wares and past the conch fritter stand that Judy wanted to engage. Having sampled these in the past I discouraged the purchase and we went straight to the important matter of locating cheap booze. Having located this on the marina side of the Market, we loaded up and wound our way back to the van passing all sorts of T-shirt and craft type stores. Along the way it was decided that we were going to proceed past the Market for lunch to Bahama John's which is supposedly located nearby near the Bahamas National Trust Park which was just after the bridge over the canal. Deb had read reviews and found all were positive so it looked like a good mark. Foot on the pedal, hands on the wheel having loaded up the field trip I went off not remembering where we were or any of the driving I had done in weeks past down here. But with Deb's guidance we found ourselves (note I am sharing blame now) headed East out of Lucaya on our way to the lightly populated outback area of Grand Bahama.
 We paused while on the bridge over the Grand Lucayan Canal which has a vertical clearance for boats of 26 feet and looked over the turquoise water in both directions. Deb and I reflected on time we drove freedom through a brush fire for a bit and we moved on telling folks with us about how a little more down the road we wondered if we were going to be able to return because we had to drive the car past a brush fire near the road. I think it was at this point the outback environment, less than a 1/2 tank of fuel and our stories all combined in Stu's head because he asked, "So are you going to take us out here, dump us and take our money? Because all I have is 70 bucks and you can have it if you let me out now". Ok, I wore through that thick skin I assumed they all had. Not really. It was said in jest. I'm absolutely sure of it. I think. Anyway we were all laughing and it wasn't long before we were upon the park maintained by the Bahamas National Trust. I asked if we should stop and Deb suggested that the rib shack was close so we continued on. Deb said it was only a couple or three miles more. Stu is looking over my shoulder at the gas regularly now, I am giving Deb the evil eye because I did not want a long drive, the restaurant was new to us and everyone is wondering why they committed to sharing the expense of the van.

 I have to admit the years with me have prepared Deb for this experience well. Many remarks with regard to our predicament were articulated in a random fire, no, gatlen gun fashion. The quips started and they were relentless. I was no help because I was worried that I had led all of these people into this deal and had (ok only an ounce) concern for how it would work out for them. In reflection though what else were they going to do but sit on the boat (thanks for the absolution Glenn!). A sample of the remarks were all based on how long it took to get there and then find it closed for various reasons that included profiling, day of the week, how the owner felt, and the ability to find product out here.
 But we pressed on passing gas stations, an occasional establishment offering cold beverages, and miles of landscape that was not the least bit habitable or friendly to a 6 pack of people heading into no where. In fact I asked Glen who had the Ipad, "so Glen you hooked up"? "Yeah". "So where we going?" He said, "It looks like we are going into nowhere".
 With the Gatlen gun aimed at Deb and I since the gas was running lower and we passed gas stations, we slowed down a bit we arrived in High Rock where I saw a police station and BTC office. I pulled in and both were shut. Across the street was a clinic with a car in the lot so I walked in as another parked. Even though someone in that car was most likely infected with a highly contagious form of flesh eating bacteria I went into the empty clinic and knocked on the window. A young boy comes out and says wait. I indicate ok and the "flesh eaten" victims walk in. I look them over helplessly and consider they may be ok and ask if they know where Bahama John's is and she says oh, that place? It's out in Pelican Point, you cannot miss it. She was certain and confident. A good Bahamiam lady bringing her kid in for something. So I walk back to the van which is still running and sitting there. I consider that a good sign because they did not mutiny and leave Debbie in the police lot on the ground and drive off after running her over.
 I get in, and say it looks like Pelican point (almost to the end of East End Grand Bahama now) and the Gatlen gun starts spinning again. We're all pretty resolved to the notion that about a 1/4+ tank of gas left means turn around and we are not there yet. So we all pressed on. We had sincere reservations, but we pressed on. Deb got some ugly stares from me because remember, I did not want to pass Lucaya and we were well beyond that now.
 So we arrive in Pelican point and slow down. There's nothing there but houses. We have no options and continue on slowly, in a very depressed state of mind, to find a small sign pointing to a shack on the beach. It's Bahama John's!! So we have arrived. Upon looking at the place I was a bit set back on my heels because while there were cars there, we did not know if they were still in use, or abandoned by people that had eaten and died. But in we went.
 We were promptly greeted by Bahama John who stands as tall as I do but has all of his weight shows extremely well. When we shook hands it took effort to keep my arm from coming out of its socket. He went on to say I was well fertilized. I was going to say I also fertilize well but Deb was behind me and being the driver I was not going to have the advantage of alcohol to dull the pain if I opened my mouth.
  No one else was seated so we grabbed a table large enough for all of us. It was freshly wiped by the staff and the rag was clean containing some bleach that was obvious due to the smell. A good sign I thought. John goes on to make sure the welcome is adequately expressed in a booming voice that has positive tones and puts the mind at ease. He tries to ask a couple of questions about everyone so that he learns something about his customer base. He also talks about how long the trip is out to his place and how he has fallen asleep at the wheel since he drives from Freeport every day. And then he asks, knowing I was the driver, "So did you think he was taking you out here to rob you and dump your bodies?".
 Everyone looked at Stu (and me). The food came out in short order and it was without a doubt one of the best meals I've had in the Bahamas. So if you are looking for barbecue over here, talk to the man. He has it figured out. The beach here is also special and stretches quite a ways so walking the beach either before or after a meal is a good opportunity.
 Back at West End we thought about the next couple of days, and the weather. Stu stuck his nose out into the stream on Sunday and was immediately rejected. We all lent him quite a bit of respect due to the experience level he had judging the water.
 Eventually on this past Monday the water laid down and we all crossed over to the St. Lucie inlet. Using this inlet saved us a day on the ICW going North to the canal across Florida. While we all had some apprehension about the inlet, it proved to be easily navigated and we arrived at the Sunset Bay Marina for a rest stop on our way West.
            

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...
 
 
  

It Figures

 Once Rich heads home the weather lightens up. We had aspirations of getting Freedom to Little Harbour while Rich was here but the Atlantic never laid down enough. In spite of the Atlantic and relatively rough water coming in North Bar inlet, we did make it in the Albury with Rich. And we are grateful to have gone via the Albury instead of Freedom, but the notion of hanging out there for a few days AND getting back without a thrashing, was always in play. Sure enough once he left the Atlantic laid down and we were able to take a ride to Little Harbour with Freedom. Many had the same idea. It didn't work out for at least one boat. Stories have been circulated about the circumstances leading up to the accident in the photo and I won't go into them. Suffice if to say, the very South end of Lynyard Cay is not a sensible place to cross the reef and leave the Atlantic. 
 The sea conditions of the days leading up to our departure were similar to those we had prior to our washing machine adventure back in 2009, but, the Atlantic had more time exposed to light winds when we finally left. The winds were out of the South West again. Terrific we thought. Winds out of the West and a rising tide out of the East into North Bar Channel. But with a certain amount of indifference we pulled out of Hope Town an hour after low tide and headed South. On this passage between Lubbers Quarters and Elbow Cay we left two small patches of sand plumes in our wake as opposed to a sand churn a quarter of a mile long. Just a bit better at hitting the magenta line between Elbow and Lubbers Quarters I guess. Once out on the Sea of Abaco "proper" we hit the wind chop that stayed with us for the rest of the trip. No big deal, about a foot or two of chop out of the West. All reminiscent of '09. But we kept on going and once we rounded Tiloo Bank and headed to Pelican this was behind us and the ride was actually quite smooth. Not that it was that rough earlier on the Sea of Abaco, the water worked with us instead of slapping us on the side. Since we were now aligned against the tide running into North Bar, our speed slowed about a knot but we kept plodding along. Amazingly and in contrast to our expectations, once we rounded Channel Cay all we had to work against was the wind chop out of the West, and this was when the tide was running into the inlet with an opposing wind. Cool, and that worked for us!
 Hooked up to our high end mooring at Pete's Pub it was time to relax and settle into a different, no, eccentric environment where the main street is about 10 feet wide and composed of powder soft sand. In all fairness the moorings at Pete's are well maintained and stout. I am thinking the anchor used is a full yard of concrete and part of ours is visible in the upper right hand corner of the photo. We had absolutely no concerns using the mooring. Little Harbour is well protected on all sides, and with the secure mooring there was nothing to worry about.
 Well almost nothing to worry about. We were getting ready to have lunch at Pete's (by the way, they have awesome fish sandwiches) which meant making sure the boat was secure and we had all we needed. Check the lines to the mooring, get the travel bag ready and start to go down the side ladder into the dink when Deb asks, "Hey, isn't that boat is drifting?" So I turned around and looked out the port side wing door with her and said, "That's a 55 or so Ocean Alexander motor yacht". A 1997 copy could be had for about 1/2 a million. This was a more recent edition. No way anyone would be dumb enough to let that slip off a mooring. It just doesn't happen. So we stood there another moment or two watching and it dawned on me that yes, this boat was moving. I said, "Hmm. It looks like the engines aren't running, Holy Crap it IS ADRIFT!". Ok, perhaps there is a certain amount of editorial license in the vocabulary representing the expression of surprise. But, and you knew this was coming, I am sure you got my drift.
 So we threw our stuff into the dink and chased down this boat which weighs in at about 20 tons with our 18HP dink. Yeah, sure. We got this. So I grabbed the errant line hanging off the bow and started to turn the boat which was about to lean on another boat at anchor. It was a futile exercise as with the wind all we could do was slow it down. Fortunately another center console saw we were in trouble and stopped by. Between the two of us we managed to pull the boat away from the sail boat and stabilize the situation. We were shouting at each other about how to proceed when this man comes out to the bow of the boat and asks, "What the heck is going on here?".
 I was going to say we were hijacking your boat and taking it to Cuba to facilitate some illegal immigration  (good money in that I hear) but I elected to "fill him in". After some hurried and tense discussion he offered up the notion that he should start up his engines. We all agreed with some sarcastic enthusiasm. You know, like no kidding Sherlock? Ya think? Once all tide up again, Deb and I went to lunch where the crowd at Pete's Pub was sitting back with beers and their signature drink the "Blaster" enjoying the show. They say no good deed goes unpunished so I am wondering how this will be rewarded.
 It's all good and after a dinner with friends at their house we decided that with the calm water and rising tide we should head out into the Bight of Old Robinson for some exploration with the dink. Over the years we have always wanted to get into the tidal areas West of the Bight. This stay lined up well with tide coming in later in the afternoon and light winds. So I fired up Google Earth and located what I thought were three Blue Holes, saved their locations and plotted some courses into our hand held Garmin GPS. Some times I impress even myself. I was three for three and we floated over three rather large blue holes with incoming tide. They are most impressive geological structures and they beg you to jump in and snorkel or dive them. We stuck to the look bucket to play it safe and while at the last of the three Jan saw this monument in the distance so we investigated it. As it turned out, we were over the very spot the three poor souls passed on at, on their anniversary of April 2. Spooky to say the least. I mean, really. I did not know about this event or where it happened and we wound up there that day. Glad we didn't dive the site and our hearts went out to the families involved. I'd say we spent more than several minutes paying our respects. If you want to explore these sites open up the Voyage 2012 tracks and select "Blue Hole Dink". If you play the track this would be the last blue hole we visited. On this somber note we left the tidal areas, and went back to Little Harbour.
 Closing out the days spent at Little Harbour we realized that even though we brought Freedom down, spent three nights on a mooring ball, ate lunch out, and had a small bar bill, we had a great time for less money than it took to rent the Albury 20' for a day and the ride back through North Bar was calm. So it was "all good".
 Settling back into life at Hope Town, we attended a Light House lighting, and watched the full moon dink drift go by but that's a matter for another entry.
 
  

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.

  

Out and About

 With some more of this Bahamian good weather several of us decided that cruising down a little past Snake Cay and then back into the shallows to a blue hole was a good idea. The Sea of Abaco was calm and with an invitation to ride with Bill and Carol we grabbed our snorkel gear and headed out in their Carolina Skiff joined by Dave and Carol in their skiff.  

 The intended destination is a tide restricted area. That is to say, you had best time your arrival with high tide or you will be hauling the dink out over very shallow water, if you can! While we had some concerns about getting in and out of the snorkel site, we pressed on churning up some sand every now and then. After about 10 minutes of poking around we arrived at the blue hole where Dave and I pulled on our dive suits and jumped in. The water started out quite clear but with all of our movement it clouded up a bit but regardless it was still quite scenic. Deb and Carol used look buckets and watched us as I free dived into the hole and Dave used his Hookah. Some day I'm going to have to piece together one of these rigs because they can save a mess of cash spent on bottom cleaning. Instead of paying a diver every time the bottom needs a little scrubbing I can don the gear and hop in myself. Brownie puts together a good rig, but the system can be pieced together using components much more economically.
 Anyway, the blue hole was actually quite deep. I was able to get down about 15 feet or so but Bill's depth sounder indicated it was actually much deeper than this. Perhaps almost 60 feet. Given it was lined with ledges full of fish I didn't have to go far or risk being trapped to enjoy the experience. Since Deb's dad has had very sad experience cave diving we've taken a lesson from this and always elected not to penetrate anything while diving. Besides I was on my lung capacity and that is not what it once was.
 Eventually we realised that the tide was shifting to the outbound direction and it was time to haul anchor and move on. Since we still had good sunlight and some tide I suggested that we check out the passages behind Snake Cay to see if we could spot some of the spotted Rays. Within a couple of minutes we were there and spotting rays with wingspans exceeding 3 feet. A school of 6 or so led us out of the area and back into the Sea of Abaco for our return North which took us to Lubbers Quarters and Lubbers Landing where we discovered a different sort of blue hole. It comes in a canning jar and consists of rum, coconut rum, blue curacao, some ginger beer and a twist of lime. Very refreshing and they go down too easily!
   And then it was Saturday. Now it was time to hop the ferry provided by Froggie's Dive shop over to Man O War so we could take in the flea market. As you look at the photo on the left consider that, as opposed to all of the other Cays in the Abacos, Man O War is a dry Cay. That's right they do not serve or sell alcohol there. Given this fact the reason the cart was hanging off the wall remains a mystery to us. As we were walking along we heard a cart start up and all sorts of commotion ensued. Fortunately the cart stopped in time and did not fall several feet into the water. Perhaps there were people sitting on the bench seat at the rear of the cart providing a counter balance keeping the cart from falling. Whatever the reason for salvation it was resolved with some friendly hands pulling the cart back onto the parking area. Perhaps this was an accident caused by unfriendly shifters on carts that are not very positive with regard to the selection of forward and reverse.
 Speaking of forward and reverse, something that does not have much control or ability to reverse met us as we motored along in the White Sound entrance channel. It was a rather large float plane leaving the Abaco Inn. When it turned on it's landing lights I stood up and waved for all I was worth. Some of us have had the experience of meeting a float plane on the Rondout Creek in Kingston NY when it was on final and there was no action to take but SCRAM! Fortunately in this case, we all had plenty of time to take action because the plane was in the process of leaving the Abaco Inn, not landing. To his credit the captain held up so we could race into the channel towards Sea Spray and get out of his way. Once we were past he throttled up a bit and moved out onto the Sea of Abaco where he took off. I believe the plane was making a ferry run for "Music Doing Good" at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge as there were additional planes carrying the musicians landing today. This is yet another good example of the way folks down here contribute to Every Child Counts on a regular basis. Next week, I believe the function is benefiting Hope Town Fire and Rescue.

 Cool.