Hope Town

We stayed at Lynyard Cay for a while because we have time to spare. We walked the beach on the Atlantic side and explored some of the coral while snorkeling on the sound side. After leaving Lynyard Cay we stopped at Sandy Cay to enjoy the National Park and the excellent scuba site off the cay. We anchored around the back of Sandy Cay to keep out of the current and wind, then put the dinghy in the water and all our snorkel gear. It was a short ride to a set of free mooring balls for dinghy’s and small craft only, they were a bit full as some were lost last year in hurricanes but thankfully one freed up as we arrived. The snorkeling was fantastic with very large coral reef which in places looked like scaffolding tubes all jumbled up and in other places just enormous heads and fans. The fish were spectacular as well and we saw lots of parrot fish, angel fish, ocean trigger fish and schools of smaller fish. The highlight was a small black tipped shark that swam under us in about 20-25ft of water. It was one of our best snorkels and apart from strong currents we could have stayed a lot longer.

Lynyard Cay

After the stop at Sandy Cay we moved up to Tilloo Cay, it is a in direct route to avoid shoals but only about 6 miles in all. We took a very peaceful anchorage just outside Tilloo pond with a lovely beach to the south. It was so peaceful with us being on our own for most of the time. We did move up to the north end of Tilloo Cay for a change of scenery though again mostly on our own here too. So it was we whiled away 3 days.

Lubbers Quarters

Lubbers Quarters

We then came up to Hope Town via Lubbers Cay. Lubbers Cay is a lovely sight with islands both sides and very pretty house and shore line. We arrived in Hope town on Elbow Cay and anchored off the harbor entrance for a few days. The view from our galley port is a delight as Liz cooks our meals, so nice in fact she took the photo. You see the pristine clear waters with the Light house as a back drop. We had to climb the light house, 101 steps to the top. It is one of only 3 remaining kerosene light houses left in the world. The light house keeper has to light it at night and then every 2 hours climb the steps to hand crank the weights that operate the beacon, like a grandfather clock. The light house was built in 1864 to the disappointment of the locals who made their living from salvaging cargo from the many ships wrecked on the reefs surrounding Elbow Cay.

Port (Window) View

Hope Town Lighthouse

Kerosine to power the light

View from the top - Moosetracks center right

Harbour entrance

Liz enjoys the views

 

Before the lighthouse was built, the story goes that entire village was in the congregation Sunday morning, the preacher asked everyone to bow their heads for a few minutes of silent prayer. After a few minutes silence some members raised their heads and notice the preacher had gone, only to see from the window he was spotted in his boat heading towards a wreckage. The following week the congregation move the alter around so the congregation had the view of the sea not the preacher.

Hope Town Dinghy

Nice walks around town

We have enjoyed a long walks on the beach on the Atlantic side and lots of walks around town. This is a very pretty town with a plethora of small cottages all snuggled together. We do love to just walk around town and look at the scenery and bump into locals and cruisers for a chat. We tried the museum one morning but after waiting 30 minutes past opening time decided we’d come back another day to visit, it’s just so laid back here.

Hope town beach (Atlantic side)

Lots of beautiful houses

Waiting for the museum - that never opend

On Wednesday we had lunch with Oliver and Cici who’s wedding we are here to attend, it was at Hope Town Inn resort and marina and it was a lovely afternoon and great to see them after 6 months. We stayed for the afternoon at the resort and enjoyed a long relax in their bar side pool. This weekend has a lot packed into it and should be fantastic fun.

Hope everyone is doing great.

Abaco bound

We left Governors Harbour for Hatchet Bay but before we leave we will post a few more pictures of here as it was a beautiful place and we so enjoyed the walk around town after our visit to the library. It is one of the older towns in the Bahamas as it was the original capital, it shows in the quality and styles of some of the homes too.

Houses at Governors Harbour

Library at Governors Harbour

Hatchet Bay Pond was just a short-ish sail away but if your not careful you can go right passed it as the entrance is very narrow at about 70ft, like going through a bridge really. There is not a lot here but it is famous for being a very safe anchorage with all round protection. We enjoyed a walk to the Atlantic side of Eleuthera and then stopped for internet at Twin Brothers resort which was free after buying a drink. We then went for lunch at a small cottage where they have a window to order and serve through. It was very nice and truly the place looked deceptive. We met Rob & Lori from s/v Apogee and the next day we walked around town with them and had dinner at Da Spot which was a very locals bar but it had great BBQ ribs and chicken and good cold beer.

Hatchet Bay Pond - Entrance

Getting Internet

From Hatchet Bay we left for Current Cut. It is a very narrow cut in Current Island and the tide can rip through at 5 knots so we had timed it for near slack tide but ebbing. Thankfully it was timed to be ebbing as we arrived early due to favorable winds and the current shot us through at over 8 knots adding 3 knots to our motoring speed! From here we went to Meeks patch for a rest and to enjoy a secluded anchorage. Only we found a huge motor yacht “Mystique” which had passed us earlier cruising at 27 knots (see picture). To cap it off the owner came back in his 80ft sport fishing boat and tied them stern to stern, what a show off! It was fun watching the crew take the 2 dogs to shore every 2 hours during the day though ;-)

Mystique

 

A day later we anchored off Russell Island to visit Spanish Wells, there are a few moorings balls inside the harbor, but they can be hard to reserve. We had a delightful day exploring the Island of Spanish Wells. It is possibly the busiest island we have visited, the island has a very busy fishing industry, and boat repairs. The cute cottages are tightly packed, most are very well kept indeed, some dating back 150 yrs. Most of the traffic is golf carts and you have to be careful they don’t run you down, we have not been very used to sharing the tracks or roads with traffic. After lunch we visited their little museum to learn more about the island and the fishing life of many of the Spanish Wellsians. On returning to Meeks Patch the next day we joined Peter and Lani aboard s/v MarNel, for lunch.They shared lots of info on the cruising in the Western Caribbean. It’s a very small world, Peter and Lani have been cruising for 16 yrs and know our good friends Bob & Norma & Jack & Jo.

Truely a Golf Cart town!

Museum

Lovely Buildings

 

On leaving Meeks Patch we staged at Royal Island for several days to await favorable weather to cross to the Abaco’s. it’s a 60 mile crossing so we want good wind and calm seas if possible. Our wait was excellent and we enjoyed a couple of nice long walks on the island. It is in the throws of development for a resort, private residences and a golf course. But like a lot of the Bahamas it’s not made a lot of progress due to the US recession recently. Still that was good for us as they let you visit it to walk the trails and explore the ruins of the old plantation. Whilst we were here we met s/v TruenSea with Mark, Christine with sons Logan and Cole. We went over for games of Mexican Train and learnt the card game “golf” from them. It was a great night all round.




Royal Island Anchorage

Plantation Ruins - lovely flowers after a rain shower

We are now anchored here off Lynyard Cay in the southern Abaco islands. We arrived here 4 days ago, from Royal Island, Eleuthra. It’s the perfect place to relax and unwind until we move further north for Cici & Oliver's wedding. Yesterday we walked the long beach on the Atlantic side, we took our time and searched for beach glass and sea beans. After lunch we snorkeled from the boat to the rocky shore not too far from where we are anchored, many small fish and we even swam with a small turtle. Monday was boat chores in the Morning, which included Devin donning his dive gear to scrub the barnacles off Moosetrack’s bottom. One full nitrox tank later and finally she was clean. I worked on all the hatches, ports and handrails with extra cleaning. Today we motored a short distance over to Little Harbor. There is only 3.5 ft in the channel at low water so we anchored off Tom Curry Point and took the dinghy around the point into Little Harbor. Randolph Johnson ( famous sculptor) settled here in 1953 with this wife , also an artist and their 3 young sons. They sailed in looking for Paradise and lived in a small cave on the eastern side of the small cove. Today, Randolph’s son Peter runs the foundry with Art Gallery and Pete’s Pub a beach bar on the sand. The bar is made from the old deckhouse from the schooner they arrived in so many years ago. We walked out to the old lighthouse and enjoyed a very fresh fish lunch at Pete’s Pub.

Lynyard Cay beach - big crabs here!

The foundry artist at work

Petes Pub - Liz

Petes Pub - Devin

 

We wish you all the very best.... and fair winds too.

 

Rock Sound, Eleuthera

We left Cat Island for Little San Salvador, a private Island owned by the Holland America cruise line. It is a cruise ship stop for most of the winter when the large cruise ships of up to 2,500 passengers arrive daily. Quite the spectacle as they ferry passengers ashore for hours of fun. We only stayed for an overnight stop to break up our journey and did not ask permission to go ashore as it looks all too staged for our liking.

The following day we had a mostly down wind slow sail up the southern coast of Eleuthera then a brisk beam reach into Rock Sound. It is a large harbor with all round protection so we anchored on the south side the first night out of the waves. The next day we moved to the West side for the passage of a front. We heard a British accent on the VHF radio and hailed them to introduce ourselves. We met Andy and Barbara on s/v Ptarmigan. We had a lovely morning drinking tea and chatting about England and our respective trips so far. We met Laurie and Rob of s/v Moonshadow when we anchored again nearer to town and arranged to meet later. Rock Sound was readying themselves for “home coming” which is an annual event where past residents return to their home town and they have a big party. It was also Easter so that makes it a long weekend holiday for a really long celebration. They had the main street closed with a stage erected alongside many food stalls and a beach bar.

Home coming stage - local kids dance group

Home coming crowds - a BIG event here!

 

On Wednesday a call went out for a pot luck lunch at the Ocean Hole. This is a very large salt water hole that is inland and around 600 feet deep with fish in it. We swam in the water and enjoyed a lovely lunch and great company with about 20 cruisers of which 4 were kids.

Admiral's meeting at Ocean Hole

Captain's Meeting at Ocean Hole

The Island is very large so we decided to hire a car with Laurie & Rob to see the sights. Laurie arranged the hire with Coco’s restaurant and bar, it seems like you rent from a person rather than a business but it’s hard to tell. We had 24 hours so day 1 we went north and the first stop was Island Palm Farm for hot cross buns and some fresh produce. Then on to Leon Levi Preserve which is a Bahamas national trust garden and enjoyed the trails and the variety of plant life.

Palm Island farm

 

Leon Levy Preserve

Liz, Devin, Laurie & Rob

 

Next was a quick stop at Governors Harbour bakery then lunch at Pink Sands beach. The next stop was the glass window where the Atlantic ocean is only yards away from the Bahamas banks and the contrast in sea color is remarkable. We took a walk along the rocks and found a nice heritage site as well.

Glass Window

Water contrasts

 

Our next stop that day was Whale Point, the road was pretty rocky and in one place we had to turn around as it was completely washed away. We are slowly getting used to the road system and what we think is a road is being redefined. Our next stop was Hatchet Bay caves, not that we love caves but there are some awesome ones around the islands and these are among the best and free too. The added benefit was it was a one way transit through the cave with a ladder at both ends so we walked back over the top of them. The evening saw us back in Governors Harbour to scope it out and partake of few beers, however we didn’t want to wait for dinner so drove to Rock Sound and grabbed food at the festival. The next day we swapped the car for a “jeep” as the southern roads are much worse than those yeasterday.

Washed out road

Hatchet Bay caves

 

So we rose early at 6 am to continue the car ride south. Our first stop was the cruise ship village at Bannerman Town, unfortunately it was closed and again is privately owned by Princess cruise line. We stopped to talk with a local fisherman and his 2 sons who were just headed out for the day. Then on to Lighthouse point and had a great beach walk and stunning views of southern Eleuthera. After a frantic search for gas to refill the jeep, we eventually refilled managed to refill at a marina! On the way back from car rental we stopped at another set of caves in Rock Sound in search of bats, unfortunately they were out as we found it empty.

Lighthouse Point

We have had a wonderful week in Rock Sound, it was great to see so much of the island and also to see the home coming festival and experience some of the local culture. It was difficult at times as the Bahamians don’t seem to know what a schedule is but like the roads you get used to it after a while! It was great to see so many people out for most of the celebration and the music was great and really clear on our boat in the harbor right up to 2 am ;-)

We arrived yesterday in Governors Harbour and just before we entered the harbor we saw the AIS signal for a “Raft Antiki”, we had seen it in the harbour on our car trip, but never expected it to have AIS! Well it turns out there is much more to the story... so go here to read about it.

http://www.eleutheranews.com/local/2180.html.

Raft Antiki

We had a wonderful walk around town today and visited the Bakery for Biscuits, cinnamon roll and Chicken pattie (Scones, Chelsea buns and Curried pasties to us Brits). Then a long visit to the library, the second largest in the Bahamas, where we found the local ladies coffee morning. We had a wonderful few hours chatting with local ladies and hearing first hand about the Raft Antiki.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter whatever you did.

Devin & Liz.

Good Friends

Well we thought we were headed to Rum Cay but the weather dictated a little prudence and after 1.5 hours of fast beam reaching in 10 feet swells and 3-4 feet seas with 20 knots of wind from SE and gusts to over 25 knots we decided that the anchorage would be uncomfortable at best. The alternative of the marina on Rum Cay didn’t offer much of an option as the reef outside is a winding path and would be through breaking waves with the wind angle. So we decided to keep on north past the tip of Long Island and around to the lee of the wind at Hog Cay and near Joe’s Sound entrance. We had a very pleasant night there sheltered from the wind. The cell tower was close enough to get emails out telling folks of the change of plans and we arranged another visit with Bruce and Gina on s/v Dreamcatcher as they would be headed to Thompson Bay in a few days. We made hasty plans and shuffled our non-existent calendar.

So we were back in Thompson bay on Thursday march 14th. We put the hook down early morning as it was a short motor sail. Our surprise was hearing the George Town regatta ended with a cruise to Thompson Bay and 50 plus boats were due any minute. At least we had a good spot! It was also a lot of fun to meet some folks we had met at places down the Exuma Islands as we had a beach pot luck that night. We also met up with Bess and Billy on s/v Alibi II who were friends of friends, Jack & Anne from IP45 Pura Vida, who were introduced by emails. Bess and Billy were a great couple with lots of great stories and some fantastic cooking too!

Gina and Bruce came in the following day and crept up behind us whilst we were napping. We had drinks on Moosetracks and the following day we went for lunch at Sou’ Side and a good walk around the Thompson Bay area. The evening was appetizers on Dreamcatcher and Bruce surprised us with a fantastic pizza dip he made. We had such fun catching up and just chatting we decided to stay another day! We went for a lovely beach walk at Salt pond and back to the Long Island Breeze resort for a craft fare and libations. After a little helpful tow in getting back to their boat we chatted and said our goodbyes. It might be a while before we meet Gina and Bruce again so it was great to have the extra time with them. Dreamcatcher is off to the western Caribbean this summer and we head to the East coast USA.

Bruce & Gina - towing antics

Great friends

So we both left Thompson bay on Sunday in nice steady 10-12 knots SE winds and it was easy down wind sailing to Calabash Bay. We enjoyed the sights of the bay but decided to forego the resort and bar and relax the night on Moosetracks with a movie. The following day we were up early for the run to New Bight on Cat Island. The forecast was quite a bit off but for us it worked out great. We had 15-20 knots of wind and 4 feet swell with some 3 feet chop on the starboard beam and made 30nm in 4 hours, then turned into the bay for a close hauled run for 2 hours at over 6 knots. One of our best sailing days in the Bahamas.

When we arrived we met up with two boats we had met a few times in the past; Bob & Darnell IP485 of Grand Cru and Jeff & Donna of Whish. They hailed us as we settled in to join them on the beach for a walk. Well this spot is widely known for the Hermitage that was built by Father Jerome and sits on the highest hill in the Bahamas. We’ll for Liz and I that was a must, we love hill walking. This however is a bit small at 206 feet high! As we dinghied ashore we noticed IP40 Barefoot come in, friends Tom & Joyce from Florida who we had met while we were in Florida over the last few years, we said hello and let them settle in while we continued to the beach. Father Jerome built a replica miniature chapel / monastery at the top. The pictures hardly do it justice. The man certainly knew how to build and certainly was determined as he did it all on his own on such a steep rise. His reward was outstanding views all around Cat Island. This morning we did the whole walk again with Tom & Joyce, it was that good! We then walked into “town” for lunch and stopped at the little beach shacks and had a wonderful curried chicken lunch special.

Hermitage

Tallest hill in Bahamas - 206 feet!

Bob rings the arrival gong

Tom & Joyce with us for our second visit

Well there is a front coming tomorrow so we’ll get tucked in behind a spit to keep out of the north winds and after that we’ll start looking at Eleuthera.

Big Hugs to all our friends – Devin & Liz.

Clarence Town, Long Island

 

We arrived in Clarence Town a little by chance as we had not intended on coming so far south on the east side of Long Island. However as our friends were headed south and we were so close we thought we’d have a last get together before they sailed to the Caribbean. So it is we left Conception Island for Clarence Town. We had a motor sail the whole way in light winds. We tried fishing but in 40 miles we had zero bites, despite following a good weed line for a couple of miles too. The highlight was seeing a 244ft Mega Yacht “Kogo” which we since found was the #58th largest in the world and the #10 largest you can actually charter.

With Melinda & Harry

Liz, Dee & Melinda

 

The crews

 

Well we had an easy entrance to the harbor and anchored on the SE side. Luckily we just beat a large frontal system in and within 1.5 hours we had it hit with strengthening winds. It lasted all night and Wind Lass recorded 49 knot gusts which is very strong. All of us (Wind Lass, Sea Schell & Moosetracks) held our anchors very well. In the morning however we had some repairs as Wind Lass and Sea Schell had some lines wear through or close too which needed replacing. Having sorted that out though we all went ashore to the Flying Fish marina. What a lovely place, very welcoming to cruising boats in the harbor which is unusual. We did laundry and had lunch at the restaurant and used their wifi for email and downloads. We had a great walk around the harbor and went for a walk around town for grocery shopping and sight seeing the following days.

Clarence town

We had a fantastic surprise when we heard from DreamCatcher in Thompson bay and we were able to arrange to meet by car. Bruce and Gina shared a ride with Mark from IP40 Down Island and we all met at Rowdy Boys in Clarance town. We had been wanting to meet them again since spending so much time this summer with them, it's great to meet old friends again if only briefly.


Gina, Bruce, Liz & Devin

Mudslides- Gina's favorite

Well all too soon Wind Lass and Sea Schell were ready to go, Harry and Melinda had replaced their outboard which they were waiting on and it was a perfect weather window to head south. So it was on Thursday morning we walked the beach with them and then said our goodbyes. We moved Moosetracks to get more diesel fuel from the marina and re-anchored in the shelter of the NE of the harbor. As soon as we moved our new neighbors came over to invite us for drinks. We gladly accepted and dinghied over the same evening. We had a wonderful chat with Lawrence and Linda on m/v Far Reaches for great introductions to Clarence town from two very seasoned visitors. The following morning we hailed Sea Schell and Wind Lass as they headed south and on to new adventures.

Linda and Lawrence are almost locals here and were the perfect couple to show us the sites and introduce us to some locals as they are treated like family as they are visit so much. We first went for a car ride with them to both shop and discover some secluded beaches. We spent then morning looking for beach treasures on a remote Atlantic beach near Chimney rock, but unfortunately none of us found any spectacular artifacts. Then we had a picnic lunch at Turtle cove near Dean’s blue hole on a lovely beach under the shade of an old gazebo. The afternoon ride we went to the beautiful beach pool at Bonnycourt. We finished the day with appetizers on Moosetracks.

Chimney Rock Beach

Infinity pool

Bonnycourt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turtle Cove

 

On Sunday Lawrence and Linda invited us to join them with a few local families on a nearby Cay. It was great to chat with the local families and learn how to open coconuts and which ones to harvest. Liz also learned a little weaving. We helped them clean & clear some of the beach and burn some of the sand spurs down. They often use this beach and also spend Easter here each year camping with families so they take special pride in looking after it.

 

Dominoes

Devin & Lawrence, coconut lessons

Coconut testing

Liz & Linda

Liz weaving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday we all went in for a drive, first to pick up fresh vegetables, then on to visit some new friends of Far Reaches; Kevin and Audrey who are ex-Pat Brits. They moved recently to Long Island and bought a nice home to settle in. They have been here for many years however and for quite a while they ran private estates/islands for their owners. It was nice to exchange stories of how we all got here especially as we are ex-Pat Brits too. By the way you should see the lovely original condition Fiat 500 they have... of all places! We then went for our beach walk and picnic. This time we found hamburger beans and other sea beans, the beach looked a little too clean but we walk extra far to improve our chances. We visited other friends of Far Reaches; Ena’s shop in Clarence town, and bought some highly recommended Goat Chili Hot Pepper Sauce, and then returned to Far Reaches for drinks.

 

Roadside organic pigs

Kevin & Audrey's Fiat 500

Well it is with a heavy heart we say goodbye to Linda and Lawrence we have so enjoyed their company, we can just hope our paths cross again which is highly likely next year. So it is we are off to Rum Cay for a few days or at least that’s the plan.

Fair Winds

Devin & Liz