The evening scene at Hope Town Inn & Marina

Glancing at a small scale chart one could overlook the string of cays and reefs that break the seas before they reach the larger Abacos. This rocky band lies just a few miles from the bigger islands and the gap between them forms an inland sea. We'd entered this navigable, lake-like waterway at Little Harbor Cut and now stretching before us to the north and west was the promise of 80 miles of smooth sailing. With a front forecast two days out we sailed at a leisurely pace from Lynyard Cay through shimmering waters toward Elbow Cay.

We'd reserved a slip in Hope Town Harbor but the tide was low and the entrance shallow. So at Matt Lowe's Cay we turned west instead of east and passed the afternoon anchored in Marsh Harbor. Late that afternoon we motored eight miles east again to Elbow Cay and cleared the crooked harbor entrance with the help of a rising moon tide. As we threaded our way through the tightly packed boats new friends we'd met at Lynyard Cay dinghied over to help orient us and catch our lines. That evening Thistle lay calmly under the glow of restaurant lights and beneath the gaze of Hope Town's antique kerosene lighthouse as the full moon shone down through gaps in the gathering clouds. The next days, as the winds blew from the north, we explored the island's beaches, cart paths, and dollhouse-like settlement village.

In the wake of the front, again timed for high-water, we traipsed north a few miles to the well protected and serene harbor at Man-O-Way Cay. Though Man-O-War and Hope Town have very different feels we were struck by the friendliness of everyone we met, cruisers and locals alike. We made more new boat friends at Man-O-War, did further exploring, and then pushed on again to catch a weather window past feared Whale Cay. "The Whale", as it's known, abuts a shallow sand bank which forces most boats to traverse its eastern ocean side. A stiff north or east wind renders the passage dangerous and sees boats stacking up on both sides waiting for conditions to moderate.

Our wind was from the northwest, putting The Whale in a pleasant mood. We beat our way past, ducked inside again at Whale Cay Cut, and made our way into another enticing harbor at Green Turtle Cay. The winds were clocking and we needed safe harbor for yet another 30 knot frontal passage. Green Turtle's White Sound harbor seemed just the place.