Little Harbour
Mike
01/26/2008, Lynyard Cay
Wednesday ...Jan. 23
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSY!
At about 10am I went to shore to check out the island / cay. I found a path and hiked over to the Atlantic which was all coral. Waves were crashing and throwing spray 30 feet up in the air. Above the coral there was an area where sand had filled in making walking much easier amid the trash that has washed ashore over the years. Most of the trash was plastic...milk crates and water bottles were the most prominent but there were lots of shoes, nets, line, lumber, pvc pieces etc.
I headed to the southern end and worked and then worked my way back up to my starting point. The western or inside of the island was composed of a number small beaches separated by coral outcroppings. The tide was going out and I found my first conch shell that didn't have a hole in it's shell.
"Madcap" arrived around noon and after lunch we went to one of the beaches that I had found earlier in the day. I snorkeled around the dropoff while the others looked around for shells and sea glass. We hiked to the other side of the island and again marveled at the trash.
At about 2:30 we dinghied to the community of Little Harbour, about two miles south of our anchorage. It's claim to fame is that it was settled by the Johnston family in the 50's who wanted to get away from civilization to raise their family. They charted, fished and scrambled to eke out a living. Randolph Johnston, an artist, built a forge and made beautiful sculptures. Today there is still a forge where they make high end jewelry and sculpture, a gallery, and an open air bar. While Kathy and Beth checked out the gallery, the rest of us had a glass of rum punch. It's interesting that all of the bars and restaurants have their our specialty rum punch. At Pete's in Little Harbour it was called the "Blaster" In Green Turtle is was the "Tipsy Turtle". Anyway they are all about the same, but they have their unique blend of fruit juices that make them a little distinctive. They are all very tasty and one is enough ... we sometimes have two.
We made plans with Madcap and Mystique to leave for Royal Island early in the morning.
A calmer day
Mike
01/26/2008, Lynyard Cay
Leaving Marsh Hrabor....January 22
The wind was down a little so we went to shore. We dropped off the propane tank to be filled on the way to the laundromat.... while the clothes were washing we went next door to the Grocery to scope out the situation and were pleasantly surprised to find it well stocked. We made a few purchases and headed back to the boat ...picking up our propane on the way. Back at the boat we emptied our jerry cans of diesel and took off for the Jib Room for more fuel. By noon-ish we were ready to get out of Marsh ... for destinations south before the next front locked us in.....
We had a wonderful sail / motor sail to Lynyard Cay where we spent the night.
Stormy weather
Mike and Kathy
01/26/2008, Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco, Bahamas
Sunday, January 20 Marsh Harbor
At 5:16 am the sky overhead was clear. The moon had set but the stars were as bright as they can be in a harbor such as this. The approaching front was well defined to the north : back lit by almost constant lightening. The wind was from the southwest at about 5 knots. At daybreak a perfectly formed wall rolled over us and the wind increased to 25 knots and shifted to NW. Squalls persisted throughout the day as we read and periodically checked our ground tackle.
We listened to Spartans in the afternoon and had a quiet day.
Monday, January 21 Marsh Harbor
Another windy, squally day spent on the boat. Worked on some small projects, read, etc.