April 25th... Marsh Harbor to Hope Town, Abacos

As we were getting ready for departure this morning, Kathy found that the GPS was not working. Since there is a splice in the connection at the base of the mizzen mast which I emptied and reloaded since the last time we had tuned it on, it was easy to track down the problem. After unloading the compartment again and moving the power feed at the butt joint, it was operational again. I left everything out and will make a permanent fix later.

We left Marsh Harbor in 25 knot winds and once out of the protection of the point, seas were about 3-4 feet. Our course took us directly into them, which made for a salty ride. It took us a little under two hours to make the 7 mile trip.

The entrance to Hope Town is narrow and shallow and must be timed to high tide to avoid grounding. The course first took us to a position about two boat lengths off the rocky shore where we turned hard to port, avoiding a shallow spot to our port after the turn. From there we proceeded north to the opening of the channel into the harbor. Following the range and holding to the green side of the channel we inched in without looking at the sounder.... it just makes us nervous.

Once inside there is 360 degrees of protection and a harbor full of mooring balls which are spaced so close together that it seems impossible that boats can swing without bumping in the night. Steve had called ahead and made reservations, so it was easy to pull in and tie off.

At about 11:30 the crews of "Sapphire", "Fine Lion", and "Solitaire" went to shore and walked the narrow streets to the south to a restaurant on the beach called "On Da Beach". It was windy but we found a table with some protection and had a great lunch. We hiked the beach back toward town. Kathy found a hamburger bean and Steve picked up a purse bean which I had never seen.

After about a mile we stopped at Hope Town Harbor Lodge which has a beach bar and pool. We had an afternoon drink and chatted with Gary the bartender. In his off duty hours Gary is "Gary the Explorer" and makes films on the eco-culture of the Bahamas that are aimed middle school kids. We purchased seasons one and two as they looked interesting.

Our afternoon was spent reading as is often the case. We did have some excitement as when a huge Moorings catamaran came in and attempted to take the mooring directly to our port and in front of "Solitaire." Moorings and Sun Sail are the two primary charter companies here in the Abacos and more often than not, are crewed by folks who are inexperienced. Anyway, the captain of this cat was on the foredeck with a boat hook to grab the mooring line-so far so good. He made the grab and tied both of the tow lines on his starboard cleat. Not being happy with both lines on one cleat, he unhooked the anchor from the rode with the idea of securing the mooring ball while he uncleated the moorings lines to move one of them to each side of the boats.

It was windy and a reasonable plan... unfortunately, his wife who was at the helm continued to drive. She would drive forward running the big cat over the mooing ball until its nose was dragged under water then it was reverse, straight for "Solitaire." After five or six times forward and back, jerking on the mooring line at the end of each trip, the Captain had a line cleated to each side of the boat and was satisfied.

We were never really at risk ....but the boats to their forward and aft, "Fine Lion" and "Solitaire" respectively, were in a world of danger for about 30 minutes.

Although we had pork chops thawed for dinner, Steve came over and wanted to go into town for pizza. They ended up being the best we've eaten in the Bahamas. Back at the boat, we watched some of Gary's film and read a little before bed