As always, what a difference a week makes! After spending a night at our "Dam" anchorage on Little San Salvador, we had a long day sail to Eleuthera. We spent several days in Rock Sound, a tidy little town where we did our inevitable chores, but John had the added stress of trying to order a new solenoid for our propane stove to replace the one that blew out the night before. He spent, it seemed like hours, on the phone with both West Marine and DHL, trying to figure out how to get the parts into Rock Sound in less than 5 days. I must say that West Marine in Ft. Lauderdale really let us down with their lack of knowledge and willingness to "step up"; however, Larry at West Marine in Toronto really jumped on our request, and thankfully our couriers, Danno and Tina, are bringing the parts needed! Rock Sound was also fun for the cruiser camaraderie. One of the cruisers organized a get together one late afternoon on the beach, and we met a bunch of like-minded cruisers.

We had hoped to make our way up the west coast of Eleuthera more slowly, visiting different towns along the way, but as always, weather dictates how our plans evolve. As it turned out, we needed to hightail it to Hatchet Bay to avoid an expected strong north wind. During our daylong trip up to Hatchet, we motored as there was absolutely no wind. With the water like glass, it made the 14 feet depth look like 3 feet deep. Beautiful coral and starfish were clearly visible!

The blow we were expecting didn't really materialize with the expected severity, but no matter; we were in a beautiful protected harbour. We did a quick walking tour of Alice Town in Hatchet Bay and stopped for lunch with some friends at a Twin Brothers Restaurant for burgers. The next day had us hopping up to Royal Island, our jumping off point to get to the Abacos. We left our anchorage at Royal at 6am, and it was pitch black dark! Thank goodness for the track we plotted on our chart plotter on the way in to the anchorage that we could use on the way out!

It was a full day sail to our Buckaroon anchorage on Great Abaco Island. The wind was right on our tail with lumpy seas, so it made for a looong day. There were five other boats that left Royal at around the same time we did, so when the Carnival Cruise ship came near us, he addressed us as a "flotilla of sailing boats" with his Italian accent. After he had crossed our path, he addressed us again, saying that he would "...alter my course back now that I have passed you. Have a great sailing!"

After spending a night at Buckaroon anchorage, we spent the next four days exploring Man-O-War Cay. One day, we rented a golf cart and explored from one end of the island to the other. During our travels, we met a lovely couple from Ohio who own a place on Man-O-War. They invited us to take some photos from the patio atop their (golf cart) garage of the Atlantic Ocean. Then, from their deck off the main house, we took pictures of the Sea of Abaco. Their home was beautifully decorated and the views were exquisite. How fortunate we were to have met them!

Next up was Marsh Harbor where we picked up our friends Danno and Tina for a visit. What a great week we had! We enjoyed a good combination of anchoring, mooring and staying at marinas. We visited Great Guana and Nippers Restaurant for their Easter Sunday Pig Roast. Yummy! Danno and I even went into the ocean for a dip. There was also a great store where Tina and I both bought slacks in "happy colours". We also visited Hope Town on Elbow Cay and climbed the iconic red and white lighthouse. That lighthouse is still powered by kerosene and manpower. Another stop for several days was Green Turtle Cay and its main town, New Plymouth. We also rented a golf cart for a day on Green Turtle. Danno did a masterful job of keeping the golf cart on the right, or should I say left, side of the road! Then we were back at Marsh Harbor for a great farewell dinner. The week just flew by and was over before we knew it. How nice to spend time relaxing with friends!

See "Abacos Part 1" for photos.