May 18, 2023

We left the "Lady J" on May 2 for two weeks to return to Wooster and tend to some personal and business events. One included a trip to Omaha for a "Woodstock for Capitalists" experience - Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway's Annual Shareholders Meeting. Just imagine Warren at 91 and his sidekick, Charlie Munger at 99, sitting on the stage fielding questions from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM - inspiring to say the least! We were just a few among the 40,000 other loyal Buffet shareholders that attend this annual event.

We also joined some of our closest friends for a week in Costa Rica that one of the couples had planned months earlier - another memorable adventure!

But now we are happy to be back aboard the "Lady J" in our own remote island paradise. We invited Amy and Scott Allen to join us and share in this unique Bahama experience for a few days. Upon arrival, we decided to remain at the dock overnight - a good decision given the passing storm. Dinner was enjoyed at The Jib Room across the bay.

May 19, 2023

We enjoyed a morning cruise to Great Guana Cay planning to have lunch at Nippers, one of our favorite Abaco Island beach bars. However, after dropping anchor, a thunderstorm approached us. So, as often happens in the world of cruising, we quickly adjusted our plans and the ladies prepared lunch on board.

By mid afternoon, the weather cleared. We took the tender to shore and walked to our favorite bar for some Nipper Juice. We shared many stories with the Allen's about past visits to this landmark beach. But mostly we admired the incredible views of the colorful Atlantic waves as they came rolling onto the white sand beach.

We made an obligatory stop at the Nipper's gift shop, complete with its beach sand floor, to purchase some t-shirt memorability. By chance, we discovered that the young boy behind the cash register was the son of the owner of Nipper's - Little Nipper himself! Imagine, another multigenerational family business here in the Abaco Islands . . . .


May 20, 2023

Our morning began with an enjoyable slow cruise to Tahiti Beach on Elbow Cay towing our tender. After we dropped our anchor and prepared lunch, we watched the "Thirsty Cuda" pass by on its way to serve food and drink to the daily beach crowd. We spent the afternoon enjoying the unique and colorful white sand Tahiti Beach sipping several "Thirsty Cuda" libations.

We returned to the tender and gave the Allen's a tour of Lubber's Cay, home of the former Cracker P's (rumored to have been purchased by Pit Bull following its destruction by Hurricane Dorian). Upon returning to "Lady J", it was time to refresh and prepare for our dinghy trip to Firefly for our sunset dinner.

The Abaco Inn was our first choice for dinner but when we called for reservations, we were told they were closed for a private wedding event. We later learned that it was a wedding for 160 on this remote small island.

Firefly has a varied and delicious choice of menu items. Its location provides one of the best sunset views on the island. The four of us enjoyed a memorable evening - made even more memorable by our dinghy ride home.

The "Lady J" was anchored about a mile away. We did not realize that tonight was a waxing moon - so no moonlight to help illuminate the way. The anchorage was populated with many more boats than we had been accustomed to in the past - all with their tall white anchor lights beaming. Our attempt to find the "Lady J" was a navigational challenge through a constellation of bright stars! As Amy held our dim flashlight, we mis-selected the "Lady J" several times before ultimately discovering her in the darkness and breathing four collective sighs of relief.

Sunday morning, over coffee and breakfast, we decided not to spend another day on Tahiti Beach. So I called Hopetown Marina and was able to secure a dock. Not so fortunate when I called for a golf cart - no availability because of the very large wedding being hosted on the island!

By noon, we were securely tied to our Hopetown Marina dock. It took very little time to immerse ourselves in the pool, claiming a few submerged bar stools and enjoying a tasty lunch.
During our afternoon swim time, Amy met a couple and quickly learned that he was the pastor for the island wedding.

The bride and groom were from Orlando. The bride's mother grew up on Man O' War Cay - likely a descendant of the Loyalists that first settled these islands in the late 1700's to escape the discrimination for their loyalty to the Crown during the Revolutionary War. The family of the groom owned Regal Boats. This was the second daughter's wedding the pastor and his wife had officiated in this remote island paradise.

On Sunday evening we called for the Abaco Inn van to shuttle us to the resort for another delicious sunset dinner in one of the islands most beautiful settings.

Fortunately, by noon on Monday, we were able to secure a golf cart. We explored Hopetown with the Allen's, enjoyed a cooling drink at Capt Jack's, where we met a group of Sea Scouts. Then we took our cart to On Da Beach for lunch - perhaps our final one there since they are limited to grilled food only - no fryer - healthy but not nearly as tasty.

On Tuesday morning, the Allen's took the 7:45 AM ferry from Hopetown to Marsh Harbour to catch their flight home - the culmination of a great visit with dear friends.

We spent the balance of the day catching up on tasks - boat tasks, business tasks (two Zoom meetings and several phone calls). We decided to take the golf cart to Firefly for dinner. Since it was sushi night, no reservations were available. However, we were able to sit at the bar, order dinner and watch the sunset again - though it was more subdued with the layers of clouds. Not being regular "bar flies", we did learn a lesson - do not select your bar stools next to the bar blender! It was not the quiet dining experience we both anticipated - but the hamburger we split was delicious.

Wed, May 24, 2023

With an 80% chance of thunderstorms forecast for the next several days, we decided to take advantage of a calm morning and return to Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour. Carrie and her family are arriving on Saturday and we have some re-provisioning to do beforehand. The next few days will also be a chance to address some boat chores that have been awaiting attention.