March 23, 2011
We sailed to Hopetown yesterday for our second and last visit this phase. After grabbing a mooring ball, we took a dinghy over to the lighthouse that has been in service since 1861. It is a remarkable place where the Fresnel has been rotating in a pool of mercury driven by a mechanical weight since entering service. Supposedly, every three hours a keeper winds the mechanism and tends the kerosene flame. The light shows five beams every rotation and it is so hypnotizing that it seems to be a Spielberg invention. We climbed the 101 steps to the top and took some pictures of the harbor and we will post them later when we get a quicker Wi-Fi connection. That light has witnessed pirates, warriors and sailors for all this time. It survived countless hurricanes and still operates. We were told that it is one of the very few mechanical, kerosene lights still in service.
Hopetown is our easternmost point and today we start west through the Abacos. We will stop tonight in Great Guana Cay where we will take our guests to the famous Nippers and Grabbers. It will be our final visit there for this phase. Weather forecasts call for near perfect weather for the next few days. We hope that we can depart one of the cays for a direct sail to Fort Pierce. It will be an overnight passage with some assist from the Stream. It will also be the first time on our cruise when we will have additional crew to stand watch. Phase IV is almost done.