Back at Marsh Harbor

We are back at Marsh Harbor Marina and  are staying for the Junkanoo on Saturday night and will head out again on Monday or Tuesday weather permitting. Not sure where we will go, whatever way the wind is blowing.  We went across the harbor for the Junior Junkano last night and the kids were really great, they put on a great parade and we will be back tonight. The National Trust had a farmers Market this morning and we got some fresh vegetables and baked goods, so all is good.

Little Harbor

We are now moored in Little Harbor, at the Southern end of the Sea of Abaco. We spent last night anchored in the lee of Lynard Cay about 2 miles from here. This morning we crossed over to the harbor and entered through a 4' swell which realy rolled us around a bit as we were abeam to it, but no problems. Our ALFA WIFI adapter realy works great as we were still able to connect to the WIFI here at Little Harbor from over 2 miles away with no problems and still read our E mails and check the weather. The wind is supposed to increase tommorow, so we will spend at least 2 nights here.

Cinnamon overload at Man O War !

We woke up this mornung to at least 20 knots of wind so we will be staying put until the wind dies down a bit. Being stuck here is not a bad thing, it is a nice little Island, and every day Lola the local bakery lady drives around town selling bread and wonderful cinnamon rolls from her golf cart. If you haven't looked at the slide show lately, I just uploaded a lot more photos to it.

Valentines Day, Man O War Harbor, Bahamas

We are now anchored out in front of Man O War marina in the harbor. This is just a small Island, smaller than South Bass Island in Lake Erie. It is a dry island so it is not a party Island Like South Bass, but it is the main boatbuilding island in the Bahamas. There are many boatyards and there many great craftsman here, and if you are a woodworker this is a must stop for you. We are spending a couple of days here and hope to move farther south on Wednesday weather permitting. Very friendly people here, nice shops, a good bakery, and grocery store also. We grilled steak on the boat tonight, and had red wine and chocolate as it is Valentine's day. Life is good !!!

Buck a Book

Yesterday we visited "Buck-A-Book", a shipping container full of used books and DVD's. Every book sells for $1, the DVD's rent for $1, and the proceeds go to "The Wild Horses of Abaco". http://arkwild.org/blog/  It rained most of the day yesterday, that was the first long rain we have had all winter so far.  When we were at Hopetown the other day one of the local bars, Captain Jack's was advertising a "Dress Like a Walmart Shopper" night, we would of liked to of been there to see that. We still are having the time of our lives, and hope to move on to the next island tommorow.

Hopetown

We started out for a walk yesterday as the winds were forcast to be 30 knots or more by Chris Parker of the Bahamas and Caribbean Weather Services. We first walked to Cottman's Castle which was  the home of Evan Cottman, an American doctor who once practiced in the Out Islands and went on to write a book called "Out Island Doctor." He built the home himself and it  is a landmark on the Island. After viewing the home and taking a few pictures we continued our walk and since we were already near the ferry dock we decided to take the ferry over to Hope Town on Elbow Cay. The harbor was smaller than I expected and quite full. There is not room to anchor in the main harbor as it is taken up by moorings. Chris thought the mooring balls were close, but as long as you don't have anthing over 45 ft there should be enough room to swing. We had a good day walking the town and exploring. We had a good lunch at Captain Jacks on the harbor, I had the grilled Wahoo and Chris had the special, Curried pork with rice. The portions were more than enough, and we left quite full. We ended the day back at the Jibroom at Marsh Harbor with the cruisers happy hour and trivia night. It still looks like it may rain today so we will be here for a little while more. Chris is getting restless and wants to move on.

Boat Harbor Marina

We took a walk around the harbor today, went all the way around to the other side and had lunch at Curly Tails. Then we walked the docks at the Sunsail and Moorings base in front of the restaurant. When we looked back at the docks we saw a couple we met at Lake Worth who crossed the Gulf Stream the same day as we did. They are docked at Boat Harbor, so we walked back to their dock to see the marina. It is really nice and you get a great rate if you join The Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club. The first years dues are only $150, and $30 after that They also have special rates at other marinas so we will be joining. We are meeting some great people as we cruise and it is great as you cruise around and run into each other again and get to swap stories and tips.

Superbowl Sunday!

We had a great Superbowl celebration here at the Jibroom at Marsh Harbor Marina. We had a potluck where all of the cruisers here brought dishes and watched the Packers beat the Steelers, and I won the final square on a game board for $50.
 Washed the boat today and mother nature did an additional rinse most of the afternoon. Need to clean the stainless on the boat tomorrow, the saltwater down here is much harder than Lake Erie water was on it. One thing we are thinking of for next year is replacing our Dingy with a RIB Hypalon hard bottom dingy. Ours works OK but the RIB's plane and track so much better, and you don't have to worry about dragging them ashore and damaging the bottom.

Changing Location

Off the dock early and took the boat over to Marsh Harbor to the marina there,I was hoping to hop further south but an approaching cold front with 30 knot winds in a few days stuck us here.I think that Mike just wanted to watch the Super Bowl here at the Jib room though.After tying up we walked the dock and a fishing boat arrived and had huge lobster tails for 5 dollars-I guess that I won`t complain about the dock.We took a dingy ride around the harbor and reconnected with people we met in Annapolis and Palm Beach and other ICW  spots-small world.Happy hour here is in an hour so I better dig up a snack-weather is 80`s by day and cool nights.   chris