Back to Hope Town & Marsh Harbor

Sunday, February 21 - Sunday, February 28, 2010
Can you say "gun-shy"? We've taken the long way (i.e. the 20nm "deep draft" route) from Little Harbor to Hope Town. There's a shorter route (only 16nm) to Hope Town on the east side of Lubbers, and it's probably fine for our draft at high tide. Still, we know that the area outside of the Hope Town channel is also extremely shallow, and want to be there near high tide as well. Rather than risk yet another grounding, we're going with the extra 4 miles. We were able to motor-sail for part of the trip, and were hailed by Rick & Linda on Sojourner a couple miles outside of Hope Town. Linda's mom, Mary, and her friend, Peggy, are visiting for the week; they were both flight attendants for Braniff in the 1940s, and have been best friends ever since. After lunch with the four of them and some much-needed wi-fi, we all joined Jim and Linda on Winsome. They have a beautiful boat and we always have fun with them. (Jim & Linda - thank you for hosting!) We spent the next morning at the Hope Town Coffee Shop, enjoying breakfast, coffee, and more internet. Besides being a beautiful spot, Hope Town's restaurants have some of the best wi-fi (free to patrons) in the Abacos. All the more reason to go!

Tuesday afternoon we're back in Marsh Harbor. There are THREE strong fronts forecasted to blow through in the next week - it must be a record! The first one comes through on Wednesday night, the next on Saturday, and a third on Tuesday. All are forecasting gale-force winds (34-40kts), with Tuesday's front bringing "strong-gale" winds (40-45kts). We've followed Winsome over from Hope Town and anchored near them in our favorite spot near the Jib Room. It offers good protection, being farther from the inlet and incoming swells. Gary on Breakaway is still here, too, and the five of us get together on Pipe muh Bligh for chili dinner and Mexican Train dominoes.

Thursday night the Bahamas government holds a "People to People" event at the Commissioner's House to thank second homeowners, cruisers, and other repeat visitors for their contributions to the local economy. They serve hors d'oeuvres and drinks, local artists sell arts & crafts, a band plays island favorites, and best of all, they have a mini Junkanoo! The troup is decked out in their finest festival wear, and Stacy even gets to wear a Junkanoo hat and shake the cowbells. What a night! Jerry on Free Spirit, Carrie & Alex on Knot Now, and Bill & Tike on Skylark are also at the party, and we realize they're all anchored nearby. Friday we reconnect with Art on Destiny, who joins us at Snappa's Friday evening. The weekend is a quiet one, since we're all riding out the weather on our boats. We see 35kts during Saturday's storm and stop looking after that. Sometimes it's better not to know! Monday we'll be off to Treasure Cay to settle in for the next blow. Gee...is it just us, or has the weather completely taken over our lives? :-)