Author: Phil

Five days in Hope Town catching up from our last visit in 2017 shows us there’s lots of building going on as we do a golf cart tour — both reconstruction after the hurricane and a major boom in new housing construction beyond the village center. While the town folks are pleased with the investments in the community, they are committed the settlement maintain its historic background and distinctive charm. Many of our old haunts are still here though. Vernon’s, an institutional market is still run by 7th generation islander Vernon Malone, now in his 90’s and a direct descendent of Wyannie Malone, the notable original settler. His current main concern is Trump’s policies that prevent his getting a Visa to visit his children and grandchildren that are living in the US. We found that others in the community have the same problem!

As elsewhere in the Abacos, there are fewer boaters than in the past, but we still find that most are as friendly as ever. A group of 4 guys (one from Radford, VA) we met at FireFly, a local restaurant, just brought a 28′ boat over from Florida that they and their families will use over the coming summer. Plus, Carey met a former Manassas resident now staying here. As a weather update, it’s still in the 70’s with plenty of sunshine.

Finally, the winds have died down, and we woke to less than 10 knots, a perfect day to travel to Hope Town on the Sea of Abaco, even though we’ll likely see 3-foot seas as they lay down from past strong winds. Hope Town is a perfect island getaway located on Elbow Cay. It’s steeped in history and dotted with quaint New England style houses and cottages. It’s home to the last kerosene-lit lighthouse in the world. Getting there was accompanied by heavy rains most of the day. Luckily, it’s only an 8 mile trip and we were tied up by 12:30. We’re staying at the Hope Town Inn and Marina and enjoying this top-of-the-line facility. Probably be here for a week checking out the changes resulting from the 2019 hurricane. We ‘ve been updated by many fellow boaters on the changes … all commiserating that the cay is becoming more commercialized. The draw for transient boaters has jointly been the simple charm of the historic settlements, as well as the natural beauty throughout Abaco. Cruise ships don’t enter the Sea of Abaco and the settings are not developed or staged. Or, they weren’t until Disney purchased a cay at the bottom of the Abacos, outside of the Bahamanian Bank. Haven’t yet heard the status of that.

We didn’t leave on the 20th as planned because the winds were a very brisk 25 mph from the North and the Sea of Abaco had 3 1/2 footers to travel through to Hope Town. We are safely moored at Guana and decided to stay put until the weather improved. That appears to be Thursday. Hopefully we’ll be underway for Hope Town tomorrow. We are enjoying the time on board doing a few chores and some reading. Too much wind for much walking around.

Paid our bill on the 18th and were underway by 9 AM for our 16 NM passage to Orchid Bay Yacht Club on Great Guana Cay. But, before we left Green Turtle, I filled the water tank. Boaters have to pay for water by the gallon in the Bahamas at a cost of $0.35/gallon in most places and it is all R/O. Needless to say, we monitor our usage over the 2+ months we’re here. And, before we left, Carey insisted we get a photo of an anchored sailboat with an attached menagerie of inflated ducks trailing off their stern. Note in the following photo the larger leading duck is festooned with a real set of headphones. They’re Canadians (our favs!). Then, heading out we quickly found fresh 12-15 knot winds as we made our passage to and around Whale Cay in the Atlantic Ocean. Surprise … the trip was pleasant — two-foot ocean swells with a 6 second period made for an easy ride, even with the moderate south winds. The Whale passage can be hazardous under certain conditions, but we safely ducked back into the Sea of Abaco from the 5 NM Atlantic Ocean travel and proceeded to Orchid Bay. Arriving by noon, we rented a golf cart and quickly toured the island, had lunch at Nipper’s and drinks afterward at Grabbers Restaurant on the beach, both 2 of our favorites. (DON’T FORGET — LARGER PICTURES WHEN USING WEBSITE BY HOVERING OVER PIC AND TAPPING “CTRL” TWICE. USE TWO FINGER EXTENSION ON PHONE OR TABLET).

We woke to strong moderate winds the next day (15-20 knots from the north) and a forecast indicating we may have a week of these and possibly stronger winds. So, we decided to leave tomorrow for Hope Town where there’s lots to keep us happy and busy for a week in case the weather doesn’t improve. Meantime, today, a Nippers lunch and off on the golf cart checking out any changes on the island since our last trip here. Some pictures below.

Lazy relaxing days as we continue to be moored at Leeward Marina in Green Turtle Key. Sightseeing, reading, and relaxing plus a few chores on the boat make for a relaxing time as we await the passing of a cold front associated with 20+ knots of wind from the north that can make the passage through the Whale, to get us to the rest of the Abacos, a non-starter. We’re enjoying life and will move on to the rest of the Abacos early next week.