My winter seems to have been better than most of your, at least weather wise. I had no snow! The lowest temperature I remember was one morning at 53F, that that was very unusual. Usual low temperatures
were in the 60s. Daytime highs were generally in the upper 60s and 70s. It is supposed to get to 79F today, summer has arrived in the Bahamas. The only weather negative was the cold fronts that pass over the Bahamas. Most weeks we got two frontal systems passing over, some weeks we got only one, and a couple of times we got three. What happens with the frontal passage is the wind picks up, usually to around 30 knots but I recorded gusts as high as 52 knots a couple of times, and begins to clock around the compass, east to south-east to west to northwest after the front passes. When it gets to the northwest, it sits for a day or so at 20-25 knots, then calms down in anticipation of the next front. With all that wind, it is difficult to get around. Now that it is late March, and winter is supposed to be over, the fronts are becoming less often and lower in intensity. Weather is beautiful.But I have been able to explore most of the Abacos in the vicinity of Marsh
Harbor. I have been to Great Guana Cay several times, visiting the famous beach bar, Nippers, located on the dunes facing the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, there are several other bars on the Great Guana as well, and if you visit one, it seems a necessity to visit the others, and that makes for an interesting experience getting back to the boat anchored in Fisher’s Bay with the dinghy. In addition to drinking, there are also great places to snorkel on Guana, and I was lucky enough to be able to do that many times as well, depending on weather. I have also visited Hope Town on Elbow Key several times. There is a working lighthouse in Hope Town that runs on kerosene instead of electricity. It is fun to watch it anchored off Hope Town, knowing the unique source of light. As with all the cays, there are beautiful beaches on Elbow Cay for swi
mming and sunning. Hope Town is a former British Colony town, and it shows, particularly win the accent of the inhabitants, but also in the neatness of all the cottages on the cay. Man of War Cay has a nice marina, and a couple of boat yards to visit, along with requisite beautiful beaches. You can walk to a little causeway area that has a picnic table under a protective cover, and can see the contrasts between the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean and the light blue of the Sea of Abaco while enjoying lunch. Last week, I visited a cove called Little Harbor, which is not really a separate cay, but part of the island of Great Abaco. It is a was south of Marsh Harbor, and takes about three and a half hours for me to get there. The tricky part is the tides. There is a bar that protects the inlet to the harbor, and I can only get over the bar (sand bar, not drinking bar) at high tide, so I have had to wait for the weather and tides to cooperate, and last week they did, so I went down. Had a good time touring the art gallery down there where a popular artist named Robinson was bronze figures on display. You can also tour the foundry where the statue and figures are cast. Oh, and one cannot forget Pete’s Pub (Pete is the original Robinson’s son) for drink’s and lunch/dinner.Even when I stayed in Marsh Harbor, I had some pleasant times. As a member of the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend several of the Club events. Usually they have at least one a month, and I try to attend if the weather allows me to get ashore, and back. Then there are the more mundane things that must be done. I changed the oil in the main engine and the generator (and will do the generator again today). Laundry is always a challenge, what with the weather (on nice days you want to go somewhere, not do laundry, and on bad days it can be blowing so hard you get soaked in the dinghy), and the wonderfulness of the task. Food shopping for fresh vegetables, milk, juice, etc, was a weekly event if I was in Marsh Harbor. The best thing was the availability of delicious fresh bread in the local bakeries. Found a nice place to get a haircut, at least once in a while! Getting water was also a major accomplishment, as I had to pull up anchor and go into one of the marinas to buy, at twenty cents a gallon! I filled up about every other week with 150 gallons.
One of the nicer events in Marsh Harbor is something they call Junkanoo. It is sort of like a New Orleans Mardi Gras, but on a mush smaller scale. Still, the locals get dressed up I extravagant costumes trying to depict their way of life, or participate in marching bands. They have a Junkanoo for youngsters on and afternoon, but the adult version is in the evenings, and lasts well into the night. So, it was a colorful, musical time that proved to be a lot of fun.
One of the boat maintenance tasks I was able to complete while in Marsh Harbor, thanks to John and Cathy Connelly on the motor vessel Fantasy, was replace an anchor windlass that went bad. The windlass means I do not have to raise the 55 lb anchor, along with 100 feet of chain, up by hand. John and Cathy brought it across from the states with them when they came in February. I was able to install the windlass in about a week, with the help of some local hardware stores and machine shops. And, it worked on the first try! It made getting around the Abacos a whole lot easier than having to pull the anchor by hand like I had for a couple of months.
Now, people are starting to head back to the US or other homeports. The people I came across the Gulf Stream with, Dennis and Georgia, left last Friday. Others are planning to leave this coming week. Timing for the weather is the key to a successful crossing. I plan on crossing back to the US around April 15th, so I can be back in Chesapeake Bay around June 1st.
I hope you will forgive me for not corresponding more, I am guilty as hell. I miss everyone, and hope to see you in the summer. My internet service runs out March 30th, so you may not hear from me again from then until I get across to the US in mid April. I may be able to latch on the a free WiFi site someplace, but cannot count on it. Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you, so send a quick e-mail if you can.
So long from the Bahamas
Cliff
S/V Navigator
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