4/13/2017. Marsh Harbor

Wind, wind and more wind.  It seems like everyone here has been talking about what a windy season it has been.  Marinas are filling up as cruisers haul anchor and head to a dock to ride out the predicted winds.  Forecasts have been calling for 15-20 knots at times and 20-25 knots at others.  This weekend we are predicted to have gusts in the low 30s.  It’s not undoable, its just uncomfortable.  We’re glad to have committed to a month here at Mangoes.  I have no problem sleeping at night tied up to a sturdy dock.  Some people are not finding dock space available except at much higher resort prices.  Booking for a month dropped our rate considerably and we know we have a slip to come back to if we decide to island hop for a few days.

We had 3 wonderful days with Bill and Kitty.  I can’t express how nice it is to have faces from home visit.  When you are with one person for 24/7 6 months running, there’s not much more we can talk about.  So having fresh ears and voices with news from home was a real treat.  Add a bit of wine and it’s a party.  Bill and Kitty arrived on Sunday early afternoon and we took them out for a stroll of Marsh Harbor.  Because of the winds, we left Subject to Change tied up at Mangoes and took the ferry across to Elbow Cay.  It’s only about a 20 min ferry ride over.  Hope Town is the largest settlement on Elbow Cay and is famous for its lighthouse.  The lighthouse was built in 1863 and is one of the last that is kerosene-fueled.  It has a glass fresnel lens.  Maggie climbed to the top with us and crawled out to the walk to look over Hope Town Harbor.   Unlike Marsh Harbor, Hope Town is a quaint resort community with very few cars.  We also found the first sign of recycling since arriving in the Bahamas.  The small elementary school had a display outside encouraging recycling plastics and glass.

The wind decided to give us a break on Tuesday so we untied Subject to Change and headed northwest to Great Guana Cay.  We dropped anchor in a protected cove just west off Settlemet and Orchid Bay Marina.  As we motored into the cove, we spotted Lucy, home to Long and Day our buddies who crossed the Stream with us.  It was great meeting up with them and hearing of their adventures.   Guana has one of the smallest settlements in Abaco.  The 2010 census reported 127 people living on the island.  The north side of Guana lies along the Atlantic and has a magnificent wide, beautiful beach.  It also has the world famous Nippers Beach Bar.  Nippers is known for its Sunday Pig Roast, AKA  Spring Break for 60 year olds.  Well, we missed Sunday (whew!), but we did make it for lunch. My $16 Cheeseburger in Paradise was only made special by the amazing view of the ocean beach.

And now it’s back to just Tim, Maggie and me.  Bill and Kitty flew back to the states on Wednesday morning.  We’re catching up on chores and chillin.  Our other cruising friends from Green Turtle, Rob and Kim, are at the marina next door, so we’re looking forward to spending some time with them.  Tonight a guy who has spent several months cruising Cuba has offered to give a presentation at the pool about his travels.  We’ll head up to hear him and meet more of our dock neighbors.  Should be interesting.