Back in the early 2’s, or I guess our generation could call them the “aughts” like our Grands might have once called those early years of the last century… Anyway, the last time Todd was in the Bahamas, he and his best friend Matt went to Hope Town’s humble yet iconic waterside restaurant, Cap’n Jacks, for a classic Bahamian meal – a conch burger and a Kalik (local beer). Well, Dorian damaged it, but it’s still there, repaired and even expanded. The restaurant is settled between the water and the street. Yep that’s the street in the view. They’ve expanded with restrooms and a wholesale liquor store across the street!
The charted depths in the narrow entrance channel to Hope Town Harbour are very shallow, too much so for us. Not wanting to miss it, we figured we would anchor out and take the dink safely in to visit this renown harbour on Elbow Cay. But here’s the power of the cruising community, shared “tribal” knowledge. Friends who were in there assured us we could do it if we came in on the rising, almost high tide and take it slowly. Careful. Careful. Breaths held, fingers crossed, we went for it. Whew. Plenty of depth in the mooring field in the harbour. Good buddy Dave met us in his dinghy to help us get her hooked up. The harbour is fairly crowded with boats but provides protection from the winds, as you’d expect. Although there are a few closures due to Covid-19, we look forward to exploring the outdoor parts of Hope Town, the “jewel of the Abacos,” while waiting for a northerly to pass. Oh and one might ask why “harbour”, well, once again just honoring the country we are visiting.
1st Mate charting Lat & LongSomeone has their own very nice island homeApproaching the Elbow Reef Lighthouse near Hope Town HarbourComing into the harbour on high tide
And…here we are, safely moored near the light that has served as a beacon since 1863, one of the last kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world still in operation. Its weights are still hand-wound. Can’t wait to dinghy over and climb the 101 steps to the top! It’s exercise, Todd, exercise!
With the New Year’s holiday over, we took a taxi into town at Marsh Harbour Tuesday morning, in order to look into an additional data plan. Now we are covered by both BTC and Aliv, which means we don’t need to be in a marina and should be good to go. So, go, we did – left the marina in our wake to get back on the hook, this time, Man O War Cay. Aaah. Solitude again. The anchorage was a bit breezy and rolly but nothing SaltyMare couldn’t take in stride. That is one of the reasons the Bahamas are so alluring to cruisers, a seemingly endless supply of little islands. In the Abacos, several are inhabited and have the neatest little communities. The Albury family has been building boats on Man O War for about 70 years, first wood and now fiberglass. About 15 years ago, they expanded to Riveria Beach in Florida. It’s a cool story. https://www.alburybrothers.com/
Not a bad place to wait for a taxiSunset off Man O War Cay
The next day we walked into town on Man O War and then hit the beach for some in-the-water fun with John and Madeleine from Chanceux and Eddie and Jennifer from Kaikos, who were kind enough to let us try their inflatable standup paddle boards. We both did great! Until we didn’t. Splash! No way to hide that gracefully.
That night there were five or six boats anchored nearby.
Street with an ocean viewFROM U.S.S. ADIRONDACK WRECKED ON MAN-O-WAR REEF 1862. CANNON RECOVERED BY VERNON ALBURY AND OTHERS ON WM. D. LEE’S M.V. LUCAYO IN 1949.Come back, Honey! No, you can’t paddle all the way back to the boat.
You cannot talk about spending time in Marsh Harbour/Abaco without mentioning Hurricane Dorian that literally sat on Abaco for a couple of days in 2019 and devastated the island. Most of the Bahamas got whacked, but Abaco and the surrounding area really took the brunt. Two years later, many businesses are still closed, others without phone service, and there is plenty of evidence of the storm’s destruction, but the resilient Bahamian people are rebuilding!
Memorial Park
says it all
Entrance to the little park right on the HarbourIn the background, the foundation of the house that WAS there.
Rebuilding
Lots of this, used to be a home, business, something?One of the many works-in-progressAnd a good bit of this, good old fashioned rebuilding!Harbour View Marina working at it!Fun to see the town still has a spirit!
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