Ahhh, the Abacos

    The Abacos are an extensive island chain that surround and protect  the blue, clear waters of the Sea of Abaco.  A beautiful inland sea -  sailor friendly with plenty of mooring balls, reasonably priced marinas, RO water, an A.M.. Cruisers Net on VHF 68, and a plethora of restaurant/bar beachside establishments.  We have spent about a month cruising and exploring the Abacos before heading home. 
Life is Good.

Some excerpts from our time in the Abacos

April 24, Easter Sunday
Little Harbour to Tilloo Island
9:00 Weather's overcast, 17-19kts wind but I'm ready to head elsewhere.  A rough, blowing Easterly, lots of white caps & BIG rollers off the ocean.  David gave me the helm just as we approached the N. Channel Cut. Tanks a lot! Alice Mae rolled & wallowed and bobbled her way through.

11:30  Anchored south of Tilloo Cut.  We're schooched in behind a little west-curling finger of land  on Tilloo Island.  This should help if the wind takes a northerly turn.
Footnote to this journal entry:  We truly were protected from the NE storms but were hammered when the winds shifted to the South. 

Thurs. April 28
Man O War Cay to Marsh Harbour, Mangos Marina

island racing boat - check the boom

    Like many of the Abaco Islands, Man O War has moorings.  It's a tight little mooring field, but we're here.  MOW seems like a quaint working town.  Narrow lanes populated by golf carts.  This island is known for it's boat building and sail making heritage.  They make some fine, hand-crafted, wooden sail boats.


Island Banker hours



 10:30  Life goes by on Island Time.  Breakfast with some of Lola's fresh baked bread, listen to the Abaco Cruisers Net then on to Marsh Harbour.  Finally got around to leaving MOW.  We  were tied up at Mangos Marina by noon.  Islands are close together here in the Abacos.






Hope Town -  Another colorful, sailor friendly island.  The harbor is crowded with an assortment of mooring balls.  We ended up just grabbing one and hoping it wasn't a private mooring.

    Marilynn (my sister) has been visiting.  We walked through  town, enjoyed Hope Town's great, local museum, bought some batik Ambrosia cloth, strolled on the windward beach and then spent the evening playing JACKS (Bingo) at Jacks Bar.  It was, after all, a strenuous day.

   Next day we climbed the old lighthouse stairs to enjoy the beautiful view from this working Hope Town Lighthouse.





 To explain the newspaper...our local paper publishes travel pictures showing St. Augustine folks traveling around the world.  I want my shot at fame.


on top of the Hope Town Lighthouse



Wed. May 4

Hope Town to Little Harbour

I'm really getting bad. Not sure when we left Hope Town, but the winds are calm, we have our sails up and heading south to Sandy Cay to try to do some snorkeling.

1:00 Sandy Cay

We hit it right.  Calm enough conditions to drop a hook (2 tries) and dinghy to the mooring balls on the outside of this little inside reef.  We saw lots of staghorn coral and one HUGE brain coral.  Lots of fishes. The water is sooooooo beautifully clear.

3:00 Moored back at Petes Pub in Little Harbour.  Spent a fun evening drinking their signature "Blaster" drink and talking to the locals and tourists.  Good thing David could locate Alice Mae in the dark. As you can probably guess, Marilynn & I were not much help.



 

Saturday May 7

Great Guana Cay

Managed to snag a mooring in the little harbour at Guana.  I'm never sure if I'm grabbing a mooring ball, a fish trap buoy, a private mooring or a shallow-ground marker.  If I come back, I'd drop a hook just around the corner, in the northern bay.

Grabbers, on sandy Sunset Beach, under palm trees.  We found our place!

A friendly bar with a fresh water pool and a pretty sand beach for a backdrop.  Since it was Derby Day, we made our own Derby Hats and dinghied to the bar.   We were a hit!  Had a fun, fun time getting the entire bar watching and cheering during the 2 minute Run for the Roses.

Sunday, May 8   Mother's Day

Rented the reigning mode of transportation- a golf cart.  Spent hours (well, maybe 2) touring Guanas golf-cart sized roads.  I like their Yard Art.

Drove our trusty rental golf cart to Nippers for the big Sunday Pig Roast.  The food was good, the music was real loud, and the patrons were young.  

David & I managing to have fun at Nippers



 Friday, May 13

Green Turtle Cay to Allans Pensacola Cay

N26 45.70       to       N 26 59.20

W77 20.70       to      W 77 41.60

8:30 Dropped our mooring ball. (never did find out who to pay!) Allans Pensacola is an uninhabited cay about 25 mi. from Green Turtle.  Our sails are up but the wind is very minimal.  We be moto-sailing.

11:00 approaching Cooper's Town on our port.  Doing about 5kts. Winds coming from our "no-sail" zone at about 9kts.  Pretty, puffy clouds in a blue sky. I guess it's another day in paradise.

12:30  Crab Cay. made our last course heading change to 304dgs. About 6 mi. to go to A.P.

2:00 Anchored in 3.5 ft. of pretty, clear water with about 5 other boats.

2:10 David down for his nap.  Such a strenuous day.

May 15 - May 17

Little Grand Cay, Rosies Marina



Alice Mae at the dock at Rosie's


 

Rosie's colorful rental cottages



Spent 3 lovely days hanging out in this low-key, working community of black Bahamians. They live close to their waters.  They know the reefs and the fish  and the shallow sand banks.   They know where the conch are and where the lobster is hiding.  Seems the weekend contingency of sport fishing boats had arrived.  It takes them 4 hrs. from Stuart, Fl. in these fast boats. (what can I say, there was a deep pang of jealousy when I heard that.)  We walked around the golf-cart streets until we found Rosie's Marina Bar & Restaurant.    Rosie is the island bar/restaurant/fuel dock and cottage rental kingpin. Just remember, if you go there-  Rosie is a man. 

Tomorrow we head home.  After 4 months of cruising on Alice Mae, we cross back through the Gulf Stream and head north to St. Augustine, Fl.  We go back to our house, our dog, and our landlubber life.  Life will still be good, just a little less exciting.

 Alice & David on Alice Mae