Well, it's Friday, and we're still in the Abacos. We decided to put off our crossing to Eleuthera for a few days due to weather. Tomorrow the ocean waves will likely be high from all the wind we've had this week, and Sunday evening a cold front is supposed to blow through. So we are hoping to cross maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. We were going to pass the next few days at Little Harbor (closest harbor to the passage between the Abacos and Eleuthera), but realized after looking at our guidebooks that there isn't much there. So we are staying in Hope Town, which has a well protected harbor, until the cold front passes.
We intended to sail to Hope Town yesterday, but when we woke up, 1) the holding tank for the head wouldn't empty, 2) the watermaker wasn't working, and 3) the dinghy floor had mysteriously deflated. Taking the time to address all of these problems meant that by the time we'd get to Hope Town, it would be low tide and we would have a difficult time getting into the harbor. Also, I figured that three bad omens were enough of a warning. If we sailed, the boat would probably spontaneously combust or something equally catastrophic.
Fortunately, all of the three issues were fixed reasonably quickly and we had a quiet day. We were at Great Guana Cay, an island which is something like the Panama City Beach of the Bahamas. Its claim to fame is a bar called Nippers on the ocean side that Hill wanted to visit. It's the kind of place where Jimmy Buffet would be right at home. There is great snorkeling right off of the beach, but it was too windy for us to try it.
If Great Guana is Panama City, then Hope Town is somewhere in New England. Like Green Turtle Cay, it too was settled in the 1700s by American colonists loyal to England. It has a candy striped lighthouse and numerous quaint cottages lining the harbor (all of which seem to be for rent).
We've been listening to the Abaco Cruisers Net in the morning (a radio program for sailors with weather, news, and local events) and learned that tomorrow morning the Hope Town Fire and Rescue is doing a demonstration. They asked that all of the boats in the harbor close up their hatches so as not to get smoke inside them. This led to a discussion between me and Hill of whether we should close ourselves in our boat (which could potentially lead to asphixiation?) or if we should exit the boat and go on shore. I think the answer will be determined by what time we wake up.
On Sunday the Hope Town sailing club is having dinghy races open to anyone, so Hill will probably take part. I was ready to join in until Hill told me that only one person can sail each dinghy. I'm not quite ready for that, although I'm sure the spectacle would be entertaining for everyone else.
Hope Town also has some nice snorkeling right off the beach that we are going to sample tomorrow.
P.S. I added another photo album with some pictures from the Abacos.
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