The morning sun shone over the Hope Town lighthouse as we had our breakfast. The light is still a working hand wound, kerosene lit lighthouse. There are only three like it in the world that still operate this way. All three are in the Bahamas. 
We decided to head in. At the entrance to the channel we ran aground. This time I could not get myself off. I was in the channel but aground. I am sure you can appreciate how frustrating that is. One fellow tried to pull us off with his boat but his engine was too small. Another boat had two bigger engines and once we got the lines setup he pulled us off easily.
I didn’t try the other side of the channel although it did look deeper. We decided to go back out and anchor and dinghy in. Our first stop was the Hope Town lighthouse. Elizabeth had been there before when she was seven so she was looking forward to going again. It is spectacular and the weather and sun that day was perfect for picture taking. Thank God for large memory chips.
After we dinghyed to the hot lunch spot. The girls went exploring while Jane and I had lunch. Then Jane went exploring.
When she came back she had Regatta Time in Abaco tee-shirts. As she showed them to me an old sailor came over from across the bar that I had been meaning to go talk to anyway. He had a beautiful gold sailboat on a chain.
After he asked Jane were she got the shirts and how much she paid I sat down with him as he ate his lunch. He told me that he has been coming to Abaco for over 50 years. His 41 sailboat was on a mooring ball just off of the deck. Evidently he had helped organize the original Regatta Time races.
His daughter had just finished visiting. He said that he spends about 50% of his time on the boat alone. He was 87 and it was fascinating talking with him. Earlier I had though while looking at him that that could be me when I am old. Man, it’ll be a while before I am that old though!
We had a great day in Hope Town and dinghyed back out to the boat. We had our portable depth sounder on the dinghy and checked the left side of the channel. Six feet of water. More than enough to get in. There were also lots of sailboats in the inner harbour so I know it’s possible. Maybe next time.
We got back out to the boat around 1600 and the weather was perfect for sailing west. So we got off of the hook and put up the sails and went west. Great sailing for a couple of hours. Then we had to decide where we were going to get fuel, water and supplies. We could go to Marsh Harbour but that is not that much fun. I decided to head for Man-O-War Cay.
Jane has always wanted to go there and so have I. It has a nice protected harbour and I made it into the narrow entrance without running aground. I still don’t have a tide chart yet. We entered the harbour which is picture perfect and grabbed a mooring ball.
Steaks for dinner on the grill!
We decided to head in. At the entrance to the channel we ran aground. This time I could not get myself off. I was in the channel but aground. I am sure you can appreciate how frustrating that is. One fellow tried to pull us off with his boat but his engine was too small. Another boat had two bigger engines and once we got the lines setup he pulled us off easily.
I didn’t try the other side of the channel although it did look deeper. We decided to go back out and anchor and dinghy in. Our first stop was the Hope Town lighthouse. Elizabeth had been there before when she was seven so she was looking forward to going again. It is spectacular and the weather and sun that day was perfect for picture taking. Thank God for large memory chips.
After we dinghyed to the hot lunch spot. The girls went exploring while Jane and I had lunch. Then Jane went exploring.
When she came back she had Regatta Time in Abaco tee-shirts. As she showed them to me an old sailor came over from across the bar that I had been meaning to go talk to anyway. He had a beautiful gold sailboat on a chain.
After he asked Jane were she got the shirts and how much she paid I sat down with him as he ate his lunch. He told me that he has been coming to Abaco for over 50 years. His 41 sailboat was on a mooring ball just off of the deck. Evidently he had helped organize the original Regatta Time races.
His daughter had just finished visiting. He said that he spends about 50% of his time on the boat alone. He was 87 and it was fascinating talking with him. Earlier I had though while looking at him that that could be me when I am old. Man, it’ll be a while before I am that old though!
We had a great day in Hope Town and dinghyed back out to the boat. We had our portable depth sounder on the dinghy and checked the left side of the channel. Six feet of water. More than enough to get in. There were also lots of sailboats in the inner harbour so I know it’s possible. Maybe next time.
We got back out to the boat around 1600 and the weather was perfect for sailing west. So we got off of the hook and put up the sails and went west. Great sailing for a couple of hours. Then we had to decide where we were going to get fuel, water and supplies. We could go to Marsh Harbour but that is not that much fun. I decided to head for Man-O-War Cay.
Jane has always wanted to go there and so have I. It has a nice protected harbour and I made it into the narrow entrance without running aground. I still don’t have a tide chart yet. We entered the harbour which is picture perfect and grabbed a mooring ball.
Steaks for dinner on the grill!
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