Hello all

We had a grand sail all the way to Abaco, entering the shallows at Little Harbour bar. The three vessels traveled well together making approximately the same speed and arriving at the cut with only 30 mins between the first and last boat. But it was too rough out there for fishing. Even Murray put his pole away.

In the morning, we all moved northward to anchor near Boat Harbour to take shelter from the expected strong north winds. Seldom do vessels anchor here but by the end of a couple of days of north winds, there were seven or eight boat anchored around us. We dinghied to the nearby marina to check it out. There was a fee of $25 to land your dinghy but it could be put towards a restaurant or bar charge. Rob and Mary, s/v Sojourn, offered to treat us to lunch and picked up the dinghy charges. We had hoped that we would have access to the laundry for that fee but it was not allowed. Walking along the sidewalks into town, we checked out the changes in the past year. The harbour certainly wasn’t as full as during our last visit.

On the 31st, Flextime and W4 headed into Marsh Harbour for laundry and re-stocking. Sojourn sailed off to Hope Town to celebrate Rob’s 60th birthday. Once the jobs were done, we hauled anchor and headed out of the harbour again, dropping the hook south of Matt Lowe Cay, again in a spot that no one uses. Peace and quiet.

As an April Fool’s joke, I awoke with very painful joints and could hardly walk about the cabin. Flextime headed off to Hope Town to join Sojourn while Murray singlehanded towards Man-o-War Cay and a quiet day aboard. The other two vessels re-joined us on Friday and we celebrated with sundowners in a gazebo ashore where the island narrowed. By then, I was moving slightly better. On Saturday, we all headed to Fisher’s Bay, to join the hoopla the next day at Nippers.

Nippers is a bar/restaurant on the ocean side beach of Great Guanna Cay. Every Sunday, they have a pig roast, music and dancing. Easter Sunday was more of the same with the added attraction of Easter egg hunts in the water. The food was delicious and plentiful. But the crowd seemed younger or maybe we were older. So, on we went to Grabbers for one more round of drinks. Here we met up with Doug and Sharon on s/v About Time. By then, we were partied out and it was only 3 pm. Time for a nap or at least, a swim.

In the morning, everyone moved the 3 miles to Bakers Bay and arranged for sundowners on the old pier. Doug, Rob and Dave, from s/v Tamaki, brought guitars and sang as we chatted and enjoyed the evening. What a super time! Bakers Bay is much changed with a marina, golf course and expensive houses everywhere along the shoreline. What used to be an abandoned paradise used only by visiting sailors has been discovered by the rest of the world.

About Time sailed off to Treasure Cay while the rest of us went shelling on the Spoils Island. The shelling was as good as I remembered and my bucket soon was rattling with tridents and murexes. But the weather was about to change and it was time to get above the Whale Cay passage. All three vessels headed off to Green Turtle Cay the next morning and anchored just outside of New Plymouth. Time for another walk ashore. The wind increased later and the anchorage became bumpy. So, we led the crew around the corner to Cocoa Bay, where it was flat calm.

Right now, the four vessels are separated with Sojourn and About Time in Green Turtle on docks or moorings. Flextime and W4 took shelter at Munjack Cay, just north of Green Turtle. Here we can swim and take long walks ashore when the boredom sets in. The winds are blowing and supposed to increase soon. Every day, we download the latest weather report to see when we can make a safe passage to the US. From the info we have, it will not be before this weekend and maybe later than that.

So, don’t expect to see the whites of our eyes any time soon. But the water is approx 80F and the wind generator keeps the batteries full enough for movies at night. The smell of baking bread permeates the boat. How can we complain?

That too is life aboard. Hugs

Heather & Murray