Man O' War Cay

On Man O' War Cay, almost all the residents seem to be descended from the Alburys.  That's the name on most of the businesses and almost all the plaques on the memorial.  The township is very proud that the winner of the Bahamas Student of the Year is from Man O' War, and she's an Albury.  She also happens to have been blind since birth, so the news is as humbling as it is exciting.  As in all the Bahama Islands, you get the sense that the whole village raises the children.  The town is fairly heavily populated to be so small, but everything is very neat and well-groomed.  The inhabitants travel about the island in golf carts and on cycles, so the streets are narrow and the pace is slow.

happy faces everywhere!

the bank doesn't have to be huge when the town isn't

 

nor does the high school

Of course no island visit is complete without a beach trip, so we retired to the beach after strolling through the town.  Joe and Salty joined us (he's traveling solo now since Julia flew back to NY) for a last evening before he starts back to the U.S.  He's used to single-handing (well, Salty actually contributes four cute paws), but both he and Salty like it a lot better when Julia's there!  There was a beautiful sunset to wish them safe passage.

poor salty in Time Out

 



On Sunday September Song picked up the sailors for a fishing trip.  We motored for over two hours in search of fish.  Stephanie was at the helm while Bob, Jay and Rusty loaded the outriggers and planned where to put all the huge fish.  Turns out the huge fish had other plans, so with the exception of one very unhappy barracuda, no aquatic life was disturbed.  But it was a beautiful ride and the view is quite different from the fly bridge of a huge trawler than it is from the cockpit of a sailboat.

the Nancys and Godiva saying fish prayers

Stephanie searching for fish

Jaybird faking a catch

Movin on

Our next short trip was to Mattlow's Cay (privately owned).  At the risk of sounding redundant, there were beautiful beaches surrounding the anchorage and the caretaker of the island was very gracious when he advised us not to venture onto the island because there was a "guest" there.  The available lots were selling for between 1 and 4 million, so of course we all purchased on the spot.

 

 

When we arrived at the anchorage, Serendipity rafted to September Song.  While refueling in Nassau, our overzealous dock attendant pulled the boat too close to the dock and a piece of blade snapped off the wind generator.  Thankfully, the piece landed on the boat.  Bob suggested the raft-up so we could reach the blades (it's tough to climb the arch on the outside and balance while working on the moving blades).  Bob and Jay removed the blade, epoxied the pieces, and solved several world problems over rum.  The next day we repeated the rafting process and they reattached the blade.  It seems to be working (just a bit wobbly), so we're able to supplement the solar panels for power again.

Captains Bob and Jay de-blading the wind generator

Bob and Stephanie invited us all over for fish tacos that night (still enjoying their huge catch from Black Point), so we celebrated life and fish and good friends and beautiful places.  I know, I know, life is tough.......

Marsh Harbour

Our next destination was Marsh Harbour, into a marina, to explore and reprovision (re-rum).  Serendipity is always the last boat anywhere, since we're the slowest, but this time we outdid ourselves.  Due in part to the full moon, the tides were more extreme than usual.  It was mean low tide, and there were boats running aground everywhere.  Since we have a 6' draft, we were advised by Rusty (who had already plowed a new channel with his keel) to wait a bit before entering the harbor.  So we dropped the hook and had a leisurely lunch, watching the depth sounder all the while.  We made it into the dock later, only dredging a small channel as we pulled in.

Yikes! 

 

 

Julia got the unfortunate news that she was needed back in New York, so we had a farewell dinner at Mangoes that night.

Peter, the friendly bartender at Mangoes

We hit town (on foot of course) the next day to visit grocery stores, seafood stores, spirit stores, and to generally look around. The grocery store was huge and very well stocked (compared to some we've visited in the past few weeks that only had two sweet potatoes and a maxi pad), so even though we're provisioned well enough to live for several years of course we bought more. Thankfully, produce has been available almost everywhere, so we get fruit and salad ingredients when we can (even if we pay almost $2 per tomato).

Stephen and Pam headed for Bristol Spirits

Captain at the local drive-in movie

We wound up the day with happy hour and a cookout at the pool, comparing shopping stories and meeting new best friends.

Bob loves his noodles

 

We decided to stay over another day, since the winds and weather were somewhat threatening, so we strolled the island in a different direction.  The Captain found a conch horn (we're practicing -- some of our neighbors think there are bull elephants mating in the area) and we found coconut bread and macaroni and cheese so good it didn't even make it back to the boat.  It's a quaint town, with lots of ferries to and from other islands.

been a while since we've seen this name!

 

Tilloo Cay

We took a short trip the next day and anchored at Tilloo Cay.  We hit the beach and were surprised to find awnings, picnic tables, 3 big grills (without tanks but with plenty of debris on the grates), chairs, and a horseshoe pit!  We sat in the shade, chatted, and watched the not-so-competitive horseshoe games.   Quite a few cruisers before us had contributed to make a pleasant play area.

horseshoe strategy

Godiva patiently waits for the lazy humans to throw her tennis ball

 The next day we visited Cracker P's for lunch, which was a short dinghy ride from the anchorage.
The setting is gorgeous, with the beautiful Tahiti Beach across the bay.
 After lunch and of course a ring-toss game for the guys, we went next door to Lubber's Landing, which is a surprisingly neat little place.

Nancy adjusts umbrella on unique outdoor table

our gorgeous and gracious hostess

the chicks in the nook

 There's a bar, uniquely decorated and with a lounging nook large enough to sleep a crowd, a small shop to support Abaco animal rescue,

indeed

and cottages available with a private beach (although we keep quoting the "All Beaches in the Bahamas are Public" sign we saw in Staniel Cay).  The cottages were very small, but appointed with flowing gauze canopies over the 4-poster beds,

nice touch on the cottage bed

kitchen counter and shower tiles made of recycled glass bottles, tile floors, and just enough space to be a cozy retreat for two people (and one very cute cat named Speedo that accompanied us on our tour). 

Speedo, King of the Abacos

 There was a large basket of snorkel gear on the terrace of the bar, available apparently to anyone who wanted to use them.  What a great place!

Lynyrd Cay

Our next stop (after a VERY bouncy trip) was Lynyrd Cay.  We anchored and immediately went to the beach, where the dogs romped and the girls searched for sea glass.

We decided to visit Pete's Pub in Little Harbour the next day for lunch.  We had a great trip to Little Harbour, doubling up in the faster dinghies since it was a long ride.  The pub was decorated with t-shirts (and some shorts and boxers and hats -- how do you leave a pub when all your clothing is hanging on the wall?) left by previous patrons.  The lunch was great, the gallery next door had impressive sculptures (with impressive price tags), and it was a beautiful day -- so beautiful that we'd all left the windows and hatches open on our boats. 

no nonsense here!

the calm before the storm

When Rusty noticed the sky was getting darker and darker in the direction of our boats, we jumped into the dinghies and sped back.  It was like riding a mechanical bull under a waterfall -- especially when we stopped and the wall of water washed over the fronts of the dinghies.  We made it back before getting a free interior boat wash, but just barely!  The storm was pretty rowdy; our anchor drug so much during the 40 mph winds and 4-5' seas that Jay had to drive against the wind until it was over to keep from dragging into another boat or onto the rocks.  We did need the free boat wash after the trip from Spanish Wells, but not necessarily a pressure wash and blow dry.

To Eleuthera

After a peaceful anchorage on Saturday evening at Rose Island outside of Nassau Harbor (complete with fireworks in honor of Mother's Day Sunday), Serendipity and Summer Wind sailed to Spanish Wells in Eleuthera.  When we got there, we reconnected with September Song, Tide's In, and Sea Pearl, who had taken a different route from Black Point in the Exumas.  It was nice to see them again, and Bob (our social chairman) had already made reservations for a delicious dinner at Gap. Spanish Wells and the Abacos are different Bahama Islands than the Admiral had seen before (the Captain had visited them on charters years ago).  The natives are descendants of British Loyalists (who left the U.S. believing they would prosper in the Bahamas by gaining the British trade), and are predominantly Caucasian with distinctive British accents.  The inhabitants of Nassau, Andros, and the Exumas are descendants of slaves and are mostly black, with accents that resemble the Gullah of Charleston.  The towns are small villages with cottage-like homes, narrow streets and very neatly tended lawns, whereas the Exuman homes seem built to withstand the elements and are mostly concrete structures situated somewhat randomly on the islands.  We wandered the streets for a bit, having arrived late in the day, and enjoyed catching up during and after dinner on all that had happened in the week or so we'd been apart from the trawlers.

what a gentle way to say "slow down"

the Nancys on the ferry

Jay, Pam and Bob on the ferry

We took the huge fast ferry from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island, which was a wonderful (and friendly) place to visit. 
  We rented a golf cart so we wouldn't miss anything, and with Captain Jay as our driver we chugged up some hills we didn't think we'd make (especially when we increased our number to 8 in the 6-person cart).  

all aboard!

We lunched at the Blue Bar, 

outdoor seating at its finest

boys gone wild

a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the pink beaches (pink because the sand is mostly comprised of crushed coral).  Stephanie and Nancy found that the rum punches did indeed punch.

sleep it off, girls

When we got back to Spanish Wells, we found Captain Ron on the dock as we left the ferry (and all this time I thought he was on Serendipity!).  He'd been in business there for quite a few years and was happy to show us his pet fish at the dock.

 

We hired a pilot to guide us out of Spanish Wells, because the water gets mighty skinny on the way out; even the ferry took a rather circuitous route the day before.  The guide tied his tender to September Song and took over her helm until we were well into deeper water.  It's always good to have local help and knowledge.

September Song piloted by a native with his boat in tow

we set him free when the water got deep