Hope Town to Marsh Harbour

Today we said goodbye to Hope Town, but first dinghied into town for breakfast at Capt Jack's, did a little shopping, and toured the picturesque candy-striped lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1863 by the British and still uses the same technology with kerosene-fueled mantle, shining light for 20 miles. The history story is that the townspeople made their living on salvaging shipwrecks and fought the building of the lighthouse at that time. Hope Town has lovely little cottages and gardens on narrow lanes only wide enough for a small car. In fact only cars, trucks, and golf carts that have permits are even able to get beyond the locked gate into town so it is primarily a walking village, adding to its quaintness.

We left at 2pm, two hours before high tide, so that we would have sufficient water under us leaving the harbor and had a short 90 minute sail to Marsh Harbor, the hub of the northern Abacos. The cays of the Abacos are fairly close together, but due to shallow water in areas, we will have to weave back and forth to get to the next cay. Today's route was pretty straight-forward.

We will be staying in Marsh Harbour for the next week at the Marsh Harbour Marina, often called the Jib Room. It is a laid-back marina with very friendly cruisers, some who have been here all season. They use it as a base and sail to nearby cays for several days weather permitting. We had pizza with several couples for dinner on the porch and were entertained by boat stories. I have included a picture of the pool and marina and our pizza supper.

Joy