March 7-13

Enough excuses about weather, tides ...

We left Green Turtle Cay just after noon, at hgh tide, and traveled four miles north to anchor at Manjack Cay with Jim and Danette. They will be returning to Florida while we plan to head south around Whale Cay which will put us in the southern Abacos. The 'Whale' is an almost legendary passage in the ocean to get around the shallow water on the Sea of Abaco.

Once around the Whale, which featured very kind six to eight foot waves, we headed for Marsh Harbour. This is the largest city in the Abacos and a very good place for restocking. It may not be the prettiest spot in the Bahamas, though, and so the next morning we headed over to Hopetown on Elbow Cay.

Hopetown is a very popular cruising and vacation destination. The Hopetown lighthouse is the signature landmark that overlooks the harbour and provides a measure of warning to mariners about the dangerous reefs on the ocean side. It is still in use and open to the public. There are spectacular panoramic views from the walkway around the top, basically unobstructed by the protective netting.