Hello Abacos

We left Eluthera jumping to the Abacos from current island . We had a sloppy 10 hr trip across the New Providence channel arriving at little Harbour at around 4 pm! We anchored at lanyard cay for two days. We then moved north to Tahiti island. It's really just a point off of another cay and it's a sandbar that appears at low ride. But it holds a lot of sandollars and sea glass , we had fun for two days searching for treasure. We found some sea glass and a sandollar!

We then moved to Marsh Harbour and anchored there for two nights. Marsh Harbour isvtbe third largest settlement in the Bahamas. It has a grocery store that rivals any American one! But prices are still double! We ate at Mangos for lunch and then signed up for the steak nigh dinner at Marsh Harbour marina ! They have a rake and scrape party twice a week, a guy shows up with a bunch of saws and screwdrivers, morrocas and a limbo set up. A great time is had by all. We tried our hand at playing the saws but not the limbo. The fuel dock hand named Desmond is the resident limbo expert. He eventually goes under a 8 inch high bar that's on fire, he lights and smokes a cigarette as he goes under! I would not have believed it if I had not seem it with my own eyes!!

We left marsh Harbour and sailed north to fisher bay and anchored there do we could go to the two beach bars on the island , Grabbers and Nippers! Both are cool beach bars with swimming pools and water toys you can use if you buy food or drinks!

After one night we the headed to Hopetown Harbour wherever picked up app ring ball! This is the coolest place we have been to yet! Beautiful Harbour with a world famous lighthouse that beam sweeps over us each night, and a wonderfully bunch of well cared for. Pastel gingerbread houses and cool bars and eating places!!!!

Here are some pics




Tahiti beach in the Abacos, neat sand bar to find treasure




The group a full moon party at Cracker p's






The group at Mangos at Marsh Harrbour





Marsh Harbour grocery ! Now this is a grocery!






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Anita in front of Iggy Biggie a cool shop in Marsh Harbour





The famous Jib Room at marsh Harbour marina





Limbo Desmond at the rake and scrape party at marsh Harbour marina






Grabbers beach bar beach





Bahama bob at grabbers






Famous Hopetown lighthouse







Example of Hopetown houses







View from discovery in Hopetown Harbour






End of the road chairs in Hopetown







Cholera cemetery in Hopetown






More Hopetown







Favorite t shirt in abacos






Hopetown. Fire department

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The big catch!

Finally after several false alarms, and a half dozen barracuda I caught a fish that we could eat!!!

On our sail across the New Providence channel I hooked this 38 inch 15 pound Mahi Mahi!


Wow what a beautiful fish, it's a neon show in the water, the colors in this photo are nothing to when it was alive in the water, it took my breath away! I kept calling to Anita to look at the color of this fish, it's startling how bright these guys are in the wild!


We managed to gaff him and board him. We put him on ice and cleaned him when we got to little harbour, the we dined on him the next night with the 4 boats over to ours! Tis Good had caught a even big one a couple of days earlier so they brought theirs over also so we ate like kings that night!


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Goodbye Georgetown hello up islands

Well after 3 weeks we finally broke free from Stocking island! What a great carefree time. Sandollars beach, chat and chill, monument beach, will be back next year for sure.

We headed out at sunrise and Blackpoint was our goal. Traveled with our new friends on Hey Jude. Made good time and covered the 50 miles or so in about 7 hrs! Anchored up in black point sound and spent a couple days there. Picked up a couple of loaves of lorraines moms ciniamon raisin bread and eventually headed the 7 miles up to big major to anchor. We had 3 great days feeding the pigs, and snorkeling thunderball grotto! Much more fun in the sun with warm water. We explored the area with the dink, even ran up to Sampson cay! Had a Kalik at the yacht club and had a wonderful time.

Our friends on Stargazer and Tis Good arrived and we set off across the Exuma Sound for Eluthera. We arrived in Rock sound and spent 2 days there. Had a great meal the first night at a beach restaurant called Pascals. Next day went in to town looked around and set off for the black hole, found it and then our group decided to walk to the ocean beach, after about a mile we got to a high point and realized it was at least anothe couple of miles and turned around. Then a van pulled along side us and offers a ride to and from and the lady driving said she had a beach side Resturant so we said done deal! Turned out great! Super food, great view and the owner Rose was a wonderful person with a great life story!!

Next day we set out north for current cut about 50 miles north. We had a gear sail with 20 knots on our stern and no swell in exuma sound! We made it thru the cut with no problem and anchored on the north side of current island and spent a quiet night.

Next day under overcast skies and squalls we sailed north across the new providence channel destination little Harbour abacos! The trip was 10 hrs of large swell and rolling seas. We had to motor the entire distance since we had very minimal wind dead on the stern. Only good part of this trip was the fact that we did not encounter any storms and I caught my first mahi mahi!!!!

We arrived safely in little Harbour, anchored off of lanyard cay, and we treated to a wonderful arrival dinner at Casa Blanca our new friends caliber 40!






Another round of pig fun at big majors







Staniel cay yacht club is as good as the exumas gets! This is a dot from the front porch of the bar!




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Blue hole in Rick sound Eluthera. This is 700 feet deep and connects to the ocean!





A ocean fish in the blue hole that's downtown Eluthera




The three girls from stargazer, tis good, and discovery, on the deck at roses's Resturant on the ocean at rock sound!




The band of 6 at Roses's






The famous Rose!





Chillin at big major!!



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More Georgetown pictures

April 6th 2013

We completed our 2nd week here in Georgetown yesterday! Went with several other cruisers on our dinghy to a reef at the far south end of the Harbour this Thursday, saw a bunch of new coral including stag horn coral!! Massive gold formations that look just like stag horns! Went for walks on the east side of stocking island, had lunch at StFrancis resort with a group of our cruising friends. Here are some more pics




This is a picture of a portion of the beach on the easy side of stocking island






Very cool rock formations on the east side beach at stocking, they call this area the baths.





-Rock formation on the east side beach.




This shot is of the dock at queens beach one of the three main beaches on the west side of stocking and a favorite anchorage.





This is big d's beach bar on queens beach






Anita at the dock for big D's beach bar at queens beach


Our group at lunch at St Francis resort at volley ball beach





Pic from the veranda at St Francis




Anita with her trumpeter shell!





Bob tests out his hooka set up that pumps air to him when he cleaned the bottom here in Georgetown



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