Of Friends and Towns Full of Hope

As we left Man-O-War in our wake, we couldn't help but feel that a bit of our hearts was staying behind. Everyone associated with the school was great, both kids and grown-ups. We felt welcome and are fortunate to have met all of them. The cruising and local communities have a gem of humanity there in Barb and Barry, as well as Nancy and Lawrie. With their smiles and warmth, they are the kind of people I wish to be when I grow up.

But cruisers cruise, and cruise away we did. All 5 miles of them! We needed to do some provisioning and other household chores like laundry. Marsh Harbour is the best place for that in Abaco. Last Monday we bounced around a few different stores and businesses, trying to get everything done as quick as possible. Our friends from Morning Star had a mooring lined up for us in Hope Town and we couldn't wait to reconnect with them. We met them in North Carolina and hadn't seen them since we were in Charleston, in early November of last year.

There's no challenge in getting from Marsh Harbour to Hope Town. The distance is around 7 or 8 nautical miles. But our charts indicated that the channel to get into the harbour in Hope Town is quite shallow, so we chose to spend a night anchored off Matt Lowe's Cay, half way between the two towns, and enter the harbour at high tide the next morning. It was a calm night, full of stars and beautiful in every aspect except for the slight swell that kept us rolling most of the night. We're all salty dogs aboard Taia, so the rolling didn't impede anybody's rest. Except for me. I guess I'm just a salty pup who doesn't sleep well on a rolly boat.

We motored into Hope Town and Melissa from Morning Star told us which mooring to pick up. With her kids in school and her husband, K., at work, Melissa was kind enough to show us around town and even took us snorkelling in Johnny's Cay. On the way to Johnny's Cay we saw a nurse shark about 6 feet in length. It's the first shark we've seen in the wild.

Atlantic side beaches in Hope Town

Hope Town is bigger than Man-O-War but smaller than Marsh Harbour. The whole town looks manicured and is as picturesque as they come. The beaches along the ocean side are breath-taking. The harbour is packed with boats, as the busy season is now getting started. We'll stay here for a few days.

Taia on her mooring in Hope Town

Homeschooling resumed today. The routine is already starting to feel familiar: while Natalia and the kids do school, I roam the boat looking for trouble and gear to break while pretending to fix it. There's also beach-going and snorkelling.

Invasion of the lifejacketed frogmen

Tonight we're going to see how the Hope Town lighthouse is lit. Flipping a switch may not sound like a very interesting event to witness, but that's not how it's done in this particular lighthouse. The process is more involved, as this is one of the last lighthouses in the world that still use kerosene as fuel. It should be an interesting lesson.