From the Helm of Adamant 1 – Blog 25 – An excellent winter in the Abacos

Unusual Boat

Mar 28, 2019

a most unusual watercraft!

It has been hot in the Abacos this winter. Whoever said this area was cool this time of year must have visited in a bad year. We have no complaints about the weather. Anyone contemplating a vacation destination should give this area a second look.

Low Place Crew
group of boaters get together for picnic lunch

Marsh Harbour is the transportation hub as well as the banking and shopping stop. Elbow Cay is where the artsy stuff happens…the plays, the music nights, the fun fairs….and it has all the bars and restaurants. Guana Cay is a party island. Treasure Cay is the resort area with the beautiful beach. The fishing is great in the Abacos and if you want to be alone, there are loads of small islands to nuzzle up to and drop the anchor. Just ask our Norm and Dolores, company that arrived late February. We had a terrific time with them and they fell in love with this area.

The first order of business the day after they arrived was to get the dinghy engine running. The guys watched a couple of YouTube videos, covered the dining table, put the engine on the table (yikes!) and went to work. It took most of the morning, but they got it working. Would you believe I forgot to get pictures of all that! We spent the rest of the day exploring Man-O-War and they found out why we love this island. The flowers, the views, the houses, unique road signs, interesting “sculptures” and the friendly residents all contribute to the quiet, laid back atmosphere. 

Two Waters
Atlantic Ocean on the left, Sea of Abaco on right

The next day we had a terrific sail to Treasure Cay. We spent one day lounging on the amazing white sand beach, and the next day sunning by the pool. Norm found out the rum punches they mix up at the bar can be very potent…good, but really strong!

Pat and Lynn
Pat and I in Hope Town

Another beautiful day of sailing took us to Hope Town where we walked every street we could find, ate ice cream, and had a beer….Norm took a pass on a rum punch for some reason. We visited a Memorial Garden that was amazing. The flowers were beautiful, there were many donated sculptures, a big gazebo, and a place to picnic right beside the ocean.

 

Wooden Horse
horse made from branches and sticks

Before long it was time to go back to Marsh Harbour to catch their plane. They treated us to a night in a marina where we had a pool, laundry and best of all, we had hot showers! We had a fabulous fish dinner at Mangos Restaurant, and then they had to leave. 

When we returned to Man-O-War, we had an invitation to a flower arrangement demonstration, all proceeds from the admission and raffles went to the museum. Pat wasn’t very enthusiastic about it and as it turned out there were about 30 women and only two men! But to his credit he stayed and it was a nice way to spend a hot afternoon. We were at a private home with a magnificent wrap-around porch that overlooked the ocean.

After that day, Pat got busy again working on the masts for the William H. Albury. As of this writing they are ready to paint, but unfortunately we won’t get to see the masts stepped. 

We have been thrilled to spend a week with Folly, a boat from our sailing club that we travelled with in 2016 and 2017. We also had a visit with Trekker, another boat from our sailing club. Two nights ago there were nine Canadian boats in our little harbour. Dan, our American next boat neighbour, said he felt outnumbered. So we gave him a Canadian lapel pin, a maple leaf book mark, a small Canadian flag and made him an honourary Canadian! We will miss him; he has been a great friend and neighbour.
It occurred to me while we were out walking this morning that my next blog will be done stateside as our time here is running out. We are going to be very sad when we leave this island and the friends we have made here. What a place!!!

Until next time…..

Lynn Lortie– Longtime CY staffer Lynn Lortie and her husband Pat left Midland the summer of 2016 to make their way into the Great Loop and head out on a three year sailing odyssey. Follow their progress right here in CYOB.

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