Man O’ War Cay is about five miles from Marsh Harbor, so it
was a pretty easy jaunt. Before leaving the marina, however, we needed to
recover our dinghy. That meant we had to hoist it 23 feet and onto the top deck
of the boat. We started the process about 0830 as we wanted to do it while the
wind was still calm and so we could get to Man O’ War before the tide changed.
We got the dinghy redeployed (Lord, I don’t like doing
that!) and headed out by about 0900 with our friend John, and his boat Vulcan, close behind. We timed our
arrival to coincide with an outgoing tide about two hours after high tide. This
ensured maximum control of the boat as we entered the very narrow entrance to
the harbor and also ensured that we would have plenty of water under us. We
took a mooring ball near the back edge of the mooring field and secured for the
afternoon.
Rather than deploy our dinghy, John deployed his – a much
simpler process – and we headed into the settlement. Man O’ War is an
interesting little town. It, too, was settled by Loyalists shortly after the
American Revolution. As was the case on several of the other Abaco Islands, the
settlers tried several different cash crops, including one that most other
islands did not attempt – cotton. In fact, we took a little cotton from a
cotton plant whose DNA probably goes back 230 or so years. At some point, the
locals discovered that neither cotton nor any other plant was going to make it
so they turned to what turned out to be an even more lucrative craft – ship
building – hence the name “Man O’ War Cay.”
 |
| Mike and Ann in front of a gift shop on Man O' War Cay. |
Now I haven’t read a detailed history of Man O’ War Cay, but
I am absolutely positive that one of the first settlers had to be the Albury
family. How do I know? Because I swear one-third to one-half the population of
the island is surnamed Albury. We met a
lady in the museum and engaged her in conversation. She married her elementary
school teacher, Haziel Albury. At the sail shop, we learned that the
proprietress’ grandfather, Norman Albury, started making sails 100 years ago.
We walked past a number of houses, many of which had Albury on the mailbox. If
you tire of the Albury name and need to get off the island you can do so using
Albury’s Ferry Service, or you can have a boat made at Albury Brothers Boats
(and they make really beautiful skiffs). If your boat breaks, you can have it
repaired at Edwin (Albury’s) Boat Yard. If you decide to stay, you can go to
Albury’s Harbor Store for provisions. Now there are Alburys elsewhere in the
Abacos, but Man O’ War Cay is certainly the center of mass.
 |
| It makes ya wonder: Was this named after one of the Albury's or all of them? |
The residents of Man O’ War are known throughout the Abacos as
being very religious – and as having been religious for quite some time. I think I already mentioned that it is a “Dry
island”; no alcohol is served or sold. Beyond that, in other settlements we saw
a few golf carts or the odd car with a religious bumper sticker – not here.
Nearly every vehicle had a religious saying on the front. Moreover, we passed mothers
picking up their kids from Bible Study Class (the adult class, we were told
would take place up the street). As they
were picking them up, we heard the names Micah, Caleb, Joshua, Ruth and Sarah.
Now, the anthropologist in me (BTW: I should note that I have been a soldier,
defense analyst and economist; I have never been an anthropologist) as I was
saying the anthropologist in me would say that the Man O’ War-ians are also
very proud of their religion and far more willing to proselytize than residents
of other islands. We believe the citizens of Fox Town, for example, are also very
religious. But we inferred that because Judy told us that most people observed
the Sabbath unless “they really needed to” (meaning, I think, that they were
especially poor or that they needed to save for something). Anyway, they didn’t seem to wear their
religion on their sleeves – they were no bumper stickers, the kids’ names were
a little less Biblical and we didn’t hear of Bible Study taking place – on
Sunday, people were observing a day of rest.
 |
| Hmmm Someone at Man O' War knows his geography! |
There is one other difference I should note between Fox Town
and Man O’ War. In Fox Town the residents were poor and Black; in Man O’ War
they were White and Middle Class. Ok, Ok, enough seriousness. But one of the
tasks I set for myself when we came to the Bahamas (besides making sure the
boat didn’t sink) was to understand a little bit about how and why the islands
are different. I’ll pick up this task later on, but I assure you that I will
label the section “WARNING: OBSERVATIONS OF A PSEUDO-ANTHROPOLOGIST!!!”
What else can we tell you about Man O’ War? I am not sure.
We had heard that the island had good beaches. We had thought we might get a
car and go see the, But I have to admit, in Hopetown one of the highlights was
going to “On Da Beach” and having a beer and some grouper fingers. In Man O’
War, not only was there no beer (remember, it is a dry island), but there
really wasn’t a restaurant on the Atlantic side. So, instead of taking a ride
in a golf cart, we walked a distance instead.
You know what I kinda like islands that serve beer on the beach J.
 |
| Another reference to the Alburys. When we were talking to the 77 year old museum lady she told us they used to live in a one-room house because they spent most of their time living outside. |
No comments:
Post a Comment