Hopetown and Elbow Cay (30 January – 1 February, 2012)

We changed our minds. Instead of going to Great Guana Cay, we decided to go to Elbow Cay and Hopetown and postpone our trip to Great Guana for reasons that will become obvious later. Although most of the hour-long journey to Elbow Cay was pretty boring, the last half mile or so became a bit more interesting as the water became a bit skinny; there was only about 2 feet under our keel – and it was high tide. Nevertheless, we winded our way into the harbor. Now the harbor at Hopetown has no anchorage; instead, there are about 100 mooring balls – many of which are very close together. It seemed as if most of the balls were designed for boats a little smaller than ours – maybe a bout 40 – 45 feet. Moreover, the mooring field was very crowded. We had been led to believe that there the occupancy rate would be about 50%, but when we got there we only saw about ten empty balls. We searched and searched, and eventually found a ball that we thought we could grab. As we did so, however, we learned yet another lesson.




After what will be forever remembered as The Action at Hopetown Harbor,
 the decks were awash in blood.

This was just a mooring ball, right? We had picked up several of them over the years – at Annapolis, in the Solomons and in the BVI. It wasn’t THAT hard and we certainly didn’t need to use the headphones we used when we anchored. At any rate, I moved the boat up to the first ball and Ann grabbed it with a boat hook and started to build a bridle as we always had in the past. I noticed, however, that there were two lines extending from the mooring ball, not just one. That meant that we should probably bring both lines on deck and connect them to the two bow cleats.  Unfortunately, Ann was too busy trying to connect everything to notice that these mooring balls were different than those with which we were familiar. Moreover, since we hadn’t bothered to connect our headphones, I couldn’t tell her that these balls were different. In her valiant efforts to bring the lines from the mooring balls on deck, she pinched her skin and cut herself. Luckily there were no sharks in the water and the man-eaters did not detect the blood that went in the water – or at least they didn’t swarm the boat. But Ann saw the drops of blood that fell on the deck and insisted that I document the decks were awash in blood.

Eventually, though, we did get the lines on deck and secured ourselves to a mooring ball. We were on the edge of the mooring area and discovered that when the wind blew in certain directions, the aft end of our boat stuck well into the channel. Over the next two days it was interesting to see the ferry boats squeeze between us and the shoreline. All of them succeeded, but there were times when it seemed (to us, at least) a pretty close call.

The day we arrived, we deployed the dinghy and explored Hopetown. It was another kind of touristy place with a couple of grocery stores (about the size of a 7-11), a hardware store or two and a couple of souvenir shops. They also have a little museum that we toured. Like New Plymouth (in Green Turtle Cay), Hopetown was also formed by Loyalists after the American Revolution.  They also have a lighthouse that Ann had to see. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out until later how we might have been able to examine it up close.

The bottom sign says "Ft. Collins 1877"

The following day we rented a golf cart, got a thirty second driving lesson (that included the admonition to drive on the LEFT) and set off to see the rest of the island. We had a great time! First, we headed south on the main road – actually, the only north-south road. We saw a sign that showed us how far it was to various places in the US – including my birthplace, Fort Collins, CO. We drove to the end of the island and found a nice mini-resort (The Abaco Inn) and a beautiful marina (Sea Spray). The water is very skinny getting into the marina, but if we went in at high tide, I am pretty sure we could make it. We also found that on the Atlantic side of the island, Elbow Cay has a wonderful beach. The breakers are pretty strong so you might not want to swim in it, but it is great for walking in the sand and generally enjoying life.

The picture doesn't capture the beauty of the long beaches.

We also discovered a little beach bar and grill called, appropriately enough “On Da Beach.” We had an order of grouper fingers that was absolutely delicious. They were marinated in beer and local spices then grilled to perfection. In fact, while I strolled the beach, Ann quizzed the cook, the prep man and the barkeep on how they were made. They weren’t that busy as we were the only customers in the place and I think we were the only ones they had seen for some time. Anyway, I think some homemade grouper fingers are in my future! We also stopped at Firefly, a new resort on Elbow Cay. It was on the Sea of Abaco side of the island and had a beautiful view and an elegant atmosphere.

ANN’S NOTES: I really like Hope Town…except for the blood on all my clothes…I really did hurt my thumb… (note to self: water, wind, current and tide will ALWAYS win over a human hand…anyway…I am fine now…my thumb can now bend without too much pain JThe mooring ball we had was in a perfect location right next to the beautiful candy striped light house. I swear, at night I could see the light go around  and shine through the Fresnel “bull’s eye” lenses. The lighthouse was built in 1864…one of only three lighthouse in the Bahamas. The lighthouse is still wound by a keeper every two hours and it is a kerosene  lamp.  It is 101 steps to the top …I did not get up to the top this time but will next visit. I loved going out on the deck of the boat and just watch that beautiful light shine…it can be seen 20 miles out…can you tell I am a lighthouse fan? Love what they do and stand for…come into a safe place and stay clear of danger. The golf cart rental was fun…we explored all sorts of places…the beach bar was wonderful. Talking to the people and learning about them is a real treat while traveling. I also get a few local cooking tips…another one of my favorite things to do…cook. The Wyannie Malone museum was not like any museum you would see in the states…only little signs that said please do not touch and they had some really old stuff in there. Bless all those pioneers…they were made of better stuff than I. Come visit and we will share Hope Town with you any time.

The Hopetown Lighthouse