We reached the Abacos on 4/4/2008.  We took advantage of a “marginal” window and left Spanish Wells.  The “monkey” did fix the wind instrument…or so it seems…for now anyway.

The trip was a little “rolley” with 6 – 8 ft. seas, but the wind was on our beam at around 18 kts.  That means we had a good sail.  Since diesel fuel is $5.75/gal, we really like sailing!

We went through Little Harbor Channel to get into the Sea of Abaco.  It was a little dicey since the waves were breaking across it.  We actually slowed down to follow another boat through.  I guess if they had huge problems, we would have gone on to the North Bar Channel.  We then went a couple of miles and anchored along a nice beach to spent the night.

The next day had us arriving at Hope Town around mid day.  This is the winter “home” location of Skip and Gerri Smith on Yellow Bird.  That’s the boat that we started this entire trip with last November.  They’ve been coming to Hope Town for around 15 years or so…and are sort of like Royalty down here (don’t tell them I said that).

Well, they actually came out in their dinghy to be our “follow me” boat to enter the harbor of Hope Town.  After “bumping” the bottom, I finally got it right and made it in.

That’s when the action began.  It’s a packed social schedule with the Smiths…whew!!!!  Dinner on various boats and houses, and of course, attending the famous “Stand Ups” at the Hope Town Sailing Club.  They’re called Stand Ups because they don’t have enough chairs to sit down.  They are heavily attended by the members and are filled with great appetizers…and did I mention rum?  We would then go to a local restaurant and have pizza. 

Hope Town and the Abacos are different from the “lower” Bahamas as they were mainly settled by Loyalists in the 1700’s.  This gives them a New England appearance.  I think Hope Town is like Nantucket with palm trees.  Very quant with fancy little cottages everywhere.  Since the Abacos are the closest islands to the US, there are lots of US conveniences.  There are restaurants, bars, big grocery stores, marine stores, and hardware stores.  They even have a traffic light…the first one I’ve seen since December 2007.  The Abacos are a fairly common stop for cruisers as they head back to the US in the spring.  It sort of gets you “re-acquainted” with the US before you actually get there.

When Yellow Bird left Hope Town to go back to the US, Fine Lion left to go with them for the first night to Bakers Bay on Great Guana Cay.  It was difficult to keep a dry eye as they pulled out of the Harbor in Hope Town.  The Harbor erupted with horns, whistles, and bells signaling their departure.  People came out on docks to wave good by.  It was truly “Travelling with Royalty”.  After we anchored in Bakers Bay, two power boats came up to say good by to the King and Queen of Hope Town.  Everywhere we went in Hope Town, we were recognized as friends of Yellow Bird.  That put us in good standing automatically.  (or maybe bad standing…you never know)

The next day, Yellow Bird left at 6:00 AM and went straight through to Cape Canaveral and got there at 2:30 PM the next day.  That’s a fast trip.  They are now making their way up the East Coast to Annapolis, MD.

After Yellow Bird left we went to Nipper’s Beach Bar on Great Guana Cay for their Sunday Pig Roast.  Needless to say, it was a blast!  Great food and rum (they seem to have rum everywhere down here).  We’ve been sort of bouncing around the Abacos for a few days now.  We’ve done some snorkeling, but mainly just relaxing.  We’ve hooked up with some more of the other cruisers that we met along the way back in the Exumas. 

Kim left for a visit to Colorado today, and when she returns, her sister Debbie and her husband Ruben will come down for a visit.  After that, we will start looking for a weather window to start back.  We are NOT looking forward to ending this cruise.

We’ll have more to report later.

Steve and Kim