2007 - 8/25 - 9/7 - Marsh Harbor - Hope Town, Elbow Cay

August 25th  We moved back to Marsh Harbor to attend a party on the Pecheur, an old but gorgeous sailing vessel built in the late 30’s. Very unusual and wonderful. This is Del and Marie, originally from England, owners & hosts of the party.

Dell in Red shirt - Marie on his right

They also have a contract with the Boy Scouts and take the boys out on cruises throughout the islands. We each brought a dish to pass and our own libations.

Patrick & Darnell

  This is Patrick and Darnell playing their ukuleles and instruments were distributed so all of us so we could participate singing and playing. Marie used to be an operatic singer – what a joy to hear her sing that night. A wonderful night with really terrific people. And who said boaters were bums!! We stayed in Marsh Harbor on the 26th & 27th wandering about town again We talked with the bankers and insurance people. Marsh Harbor has grown so much and is now able to supply most needs that we’re used to in the States…however, everything costs about twice as much as the States!  Ahhhh, the price you pay for paradise!
We returned to Lubbers on the 28th to secure the deal for the Garden Cottage. We also went back to the cottage for more measurements on the 30th.  Wayne is now biting his fingernails down to the quick and has to take Tums for his spastic colon! What are we thinking??

Famous Hope Town Lighthouse

We moved the boat to Hope Town on Elbow Cay and decided to treat ourselves & stay at the Hope Town Hideaways, a very first rate looking resort with a fresh water pool…but there were no boats in the docks?  Is it open? We called the resort on the VHS radio and discovered that they were, indeed, open. This was definitely a treat as it had been over a month since we were at a dock and more than that amount of time since we had access to a pool.

Rest day at the pool

Pool & bar at Hope Town Lodge Resort

The girls were in heaven too.  We all rested.  We wandered around town for next few days.  It’s been over 25 years since I was last here and boy have things changed…but not so much in the older part of town. They have a gate to lock out vehicles from driving around the older part of ‘town’. We even went into Vernon’s grocery, which when I was there, was the only grocery in town…great memories! Another place I wanted to revisit was the Hope Town Lodge, a beautiful resort – back then, this was famous for their Sunday Brunch. Things have changed there too. They added to the resort by putting a pool and bar on the ocean side…we found that without problem and proceeded to hang out there several afternoons for happy hour.

Scupper & Molly greet us on our return to the boat

We decided to really splurge & treat ourselves to dinner at the lodge. The food and atmosphere were extraordinary. I wish I had taken my camera but then they would have known we were tourists. We signed the agreement papers for the Garden Cottage on the 3rd and returned to the pool bar to celebrate. Wayne had the pen he signed the papers with and told everyone at the bar that it was the most expensive pen he ever owned! The bar and pool area were fairly crowded for September – we wondered why & discovered it was Labor Day weekend – DUH! That’s how out of the loop we are. 
We had to return to the States – certainly not something I wanted to do. The weather has been perfect so far…the only storm of any consequence was Hurricane Dean which was well south of us passing over Jamaica and the Caymans.
We left Hope Town for Marsh Harbor on Tuesday, September 4th to get some provisions, wine, rum and vodka before our return to the States. While in the Abacos, we listened to the Boaters Web every morning at 0815.  Very interesting and informative and provided by various live a boards in the area. We heard the weather report, world and local news, advertisements by local businesses, special events and heard from new arrivals, departures and a chance to get mail back to the States by giving it to people leaving by airplane. A fabulous service for boaters.  On the 5th we visited with Hazel aboard Lucky H, a 48’ DeFever in immaculate condition. She won’t say how old she is but she’s at least in her 70’s and handles the boat mostly on her own. Quite an incredible woman and I admire her for that – that’s how I want to be at her age except, I’d rather still have my husband with me.  She had a problem with one of her engines and Wayne helped her order the parts and faxed the information to the company.  She reciprocated by taking us to lunch at Curly Tails, a very nice, upscale restaurant on the harbor.  A very enjoyable and unexpected afternoon. 
We returned to Lubbers on the 6th to be present when the survey team arrived at Sea Level Cottages. They were surveying all six lots.  We pulled anchor at 0730 on the 7th and headed to the Stirrup Cays.  It was blowing and very rough, I’d say 5 – 9 swells especially through the passes until was passed Hole in the Wall.  It was a long and strenuous day-too long for me.  We arrived at Great Stirrup about 7:30 pm and boy was I happy to finally shut down the engine. Once again, there were no other boaters in the anchorage.   The Majesty of the Seas was already anchored first thing the next morning – a thousand or so people ready for fun in the sun on their private island with tons of food, of course. We left the area about 7:30 am heading across the Bahamas’s Banks for Gun Cay.  Another uneventful day and arrived at Honeymoon Harbor anchorage at 7:00 pm.  Dark, stormy clouds and lightening all around us but we never did get hit  but made for a nervous night.
PS:  if you check out the location at the bottom of this blog, you can see Marsh Harbor on the left; Hope Town on the right & just below & in the middle, but closer to Elbow Cay is a small island- that's Lubber's Quarter.