Marsh Harbor and Hopetown

Hopetown Lighthouse
June 27, 2009 (Sat.)

June 24-25, 2009

    We spent these days trying to provision, go to the bank, get groceries and liquor as well as find a replacement for our dinghy pump.We went to every hardware store and marine store in MarshHharbor that we could walk to. Chas bought two different pumps but the fitting would not fit the dinghy, so we will limp by with our old one which he can get to work after a fashion. I did go to the grocery.  The very fine store Maxwells evidently burned down last year so there is only Price Right now.   I also did 3 loads of laundry between showers.  The conch Inn usesd to have facilities but now send it out at $12/load.  I took a cab back to the Conch Inn so the clean clothes would not get wet in the dinghy. laundry cost about $15.  We ate at several restaurants: Mangoes, Curly Tails, and Snappers.  While eating lunch at Snappers, we saw a boat with Mt. Pleasant on its stern so Charlie went to check it out.  Turns out that the boat is from Charleston Harbor Marina where we keep our boat and is on our same "C' dock.  He and his family are here on vacation as well as planning to sail in the Regatta.It is such a small world sometimes. We were docked nest to several multiple-masted sailboats which were taking out groups of boy scouts and one of girl scouts for a week

We invited several skippers and mates over for cocktail hour the last night which was their layover day.  Two of the boats had been built by their skippers.  The scouts come from all over the US.  Another of these boats, a big cat,  was in Little Harbor while we were there.       

  

June 26, 2009 (Fri.)

     We left Marsh Harbor and sailed over to Hopetown on Elbow Cay.  The winds were light but it still took us less than two hours. We entered this lovely harbor and picked up a mooring ball as they do not allow anchoring in the harbor.  We met the Drums who have the cat "Reverie" that we had seen in Spanish Wells and Harbor IS. They were anchored outside of the harbor in water too shallow for us.  They came into the harbor and picked us up to go to Harbor View restaurant overlooking the harbor.  After lunch they went back to their boat and proceeded to Marsh Harbor.  Back on our boat, we kept waiting out threatening rain showers all afternoon.  We enjoyed watching them fire up the famous red and white striped lighthouse.  We ate grilled grouper, a gift from the Scout boat next to us at Conch Inn Marina.  

June 27, 2009

     We went ashore and explored Hopetown.  We had been here two years ago.  We walked along the beach stopping in Hopetown Lodge for refreshments before walking back to the center of town.  The houses on Hopetown are all colorfully painted and are usually named something clever. There are a couple of small grocery stores and a seafood mark

et.  We enjoyed walking along the streets before arriving at Iggy-Biggy, a store next to Capt. Jack's restaurant where we had lunch. I had stone crab claws and Charlie had conch. We also saw some boaters we met at Sampson Cay in the Exumas shopping today. We also ran into them at harbor IS and marsh Harbor at the grocery store.   Back to the boat to run the generator for the refrig/freezer.  We are enjoying the breeze on the boat as it  is very hot today.  No rain yet.  

    We plan to sail to Guana Cay tomorrow for Knippers Sunday Pig Roast.  We will probably anchor out in Fisher's Bay.  We will meet the Drums again there.  I don't know if we will stay another day there or not.  We have to be back in Marsh Harbor on Wed. to pick up our crew members for the Abaco Regatta   I'd like to visit Man-of-War Cay if there is time.