Time to say adios

March 21, 2007

We listened to the weather forecasted by Chris Parker this morning on our SSB and it looks like we’ll have a decent window to cross to Eleuthera sometime early next week, either on Tuesday or Wednesday. The winds are still strong today (25-30 knots), but they will be moderating throughout the week and into the weekend and are forecast to be around 10 knots on Tuesday. The seas should settle down as well, so we’ll keep a close eye on the weather and pick our best day. Another cruiser in the harbor, who is also planning on spending hurricane season in the DR, is also crossing to Eleuthera at the beginning of next week, so we’ll try to coordinate if feasible and perhaps cross together.

Last Friday there was a small party in honor of Don’s 76th birthday, the arrival of Dave’s girlfriend from Florida, and our anticipated departure to points south. It was a great time with good food and conversation.



Linda & Don on Don's 76th birthday.


Our Hope Town Gang assembled. This is the group of friends we have been hanging out with in Hope Town. The men in the back: l-r Gordon, Dave, Don, Hans, Brad; the women in the front: l-r April, Carla, Kristen, Linda


Hans, Kristen, Carla & Gordon.

The Hope Town Sailing Club hosted dinghy races on Sunday from Optimists, Sunfish and traditional Abaco dinghies. We went out on Gray Fox with Carla and Gordon to watch the races. Of course, today’s race for cruising sailboats has been postponed because the winds are too strong for the race committee. We’re going out anyway to practice using our storm jib.



Abaco dinghies underway.

Hope Town

March 20, 2007

We’re in Hope Town, still…
Last week we sailed up to Man-o-War Cay to drop off our genoa (the larger, older sail that flies from the front of the boat) with a sailmaker to restitch the UV protective cover which was fraying. We then sailed over to Marsh Harbour for some final food and supplies provisioning before heading south to Eleuthera and then the Exumas. After sailing through Man-O-War to pick up the genoa, we returned to Hope Town on Friday to wait out a cold front. The cold front passed and we’re ready to go, but a series of strong HI pressures are causing high winds and seas in the entire Bahamas, all the way through Saturday. The forecast for almost every day is: 20-30 knot winds with 7-11 foot seas at 6-10 second intervals. Whisper could easily sail to the Exumas in these conditions, however it would be hard work for us and quite uncomfortable. We’ll stay put for the time being, but Hope Town fever is setting in!

Hans parents, Roger & Karin, are arriving at Staniel Cay in the Exumas on April 13 for a two week vacation. We’re very excited to see them and to spend time together in the Bahamas. We would like to leave the Abacos by April 1 in order to arrive at Staniel Cay ahead of the 13th, so hopefully the winds will calm down in the next two weeks!

In the meantime, we have a new list of small projects we would like to complete so we’ll stay occupied while waiting for the weather. Yesterday we worked on stopping the leak in the rudder post. We think we were successful, but, as with all boat projects, it usually takes a third try for a good solution! One of the next projects we’ll tackle is permanently installing the SSB antenna. It’s a very simple job, but it requires one of the cockpit lockers to be emptied in order to fit a human (usually Kristen since she is smaller) inside.

Sorry there are no pictures to accompany this update. We’ve been a little lazy with the camera lately. We look the same, except Hans has a new haircut and a shave!

What works for us

March 16, 2007

We recently received some questions about cruising and outfitting from a reader of this blog. We have omitted their email for the sake of privacy, however perhaps others will find our thoughts & response useful:

A 36' Catalina is a good sized boat, however, speaking from a 27' boat perspective, get the smallest boat that you think you will be comfortable on. Everything is exponentially cheaper (dock lines, dock fees, rigging, sails, anchors, running rigging, hardware, etc. etc.). When we first moved on to Whisper, it seemed like everything was on top of everything else and in the way, but now that we've been living on her for 6 months, we don't even notice the small space. A Catalina is a good boat for the Bahamas, however when we bought our Albin Vega our main focus was a seaworthy, solidly built boat. Catalina's tend to be better for racing, lake and coastal weekend sailing. I wouldn't want to make any long passages to windward or any ocean crossings in a Catalina (nor a Hunter or Beneteau). Having said that, lots of people are here in the Bahamas in those same boats and are very happy. So, it really is your own personal preference. A book we found very useful is John Vigor's "20 small sailboats that will take you anywhere." But again, our cruising plans extend beyond the Caribbean.

In terms of budgeting: We have an estimated budget of $1000/mo. So far we've stayed to that budget, although this month we had to stitch the genoa and we're about to buy a new dinghy so we'll go over that. We're hoping that each year that passes, we'll spend less money. Most people spend a lot more than that, it just depends on your lifestyle. Since we've been in the Bahamas, we've only paid for dock space twice, and haven't paid for any moorings. We sail all the time and have spent just $75 on diesel in 6 weeks which will last us until July we hope. We also only go to bars for happy hours about once a week and spend $25 and we never buy food out in restaurants. Water here is .25/gallon. Basically, your budget can be as little or as much as you want/can manage.

Power: We keep our batteries fully charged with an AeroGen wind generator and a small solar panel. Since the wind is always blowing in the Bahamas, our batteries are always full. We can't emphasize enough how essential it is to have an independent charging system. Many, many boats have gasoline-powered Honda generators or have to run their engine daily to charge their batteries. Not only is that expensive, but it is a nuisance and causes wear and tear on the engine. That said, our power draw is small since we don't have refrigeration. We mainly need power for cabin lights, the computer and charging different electronic devices such as the handheld VHF and the camera. All of our power is 12 volt DC. If you were to get refrigeration, make sure that you budget for adequate solar panels and wind generator equipment to keep your batteries charged. Hans rewired and configured our power system on the boat with the help of Hot Wire Enterprises located in Florida. www.svhotwire.com We do not have air conditioning nor feel the need for it since it is about 60 degrees at night and 75 in the day. Many people do have A/C, however we just don't like it and have fans in the cabin for when it gets hot.

We have had little to no luck fishing and getting lobsters, much to our frustration and disappointment! We keep at it though and hope for a lobster dinner one day soon. Lobster can be found in water that is 6" deep to very deep. We usually end up looking for them in water that's about 10-15 feet deep.

In terms of equipment, we have relatively simple systems on Whisper. We don't have refrigeration, although we are considering adding it at some point. Our holding tank holds 14 gallons and we use it when we are in protected harbors and then empty it when we go out sailing. Almost no one uses pumpouts here in the Bahamas and it is very common to let your sewage drain overboard, which of course is free.

We don't have insurance on the boat, so we can't really help you with that.

As for recommendations for equipment, we can suggest the following:

Get the biggest anchor you can handle on an all chain rode, in fact get two oversized anchors. That way you'll be able to sleep at night. For Wisper we use a 35lb Delta as our primary on 100ft of chain and have a Fortress FX-23 as a secondary anchor on 50ft of chain. These anchors are both rated for 50+ foot boats. We also have two more anchors stored down below for the BIG blow. We don't have a windlass, but depending on the size of your boat it might become necessary.

Get a dinghy that you know that you'll be happy with. Be prepared to spend some money on this item. Chances are that you'll spend far more time motoring around in your dinghy than sailing your boat. We made the mistake of getting too small a dinghy, and are now looking to replace it, which is a real hassle. Most people have either a RIB or an airfloor inflatable. Avon, Apex, Caribe and Achilles are good brands. It is very nice to have a large enough engine to be able to get two passengers up on a plane in the dinghy. Make sure you have a way to store the dinghy on board for making passages.

Make sure you get a boat with an engine in very good condition. When you survey the boat, hire a diesel mechanic to look over the engine and drive train and do a compression test. While it will cost a little bit of money, it is absolutely worth it since almost no surveyor will be able to adequately evaluate an engine.

Again, make sure that your electrical system is up to the demands you will put on it, solar panels and wind generator are key.

The last piece of advice I'll give you is to read a lot before you go. We have run into many cruisers who seem to have no clue about proper seamanship, boat maintenance and staying safe on the water. It's a little bit scary, really. Buy and read Nigel Calder's "Cruising Handbook." While a lot of the information in his book is aimed at absolute perfection, which is out of the price range of most of us, his principles still apply. The other book we find essential is also by Nigel Calder: "The Boatowners' Mechanical and Electrical Handbook."

Waves crashing at the Pelican Cays

Meow meow meow, YUM!

March 14, 2007
7:17 PM

They left exactly one hour ago with some dessert. They’ve gone to Jerry’s boat for dinner and dessert so the coast is clear for at least two more hours. Let me check one more time….yup, their dinghy is attached to his boat and I can’t see them anywhere. Now’s my chance for some real food to stave off my hunger pains. They keep promising to give me the tuna from Angie and Amy but it’s all false promises. They left a plate of some pieces of leftover pork tenderloin from dinner last night along with some sausage. Now if I can just tear through the plastic to get to it. Good thing Kristen hasn’t cut my claws yet like she keeps telling me she is going to do. Ha! I’m through. Ooooh yuuuuum. Pork tenderloin all for me. I’ll leave them the snap peas and one piece of tenderloin.

I’m feeling….really….really…t-i-r-e-d….yaawn…time…for…some…rest….
that…was…hard..work…I…hope…they…don’t…notice…

Land and Sea Park, Abacos, The Bahamas

March 12, 2007

This weekend we took a trip south to Sandy Cay which is part of the Abacos Land and Sea Park and is marked on our chart as a “coral garden.” We left Hope Town on Saturday afternoon and sailed towards Tilloo Cut to anchor for the night. The sailing was easy with 10 knot winds from the north. However, dark clouds appeared on the horizon and we spent half of the 3 hour sail in raincoats. We anticipated a quiet, secluded anchorage after crowded Hope Town harbor, but when we arrived we discovered that we had to share the spot with at least 10 other boats. It was still a nice spot though and the winds really died down at night so we slept well.

A surreal sunset just after the rainstorm.

We sailed out of the anchorage after breakfast and had a great sail towards Sandy Cay. The closer we got, the more apparent it became that we would not be able to snorkel due to the large swells coming in from the ocean. Instead, we dropped anchor on the leeward side of one of the barrier cays and went ashore to watch the waves break on the ocean side. It was fantastic! Unfortunately, our solitude was disturbed by a charter boat who decided to anchor right next to us although there are many other similar islands all along that stretch of the Sea of Abaco. We lay on the beach for an hour or so and then weighed anchor to sail back to Hope Town.

We had a little excitement with our dinghy as we were watching the waves. As we were walking back to the beach where we had hauled Ding Ding II onto, we spotted him bobbing in the water close to shore, drifting away with the current and waves. We both ran at top speed and Hans was able to swim fast enough to catch up. From now on, if we can’t tie a line to a tree, we’ll always throw the anchor down in the sand!






Waves crashing on the rocks.


Whisper at anchor in the lee of the island.

Sailing with Dave

Sailing with Dave on his 45 foot Shannon. Kristen is at the helm, doing about 8 knots.

Still going strong in Hope Town

March 8, 2007

We’ve been spending a few days in Hope Town going to the beautiful beaches around the island, and also going for short day trips on Whisper.


Above, a picture of Tahiti Beach on the southern end of Elbow Cay, where Hopetown is also located. We went here for the day on Saturday, and even though it wasn't a work day in the real world, we still felt pretty lucky to be there.


Yesterday we sailed to Man-O-War Cay, the island north of us in blustery conditions. It was a beautiful day for a sail, although the Hopetown Sailing Club thought that it was too windy, so they postponed the days race for the following day. Undaunted, and disappointed that the race was cancelled, we set out for Man-O-War. On the way there we were on a broad reach with one reef in the main and our 120% jib doing a comfortable 6 to 6.5 knots most of the time! We dropped the anchor in a quiet cove and dove overboard to scrub down Whisper’s bottom, which we haven’t done since we went into the water in Norfolk in November. All things considered, it didn’t look too bad, but it took us two hours of hard work to get the barnacles and slime scrubbed off. The sail back was to windward, so we put a second reef in the main and a couple of rolls in the jib and headed south. Again, it was a beautiful sail. Whisper was well balanced and cut through the waves with ease. Too bad the race had been postponed as we felt like we could have schooled everyone! The winds were about 20 knots gusting to close to 30.

The race, which had been postponed, was held today and even though the winds were a bit weaker, Whisper still sailed very well, and we ended up 9th of 12 boats. Hardly stellar, but definately an improvement from the last race.


Above, a picture from today's race.


Above, Kit Kat in her racing position, inside the starboard cockpit locker--her new favorite place.


We’ve now been in Hopetown for two weeks. Much longer than we anticipated. However, because we’ve stayed for more than just a couple of days, we’ve been able to develop friendships with lots of cruisers here in the harbor, something we consider much more valuable than seeing every single cay and island in the Abaccos. We share dinner or are invited for dinner on someone else’s boat every other day it seems. It is nice to be able to get to know people on a deeper level than the “where are you from” and “how long are you planning on sailing for” questions. We should note, however, that almost no one comes over to Whisper for dinner (not for lack of invitations) but, we presume, because she is a bit small… or maybe we just smell bad!


One of the main streets in "downtown" Hopetown.




Last night's sunset

Hope Town, Abacos, The Bahamas

March 3, 2007

The winds have been great the last couple days, so we’ve acted like real sailors and have gone sailing yesterday and the day before. Yesterday Kristen, Hans and Dave from “Shannon Glyn” sailed Whisper 4 miles south to Tahiti Beach which is at the southern end of Elbow Cay. Despite the alluring name, we did not stop at the beach but instead dinghied a little further south to look for lobster and grouper. As seems to be the norm these days, we did not get ourselves dinner although we did find an active coral reef with lots of fish, coral heads, sea fans and even a nurse shark sleeping underneath the rocks. We tacked all the way south and anchored under sail. When it was time to go, we hoisted the main and simultaneously weighed anchor to sail away from the beach and back to Hope Town. Dave invited us over for a hamburger & hot dog dinner on his boat and Don and Brad joined us. Hans played some guitar and we learned the not only is Don a good singer, but he remembers lyrics too!

The day before we were treated to a sail on Dave’s boat, a 45 foot Shannon Yacht. It was a fairly windy day and the seas were a little rough, but at 38,000 pounds, the Shannon Glyn sailed at 7-8 knots with ease. We took turns steering, trimming the sails and sitting on the bow pulpit. It was a real treat to sail on such a first-class sailboat.

We plan on staying in Hope Town until later in the week. The next race for cruising sailboats is on Wednesday and we want to attempt to have a better showing than the last race. We’ve also met some great people here and we’re enjoying their company.


Dave, the Captain of Shannon Glynn.


Don, from the boat Epilogue, and crew for the day on Shannon Glynn.


Shannon Glynn under sail.


Kristen and Hans posing for the camera.


Kit Kat blocking her eyes from the sun which is disturbing her beauty rest.

Hope Town, Abacos, The Bahamas

February 26, 2007


The harbor at Hope Town. Can anyone find Whisper? (hint: look for the smallest sailboat in the middle of the picture)


We’ve spent the last few days exploring Hope Town and enjoying the beaches on the island. On Friday we biked towards the south end of the island and hiked down to a beach where we took advantage of the nice winds and few people to fly our kite. Hans is becoming an expert kite flyer and manages to fly the kite so the corners skim across the surface of the sand before shooting back up in the sky.




A beach on Elbow Cay (the island on which Hope Town is located).


The path to the beach.


Hans flying the kite.

The Hope Town Volunteer Fire Department held their annual fundraiser on Saturday. The main street running through Hope Town was blocked off and they had organized games, food, drinks, a bake sale and a silent and regular auction. The historical marine artifacts that were up for sale at the auction were gorgeous, but we just couldn’t figure out where we could store a 1920s brass telescope on Whisper!


The auction benefiting the Hope Town Volunteer Fire Department.

Yesterday we lounged around for most of the day and around sunset we walked to the top of the lighthouse to watch the lighthouse keeper light it for the night. The lighthouse was built in the late 1800s and it is still lit by kerosene and needs to be hand-cranked every two hours to keep the beam circulating. It is quite an operation to light the wick and we were lucky enough to be invited to the top of the lantern to get a sort of inside-out view of the lighthouse.


vertigo, anyone?


The Hope Town light house.

Hope Town, The Abacos, Bahamas

February 23, 2007

We arrived in Hope Town on Wednesday afternoon and picked up a mooring in the crowded harbor thanks to some inside information from Brad on the catamaran “Mothra.”

On Thursday, the Hope Town Sailing Club hosted its bi-monthly cruisers’ race which is open to any cruising sailboat as well as local boats. We were excited to participate and attended the skippers meeting at 9:00AM. After getting briefed on the rules, we quickly dinghied back to Whisper and started stowing things away, hoisting the genoa and getting ready for the race. About 11 boats came out to race and they ranged from 18 feet to a 48 foot racing, carbon fiber, catamaran “Lickety Split” captained by our friend Toby. Needless to say, he beat us by over an hour, and all the other boats beat us as well and we came in dead last. Sorry Whisper for loading you down with all of our stuff! On corrected time, however, we came in second to last! It was a beautiful day nonetheless and it was fun to practice sailing maneuvers. The Sailing Club hosted a BYOB awards ceremony after the race, complete with lots of appetizers and munchies. Toby and Brad joined us back on Whisper for drinks and then we hit the “bar scene” (two bars!) in Hope Town.



Lickety Split sailing past us.


The second leg of the race, all the boats running downwind and Whisper keeping up the rear. It was rather difficult for her two competitive captains to come to terms with last place...


The awards ceremony at the Sailing Club after the race.

This morning, Kristen went back to the Sailing Club to attend a seminar on Ancient Celestial Navigation led by Steve Dodge and on the way back to Whisper stopped off at the grocery store and picked up a hot, freshly backed garlic & herb baguette. 6 hours later, the baguette is history! We went snorkeling this afternoon off the beach and the water temperature is much warmer than it has been. This evening we’re going over to Carla & Gordon’s boat, “Gray Fox,” for dinner. They are a young couple who are nearing the end of their year long cruise.


The beach at Hope Town on Elbow Cay.


Kristen snorkeling.

Project-ville, Marsh Harbour

February 20, 2007

Internet connections leave much to be desired in Marsh Harbour. There are many different places to go online, however most of the free ones have poor reception and the local wireless service costs $20/day or $40/week. Thus, the reason for our blog being updated less frequently than usual.

We dropped off the cracked chainplate with CJ Welding yesterday morning and are crossing our fingers that he’ll have it repaired and strengthened by this afternoon. Meanwhile, we’re taking advantage of being stuck in Marsh Harbour and are working on some boat projects. Kristen has been varnishing handholds, hatchboards and other trim pieces while Hans is tackling the cockpit sole. Before leaving Fort Lauderdale, he constructed a wooden floor for the cockpit which not only looks nice, but also serves to keep our feet dry while sailing as the water flows underneath the wood and doesn’t slosh over our feet. Currently, Hans is constructing brackets for the wooden floor which will allow the floor to be raised flush with the cockpit seats and, with the addition of cushions, will create a double-bed for comfortable, outdoor sleeping.

This part of the Abacos is an interesting place. It appears to be owned and operated by one family, the Alburys. The story is something like this: Back in the day, Nellie Archer farmed a plot of land with her family on Man-o-War Cay. One day she heard voices from the beach and found several survivors from a wreck on a reef, including 16 year old Ben Albury. The majority of the residents of Man-o-War Cay can trace their roots back to Nellie and Ben. The local ferry service which shuttles people between the nearby cays is the “Albury Ferry Service”, there is an Albury taxi company as well as CJ’s Welding, the company working on our chainplate, which is owned by Charles Albury.

We biked to the Marsh Harbor Boat Yard to drop off the chainplate and bumped into an elderly gentleman on his daily walk. He was eager to show us a nearby beach where odd shells and pieces of shellfish wash up. Neither of us are very interested in beachcombing as we don’t have anywhere on the boat to keep bits of flotsam and jetsam, but we tagged along anyways. He was right; we were able to find quite a few interesting shells, vertebrae and even a piece of a jaw. We left the “treasures” but took a picture instead.


Hans looking for shells and potential lobstering spots.


The shells, etc. that we found.

Blustery, bouncy, bumpy Marsh Harbour

February 18, 2007

We’re at anchor in Marsh Harbour sitting out a cold front which NOAA has forecasted to have gale strength winds. We’ve tucked Whisper behind a marina so there is minimal waves, though the wind has been reported at 40 knots. It is as comfortable as can be on Whisper and we feel very safe and warm. We went over to a neighboring boat, a 26 foot Falmouth Cutter. A.O. and his wife, Lindy, treated us to coffee, cake and hot chocolate and lots of small boat discussion. Their boat is very seaworthy and is built with safety as the top priority. A huge bank of black clouds appeared on the horizon indicating the frontal boundary, so we jumped in our dinghy and sped back to Whisper.

We played a good game of Scrabble (score: Kristen 1, Hans 4. arrrrrggghhhhh, says Kristen!). Now we’re about to have a lunch of split pea soup and homemade tortillas. Kit Kat just finished a huge, unauthorized lunch of Iams. Unbeknownst to the competitive Scrabble players, she climbed into a locker under the vee-berth, clawed through two plastic bags and a food bag and gorged herself. Now she is exhausted and sleeping in the clothes locker (or, she’s just hiding from the wrath of Kristen and Hans who are tempted to lock her outside).

Our stay in Marsh Harbour has been extended by the discovery of a crack in the forward chainplate (the piece of stainless steel that holds the forestay to the bow and in turn helps hold the mast up). We had read about this weakness in Vegas on the Vega listserv and contemplated beefing up the chainplate before leaving Maryland, but it looked fine and we decided that we couldn’t replace *everything* on Whisper. Since we knew about this weakness, Hans has been keeping an eye on it and he found the crack before any serious problem (dismasting!) could develop. There is a welding shop here so it should hopefully be a straightforward job and we can start traveling to more scenic harbours soon.

Marsh Harbour

February 14, 2007


Whisper at sunset in Marsh Harbour.

Happy Valentines Day!

We’re spending some time enjoying the “big city” life of Marsh Harbour, also known as the “Hub of the Abacos.” The town really does seem to have everything one needs, ranging from a guy on the docks selling conch salad to a KFC, Subway and TrueValue hardware store. The crew of Whisper is currently in negotiations to decide if we want to install a sub-woofer to enhance our stereo-surround sound. Kristen and Hans are both in favor of the idea, but KitKat thinks that it is hard to justify the expense when so much food could be bought for the same price.

We met up with three guys from Indiana who are on a “man-cation,” aka a bachelor party, for Chris who is getting married in April. They were all very enthusiastic about our sailing plans so yesterday we took them for a brisk afternoon sail. They took turns steering and testing just how far over Whisper can heel (a comfortable 20 degrees) and how fast she can sail (we averaged 5.5 to 6.5 knots yesterday). After an invigorating time on the water, they treated us to a delicious dinner at CurlyTails Restaurant, by far the best restaurant food we’ve had in the Bahamas. Dinner led to drinks and the crew of Whisper is feeling rather groggy this morning. It’s an overcast day so our snorkeling plans are on weather-hold until tomorrow, so today we’ll think about reconfiguring our clothes storage which is a constant battle.



The new crew from Indiana.




safety first!

KitKat doing what she does best...this is where she sleeps when we're sailing.

Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay to Marsh Harbor

February 12, 2007

On Saturday morning we had a beautiful sail from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay. The winds were on our beam so we set our sails and our course and left the rest up to the autopilot while Hans did some fishing and Kristen worked on the crossword puzzle.


The two sailors on the way from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay. Kitkat, get back to steering!


Hans' first catch with the handlines...a baby barracuda.


On most days, we can see the bottom while we're sailing.

The main purpose for our trip to Great Guana Cay was the infamous Nippers’ Sunday Pig Roast Buffet. We headed over to Nippers’ around noontime and met up with Dylan and Mark from “Freya,” the steel boat from Maine that we last saw in St. Augustine. An hour or so later, the gang from Green Turtle and Ocracoke showed up along with Jerry from Newburyport and the fun really started! The pig roast was good, the sides were excellent, and the rum punch was dangerously good. The group gathered there was a mix of tourists staying at hotels on the island and boaters like ourselves and after everyone had a couple rum punches, the dancing really began in earnest. We hear that later in March Nippers’ gets really wild and people are dancing on the roof! On the way back to Whisper, we bumped into a literal boat load of Italians who were on a charter vacation. They came over for a coconut opening demonstration led by Hans with his machete on the foredeck. Later in the evening, we went over to visit Jerry and his girlfriend Laurie for some delicious shrimp scampi and salad.


Hanging out at Nippers. Laurie, Robbie, Hans & Jerry.


The view from Nippers.

After listening to the weather this morning at 9:00AM, we quickly weighed anchor and sailed out of the anchorage toward Marsh Harbor with the goal of arriving before noon and the potential squalls and 30 knot winds that are heading our way. We had a fun, fast sail to Marsh Harbor with our average speed between 5 and 6 knots and a heel of about 10-15 degrees. We had the anchor down at 11:30 just as a boat from Sweden pulled in the harbor. Marsh Harbor is the “mecca” of sailing and boating in the Abacos so we’re excited to go ashore and see what the town has to offer. It’s not all fun and games, however, as our first chore is to find a Laundromat.




We always see magnificent sunsets, sunrises (sometimes), and daytime cloud shows. These are some pictures taken just over the last 3 days.