Hopetown, Abacos, Bahamas

 Busy day.....the winds would be favorable for a sail north before a few days of settled weather.

Always fun to see the unique structures along the islands...

Lots of boats sailing in all directions.

 

Getting closer to what feels like "crowds".

 

Passing Tahiti Beach - just a sandbar that dries at low tide.  The beach bar is the floating pontoon boat anchored there most days.

We ghosted along at less than 3 knots for the final leg sailing to Hopetown since we weren't in a rush to prevent wasting diesel!  We anchored outside the Hopetown Harbour so we've got a bit of traffic passing us.

 

Time to wander around town a bit.  To the lighthouse - the only working lighthouse that is still fueled by kerosene.

 

 

 

The society that keeps the lighthouse in order has done some refurbishment since we were here several years ago.

 

The very steep stairs to the top platform.

 

The views from the top are just lovely!

 

Sojourn is anchored in the very center of the photo.

 

The harbour is jam-packed with boats.

 

Duane climbing back down the steps.

 

Lovely views out of the arched windows.

 

Back in the dinghy and across the harbour to town - it's a lovely place to stroll.  The streets are really just wide side-walks mostly for golf carts and pedestrians. 

 

I love snapping photos of all the quaint cottages.

 

We had to climb up the stairs to a house to allow this water delivery truck to pass thru the narrow street.

 

A house that is just now being repaired from the hurricane.

 

A small memorial park has this lovely view.

And back at the boat we were rocked by a good bit of boat traffic - ferries came across from Marsh Harbor frequently, I assume taking day workers back home.

Lynyard Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 What visit to the Abacos would be complete without a visit to Pete's Pub.....so we got on the dinghy and had a rather sporty ride across to the mainland.

This dinghy dock directly in front of Pete's Pub may have been here last time we were here but I don't recall it.  Very nice.

 

A nurse shark had to check out our dinghy as we were tying it up.

We wandered the tiny village - always enjoy seeing the bronze castings from the Johnson Foundry.  

Complicated!! 

 

 I peeked into the "gift shop"....these small artworks were over $500 each.....cool manta though.

 

Took the trail up to the ruins of a lighthouse.

It's in about the same condition as last we saw it.  Maybe a bit more overgrown with sea grapes....

The lighthouse keeper of the day must have had a stunning view!

 

This appears to be the kitchen building, separate I'm sure for the heat.

 

We walked some more along the shoreline.

After the walks, back to Pete's Pub.

 

Just got a cold beer....we probably would have gotten a sandwich, but the pub doesn't have french fries - silly people!  They serve everything with just rice/peas and a coleslaw.  If I'm going to splurge on bar food, I want some french fries drowned in ketchup!

And back to the dinghy for a very bouncy/wet ride back to the boat....

 

And I'm saving this photo here in case I want to find it later....we saw a dinghy tied up next to ours - it is the exact model (but newer) of our dinghy.  It has a steering console that is very open - not in the way too much.  Something to consider for the future.

Lynyard Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 We were up early for the 60+ mile trek north to the Abacos.

And a small armada of boat in front of us!  Seems like everyone was taking the first weather window to go north in some time.

The seas were not terrible - definitely 4' swells but with a fairly lengthy period....we fished all day but caught nothing but moss.

The anchorage at sunset off Lynyard Cay looked like a mini-Georgetown!  I guess everyone is heading back to the States....