Man-o-War cay 26◦35'.425N 77◦00'.067W

The winds died down enough to allow us to make our way to Man-O-War Cay. This is a small island with a few shops. It's main claim to fame is the Albury family's boat building yard.

We went on the ocean side of the island to do some more shelling and when I said the wind died down a little I really meant a little. 

The waves on the Ocean side where 8 feet tall with swells up to 11 feet. So no swimming again. Too bad,Liane will go back home having never even put on her snorkel gear.

We walked most of the island and then retreated to our boat on the mooring ball. A gentleman told us it was a contrary mooring. We noticed this when we returned to the boat and ours was the only boat facing West. Every other boat was facing East. Works out ok since this is a really tight mooring field and we were a little close to the sail boat behind us anyways.

We saw some neat plants 

Bahamas National tree 

and caught a few glimpses of turtle. 

Did you know that turtles comes up for three breaths of air before diving back down for extend periods of time. This only meant that you have to time your picture taking really well.

We ended our evening with dinner at the "Dock and dine" We were told they were the best burgers in town and they were really good...but then again they are the only restaurant in town so there is no competition.  That's about all for tonight so I will wish you good night ...but I will leave you with a picture of Bob's big catch of the day. 

♫ I didn't sleep at all last night ♪ 23◦32'.853N 077◦03'.505W

We all know the song, but three of us know it more intimately today. We were caught in some nasty winds last night. The storm was bad enough but the winds picked up after 1am. Being anchored in the sea of Abacos with waves hitting the 3 foot mark and the winds topping out at 35 mph, it was a rocky night. I laid in bed but woke every 30min or so, Jim sat up in the helm most of the night worrying about whether or not the anchor would drag again and Liane woke frequently and finally came up into the salon to play on her tablet. Bob said the waves lulled him to sleep so he is the only one who got a good night's rest.

When he finally got up, we weighted anchor and set off for the harbor. Bob drove the boat while Jim got the anchor.


When we arrived in the harbor 1.5hrs later, Liane and I both went to bed.

After lunch our guests and I went to town while Jim took a cat nap. It was so windy, that the waves were coming into the dinghy; so it was a wet ride. One poor lady could barely get off the dinghy dock because the wind kept pushing her back into shore.

Since we were soaked and bored, Liane and I cleaned her bounty of shells from yesterday


















and then started working on weaving a basket from pine needles I collected while in Florida.





The boys chilled on the couch and watched some TV.












After some nice kabobs for dinner we played cards until 8pm when we made the collective decision that tonight is an early night for all. So on that note, good night! I am sure we will all sleep well tonight. 

The calm before the storm 26◦32'.398N 076◦58'.002W

What a day. We had a lovely start to our morning, a leisurely breakfasts, showers and then off to Hope Town again. We first went to the lighthouse, 

where Bob, Liane and Jim were brave enough to climb to the top. I stayed downstairs with the other chickens.

The light house is just a circular staircase but it is made of steel and did not feel rickity, yet still the pangs of the fear of height hit me and I was unable to brave the staircase beyond the second window about ½ way up. 

Anyways, after this little tour, we set off to the government dock where we rented a golf cart for the day. 

We had a packed lunch and were ready to brave the weather and another sunburn to spend the day exploring. Jim drove us on the wrong side of the road for most of our time and we traveled to the opposite end of Elbow cay to Tahiti beach. There is a sand bar that extends quite far. Liane and Bob combed the beach for shells and sneaked a kiss? 

When we were done at Tahiti beach we had our bagged lunch and just as we completed it, a huge downpour hit us. We could see the storm working its way across the  Sea of Abacos and straight for us. Alas our golf cart did not have any sides on it, so of course we got drenched. 

Jim tucked us into a grove of trees to wait out the storm. When we saw a river running down the street, we assumed it had to be near completion, but we were wrong.

Since we were anchored in the Sea (as opposed to the harbor), we had to brave the rough seas to get back to the boat. Jim first brought Bob back and then came back for the girls. The boat had actually moved about 500 feet from its original anchored position but fortunately did not move towards the shore so all is well that ends well. However our day in Hope Town was cut short by about 4hrs. Ah well; c'est la vie.

We returned to the boat like 4 drowned rats, changed into something more comfortable and played cards for the afternoon.  Tomorrow we will go explore another island. We'll keep you posted. Night all. 

1

Hope Town walk 26◦32'.357N 076◦58'.085W

We ran south to Hope town this morning and after a quick swim (not) we went into town to check things out. This picture is Liane's feet. We put our feet in the water and it was so cold, that was as far as we were going. Jim and I got a new GoPro Camera which is water proof and we were dying to try it out under water. Thanks for mom and dad. I used some of my birthday money to buy it.

Hope town is a quaint little town with very narrow streets and lots of little shops. The shops open on Bahamian time....The sign says it all.  

There is also a light house here which was built in the 1800's by the Loyalist. We got a shot from far away but hoping to climb it tomorrow. So you are bound to see more shots of it!

When we got back to the boat, Liane was helping me make dinner and threw some biodegradable food overboard. A black fish came up from nowhere to eat it. So the boys of course decided it was time to go fishing. The beauty of this water is that you can see the fish so clearly even in 8 feet of water. Anyway they had both fishing lines and where enticing the fish with...wait for it...tomatoes. Needless to say we did not have a fish fry tonight!

Hope y'all have a wonderful night! 

Great Guana Cay 26◦39'.985N 077◦07'.108W

We had a wonderful day today. We set off around 9am and made our way to great Guana Cay. Liane and Bob enjoyed the ride on the bow for a bit.

Really it was Liane and I; but Bob did as he was told and sat down for 2 min so I could take a picture Lol. 

We arrived here just in time for a quick lunch then we set off to find the ocean side of this island. It was not hard since we could hear the surf from the Abaco side easily. The waves were about 5-6 footers and it was mesmerizing to watch. The colours are just so incredible. 

We walked the beach for a couple of hours and tried to find some interesting shells. Then we took a break at a bar for a quick drink. Fido was having a bit of a coconut drink as well. 

We climbed a few rocks and got splashed once or twice, 

but we had a lovely day all around.

Good night all.  

They're here! High of 80◦F

We were expecting Liane and Bob to arrive around noon. So we were busily cleaning, organizing, planning menus etc. Somewhere around 11 am we heard hi, we're here!.  They have no idea why they were so early, but here they are.

Liane and Bob left Sturgeon falls yesterday afternoon, flew out of Toronto at 8pm last night and remained in the Miami airport until their flight this am. They were exhausted, but refused to go for a nap. They quickly changed out of their jeans and sweatshirts into shorts and t-shirts and we spent a leisurely afternoon on the Lido deck. 

We then went out for a short dinghy ride and walk to the grocery store, then Liane and I went to seek out the hammocks a little later,

 but she did not go to sleep. 

By 7pm they were both fried and went to bed. Can't say I blame them. Tomottow we take off for either Guyana cay or Treasure island... we will let the winds  decide.

For now I'm just grateful they are here safe and sound.

Good night all. 

Mangoes Marina 26◦32'.801N 077◦03'.149W

For those of you who follow us on google earth, you will notice that we did not go too far today. A whole 0.8 miles! We have been at anchor waiting for a spot in a marina so we could fill up our water tanks and clean the boat. We finally made it in today. Mangoes Marina is a lovely little place and it's walking distance to a few restaurants, grocery stores and bars.

Jim and I spent the morning cleaning up the boat; inside and out in anticipation of my sister Liane and her husband Bob's arrival tomorrow. In the afternoon we took in a little sun at the pool. I rested in the Hammock for a few minutes (long enough for Jim to take the picture) and Jim lazed around near the pool for a very short time. The water in the pool was only 65◦F so a little too cold for us southerners.

Later in the afternoon we were invited to docktails on Michel and Carole' boat. They are fellow Canadians who we met on our first day here. They invited us to join them tonight for cocktails and then we made our way to Snappa's for dinner and some Super bowl Sunday atmosphere. 

 

We had a lovely time with them and promise to seek them out when we hit Montreal this coming summer. Carole is the author of a French book titled " The great loop avec Emotion" The book is a story of their great loop adventure which they took in 2009/2010. They fell in love with Bahamas and have been coming here to winter every year since then. I can certainly see why!

Tomorrow my sister and brother in law should be here around noon. Jim and I are both very excited about their upcoming visit. They will be with us for a week. Hopefully the weather is nice and allows us to give them the grand tour of these wonderful islands around the sea of Abacos.

Good night

PS Thanks Louisa. Please let me know what my bella had to say about her sexy picture!