Trip Report Part 3
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Posted by Abaco Paul on May 27, 2000 at 16:33:11:
Well just as I expected, it was a rolly night anchored outside of Little Harbour. I probably woke up at least five times during the night just to make sure we were not dragging our anchors (and wondering if I should have gone ahead and anchored on the lee side of Lynyard Cay). I had nothing to worry about though as we stayed put. The other guys on the trip did not seem to mind the rolling around, so if they were happy, I was happy. Now about this great little snorkeling site: It is just off the east tip of the entrance to Little Harbour (see page 108 of Steve Dodge’s “Guide to Abaco 2000.”). We pulled our dinghy up onto the small beach and walked to the entrance of the harbour. It did not look like much from shore but once we got into the water, many fish, rock and coral formations, stingrays, and even a small nurse shark hiding under a rock greeted us. We snorkeled around this area, being very careful of motor boats heading in and out of the harbour entrance. Again, these first time visitors with me were enthralled. Two of the guys with us (Stephen and his son Jonathan) decided to swim on into the harbour, hugging the shoreline, and were going to meet us by Pete’s Pub. Steve and I went ahead and took the dinghy on in and as planned, all met at this colorful location. As it was still morning time (to early for there famous burgers) we all just had some soft drinks and then took a hike up to the beach side to look around. Again, a beautiful sight. After checking our Randolph Johnson’s gallery (I remembered meeting him back in 1974 when I first came here as a young person) we headed back to the boat and weighed anchor. There was no wind to speak of this day so we ended up motoring all the way to Hope Town at Elbow Cay. I think we flew the jib part of the way – just so it looked like we were sailing to the power boaters. On the way we ran across (not literally) a school of dolphins. Also by the way, a navigation note: On the way down to Little Harbour, while off of Lynyard Cay, the water got quite shallow at an area showing 9-10 ft. of water. Some other boaters in the area noted the same thing. On the way back up, we favored the west side more, then just past Bridges Cay, went around a small shoal area, and then gradually went more to center. Eyeball navigation was the trick. No problems. Pretty soon the famous lighthouse was in sight. I called Lighthouse Marina on the radio to see if they had room for us, which they did. By late afternoon, we tied up at the dock with the assistance of Paul, who works the fuel dock there. For those interested, the charge was .65 cents a foot, $12 for shore power, $3 for showers, and water was .13 cents a gallon. Not to bad when you split the cost four ways. The real reason we chose to dock was we wanted to make sure the a/c on the boat was in working order. Yeah, right. After straightening the boat up, we dinghied over to the Harbour Lodge to enjoy some cool drinks and some munchies. We also swam the reef right off of the beach. I found that the further you swim out, the more interesting the reef becomes. Always use the buddy system though and keep your eye on the tides. Afterwards, we swam in the pool and had a few more drinks. My favorite has always been the non-alcohol pina colada’ (sp?) with a squeeze of lime, while munching down on the conch fritters. Yummy! Ok, back to the boat, fresh water showers, and then we napped/read below, spoiling ourselves with the a/c. During the dusk time, we all went into town to walk around and eat. I decided to drop by and see my old friend (well, he’s not that old) Vernon Malone. His shop was closed so we went by his house. I just was going to say hi to him and visit with him in the morning when he opened his store up, but he invited us all into his home to talk for a bit. His wonderful wife Barbara was also there and I was able to find out what has happened with them since my last visit in August. They were wonderful hosts. Veron did mention that they were in dire need of a good rainfall and that it was the driest he has seen in a long time. He said it was so dry that even the weeds were dying. Hopefully by now, they have gotten some much needed rain. Ok, this report is getting to long, let me close quickly. We had dinner at the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant. I had the Bahamian Chicken, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, salad with coconut dressing, homemade bread with Irish butter. No complaints here, I was a happy camper. Back to the boat for some more hot tea (can you tell I was born in England?) while some others had a little wine. We ended the night with some good conversation and then it was bedtime with the a/c’s motor lulling us to sleep.
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