Shipwrecked Sailors.... and happily ever after in Hope Town

February 25, 2009

Shipwrecked sailors… and happily ever after in Hope Town.

(Due to the weak internet signals here we have not been able to attach any pictures recently. We’ll keep trying!)

We spent four nights in Marsh Harbour last week at the Harbour View Marina. ($1 a foot) The marina is owned and run by Troy Cornea who purchased it after it was devastated by hurricane Floyd in 1999. This is one of the best run marinas we have come across during our travels in Florida and the Bahamas. Troy is always available to help whether it’s with boating problems or setting up cable T.V. so that ‘Southern Vectis’ can get better reception! The marina has a lovely pool area, and ‘Snappers’ restaurant, a lively bar, is also part of the operation. The majority of boats are sailboats, and many are ‘regulars’ with reserved seasonal dockage.
For the first couple of days we explored, and visited the supermarket to stock up on food. We were pleased to see Glen and Louise pull in on ‘Gray North’, a 47 foot Beneteau from Ottawa. We had met them in Green Turtle Cay. Their guest, Pamela also from Ottawa, had just arrived for a week of sailing, so we invited them on board for a drink on Thursday. On Friday we went over to their dock to help them off as they were bound for Hope Town, where they had taken a mooring buoy for the month. They were docked at Mangoes Marina, right next door to our dock. That’s when the excitement began! Glen was reversing his large boat out of the dock when the transmission failed and he lost control of the steering. It was windy, and, to cut a long story short, ‘Gray North’ headed towards our dock and was eventually tethered after doing some damage to one of the docked boats. But this was not the end of the story. Troy and his team pulled ‘Gray North’ out into the harbour, at which point Glen, who was not sure exactly what the problem was, put the boat into forward gear……and it went shooting backward and crashed heavily into some docking posts, causing damage to the transom. The boat was taking in water at this point, and again Troy and his helpers, with much advice offered by the many boat owners who had suddenly shot out of their cabins with all the excitement,
brought it into a dock and set up pumps to stop the boat from sinking.
While all this drama was happening, Pamela, the guest who had little experience with boats, was still on board. It was decided that the boat would be towed around to a boat yard and taken out of the water for repairs, so off it went. Pamela had come over to sit on our boat to get over all the shock, and we told her she’d be welcome to stay. So that’s how we inherited our first, and very perfect guest. Glen and Louise decided to stay on board their dry-docked boat but, the next day being Saturday and the day we had planned to leave for Hope Town, we all had lunch together, and then ‘Southern Vectis’ set off with Pamela, Glen and Louise, for Hope Town to take up ‘Gray North’s mooring buoy. Hope Town harbour entrance is very shallow, so we needed to go in an hour before high tide. We were very pleased to have Glen and Louise to point out their mooring spot, as, faced with 60 boats all closely packed together and swinging on their moorings, it would have been difficult to find it otherwise. Glen and Louise caught the ferry back to Marsh Harbour that night, and are still awaiting the verdict on repairs needed for their lovely boat. Pamela spent another night on board and then transferred to the pretty Hope Town Harbour Lodge for two nights. We really enjoyed her short stay with us, and spent a lovely day on the beach, and dinner out at the ‘Harbour’s Edge’ restaurant. She is en route to snowy Ottawa as I write this.
As always, the boating life is a very social one! We were pleased to make contact again with Lawrence and Jane on ‘Esprit’, and Lane and Marilyn on ‘Spirit’, and had a good evening on board ‘Southern Vectis’ the other night. It was also good to get to know David and Jill, our neighbours on the catamaran, ‘Jilly Q’.
So now here we sit on our lovely inherited mooring in lovely Hope Town. It is a beautiful spot, and will be even more so when the wind of this latest cold front goes down a bit in a couple of days, and the temperatures rise from a mere 18C to 25C. We have climbed the 101 stairs of the Hope Town lighthouse, one of the few still manually operated in the original manner with a kerosene-fuelled lamp. We have explored the town, and walked the lovely Atlantic beach, and plan to rent bicycles tomorrow to ride further south on Elbow Cay. We are not sure how long we’ll be here, but we hope to hear from Glen and Louise that their boat will be on the water again soon, so that they can come and take up their mooring again. Many people take long-term moorings here, and stay for the winter!
BIRTHDAYS: It was our granddaughter, LILY’s second birthday on the 19th February – HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY. ‘Aunty’ Louisa flew over from Toronto as a surprise for Lily’s party on Sunday.
HAPPY BITHDAY JOHN. It is my brother, John’s birthday today. He is spending it with all his family at a lovely resort in Antigua. I spoke on the phone to him, and they are having a wonderful time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY. It will be Melody, my niece’s birthday on Friday 27 Have a super day, Melody.