Adventures with John & Alex. Part 1.

           Mary's brother and sister-in-law, John & Alex, arrived in the Abacos on Monday.   They had flown from London, England, and spent a night in Nassau en route.  We went over by ferry from Hope Town to Marsh Harbour and met them off their Bahamas air flight.  As we had a few hours to wait before our return ferry to Hope Town, we had lunch at 'Mangoes' on the harbour. We were also lucky enough to catch a sighting of the 'Barefoot Man' himself as he passed by on his way to the Guana Cay ferry to prepare for his concert on Friday!  More about him to come later!  John and Alex are staying, while not on 'Southern Vectis', at the lovely Hope Town Hotel and Marina. Their room overlooks the harbour.  They are breaking up their stay at the hotel with a four day cruise around the Sea of Abaco on 'Southern Vectis'.

      A 'cold front' rolled into the Abacos the day after their arrival, but although the winds blew up and the Sea of Abaco looked like a washing machine, we didn't mind.  John and Alex needed a day to just relax and wander, and that is what we did. We walked to the north end of Elbow Cay, and had lunch at the Hope Town Lodge, dodging the occasional rain squall.  

      On Wednesday the clouds had disappeared and the weather forecast for the next few days was set to fair if not perfect!  John & Alex came aboard and we set off for a sail and an overnight anchorage to the south of Elbow Cay, beside Tahiti Beach. The sea and the sky were a matching blue as we dropped our anchor.  Beside us was 'Grey North', with Glen, Louise and their family. We dinghied in to the beach, which is only uncovered at low tide, and wandered and swam in the warm sunshine. Later we went for drinks on 'Grey North', and then back to 'Southern Vectis' for a steak BBQ.  We had a perfectly calm night just swinging gently on our anchor.

      The next day our destination was Orchid Bay Marina on Guana Cay, where we had a dock reserved for two nights to see the 'Barefoot Man' concert. On the way we had a lunchtime anchorage off 'Man O' War Cay' and dinghied in to have an ice cream and wander along the quaint main street. After a refreshing swim off the boat we made our way to Guana Cay. It seems that most of the boats from the harbours in and around the Abaco are here too!  We contacted our boating friends from last year, Ron and Jane, who are staying at 'Grabbers', and had a great evening beside the beach at Fisher's Bay.  As the crimson sunset turned to night, the anchor lights of the fifty or so boats anchored in the harbour looked like a whole floating city, and competed with the bright and starry night sky.

     The next installment will tell of our adventures at the 'Barefoot Man' concert later today at 'Nippers Bar'!