Ups and downs and finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - Hope Town.

March 4, 2015

     It's been a week since I last wrote and a lot has happened.
    
We left the Green Turtle Club on Monday 23 February to cross through the Whale passage. We'd waited ten days for the weather to settle down, and our wait paid off - the Whale looked very benign that sparkling morning, with just a few white caps nibbling at its' tail.
   
 Once through the passage, we found moorings in Fisher's Bay on Guana Cay and then dinghied into the beach beside Grabber's bar.  We were looking forward to introducing David & Linda to the Cay - home of the world-famous Nipper's Bar and the Barefoot Man concerts.  We wandered along the harbour, checked out the Orchid Bay Marina, and then climbed the hill to Nipper's. After a few kalik beers, and a walk along the lovely beach, we returned to Grabbers for a delicious pizza dinner and watched the crimson sun setting into the turquoise Sea of Abaco.

Our route the next day was to take us to Treasure Cay, but this was not to be! Camp David let go their mooring in readiness, but couldn't get into forward gear. Their transmission had failed! After quickly re-tying Camp David to the mooring ball, David soon got his rescue and repair underway. Troy from Dive Guana, would tow them to Marsh Harbour, a company in the States would send a new transmission, and David would install it himself. And it all worked like clockwork - except that it took six days for the transmission to arrive.

In the meantime, we too had made it to Marsh Harbour  - our very best sail of the season, flying along at 6.8 knots, only beaten by Camp David under tow at 7.2 knots! Camp David was brought into Mangoes Marina with many helping hands helping them tie up successfully. We stayed at Mangoes for one night, and then headed off to Hope Town. We left David and Linda in good hands and good spirits, and with an opportunity to explore Marsh Harbour for a few days. Our dock in Hope Town had been  kindly arranged for us by Benoit and Margaret on 'Diva'. It had become free five days early, so we needed to be there to secure it. Getting any type of mooring or docking in Hope Town at this time of year is a fiercely competitive game!

Since we've been here we've met up with many friends from our previous trips: Glen and Louise on Gray North are at their usual mooring, as are David and Jill, after a year away. We caught up with 'Krisdeke' and 'Whisper', and, of course, we are very happy to be in our great dock beside Benoit and Margaret on 'Diva'.  We spent a lovely evening at the beautiful 'Firefly' restaurant celebrating Craig from 'Whisper's', birthday.  We've wandered the beaches and lanes, and sampled the delicious coffee and cakes at the Coffee Shop.  We've even joined in a 'Hope Town Clean-up', roaming the beach and filling our garbage bags with all kinds of flotsam and jetsom, including a pink fishing float which is proudly on display on Southern Vectis.

Yesterday (March 3) was a very exciting day as Camp David eventually hove into view around the lighthouse, just squeaking into the harbour on the falling tide. She was given quite a welcome -  Deke dinghied out to help guide them in, and a welcoming committee awaited them at their dock. A celebratory lunch was enjoyed by all.  Welcome to the end of the rainbow, David and Linda. We hope you enjoy Hope Town as much as we do.
  

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