Marsh Harbour

Steve’s cousin Denis returned to his home in Florida.  Thanks Denis for the fun time and entertainment in watching you constantly tweaking the sails.  See you in August for your daughter’s wedding.

After seeing Denis off at o’dark hundred, we awaited daylight to exit Little Harbour’s  shallow channel.  As we transited North we had hoped to anchor outside Lyndard’s Cay and snorkel but the swells and winds were too stiff.    Instead we made way directly to Hope Town. 

Hope Town’s Elbow Reef Lighthouse is probably the most recognizable landmark in Abaco. It is one of the last manual lighthouses in the world using pressurized Kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle’s light into a beam directed straight towards the horizon. The lenses and burner equipment, weighing 8,000lbs, float in a circular lubricated tub. This reduces friction so that the 700lbs of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by hand, smoothly rotates the 4-ton apparatus once every 15 seconds. The lighthouse keeper on duty must wind up the weights every 2 hours in order for the red and white candy-striped lighthouse to be seen from 17 miles away. It’s impressive to see the mechanism but even more impressive is the view from the top.

We awoke June 11th to a beautiful sky and plenty of sun. Our goal was to make this anniversary a day of fun with no stress (last year we were beating a storm, transiting to ICW). After a leisurely breakfast at Hope Town Coffee House we made way to Marsh Harbour. As we entered the dock our starboard engine maneuverability failed. The winds were 15kts pushing us to starboard so this was not a particularly stress free situation. Fortunately the dock hands were available and after snagging a piling we were able to hand maneuver the boat (with the assistance of one engine) into the slip. After checking the situation we discovered that the locking washers placed on the shaft coupling had failed us with the bolts backing out. These were the same bolts we replaced in Daytona and we did not use locking nuts only locking washers as recommended by the local “bolt experts”. Fortunately we have been through this before so now we are securing the bolts with locking nuts. After the excitement abated we took a bike ride to see the local shops and get our bearings of the area. The evening ended with a lovely relaxing dinner of seared scallops and blackened grouper at Wally’s.

Thank you to all who sent us well wishes for our 36th Wedding Anniversary. It seems the years have gone by quickly and even more so with each year.