Part 4 -- Hopetown to Little Harbour
Now that the promised cold front has come through, we wake Wednesday morning to overcast skies and roaring winds. The Cruisers Net weather forecast is calling for more of the same, so we decide to hunker down in Hopetown yet again. Our slip at Club Soleil is claimed, so we find alternate arrangements at the next dock over, Hopetown Hideaways. We ask Francis at Hideaways whether they have showers we can use; he replies in the negative, but does allow us to use their FRESHwater pool.
We decided to visit the lighthouse today, which was a short walk away, though I imagine that on a hot, sunny day, the walk would seem much longer. We arrive at the lighthouse before it opens to visitors, so we poke around Lighthouse Marina's gift shop til the opening time of 9:30. As we climb back up the hill to the lighthouse, I notice that about half of the palm trees on the grounds -- which really contributed to the prettiness of the site -- are uprooted or broken in half, another signature of Floyd. The lighthouse keeper's wife lets us in and collects our $2 entrance fees, as well as some donations, and we climb the cast iron stairs accompanied by the smell of kerosene. At the top, we clamber through the little doggie door which lets us outside. On the northern and western faces of the lighthouse, the wind makes it impossible to stand, but on the south and east sides, we get panoramic, though gray, views of Elbow Cay.
After our lighthouse tour, we head over to Hopetown. Though it is still windy, the clouds have miraculously cleared and it's a warm day when you are out of the wind. The first matter of business is lunch at Harbour's Edge. I ordered conch chowder and a grilled wahoo burger with mac & cheese, a special island recipe. It dawns on the group that it sure would be nice to have key lime pie, so I volunteer to run over to Vernon's Grocery to see if one can be had; Vernon tells me that a batch of pies will be ready at 2 and promises to hold one for me. I run back to my conch chowder (yummy!), and soon the wahoo arrives (fantastic).
After lunch, we split up. Cap'n Rick and I do some shopping, including my favorite shops Iggy Biggy (formerly Island Gallery, where we get some t-shirts) and Ebb Tide (artwork, jewelry, Barefoot Man CDs). We sit on the beach a while, and before meeting the rest of the crew, pick up my promised key lime pie from Vernon's and a few bottles of pineapple rum from Lighthouse Liquors. Of course, no day on a sailing charter is complete without picking up a few bags of ice (to fill the TWO coolers we have). We spend the rest of the afternoon lounging around Hideaways' pool, as well as admiring their beautiful grounds which overlook the harbour and are festooned with riots of brilliant bougainvillea.
I've mixed up a gallon of rum punch (it's awesome with pineapple rum), which accompanies sundown snacks and an early dinner of spaghetti bolognese with salad and garlic bread. Dessert was Vernon's key lime pie, which I'm not ashamed to report we ate in a single sitting. It was heaven!
We drift off to sleep early, despite the live music across the Harbour at Captain Jack's.
Thursday morning, we get an early start because our goal is Little Harbour, a 15 mile sail away. As with most mornings, it is overcast. The wind is fluky, but seems to be picking up some steam and gets up to 15-20 knots as we sail to our first stop, Sandy Cay. It takes us 4 tries to anchor behind (west) of Sandy Cay because of the grassy bottom, and there is a serious swell running. Kevin, who has no interest in nekkid beaches (where Theresa and I will spend this stop) or snorkeling (which is what Cap'n Rick and Jeff will be doing), kindly agrees to stay aboard Easy Breeze to deal with any dragging of the anchor.
The boys drop us on the beach at Sandy Cay. The beach is actually pretty ugly here, strewn with seaweed and flotsam, but it is deserted. There are nicer beaches in the marine park, but the holding there is even worse than it is here, and they are not as close to the snorkeling area. I take advantage of the beach to wash my hair I have soap which is good for saltwater bathing and washing up in saltwater is one of the sacrifices we make to conserve water (however, I do recommend a fresh water rinse if you can manage it). Meanwhile, there is enough sunshine to have a nice warm sunbath. When the boys pick us up, they report outstanding snorkeling, and Cap'n Rick's photos prove it.
Back aboard Easy Breeze, we have lunch of sandwiches on Bahamian bread and pasta salad. We plan to sail on to Little Harbour for the afternoon, and then anchor at Lynyard Cay for the night. A brisk sail gets us into Little Harbour by about 2, where we snag a mooring in this snug and nearly landlocked bay. A narrow beach fringes most of it, but the centerpiece of Little Harbour is Pete's Pub and gallery.
Ah, Pete's Pub . . .
