The Abacos

The Abacos are the most northern islands in the Bahamas that we will visit and after being as far south as the Tropic of Cancer, this latitude (a bit farther north than Ft. Lauderdale) is making us realize just how warm we’ve been this winter.

The highlight of the crossing from Spanish Wells to Little Harbour was a pod of about 20 dolphin that cruised along with us for several minutes! Little Harbour is the first stop in north Abaco and is home to Pete’s Pub and a gallery that has beautiful bronze work by Randolph Johnston and his sons.

                      Dirt road with nautical speed bumps on the way to Pete’s and the gallery.

                                             Pete's is a t-shirt bar instead of a dollar bar.

               
                                   A Johnston sculpture on the walkway to the Atlantic side.

Moving on south, Marsh Harbour is the “big city” of the Abacos and it was big enough and busy enough to feel like we were back in the US. A Walmart-like grocery (minus the produce since the boat had not come in), a KFC, numerous small strip malls, a big lumber yard and the first time since our arrival in the Bahamas that the water was green, murky and totally uninviting. We experienced a bit of culture shock in this first re-entry phase. There really wasn’t even a reason to take pictures in town. But, on the bright side, we are seeing sea life and birds in greater abundance. A sting ray was happily jumping out of the water in the harbor, we saw the first cormorant since Florida and there are hundreds of sea gulls that flock at the shore each evening.

East of the mainland, our next stop was Hope Town which did revive hope that the Abacos still have Bahamian flavor. Hope Town’s biggest draw is the Elbow Reef Lighthouse. 

The lighthouse was built in 1864 to keep vessels from going aground on the shoals of Elbow Reef. Locals were NOT happy about this as part of their livelihood came from salvaging the cargoes of the wrecked ships on the reef. In fact, they tried to sabotage the building of it! Originally all lighthouses had fixed lenses, but in 1936, the Imperial Lighthouse Service (Bahamas were still British rule) saw the need for a light which could be more easily identified by shops at sea. The Hope Town lighthouse was refit with a rotating first-order Fresnel lens that flashes every 15-seconds and is visible for 17 miles. What makes this lighthouse particularly unique is that it is still functioning exactly as it did in the 1800s. It is the last kerosene burning lighthouse in the world. Once every two hours from sunset to sunrise, a lighthouse keeper manually cranks a pump that pressurizes lanterns and lights up the beautiful Fresnel lens.

                                                  View across the harbor into Hope Town

 The wall surrounding the spiral staircase is indeed pink. Why? There was leftover red and white paint after painting the outside stripes, so they were mixed them for a unique interior color.

                                     A cloudy day, but still a great sight out into the sound.

Hope Town Lighthouse is currently being restored through a 100% volunteer effort. The Bahamian government is not interested in such projects, so the Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society has taken on the task and is preserving the lighthouse and the keeper’s dwelling and grounds. You can see more at elbowreeflighthousesociety.com.

Hope Town itself is charming. Streets are cement and just wide enough for passing golf carts. No motorized vehicles are allowed.

Another typical house in town on a steep street that goes over to the Atlantic.

The houses are often on lots with beautiful vegetation and as you might expect, the cost of living here is quite steep.

Hope Town Museum, full of memorabilia and a good 20-minute movie of the town’s history. The museum is in the home of the first resident, Wyannie Malone and dates back to 1785.

 Some are painted, some are kept natural wood.

We found a couple more coconuts in town and then headed south five miles to Man O’War Cay, another small Loyalist settlement with a New England look. This cay got its name because British war ships were brought here for repairs during the Revolution. Typical of much of the Bahamas, the Loyalists came with their slaves after the Revolution planning on growing cotton and farming. The soil, or lack of it, doesn’t lend itself to that so they found other avenues of prosperity. Man O’ War became known for boat building and sail making. “Albury” is the most notable family name here and 50% of the population are Alburys. Streets, like Hope, are cement and narrow. Large, landscaped yards and high-priced property, but the feel of a simple lifestyle.

Street sign are wood and the main drag is, as on every island, called the Queen’s Highway.

                    Streets going across the island go steeply uphill and then drop to the Atlantic.

We figure you couldn’t touch this little house for less than $250,000.

 

So this fixer-upper is probably more in our price range. 

                                       Albury Boat Building still turns out beautiful boats.

                                             Welcome next to Green Turtle Cay!

 A brief stop was made here for fuel and to check out what is our last Bahamian town. This appeared to be a sleepy little place with almost no sign of activity. The streets were practically deserted and the homes more modest than Man O’ War or Hope Town.

One of the attractions in Green Turtle is the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden. Many bronze busts honor Loyalist settlers and their descendants.

The end of this winter’s cruise unfortunately ended with a cold front that brought winds up to 30 knots. We anchored with several other boats in a very well-protected place called Great Sale Cay. This is a deserted island with rocky edges, no beach unless you dinghy around to the Atlantic side where there is a very small coarse sand beach and some cement slab ruins of a 1950-60s US missile tracking site.

It’s 120 miles from Great Sale to Florida and we did it in two days, stopping at the Little Bahama Banks about half way across to anchor in about 20-feet of water just before going into the ocean depths. It was a great crossing both days with beautiful weather as we soaked in the final sight of clear blue water. We were also treated to another pod of dolphin that played off the bow for several minutes.

And so ends a most remarkable winter. There is still more to explore in the Bahamas though and who knows what next year will bring.