Magnolia departed Current Cut for Little Harbor Cut Abacos. The distance between the two is right at 60 miles which is a long day by sail boat standards, even we we have 16-21 knts on the starboard quarter (which Magnolia loves!!!) and seas running 4-6 feet. It was a real rocket ship ride!

The Little Harbor Cut was churning but we had favorable tide. We have also been in here once before which makes ALL the difference in the world. We dropped the hook off Lynyard Cay just before dark and did some serious snoring that night! We were bushed!

The next morning we set off for Hope Town only about 12 miles of the sound. There are a couple of tricky places such as near Tilloo Cut & Cay where a huge sand bar has formed shoaling the entire area except for a small navigable channel. Anxiety level…HIGH

We went into Hope Town where our friends on S/V Cutting Class had secured a mooring for us! Thank you Dan and Marcia!

Marcia is a big fan of Bakers Engine Room Bread so they brought some Lobster Tails that Dan caught and we had a mighty feast and celebration.

We traveled with Cutting Class year and we visited them at their home in Connecticut this last summer.

One of the minor problems we had during the passage was we lost the topping lift line which of course went to the top of the mast. I frankly have not been to the top of the mast and was sorta looking forward to the first time. Sadly Dan weighs 35 pounds less than me. That mean he would be the one using the winch to crank my fat but up the mast. He liked the being the once being cranked better so he won!

Dan and Marcia are both former teachers (SV Cutting Class get it?). They spend 2 1/2 months a year here in Hope Town and volunteer at the school occasionally. They asked if I wanted to come to the school for “Field Day” the next day and I said “Sure.” In the military “Field Day”  means clean up day which is what I thought I was signing up too…..but nooooo….“Field Day”  is a sports day oh boy! I will leave the disuccion of Irish Pennants to my friend Ty. Pictures below are all from Marcia

Lets just say this situation is about as far out of my element as I could get!!!

These kids are terrific and so well behaved it was scary. Every morning at school the day starts with a prayer, pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem (Bahamian) led by the principal, young man with the beard.

I was responsible for the foot race…getting the athletes in on the line.

Unsuccessfully firing up the racers!

Dan handling the softball throw!

As you can see I have a little 3 year old helper there by my side. The high point of the day was when I went over and sat down on the bleachers…

She just walked over and plopped down next to me…not much better than that!

It seems “Field Day”  was a success!

Sadly as quickly as we said hello we also had to say goodbye as Dan & Marcia headed off to make their way back to CT via Florida.

We certainly hope to catch them before we get to the Chesapeake this spring, if not we plan to take Magnolia at least to RI & CT this summer!

First it appears there was a small loss of track data (“I suspect an ATES buffer over-run” – Geek Humor) so try and bear with us… Magnolia departed Cat Island headed for Eluethera. We decided we would split the 60 mile journey in two and Little San Salvador fit the bill! Carnival Cruise Line folks will know it as Half Moon Cay.

Half Moon Cay is about 2500 acres but truthfully only a small part is used for the cruise ships. Ideally we would arrive on a day when there is no cruise ships……

As we came into range our Automatic Identification System (AIS) told us the Carnival Fascination was anchored ahead. Oh well, we just need a place to over night anyway. As we approached of course we wanted to anchor directly on the other side of where the ship was parked! We called the ship and told them our intentions and for once seemed appreciative that we made the call. 

We passed behind the ship and came up her port side right into our desired anchorage.

We relaxed, read and watched all the people ashore. We had not seen so many people in one place for a long time….a little disconcerting. A little horse beach ride would be fun.

Late in the afternoon with really amazing speed Fascination loaded her passengers and got underway.

The ship used thrusters to rotate itself right around and I think they enjoyed point there bow right at us!!!

After departing Little San Salvador we rounded the tip of Eluethera and entered Rock Sound.

We were finally able meet up with a our sister boat KellyNicole and of course we did not get one picture!! It was a fun couple of nights and we yacked and yacked the evenings away! Annette and I walked (it’s a LONG way) to Rosie’s North Side restaurant and had a lovely dinner with a terrific view.

On a sad note…as we approached Rock Sound we noted someone out Kite Boarding. It struck me because of the sheer distance out in the sound the individual was. I know nothing of the sport but based on the speed it appeared he could go a long way in a short time! The next day upon returning to the boat from shore we heard on the radio the gentlemen was attacked by a shark and sadly did not survive his injuries. So sad! Life sometimes a little too real…. The below is actually a moon rise which ended out stay in Rock Sound.

After departing Rock Sound Magnolia made an overnight stop in Alabaster Bay and traversed Current Cut and set the anchor on the western shore. The persistent east winds continues to the anchorage affords us great protection.

Tomorrow at dawn or earlier we will head out across North East Providence Channel to make sure we make the 60 mile passage in day light and arriving Great Abaco before dusk, Will certainly be a full day, and yes that water really is more than 3 miles deep!

Vessel and Crew are well!

The Admiral enjoying a walk on the beach…in truth she is on the hunt for a particular type of palm leaf for a basket she is weaving!

Our dinghy “Blossom” with “Magnolia” in the background at anchor.

It may appear the Captain is taking a little time off and enjoying a Rum drink….

In reality he is keeping a keen eye on Magnolia….yea ok, enjoying a rum drink!

The other night we met and enjoyed a wonderful evening with Andrew & Gwendy. They are enjoying a vacation away from their home in England. We spent the evening comparing politics in the US & UK. We enjoyed our evening so much so we closed the place down. Just had to pop back ashore for a drink before we departed. Meetings like these really make this life special!

After saying our good byes we were off first thing this morning for Arthur Town. We had a terrific sail and made a point of staying well west of the Angel Reef! We also had a dolphin travel with us for a while. I will put a video up in the YouTube channel when we get better internet. We enjoyed a walk around town and purchased some local breads and pastries.

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Tomorrow we are off on a short sail over to Little San Salvador or Half Moon Cay for those Carnival Cruise Lines customers. We will be making a brief over-night stop on our way to Eluthera.