A long and delayed update!

We spent a couple of days in Guana Cay, home of the famous Nipper’s Bar. The island was beautiful!!! The town, small and quaint, and the beach absolutely gorgeous. We snorkeled for a little bit one day. We walked the long beach, picking up sea shells and spent afternoons enjoying Nipper’s view of the ocean. We left Guana Cay with intentions to go to Hopetown. The wind was all wrong and we ended up coming into Marsh Harbour.

Marsh Harbour is the 3rd largest city in the Bahamas, and we were able to use this to find some brass fittings for our broken water heater and provisions for the boat. We got showers!! And did some laundry. Marsh Harbour is unlike most of the other towns we have been too. It’s dustier, dirtier, and more commercial. The beautiful, classic island homes are replaced by concrete buildings that appear to be falling apart. There are no golf carts and we are back to the land of fast paced cars and even a stop light. It seems a little odd, coming from small little towns where there is hardly even a stop sign and only golf carts whiz by. Still, the area is full of neat little shops and lots of interesting people. Watch out in the grocery store though, they'll run you right over! haha

We attempted to leave after a couple days here. We had a beautiful sail down to Hopetown, came into the harbour and were shocked!!! It was packed with boats, all on moorings, that were so close together that we couldn’t believe people would be comfortable. As long as you are all facing the same direction it’s no problem, but when the wind changes and the boats swing… will you make it? We managed to find one mooring and scooped it up. We had tried to get in somewhere safe for the next upcoming cold front with its gusty winds. Unfortunately, the owner of the mooring ball came out and told us it was reserved (no mark on it whatsoever) and that we needed to get off. Bummer! Being that there were no other mooring balls and you can’t anchor inside, we turned around and had a beautiful sail back to Marsh.

Marsh Harbour! It’s become our new home. We’ve been almost stuck, but enjoying it here for over a week. We have become familiar with the town, the local bars, and even met several other cruisers and locals. We enjoyed the Super Bowl on a huge projector screen at our frequented Snappa’s and cheered along with the other Cardinals fans (rooting for the underdogs). We have had several cold fronts back to back, bringing each heavy winds, choppy waters (even in the Harbour), and even some downpour rains. We’ve been trapped mainly in the boat, it being too cold to sit outside and too windy to walk around. To top it off, the dingy motor has been acting up, either not starting period or cutting off part way. Since none of us like the idea of rowing, we have found a Yamaha dealer and are going to get it fixed. That puts us here for a few more days at least. We have read several books, Dad has polished almost all of the brass (soon to finish as I type this), and I have been making mats, coasters, and hot pads for the boat like crazy. I have cranked several out now and consider myself a professional. HAHA.

Good Weather and Happy Sailing (what little you can do today)!