I am a tad bit behind in keeping you all updated, but I am sure this will bring you all back. We left Harbor Island Eleuteras and headed to the Abacos.  Now this is me venting!!! First of all I love sailing. I love the way the breeze brushes against my ski and the sun kisses me leaving my body with a bronze tan. The boat doesn’t have to stay straight up! Heeling is just part of sailing.(I totally understand it) Now… I might be alone on this; but, my mind cannot handle it when I have no place to sit my butt when the boat heels and all my casserole dishes fall out of the oven and shatter on the floor. Ok all you sailors, this might be the straw that broke the camel ’s back! I guess in order to be a great sailor, one must accept heeling (15 degrees) in order to have speed. However, if you must bury your toe rail in the ocean, I cannot stomach it. There is no cure for this. I don’t get sick. Nothing like that; it’s all mental. I am trying to teach my mind it’s ok.  LOL.. I have faith in Beauty; she has so proven herself. Between the Lake Michigan crossing & the Gulf, I should be great. I just don’t think the Atlantic Ocean likes me. LOL.. Well, soon we will be in the ICW. People call that the ditch. I am okay with that I guess. It will give me time to mentally regroup.

 

Maybe the answer to ride on the jet-ski she looks pretty straight up!

 

 

This is me after Bryce hands me a double shot of Goldschlager for breakfast. It wasn’t that bad sailing we had about foot 10 foot+ rollers and the wind speed anywhere from 12-18 knots. We averaged about 8.5 mph.  We topped out at 10.5 mph and that is pulling a 800 pound jet-ski behind us.  The Jetski starts planning at about 6-7 mph.

 

 

As we were coming upon the entrance to the Abacos, I noticed this Catamaran disappearing in the rollers.  This is a 45 foot Lagoon.

 

 

The rollers were breaking on the reefs on each side of us as we entered the inlet. Boy it was sure nice to get out of the Atlantic Ocean and into the Sea of Abaco. It was much smoother.  Things settled down after we passed the southern most inlet at Little Harbor.  Here is a picture of a few boats anchored just out of Little Harbor.

 

 

George is happy to be out of the Atlantic. It was late in the afternoon, so we anchored a bit inside of the inlet near Lynyard Cay.  It was well protected from the strong east winds.

 

 

 

The next day we moved from the bay at Lynyard Cay and moved to a bay near Tiloo Cay.  This was south of Hopetown.  After we anchored for the night, we took the jet-ski and headed over to explore Hope Town.   Looking into the harbor entrance, we see some colorful homes and numerous boats on mooring balls.

 

 

We were greeted  by the red and white lighthouse at the entrance to Hopetown.  This is a picture from the mooring balls.

 

 

We passed this colorful restaurant as we explored the harbor.

 

 

Unfortunately the clouds started to turn dark as if it was going to start down pouring.  We headed back to beauty to nestle down for the night.  The small bay we were in had great protection from the east winds.

These two boats anchored next to us at Tiloo Cay south of Hope Town.

 

 

We headed to Marsh Cay the following afternoon.  It was a gusty day and you need to watch where you are going in the Sea of Abaco as the channel twists and turns as you follow it.  In this picture, you see the palm trees resisting the winds.

 

 

The navigation channel can take you near outcrops of rocks.  The zoom lens on the camera makes this boat look a bit closer than it is.

 

 

We had a  great surprise after we settled Beauty on the hook once again. We were greeted by our dear friend Etienne.  He zoomed up on his dingy arms waving excitedly.  How nice it was to see him.  We welcomed him on board and had a number of beers as we exchanged stories since we last talked.  Unfortunately Denise had a headache; but, we gathered together the following morning for coffee. Denise and Etienne walked with us to the grocery store. That was awesome since we weren’t sure where to go. I need to kick myself in the butt. I didn’t take any new photos. Later that evening, we spent a lovely evening with them. We are going to miss them.

 

They are headed up to Bermuda, then crossing the Atlantic to Netherlands.  Safe voyage and fair winds our friends.  La Luna is the name of their boat; meaning the Moon. I am sure the moon will be their light across the ocean.   We first met them Thanksgiving day near Pensacola Florida.  They are just finishing their quite adventurous 6 year sail around the world on their 35 Beneteau First.