Friends, the sad last 1/2 day on the boat came. The sunrise was beautiful!

 

We were due to get the boat back to Capt. Ron in Hope Town Harbour by 10:30 so we could get to the fuel dock for fuel and water before it closed for lunch. Outside the harbour an hour early we decided to stall. No need to end things early. So we practiced a sailing manueuver called being hove to. To do this you back wind the jib which pushes the bow around away from the wind. The main sail is luffed and the helm is put over to push the stern into the wind effectively stalling the boat so the only motion is a slow drift down wind.

 

When it was time to go in we struck the sails and motored toward the harbour.

 

 

The historic but still functioning Hope Town Lighthouse can be seen in the distance behind the Lighthouse Marina. It is preserved by donations and still works in the old way without modern technology. The white light is occulting with five flashes and a period of 15 seconds and arrange of 23 miles.

We left Moon Doggy at noon. Capt. Ron took us by his house to see his incredible racing trimaran.

Lyse and Jay rode the ferry back to Marsh Harbor to stay at the Conch Inn one more night. Stephen and I went to the Abaco Inn, the place on Elbow Cay we fell in love with last January. For a complete description of the Abaco Inn and why we love it so you can refer back to Blog #10. We were thrilled to see old friends and to make new ones.

 

 

Here are a couple of our new friends. We had a great time whiling away the afternoon buying each other drinks. We got to stay in our favorite room and had a marvelous time.

 

 

 

The following morning we took the ferry to Marsh Harbor where we met Lyse and Jay again at the airport. This time we knew to save our appetite for the wonderful food at the airport. The lady who cooks your food never writes anything down and remembers everyone's order. We were duly impressed. My burger was delicious as was Stephen's fish sandwich.

Here's a photo of us on the last day of our journey.

Here's a photo of us on the first day of our adventure. I see smiles all around.

Life is good.

Fair winds,

Stephen and Franci