M/V Perfect Fit: Hopetown, Abacos.

Much has happened since our last post. We crossed from Spanish Wells, to the Abacos, about a 60 nautical (1 NM equals 1.15 statute miles) mile run. We came into the Sea of Abaco via the Little Harbor Channel. Little Harbor is an artists’ community founded by Randolph Johnston in the middle 1950s. He was an art history professor in the US who came to the Bahamas to find himself, and stayed. His son, Pete, is a renowned sculptor who stills lives there, and is the proprietor of Pete’s Pub in Little Harbor. Our crossing was less than idyllic, and at one point the captain’s (me) judgment was questioned by the crew. We were travelling with a pack of sailboats, and listening to the radio chatter, if a weatherman could have been found, he would have been strung up on the yardarm! In any event, we made it to Pete’s Pub, and then, unfortunately, to the art gallery. Alexis, as a form of treating herself for the tough crossing, befriended Pete, who sold her a sculpture, that won’t fit on the boat. Pete gave me a T-shirt. Such is life. Pete is no fool….

Our friends, and fellow members of the bar (also on sabbatical), aboard Calypso crossed the next day, and according to him, it was fine. She was headed for the Pub. We all had drinks aboard Moondance and shared war stories.

The big cold front that swept through the States is now here, and it is a chilly 72 degrees! The winds are around 30 knots (also a factor of 1.15) and we are safe in a marina on Elbow Key, home of Hopetown. Abaco history-After the Caribe Indians ate all the native Lucayans, the place was uninhabited for years. The Spaniards came and went. Then after the American Revolution, the losing side still loyal to the King came here for respite, and free crown land. Farming proved futile, so they lived off the sea, and salvage from ships running on the reefs. When the Hopetown lighthouse was built, it put a big dent in that trade, and a lumber mill was built and in four years they managed to deforest the Abacos. English are industrious… They ultimately turned to tourism and the place is a haven for artists, tourists, divers, boaters, etc. A good read on this is Wind From The Carolinas by Robert Wilder.

We were here twenty years ago, and the place has grown! The Hopetown Harbor is now off limits to anchoring, and you must take a mooring ball, if one is available (none were when I checked). In 1973, the Bahamas gained independence from Briton, much to the consternation of the Hopetown Loyalists. They tried to secede from the Bahamas, but failed. I understand that they formed the first opposition party here, and are a force to be reckoned with. Despite the initial gloomy predictions, the Bahamian government is working well now, after throwing out the drug lords in the 80s. I have been told that things were really bad when drugs ruled the country, and an enlightened PM entered into a treaty with the US that establishes a US naval, Coast Guard and DEA presence here with the local police. It has really helped the tourist trade flourish to the relief of the locals. There are restaurants, shops, supplies, marinas and people here. Much to do, but I miss the relative solitude of the Exumas.