We spent 4 nights on a mooring at Man-O-War Cay, a very unique Bahamian island. First the people are almost exclusively European (White) Bahamians. Ferries come in every morning bringing boat-loads of black workers, but they leave at night.
It is a very industrious and prosperous island. It has a very small harbor and is not an extremely popular cruising destination, but it hosts a large number of winter residents, many of which are rather well-to-do. All of them were surprised that we were staying only a few days, since many boaters stay for the 'season'.
Man-O-War is home to Edwin's, a premier Abaco boatyard with a great reputation http://edwinsboatyard.com/Welcome.html. Interestingly, they do not have (nor do they have room for, a travel-lift (a big machine that is used in most yards to haul vessels out of the water). Rather they have a marine railway - a technology that preceded the world of modern hydraulics. In a railway, the boat is blocked at high tide, and then with a combination of the tide and a large motor driven winch, the boat is dragged up a set of tracks and out of the water. The process is reversed to launch the boat.
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| Marine railway |
Man-O-War also is the hone of Albury Brothers, builders of high quality small boats http://www.alburybrothers.com/. Following are some pictures of a boat in process and some components parts. Joyce has somewhat fallen in love with Albury skiffs and talks about getting one as our boat when we stop cruising, but they may be out of our price range.
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| Albury 20 Under Construction |
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| Non-skid Deck just painted - bilge-boards sticking up |
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| Consoles in foreground; deck behind |
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| Mold - probably for a model bigger than 20' |
We went to church at New Life Bible Church and enjoyed the service and the people. One thing that surprised us was that they did not have an offering in the service. As we were leaving, we asked and were pointed to a small box in the vestibule. We returned that evening for a communion service which we also enjoyed. It was almost entirely led by the elders and deacons which was nice to see. Interestingly, they did have an offering at the evening service.
On Sunday, the Cay virtually shuts down, Edwin's and Albury are closed of course, but the restaurants and stores are also closed. When we were going to and from the evening service at New Life, the ONLY activity anywhere was a church service in each church. We are not strict Sabbath observers, but it is quite refreshing to see a community committed to a community time of rest and reflection. It is a given that places are closed on Sunday: in fact, the sign on the ice cream shop said that it was closed on Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday through Saturday - no mention that it was closed on Sunday.
Following are a few pictures from our walk along the northern part of the island where a lot of larger winter homes are located - the word here is very PRIVATE. Fences or hedges almost completely block any view of the actual homes.
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| Thatch fence - very natural looking |
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| Interesting driveway ornaments |
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| Where is Guildhall? |
A few beach water pictures -pretty:
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| Our new AB Dinghy and Yamaha 15HP OB in the foreground |
Flag football near the ocean - Marsh Harbour and Man-O-War boys split wins between varsity and junior varsity.
On Monday we made the loooong 6-mile trip from Man-O-War to Hopetown :-). A nice thing about the Abacos is that once you are south of the Whale, everything is just a short sheltered trip apart. We plan to stay in Hopetown for about a week. While it is a bit touristy, it has nice amenities. I write this seated in a comfortable chair, sipping a cup of coffee at Hopetown Coffee with FAST internet!
Tom
Moored at Hopetown
Elbow Cay, Abaco
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