Tim and Kate flew into Eleuthera to join us, arriving just in time to meet our first real rainy weather and cold front passage. Jim picked them up at the dock in the dinghy, and all three arrived at Tilia moderately wet from the waves in the harbor. Tilia was anchored in a very safe and secure corner of the harbor, so we stayed put for the next 24 hours as the front passed through.
Once the front passed, we moved Tilia to be closer to Harbour Island, and got to work exploring. We walked all over the town, did some grocery shopping and had a wonderful sushi dinner. The next day, Tim and Kate hired a boat to go diving for lobsters. We enjoyed eating those lobsters as part of a surf and turf dinner.
A stretch of calm days appeared, and we took that as an opportunity to make the 55 nm journey from Eleuthera to the Abacos. The weather was very calm, so it was a motorboat trip. We arrived Lynyard Cay well before dark and got settled.
The anchorage was calm and well protected, and we stayed there for several days. One day we made a run to snorkel Sandy Cay, where we saw eagle rays, coral and fish. We also got to work on on the bottom of the boat. All of us chipped in and got the entire bottom of the boat cleaned of growth. Jim had made some efforts previously, but he didn’t have a weight belt, so it was difficult to get under the surface. Tim and Kate had brought the weight belt (and many other goodies) with them.
Then we jumped to Great Guana Cay to set ourselves up for some nice sailing the next few days. At Great Guana Cay is a famous bar, Nippers, which was jam packed when we arrived. Nippers overlooks a spectacular beach on the Atlantic side of Great Guana Cay.
The next day, the wind shifted and we had a great 3-hour sail to Elbow Cay. We spent two nights at Elbow Cay, exploring the cute town on the north end, checking out the lighthouse, and generally enjoying the town.
Finally, we decided it was time to get to Marsh Harbour, the main town in the Abacos. We elected to get a couple nights in a marina to make it easy for Tim and Kate to leave (sad) and for our next guests to join us (happy).
