Windy Weather

The east wind has been relentless since we returned to Hope Town. It has been blowing 20-30+ mph, and sometimes close to 40. Going outside is a challenge and we've had to really hang on to our French doors. It certainly has made us glad that we are in the apartment though .At least today the wind eased down to about 20 mph from the south so we were able to sit outside again. Tomorrow we have a cold front coming and that's when the wind will be behind us and the porch is a haven.

Last night must have been really rough on the ocean beach as the shipwreck Ellipsis broke up into pieces. The owner had actually taken everything off the boat and stripped it right down to removing the engine and ports. The plan was to wait until calm weather and high tide, and take the boat out and sink it offshore in really deep water. Instead, Mother Ocean had a different idea and there is very little left. It took a lot of pounding to break this heavily built Westsail 32 in half.

"The sea giveth, and the sea taketh away."

A Loss For Hope Town

While we were in Daytona, Winer Malone passed away. Winer was the builder of our Abaco Dinghy and our half hull model, both of which we proudly display. His talent was amazing and we are so glad to have known him. He not only built dinghies, but he also built the coffins for the Burial Society, which included his own. What a beautiful place to be laid to rest...

Below is the tribute that Dave wrote for our sailing club's website:

End of an era: A huge void has been left in the story of Hope Town with the passing of Thomas Winer Malone. Winer may have been a man of few words, but the dinghies that he crafted spoke a universal language of beauty and practicality. His boats were entirely crafted by hand and mothers wit, honed to perfection over many decades of refinement. Winer specialized in dinghy construction and interestingly also built most of the caskets that the locals have been laid to rest in. A modest and humble man, Winer spent his life working with his hands and became an artist in his own realm. His boats are revered by their owners and much has been written about their grace and simplicity. He came from a simpler time and never used or desired power tools to aid in his work. His boats are an everlasting testament to his passion of building them and they are treasured by a small and appreciative group of owners. It is the end of an era that cannot be recreated. We are all enriched to have had him be a part of our lives and a part of this unique culture that makes Hope Town what it is. Condolences go out to his entire family and all of Abaco will feel the loss of this legendary man.

There and Back

We have been in Daytona since Saturday, where my mother's lovely memorial service was held. What a nice tribute to a long and loving life she led. It was wonderful to see so many of her friends show up to pay their respects.

Saturday was a hard day on my ankle with lots of standing and I had to go back to using crutches again. As the week progressed though, I began walking with just a cane and mostly without any aid, at least in our motel room.

Now our provisioning is done and requests filled for the return trip to Abaco. After one more gorgeous sunset we'll be flying at 7 AM back to Hope Town. More from the other side of the Gulf Stream...

Dry Season?

Winter is supposed to be the dry season in the south. It certainly has been different this year. In fact from the first of the year to the 11th, we heard that we have received between 11-13" of rain. Sometimes it comes down so hard we can't see across the harbor.

Our gutter system outside the kitchen window has been leaking for years, but at least the palm tree likes it. It doesn't really matter at this point, since our cistern that the rainwater collects in, has been overflowing at the base of our stairs (which BTW, I have made it down for the past 4 days!). The 4" overflow pipe was filled right up and gushing with water that flooded the area, making our mats float away. I guess the marina won't need to use the reverse osmosis watermaker anytime soon!

The other night we finally had a break in the weather and this wonderful rainbow appeared. 

Today finally, the gray skies were gone and we got to sit on the porch and enjoy that beautiful Bahama blue sky again. Hopefully this means a change in the weather pattern for the rest of the season.

Sad Time

It is a sad time for us as my mother has passed away. She was within a couple of weeks of turning 92 years old, and although she led a wonderfully full life, we sure will miss her. At least now she is no longer suffering from the debilitating Alzheimer's Disease and has joined my father who died in 2005 (I like to think that it was like the end of the movie Titanic). Our family certainly had a great life growing up and as adults with these loving parents, and we have so many fantastic memories. We will return to Daytona for her memorial service, but couldn't get a flight out until next Saturday. Then in the spring, we will have a service up north. Rest in peace Mom.

Shipwreck!

We certainly don't see this very often in Hope Town. A Westsail 32 sailboat transiting from Puerto Rico to St. Augustine, FL lost its steering and engine power when a line wrapped round its prop and rudder. In one of our storms the other night, it washed ashore on the beach. Luckily the two people on board and their dog, were fine and some of the locals gave them food, showers, and a place to stay the night.

It has become quite an attraction and the police have been involved so that no one goes on board. We don't know what will happen to the boat since it has sunk quite deep in the sand with all the tide changes (it has 6ft. of draft) and it is damaged with cracks in the hull. It survived Hurricane Maria...but couldn't survive the trip north. The ironic thing is that there had been a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for this same boat a few days earlier, because it was reported overdue in Florida. I'm sure this will be a continuing saga.

Look Who's Back

Every time I see people looking in the water from the dock, I know who is back...Randy the Manatee!

This time he has several large remoras attached to him.

Plus he has brought a friend with him this year. Perhaps we will see a little calf in the next year or so?

Many thanks to Nancy Schiffer for her great photos. Check out Moto Iti's blog with the link at the bottom of this page.

Our View Is Back

Yesterday we trimmed the trees away from the porch so we could see the harbor again. Actually, I supervised and told Dave where to cut. He uses his pole chainsaw, but some of the trees have to be trimmed by reaching through and up from below. The conversation goes something like this...Dave: "Is this the branch?" Me: "No, go towards me a foot." Dave: "How about here?" Me: "No, a little to your left, oops, no sorry, my left, your right" (he was standing on a ladder facing opposite me). Dave: "Here?" Me: "Yes that's it, cut right there!" And so it went for each branch of these rapidly growing corkwood trees. We left the side ones the same for privacy but this is what it looked like out front too.

 Now the harbor is back!

At least I can see what's going on as I recuperate and learn to walk again...which is finally seeing some more improvement. I walked (paced) the apartment with only one crutch yesterday and sometimes even one cane. Plus I took my first few steps with no crutches. Then it was back to ice and elevate because I overdid it. At least there is hope!

Override!

Dave raced in the latest cruising boat race on Sunrise, and with owner Milton not in town, he was skipper. His crew was inexperienced and had never raced a boat with winches, but they were eager and ready for Dave to mentor them. They had an awesome start (that's them in the middle).

At the first windward mark, they ended up with an override on the winch, meaning the sheet (line) to the jib sail overlapped on the winch, causing it to tighten to the point that it couldn't be released due to the pressure of the wind on the sail and lines. This caused them to go around in circles, hoping to ease that pressure. Finally, as all the other boats were approaching, Dave said cut the sheet! Luckily Dave had come back to our apartment at the last minute and grabbed his rigging knife. The crew almost cut the sheet at the winch, which would have destroyed the line, but Dave had them cut it at the sail, only losing a foot of it, so they re-rigged the sail and continued on the course. I think Dave's look in this photo says it all, as they were back winded in the left background of the second photo.

They ended up passing a few boats along the way and after the handicaps were tallied, Sunrise came in 6th out of 10 boats. Everyone had a great time and actually want to race again!

Photo Credits to HTSC photographer, Will Heyer

Who's Idea?

Who's idea was it to come to our apartment? You can imagine how scary it is to even think about navigating down these stairs! Of course it has been raining for two days, so I won't try for awhile (you might even be able to see the cistern overflow pond of water down at the bottom by the palm tree). Now a strong cold front has arrived and it will only be in the low 60's for several days. At least the sun is out, but we only have a small space heater (and each other 😉 ) to keep warm. No snow or ice...yet!

We did have a beautiful view of the full super moon from our porch the other night. There was a dinghy drift, but we had to miss it unfortunately, especially since it was our last nice warm, evening.

Welcome 2018

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year everyone!