Leading Has Its Disadvantages

Dave raced Sunfish for the first time this season last Sunday. The wind was pretty challenging, but he persevered. He had awesome starts and led to the first mark during a couple of the 3 race series. During the last race he was ahead of everyone for most of the race until he lost track of how many times he had gone around the course and mistakenly thought he was finishing. He still had another a couple of legs of the race to complete and unfortunately he crossed the start/finish line, which immediately disqualified him. If he hadn't done that, he would have taken second place overall in the regatta, but even with the mistake, he placed fourth...and he had a good laugh about it all. Next Sunday he will be doing it all again, except for the mistake, I hope!

Photo Credit: Catherine Allin

MOW Excursion

Today we ended up at Man-O-War Cay for groceries and lunch at Dips and Sips. What a great little take out restaurant. Hey, they have pizza and ice cream! Between that, their well stocked grocery store, convenient hardware store, and the quiet surroundings, it made me want to move there.

Afterwards we made a stop across the harbor to see our friend Jay. While the guys talked boats and sails, I rested up in Walkabout following my monumental walk uphill (and back down) to the store.

We sure do enjoy visiting MOW, which is also the boat building capital of Abaco. Hopefully next time we can stay longer, but time, tide, and fresh milk wait for no man!

On The Water

Look who made it out on the water to watch the start of the first race of the Hope Town Cup Regatta...

Many thanks go to Paul and Ann who invited me to join them and our friend Jean to spend a bit of time on their boat Panda. I think Dave, who was racing Sunrise, was surprised to see me out there!

After watching the 8 boats cross the starting line and round the windward mark, we headed back in and took a tour of the harbor. My first trip out was a success thanks to good friends and a very high tide to get in and out of the boat. Of course thanks also to club photographer Will Heyer for the photos.

The following day we had day number 2 of nice weather (finally!) and we took Walkabout to Tahiti Beach on the south end of Elbow Cay and anchored for an hour or so. Dave got in the 73 degree water and cleaned the bottom of the boat while I stood watch looking for any sharks that may meander in from the ocean cut, which of course they didn't. By the time we returned back to the dock, the tide was very low from the super full moon, which made it really challenging getting back up the dock ladder. I made it, so hopefully we will be back to nicer weather and more adventures!

Cheep, Cheep, Cheep

That's what we have been hearing under our porch for two days. Looks like we have new baby chicks that hatched. The hen breaks up the Cheerios I threw down to them, but when the little ones get scared or tired, they disappear underneath Mom. It is pretty funny to watch. I just hope that none of the 9 are roosters.😉

Super!

Our friend Art Dennis took this spectacular photo of the super full blue moon tonight rising over Hope Town...

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.