I Think We're Gonna Like It Here

Things were kind of quiet after White Pepper left.  We stayed over an extra night at Treasure Cay to catch our breath and relax a bit.  The week had been non-stop fun but that takes it's toll on energy levels and we needed a moment alone before we rejoined Karl and Jan in Marsh Harbour.

After a good night's sleep we motored out the channel and into the brilliant emerald green waters of the Sea of Abaco once more.  

The day was all sunshine, blue skies and fluffy white clouds in stark contrast to the deep jewel iridescence of the water.  I'm still puzzled by the color of the water here and we just stared and marveled as the boat stretched her wings and fluttered over the lightly ruffled surface.

We were sailing.  We had all day to get to Marsh Harbour and that was just fine with us.  We trimmed sails and entertained ourselves trying to get more speed as we tacked across the Sea.

There are shallow banks out here where the color of the water changes to  lighter shade of blue green.  We cautiously plotted our course to take us across these shallow areas and held our breath as we sailed over them without a bump.

Our comfort level has increased by leaps and bounds these past weeks.  We are no longer limited to the recommended routes that form dotted lines all over the charts.  We are free to leave the confines of the path most traveled and it feels good.

We tacked our way through a narrow spot, working more on this sail than we have since we used to race before leaving home.

It was a glorious day.  Bruce began to make noises about maybe just sailing around out here for a bit longer as we neared Marsh Harbour.  He didn't want it to end.

But one look at the cloud looming ominously in the near distance and we reluctantly wrapped it up.  Boy we needed this day.  It felt really good but we still had an unknown marina to contend with.

We felt sure that it would not be much of a challenge with little current, not much wind to speak of and good depths.  We furled sails and motored in through the markers and found Mangoes at the far end of the harbor.

There were tons of boats anchored out in the harbor and we shouted and waived as we recognized boat after boat.  It seemed as if everybody we knew was here!

Friends aboard Flying Pig, whom we hadn't seen since Vero Beach back in December, shouted an invitation to meet them at Snappas at 6 pm.  Awesome, we have purpose!

We got the boat tied up with the help of Peter, the dockhand.  He guided us into our slip and helped us get tied up so that we would rise and fall properly with the tide.  He assisted with our electrical cords and showed us where everything was. It was an awesome welcome.

Suddenly the day was warm.  The breeze we had enjoyed out on the water did not reach us here.  That sparkling little pool amidst the tropical landscaping of the marina drew us in.

We had a little bit of time to kill before we had to head for happy hour... let's waste it checking out our new digs.  We plan to stay here for a week so that we can get some things done on the boat and prepare to receive our daughter.  But we didn't have to worry about those things today...

We asked around and got directions to this "Snappas" place.  Turns out it was right down the road from the marina.  We entered and realized that happy hour was already in full swing.  Our 6 pm start time was way late.

We had missed the appetizers but not the fun.  We were welcomed to a long line of tables, mostly full of people we knew from one anchorage or another, but some new faces.

Drinks appeared in our hands and we sat and joined the fracas.  We ordered dinner since we missed the free food... no worries, it was great and reasonably priced.

We participated in the chatter until the sun began to set and everyone suddenly disappeared.  Bruce and I strolled back to the marina a block away and filled our eyes with this new town.

Marsh Harbour is a real town.  There is traffic and stores and restaurants.  There are people everywhere and an energy that, we now realize, has been absent in all of the towns we've visited in the Bahamas thus far.  "But that's why you GO to the islands... to get AWAY from all of that" you say...  and it's true.  But this... it has a good vibe.  It's a nice change from all of the remoteness.  It just feels good.  I think we're gonna like it here...