Hey Hull Sister

Towards the end of February, we decided to venture out to a nearby island. One of the few downsides to Hope Town Harbor is the water inside the harbor. The water is very murky, not the bright blue clear water we had grown accustomed to in other anchorages. The reasons for this are many and some are poop-related. Whatever the reason, it is not a place to swim off your boat or to make fresh water. There are also lots of sharks swimming around, especially near the fish cleaning stations at nearby marinas.

We had been talking with Mark and Emily on SV Mesmeriah and Devin on SV Getting There about going on a short adventure together. The trip had been postponed a few times due to weather and various boat problems but on February 22, we decided to do it. Devin jumped on Mesmeriah because his boat was still having engine issues and we exited Hope Town at high tide. We had a lovely 12-mile sail on the bank, making fresh water the entire way. The sailing was a bit sporty at times but it was good to knock the proverbial cobwebs off our sailing skills. 

Our destination for the night was Tilloo Cay. We approached the anchorage first (I think that means we won the “race”) and found a beautiful spot close to shore. Mesmeriah pulled up next to us and we rafted up together, putting some fenders between us and tying Mesmeriah’s dock lines to Alaya’s cleats. It was the first time we have ever done this and it was so fun! The best part about rafting was that we didn’t need to launch either dinghy to get between boats, you just carefully jumped across. 

Lucas and I made dinner on Alaya and then carried it over to Mesmeriah so we could all eat together. We spent the evening laughing and sharing stories of crazy land and sea adventures. While we were chilling next door, our water maker was working hard to fill our water tanks with fresh drinking water. Unfortunately, as Lucas was shutting off the watermaker later that night, he accidentally blew a tiny fuse in the controller and we didn’t have a spare onboard. After running all day, our tanks were about half full, so we had a little wiggle room for the repair.

The next morning we decided to move the boats about a mile down the coast of Tilloo Cay for some snorkeling and a trip to shore. This time, Mesmeriah went first and laid anchor, we joined a few minutes later and rafted up. We all hopped in Mesmeriah’s massive dinghy and went ashore. As we approached the tiny harbor, we saw turtles everywhere! They are so crazy fast in the water. After a quick walk on shore, it was time to jump in the beautiful water. Since the water was too chilly for our Florida man, Devin, he served as our turtle lookout in the dinghy, they are easier to spot from above compared to in the water, and we all swam around trying to see a turtle underwater. The turtles proved to be way faster than us, so we gave up after about 20 minutes and snorkeled around the breakwall instead. 

As we headed back to our rafted beauties, we were intercepted by a Canadian couple on their dinghy. They had buckets full of lobsters that they just caught from a nearby reef. They offered us free lobsters and showed us how to clean them. Lucas and I are not fisherpeople and know nothing about fish or crustaceans. We sat in equal parts horror and awe as the Canadians broke off an antenna from the living lobster and then ripped its tail from its body. Next, he used the broken antenna to remove the intestines aka poop tube from the tail. And just like that we had fresh lobster tail ready for cooking. It was a very educational afternoon. 

Back aboard Alaya, we headed back to Elbow Cay. We had big winds coming in the next afternoon and needed to get back before high tide. We had another wonderful sail back, this time we hosted Devin on Alaya so he could see how the other hull operates. He never did say which was his favorite.

We spent the next morning chasing down the 400-milliamp fuse that we needed to fix the watermaker. I learned that this is a very tiny and obscure fuse. Lucas has lots of spare fuses but none that small. We checked with Larry on SV Misty, he also had tons of spare fuses but no 400 milliamp ones. Next, we walked two miles to Hope Town’s main hardware store. Miraculously, they had what we needed and even had more than one! Back on the boat, Lucas successfully repaired the watermaker and we spent the rest of the afternoon preparing the boat for visitors. We were expecting Lucas’ brother Paul the next day and Lucas’ cousin Nellie was coming two days later.

Just as we were preparing dinner that evening, our friends from the sailboat race called to invite us to watch the lighthouse keeper light the light. We dropped everything and jumped in the dinghy.  The Elbow Reef Lighthouse is the last manually operated, kerosene-lit lighthouse in the whole world. It was built in 1863 by the British and has been continuously operated by onsite lighthouse keepers ever since. There are currently two keepers assigned to the lighthouse and they live, along with their families, in homes right next to the lighthouse. Each evening, the lightkeeper on duty climbs the 100 steps every two hours to wind the light’s turning mechanism. Thanks to their efforts, the light spins continuously from sunset to sunrise warning boaters of the reefs around Elbow Cay. We were invited to watch the initial lighting process. It was such a special opportunity, Jeff, a third-generation keeper, told us that he had the best job in the whole world as he lit the torch. We couldn’t agree more.

Every day in the Bahamas, we are blown away by how special this place really is. Between basking in the natural beauty, exploring with new friends and learning about the history of these remote places, we feel like some of the luckiest people in the whole world. What a privilege to be here.