Lighthouse

Today we took the dinghy to the other side of the harbor to the
Hopetown Lighthouse. The view from the top was excellent! This
lighthouse is one of the last that still uses kerosene for
illumination, and is hand-wound using a descending weight attached to
a clock like mechanism. It's nice to see old, simple technology still
working and doing something useful. This afternoon we are relaxing,
and we plan to have several of Dick and Libby's friends over for
dinner. Tomorrow, maybe a little more snorkeling...

Bicycling

Today we rented bikes for $10 (which might be more than these bikes
were worth!), and pedaled our way to the south end of the island.
There we swam at Tahiti Beach, and waded in tidal pools where we saw
urchins, a 6 pointed starfish, several small conch, and an enormous
hermit crab. We skirted thunderstorms on the way back, but found
enough time for ice cream at the Snack Shack. Tonight, we are off to
dinner with some of Dick and Libby's friends at a local watering hole.

Snorkeling and Bingo

Yesterday we went out to a reef next to Man-o-War Cay, and saw coral,
lot's of fish, including yellowtail and maybe baby baracuda, and lot's
of others that we couldn't identify. In the evening we went to Captain
Jack's for Bingo night. Suzan won the first round and made $50, then I
won the next two rounds at about $150 each! After picking up the check
we still cleared a couple of hundred dollars... Today we are going to
work on Dick's balky outboard, take a walk, and then see what we feel
like doing next...

Hopetown!

We arrived safely in Hopetown yesterday, and we are enjoying warm
(hot) conditions. Light wind today, but it's cool in the shade. Dick
and Libby's house is a beautiful island home, right on the water. We
get into town by using the dinghy from their dock. We are planning to
go out for a little snorkeling this afternoon.

Miami

We arrived in Miami with a bang; one of the tires blew on landing. Not
a big problem, but a small delay. We are sitting on the tarmac now in
a turboprop, waiting for some weather to clear. Marsh Harbor is the
next stop.

July Wind

The breeze on Saturday was blowing 20 knots. We went out for a sunset
sail and headed across the Bay, close hauled into the south wind.
After a picnic in Lake Ogleton we sailed downwind, back to the harbor
for the 8:30 bridge opening.

Hobie Cat!

My friend Jim bought a Hobie Cat 18 this week, so we were eager to
spend some time sailing it. We entered a catamaran race last night,
down on the West River. The winds were light and eventually failed
altogether, so we ended up paddling about a mile to get back to the
ramp. It was a DNF for us, but we got the boat working properly and
got some good practice. Now we are looking for a good 15 knot day!

Daysail

We went out for a quick daysail yesterday. It was blowing 20+ knots,
so we elected to reef as we headed across the Bay on starboard, up to
the Bay Bridge. Coming home was an easy downwind run.