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Trip Report # 12: Man-O-War IIFiled from Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas26 32.84 N 077 03.56 WApril 24, 2006
Photo: Nathan & Avery on the boat in Marsh Harbor the night of arrival We picked up Nathan, Avery, Becky & Tim at the airport in Marsh Harbor at 4:30 pm on Friday, April 14th. After getting up very early and traveling all day, they were happy to arrive in the Bahamas, with their luggage, and settle down to a quiet night on Starboard Home. The next morning, we headed to Man-O-War Cay. Starboard Home draws 6 feet, and we would not be able to get back into Man-O-War until near high tide, later in the day. Since the day was so warm, clear and calm, we decided to stop to snorkel at the Mermaids. The boys had been practicing their snorkel technique in a pool at home and were eager to try it out on the real thing. The Mermaids is a protected reef right off the shoreline outside of Marsh Harbor and is a delightful place with good coral, schools of fish, and no waves to make the water murky. Photo: Nathan & Avery, ready to snorkel The boys are great swimmers and took to snorkeling like fish to water. They took lots of pictures with their underwater camera, which we are looking forward to seeing.
Photo: After snorkeling, Avery drives the boat to Man-O-War
Photo: Nathan tries out his Tarzan act Nathan & Avery brought their fishing poles and lures and had fun casting them into the water from the boat, the dock, the dinghy, the surf, and at any and every possible opportunity. They both like fishing and in the Bahamas, they were able to catch quite a few fish. Don, the weather man on De Jevu, himself an avid fisherman, very generously offered tips on how to catch the wily ones.
Photo: Avery catches a toothsome barracuda and Mom helps
Photo: And then the whole family relaxes on the bow We were finally able to get into the harbor at Man-O-War the next day and settle onto a mooring and into Tom's sister's cottage.
Photo: Avery & Nathan at great-aunt Deborah's cottage The entrance to the harbor has 6 feet at low tide, and we saw 7'2" two hours before high tide. It reinforced our need to watch the tide tables carefully.
Photo: Entrance to Man-O-War Harbor During their time with us, it was fun to watch the boys try and enjoy every food served to them. We had Easter dinner on the boat and they heartily consumed pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes with cheese, and asparagus. Both boys insisted they did not like carrot cake, but when presented with it, they ate every last crumb. Must be all that exercise.
Photo: Avery eats carrot cake
Photo: And so does Nathan We spent several days swimming off the beautiful beaches on Man-O-War and on Hopetown.
Photo: Nathan & Avery in the ocean
Photo: Tim, Becky & Tom watch the boys swim
Photo: Tim, Nathan, Avery & Tom do handstands in the ocean
Photo: Found - one hermit crab Avery arrived in the Bahamas with one upper front tooth missing and the other hanging by a thread. He lost the second tooth while he was chewing on breakfast one morning. During the course of the day, he misplaced the tooth, but under his pillow the next morning was a Bahamian dollar and a note from the Tooth Fairy saying, "I found it!"
Photo: Avery with hith mithing front teeth We spent an entire day in Hopetown, lunching at the Harbor View, swimming and snorkeling on the beautiful beach there, getting ice cream cones after swimming and climbing the 101 steps all the way to the top in the Hopetown Lighthouse. It was a fun-filled and activity-packed day.
Photo: Tom, Nathan, Tim, Becky and Avery in Hopetown
Photo: Nathan combines snorkeling & surfing on a Hopetown beach
Photo: Nathan gets a lift and a toss from his (muscleman) Dad, Tim
Photo: Entrance to Hopetown Harbor from the Lighthouse
Photo: Tim, Tom, Becky, Avery & Nathan at the top of the lighthouse
Photo: Avery & Nathan ham it up leaving Hopetown We also spent one day on Great Guana Cay, which has the most beautiful (in our opinion) beach in the islands. There are reefs within swimming distance of the beach and interesting rock formations along the beach. We anchored in Fishers Bay near Delia Cay and walked through the town to Nippers, right on the beach. All of us had a tasty lunch, some fish, some chicken, and the boys swam in the pool, which is available to all of Nipper's customers. The weather was threatening, with squalls sweeping through the area, dousing us with rain and thunder. The boys did get to spend some time exploring the beach before we had to leave.
Photo: Avery & Nathan enjoy the pool at Nippers
Photo: And check out the waves and big rocks on the beach Toward the end of the week, we received word that Cooper, their Golden Retriever, a wonderful pet, family member and companion, had died of heart failure. He was an old dog, loved by everyone, and was suffering some health problems in his old age, but the final event was not expected. We all mourned the loss of Cooper, but Nathan & Avery had a very difficult time, as one might expect. They will have more grieving when they arrive home and through the coming weeks, but they have a lot of support from their family and will continue to have happy memories of their pal, Cooper. Although Cooper's death was a blow and cast a pall over all of us, the children were able to enjoy their last day before leaving the Bahamas. We think they left with pleasant memories. As they were leaving for the airport, they said good bye to the boat and asked if they could stay on it again sometime. Before anchoring in Marsh Harbor the night before they left, we made one last visit to the Mermaids.
Photo: Returning from one last visit to the Mermaids After a nice good-bye dinner at Snappa's, a very informal restaurant on the water, we all turned in early. At first light, about 6 am, Tom ferried bags and all of us to the government dock, where Debbie, Taxi 145, met us for the trip to the airport. All in all, it was a great time to be with family. Now that's what I'm talking about! Next stop for Starboard Home is Oriental. We have checked in with Herb and are watching weather and hope to leave as soon as possible. 73s, 88s, love and hugs, Peg & Tom Maynard s/v Starboard Home
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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