Abacos Island, Bahamas

    The slow trek homeward lies ahead, as we mosey our way Northwest via Marsh Harbour, Hopetown and Green Turtle Cay.  Hopetown proved to be a very tony, cookie-cutter type of ‘settlement’ (as they say here), with a picture-perfect  arrangement of pricey, pastel-hued, swank ‘cottages’, a stunning beach, and a variety of yachties, cruisers, and charter fish boats. The candy-striped lighthouse, the only one still manned in the Bahamas, is the most photographed historic sight in the islands.  The settlements abound with Americans who fly in for holiday-making until the hurricane season sends everyone scurrying for cover, and quiet village life returns for the Bahamians.

   Green Turtle Cay has a more natural, relaxed feel to it. Paint peels off some of the clapboard houses and  old skiffs sit in the harbour. We received a hearty welcome at the dock as we tied off from Roy, Mike and fellow sailors. The British Loyalists arrived here in New Plymouth way back in 1783, fleeing the United States after the War of Independence. The legacy of the Loyalist family settlements is notable for its’ simple `Salt Box`, pioneer homes, white picket  fences and sea-faring history after many years of relative isolation. Today descendants of the Loyalists and Bahamians live together here in contented serenity. 

                                                 

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