Marsh Harbor, Happy Hours, and a Bit O’Green

3/14-3/17 – We raised anchor and were underway around 1:00 p.m. We planned to go to Marsh Harbor, but with a stop at Sandy Cay to do some snorkeling. However, the winds were in the teens out of the east and it was way too choppy to stop for snorkeling, so we pressed on to Marsh Harbor. We had a bit of a lumpy ride as we passed the North Bar Channel and the Pelican Cays area, but by 4:00 we were in Marsh Harbor and safely anchored next to Peter and ThaiLyn on Pelican Rose. Marsh Harbor is pretty much the cruising headquarters for this part of the Abacos. Many boats come for the winter and never leave, except maybe to take cruises in the triangle area either over to Hope Town or Man-O-War. Marsh Harbor is best for provisioning and supplies, Hope Town for its quaint beauty and Man-O-War for its boat building, peacefulness and simplicity.

First order of business for us in Marsh Harbor was going ashore for happy hour. We stopped at Snappas where we learned the trick for ordering cheap drinks: a rum punch was $7, but a rum with fruit juice (same stuff) was $3 – go figure. We had the rum with fruit juice. After a couple of drinks, we walked a few blocks checking out the local restaurants and shops and ended up at Curly Tails for dinner where we had an okay pizza, but with a great view of the harbor.

The next morning we checked with FedEx to see if our package had made it. We’d decided to have our mail forwarding service send our mail to Marsh Harbor so we could get all our W-2’s and other forms needed to do our income taxes. We thought waiting until we got back to the states might be cutting things a little short. We’d heard horror stories about receiving packages in the Bahamas, but fortunately our package made it and it only cost us an arm and a leg. We took a taxi out to the FedEx office and then had them drop us off at Maxwell’s. This is a grocery store that would put many stateside stores to shame. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven. A huge variety of fresh produce and fresh meats and even many new items we’d never seen in the states. We did a quick walk through, but saved our provisioning for another day.

In the afternoon we moved the boats from the anchorage to Mangoes Marina. We’d decided to stay there for a couple of days – this was our laundry, provisioning, wash the boat, fill up with water stop. We got a great rate (80 cents/foot and unlimited water) because of our Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club membership. This membership has really paid for itself during our Bahamas trip. Upon pulling into the marina, we were surprised to find 8 Loopers. One was a gold looper, Mint Julip, who we’d met on the river system and in Fort Lauderdale while we were doing the loop. The rest of the boats were still doing their first loop and had decided to make the Bahamas a side trip (like we wanted to do last year). It was fun chatting with them – almost made us feel like we were still looping.

In the evening we met the gang on Pelican Rose for happy hour, again at Snappas. The waitress remembered us and even our drink orders. However, we couldn’t stay long because we had another happy hour to attend. Whatta life!! The marina was sponsoring happy hour with free appetizers and drinks. A cruiser/looper never passes up free food, so back to the marina gazebo we went.

On Wednesday we walked into town first checking out the new hardware store. This was like a smaller version of Home Depot and was a very nice store. We went to Maxwells and did some provisioning, mostly buying fresh produce and a few odds and ends. We’ve found that we did a pretty good job of stocking the boat before heading for the Bahamas and, in most cases, about all we’ve bought is produce or cheese, eggs, milk and bread. Back at the boat we stowed everything and then .. you guessed it .. headed for happy hour. However, tonight we tried the bar at Mangoes as they were having ½ price drinks and appetizers for the ladies.

On Thursday we walked to the other side of town – the more touristy resort area. We browsed through several nice shops, we checked out the Boat Harbor Marina (where the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club makes its home) and ended by visiting a fishing tackle store where, once again, the guys bought lures guaranteed to catch the local fish (right!!). Then it was back to the boat where we spent the entire afternoon washing down the boat, including polishing the stainless with our super duper spotless stainless cleaner which works wonderfully, without any effort at all. Gerry even waxed the front of the boat. We soon had to call it a day because ….. right ….. happy hour at Snappas, but not just any happy hour, it was St. Patrick’s Day. We had green beer, Irish food and Gerry danced a few Irish jigs (well, maybe not jigs, but he did dance). We finally called it a night and headed back to the boat. We’ve had way too many happy hours. We plan on heading out tomorrow and going to Man-O-War Cay. Yeah, no happy hours as this is a dry cay – no liquor available. We’re looking forward to some peace, quiet and relaxation.