Day 2. Early up and breakfast at the Moorings base at Conch Inn. Chart briefing and boat check went well.<br><br>Sailing the Abacos is in largley protected shallow waters. You need to be cognzant of tides (particularly entering/leaving the harbors. The Abacos are a set of small islands and cays (pronounced KEYS). There is a central Sea of Abaco that is ringed by reefs and Cays. Consequently the seas are protected, i.e. gentle. <br>Everymorning at 8.15am there is a Cruise Net radio broadcast that is entertaining and gives the weather forecast. There is one area (The Whale) where to get from one area to another you have to actually sail out into the Atlantic. This area is prone to rough (i.e. impassable) conditions. These are reported on the progam. EVERYONE (who is on a boat) listens to this broadcast. It is quite newsy and entertaining.<br>The winds are usually from the South East. <br>The weather pattern change while we were there. They had just encountered an unusual pattern (see Evas report) of bad i.e. cloudy, rainy, wind.<br>Aftercheckout and provisioning we set sail about noon. OUr objective was Great Guana Cay and Nippers. It was Sunday and Nippers has their world famous "Wild Boar (is this a pig in reality) barbeque and party. After a nice 2 hr sail we moored in THe Settlement. The weather was cloudy but no rain. Got to Nipper too late for the barbeque but settled on the beach for the aftenoon. This is a gorgeous beach with good snorkling (not that day because of the clouds). We had our first of many Nippers (we got "nipperized')--a potent rum concoction. Wicked strong. Put several of us literally "out". As someone said coming back as we walked over, "you will feel a whole lot better coming back than going". Nippers on Sunday is a real happening raucous party. They have a fresh water pool to wash off in. The party is PG 13. Not as riskay as Bombas Full Moon party or Billy Bones and Willie T in BVIs.<br>We did have dinner at Nippers (conch burgers, etc). Went back to the boat and faded out for the evening.<br><br>Day 3 to Bakers Bay. Motored over to Bakers BAy on the North End of Great Guana Cay. (it's only 1-2 miles so no sailing. Go there in late morning and anchored then "explored" the beach and bay. Bakers is a former cruise ship stop that is abandoned so there is "ruins" of the cruise ship beach operation. We went across to the Atlantic side but didn't stay. As far as we could tell the Atlantic side at least is CO. Spent the afternoon swimming/relaxing aon the beach or boat at BAkers Bay. We cooked (the only time) that night (grilled steaks on the Barby). Weather had partially cleared and we got good sunset pictures. It was also full moon so saw a great moonrise. Lay out on the tram and limed away the time. <br>Drinks: From prior trip we are enamored of Painkillers so we made a pitcher each day. Also drank Kaliks and other goodies.<br><br>Day 4 to Treasure Cay. We had originally wanted to go to Green Turtle Cay which requires a passage by Whale Cay ("The Whale" mentioned above.). We changed our plans partially because at chart briefing we were told of good snorkling to the South. We could easily have made it up there but did not want to be "trapped" on the other side of the Whale with impassable seas. (It can happen, read other reports) So anyway took off for Treasure Cay. We sailed over and moored in the marina area. The 39th Annual International Billfish Tournament was going on so the marina was full (at night) with yachtmen (and women). It was fun to see all the activity and incredible boats.<br>TIP: a mooring at Treasure Cay costs $10 for this money you get full access to the resort: showers, pool, beach etc. A real bargain. <br>We went across to the beach and what a beach. Fantastic. Had conch burger and Kaliks at the bar/restaurant and spent the afternoon (tough life). Magnificent weather. A passing thunderstorm was even spectacular.<br>We planned to eat that night at Spinnakers the restaurant at Treasure Cay. Because of the Billfishers, this was a barbeque buffet ($30) with ribs, chicken, fish, and flank steak. Great salads and desserts. We pigged out)<br><br>Day 5 To Hopetown. Because we were going directly SE into the wind we motored all the way to Hopetown on Elbow Cay. The Hopetown Harbor entrance is narrow and shallow (we grounded coming out). We motored in and had an adventure docking to take on water and ice. We reserved and paid for our mooring and moored for the evening. Most boats simply anchor outside of the harbor and dinghy in. We dinghied to the lighthouse (there is a dock right there) and climbed up for a great view. Then dinghied over to the town to get Key Lime Pies at Vernons Grocery (thanks to Eva's and others tips). (We froze several for later consumption.). Went over to the beach and had drinks at the bar of the Harbors Edge Inn (If that's the wrong tname someone correct me). We had dinner that night and watched sunset over the lighthouse at the Harbor Restaurant (on the water, hope that's correct name).<br>
