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Man-O-War Cay.

From the Captain

3/5/14 Hope Town to Man-O-War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas. 4.5 nm

3/5-3/8 Man-O-War

It is but a short ride on a straight course from Hope Town to Man-O-War. To the cruisers, those two settlements along with Marsh Harbour make up the hub of the Abacos.

We called ahead to the Man-O-War Marina to make sure there were mooring balls available in the harbor. They assured us there were. Nonetheless, we left a float with our name on it on our Hope Town mooring to be removed by our friends when we were safely planted at the next stop.

We made fast to a mooring in the north harbor. This is nearest the town. There are more moorings and places to anchor in Eastern Harbour, the so-called American Harbour, but this is a long dinghy ride in. We find an empty mooring right off the docks of the marina, so it's an easy ride into town.

The boats are packed into the harbor as in Hope Town, though perhaps even more tightly. We are between a couple of large catamarans that just miss us as we all swing with the wind and current. I'm not sure I'd park anything longer than Luna's 35 feet here.

Boats fill the American Harbor at Man-O-War Cay

We took the dinghy in to register. At the dock, we ran into Bob and Annie on Spindrift. We met them first in Cape May, then had dinner together in Annapolis. They have been here for three weeks and have no plans to leave. Except for a brief trip to Hope Town in a couple weeks. They will be married there by Vernon Malone. We are invited, but, unfortunately, we should be back in Florida by then.

We have not seen Man-O-War in 35 years, and we walk around the settlement. Narrow paved streets and neat houses are as we remember them. There are more golf carts. Nobody walks. Other than the carts, we have the streets to ourselves. People don't generally wave. There are very few people out on this Tuesday afternoon. After the energy of Marsh Harbor and Hope Town, my reaction is, "This is like death, on steroids." In the English tradition, the people are reserved, but the affects here seem flatter than Death Valley.

Thirty-five years ago, there were only a few vacation homes on the island. The residents did not sell land to foreigners. Now, however, there are new vacation homes and "private" signs at both ends of the island, north and south of the settlement. We were told that the vacation home owners used to be called Americans. Now they are called foreigners. Travelers from as far away as Sweden have built second homes here.

Albury Brothers fiberglass runabout

The permanent residents of Man-O-War are an industrious lot, and currency flows into the island from their work as shipwrights. Edwin's Boatyard is regarded as the best place in the Bahamas for boat repairs and maintenance. Next door, the Albury Brothers have a factory where they make fiberglass runabouts. Annie Albury still runs Norman's Sail Makers, which now produces canvas bags and totes. Here we meet Sandra Albury, who used to run the Dock and Dine restaurant in the old days. And we meet Fanny Albury, who had the Bite Site where she served conch burgers and ice cream to us and our kids. Both of these women remember my father and Siri, who lived here on their boat in the 1970's and 80's.

There are several carpentry shops by the harbor. Joe Albury still makes traditional Abaco dinghies and models. He has a large gift shop and studio.

At work in Albury's sail shop

I'm sure the vacation residents and cruisers help the economy, but the islanders don't seem to cater all that much to the tourist trade. There are very few shops here. Only a couple restaurants, and, as we will see, no bars. It becomes clear we will have a very quiet and relaxed stay here.

The longer we're here, the better I'm feeling about this laid-back community. Once you get past the lack of smiles, the lack of waves as we pass, we start to see the positives. The Man-O-War Hardware is the best we've seen in the Bahamas. Albury's Market, on Front Street by the harbor, sells nice looking vegetables and frozen grouper and mahi-mahi filets. The marina is quietly competent. They have the fastest internet connection we've seen in the Bahamas, and there is no charge for this.They sell diesel fuel, and we can fill our jerry cans. They have a nice laundry, showers, a place to dump trash, and a pool. There is a sign that the facilities are reserved for dock residents only. However, like nearly everywhere else in town, closing time is 5 pm, and the staff goes home.

I asked about refilling our propane tank, which we last topped off in Georgetown almost six weeks ago. If we leave it at the office, someone will come by, take it to Marsh Harbour for filling, then return it the next day. "When will he come again?" I asked.

"I think he will come tomorrow," Tommy Albury said. So after breakfast, I disconnected the tank and brought it to the office. "Is he coming today?"

"I don't know, let me make a call." Tommy wasn't able to get an answer but told me to call back at 10 am. At 10 he told me, "Yes, he is coming today, and will bring the tank back tomorrow." The guide books says it can take up to 48 hours to have your tank refilled. These folks do what they say they will do, and in some respects exceed expectations.

Without our propane tank, we can't cook dinner, so we go in to the new Dock and Dine at the marina. Man-O-War is a dry settlement. They do not sell alcohol in the restaurant or in the stores. We are here without our friends, so there is no happy hour. It's very quiet. In fact, it's so quiet we can almost hear our livers sighing with relief, "Oh, yes, there is a God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" Of course, the Good Lord does allow a bit of ceremonial red wine. We bring our own to the restaurant. They supply the glasses.

Walking about town, we see very few black faces. Man-O-War has a higher percentage of white folks than a Republican national convention, if that's possible. Sandra, the postmistress, confirms that even now there are no black families living in town. There are black workers in the boat yards and black construction workers, and they may stay overnight during the work week if their employer has a place to house them. This is Tory country. In fact, we even see a few Romney/Ryan and McCain/Palin stickers on golf carts here, though we can't imagine why.

Walking down the Queens Highway, southern end of Man-O-War

Man-O-War is a great island for walking. Where the pavement ends, dirt roads extend to the ends of

Sea of Abaco, right, Atlantic Ocean, left

the island. We walked nearly six miles between the two. The northern end is the more interesting. After awhile, the island narrows, and at one point, we could almost put a foot in both the Sea of Abaco to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the right. There are new houses along the road and house lots for sale.


We considered moving early to Guana Cay, but a cold front passed on 3/6. Thunderstorms dumped inches of rain, strong winds clocked from southwest to west to northwest. The Guana harbor is exposed to the west, so this would not have been a comfortable anchorage. The mooring in Man-O-War harbor was quite comfortable. The wind howled outside, but Luna did not pitch or roll. The harbor was calm enough for us to take the dinghy to the marina and back. We spent a nice happy hour with the Massachusetts accented Bob and Annie on Spindrift.

By 3/8, the wind had moderated and shifted to north-northwest. Under these conditions, the harbor at Guana, in the lee of the island, will be calmer. We dinghied into the dock, settled our bill with Tommy, bought a few last items at the grocery, and resumed our northward journey.

Beachfront property for sale