March 31 Marsh Harbour to Hope Town

What a beautiful sunrise to welcome the day.

And a very calm morning in the anchorage!

At 09:00, we finally weighed anchor and left Marsh Harbour.

We and Amazing Grace headed for Hope Town. It was a short trip on the water, only 7.64 nm and we set the hook at 10:45 outside by the lighthouse.

The Elbow Reef Lighthouse was built during the 1860’s and opened in 1863 and has 101 steps. We would have loved to climb the stairs to take in the 360 degree panoramic view. Going up would be ok but coming back down steps is brutal for arthritic knees. 😦 It is the last hand-cranked, kerosene-burning lighthouse in the world. The locals secure the parts for the kerosene-burning apparatus of the light and it requires someone to wind the weights every two hours. It is truly magical at night to see the beacon light at night from the anchorage. We had motored Persuasion in around Hope Town before but had never gone ashore to walk around. After lunch we both took our dinghy’s in to the dock and did a walkabout. Hope Town is a beautiful little settlement with pretty homes and narrow streets. And beautiful views. No cars or golf carts are allowed on the main streets, only walking or bicycles. We walked along the narrow streets to the beach and then stopped at the Reef bar and Grill at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge for a rest and an ice cream. We walked some more and took in the beauty of this quaint place.

Here are some photos of the picturesque Hope Town captioned below:

Such pretty houses

Mike and Jim walking the narrow street

Lovely

Beautiful church on the main street

The back of the church is on the ocean side; love the yellow shutters

Atlantic Ocean

This couple enjoying the sound of the surf and the warm breeze

Look at those colours

Beach front homes

Hope Town Harbour Lodge pool by the Reef Bar and Grill Restaurant where we enjoyed our ice creams

This home from the main street is the beautiful pink one that also faces the ocean front in one of the photos above. It’s a private residence called the Coral Reef House. Beautiful!

With a cute sign too

Lots of bicycles around

Looking through to the ocean

Jim and Mike at the gazebo of the Byrle Patterson Memorial Garden

We all sat awhile and enjoyed the view

This salamander was enjoying the sun

More of the narrow streets

Well kept homes or cottages; nicely decorated

Homes with lovely gardens too

The mooring field

A huge yacht, Irish Ei’s and his not so tiny fishing boat, Irish Beaute alongside

The beautiful Hope Town Inn and marina

So picturesque

Elbow Reef Lighthouse

A popular restaurant; Cap’n Jacks

Grocery and shopping stores

Pretty in pink

After our tour onshore, Mike jumped in the water and washed the water line and the hull of the boat. We saw a star fish in the water right beside us!

After supper, We took our dinghy’s to Tahiti Beach.

Looking out to the ocean

Amazing how some trees continue to grow; and yes those are roots

Jim snapped this photo of us at Tahiti Beach at sunset

Our view of the sun going down

Going

Gone

Beautiful calm night at dusk

It was after 20:00 when the lighthouse beacon was lit. Too dark to get a photo but we could see its light beaming every few seconds from our anchorage. If you ever get the opportunity to come by boat to Hope Town, anchor outside by the lighthouse and you will see why they say it is magical. So beautiful!