January 31, 2024 Marsh Harbour and other Cays

Carson arrived on Saturday and we had dinner in Marsh Harbor. On Sunday we had a lively beam reach sail to Treasure Cay. We spent Monday at anchor due to high winds. Tuesday we explored Treasure Cay, including tasting the ‘world famous’ cinnamon buns and walking on the beautiful 2-mile crescent beach. The formerly thriving Treasure Cay Marina was completely destroyed in the hurricane and has not been restored. The Cay is a mixture of newly rebuilt homes and still destroyed homes and buildings in various states of repair.

We motored back to Marsh Harbor in time to go ashore for dinner at the ‘world famous’ Snappa’s restaurant. Apparently nearly everything is ‘world famous’ in The Bahamas. Wednesday Carson and I took a ferry to Hope Town on Elbow Cay and explored the town. We climbed the 101 steps to the top of the iconic and photogenic lighthouse, a kerosene powered active light house and the mechanism that turns the light is powered by a hand-cranked series of weights. Hope Town was ground zero as  Hurricane Dorian made landfall directly over the island. Residents and second homeowners banded together in the rebuilding of the town, and within a year much of it was restored. Very little evidence of the destruction remains in this cute and busy harbor town.