Departing

Ted and Alice treated us and Jock's Lodge to dinner for our last night as a group. Also with us was Alice's friend Diane who had just arrived from Philadelphia to spend a week with them. We went to a small restaurant frequented by locals. The place was packed and we were the only cruisers there. Our meals were all very good and most all of us had sides of 'peas and rice' and 'baked macaroni and cheese' both of which are staples here and which we all enjoy. After dinner we went out for 'Rake and Scrape'. On our first visit to Marsh Harbor I met Browntips and learned he has a 'Rake and Scrape' band, so it has been a priority to see what this was all about. The rake and scrape sound comes from running a knife blade over the teeth of a bent carpenters saw. The audience is free to jump in and play with the band. Linda was the first to give it a try and she was quite good. She soon moved on to dancing (and learning some new moves) with one of the band members while I picked up the maracas and joined the band for a few songs. Believe it or not, but Linda and I provided most of the audience participation. Our camera batteries failed so we cannot share. I guess we were ready for fun during our last night out with the gang for awhile. The next morning we said our good byes again. We miss our good friends and look forward to seeing them back in Annapolis if not sooner. After leaving Marsh Harbor we made another attempt to see Man-O-War. We entered on high tide and checked both mooring fields but gave up frustrated as they were either marked private, reserved, or not to be trusted. We anchored behind Garden Cay until the wind settled and then went back to our old anchorage at the north end. The next day we rowed in and walked to town. It is so amazing how each cay is so individualistic. This cay is very residential, with just golf cart paths and very few shops They do not really support tourism so it is very quiet. We spent another night at our anchorage and then returned through the Whale Passage to Green Turtle Cay. They rate the passages on a scale of 1 - 5 for conditions with 5 being the best. Our trip through this time was a flat 5 which is as good as it gets while our first time through was a doable 3. We are watching the weather in the safe harbor at Green Turtle Cay and when we get the next window we will cross back to Florida.