Commodore's View
August was an interesting month for me. The first week, Chappell and I took Dan and Mary on a quick adventure in Hopetown, on Elbow Cay in the Abacos. We obviously didn’t take LAUREL ANN for just a week, but just the same, it was a kind of cruise for us. The only plans we had involved diving and lazy exploration.
We didn’t get in all the diving we wished for. We had called one of the places listed in the cruising guide to see about getting one while there and were told "no problem". In case you don’t know, the first week in August is the opening of Lobster season, and as it turned out there wasn’t a boat to be had for that week or the next two. Nonetheless, we did get in a lot of beach dives, exploring the reef on the ocean side of the island.
If you’ve never been to Hopetown let me give you a thumbnail description. The town has about two hundred permanent residents, with accommodations for another six hundred tourists. That means that three out of four people that you pass on the streets will be visitors. The streets are barely wide enough for one car, which is okay since there aren’t but about three or four cars on the island and they’re never in the same place at the same time.
Everywhere you look on the island, exotic plants abound. At least to us they are exotic. To the residents, the colorful blossoms are everyday. As are the elusive neon-green hummingbirds to be found there. Sitting on the patio, watching a spectacular sunset over Hopetown Harbor entrance with my own version of the "Bahama’s Smash", listening to the breeze rattle the coconut palm fronds I can certainly see where Jimmy Buffett received a lot of his inspiration. Unfortunately, the week came and went far to quickly and we found ourselves back in the world. To put a real contrast on the setting, two Saturdays in a row, we were in the islands, the next we were in north Georgia watching remote control cars race, raising clouds of red Georgia clay. Plenty of smashes there, but none of them of the adult beverage type.
And now we find ourselves firmly entrenched in the "real" world. With that in mind, your Nominating Committee has been named. Ken Berdhal will be getting together with name1, name2 and name3 to decide on a slate of officers for next year. If you are interested in serving the club by holding office, or know someone that is, contact any of these folks and share that information. They’ll be grateful for the participation.
Fall is approaching. That means stronger, steadier winds. Have you checked the fittings in your rig lately? Are all the cotter pins in place? Is the rig tuned properly? Do you have all the safety gear you need (that doesn’t mean the minimum requirements....)? What shape are your lifelines in? If they’re showing rust stains on the white covering, you have larger problems hidden below that covering. Take a few minutes, give your boat a survey with a critical eye. It’ll make for a safer fall sailing season.