Man-O-War is a quiet, charming, proud little island with a rich history. It is one of the first Loyalist settlements in the Bahamas inhabited by British sympathisers that fled the U.S. after the Revolutionary war. Man-O-War is best known for its long tradition of boat building.

And they are still building beautiful boats today.

There is some famous artistry here. Joe Albury carves beautiful wooden ships as his father did before him. We enjoyed chatting with him at his studio. My parents bought one of Joe’s pieces many years ago. It was fun to see first hand where it came from and walk in their shoes, or flip flops.

Albury’s Sail Shop has been in business for three generations. They make all kinds of bags and canvas goods and sew as you shop. We use a bag my mom bought there for the climbing gear for the mast.

There is a tradition in the cruising world to blow a conch shell just as the sun sets over the horizon to say goodbye and thank you to the sun. It is common to hear a chorus of conch horns at an anchorage. We’ve wanted one for a while and I finally found the perfect conch at Gramp’s Conch stand. It was twelve dollars.

That night Captain Fullofhotair gave it a try. Hopefully, I will be able to show you his improvement in the future. I fair a little better as I played french horn for many years in my youth.

Man-O-War should have been named Man-O-Peace.

Speaking of peace, they really know how to rest at peace. We found a fascinating cemetery. I particularly loved Arlene’s zest for life.

We moved on to Marsh Harbor for several days. We spent a night anchored outside the harbor by a little protected reef called Mermaid Reef. Matt, Sadie and I went snorkeling in the morning. Captain Youcan’trushmothernatureorthecaptain hung out at the boat. Sadie took some awesome pictures for me. (She also took the panoramic shot of me at the top of the post.)

We saw some great fish including one of my favorites, the little striped fellow called a Sergeant Major who I will name Cannon. Why did I name him Cannon? I’m so glad you asked. Because my youngest son, Cannon, was recently promoted to Sergeant in the Army National Guard!

Marsh Harbor is the commercial center of the Abacos. Here we bought a new generator, found miscellaneous hardware we have been hunting for and resupplied some libations. We stocked up on curry paste and fun goodies at a local Thai store and bought local truffle infused sea salt which we put on our popcorn. Oh my. We also checked out a boatyard where we can leave Echoes in a hurricane cradle until next season if we choose to do so.

I am happy to report that the Kraken have been quiet and tame. I’ve seen a few tentacles and an old feeble Kraken tried to spin us in a fairway while docking, but it has been a nice reprieve from their presence.

Cruising is not all Pineapple Smashes and sunsets. Living within forty feet of one another is challenging for any marriage. The yahoo that I’ve been married to for thirty years makes life quite interesting. Cruising can be taxing, although we continue to learn and make improvements. We thought you might enjoy seeing a walkthrough of our humble aboate to get an idea of our amenities or lack thereof.