February 19 2017 Catholic church in Clarence Town, Long Island

 Dave felt much better today, and we could have left for the Crookeds and Acklins, but the wind would have been right on our nose.  That means we would have had to motor the whole way, or go a long ways out of our way to use the wind to sail.  We are heading for an anchorage about 50nm from here (7-9 hours).  We want to take a more direct route to be able to arrive in the daylight.  It is best to anchor over sand, so you need the daylight to see the ocean floor.  Also, we want to conserve fuel, because there will be fewer places to refuel.  And sometimes they run out of fuel and you have to wait until the next shipment comes. 

Dave took me to the dock and picked me up for church today.  The Catholic and the Anglican churches here were built by Father Jerome in the early 1900’s.  His churches are known for their hurricane-proof stonework and thick walls.  Last year, I saw one of his churches on Cat Island and the home he built on top of the highest point in the Bahamas called the Hermitage.  I was glad we ended up staying another day.  I really wanted to see the inside of the church, besides having the opportunity to attend a service.  There is not a resident priest, so a deacon held the service at 9:00.  They occasionally will have a visiting priest for mass. 

We spent the rest of the day doing boat stuff and relaxing.  We want to get an early start tomorrow.

view of town from the water.  The catholic church is in the center

my taxi leaving me off at the dock

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

the bay we are anchored it from the steps of the church



We went for a dinghy ride around the harbor before sunset

beach near our anchorage

our boat from the beach

rocky area of the beach

it's good if you can look at your boat and still smile