Visitors To Abaco

It's always fun having friends visit with us when we are traveling, and recently one of our good friends, Don Smith finally made it down to Abaco for a few days. He is a sailor and long time friend from Atlanta and was easy to have aboard Sea Island Girl.



Carolyn greeted Don with her world famous fried chicken. He has been trying to duplicate it during his periodic visits to Africa and got a first hand lesson on her technique. For a girl from the North, she really does surprise a lot of people.




This was Don's first opportunity to see the boat, although he was around us when all the planning and preparations for our trip was going on. We were able to take him around to several of the surrounding islands, where everyone dined on the fresh fish of the Bahamas and had a few Kalik beers as well.





One special treat for us was taking Don to Man O War, a long-time favorite cay. We were able to introduce him to the many friends that we have made over the years, and gave him a tour of the entire island via golf cart. He seemed particularly impressed with the history of boatbuilding in the area and before we left Man O War we had an opportunity to witness just how proud the residents are of their heritage.


A forty-foot sailing vessel, Malolo II, was one of only two wooden pleasure boats built by Edwin Albury some forty years ago. After twenty five years and multiple owners in and around the Abacos, she had been taken north to Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Ray and Donna Howard, a Canadian couple, discovered Malolo lying in a field, learned her history and decided to take her back to Nova Scotia following some repairs.




To fully celebrate her fine construction, and the pride of those on Man O War, the couple

decided to take her back to the Bahamas once she was found seaworthy. So, while we were visiting the area one local boatyard worker commented, "Malolo's come home."

Such a refreshing ending to a story that started many years ago. We were able to visit with several people that had either helped to build Malolo, or had sailed on her from the Bahamas up to Cape Cod. It was a thrilling experience for the islanders to see her again, and we were glad that we had an opportunity to share in the historical return during our visit to Man O War.

It was good having Don with us. He had sailed his boat in the Caribbean 1500 some years ago from Virginia to the British Virgin Islands, and having an experienced visitor was most helpful.

We have some other friends and family coming down while we are here, and hope that they too can enjoy the beauty of these islands.