March 10, 2009 -- Hope Town, Elbow Cay, Abacos

We are pleased to announce that the winners of yesterday’s name that location contest are Carl and Nancy Meyers of Marco Island, Florida. Mr. & Mrs. Meyers correctly identified the location as Hope Town, and win Goombay Smashes for two. They must pick them up aboard Monarch at their earliest convenience.


Bright and early the next morning, we upped anchor and headed north about 14 miles to Elbow Cay. Here, we anchored just outside Hopetown Harbor. The first order of the day was to defrost and clean our conch catch.

Jerry was on task with channel locks, grabbing the conch by its operculum, a horny, sickle-shaped end on the conch’s foot. A quick yank, and the entire conch is freed from the shell. We were fascinated to see its proboscis and two eyestalks, complete with tentacle and eye.




About half the conch appeared to be liver, entrails and other slime, and about half, meat. Janet and Marty did the honors of cleaning the three conch, which yielded about three pounds of good, white meat. Later that evening, Janet’s culinary skills were tapped, the conch was marinated in limejuice and Tabasco, dipped in a wonderful batter, deep-fried and we had the best conch we ever ate!

But first, into the dinghy for more exploration! We cruised right by Fran’s Fancy, the lovely cottage we have rented twice, on the shore of Elbow Cay. This brought back fond memories. Glad to report the dock gazebo has been rebuilt, complete with hammock!


We stopped in Hope Town on Elbow Cay for some shopping and sightseeing, then back to the boat for more snorkeling.











Tonight, the full moon rose over the Elbow Cay Lighthouse. The light, built in 1862, stands 120 feet tall, with 101 steps to the top.