Week 20:
Wed. Feb. 13, 2013—Day
134:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: S 5K-->15-20K
by mid am to S-SSW 5-8K at sunset
Seas: calm gentle waves--> 1 ft. white crested rollers mid am till mid pm--> gentle waves at sunset
Weather: sunny, cool breeze
Thurs. Feb. 14, 2013—Day
135:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: S calm to10-15K to <10K Seas:
calm to 1 ft. white capped rollersàcalm
Weather: sunny & blue skies, H= 80F & L= 69F
Happy Valentine’s Day!
A very typical morning starting with listening to weather. A few departing boats, a few new arrivals at the end of the day. Laundry was gathered & sorted & loaded into the dinghy along with garbage, 1 water jerry can, 1 gas jerry can & computer backpack; we were slightly splashed going to shore. We met Terri & Bill at Pascals then proceeded to Dingles to drop off my laundry & inquire re failed WiFi since last evening. While others did their thing, I did a long walk along the one & only road that transects the island at Rock Sound to the Atlantic (1-1/2 mi. each direction); I walked the sandy beach of only sea grass; no sea glass, no sea beans, few very small shells. We all met up at Pascals where a cruising tour had arrived for a buffet lunch & a sample of junkanoo. We met a couple we had seen in Georgetown, Dixie & Rex (Wonderland—Dolphin 460 catamaran). I worked away on the internet but especially posted pics to my blog for weeks 20 & 19. Amazing, a dry trip dinghy ride home. I had a sea bath then rinsed off with fresh water which felt so good. An awesome sunset again; a few conch blowers were heard the last few nights. A star filled dark night exhibited a ¼ moon tonight which shed only a minute fracture of light.
Fri. Feb. 15, 2013—Day 136:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: SW 15K to S <10K Seas: white capped 1 ft.
rolling waves
Weather: sunny, few clouds
After a calm night, the
winds not only increased at about 0830 hrs. but started shifting more
westward. South & west are not great
directions for this anchorage with strong winds. Predictions said the SW winds would decrease
in strength this aft & night, then increase again tomorrow & clock to
the W then NW at 30K Sat. evening through Sun. pm. Most, all but 4 of us, moved location to the
west shore of Rock Sound. I attacked the
cockpit, cleaning the cushions & the surrounding space & only spot
cleaned the floor. Despite the sea
conditions we dinghied to shore, walking the Ellis’ to Dingles to drop their
laundry off & to pick up my clean laundry ($20.00) + purchased 2 more days
to my WiFi account ($14.00). We were
told that the Supermarket had been restocked with supplies trucked down from
the Mailboat which arrived in a settlement further north; also, I learnt that
one is able to obtain cuts of meat ie ground beef from the butcher at the rear
of the store, by the frozen food section by ringing the bell. Another surprise was, Tina gave me a package
of fresh dinner rolls, still slightly warm from the baker that did not deliver
my order on Tues. He was also at the
Supermarket near noon & also makes a stop at the Laundry Mat. We returned the clean laundry & few
groceries to the boat, putting things all away & had a quick lunch; the
dinner rolls were scrumptious. Back to
Pascals to do more internet & posting pics to the blog while my computer
was recharging. The SW winds were
decreasing now. A happy hour was done on
‘Second Option’ where we observed the line of the front to the west. It was a clouded sky at sunset but a bright
1/3 moon stars+++ in the clear night sky.
Sat. Feb. 16, 2013—Day
137:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: shifting anywhere from S through to WNW from
calm in am, 10K early pm to 20-30K as squalls & rainstorm systems came
through about 1600 hrs. onwards
Seas: calm to 2-3 ft. rollers in accordance to the
wind & weather
Weather: war, humid & sunny in the am, partially
cloudy early pm, then squalls & lines of rainstorms from about 1600 hrs.
onwards
Weather is always on the
minds of everyone that is cruising as it is the driving force as to one’s
plans. But this was particularly true of
today. We had been warned of the onslaught
of westerly winds & squally weather for a few days now & have had time to
prepare. As mentioned in yesterday’s
entry several boats relocated to the west side of Rock Sound anchorage. We woke to calmness & no wind this
morning; the same conditions persisted all night. We decided to head to shore early while it
was still calm along with Terri & Bill as they could/should pick up their
clean laundry today. We did so & had
a nice chat with Chris at Dingles. Then
we walked to the Ocean Hole & could only watch the fish as I forgot to
bring some food to feed the fish. Off a
little further east to the baseball diamond that the locals had been preparing
this week as hosts of a tournament. The
1st game started at 1100 hrs.; we watched the 1st ining
where Spanish Wells were already beating Rock Sound 2:0. We discovered another grocery store + clothes
store + drug store + notions. Best get
back to the boat as the SW winds were slowing increasing & the clouds were
moving in. Terri & Bill came over
for a short but very early happy hour/lunch.
We lifted the dinghy onto the davits.
The clouds & skies were becoming darker & ominous & around
1600 hrs. the 1st wave of heavy rains & strong SW winds arrived;
winds so strong, the boat heeled & the force of the waves on the rudder
snapped the bungy cord on the steering wheel.
‘Airborne’ kept all us boaters informed of approaching lines of storms
from the west & south as he saw them on radar; & several there
were. No visible sunset, no stars, no
moon tonight.
Sun. Feb. 17, 2013—Day
138:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: WNW to N 18-25K in am & N 12-15K by
evening
Seas: white capped 1-2 ft. rollers in am &
gentle chop by evening
Weather: sunny & some cloudy periods, cool only H=
68F
An ugly night! No more rain squalls, but the night was black
& strong SW-W-WNW winds sustained a howling strength of 25-36K; the boat
rocked fore & aft repeatedly with brief periods of calm in between. I slept till 0330 hrs., waking & opening
my eyes to see stars through the hatch directly above & sleeping about an
hour at a time, trying not to think of the howling winds. When the sun rose I just laid in bed longer
than usual; I knew with the current sea state I would not get to Church today
(closest= St. Anne’s Catholic Church 0900 hrs.). The temperatures so cool that Graeme was in
sweat top & pants; I sat in the sun warmed enclosure in shorts. The decks were less salty under foot as were
the enclosure windows. It was a lazy day
of some internet, but mostly reading an excellent novel I started yesterday
called “The Kitchen House” & in fact I finished it; it was a sad novel that
had me in tears several times, which probably added to my already melancholy
mood. Many boats (5/11) that had
reanchored on the west shore returned this afternoon to the east shore as the
winds subsided to 15K or less. Although
it was sunny most of the day, there was increasing cloud late in the afternoon
& sunset was behind a wall of clouds.
A mix of clear sky & stars & clouds tonight.
Note to myself:
(1) I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to
shorten, edit & re-organize my blog.
So far I think the best solution is to get away from the day to day
diary format & instead use destinations/locations as my blog title &
new post subject. One problem I foresee
is I would be posting less pictures unless I use another blog site such as an
annual fee version of sailblogs where one can have a photo gallery within their
blog. Certainly less time would be
involved in blogging with this format.
(2) I am tired of
this lazy life. It has been 4-1/2 months
that we have been travelling. And on this trip we have had 3 long stays in
places so far because of weather issues.
Last trip in comparison we had 1.
Maybe this is all adding to my restlessness. I love the people aspect of cruising.
Mon. Feb. 18,
2013—Day 139:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: E calm about 8-10K, increased to 10-15K then
15-20K after sunset Seas: minimal
Weather: cool, mix of sun & clouds
What a difference a day makes! A cool but calm, quiet night! Looks like the seas may settle down by Wed., so we plan to move north to Governors Harbour or beyond. Soon after 0900 hrs. we met Terri & Bill on shore & walked to the Supermarket for a head of lettuce & more ground beef ($4.68/ lb.); not as lean looking as packages purchased a few days ago; today’s frozen. The boys each purchased another case of Kalik ($39.82). We sat at a picnic table in the sun wearing shorts & a sweater for heaven’s sake because of the chilly cool breeze, chatting & drinking a few beers & charging my computer at Pascals—hosting another cruise ship tour buffet luncheon (almost every 2-3 days). Terri & Bill came over to our boat with charts so we could show them the passage along the west shore of Eleuthera, to Spanish Wells, Royal Island & proposed crossing passage to Little Harbour, Abacos. A clouded sunset, red sky followed with east winds gusting up. A partial clear sky with ½ moon & stars & partial cloud.
Tues. Feb. 19, 2013—Day
140:
Destination: Rock Sound
Winds: E to ESE 10-15K Seas:
minimal
Weather: mostly sunny
Where we were anchored we
were protected by the easterly winds & so the winds actually were higher
late last evening & overnight than what we felt; in fact at times the wind
was howling. The same situation existed
this morning. It generally felt warmer
today although the breeze was cool.
Chris was a little dubious about tomorrow’s weather; winds are to still
be in the 15-20K range with some moderation on Thurs. Graeme adjusted the water pump fan belt after
breakfast & reading. Finally near
1000 hrs. we got to shore only to discover Pascals was closed for all of the
today, some catering project & that my internet was still working; no
complaints from me. Terri & Bill
were finally successful in sending documents off to the USA. Then we walked south along the beach road,
stopping at a couple of shops closed when last passed, up a couple of hills to
a set of stone steps across from a Church that led to an ocean hole & a
path around to caves; a secure ladder led the way down into the caves allowing
us to explore. The very high ceilings of
the caves had openings to the sky, trees from above whose roots extending down to the floor of the
caves, bat webs against the stone walls & a large number of bats; our
presence disturbed their sleep high in the ceilings of the caves. Graeme & Terri did not want to come down
& explore, & Graeme complained the most that it was beer time. On our way back we did purchase 4 cold ones;
the proprietor opened them for us & placed them in small paper bags for our
immediate consumption outdoors. Nowhere
else but in the Bahamas! We had quite a
late lunch at Sammy’s Restaurantà
burgers; I thought they would have more Bahamian food. We said our goodbyes to Tesha, Pascal &
their daughter & 3 sons. Terri &
Bill reanchored close to the water tap source at the blue shack on the beach
& schlepped near 75 gals of water.
We met an NSC member who owns ‘Winter Sun’ who had just arrived about 2
hrs. ago on his cruising boat ‘Opportunity’, a Saga 40. The dinghy engine & dinghy were lifted in
prep for our departure in the am. Clouds
increased in the east & south & obscured a sunset again tonight,
although there was some red sky afterwards.
A mostly cloudy night, ½ moon & few stars visible. 
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