our destinations and stays we frequently have no choice. Currently we are underway from Conception Island(only a 1 day visit) to Cat Island a motor sail, but a good protected anchorage for the 20-30k winds, high seas, and squalls expected through next Wed.
Tues. 3/10 we had a short 2 hour but wonderful sail from French Wells, with winds from the E 15-20 kph. Our visit to Landrail Point on Crooked Island in the Acklins was very interesting; it is our favorite town in the Acklins. Although the Explorer Guide and the Bahamas Cruising guide say a limited amount about the area we found it to be delightful. We wandered into the Seventh Day Adventist(no alcohol)town about 3:00 to find an extremely well kept town;i.e. houses and yards were well cared for and the 2 grocery stores were very well stocked at least to island standards. We even were able to watch the local news the day the market went up 379 points. We quickly met the son of the matriarch of the island, and were escorted to his mother's home for a visit. It was a delight hearing about the island from Mrs. Marina Gibson who used to run the Gibson Lunch Room but now leaves the running of 2 of the island restaurants to her children. We enjoyed her homemade guava duff as well. I played the keyboard for her although only the keys above middle C worked; she seemed to be pleased just the same. We enjoyed a meal at her daughter, Willie's and husband Andy's restaurant. We enjoyed a family style meal of grouper with Dee and Pete, s/v WindLass and met some fly fisherpeople, Dottie and Fitz; she holds 15 world fly fishing titles(she says in her age group(early 60's); there isn't much competition, they were an interesting couple. Again however it was a visit dictated by the incoming weather according to our guru, Chris Parker who we faithfully tune into at 6:30 am or 8:00 on our SSB; we have found his forecasts to be very accurate. I think our weather forecasters at home should seek guidance from him. After only a day we had to move on due to the forecasted high seas of 8-10 feet resulting in very uncomfortable swells particularly in unprotected anchorages. We were sad to leave Rum Tum Tiger and Shamal(wind in Arabic) friends met in Long Cay, Acklins. One great aspect of cruising is the boating community and often we run into people we have visited with(Dominoes & Dessert on WindSwept Dreams) or Happy Hour. I(We frequently) LOVE meeting new people and entertaining!! I work hard as Friendship Development Director and Communications Officer. I am definitely not Captain status yet but can chart a course competently and use the nav equipment; a big improvement from last year.
We headed to the security of Clarence Town on Long Island; we arrived at 3pm after an 8 hr motorsail(yuk)just as my homemade bread needed to be baked. The Fishing
Captain fulfilled his role and landed a 23" yellowfin tuna and WindLass benefited by joining us for dinner. He also caught a 36" barracuda but we don't eat due to cigutera;which doesn't seem to bother the locals. In under 200 ft. of water we usually catch a barracuda. At 9 am Thur., 3/12 we went to the Luxury of the Flying Fish Marina; internet, laundry, hot showers, fuel, water for our tanks and a restaurant. We spent some of our time doing some neverending varnish work and I scrubbed rust off the stainless steel again. We utilized all the facilities for 3 days and collected more boat cards and made new friends. We also hitchiked to Salt Pond (a mere 20 miles north and 5 car rides)to the marine store and Hardings grocery. On the way back we were very lucky and got picked up by Vincent on his way home from Salt Pond to Clarence Town. He asked if we had visited Deans Blue Hole, a 634 ft. world recognized free diving Mecca and we said we didn't have time a month ago when we rented a car on Long Island. He proceeded to take us there on winding dirt roads and it was phenomenal; it sure gets deep quickly. We weren't prepared for a swim so we have to save that jump for a future trip. I also attended the Anglican church with him on Sunday.
All friends come with varying benefits like free wine, fish fillets, interesting stories and information about other islands and countries. We had never eaten wahoo but 3 new male friends were leaving the next morning and gave me 12 fish fillets along with their extra fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc. left from their 1 week visit. We also met Steve s/v Yamma from London, England and a paid captain, Mark and his wife, Jenny who was cook and cleaner of a 70 ft. motor yacht(Impetuous) along with John their friend from Key West and a professionally trained chef, fly fishing guide(Ennis, Montana/, Florida Keys) who is assisting them in taking the boat on an overnight sail to the Turks and Caicos. Weather dictated that we leave that destination for a later time.. We had a dominoes/dessert party, Sat. even. and enjoyed having John make ceviche out of some of the wahoo they had received and I made a chocolate rum cake. We did so much visiting we never got around to dominoes but it is fascinating learning about other peoples adventures. Steve had sailed across the Atlantic with friends and has been out for 2 years and cruised the Great Lakes in MI last summer. He is a single hander and a former hot air balloon enthusiast. Mark is from South Africa and Jenny from Canada and met in St. Martin(they are in late 30's-youngsters). Cruising has a way of bridging age gaps due to common interest; it is so fun being with people from such varying ages and backgrounds; one of our favorite things about cruising.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment