Day 153, Year 10: On the ‘Road’ Again
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2015
Weather: Sunny and Windy, Winds E to ESE 18-20
Latitude: 24 05.886 N
Longitude: 076 24.257 W
Location: Anchored at Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was literally the sailing day from hell, but today we were on the ‘road’ again by 11 am. A little time and a man who can fix almost anything helped out. Mark got the engine running this morning and we headed south nine miles to Black Point on Great Guana Cay to meet up with our good friends Ed and Lynne of Contance. Lee and Lynda followed behind us. We both motored all the way and the conditions were so calm compared to yesterday. Life is good.
We got up at 6:30 am to listen to the weather (a daily must here in the Bahamas). After the weather, Mark went back to bed for a bit. He was still exhausted from yesterday’s fiasco. But I stayed up and wrote a couple of emails. When Mark got up the second time, he dove right into the engine fuel line issue. It was a lot easier to work on this when we weren’t heeling over so far that the toe rail was in the water. The fuel filter was blocked because it was filthy with all the gunk sucked into it from the churned up almost empty fuel tank. He got that problem fixed, but then the fuel coming from the tank we had switched to yesterday was also blocked. When I finally turned the key and the engine actually started, we were elated. The wind was still blowing almost 20 knots today from the direction we wanted to go, but we decided to go for it. As it turns out, it was a walk in the park compared to yesterday. By mid-afternoon we were anchored right next to Constance and sitting in Constance’s cockpit talking to Ed and Lynne. The last time we were anchored together like this was in 2010 in Madagascar. It was a great feeling to be reunited in this way. Ed and Lynne filled us in on what we will find here in Black Point. This community is the second largest in the Exumas and the people here are very welcoming to cruisers. There is a top-of-the-line laundromat with its own dinghy dock and free internet, a good little supermarket, Lorraine’s Café where everyone meets for lunch and more free internet, and there is free water and garbage disposal. It is a lovely little place and feels very comfortable. What it doesn’t offer is good snorkeling opportunities. So we will spend tomorrow and part of Saturday here and then, weather permitting, we will sail about five miles back towards Staniel Cay for an overnight stop at little Bitter Iguana Cay. This is a protected iguana preserve that should provide lots of photo opportunities. On Sunday morning we will return to the Staniel Cay area where we were last night, but this time we hope to be able to actually make it into the anchorage. There are lots of fun things to do there, so we will make that our base until mid-week when we will go a little further north into the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park where there are tons of great snorkeling opportunities.
Happy Hour was enjoyed on Windbird with both Constance and Sea Turtle in attendance. Lee keeps insisting that he sees the infamous “green flash” at sundown, but Lynda and I think that is just a result of too many sundowners! After everyone headed back to their boats, Mark and I had dinner and then checked out the internet possibilities here in the anchorage. We are anchored very close to Ida’s Laundromat and the free internet is available out here in the anchorage for those with a wifi booster. Thankfully, we have one. Mark spent the evening catching up on email and Facebook contacts. We saw some wonderful photos of our grandkids which made us VERY happy and also some great photos from Bali where our good friends Jane and Bruce Woodin from back home in Falmouth are vacationing. Justin had posted a photo of Ziggy where he had fallen through the couch. Ouch!
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| 150312 Day 153 Photos from Puerto Rico–Ziggy |
And Heather had posted photos of the boys playing in the snow and ice on the beach. But there is hope. She also posted a photo of crocuses peeking their colorful heads out. So spring must be on the way to snow and ice-laden Cape Cod.
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| 150312 Day 153 Photos from Cape Cod–The Goldpebbles |
