It’s Tuesday morning and we just finished a breakfast of French Toast made from Corene’s, that’s Corene of Black Point fame, coconut bread with real maple syrup. If you think that you have had great French Toast I am here to say that this is better, you will just have to trust me on that.
We are anchored off of the Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island which puts us within a day sail, about 25 miles, from George Town our destination for this week. While the facility is closed right now, there are plenty of trails on the island to explore. Our plan is to head out to the ocean side for some shell collecting and perhaps some snorkeling too. We were told that these beaches don’t get much traffic and as they are on the ocean side, there might be some good shells to pick up.
So how about a weather report? I hate to break it to you all but it’s warm and sunny today, not a big change from yesterday or last week for that matter. Having said that, today the weather router that we use, Chris Parker, opened his 06:30 broadcast with a statement that he hadn’t seen such a great stretch of weather as is in store for this week in a long time. So, that sounds like things are going to be even better. I can live with that.
We are hopeful that we will get a good sail in on Wednesday as we make our way the final 25 miles to George Town and Chris’s report today bodes well for a fun time.
Yesterday I tried my hand at fishing when we were offshore. However, I didn’t get a bite. Bummer. Actually, I wondered if I was using the correct lure, one that is supposed to be good for Mahi Mahi, as it just skipped across the surface of the water. We did see some flying fish skip across the water but nothing bigger. Even though we were on a close reach and pretty close to the wind, we were doing up to eight knots in quite lumpy conditions. Perhaps that was too fast. I don’t know enough about fishing to know if that’s good or bad. Pandora was a champ and really moved along catching up and passing another boat that was a good deal longer than and we are and nearly caught two other boats that were in front of us. Had we been out for a longer time we certainly would have passed everyone. I like this boat.
Brenda didn’t appreciate the lumpiness but did all right in spite of the rocking and rolling. She was just stunned by the color of the water, a deep cobalt blue. One of the most interesting parts of sailing here is the constantly changing water color, dependent on the depth. The shallower the water the lighter the color going from robin’s egg blue and lighter to the cobalt of the ocean. However, it’s always really clear, that’s for sure.
Yesterday was a milestone for us as we did two ocean cuts in the same day. These cuts can be treacherous as a massive amount of water flushes in and out twice a day with the turn of the tide. On top of that, there are often breaking waves and confused seas, more so, sometimes way more, if the wind is opposing the tide. In some cases, the passes are too dangerous to navigate when there are big ocean swells, strong winds and an outgoing tide. In this case, you can’t go out at all or risk losing your boat. These conditions are called “the rage” and it’s not something that I ever care to experience.
As so much water goes in and out of these cuts, they can be quite deep and often have dramatic cliffs on each side. Brenda took this shot as we exited Cave Cay Cut. Pretty amazing view. And those white cliffs were a dramatic contrast to the deep blue water.
Perhaps I will close with a shot from our cockpit this morning. Not a bad view to accompany our French Toast. For the observant among you, yes those are indeed Christmas lights. We strung them up in the cockpit last evening to set the mood for our candlelight supper. Brenda outdid herself with a great menu. We started with a fabulous tomato mango salsa that she whipped up, scooped up with chips, baked of course. Followed by sautéed chicken breast and apple sausage ith broccoli with garlic, lots of garlic over pasta. This was washed down with champagne to toast the close of her birthday celebratory month. Yes, Brenda gets a celebratory month beginning shortly after Christmas. Isn’t that the same for all girls?
With less than three weeks into our trip, we are getting into the Bahamas cruising life rhythm. Has it been an adjustment? Indeed. Fun? You bet.
So, off for a hike, picnic lunch and a bit of shelling.