Bridget and Gunther head home

Bridget and Gunther head home   …   Monday 11th February 2013

It seems like no time at all since Bridget and Gunther arrived in Marsh Harbor and yet today it was time for them to head home. We got up at 7am and had a quick breakfast before dropping the mooring and motoring out of Hope Town Harbor. We have seen too many boats aground in this harbor entrance and were keen to catch the last of the rising tide. Once clear of the shallows we raised the genoa and had a fine sail to Marsh Harbor in a good breeze. Today we are at the part of the lunar cycle where there is a relatively large tidal range and low water is close to a foot below average.  Consequently, we needed to chose our anchorage spot carefully to ensure adequate depth. At low tide this afternoon we saw 6.3 ft on our depth finder, leaving us a mere 9 inches under our keel. I'd say we judged it pretty well! After lunch we took the dinghy in to town for a quick walk around and a coffee, before returning to pick up bags and seeing Bridget and Gunther onto a taxi to the airport. We had a really fun time and it's going to seem very quiet again now that they have left. Later in the afternoon Gloria and I were happy to be able to catch up with some sailing friends that we first met in Florida. Sharon and Frank were already docked at Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach when we arrived in early December. Gloria in particular got to spend some time with them whilst I was away in the UK and before they travelled back north to visit family. One of the very nice aspects of making this trip is that you do meet so many nice people and continue to bump into each other along the way. 

Our thoughts are now focusing on getting ready to move south, firstly to Eleuthera and then onwards to Georgetown and the Exumas. We have a few odd jobs to do, a key chart to purchase, as well as some re-provisioning - but most of all we need to identify a good weather window to make the 50 mile off shore passage down to Spanish Wells. Conditions have been a little fierce the last few days and there are some big winds (35 mph) forecast for later in the week, which is not what we are looking for. Anyway, we'll let you know who things are shaping up.

Mike

26 32 49.0 N, 77 03 27.4 W

As we were anchoring today our neighbor was up the mast trying to repair their anchor light. Unfortunately, replacing the bulb didn't work so he is going to have to go back up the mast again to replace the fitting. This is "bosun's chair" in action!