Decisions, decisions

Decisions, decisions   …   Monday 18th February 2013

We dropped the mooring in Hope Town at 11am, determined to start our ongoing journey southwards. We left the harbor on a rising half tide, following precisely the route we have used three times previously. At this stage of the lunar cycle the tidal range is relatively small (~2ft) and we did manage to scrape bottom at the shallowest point of the channel. WTF ... I mean seriously have they ever thought of maybe dredging a few of these harbor entrances. Scraping the keel along the bottom can get very tiresome! Things improved from that point on and we had an excellent sail in 15-20 mph north easterly winds on an 18 mile winding route down through the sea of Abaco to the point where we plan to cut out to the Atlantic. We sailed with a reefed main and partly furled genoa and still hit 7 knots on the most favorable legs. We also caught a small barracuda on our trolled hand-line! We dropped the anchor on the west shore of Linyard Cay, with good protection from the east and settled in for the evening. Contrary to expectations we do seem to have internet access, so as well as posting this blog we have been continuing to get updates on the weather. We now have to make a decision whether to go tomorrow, Wednesday or Thursday. They all have their pros and cons:

   # Tuesday  = +ve robust wind from ESE, -ve short period bumpy seas, probably 6ft+

   # Wednesday = +ve more settled seas, longer period swells, -ve light wind from N

   # Thursday = +ve, best conditions, settled seas, moderate winds from the NE, -ve two more     

       days delay

We pretty much decided that we will try to go tomorrow, but this afternoon the view of the ocean through the cut made us question the wisdom of this -  It looked really rough. It is supposed to settle some, but the wind continues to blow. We have made the necessary  preparations to go offshore, deflating and tying down the dinghy on the foredeck, clipping in the inner forestay, setting up the stay sail and the running back-stays. We plan to get up at 5.30 am and set out at first light. Maybe in the cool light of day we'll decide to stay put!

Mike

26 21.513 N, 76 59.143 W

no photos today