Hawksbill Cay

Hawksbill Cay   ...    Wednesday 27^th Feb 2013

After the elation of yesterday, we probably should have expected to find today difficult… It started off with listening to the weather forecast on the Single Side Band radio.  Only for some reason we could only hear about one word in ten.  As this is the “reliable” way to get the weather in the Exumas, we were a bit distressed.  Added to this the internet forecast that we go suggested the winds would clock round to the west.  We couldn’t seem to identify any anchorages with westerly protection.  Such a worry….

Then it was time for an oil change for the Yanmar.  This is not the most fun task.  Imagine changing the oil in your car engine but doing the job in the middle of your living room.  A second fun variation is that you can’t get access to the bottom of the engine to drain the oil out.  That would be way too easy.  One must remove the oil dipstick, insert a piece of semi rigid hose into the dipstick casing. Then the options are to either pump out the oil or “suck the oil out” by attaching a vacuum device.   We have a whizzy gizmo of the latter type.  Somehow though, drops and flecks of oil get here, there and everywhere. Today it went better than last time.  That would be the occasion when the previous pump device failed catastrophically spraying Mike’s shirt and shorts in oil.  That also required an emergency trip to West Marine to acquire the aforementioned vacuum device.  I digress…

Having tidied up after the oil change, it was time to take the staysail off the inner forestay, fold it and store it.  The first attempt was mildly unsuccessful.  On the third try we got the sail tucked into the sail bag.  Then while we were inflating the dinghy, we realized that everyone in the marina was leaving.  Yikes, it was approaching high tide.  Once past high the current would be flowing against us as we worked our way to the west.  Mike ran to the office to pay.  I got the trash together to throw out.  Unfortunately, in my haste I lost the third clip that holds the plastic bag into the trash bin.  Feverish searching did not reveal the clip.  I had a sinking feeling that it was now at the bottom of the lovely bag of trash.  Piece by piece I transferred trash and garbage from one bag to another.  At last the clip was found and the garbage could be thrown out.  Does this sound like a glamorous life to you?

Mike returned and we left the slip, getting some help from one of the marina staff.  By this point the current was already flowing pretty well in the area outside the marina.  The engine got a work out.  I was trying to get dock lines and fenders stowed but on a couple of occasions I had to sit down due to the rough seas.  All this haste in departure meant that we really didn’t have a clear plan of where we were headed.  Worse we had no way points in the GPS.  Finally we got waypoints created and picked a possible anchorage.  Once we got there it was clear that the water wasn’t deep enough to allow us to tuck in behind the little island.  So it was onward to Hawksbill Cay where we hoped to take a mooring.  Some very shallow water was passed to get to the anchorage.  Once there the only remaining mooring was too close to shore.  So we set the anchor.  After going to shore for a walk to the east side then taking a swim and looking at the anchor, we feel a lot happier.  The wind is moving round to the southwest and a certain bumpiness is developing.  Let’s hope the night goes better than the day.

Gloria

24 29.041 N, 76 46.381 W

Anchored off Hawksbill Cay

View from the bosun's chair