…. you decide to leave your rain gear at home. Last night we found a
nice Cay (Aunt Pats Bay) for anchoring that shielded us from the easterly winds
and the black clouds warning us of some imminent weather. By Midnight big
drops were knocking on the bulkheads, so we decided to sleep in a bit.
After a morning with French Toast
and coffee we were wrapped up by captain Mike in foul weather gear and thrown
into the dinghy to move over to Tahiti Bay. We braved fierce winds and
sometimes horizontal rain and successfully made it to the dock. Well equipped
with camera and thick jackets, we went for a stroll along some fantastic beach
scenery and just before we returned, were greeted by the first sunrays of the
day. This made for some interesting
lighting to photograph shells, snails, trees, birds, brightly colored houses
and the wonderfully turquoise water. Our hike led us to a break between the
cays where 4-6 foot waves boosted our imagination of how an entry there with a
boat would work out. We decided against
it. Back to the boat and encouraged by the our initial fishing success on the
first day, we noticed three day old Conch did not make a good bait. However
Bridget almost went for it and only missed the hook by a few inches. After that
we decided to stop honing our fishing skills for today.
Due to the continuously changing
wind direction our proposed anchoring spot was not tenable and we avoided a
rough anchorage by sailing downwind on a reefed main sail with almost 6 knots
to the Man of War harbor. Mike and Gloria showed off as a well coordinated
sailing team and after making it through some very shallow water at 6.8 feet
(1.2 foot of water left under the keel), Mike navigated the boat through the 40
foot wide entry that was just deep enough for the boat without a blink of an
eye (he did not talk to me during that) but admitted later that he was quite
happy, we did not run aground. Here an angry ocean turned into a nice smooth
lake and the sun decided to give us another nice late afternoon.
After coffee and mince pie at 4
p.m. (following an old German tradition), we rowed the dinghy to explore more of
the Bahamian cays and the town around the harbor. Another successful photo
safari was completed and we returned to the boat where Mike showed off another
of his talents, cooking, and served a wonderful Vietnamese Chicken dinner. The
day was concluded with music from the Lumineers, Coldplay and Ugly Casanova rounded
off with a cold beer with good friends.
Bridget and Gunther
Tahiti Beach in the rain
Stranger on the beach
Dramatic skies over Tahiti Beach
Gunther in Cotinga foul weather gear
Piping Plover - winter plumage
Old wooden boat - Man of War Cay
Pink Steps
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