Postponed Departure

Postponed Departure   …   Tues 19th Feb 2013

I guess my last words from yesterdays blog were prophetic. I lay awake most of the night listening to the wind rattling the rigging. I was finding it hard to believe that the seas could possibly be settling down any and true enough, when I got up at 5am to get an updated weather forecast the predictions for the day had deteriorated - higher seas, wind more from the direction we wanted to go and a small craft advisory from the Bahama Met Office. We decided to stay put for the day…or to be precise, I decided. Gloria had taken her anti-seasick meds last night and slept like a baby. In fact she didn't wake until after 7am and even then seemed "away with the fairies". The cruisers net (VHF radio information session) this morning was hosted by "Will on the ship Antares, his wife Muffin and Lucy the talking dog" - I kid you not, this is really how he introduces himself. Anyway we learned that the Little Harbor passage which we need to go out of was passable but very rough and no one left the Abaco by that route today. However, we also heard from a boat that is planning to leave tomorrow and was looking for company, so we got in touch and met up this evening. in the mean time Gloria and I re-inflated and cleaned the dumb dog and headed off to Little Harbor itself. If we'd thought about it a little more carefully we'd have figured out that traversing the very same Little Harbor cut was likely to be "lively". Let's just say it's the most exciting 2 mile dinghy ride that we've ever taken. But it was worth it. Once inside the harbor there was great protection and we pulled up to a sandy beach, tied off to a railing and walked up the steps into "Pete's Pub". What a great place, lovely views, relaxed atmosphere and very good food. A bit of history may be in order. Pete's father, Randolph Johnson, was an art professor in New England but wanted to get out of the 'rat race'. So he sailed to the Bahamas with his wife and three kids and set up home like Robinson Crusoe in the then uninhabited Little Harbor. They built their house and set up an art colony - specializing in bronze work and ceramics. Randolph died in 1992 but his son Pete still makes bronze work inspired by local motifs, and runs the pub. Gloria and I enjoyed blackened snapper and lemon triggerfish for lunch and then toured the gallery. The ride back to Cotinga seemed a little less nerve wracking - but we still got pretty wet. This evening we met up briefly with Shirley and Bruce on "Ode to Joy" and made arrangements to depart together at 6.30 am tomorrow. Bruce also gave me hand tightening our alternator belt. This caused us a bit of concern as we seem to be generating  a fair bit of black dust in the engine housing and the belt seemed way too loose. At least as worrying, our batteries were less charged than we might have expected - although we haven't been checking them that rigorously. We will now! Anyway, the wind has settled down and the forecast is good. Let's hope our next blog is from Eleuthera.

Mike

Little Harbor - tied up in front of Pete's Pub

Pete's Pub

It's a dogs life