A Tale of Two Chemists: Yes, actually sailing

Yes, actually sailing ... Sunday 24^th Feb 2013

Our day began dark and early at 5:30 am. Coffee and breakfast were prepared but not consumed before getting underway. Our early departure from Spanish Wells allowed us to arrive at Current Cut at 8:00am. This was our best guess for the time of the high water slack this morning. The current was still flowing into the cut at about 2 knots. This seemed much more reasonable than the maximum 10 knots that we read about in the guide book. Once through the gap between Eleuthera and Current Island we needed to turn to starboard to pass between a “hard bar” (rocks) and a sand bar (underwater). We negotiated this successfully. We put up our sails and sailed (yes that’s right) thirty miles to a point off Governor’s Harbor. The southerly wind was just strong enough to keep us moving along at an average of 6 knots. There were some waves but nothing to cause concern. It was a lovely sail. Mike said it was the best sail we had ever had. I think we might have forgotten one or two other great sailing experiences.

Now I could say that the day was uneventful but that would be slightly untruthful. We decided that we should fish as we went along. At about 11:30 as Mike was below fixing lunch [when you have breakfast at 6:15, you are ready for lunch at 11:30], I heard the sound of fishing line being stripped off the reel. I called to Mike and he came out. He also heard the line going out and declared that this was a ‘big fish’. But as he reeled in there was no resistance and eventually he could see the lure in the water. He let out the line again. Both of us were disappointed. Once we got close to Governor Harbor, we reeled in the line on the rod to discover that the lure was gone. More surprisingly, the clip that had attached the lure was bent out of shape. Then we brought in the hand line. This lure had been attached to a steel leader and then a doubled over length of 25 lb. test line. The line had been snapped. We are still trying to figure out what might have happened. Now I am certain that it’s cheaper to buy fish than to purchase all this fishing gear. Not only would it cost less, but also you’d have fish to eat.

The second strange occurrence is still happening. We anchored in the harbor with three other boats. After a couple of hours some kind of religious revival event began on shore. There is lots of loud (but not so great) music. The powerful lights ringing the venue lead me to believe that this might not finish in time for “cruiser’s midnight”. It’s shades of our mooring at Greenwich Cove.

Gloria

25 11.712 N, 76 14.846 W