Mr. Benbo takes a walk on the squall side Saturday Dec. 16th, 2017

Saturday Dec. 16^th 2017

A surprise appearance of an old friend happened this afternoon while one squall after another swept through the anchorage.  I was quite amazed to see the tripod set up in the “salon” of the boat when I ducked down the companionway stairs during a rain-induced delay to dodger repair.  I wasn’t even aware that Mr. Benbo was aboard.  An important photo shoot was happening while I was outside trying to stitch through three or four layers of Sunbrella using an elephant-sized needle and ‘whipping’ twine.

As tough as the wind and rain were making the sewing project, I found myself thanking Mike for the early start that had us all tucked up in this harbor on Peter Island well before the first of the squalls appeared.  We departed Virgin Gorda Sound just before nine o’clock and sailed down wind to the north of the Dog Islands and then gybed to pass what had been the rally finish line and Beef Island to Peter Island.  The winds were 15-20 knots.  The highest I saw was 22 kts.  The seas initially were substantial with wind waves on top of ocean swell.  However, once we got past the Dog Islands the seas subsided and the winds may have settled down a bit.

The only bad news was that our attempt to pump out the holding tank failed!  Almost immediately after arriving, Mike was pulling out the contents of the laserette locker to get at the holding tank and pump.  It’s the kind of job to which no one can look forward. (there’s some awkward-sounding language for you).  After some amount of time in a very hot and confined space with some very smelly objects, Mike was able to determine that the pump wasn’t doing it’s thing.  The culprit was a small piece of grit or gravel (or possibly that mineral that builds up inside the hoses of the marine head).  Now the pump is working so we’ll try the pump out tomorrow on the way back to Nanny Cay (Tortola).

Our friends the Andersons should arrive tomorrow, if all their travel goes well.  We are excited to have our first guests.

Gloria

Great Harbor, Peter Island     18 21.36 N, 64 34.95 W

A boat approaches a mooring during a squall in Great Harbor, Peter Island. Note this is not a B&W photo!

A shell we picked up on Prickly Pear Island, on a lime background

Two shells

Cotinga twisting on her mooring and a catamaran behind with blue lights (wide angle lens, tripod, ~5s exposure)

Cotinga twisting on her mooring and a catamaran behind with blue lights (~100 mm lens, tripod, ~5s exposure)