Cloud Messenger

Jeanette arrived early in the evening on a perfectly lovely day. The wind was still a bit high so her first adventure was to ride in the dinghy through choppy water. Nothing like getting wet right away. Her expectations were nicely lowered immediately so that the rest of her trip could only get better. Ali was SO excited to see Jeanette that he could hardly contain himself. It was heartwarming. We had dinner that first night on "Freedom" and it was a lively, fun introduction to our sailing crew. By the time we made it back to the boat that night Jeanette was suitably worn out from the travel and excitement. I showed off my mad dinghy skills the next day and took Jeanette into town. We shopped for a few things and checked out some of the gift stores. We met everyone else for lunch at The Peace and Plenty which is a quaint hotel which used to be the sight of a slave auction house. Lots of history. That night was dinner on "Freedom" again. They frequently get the crowds because their boat is the biggest and we all fit nicely. Such gracious hosts.
The next day Laura, from "Blue Blaze", Jeanette and I went snorkeling. We didn't bother easing J in. We anchored the dinghy off a reef in the middle of a channel. Yeehaw! I have started marking the fish I see in an identification book on board and am getting to recognize quite a few by now. After our sporty adventure and J's first on deck shower we headed into town with Laura. In the meantime, Jason and David went off to walk the flats and do some bonefishing. Everywhere in the Bahamas has crystal clear shallow waters with blindingly white sand. The perfect habitat for the elusive bonefish. While in town the three of us hatched a plan for Jeanette to return to the states from San Salvador and for Laura and me to go along for the ride as far as Nassau. We would have a girl's night out in the big city. With the plans all set we were able to get ready to sail the next day. First stop would be Conception Island and then on to San Salvador. That night we had a lovely dinner on "Cloud Messenger". It is a tight fit to have that many people in our little boat but it wasn't too snug. Alan from "Joyous" joined us and agreed to come along with us on our next adventure. He is currently single-handing his 45 foot boat. He is an interesting, intelligent, funny guy and a welcome addition to our clan. We had a great time with great people and great food..once again. We set out the next morning, sadly leaving "Freedom" behind for now. It was a wild ride to Conception and certainly fulfilled J's taste for adventure. We were in 7-8 ft. swells and bobbed around like corks for a grueling 6 hours. When we anchored, the island was beautiful but the wind was still steadily blowing and there was some surge in the anchorage causing the boats to rock and toss a bit. We took Ali to the beach and noticed huge coral heads and reefs all around the island. We definitely plan to return and snorkel those inviting places but not in the conditions present at that moment, plus we needed to forge on to get all us girls to our upcoming flight. We had dinner on Joyous that night, filling in as the new biggest boat in our Armada. The next morning despite ominous squally looking clouds in the distance we started out for San Salvador. Only about an hour into the sail we all conferred over the radio and decided getting to San Salvador was not going to be possible. The wind direction was bad for entering the marina there and the anchorages would not give us the protection we needed. By consensus we agreed to make a shorter trip to Rum Cay (our destination way back when Glenda and David were with us). So we arrived yesterday early afternoon in Rum Cay. The water in the anchorage was unbelievable. Shockingly green water with dark ribbons of blue flowing through. The beaches sparkle with white, smooth sand and the houses all look well kept and colorful. The challenge now was to somehow get Laura, Jeanette and me to San Salvador by 11:00 the next morning for our flight. No commercial flights fly between Rum and San Salvador. We dinghied into the marina and as we left the water and started by foot down the dirt road, we were offered a ride, as luck would have it, by a local and his friend--- a pilot! Ha. They gave us a ride to the SandBar (a bar) and dropped us off with promises to come back with ideas on how to get to the other island by morning. Just as its name states the bar floor is sand. I bought a round for the bar which made us instant heroes and well liked. A drink for everyone was a total, with tip, of only 20.00! We happily waited around, dancing with the locals, drinking copious amounts and playing some pretty fun, although truly amateur, pool while Ali melted hearts. The vodka cranberry drinks J and I ordered came with two glasses of ice, a can of cranberry juice and a pint Gin bottle actually filled with Vodka. Simply bizarre. But, true to their word the local dudes showed up later, the pilot had rearranged his plans and would deliver us to San Salvador the next morning in time for our flight. We all stumbled down to our dinghies being raucous, loud, happy tourists. We couldn't have been too obnoxious considering it was all of 8:30 when we arrived back on the boat. So tomorrow morning we will get packed up and take our private plane to our next adventure.