Day 51 - Saturday, 3--0018 - Highborne Cay Marina

We were supposed to leave today, but we didn't. It wasn't weather this time though. One of the tasks the guys completed prior to leaving was filling the water tank. Although water is expensive in the Bahamas, we are willing to pay the price (frequently 50 cents per gallon) if the water tastes good. Much of the water tastes nasty and we refuse to put it in our tank. The water at Highborne Cay Marina tastes fine, so it was time to top off the tank before venturing further south.

At the same time as the guys were doing their pre-departure tasks, Sara was unloading her and Roger's stuff from the V-berth and putting it in the salon. As soon as she was finished, Jean started moving her and Gerry's stuff from the palatial cabin in the stern to the V-berth. That was went the water hit the fan. Jean found almost a gallon of water in one of the lockers and the bed cushions were wet on the bottom. Upon investigation, we determined that the mystery leak that had been plaguing the Seals was coming from the fresh water tank, which is located under the V-berth. The silicone gasket on the tank fill indicator had dried out and failed. When the tank was filled, or sloshed, the gasket would leak and wet the bed, and flow down into the lower locker under the berth. So, instead of moving south to Warderick Wells and the Exumas Land and Sea Park, we stayed at Highborne Cay Marina and did maintenance. The guys removed the old silicone gasket and resealed the opening, and then took the opportunity to reseal some of the ports, both fixed and opening, which had been leaking. We put the bed cushions out in the sun to dry, and continued to explore the island and the marina.

Highborne Cay is the site of a research station, probably because it is the site of some stomatolite reefs. Stomatolite reefs are the oldest form of reef and were thought to be extinct until some were found in the last twenty-five years. Sara and Jean had seen them yesterday when they walked over to the Exuma Sound side of the island to the beach which is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the Bahamas, so Jean went to check out a spring near the southern end of the island which was reported to be worth seeing. Well, after a hike up hill and down, she discovered that it was a practical joke. When she finally reached the site, there was a spring hanging on a nail in a tree and a sign pointing to it reading "Ha! The Spring." She was hot, her hip joints were hurting, and she was not amused. Later her good humor returned and she thought it was a hoot. Also of note at Highborne Cay Marina is a group of "pet" sharks and rays, which are tagged for research purposes, and which hang out at the fish cleaning dock. Today Jean counted thirteen of them just hanging around. They are nurse sharks, so they are not very active, frequently just lying on the sand waiting for someone to clean some fish. Last evening Jean and Frank saw a large manta ray jump out of the water just before sunset, but the rays didn't hang out by the fish cleaning dock so they were hard to spot and we were unable to get any pictures of them.

The evening concluded with a beach buffet served by the Cool Runners Catering Service. We sat at a big picnic table with folks from boats near us on the pier and we had a grand time. A couple (he from South Africa and she from Britain) who retired to Minorca, an island off Spain, were a lot of fun. They sail their Jeanneau sailboat in the Caribbean during the winter months. There were also two couples from a cruiser at the table. The guys, one of them a retired judge from South Carolina, were having a fun evening and they were very entertaining. After eating entirely too much good Bahamian food, Jean made up the dried-out V-berth, and everyone went to bed. Sara had the biggest smile on her face that anyone has seen since we started this adventure. She was loving being in the king-size bed instead of the V-berth. Who could blame her! (JGR)