We did make it back to shore yesterday. I made sure the camera was charged and properly loaded with an SD card. It was a bumpy ride but Scott is great at getting the dingy through the chop. We had another lovely walk on the beaches and a swim. There was a family from one of the large super yachts on the beach with us. They even took a rare photo of the two of us together. Very nice of them. We opted to pass on the goat path to "The Well" so those pictures will have to remain a memory. It was too rough to try to negotiate the dingy creek to the ocean side of the island. Maybe next visit.
After our shore leave we discussed getting the dingy up on the bow, better to bring her up now while the winds were down somewhat. If you call 18 to 20 knots down. Scott had been working on a way to help control the swing of the dingy as we brought her up earlier. I crank her up with the winch while Scott controls wrestling her onto the bow. The new method worked fairly well and we got her on board without anyone being knocked overboard. This should give us more mobility in harbors when the winds are up.
We'll keep her and us on board until we leave, which is right now scheduled for Monday. There are a couple of other boats that have hung her with us but most boats are coming and going after only a night. Mostly motor yachts (in excess of 50 feet) and a few sail. Yesterday was a doable day for sailing so many of those boats moved on. Had we not already paid for the mooring we might have been one of them. Add that to lessons learned pay by the day. We haven't seen the park ranger since the day we came in and I haven't seen anyone hiking up the path to pay for a mooring. Although I don't mind that we are properly paid for and supporting the park.
Right now the islands are changing over, folks who came in the November, December time frame are heading back to the states and Canada. The ones who arrived in January/February are starting the migration North and West to cross back late this month or early next. And those of us who arrived recently are heading South. Insurance limits many boats that have to be north of Norfolk Va. by June 1. The Canadians have to be back to keep their medical insurance valid.
The blow came through as scheduled last night picking the winds up to 25 knots consistently and with gusts into the thirties. We had plenty of rocking and rolling but the rotten (swell) wasn't too bad. We put the anchor alarm on and haven't turned it off. Scott has managed to devise a way to open the front hatch even when the dingy is covering it on the bow. That made for good sleeping as we had a fresh breeze in the boat and no rain. We had a few squalls during the night with some good soakings. Nice! (The fresh air not the squalls).
We have decided to go directly to Staniel Cay from here. We, (me more than he) are getting a little crazy with no contact with the world out there. We have talked to Sue and Roger on the SSB which is really wonderful. It's nice to hear their voices and know all is okay with them.
I am in dire need of talking with family and an internet fix. We had planned on stopping at Hawksbill, Warderick Wells and Cambridge Cay on our way down to Staniel. However the weather continues to be spotty with only an odd day or two for decent travel. That wouldn't be bad but there are no cell towers between here and Staniel. If we end up 4 or 5 days at each place.... 21 plus days of no contact with the family (it's been 8 right now) I would be totally bonkers and Scott might have to jettison me to the sea. Living off the grid for sure out here. We will stop at those places on the way back up through the chain, after I tell the family not to expect to hear from us for a week or more. I worked on the route from here to Staniel yesterday and manually entered it into the chart plotter this morning.
We manage to keep busy even without going to shore. There is always some boat part that needs to be fixed, polished, cleaned or sanded. Meals to prep, berths to make, dishes and clothes to wash, not to mention cleaning the head. And we have DVD's and books to entertain us. Boat watching in the harbor is great fun too. Life is good on Light Reach.
The picture is the of the Capt and I. That's the tender to the yacht of the woman who took the picture between our heads. You can't see their vessel in the picture it is anchored farther out.