We had a great time talking with Curtis and Barbara last night at Scorpio's. Barbara had been told by another cruising boat about the Happy Hour Specials there. When we got there we found that Happy Hour was only on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Barbara sweet talked the bartender (Zhivago) into giving us the Happy Hour prices even though it was Wednesday. The guys talked boats while we ladies talked family and life. The crew from Free'd Spirit came in and joined us. A lively time was had by all.
After we left Scorpio's we saw that the mail boat had arrived. The Government dock was packed with people picking up their orders. It's a big deal when that boat comes in! Instead of shopping on the island much the locals have their goods shipped in from Nassau. Makes sense when you think about it.
It was getting dark so we hopped in the dingy and headed back to Light Reach. The stars were gorgeous and after admiring them we headed off to bed.
At about 3:00AM we awoke to a nasty set of unexpected squalls. The winds were howling in the 35 to 40 kt range with lots of thunder and lightning. Scott went up top to keep an eye on the anchor and wait it out. We had one boat behind us and a rocky lee shore to worry about. No one was sleeping. The storms finally subsided at around 06:30 to a point where Scott felt comfortable enough to try to get some sleep. The seas are a mess and we are rocking and rolling with the after effects of the storms. The winds are still in the high teens. What was supposed to be a rather benign day has turned into an uncomfortable churning wait. Thank goodness for Bruce, our big ole anchor, and loads of chain. He held us well through the gale.
We had hoped to get to the grocery store today to see what the mail boat brought but thus far it is too rough to contemplate going ashore. We also wanted to walk to the blow hole and perhaps get to an ocean side beach. It is just noon now as I write this so we are hoping for some relief later in the day that will allow us to get in some shore time. The really pressing thing was the laundry and thankfully we did that yesterday.
The weather forecast for the weekend does not look promising. Another front is coming through with winds in the 20 to 30 knot range and not subsiding under 15 for the foreseeable future. I'm beginning to think having that 180 day supply of our meds might not be enough! We don't have any pressing appointments to keep so we can wait for more favorable weather to move, not everyone has that luxury. From listening to Chris Parker it seems that the weather in the northern Bahamas is a bit more benign than down here. I'm hoping that it continues that way as we make our way back up the Exuma chain and into the Berry Islands.
The picture is of Now Or Never anchored next to us. If you look to the right of her stern the two story white building is the laundromat.