Back to Marsh Harbor
March 1, 2011
We left Hopetown today as several boats from our acquaintance group arrived. Essentially, they were scattered all over the cays close by and once again or courses have crossed. Three boats left Hopetown as three were arriving. All are getting some place to wait a few days of unsettled weather heading our way. That is a pattern during this time of year. When there is to be a long stretch of good weather, everyone scatters. When the uncomfortable or variable (wind direction wise) is on the way, crews start to find a “hidey hole”. I thought that would be a problem when we first started to think about being here. As it turns out, there are places everywhere to “get in the lee of an island”. In the case of frontal passages where the wind will change directions, one must be ready to move sometimes in the middle of the night. Thus it is desirable to find some place that protects the boat for the expected wind shifts. It is not a good thing to have to move at night due to shallow water.
Due to general fatigue and Bear’s knee we decided to sail back to Marsh Harbor where we have a slip. Her knee is quite swollen and painful and we that is the next spare part we will need. She has “cowgirl upped” but it flares up from time to time and today it was a doozie. She won’t let the ship’s doctor do a knee replacement so we may have to seek a more qualified person for that. Swollen knees and hips have been a problem for her for many years and now that the back if fixed, we hope they will calm down for some time. If not, we will call a pause for the cause.
Back to Hopetown- we think it is the prettiest place so far. We will visit it again, most likely before we return to the US. Just strolling around the place today while Bear nursed the grunge, I noticed several interesting signs. One noted the breadfruit tree standing nearby grew from one of around 2,000 brought to the island by none other than Capt. Bligh. Forget what you saw in the old HMS Bounty movies, that man was one great navigator and mariner. He might have had a few problems but that was way before Dale Carnegie offered solutions. Hopetown has a cemetery wherein over a hundred folks who died of a cholera epidemic are resting. It shares a yard with a rental cottage. I wonder if there are special rates because of the neighbors.
The passage back was into the wind as usual. Today it was about 26 knots apparent. That made for a day very similar to Corpus Christi Bay in the summer. While most do not like winds over 15 or so, there were still many boats heading all directions. It was fun passage for me. Too bad Bear was not having the same feelings.