Convergence
May 5, 2011
We put the bottom paint on the dinghy yesterday. Since the dink will be in the water for some time, we thought it best to put anti-fouling paint on it to keep it from becoming a marine experiment, thus making it heavier and slower. Ok, so we do not tear around the anchorage at flank speed but we do enjoy an occasional excursion above 6 knots and critters attached to the dinghy hull might prevent that from happening. Besides that, it is just bad form to have a stanky dink. The only reason that we have not done so before now is the fact that said bottom paint is available in a variety of colors so long as you like flat black.
Great Sale Cay in the Abacos is a good anchorage and staging point for those arriving or leaving the islands. When we stopped there on arrival at the Abacos, there were six boats at anchor, including us. Two days ago, we were told there were 37 boats at anchor all staged to return to the US. That was evident yesterday when about a dozen boats entered this marina with quarantine flags at the hoist. We know several of the boats and took crews of one of them to Customs. The Customs office is small and it was packed with folks trying to be legal. The official commented about the crowd. The fleets are returning and once here there are many plans. Several boats will go “on the hard” in the yards here to weather hurricane season. Their crews head home wherever that may be to hide in air conditioning for the summer. We were amazed at one crew the youngest of whom is about 80. They have been aboard on a seasonal basis for the better part of 45 years. Some boats are heading to various ports south of here for the summer, to include the Keys. The rest of us are heading north with many having the destination of the Chesapeake and beyond. One disruption to the migration of the lemmings is a little event that was supposed to happen last Friday, the Shuttle launch. It seems the marinas near the Cape are all full and those needing to head north must wait, if they want a marina slip along the AICW until the spectators leave the area. It is a bit like a freeway jam. Of course, one can simply head offshore and bypass the whole area.
Last evening, several crews we know met at the local watering hole for dinner and tall tales. The boats that scattered in the Abacos have now converged. It was good to hear about the boats that stayed in the Abacos after we left. They agreed that the harbors are definitely changing from cruisers oriented activities to sport fishing related activities at this time of the year. Between now and the high hurricane season, there are several very high level fishing tournaments scheduled for the Marsh Harbor area.
The boat yard adjacent to this marina is starting to put boats asleep for the summer. In doing so, they actually strap boats to the ground as a sort of hurricane provision. Said boats are “parked” in lines just like a parking lot. Very little work is being done on them and most likely that will be the case until just before they are splashed. As for Why Knot, we need to have our hull cleaned. I could do that but given the water quality here, I would really rather let the local pro do it. Once that is done, and the prop checked, we are sailing north.
The boats shown in the pic above is a darling with what has to be a spectacular life with the sea. She now dies in the yard. Oh, but to be able to listen to the tales of her cruises.