Sunset Bay Marina Day?
14 April 2012 | Clewiston, Florida
It finally happened Thursday morning. I managed to get up in time to tune into Chris Parker’s website at 6:30 a.m. for his daily weather discussion. I noticed that Diva Di who had traveled with us for a few days was signed in, as well as Jim and Barb on Tam Dam, who are currently at Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos. Jim and Barb traveled with us for about a week last year before they headed to the Bahamas and we headed north for the last shuttle launch. Chris Parker was not too optimistic about the weather for the next few weeks and he was correct. Quite windy here, with showers predicted, and to continue into next week. Ideally, we are looking for the wind to clock to the south for a couple of days to allow the Atlantic to calm down and then to cross. Right now the Gulf Stream is reported to have 5 to 8 foot seas. That is only the average. So we will continue to wait at Stuart.
Actually, we were going to have to wait until Friday anyway. Yesterday morning, Patty noticed that part of a back molar had broken off. In stead of ignoring it or using a temporary fix like Tempdent, we were off to see a dentist Thursday afternoon. His office was in walking distance and treats many cruisers staying here. He stayed late to do a temporary cap and is expediting the permanent cap by personally driving the mold to the lab Friday morning. He told us that relying on a Bahamian dentist could be risky. Oh, the aging process.
On the way back to the boat we had to walk by Duffys so we took advantage of Happy Hour, by self-medicating both of us with margaritas, and splitting a cheeseburger.
One of the great innovations to cruising in a sailboat, without solar panels or a wind generator, is the Honda generator. The size of a small suitcase and running very conservatively on gasoline, it keeps our battery bank adequately charged, runs our water heater, and even allows us to watch a little television such as American Idol. We do like to watch the news and weather in the evening.
We heard from Tom and Maureen on Cantagree. They were going to head south along the coast, go through the Keys, and up the east coast to position themselves to cross to the Abacos. Because of the weather predictions, they have decided to cross Florida, across Lake O, and meet us here on Monday. Then we would all cross together, including Bob and Mary on DoraLee.
One thing is certain in cruising - nothing is certain. You always have to just go with the flow.