Part 4: Life Aboard Noah's Ark
Tuesday morning, we woke to the pitter patter of rain about 6:30 a.m., which by 7:30 had turned into a downpour. The Cruiser's Net promises crummy weather all day. Ever the optimists, we hope that a weather window will allow us to make a dash for Manjack Cay, which is uninhabited and known to have some lovely beaches. While we wait, we resort to rainy day activities: reading, playing games, snoozing, snacking. Every time there is a break in the rain, I wait five minutes before suggesting we leave; as soon as I make the suggestion, the weather window shuts closed with yet another squall. We had thoughts of perhaps getting together with Abakimmy, but the rain makes that unlikely (and, as it turned out -- though unbeknownst to us until returning home -- Abakimmy's Abaco trip ended before it even started).
Midafternoon, too late for us to sail off, the rain stops and looks like it will hold off for more than a few minutes. The entire White Sound anchorage seems to come to life, as if waking from hibernation. We decide to make the most of the break and do a little exploration. After bailing the VERY full dinghy (it turned out that we had gotten 2.5 inches of rain this day), we go ashore at the Green Turtle Club and start walking east, in search of -- what else? -- beach! After a 15 minute walk, following the helpful arrows directing us to the "Ocean Beach," we found ourselves on a classic Abaco oceanside beach: hard-packed (great for walking) pink-tinged white sand, coral and rocks close to shore in some spots, and that characteristic turquoise water looking all the more brilliant in contrast to the bruised-looking sky. We swim, we stroll, and then we head back, but not before running a gauntlet of hungry mosquitos spawned in the puddles.
By early evening, we're sipping rum drinks and hoping that it won't be raining too hard as Rick mans the grill (grouper). We are not so lucky, but rain can't douse our yet un-quenched optimism or our propane grill.
As we wake on Wednesday morning, it is still raining. The weather forecast promises more rain, but also for the wind to pick up to 20-25 knots, shifting from SE to SW. These conditions are expected to continue for the rest of the week. Any plan to find another anchorage needs to take this into account, and the options for a safe and comfortable spot in a SW blow are limited (there are lots of great spots for the prevailing easterly conditions). Beyond our current location (White Sound on Green Turtle), others that come to mind are Hopetown, Treasure Cay, Man-O-War harbour,
Marsh Harbour and Little Harbour. With the exception of Little Harbour, all of these are likely to be crowded, if not full, already.
Per plan, we check in with Mike Houghton this morning. We can't seem to raise him on the radio, so Rick calls him on his cell phone (Verizon Wireless, no special arrangements required, worked like a charm). Mike doesn't discourage us from doing anything, but hints that we may want to cross back down the Whale Cay Passage before conditions deteriorate further. Based on the weather and Mike's suggestion, we decide to head for Fisher's Bay on Great Guana Cay (the bay just north of Settlement Harbour). Although somewhat exposed to the south, we figured that if we could tuck in close behind Delia's Cay, which forms the western side of the bay, we should be safe.
We're off by 9 a.m., during a lull between rain showers, hoping we might be able to take the "inside" passage behind Whale Cay known as the "Don't Rock Passage" (named after a rock in the Sea of Abaco called "Don't Rock"). This passage has been tried and tested by boats of lesser draft, and Mike said we could handle it with Trinket within an hour or two of high tide. A steady stream of boats has the same idea this morning, but as they reach the point at which they must decide between making the Whale Cay Passage or the Don't Rock Passage, they -- like us -- all elect to go outside and take the Whale. As it turns out, the wind has raised a steep chop in the Don't Rock, making the prudent course the one on the outside. Once in the ocean, we find that even though the Whale conditions have not deteriorated to dangerous levels, we are still being tossed about like a cork (despite the vaunted stability of catamarans, I would have liked a little lead in my keel today!). We are rocking and rolling, being doused by the occasional wave and intermittent squalls. Judging from the constant radio calls to marinas, everyone is looking for shelter today, and by the time we reach Great Guana, Orchid Bay Marina (in Settlement Harbour) is already full.
As we approach Fisher's Bay, the rain re-doubles its efforts to drench us, and the wind picks up. Thankfully, it lets up for us to get a good look at the anchorage and choose our spot. There are already 3 boats in the bay, which fits about a half dozen, and there are a number of moorings available. Despite my desire to grab a mooring ball and rest easy, Rick (wisely, in retrospect) insists that we push as far into the anchorage as depth will allow, and we snuggle up to the shoal just off Delia's Cay, putting out two anchors. Stressful as this exercise may have been to me, we found ourselves largely out of the gale and swells, securely stuck to the bottom.
Finally, it's time for some fun!
