Roll Tide, Roll
Ambler Isle
V and S
Thu 26 Feb 2009 18:55
Feb. 24
When the wind comes out of the NE and the surge from either previous winds
or tide comes out of the NW, the Amber Isle rocks and rolls. The winds were
20-25 knots per hour. (That means roughly 22-28 mph.) Although protected by
Shroud Cay, the surge wrapped around the island making an uncomfortable
night for us. Letting go the mooring ball we headed out. Immediately the
ride was smoother. But we cannot just ride around forever. Studying the
chart and we eyed Hawksbill Cay, just 5 miles south of us. The first
marked anchorage also was dotted with Exuma Park mooring balls. The Park
seems to be setting them out everywhere. It costs about $30 per night for us to tie Amber Isle to one. We tiptoed in to see if it was better. No good. so we
continued to the end of the island and dropped anchor. It was much better,
but still a little rolly. When a sailboat left a mooring ball right up near
shore, we weighed anchor and tied onto it. (Picking up a mooring ball
involves lying on the bow pulpit with an 8' boathook and grabbing the
floating rope end of the mooring ball, then pulling it aboard and placing it
on a cleat. Only not as easy as it sounds. We have heard stories from
people who have lost fingers in this process. We use gloves and a "let it
go" policy if anything goes wrong. It was better still. We'd like to stay
put a few days, there are so many things to see and do here. So now you
know the truth: Amber Isle meanders through the cays, usually 5 miles at a
time. Always watching for a nice beach, some rocks to climb, or some old
Loyalist ruins. These date back to the 1700s when some colonists left
America rather than give up their ties to England. They moved entire
plantations, animals, furniture, bricks and timbers. the ruins show they
gave up a lot. In place of their grand manor house, they built small rock
and coral buildings. The land is so barren and rocky, we wonder that they
ever thought they could farm cotton here.
