Leaving Long Island
Ambler Isle
V and S
Sun 27 Mar 2011 02:43
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March 25, 2011
I awoke to the sounds of the anchor chain being hoisted
up by the electric winch. I guess the Captain decided it was time to
go. I threw on some shorts and reported to my anchor station to finish
bringing it up and to secure it to the bow pulpit. I noticed the calm
water I've described several times before, where there is not any ripple on the
surface. Hanging over the bow, I could clearly see the sea bottom
10' beneath the boat. Old wind ripples made patterns in the sandy
floor. I saw turtle grass. Then a tiny starfish. More sand
ripples, then a fish swam by. I continued to watch until I could not
longer see the bottom. By that time we were in 40' of water. The
water was still clear, but a light surface ripple obscured my
view. We headed west towards Great Exuma, but our final
destination undecided. The 8 knot SW wind created a 1-2' SW wave that
lapped gently just off our bow. What a great ride. Of course, three
fishing lines hung from the stern. We were surprised to see no boats on
the horizon. This may be the best cruising seas in several weeks.
Valt positioned himself by the fishing rods out back, but I alternated between
there and the helm station. The sun was too hot for me to sit outside for
long. Luckily I did not have to sit for long. The call, "Fish on!".
sent me running up to the helm to throttle down to idle, place a mark on the
chartplotter, then run back to assist. At last, the dry spell was
over. We had a new mahi to fill the freezer. But we'd enjoy fresh
mahi for dinner tonight. We arrived at The Marina at Emerald Bay in time
to stop and refuel. The diesel was $5.42 per gallon. The fuel dock
did not accept cash, so there was no surcharge for using a credit card.
Many stores charge 4% to use a credit card. We purchased 300
gallons.
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