Cuba Mangrove.
Sarah Grace goes to sea
Chris Yerbury and Sophy White
Sun 25 Feb 2007 16:03
Cayo Cachiboca, Cuba,
25th February 2007
We are gearing up for
another overnight passage to the mainland one hundred and forty miles north
west. We have become used to the peculiar and unforecast weather
pattern here: calm mornings, and breezy afternoons, which steadily build to a
crescendo of wind and stiff chop at between 25 to 30 knots from midnight until
dawn. Unfortunately, our beautiful anchorage in the mangroves is not very
restful. An enormous current comes through it, which has been
against the wind. This leaves the Sarah Grace behaving like a demented
badger at anchor. She goes through a cycle of circling which ends
with her charging down the length of her anchor chain with the wind behind her,
and slamming the chain against the hull with a resounding bang, with the
squeal of the rubber snubber being racked, before swivelling around and starting
again. Chris has been prowling around deck in the small hours contriving
various solutions to prevent hull damage, involving ropes, hooks, and
ingeniously, using the spinnaker pole to hold the chain out.
It is impossible to sleep with this going on. Swimming off the boat
is dicey, we have only tried it with a long line streaming out astern, as you
get swept off. It is impossible to swim against the current, even with
flippers on! Mark and Louise were coming over for dinner, rowing,
and very nearly got swept out to sea in their dinghy, they thankfully got back
to Jem, and gave up.
Also we have large, long,
grey shapes manoeuvring beneath the hull in the shadows: huge huge
barracuda, as long as Bob the dinghy. If you are brave enough to go in,
they swivel their eyes around and look at you. They tried to eat the
swimming rope. They are not meant to attack unless provoked, but it takes
a bit of nerve to swim with them.
We are trying to eat up all
our fresh food before arrival at customs, and are going to berth with tight
belts.
We are really looking
forward to having a rest in Cien Fuegos, which looks like a well protected
harbour.
Otti says: ' I'm not
looking forward to another sail but can't choose. In the bay we are in now
there are so many massive barracudas, that are like two metres long.
Missing everybody, bye bye, Otti'
Mimi says: 'Hey ho,
we're in a bay, and don't need midge nets anymore. Reading is annoying,
school is great, not that we've been doing much school. Hope all is well,
from Mim da Bling'
Chris says: 'I am
looking forward to an uninterrupted nights sleep, in a peaceful anchorage, and
seeing Cuba first hand, after all the stories from other people'.