Loafing around and dodging fronts
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Thu 27 Mar 2014 15:40
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Weather is still strange as we move towards the end of March
into a time when the winter fronts should start to ease further northwards and
leave the Bahamas alone. But nobody has told the fronts they should be doing
that. Low pressure systems also continue to occasionally form in the Gulf of
Mexico reaching storm force by the time they get to Cape Hatteras some six
hundred miles north of us. So winter has yet to yield to spring and we have
stayed in George Town moving each day depending on the wind direction. We have
to run the engines to keep the batteries charged in any case so we just pull up
the anchor and motor to a new spot.
One of those new spots is Goat Cay, a small bay protected by a
thin peninsula jutting out into the harbour. How we never tried this place
before in the numerous times we've sat in George Town harbour is beyond us. As
the wedding party were anchored here prior to the ceremony (see last blog) we
came in too as it's just a short motor across the harbour to the 'wedding
beach'. Goat Cay is worlds apart from the masses anchored out in
Elizabeth Harbour and reminds us of a small cala in the Balearic Islands with a
nice tree fringed beach interrupted by rocky landscape. It does,
however, come with a caveat - it's rolly when the trades are blowing as you
are quite close to the open sea, but it's good for frontal systems when the wind
is clocking from southeast through west or in light and variable
conditions.
  Goat Cay
beach .....
and the 'Admiral' under
the casuarina trees
from the beach - where the sea meets the sky -
'Ajaya' far left!
Due to Elizabeth Harbours popularity it's guaranteed
that you will know at least one or two or even eight or ten other cruising
boats from other locations on your travels. It's been nice to catch up with some
old friends from years ago. However, March brings about a mass exodus with
the boat count apparently now down below 200. Yes, somebody motors around the
harbour counting us all ! But numbers may swell again in a few weeks as the
Family Island Regatta draws in local racing yachts from around the Bahamas. Many
cruisers offer to play the part of human ballast in the over canvassed A Class
racing. As much weight as possible i.e people, are strung out on
poles and planks on the windward side of the boat to keep the boat upright and
sailing fast. It gets pretty rough out there on the course as competition
is fierce so we'll give that a miss thank you very much.
Another dangerous activity closer to home is bread making.
"Surely not" they cry. It is if you happen to drop the finished loaf on
your foot assuming you have managed to avoid a rotator cuff injury just
extracting it from the oven. That was the first of two loaves
that recently exited the oven with all the characteristics of a house brick and
the density of lead. Not to be thwarted in her bakery endeavours the next
mix was in the bowl before the first had even cooled or been bravely sampled.
Result second time around ...perfection, although it did have quite an overhang
in the tray having risen with vigour and aplomb during the latter stages.
Did we eat the first loaf? Not on your nelly. The two of us gingerly lifted the
thing to the galley portlight after dark, heaved it through the
aperture and waited for the large splash as it hit the water where it probably
sank like a stone sending any unfortunate crustaceans scuttling for
cover.
  The deadly brick is in the foreground whilst
the second attempt in the background developed a lot of overhang for some
reason but tasted great.
When bread making is not on daily orders and the weather is
too inclement to take a dinghy ride ashore 'arts and crafts' then take
over. Something has to be made out of all the seaglass we have been avidly
collecting over the past few seasons. Here are the two latest creations to
emerge from the 'Admiral's' seaglass box, with every piece being exactly as
found on a beach somewhere we have visited.....
   An ambitious decoration of a plastic cup
previously containing sachets of a juice mix, and very happy smiley looking
dolphins leaping from the sea in pursuit of small blue
fishes!
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