Pipe Creek
Ambler Isle
V and S
Fri 14 Jan 2011 19:59
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24.13.1N
76.31.1W
1/10/11
Leaving Compass Cay, we continued southeast just a
couple miles to Pipe Creek. Pipe Creek is a maze of small islands, sand
bores, coral heads, rocks, and areas that are exposed sand at low tide.
All the islands are private, and somehow boaters navigate this maze to find a
small, well protected anchorage. We become obsessed with protected
little spots here in the islands. We found a nice calm anchorage in 9' of
water outside the creek. Equipped with our new dinghy Garmin Chartplotter,
we can tiptoe through the shallows. It has given us a new freedom to
explore new places safely. So we loaded up the dinghy and went for a
ride. Entering an impossible cut, we connected the dots til we spotted 5
sailboats lined up neatly in a row. One man was out and we stopped to
chat. Jim, and wife Linda, were aboard s/v Winsome.
He eagerly invited us to come anchor there. But as we sounded out the
small bay, we realized there was no room for another big boat there. And
Amber Isle loves to swing about 180 degrees wildly in a breeze.
This would be a good spot for us if there was only 1-2 other boats
there. Past the anchored boats we came to a small island called Over Yonder
Cay. What did we see there? Are we in Washington State visiting one
of Eric's wind generator farms? We were stunned to see 8 big wind turbines
turning lazily in the wind. The island looked like a construction site
with huge piles of sand, heavy equipment, a number of big homes, and several
large buildings. There were also countless solar panels on the
hillside. This was the home of the boat salvage
company.
It was one of the first times we were alone at
anchor; most good bays are dotted with boats. But by morning we
were feeling a little wanderlust. Valt busied himself modifying a window
frame, Sandy washed the dinghy deck and then we weighed anchor and set sail for
Big Majors by Staniel Cay.
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