Rockin and a Rollin
Ambler Isle
V and S
Mon 31 Jan 2011 14:38
|
Jan 28, 2011
Mysteriously, the front never appeared with its 50k
squalls. So it seemed we'd moved to Between the Majors for no
reason. Til the winds shifted. It became downright unpleasant in the
anchorage we'd just left. Pirate had some things for us, so we
went over to fetch them. WOW! What a chop. Their boat guests had
gone ashore to avert seasickness. Back at the Amber Isle it was
calm and pleasant. We switched directions as the tide went out, then again
when it came in. We wondered that the usually cautious sailors were
nowhere to be seen. Valt spent the day installing new watermaker
membranes, I baked a pound cake in preparation of a rum cake. At 3pm we
went to the beach where Jim and Janie from Pirate were starting their
fish fry. He fried fresh french fries and then Mahi. Very
tasty. Another couple in the anchorage landed at our beach, and seeing the
huge fry pot asked if they could go get some things to fry. Nothing goes
to waste in the Bahamas, including a pot of hot oil, so of course, Jim
agreed. They returned with potatoes, onion rings, cracked conch and more
boaters. Soon our little party of 6 grew til there were 20. One
woman, Arlene from s/v Kasadah arrived telling her tale of
woe. They had gone aground on the very same reef in front of the Staniel
Cay Yacht Club as the 65' trawler last week. As soon as she called
out for help on the VHF radio, people began asking their position and starting
up their dinghies. In no time 20 rubber boats had come to
assist. I always marvel at the great community of boaters that
congregate here every season. I cut my rum cake a little thinner and
set out the homemade rum sauce, chopped walnuts, and whipped cream. Others
brought veggies, dips, crackers, and even a homemade key lime pie. What a
great feast. Women eagerly exchanged recipes Dogs romped. Dinghies
bobbed in the outgoing tide. A bonfire illuminated the moonless
night. One man lit sparklers. Life's little pleasures.
We rode home in a pitch black night, using our spot light to find our way.
Tomorrow we would move back to the western anchorage. Before we left, we
stopped by Pretty Penny and Carleigh to say
goodbye. RitaMay on Carleigh showed me her new hobby:
making jewelery. I left with a pair of earrings made with pieces of
bright blue sea glass. Once at our old-new-old new anchorage, we let out
our anchor chain to straighten out a curl. After anchoring for so long,
swinging in the arc each night, and turning 180 degrees when in a strong current
spot, the anchor becomes twisted. The danger here is that it may jam
up on the way out. Valt did some maintenance on the anchor
winch. By then it was time to pile into the dinghy and go to
the beach to watch sunset. Unlike the night before, we had the beach to
ourselves. |
