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During the cruisers net I transferred a can of fuel to the main tank and got it filled again. The sky was overcast and threatening to rain. Imagine was getting ready to leave and I told them we would be in contact with them. After the net we went on our final tour of the town. We mailed our letters and picked up the pictures from the disposable camera. The pictures were from Dinner Key and Chub Cay. We picked up a loaf of coconut bread and the bakery and a few items at the Golden Harvest grocery store and returned to the boat. While making final preparations for leaving it started to rain so we decided to have lunch first. After one shower went over we got out of the slip before the next one came by. We motored out of the harbor and then sailed to Matt Lowe's Key and then motored the rest of the way to our favorite anchorage off Tahiti beach. After anchoring we had periodic rain showers when we retreated below and returned to the cockpit to cool off when the rain left.
It's 1:30 - We just left Marsh Harbor. We ate lunch at Harbor View as a huge rain cloud passed over and it rained on us a little. It's the summer rains. Easy come and easy go. We met Bill and Gretchen on Imagin at the Junkanoo party. They are going to Eleuthera and Exumas too. We saw them at Harbor View 6 weeks ago when we were there. They have been all around the Abacos like us. This AM I talked with Bev and Bill Duncan. They live in Ft. Lauderdale at River Reach. They have a Hatteras. They know the engineer who is keeping an eye on the old pollution of the North fork of the New River. A stronger wind is sailing us toward Hope Town!
It rained on and off all day. We put up the Kite Shade for the first time since Little Shark River and put out a second anchor. We read and played RummyCub. Jill won 2 straight games and is now the champion.
It's
rained 1/2 the night and most of the day. We put up the "kite" today. We are
still on this reading orgy since we got the package from Mum and Dad :). Today
we played 2 games of RummyCub - I won both ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. (I win so
seldom...). We tried to contact Imagin with Gretchen and Bill Steingrandt. They
are going South too. We couldn't reach them. "Whiska" (Allen?) told us they were
out of range.
While at Harbor View I bought a small hand made basket ($5) and brought Robin (5 months) to the boat. I told Rich :Come see what I got for $5 :). He took a picture of here. Cutie.
We called Mum and Dad and Liz the night before we left Marsh Harbor. Liz says they have an 11 week old German Shepherd!
After the cruisers net we heard Imagine which is trying to contact a friend in Colorado who may fly down to meet them and then they would not go to Eleuthera. Another 30’ boat was asking Bob of Blue Dolphin about the possibility of calm weather to get to Eleuthera. It seems like it will rain for at least another day and the wind will remain basically S for a few more days. We move inside when it rains and outside between showers. Yesterday I noticed that the radio cut out when I ran the bilge pump. Today I investigated and found that #1 battery was discharged although I had thought of it as our backup battery since it was the new battery, the largest and fully charged. I found that the CD player as well as the original bilge pump were connected to battery #1 and over time the CD player had drained the battery. It had not been charged for a while. I ran the engine for an extra half hour to put some charge back in it but it will take a lot of motoring to get it fully charged again. I had been using batteries 2 and 3 and charging them only for a long time.
Bob on "Freedom" was talking to Bob of "Blue Dolphin" about the next good time to go to Eleuthera. On and off rain continues. Awoke early... Cruisers Net was at 0815. We heard "Whiska" talking to "Imagin". "Imagin" may have a guest for the next week and not head south until after that. After we ran to engine for the frig, Rich discovered one battery low. he thinks we ran the CD / Radio exclusively off that one. We are charging it now. Lunch after the engine is off :). (Sandwiches out of the fresh baked bread we bought :) ).
It rained on and off during the night and morning. In a dry spell between rain showers we decided to try to get to Little Harbor or at least anchor in the bay outside. We just got passed Lubbers Quarters when a bit rain cloud hit us and it rained hard for about 30 minutes. We could see more clouds coming so we anchored off Tilloo Cay for lunch. After a few showers went over we could still see more coming so we sat down for a few games of spite and malice, each winning one. We could still see more rain so we decided to stay here for the night. We had happy hour and played RummyCub ( I won). Around dusk the sky cleared a bit and we actually saw the sun. There were still rain clouds to the S and E of us but we could sit in the cockpit and read and dry off. Later we ate supper in the cockpit and watched the moon.
Whoa! It's raining like crazy and we are motoring to Little Harbor. Just passing under one big cloud I think. Yesterday Rich and I read. I started the HARPER lettering on my X-stitch. Today I strung some beads. I was up on the dry deck at 7 AM reading. We listened to Cruisers Net at 0815. I am below reading Home is the Sailor. I wrote parts of letters to Christine and Liz earlier. By the time I put my bucket out the only rain I caught was drizzle!
We could see more sky than for the past several days in the morning and it cleared up as the day went on. The wind sifted to the W at 10 Kt. After a slow start we had lunch and later went swimming. The new brush we bought in Marsh Harbor was put on the broom handle and it worked well for cleaning off the growth on the bottom of the hull. It had re-grown somewhat since we cleaned it last but now we could get at the deep stuff also. After taking showers it looked like more rain, the wind shifted to the N and clouds built up E and N and some to the W but it did not come our way. We prepared the boat and watched the clouds. At 5:30 we had an early dinner in the cockpit of chicken, stuffing, gravy and green beans, a hearty meal. At 6 we pulled up the anchor. There seemed to be rain to the N and S but it just cloudy where we were. We made our way around the sand bar and out North Bar Cut as the sun set. The wind seemed to be from the W so I set the main but the wind quickly died and the sea went flat. there was only about a 2’ swell. As the sky got dark it also cleared and we had a fine view of the stars, especially after the moon set around midnight. We took 2 hour watches and around midnight the wind came up enough from the SW to turn off the motor and continue under main alone at 4 Kt.
It is actually Wed. June 3rd! I'm playing catch up! All day Monday we read and rearranged tings to sail South about 6 PM. We ate supper early and took off! There was a westerly wind that switched North just before we left from Tilloo Cay. We motored and then motor sailed. We switched off watches after 2 hours. I got 8 - 10, Rich 10 - 12, me 12 - 2 AM. I listened to the radio with my earphones. The wind kept switching but we turned off the engine about 8 and sailed through the night. During Rich's 6 - 8 AM watch a gale line passed us. We were heeled to the port side pretty good and everything loose from starboard was on the floor or port side. I was sound asleep! I heard Rich changing sail with one ear but barely! At about 1 AM a freighter passed in front of us. He seemed very close - 1/2 mile. I changed the auto pilot course a smidgen to avoid him. At daylight - there was Eleuthera! We sailed its length to Royal Island harbor. As we approached we rounded a shallow area where a big ship had caught on fire and grounded. The rusty hull is easily visible at the water line and the rudder with propeller sticks up. As we entered a sailboat was coming out. Rich called Mirage and it was them - Gretchen and Bill. They gave us the skinny on the Old Club on the island (HIYC).
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