Saturday morning was the first weather window this week, so all the captains were up early discussing the situation. Gathering at the front of the marina where we had a good view of the waves, we all tried to talk each other into being the first out so we could watch the motion. Grace took the initiative and headed out into 8 foot breakers and turned south to Georgetown. We will miss this crew from Portland, ME and wish them well.
We buttoned up the boat and were just about set to go. Noah slept for 11 hours Friday night, so something was amiss. He complained of a sore throat and his temperature was 100. A good day to stay in port. Noah rested while Beth and I took turns charging the computers and getting our internet fix. The old web site finally did a complete update and is running again, though we will use the newer http://svIntuition.blogspot.com/ site for current and future posts as that works with our ham radio connection.
Wayne and Jill on Born to Cruise came back to Emerald Bay to drop off their kids at the airport. Jill gave Beth a sample of Yogurt and the recipe, so we might have fresh yogurt growing soon. They also loaned Noah “The Sound of Music” which he watched for the first time and enjoyed so much that he asked if we could buy it. It really is a great movie.
Delivering the movie back to BTC, I ran into Bruce from Jet Stream who was trying to get the marina staff to notice a fire that had started under the main deck. They did finally get a fire extinguisher and put it out, but it was frightening how close it came to being a full blaze. Another forty feet and it would have been under the restaurant kitchen where there are propane lines.
This morning we woke up later than usual due to the early spring time change. Noah’s temperature was back to normal and he felt fine. After a couple of cups of coffee and hot showers we decided to cast off the dock lines. We really enjoyed our “vacation from cruising” at Emerald Bay and highly recommend the marina, especially while the price is at 75 cents/foot.
At 1000 we were motoring out the channel into 8 foot breaking seas. We thought to put up the main and staysail in the marina to add some stability, but there were 2 boats that had just come in and were in the way, so we went without them up. We were tossed around considerably. As soon as we got out a bit, we raised the main, which flogged as we were dead into the wind and we lost a batten overboard in conditions that were NOT conducive to recovery. Getting out into water over 200 feet, the seas settled down to six feet, but were confused as the wind was from the NE and the swell was from due E with a little remaining from yesterday’s North wind added in. We averaged 7 kts and made it to Rat Cay cut in less than two hours. Passed Jules (IP40) and Grateful Attitudes (Catamaran from NW Creek) as they were both headed south. Interesting to watch the boat cabins disappear as they sank into the troughs.
We timed the cut to just before high tide, so the current and wind were working together to take us smoothly through. It was our first time through this cut which proved to be narrow, but deep with good visibility. Once inside behind Rat Cay, the seas smoothed out and it became very pleasant. We wound our way between Rat and Pigeon Cays to find the pretty island of Children’s Bay Cay, once owned by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.
Shortly after noon, Noah made us sandwiches so Beth and I could pay attention to the water depths. We followed the shoreline of Williams Cay and thought about anchoring with two other boats in Williams Bay. From there, Beth could see the moorings at Lee Stocking were all empty, so we elected to continue on and use the CMRC moorings again.
Winds are projected to pick up this afternoon and blow 20-25 through Thursday so we may be here for a few days. There is a shallow water route on the inside from here, but we probably won’t fit through except at high tide. Born to Cruise is going through this afternoon with their four foot draft, so we await their report. If we can’t get through, we will explore this area by dinghy until the wind and waves lie down a little in Exuma Sound.