We were nestled in close to the western shore of Rock Sound, all set for the cold front yesterday and were pleasantly surprised when it didn’t pack much of a punch. We didn’t see more than 20 kts of wind and that was for only a few minutes in squalls. Even though the front didn’t generate much wind, it did move the needle on our water tank as we received about 0.75 inches of rain. 22 boats were here for the front and it wasn’t crowded at all.
It was a school and clean-up the boat morning. We relaxed, read and played games in the afternoon. Noah finished the Hardy Boys book we bought in town yesterday and worked more on his wooden boat model. The tugboat “Toad” is just about ready to launch. Did go over to give a photo of their boat to South Paws in a break between the raindrops. They had found a message in a bottle on the beach at Rose’s and opened it. The bottle had been dropped into the Atlantic off New York City in April of 2003. We wonder how many times the ocean currents have pushed it to Europe and back.
The two photos above are from in town where we stopped and looked in some local gift shops. The pink building is the local accounting office.
Also had fun listening to the Cruise Ships on the Atlantic Side of the island converse. After hearing them on the radio we turned on the computer and watched the AIS images from three of them slip up the coast on their way back to Fort Lauderdale.
Today the winds filled in from the NE which is, of course, the direction we want to go. With that in mind we decided to stay for another day. George on Trumpeter recommended a deli that cooks jerk chicken and ribs every Saturday. They own an inland farm on the island and cook up fresh meat. Both were hot, spicy and tasty and we have enough for a couple more meals. The Bahamians never skimp on servings. Walked down to the festival park, but nothing was happening yet. Things seem to get going after dark here. Noah did find a dollar a penny and a semi-broken little pendant that plays Christmas tunes when pressed. Real treasures for a nine year old!
Once again, the dinghy dock was a problem. Another boater was at the dock when we went back and said our dinghy had washed up on the beach but someone had brought it back. The bowline we had tied was still intact, so we think someone slipped it off the piling to get their dink and let ours go by mistake. At least they retrieved our dinghy. The dinghy ride back was a little wet as we had to cover the 1.75 miles across the harbor into 15 kts of wind.
Stopped on the way back and introduced ourselves to the crew of the boat anchored behind us. Turns out they are from Denver and are on a six month cruise with a similar plan to ours, possibly leaving the boat in North Carolina. They work as support staff for the US research base in the Antarctic for regular jobs. A little change of pace for them! They had caught a Mahi Mahi on the way in yesterday and shared a steak with us. We’ll save it for our holiday dinner tomorrow, possibly in Governor’s Harbor.
We bailed 8 gallons of fresh water out of the dinghy this morning before taking off. Beth used it to wash clothes this afternoon, so we have a clean boat, a full pantry and clean clothes.
Received good news while checking email this afternoon. Bud & Dawn have a slip at NW Creek for us in New Bern. We will be able to keep the boat in the same spot where Beth’s sister Judy just purchased a house.
We wish everyone a peaceful Easter and Passover holiday.