After Hawksbill we moved on to Shroud. We chose to anchor rather than take a mooring. We let ALL of our anchor chain out (320 feet). One more attempt to fix our winlass issue. This trip has been the “&^%(&^%^&_) Winlass trip.” With that said, glad that was the issue rather than something else. We brought in half of the chain and realized that we would need to go into the marina at Highborne to do more work on our ailing system. We hit the mangrove passes in the afternoon. Very interesting but not what I had pictured. I imagined a lush mangrove type swamp that was a nursery for small fish and seahorses. The mangroves here are not like Honduras and Costa Rica. They are dry at low tide. But in their own way quite spectacular. I swam out of the entrance of one mangrove cut and back into the sound. What a temperature difference. It felt freezing when I hit the water back in the sound. The temp in the shallow mangrove areas must be 20 degrees warmer.
On Thursday we anchored off of Highborne. What a nice anchorage if the wind is from the East. Calm quite night. Very restful sleep. Friday morning we headed into the marina. A little tricky but the channel is well marked and dredged. Yachts frequent this marina so care is taken to maintain the entrance…We got to our stall and bedded Gaia down. Then, headed to the marina store for needed provisions. I had laundry done by the staff at the marina this time. No washers or dryers. Then luxury for a bit. We had drinks in the restaurant and dinner. What a nice night. It was quite an amazing view from the open deck of the restaurant. Conversation however was filled with “what to do next.” Sooner or later, we knew we would have to decide where we would call home for the summer. Plus need to figure in “consulting.” It has been impossible to do anything while in the islands. We vacillated between heading on north to Abacos or to head straight back to FL and do our repairs to Gaia. At first, straight back seemed to be the thing to do. Then, I chatted with Gerry O on Facebook. As it turned out, he was going to take a boat to Sale Cay and then on to Treasure Cay in the next few days. I asked if he wanted a sail back to the US and he confirmed he would prefer that to flying back. “We have a plan, or Houston we have a go.” We arranged to meet Gerry once he hit the Abacos and do the crossing together. The only tricky part will be connecting with him once he gets to Treasure.
Given weather and timing, we decided to take Gaia overnight from Highborne to Marsh Harbor in the Abacos. “An overnight – you know, not my favorite thing given our previous overnights.” But, given the front that Chris predicted this was by far the best plan.
We headed out of Highborne around 11 am. This gave us the needed daylight to sail over the “Middle Ground Bank.” Wow… was that a lot of coral. We dodged around quite a bit. Shallow too. We got down to 6.8 feet. But made it through without any issues and hit Flemming Channel exactly as planned at 4pm. Now, for the tricky part… slowing Gaia down so we could stay in deep water during the night. We reefed our Genoa and took down the Mizzen and Main. We calculated that 5kts would get us to Man O War Channel (the entrance to Marsh Harbor) by 7 am. Anything after daylight was our target. I took the first shift. Patrick went below and tried to get some sleep. No snoozing for him… too anxious and he tries so hard to stay on top of things when we are crossing. I forgot to mention we caught a fish… (ok, the story is here, Patrick said it was a “Tuna.” Looked like on to me but didn’t know the species. We grilled the fresh catch with rosemary and thyme. It was quite bloody and to me, smelled nasty. But, fresh fish, who could turn that down. Dobbie had his traditional sushi with Patrick. As the story unfolded, after my shift, I tried to get some sleep and soon became very sick. Nasty night with my blue bucket nearby. But it would have been spectacular if I felt better… stars were perfect and there was phosphorescence in the bow waves as Gaia made her way north through the Northeast Providence Channel. As morning came and we discussed what could have been wrong with my tummy, Patrick shared the fish was actually a Bonita. Typically discarded by fisherman. Too bloody and not a desirable fish to eat. Lovely, I got sick and true to form Patrick and Dobbie were “Fresh as Daisies.”) We headed into the channel about 9am. Perfect timing. There were pretty decent swells from the southeast as we approached the channel but Gaia performed perfectly. We sailed into a very lovely anchorage for a nap before heading into Marsh Harbor. Then, into Marsh Harbor. (Not quite sure what to call this as it is a harbor within a harbor. Very protected!)
OK, I found my place… I have been looking since we left last fall. Said I would know it when I found it. The Abocos are my perfect place… quaint, restful, lush, more rain and fresh water thus birds, critters, etc. I love it here. It has the feeling I have chased my entire life. Much like Sanibel Island, it just feels good to me. Not pretentious but quality. We are staying at Marsh Harbor Marina. Love the place. Best marina yet. There are plants everywhere… very well kept ground but not overdone. There is the Orchard Lounge and then there is “The Jib Room Bar and Restaurant.” True to form the Jib Room only serves food Wed through Sat but that is OK and it fits the feel of the place.” Oh, I forgot, we dinghied in Sun morning to wait for the office to open (11am on Sun). The wind was starting to pick up ahead of the front that was coming. We talked to some incredibly nice folks on the dock. They turned out to be part owners of the marina. They said it would be OK to go ahead and come on in. We found a slip that was open and pretty easy for Gaia to maneuver into. And, Cheryl (she has her captain’s license) came aboard with us to help get Gaia into her stall. Just as we hit the entrance to the slip the wind picked up to 25kts. Good thing we were almost there. We managed to get a couple of lines on her and with a bit of tugging she moved up into the slip. The wind was really blowing by the time we had the last line in place. Timing!!! What nice people here. They fit the feel too. It is perfect. Now, the work at hand. Cleaning Gaia up, more laundry, dinghy cleaning and bilge cleaning. It will take a couple of days. While we wait to hear from Gerry, I will spend time getting things back into order.
Serious squalls came through last night. A “snotty” storm. Wind had to be blowing over 60kts. Rain though to help rinse Gaia and her sails. After the last gust, I stuck my head out of the hatch. I haven’t smelled air like that since I was a kid. Cool, more than fresh it was crispy when you took a breath and there was a sense I can’t put in words. Makes me feel good that you can still experience things like this.
Today, more cleaning and a bit of exploration. Oh, and there are 3 Whitbys here. One is quite “tricked out” and has a hard top that has Patrick salivating over (Atonomous). I am sure “Extroversion is in the future.” Luna is here too from the Whitby Get Together of 2008. More fun to come… stay tuned and check out the photos. Lots to show you this time.
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