 |
| All kinds of cruisers had to find shelter from yesterday’s storm |
The Saturday April 16 trip from Current Settlement Eleuthera to Lynyard Cay Abacos couldn’t have been better. A dozen times we touched 8 knots, boat heal was low and waves were less than expected. This is 50 nm of open Atlantic so picking the best time is key. Monohull Fiona, our neighbor in the storm, was beside us to start and we were three miles ahead of her when we crossed the bar near Little Harbor. We passed on going into the Little Harbor mooring field since it was low tide and I need mid tide or higher for my 5’ draft to cross into the harbor. At Lynyard Cay we hunted around for a patch of ground with less grass than sand far enough from any opening so no ocean swells would reach us.
After dark and by the light of the full moon we set a second anchor. Our location tracking alarm showed us moving over 10’ backwards so no need to take chances. I deployed the Fortress from the dinghy so the two anchors made a V shape. By the time we were done with anchor drills the tracking software had placed us back in original position but it was good practice and peace of mind = sleep.
 |
| Statue honoring Bohemian motherhood. The full-size one is at the cruise terminal in Nassau |
Sunday was Easter and after Sheri located her hidden chocolate egg we attended online Camden church and went into Pete’s Pub for dinner as we did last Easter. 
We arrived early enough to greet our friends and visit the metal sculptures in the gallery of artists Randolph Johnson, current owner son Pete and his son. The artistry in these metal sculptures certainly passed down. I enjoyed spending time with the works as the intricate details were fun to explore. We gathered for lunch and to catch up. These acquaintances travel differently (mooring balls and docks) and though we speak of next stops together we know that crossing paths like this is somewhat rare. 
We said our goodbyes had a dinghy ride around the harbor. Another blessing happened as we were leaving the harbor when a 25 foot center console was also leaving and going in the same direction. For 2.5 miles he plowed the rough sea occasionally gazing back to see us at top speed in his wake.
Monday April 18 and are we moving 8 miles north and past the snorkeling site of Sandy Cay which is by a cut to the ocean and too rough again this year, for an enjoyable swim.
As we go around a large shallow area we are in watching a storm over Great Abaco produce a funnel cloud. Just a day earlier two tornados were reported to this area but today we are spared as it doesn’t fully form. We anchored a mile south of the cut into Tavern Cay up close to Tiloo Cay and used the look bucket to see that the 2nd set held. We planned a movie night on the TV so we got everything ready and after dinner settled in for our evening. Sailing and the clouds means no power production so we ran the generator to have sufficient power for the movie and the night. After and hour the generator just shut down in a way that sounded like it ran out of fuel. After a few attempts to restart failed we put that on the to fix/not critical list went back to the movie. Our night ended sitting on the stern watching a distant thunderstorm.
