Since we’ve had to wait here for weather, Sabrina and I have had plenty of
time to “stage” the boat for our passage home. On Tuesday we went to Current
Island to use the internet. While there I changed the oil, fuel filters,
engine zinc and impellor and inspected the engine. While I was working in
the bilge, Sabrina cleaned the growth off the bottom of the boat (so we
should be much faster on our way home!) I also serviced the winches, after
all this salt water, they needed it.
After our busy Tuesday, yesterday we moved to Spanish Wells to fill up on
diesel and spend our last five Bahamian dollars on groceries. That afternoon
we prepared the boat for passage, Sabrina worked on food preparation while I
reviewed weather and charts. We also started to relax and rest before we do
these next couple overnights.
This morning I awoke at 5:00 when some stronger winds started to blow from
the north. Moments later I jumped out of bed as I saw lights moving outside!
A boat had dragged past us in Royal Island Harbour, luckily the boats missed
(like ships passing in the night?) and their anchor caught before they ended
up on shore. We stayed up to make sure everything was fine and then began
our day. The early morning wake-up call was actually a good thing, we want
to leave tomorrow morning at 5:00, so now we’re kind of on that schedule.
Early this afternoon we dinghied over to talk to the nice folks that had
dragged anchor to make sure everything was okay. They keep their boat near
us on the Chesapeake Bay and knew Minx, (I’m beginning to think all knitters
know each other somehow.) Later their friends from another boat came over,
and they also keep their boat near us. It was great to reminisce about back
home and all the fun places on the Bay.
After our afternoon visit it was time to stow the dink and batten down the
hatches. We then moved outside of Royal Island Harbour so we wouldn’t have
to navigate the exit in the dark. Now we’re quickly finishing up odd jobs
and planning for an early bed time.
Tomorrow we plan to sail past West End and then turn north with the Gulf
Stream. The winds will be light on Saturday, but we’re hoping to catch the
tail end of some wind further north on Sunday. Be sure to follow along on
the Spot and see where we end up!