The passing of a cold front.

Sunday December 12, 2010

We catch the cruisers net offered by Highbourne Cay Marina with the local announcements and the weather report.  We have a front coming in later today so we know that we must be in a secure location by the end of the day.  At 07:48 we are under way. We set a series of 30 to 45 minute courses to navigate along the shallow Banks to guide us through the sand bars on the way to Big Majors Spot.  We have a number of options where to go but we opt to be on the west side of the island and tuck up in close to get protection from the NNW from Fowl Cay and the upcoming front. We pay out 130 feet of anchor chain in 8.6 feet of water in preparation for the front. We use the hand bearing compass to check the protection from the surrounding islands based on the projected wind direction. We are protect from WNW to North to South East however we remain exposed from the South and West which is okay based on the wind predications.   

We drop the dinghy and go out to try our hand at spearing lobster on the Sound. We take a copy of the charts with us to help guide us through the numerous little islands that dot the area. The water is a bright deep blue colour as opposed to the lighter blue colours on the banks. We ride on top of ocean swells left over from the higher winds. We use our “lookie bucket”, which is a 5 gallon pail, with a clear Plexiglas bottom, to check out the ocean floor.  No luck to find a good spot to drop the dinghy anchor with the rollers in a depth good for us so we head back in through one of the “cuts”. A cut is an opening between two islands to travel from the sound to the bank. It is easy to loose your way because the openings all start to look the same when you are looking at them from a different direction.  Some openings may look okay but in actual fact they are littered with sharp rocks just below the surface which will rip a hole in the bottom of the dinghy.  Ted has mastered dinghy navigation even after a few years away. His survival skills continue to amaze me.  He gets us back safely on the inside.

We cruise by dinghy  around the anchorage between the islands and count the number of boats who have like us seeked shelter from the upcoming storm. Most of the boats are on the east side of Big Majors Spot where we remain the only boat of the west side. We figured that we are tucked up enough to the  north end of the island where the Fowl Cay wraps around to give us protection. We later learn that we would have been better off to seek protection on the inside between the islands with the other boats. We pass Thunderball Grotto but it is too late and too rolly to stop for a swim at our favourite snorkel spot. The grotto is home to the 007 movie of the same name filmed in the 1960’s. We try to plan our entrance into the grotto at low tide and today the entrance is exposed and choppy. We return to the boat for a swim. Paul goes in first and spots a small shark under the boat but the shark quickly moves away. Ted & Paul swim out to the anchor to check to make sure it is properly set and soon realized that the anchor was nice buried deep in the sand. Winds picked up in the evening and by 02:00 the winds pick up to 30 knots. The anchor holds firm. We strain on our anchor from the winds and the waves bypass the island and wreak havoc with us causing the boat to roll.

Monday December 13^th

Unable to sleep I get up at 04:30 after a restless night and bad dreams about my father. At the same time 2500 miles away my father is also having a restless night, his final one before he passes away later that morning.  The storm continues to surge and roll us in our anchorage. We remain on the boat and wait out the storm. Because the boat is rolling we do not have satellite phone coverage and we can not get internet access. At this time my father tries to reach me to tell me the news of my father without luck. We remain on board for the day on watch as the winds continue to howl. Our neighbour at the resort at Fowl Cay comes by the boat twice in his tender to check on us. The island behind us is named Big Majors Spot is inhabited by goats, cats and pigs. We spot the pigs coming down to the beach for food. We hear the baby goats crying for their mother. With the large zoom lens on my camera I am able to capture them coming in and out of their cave. We spot them numerous times as we sit and wait out the storm. In the evening we teach Paul to play some new games to distract us from the rolly motion of the boat. We had not chosen our location well but at this point we just sit tight and ride out the remainder of the storm.