The Waiting Continues

The Waiting Continues

We are all provisioned and set to sail to the Jumentos but the weather gods are not co-operating and we continue to wait for a weather window. This morning is(Monday February 22nd) it doesn't look like we will have an opportunity until after next weekend. That being the case it is likely that Lynn and Peter will be back in the Exumas before we leave. The problem with their motor is fixed (kill switch) so they are relieved. Lynn flies home tomorrow and will be back on Friday so depending on the weather they may be able to leave Nassau by Saturday. As the time goes by we are going to be more hesitant to go further south considering what a poor winter it has been for getting around. We have had lots of nice days but we have had more than our share of cold fronts that keep us from moving. I have read nine books so that tells you something about the weather. I would highly recommend the following...The motion of the Ocean by Janna Cawrse Escary, The Piano Man's Daughter by Timothy Findley, What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George, Isaac's Storm by Erick Larsen and The Cider House Rules by John Irving.

Since my last entry from Black Point we have checked out a couple of new anchorages in the Staniel Cay area. We stayed at Bitter Guana Cay the night before last. Bitter Guana Cay is home to dozens of iguanas. These iguanas are endangered and most of them have numbers painted on their sides so that they can be studied and identified. The only other place to see these animals is at Allan's Cay where there is a good population. Last year we saw iguanas in the Crooked and Acklins Islands but they were a smaller breed. These iguanas come right down to the beach looking for lettuce handouts. Lettuce for cruisers is like gold so I am not sure how much they get but they are definitely not too fearful of humans as you can see by the picture. Yesterday we anchored just north of Staniel by an island called Fowl Cay where there is a very small posh resort. Dinner for one is one hundred dollars so needless to say we aren't going out for dinner there. Sailing friends of ours, Heather and Murray on Windswept 4 call this area Oz. We hope to meet up with W4 in the next day or two. Heather and Murray have been coming here for a dozen years and have just returned from a month in the Jumentos. Yesterday we put Mr. J on Goldberry and did a little exploring. We had hoped to go further today but the front has come early and we are getting showers this morning. We are also getting some surge so I am feeling a little queasy so I will take a break from below decks and get some air in the cockpit.

How time flies when you are waiting for a weather window?! Today is Sunday February 28th and it has almost been a whole week that we have been hunkered down in Oz between cold fronts. The main problem has been the prevalence of north and west winds and short of Pipe Creek and this area there are not very many places that you can take a front and have the protection needed in high winds unless you go to Exuma Park and take a mooring. The other problem is that we can't seem to get more than a day or so of good weather in between the fronts. For instance yesterday was a beautiful day and we sailed Goldberry and went snorkelling and had a picnic on the beach with Heather and Murray. Last night the front came through with high winds and today it is still blowing. Tomorrow sounds okay but Tuesday we are expecting another front....the waiting continues. The good thing about this past week is that we have had an opportunity to spend some time with Heather and Murray. Murray has taken us to some great snorkelling places. Murray is a good fisherman and also hunts with a spear. We had a lesson in casting for snapper near a reef but the fish were too good at taking the conch bait and we were unsuccessful. We caught several pretty tropical fish but released them. Murray did spear some snapper for our dinner so we didn't go hungry. Our problem is that neither Rob nor I have the hunter instinct and would prefer the fish come to us cleaned and filleted. That being said we have tried to troll this season but have yet to catch anything to eat...the fish in The Bahamas have nothing to fear from us. In between cold fronts we have taken the opportunity to sail Goldberry which is such a joy and Heather and Murray had a little sail while we were onshore at The Goat Hair Salon. I had trimmed Rob's hair a couple of weeks ago but he is fearful of trimming my bangs so I try to do them myself. Both Heather and Murray have been cutting each other's hair for years and have all the right tools so by the time we left the beach we were all looking mighty fine. The beach we were on is a goat favourite as you can see from the picture. On the other side of the island there are some resident pigs that have become quite aggressive with dinghy visitors. They equate the sound of an outboard motor with food and have been known to try to climb into your dinghy. Both the pigs and goats belong to local Bahamians but there is no one living on the island. It has been a pleasure sharing some dinners and happy hours with W4 and we hope that we can introduce First Edition to them soon.

First Edition is on a mooring in the park north of here and may head south to meet us tomorrow. Lynn's trip to New Jersey went well and she is set until they return to the Chesapeake in May. We are undecided as to where we will try to go over the next three weeks but we will decide once we sit down with Lynn and Peter. They need to be to the Chesapeake in mid May and plan on leaving the Abacos about the same time we fly home in mid April.