This big freighter wouldn't even answer our security call letting him know our position. Some boats are just very big bullies!?
The Bird House Lighthouse is 112 twelve feet tall and made of local limestone. It marks a huge reef on the north side of Crooked Island. Before it was built the people of Crooked made their living as wreckers (salvaging what was on board ships that foundered on the reefs).
Thompson Bay, Long Island is usually a one stop shop place to stay for a few days...internet, groceries, laundry, diesel, book swap, and a meal out; however Long Island Breeze was out of water and there were no laundry facilities available. They use water collected in cisterns for part of the year and then the government trucks in water for the remaining months. This year has been particularly dry so getting water on a large scale has been a challenge for Mike who runs Long Island Breeze. We did however spend a morning at The Breeze doing internet, picking up a few things at the grocery store, trading books and having lunch out.
The forecast for the next week was strong easterlies so we had to decide whether we could get to Crooked Island before the trades ramped up and pinned us down. We decided to leave Thompson Bay in the early afternoon and sail overnight to Crooked and Acklins. The forecast was for less than 10 knots overnight, east to southeast going more easterly the next morning. This was not an ideal forecast but we were faced with waiting another week if we did not leave. It was a slow and arduous passage but after almost 28 hours we were anchored on the western shore of Crooked Island. During the night watches we saw two cruise ships, three pleasure craft, and a large freighter. During the day we had several ships including the one in the picture which would not answer our securite call. Ships are moving so fast compared to us that if they are within a couple of miles we want them to know where we are. At night a ship two miles away feels like it is close enough to run you over. We were grateful for our radar which displayed how close the ships were. There is a new program called AIS (Automatic Identification System) which tells you the name of the ship, its position, bearing and speed. It enables you to call the ship on the VHF radio rather than issue a securite with your position. It is definitely on Celebrian's wish list for next season's cruising. Needless to say we were exhausted after our passage and slept over eleven hours the next night.
Today is Monday February 27th and we are anchored in the lee of Crooked Island. The winds as forecast are 25 plus knots and Hal is breaking records with his amp output. We used to run Harry the Honda generator if we had been sitting at anchor for a couple of days; however now we can watch a movie, eat with more than one light on and keep the fridge cold without worry. We even tested short blasts with the microwave and the low battery indicator did not come on. We wished we had put a wind generator on the boat before we had left Bayfield. Better late than ever as they say. Celebrian is evolving into quite the cruising boat.
Today is February 29th...leap year...and we are still waiting out the winds. We have done a few boat jobs including our laundry. As you saw from the picture the only place we can safely hang things in this wind is along the side decks and I think I counted 16 pegs on our sheets including the massive flamingo pinchers that Lynn and Peter gave us last year for Christmas. How I appreciate my new washer and dryer at the cottage after doing all our laundry in ammonia. Did I mention that yachting is elegant?
We have managed to paddle to shore in these winds but it is a good work out; however once along the shore the island gives enough of a lee that we could paddle along the beach and do some exploring. As you can see from the one picture there are trees down all along the beach as a result of hurricane Irene. Crooked and Acklins got hit harder than some of the other islands. Tomorrow the wind is forecast to go down so we are hoping to go to Landrail Point to buy diesel, I am not sure whether there will be any place available to do internet, but you will know if you get this blog before we get to the Dominican Republic. Landrail is a tiny community of Seventh Day Adventists so it is a good thing that we don't need any wine or beer; however we are really hoping that they have diesel and maybe something green and crunchy but I won't get my hopes up.
If we get our Sunday weather window we may leave here and sail the 250 miles in the windward passage to Ilse A Vache on the southern coast of Haiti. It is the only safe harbour for cruising yachts in Haiti these days. Three years ago we went to the Turks and Caicos on the way to the DR; however this is a new option that we have been reading about and allows for cruising the south coast of the DR rather than fighting the trade winds on the north coast. Time will tell but we are excited about seeing some new places and continuing our cruising in the Caribbean.
Sixteen pegs managed to keep our sheets on the life lines in 25 knot winds!?
The sky over our French Wells anchorage ...a few miles south of Land Rail Point.
Hurricane Irene did some damage along the shore lines in Crooked and Acklins. For the most part the damage in Land Rail was not too extensive. There are only 50 people who live here so it is a tiny settlement....very much an out island.
