Still Getting Ready to Sail

Peter continues to work on his seemingly endless list of things to service, fix or change on Mantra. I have finished my sewing projects. The hatch covers, which I thought would be straightforward, were more frustrating to make than I anticipated while the combination wheel and binnacle cover was much easier to design, cut and sew. I am happy that the work is done.

Paula, Andrew, Peter and I have not been ventured out much this past week. On Friday evening, in honor of their 32nd anniversary, we went to the Flying Fish in Port Lucaya for a dinner of tapas and desserts. Today we went to the Banana Bay Restaurant for lunch. The food is good, but what is really special is the place, just above the fine white sand and clear water of Fortune Beach.

View from Fortune Beach

After lunch, we took a short walk along the beach, dipping our toes into the warm water. We discovered a nursery of dozens of young conch sheltering in the sand, grasses and limestone in a few inches of water along the shoreline. It is rare to find shells with live conch still inside. We were enchanted by their lovely spiral shapes and warm colors as well as the patterns they left in the sand as they moved more quickly than we would have thought possible along the sandy bottom. The sun also made wonderful rippling patterns in the shallows.

Conch along the shore 

Conch and their tracks in the sand

Sunlit ripples

Our new anticipated departure from Lucaya is Tuesday. Peter and I plan to make a direct run to Nassau, make a brief stop there and then continue south through the Exumas, arriving by the beginning or middle of next week.