On Sunday night, the current was in opposition to the wind where we were anchored on the east side of Grand Harbour Cay, so the boat was rocking quite a bit. In fact, it continued to rock the entire day on Monday, but we were able to tolerate it. After doing a few things in the morning, we kayaked to the beach and rode a wave up onto the sand, dumping me in the process, but I didn't get too wet. From the beach, we walked to the road, heading north and then turning left on the first intersection to walk toward the west side of the island. At Great Harbour Cay Marina, we visited George and Nancy on S/V Trumpeter, a boat they have cruised on for 33 years and are now getting ready to sell. Like us, they are members of the Ocean Cruising Club, and we had first me them last summer in Maine. It was nice chatting with them, and we loved the fresh banana chocolate chip bread that Nancy served. Very yummy!
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| Mantra at her last anchorage in the Bahamas |
The roads we walked on had no traffic at all, just a car or truck occasionally, so it was pleasant to walk along it. We heard birdsongs and spied a couple species, but they were fairly well hidden in the leaves, with the exception of two great white herons that were pecking for food on a former golf course. There were some flowering plants, and we spotted a yellow-green gecko.
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| Pink trumpet tree |
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| Damiana |
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| Gecko |
We were going to walk to a grocery store for milk for Peter so he could start drinking tea again, but when we asked them for directions to the store, they said it was over another mile to get there and they offered us a package of UHT milk. They are trying to get stuff off their boat anyway.
Back on Mantra, we had lunch and then I took a nap while Peter filled some screw holes in the galley countertop where he had removed a salt water pump by the sink. Just before sunset, we kayaked to shore to walk on the beach. We saw a ghost crab that was keeping perfectly still, relying on its camouflage to hide in plain sight. There were some shells, and Peter found a recently deceased sea biscuit which we brought back to the boat to soak in water and bleach to detach the short spines and whiten the outside.
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| Underside of sea biscuit with teeth in the middle |
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| Ghost crab |
At 6:30 this morning, we pulled up anchor and headed northwest to Lucaya on Grand Bahama. The wind was only 10 knots in the morning and the current in the Northwest Passage was adverse, but we were able to sail close-hauled at 6 knots for a couple hours, until we couldn't. The windspeed dwindled to 6 knots, and we were forced to turn on the engine and motorsail around 10 a.m. By noon, however, the wind began to rise, so we cut the engine and rolled out the genoa. All afternoon, we were flying along at 8-9 knots! We reached Lucaya earlier than we expected, and motorsailed in the narrow channel before furling the main in the canal system. By 5 p.m., we were docked in front of Hampton Court, the 4-unit condo building where Andrew and Paula owned a large four-bedroom unit until they sold it last year. They retained the right to use it for 6 weeks a year, so Paula just arrived a couple days ago.
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| Sunrise |
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| Peter enjoying sailing Mantra |
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| Sherri at the helm |
We enjoyed catching up and seeing some of the other people who live here again. The current owners of Paula and Andrew's condo have made few changes, so it seems just like always when we have visisted here before (the first time in 2006 on Epicurus). I made a rice dish from leftovers and the last of the vegetables in my refrigerator, which we enjoyed in the dining room. It will be good to spend a few days here with Paula.
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| Mantra on the dock |
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