Running into friends

OK, not LITERALLY!

We've kept in touch with some friends in the Bahamas and the ones we have managed to meet with so far are Bob and Robin, our mooring partners in Vero Beach. A great couple, they finally got enough together to get back to sailing, gave notice, and followed us a couple weeks after we left.

So, they were working their way south along the Exumas, a long string of MANY little islands separated by channels, and we saw one last opportunity to meet up with them before we need to head back toward Florida for Cynthia to head back to work (Or maybe Nassau... we shall see: life is complicated).

The wind was supposed to die and stay nearly dead for days, but we had 1.5 days... and would be better sailing at night so we could safely enter shallows during daylight the next morning rather than trusting problematic charts. We spent a day photographing patch reefs and removing lionfish, then set out and entered the open deep water of Exuma Sound at sunset.

The wind should have been moderate....and was OK, although we were glad to have taken down the mainsail... but the waves were completely jumbled and wild and the boat bucked, jerked, and twisted, making sleep difficult, me uncomfortable, and Cynthia miserable. Finally we heaved-to and slept a few hours, then set out again as the sky lightened and the waves moderated.

The wind, however, had moved around a bit and we were now attempting to sail into the wind, a real no-no with this boat as it does not cooperate. Finally, we said the heck with it and motored straight to our destination, cutting off an hour by running the engine an hour: a decent trade-off even though we both prefer the quiet of sailing.

We entered the channel north of Bitter Guana Cay, turned south around the corner of the island, and saw Robin and Bob's boat sitting there, rocking a bit in the onshore wind.

We hailed them, came alongside, and dropped anchor. Then we dropped kayak and headed to shore to explore, chat, and visit the numerous and hungry rock iguanas.

After that we had drinks, dinner, and a movie (Shaun of the Dead), then slept soundly while rain fell and lightning flashed. Very nice.

The next day we headed south a few miles to Black Point, a great place to do laundry and see sharks, rays, and fish congregate while fishermen clean their catch. We spent a day there, walked across to the outside coast of the island and snorkeled, enjoyed a nice sunset and another sociable evening, then parted ways the next morning.

Wonderful to see them again. I hope and expect to meet and spend a bit of time again.

Current location: anchored just south of Conch Cut, contemplating a sail in the open, back north to Eleuthera. Here is our boat at anchor a few days ago, alone at Bitter Inagua.