Let's start where the last entry left off. We spent Thursday night in Bequia - an island that is seven square miles and has a population of 6000. As promised - the cook got her night off! We had a few very tasty rum punches at the Whaleboner. The bar is actually made out of a giant whalebone as are the stools. The entry is an archway of two giant bones. We met several other boaters there enjoying evening libations - a Brit, several Aussies, a Kiwi and us! We had crossed paths with a few through the islands so it was nice to visit with them at length. Then we dined at a Mexican restaurant - one of the few still serving. Luckily besides Mexican cuisine, they had a tasty fresh fish special.
There are only a few dangerous things in the Caribbean: some snakes, scorpions and spiders; pirates (cab drivers and some vendors!), the manchineel tree (like poison ivy - don't stand under it in the rain), and, some parasites. But, they say the most dangerous is the rum punch. This tasty treat made in a variety of ways and available throughout the islands causes a euphoria at first - but it is addictive and with multiple refills, it will cause you to tie bad cleat hitches causing your dinghy to stray at night or in our case - it caused us to leave a pump in the dinghy when we lifted it to put on deck - something we do every nigh(lifting the dinghy not leaving a pump). More on that later! As we were lifting the dinghy on board - the pump fell out and sunk. It was dark and late - so the rescue would be attempted in morning. In the a.m., Michael dove in and found the wayward pump.
With everything ready, we raised the anchor and headed for another destination - this one, Mayreau, about 25 miles away. The sail was one of the best yet - we sailed pretty much from anchor up 'til anchor down. The only disappointment. . . "Salt Whistle Bay", where we were headed, was packed. This is a small, idyllic anchorage - but with more than 15 boats in it (mostly charter catamarans) - there was no comfortable swinging room. So we continued down the island to "Saline Bay." Here, there were six boats so we found a sandy spot and dropped the hook around 1245.
A few more boats came in as the afternoon wore on - and its always entertaining watching boats anchor. But that entertainment got bizarre after dark. A catamaran came in and came very close to boats as it was trying to find a place. It had all the wrong navigational lights on (an indication of a knucklehead!) It was steering by using its motors - not a good sign. It came very close to one boat (may have actually hit it) and then wrapped its dinghy painter (rope) into the one of its main engine propellers causing it to shut down. There were three people on board - but two people went below deck and only one was trying to run both the helm and drop the anchor. Strange. He dropped the anchor but as the boat swung around he was on top of "Goin' South" another sailboat. They hit and the catamaran wouldn't move his boat. Many words were exchanged and the wind was picking up. The other people never showed their faces on the decks to help - so it was this one guy and the crew of "Goin' South" working to keep this heavy 42 foot cat off their monohull. Finally, "Goin' South" picked up its anchor and left as the captain of the cat was not willing to move. At this point, two dinghies came over to see if they could help (our dinghy and motor were on deck). Michael jumped in with Lee from "Tranquility" aboard his dinghy and a British couple from "Bamboozle" also went to help. At this point, "Goin South" was re-anchored in the dark and the wind was really hooting. The strange part was the catamaran captain wouldn't tell anyone the boat name and he put lines over the name on the stern. Still no sign of the other two people. Not too long after everyone was back to their boats - the catamaran's dinghy loaded up with the three people and left the boat. Now, the boat still has all its navigation lights on, the salon lights and hasn't anchored properly with a snubber. But they left the boat!! Something very strange was going on.
Nobody came back for hours. The catamaran sat there with their running lights on, the anchor snubber hanging, but not connected, salon lights on and nobody on board. The wind continued to build.rain storms also started. Around midnight, the captain came back to the boat - alone. Very weird.
It was very windy and gusty; lots of roll in the anchorage, and heavy rain squalls. Barbara was up a lot checking on the weird cat (which was anchored right next to "Astarte"). That's when at about 2330, she noticed "Goin South" with its running lights on and spotlighting something out in the water. She woke Michael - and then he realized what they were spotlighting - it was OUR DINGHY! It had blown off the forward deck in the heavy gusts - and we didn't even hear it. It somehow had to lift up and blow off without its lines catching on anything or hitting the stays. That is too weird. The good news is that somehow, "Goin South" was up at the same time and saw it. Gary went and retrieved our wayward dinghy and tied it to their boat for the night.
Now, we've put the dinghy on deck like this every night since we left Georgetown in the Bahamas. It sits on the foredeck towards one side so we can get to the anchor locker if necessary and also open some hatches for ventilation. Michael lets a little air out of the dinghy so it sits lower and also won't explode in the heat of the day. How wind got under it enough to lift it off - without us hearing it - is amazing. We are so lucky - and so grateful to "Goin' South". The new evening ritual will include tying the dinghy on the deck - much like we do on passages.
This morning (Saturday), the anchorage seems quiet. Our dinghy (Air Mary) is sitting alongside "Goin South" - its cover a bit pulled off - and we'll see what other damage. The catamaran is still at anchor - snubber still off - but the lights are off. They do have a lot of hatches still open in the rain! Don't know how many on board. The wind, rain and roll will continue as a tropical wave passes over and in its wake is the unstable weather. Today was supposed to be an onshore hike and snorkeling.but maybe not.
Mayreau is supposed to be idyllic!
No comments:
Post a Comment