M/V MAERIN

The departure of our guests nearly coincided with the clocking of the winds back to the prevailing easterly flow, the clocking preceding the final flight by a day, making Jeri’s final night aboard a bit ‘rolly’ as the surge from the sound found its way between the Majors. We considered moving the day before, but didn’t, and we know now not to anchor here in east winds! The up-side of the spot is that with our wi-fi booster, we have internet access. On the opposite side of the cay, in Big Majors Spot, signal strength is too poor to connect. But, at $10/day, it’s cost-effective to be out of reach! Relocation rewarded us with welcome calm conditions, and we re-joined crusing friends aboard Celebrate and Aries Too. With no immediate plans, we opted to stay put for a few days, do some cleaning and catch up on some laundry as well as some visiting. I spent some time with Linda aboard Aries Too, helping out with some mechanical tasks as they become acclimated to the new cruising platform.

A number of Nordhavn boats have congregated in the anchorage, and we were invited aboard Aries Too with some of the Nordhavn gang for one of Linda’s excellent dinners! Gumbo was the menu, and it was delicious, and followed by a very excellent chocolate dessert. We enjoyed the evening and visiting with the predominately Nordhavn group, although the Solo/Selene contingent made a respectable showing with the important part of the crew of Cronulla (as we were told)- supplementing our presence! No matter what the cruising vessel, it’s always interesting to get together with other cruisers and share stories and information. The confab finally disbanded close to 11 PM, VERY late for cruisers! After all, 9 PM is widely known as cruiser’s midnight!

We returned to Maerin and the wagging tails of our security detail, and as we got ready to turn in, we noticed a glow to the west, and heard a radio call from adjacent Fowl Cay to a supply boat. Legend II was inbound for the cay, and stated their ETA in about 45 minutes. We have seen supply vessels making their way to Fowl Cay before, and knew that the deep water is generally in the anchorage, so it would be interesting to see first-hand how it’s done. A half hour later the security call came over VHF 16 as Legend II announced their intention to traverse the anchorage and would be “standing by for concerned traffic” – standard procedure in a “securite” call. Shortly, the glow of the bright deck lights aboard the 100+ foot freighter could be seen slowly threading their way among the field of anchored boats. They quietly made their way through the maze, making several hairpin turns around the various boats, passing our stern within 50 feet or so, the deckhands smiling and waving. One of the folks on an adjacent sailboat shouted up to Legend II’s bridge “I can see this isn’t your first rodeo!!” The skill of the helmsman was clearly demonstrated, and no one in the anchorage expressed any discomfort at having this elephant rumbling through our midst. We watched as they negotiated the current that sweeps past the docks at Fowl Cay, gently bringing the ramp of the freighter to the shore to unload- at sometime after midnight! We were unaware of their departure as sleep won out over curiousity!

A stalled trof system remains in control of our weather, providing us with rainy, humid and sometimes windy weather. Weather as ugly as we’ve ever experienced here! We’ve had rain we did not know was possible in the Bahamas! We will likely stay at Big Majors Spot until the system passes and the weather patterns return to normal. A run to shore Sunday to catch up on internet access was short-lived, as the connection dropped minutes after getting access, thus the reson for the delay in uploading these posts. Bahamas internet is reliably… unreliable!

Tags: Aries Too, Big Majors