M/V MAERIN

Thursday night will likely be noted as the most miserable night at anchor since leaving Middle River in November. Our holding was secure, but the winds blew up to 20-25 kts. out of the SSE, creating a surge of about 3 or 4 ft. Maerin became a funhouse of gyrating decks and bulkheads. Sleep was fitful at best. I awoke a number of times from dreams of driving a car with a very bad carburetor, accelerating wildly then dropping to a near standstill. Barb dreamt she was traveling with her dad. It seems the pitching of the boat spawned the dreams, it was very difficult to get comfortable. There were no doubt others who shared the same restless night, with 8 or 9 boats sharing the anchorage. We were not the last to clear out, but I doubt if any others stayed another night with the winds projected to persist in the same pattern for the next day or two. We yanked the hook about 0920 after a walk down the airstrip. We set a course south, with a plan to call the Exuma Land & Sea Park at Warderick Wells as we got closer, and arrange for a mooring ball, or if none were available, head further south to an anchorage with some shelter from the SE winds. As it worked out, a mooring was available, and we headed into the park, anticipating a calm night!

The Exuma Land & Sea Park is maintained by the Bahamas National Trust, and encompasses 176 square miles of land and sea. Created in 1958, the park is the first of its kind in the world, serving as a marine replenishment area for the Exuma Cays and beyond. The park has lots of great areas of interest, with a number of places to snorkel, dinghy moorings in those areas, and lots of trails with information on native wildlife. We’ll begin exploring tomorrow. Unfortunately our pups are restricted to the beach with a leash, so no long walks with sniffing until the next port of call for them! Still, we can swim and run on the beach, so they’ll get their exercise.

Our cruise today was only a bit over 20 miles, a bit sloppy with the winds still up in the 20-25 kt. range. Even so, not a terrible day to cruise. The highlight of our cruise was sighting and chatting a bit over the VHF with “Highlander”, a 48 ft. Selene. After seeing anchorages populated with sailboat after sailboat, it’s always thrill to see another trawler, and especially so to see one of our own! We have not met Highlander’s owners, but may get the opportunity in the next week or two depending on where our separate travels take us.