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The wind came up a bit in the night and it was a little rolly with swells
coming from the S even thought the wind was from the SE. The weather report
mentioned a tropical wave coming Monday. It was reported as a weak tropical wave
before. To play it safe we decided to head for Warderick Wells to sit it out. We
pulled up the anchor at 9:30 and motor sailed as far as Elbow Cay and then
motored the rest of the way because it was almost directly into the wind.
Several boats were going N and a few going S. The wind was 20 Kt from the SE and
the waves were 3-4’ with occasional higher ones. We would slam into them and
slow down to 2 Kt but averaged about 3 Kt. We pulled into the anchorage at 2:30
as large clouds were building in the E. There were 2 sailboats and a powerboat
in the anchorage and we picked up mooring 9, right next to the sunken boat which
we could see plainly under the water from the mooring. We relaxed in the cockpit
and only had to go below once for a brief rain shower. At 9 PM we had another
brief shower but could see lightning all around but stars overhead. I went out
once after dark to check around and saw what looked like the reflection of the
moon or something in the water but there was no moon or other light to be
reflected. On closer examination it was some marine organism about 6" long
glowing with a bright blue-green light. There were a number of glowing patches
in the water being swept by the boat by the tide. We watched them wink on and
off for several minutes. They would turn on and glow brightly for 10 or 15
seconds and then go out.
I woke up at 0800. Rich had heard the weather report and was putting gas in Phoenix. I swallowed a few times to test my sore throat - definitely better. Rich says Monday a front is coming - advises going back to a park mooring. It's less than 20 miles and safe. I'm for the captain's plan. The sky is a whirl of every type of cloud. Breezes are strong. Sun is bright. 9 AM: We are off!... Arrived at Exuma Park about 3:30 PM. Mooring #9. You can see the skeleton of a boat that burned at mooring #9 (generator trouble). At dark Rich went out to double / triple the mooring. He called me to bring a light! There were 10 - 12 blowing forms passing together by the right side f the boat. Iridescent green forms were floating by. When we shined the light they seemed to stop or come closer, then move / continue on their way. They were about 6" x 6". There was a bright green center with diffused light around the center. Rich thought a type of jelly-fish or squid. We'll ask at the office. Eerie... Will call Mum and Dad...
There were a few gusts in the night but not much rain and we slept well. In the morning there were a lot of clouds around and the weather report was for wind and thunderstorms so we spent a quiet day at the mooring. We got only a few sprinkles all day and had happy hour and dinner in the cockpit. Nobody came in or left the anchorage today, just a quiet day waiting for better weather.
Cloudy, rain on and off. Cool for us. Played RummyCub, Dice - one: one. :) I made peach compote. Good stuff.
Another
quiet day, the wind was 20 Kt from the SE and the sky was overcast. We rested in
the morning and in the afternoon we dingied in to the headquarters building to
pay for the last 3 days at the mooring. We asked about the blue glowing objects
we saw and they said they were ‘glow worms’ and the large fish under our boat
were horse eye Jacks. We walked the Shaggy Dog trail again to the top of Bu Bu Hill again and went to the blow hole. Today it was working quite
well. When a swell entered the cave under the cliff the air would rush out of
the holes in the ground with surprising force. We returned to the headquarters
and talked with several boaters there. They had been watching movies on the VCR
earlier in the office.
Dark sky, winds. Finishing up some letters. No hard rain. May go to shore later. Need to call Mum and dad if we can from Warden's home. Oat meal - maple sugar for breakfast - Weinie0Beans for lunch. Reading Texas and watching the sky...
The wind was still blowing 20 Kt from the E but there were only a few clouds in the sky but an overall haziness. We had another lazy day off. I transferred the last of the fuel to the main tank and we took a swim at 1:30, low tide. We snorkeled over the sunken boat which is just 20’ from the mooring. It is covered with coral and sponges and has a number of fish living in and under it. We cleaned more of the weed from the bottom of our boat and then used the sun shower. In the afternoon a 45’ sailboat came in and later a sport fishing boat.
Left a message yesterday using the Ranger phone at $6 a minute. :) The fish under our boat are horse-eye jacks. Warden Ray says that the glowing clumps in the water were mating glow worms. The dogs Bella and Banshee chased a shark from the shallows - right after Rich caught the dingy that floated away while we were at the ranger station visiting. "Murmur" from Toronto are live-aboards - 3+ years. She goes back to visit 7 g.c. and 1 g.g.c. 4 times a year. They have visitors now for 5 weeks. Nice people. Suzanne. He told me they sold everything to go. :) Meeting all of these live aboards it sounds so practical to leave everything behind and move to a boat. :) Windy all day yesterday. We went to the BLOW HOLE, sounds like dragons roaring! We took a picture of my shirt flying up with the bit blow. :) We walked the Shaggy Dog trail to the blow hole and up to the "monument" to see our "Phoenix" sign. :) It was low tide and dry this time going across the mangrove flats.
The wind was still strong today. I tried to get the NWS weather report at 6 AM but it did not come in. And after I set the alarm clock specially to wake me up at that obscene hour. The report from Highborn did not sound too bad but the weather here did not match what they report. The wind was 20-25 Kt from the ENE and gusty. We spent another relaxing day at anchor. A large yacht came in, looking more like a party boat type and took up a mooring on the opposite side of the harbor. Later a Westsail came in and took up the mooring just N of us. We dingied to the headquarters building in the afternoon to exchange books and pay for the last 2 days at the mooring. We heard that another weather report is for 30 Kt winds tomorrow and the next day before things calm down so we may be here for a while longer. At dusk the people form the Westsail headed to the park HQ building but went over the shallows and appeared to have engine trouble. A dingy came out from the park and helped them.
All day yesterday reading, computer games - creative cooking - watching the sky. Less clouds - wind 20+ kts. ( a low pressure area). Looking at a needle work x 3. :) If I did not have our "Mariner's Book of Day" I could never keep up with the day or date. The current through here is really strong. At "slack" tide we went swimming - some coral, some fish on the bottom where the old boat ribs are. Spooky because the sharks and barracuda live there.
We had a short rain shower in the early morning. The wind continued blowing 20 Kt from the E and the weather report says a tropical wave will move thru Saturday evening. The wind picked up in the late afternoon and is blowing steadily at 25 Kt and clouds are building up and moving over us. We had a relaxing day of reading and resting. For happy hour we played spite and malice in the cabin where it was calm enough for cards but enough breeze so it was not too warm.
Needlepoint and reading and watching the skies. The dogs (Great Dane and Rottweiler mix) swim and romp around shore and the flats to entertain us. The horse-eyed jacks miraculously show up under the boat if we throw away anything with tuna. Several boats have come and gone. The winds continue 20 kts. We are invited to Happy Hour at the Ranger Station tomorrow. Rain on and off. The sun set was beautiful. I didn't wake up until 9 AM! Up late reading... then the captain took me back to bed! ha ha
Still blowing and more clouds today but the wind moved to the SE. We relaxed
in the morning. Captain Bill from Knotty Mind came around to each boat and
reminded them of the happy hour at 4 at the park building. We swam and took sun
showers at 3. We used the water we got from the well at Shroud Cay. It was a
little brown at first but after sitting a few days on deck in the sun it cleared
up and was perfectly good for showers. At 4 we dingied in and were the first
ones there. We brought a pitcher of punch made from a large can of pineapple
juice, some grenadine, Meyers Rum and one can of Smoothie. It was really good!
Jill made a large pot of popcorn which was also a hit at the party. We meet
another couple from Ft. Lauderdale who came in the day before and have a house
in Citrus Isles. Around 6 a rain squall went thru and the party broke up as
several people had left their boats open. We waited out the rain in the office
and then grabbed some new magazines and headed back to the boat. Several more
squalls went over and the wind blew quite strong for a while. It all passed over
in a few hours and we could open up the boat for the rest of the night.
Swimming, reading and needlepoint. We went to the party (Happy Hour) at the Ranger Station - Evelyn and Ray and 2 year old Jonathan are going to Montana for a visit in a few days. Anya and Ed (he rolls his own cigarettes) organized it (H.R.) Tony and Suzanne and sister Nicki were there - also Knotty Mind's 'Bill'. I made a big popcorn and it went fast - there was brie and crackers and chips and salsa. Rich made a great punch with rum and pineapple and grenadine and a can of smoothie 'tropical'. Tasted great! We drank the whole thing! That was supper :). We traded in our magazines and some books for more. Nice time. It rained hard on us right after we got back to the boat.
The wind was still blowing hard from the SE and we decided to wait for tomorrow. The Knotty Mind left in the morning and we heard the sailboat Gabria say they were leaving tomorrow. We relaxed in the morning and in the afternoon we dingied in and walked across Julies trail to a small beach where we swam for a while and then took Mark’s trail across to the sound side and looked at the sea conditions. It was blowing 20 Kt but the sea did not look too rough. We returned to the boat and swam some more. Three large horse eye Jacks were swimming under the boat and we watched them as well as a few other fish swimming for a while and then showered off with the last of the Shroud Cay water. The wind is still gusty at times but seems to be less strong than yesterday. Several more boats came in in the afternoon and now there are 12 boats all together, quite a crowd.
Still windy as ever! Went into ranger station and paid and walked the Julie trail across to the Exuma Sound. Rich says the other side is Exuma Banks. It has actually been like a new walk because we looked for spider webs and tiny things. We sat a while and admired the crashing waves on the rocks as they sometimes sailed off the rocks and made a luscious sea foam. :) It was hot - we swam by the bridge. Me in my cloths. I changed the water in the Park's "clean your feet bucket". When we returned to Phoenix we swam with the horse eyed jacks - 3 bit ones. The barracuda was under our boat earlier and in the evening.
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