May 15 Friday
We left Staniel Cay early. There was nothing there I wanted
to go back for or to see, not being impressed with the whole place.
We sailed again yesterday, no motor and got to Shroud Cay
around 3 p.m., about 30 miles. We were averaging 5.6 knots… not bad! We had the
dinghy on the back deck but for some reason we couldn’t raise the drive. We are
going to try a new block and tackle system underneath back deck to see if that helps.
There is a spring under there that locks it down [very well!!] and doesn’t seem
to want to let go when we need it to… figures!!
We had a great sail and all the way up listened to boats
calling one another… boats that we knew from Georgetown. Dabulamanzie was calling
Raptor [two kid boats] and we heard Amazing Grace calling but we think it was a
different one because they should be in the States by now.
As we approached one anchorage we saw a sailboat facing out
to our course and couldn’t tell if it was moving or sitting. As we crossed its
bow [t was at least a half mile in towards shore] all of a sudden a huge BLACK
sail was raised and it started moving out towards our position. I’m telling
ya’…”pirates” was the first thing I thought of! As it came towards us at an
alarming speed, the second black sail went up and I was expecting cannon-fire
at any moment! By the time it caught us and crossed behind us we realized it
was hundred-footer and all black…even the radar and TV domes were black! Unfortunately
we couldn’t see the name on it. If it was across the back of the transom, the
boat was moving so fast and at such an angle we couldn’t read it. We know it was a hundred-footer by the size
of the teeny tiny dolls standing on it!
Later we passed several boats heading south [the smart ones]
and we even passed the Black Peal. Of course, it was red and white and didn’t
look impressive at all. We couldn’t see where it was from either but we did
remember seeing a black Pearl in Wiarton any years ago.
We anchored in the small cove beside where we were on the
way down…three months ago!! No-one else was brave enough or shallow enough to
get in so we had it to ourselves…and the jet skis. We stayed put for the night
and had supper late. Mostly we swam around the anchor and checked out the coral
heads for cool fish.
May 16 Sunday
We left at 7:30 and got to Allen’s Cay by 10:30 am. It was
only about 15 miles and we sailed all the way! I forgot how relaxing sailing
is. We could even hear the stereo!
When we got to Allen’s Cay there were a couple of boats
anchored outside the island. Probably hoping to get some protection from the
wind and the tide, but the current that rips between them goes so fast that
most of it pushes through and hooks around with a vengeance so you’re better
off to be inside and down the cove away from the channel. We weren’t about to
tell anyone that…if they are real sailors they should already know that. So we
are in the little end of the hole by ourselves. We parked as close to the
middle as possible so that no-one will try to get around us.
We spent the whole day snorkeling and checking out the coral
reefs. Most of the good shells Rick found had tenants in them…underwater hermit
crabs. and we couldn’t convince them to change shells.
There were a bunch of tourist high speed boats coming into
the end cay to antagonize the iguanas and at one point there was a big black
blob on the shore with everyone standing around it and seagulls all over the
place. It looked like a body so we thought we should take a picture of it
before the research crew missed it. But it was just a bunch of beach bags piled
up. The tourists were German and one dinghy of Americans … not so bad but they didn’t
know not to walk into the sand dunes where the nests were so we told then what
we knew about iguanas. One guy said he didn’t believe me, and I almost got into
with him, but I remembered Geoff’s F/B post and wished I’d had some duck tape
with me… “You can’t fix stupid but duck tape can muffle the sound.” Everyone else was listening and then they all
left because ne of them got bitten by one of the iguanas. ha-HA! W talked to the American couple for quite a
while and then they left and we were all alone.
Unfortunately karma’s a bitch…and probably for my interfering,
I put my hand in the very shallow water to put flippers back on and something
stung me. Not sure if it was a little jellyfish although I didn’t see any or an
anemone. I went back to the boat and applied various concoctions if stuff.
Vinegar and baking soda; antibiotic cream; aches and Pains and I took some of
the leftover antihistamine cough syrup…which put me to sleep. I figured I
didn’t have any breathing problems or a heart attack in the first hour, so the
venom wasn’t fatal. It was just a really
sore bee sting that lasted until I went to bed. Breathe, Barb! I’m fine!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
We woke up early and most of the boats were gone but then
the research boats came into view… we had seen them before, one here and the
other at Georgetown. They put out an APB to say what they were doing and if
anyone wanted info to contact them, so we called them to say we were here to
help and they were happy to have us. So we're off to see if we can help! ttyl
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