Island meet

S/V Veranda coasted into Treasure Cay mid-afternoon yesterday and Friends Christy and Bill dropped the hook next door to Kintala. They spend the winter "down Island" from the Abacos and the last time we saw them, way back in Annapolis, we were still planning on staying in the States this year. It was an unexpected pleasure crossing paths with them again. A walk on the beach and then evening sun downers gave us a chance to catch up, trade some stories, and meet their Talking Dog Tucker (Who was silent for the evening. Apparently it takes a certain amount of Rum to loosen him up around strangers. Then again, he might have read this blog and decided he didn't like me enough to say anything. You never know.) Thanks you two. I know Treasure Cay is not your kind of place but it was a great to see you again.

Given the weather forecasts we were all pretty convinced that we would share a couple of days in Treasure Cay. A churned up Whale was blocking their way further north, stout winds forecast to hit us right in the face and inbound thunderstorms were keeping us from going south. This morning we woke to grey skies but the winds had faded to near nothing. There were VHF reports that the Whale was taking a nap and the next thing we hear is Veranda's anchor chain clanking onto her deck. When Bill gets a move on he hates to stop; an unexpected weather window was not to be squandered. (I think Bill's move on must have impressed the weather gods some. Every other passageway out of the Abaco sound was reported as barely passable today; 20 knot winds, 4 and 5 foot swell, and breaking waves all the way across.)

We wished them "Fair Winds". About an hour later Kintala's hook pulled out of the sand and we set out for Marsh Harbour ... an unexpected weather window should not be squandered. Rain showers washed some of the salt off for the first hour, and then (no surprise) the forecast winds showed up and hit us right in the face. But the sea state was mild (2 – 3 feet at most) and it was an easy motor. The staysail went up and down a couple of times as we tried to scavenge what we could, and for about half the way it added a knot. The thick overcast kept the radiation levels and temperatures pleasant and we were both pleased to be moving rather than setting.