Plans written in sand

I have heard it said that a cruiser’s plans are written in sand, at low tide. In this respect, we are definitely cruisers. We weren’t more than 20 minutes on route to Georgetown yesterday when we diverted to a new destination altogether.

We left the Farmer’s Cay anchorage yesterday morning at exactly 8:30 AM, followed closely through the cut by two monohulls. The wind on the Exuma Sound was virtually non-exisitant so we took advantage of the electrical charging from our running engines to make some water.

It wasn’t more than 20 minutes after our departure that we were hailed by one of the monohulls paralleling our course, asking us if we’d like to join them in a tour of the Marine Research Center at Lee Stocking Island, about 2 hours travel time from where we were. Although we had no previous intention for visiting this place, it was a good excuse to not have to motor all the way to Georgetown so we agreed and plotted a new course.

Apparently my whining to the internet Gods about not catching any fish must have done something. Remaining consistent, we were again trailing a line(s) off our stern only this time we got some action. The first fish on was a small Barracuda. We had him right to the stern when he managed to free himself and swim away. We weren’t too disappointed. Not too long after that, we got another hit and this time, we managed to land him. Woo hoo! After consulting our fish ID books we determined that it was a Little Tunny, aka “DINNER.”

Just as I said that our plans change frequently, the Marine Research Center’s plans change too, or at least they did yesterday. Although the guys on Another Adventure, one of the monohulls we were traveling beside, had arranged a tour for our group for 3:00 PM, the center called us back later in the afternoon, after we had anchored, to tell us that “something had come up” and that they wouldn’t be able to do the tour until this morning.

We were undecided last night whether we would stay and do the tour or head out early and make our way to Georgetown. The weather/wind today has made that decision an easy one. Early this morning, the wind picked up considerably and the boat started rocking. A lot. So much so that our dinghy, which we had only partially raised on the davits, started banging very forcefully against the hull. I quickly made my way to the stern (as quickly as one can in the dark after being woken from a deep sleep) and released the dinghy to trail behind our boat, putting an end to the banging.

The weather forecast shows headwinds if we move on to Georgetown today but they’ll back (rotate counterclockwise) to give us a nice reach (a much more comfortable point of sail) if we wait until tomorrow to leave. Like I said, an easy decision. I hope the tour is good. 🙂