Friday 21 February 2014

The best laid plans of mice and men....and, uh, sailors....



"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore" -Vincent van Gogh

....and, it would seem, the same can certainly be said of sailors!  When last I posted here, we were all set for our first overnight adventure and, at this writing, we are waiting on weather, not so far out from our George Town, Exumas departure.  

We departed George Town at around 7:00 am, February 16th with a plan to have our buddy boat catch up as they had a few things to take care of and given they are a bit bigger, and therefore a bit faster, it seemed like a good idea.  They ended up departing an hour and a half later and we never did reconnect other than a very brief radio call that had them continuing on as originally planned.  As we rounded Long Island, we realized the wind would not be in our favour and opted to head for Rum Cay.  We arrived Rum Cay at dusk and anchored for the night.  Next day we realized that the weather would not be in our favour for a number of days but we would make the crossing back over to Long Island and anchor in Clarence Town.  It was quite a crossing with wave heights up to 8 feet and winds gusting to 25 knots.  To describe the conditions as unfavourable does not truly express the efforts required to achieve safe passage and I know that the Captain had a good upper body workout along the way.  I spent my time holding down the fort and finding that although I believed all potential projectiles were well stowed, this was not the case. Gratefully, there were no injuries!  More lessons learned.  Or are these gentle reminders?  Hmmmmm......

So, the best laid plans come to mind once again.  Today is February 21st and we remain on the dock in a small marina at Clarence Town, Long Island, awaiting a weather window that will see us continue our passage south and are reminded that the seas and the weather will dictate the length of any leg of a journey for the cruiser...that safety and patience, as always, are the orders of the day.  We have done considerably more research as we await our opportunity and realise that there are three very different routes to our intended destination and it will be the weather and the seas which will determine which route we choose and how long it will take.  Nature is not beholden to the whims of the sailor and it is during these times that we are reminded of all of the amazing days we have had both at anchor and at sea and we are truly blessed to be a part of this sea going cruiser community.  I'll keep you posted....

Until next time....

Love and hugs,
Shelley and Gregg


2 comments:

  1. Wow... you guys are definitely getting a taste of the sea... you'll make it and gained more knowledge.... keep on keeping on!!!

    John E.

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    1. Thanks, John, and keeping on we are as we have just today arrived the Dominican Republic! A great sail until the squall hit in late afternoon but all in all a good, and more importantly, safe passage! We have met a number of other cruisers who are planning to transit the DR and Puerto Rico over the next while so we will enjoy a few days here in Puerto Plata and move south with "the gang". Love and hugs all around! Shelley

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