Royal Island – 1 mile in dinghy, 100 metres snorkelled
The night was one of fits and starts as the strong winds and waves piled into the anchorage. We were awoken many times (as I’m sure folks in the 13 other boats here experienced too) by awful noises coming from the rigging and anchor and also had to get up to reposition the paddleboard from the deck to the cockpit as it was getting tossed around and making a hell of a racket.
Winds from 23 to 30 knots blew in all day from the east, relenting only for brief periods. I did attempt snorkelling and looked for new lobsters hiding in the coral head where we last harvested three (the 1 junior lobster we left was still there but the eel was gone) and found a new small coral patch, but the visibility was poor. Despite that, I was glad to get in the water.
Ana sent out a Noforeignland broadcast message to all the boaters in the anchorage, asking if we could borrow an Apple watch charger. Sure enough, a catamaran named Kaia responded, saying we could use theirs, so I went over, met Dave, and he asked us to join them later this evening for a drink, which I happily accepted. The social programme for the day was filling in rapidly as we had asked Ben and Kate over for lunch. Ana was able to use the charger to restore our “new” Apple watch to factory, after having decided that if the previous owner hadn’t been able to track us down during the six days that had passed since I found it, it was hereby relinquished to us as the new owners.
Our lunch with Ben and Kate turned into an all-day affair as we lounged in the cockpit, sheltered from the wind, and talked and talked and talked. We haven’t had a long and leisurely visit with them for quite a while so we really enjoyed it and was the best way to spend a stormy day.
At 6:30 we went over to sailing vessel Kaia and properly met Dave, his partner Ruth, and their children Leo and Willow. Dave and Ruth are from the UK but have lived in New Zealand for many years and both their children were born there. They had bought their 38 Leopard catamaran in North Carolina in December and had just arrived in the Bahamas a week ago after traversing the ICW in the depths of winter and having some significant work done on the boat. We were happy to share a few of our favourite spots in Nassau with them, as they were heading that way in a few days to do some administration. Their children gave us an in-depth tour of the boat, including the storage area where their dad stashes his beer, the toilets, and every nook and cranny of their bedrooms. They also invited us to a SpaceX rocket launch party tomorrow which we are very excited for.
Our plan to sail to the Abacos tomorrow has been put on hold due to higher than expected winds and very large seas, so instead we will hang around this area until Friday when conditions should be better.
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