December 23, 2011

Friday, December 23, 2011 Frazier's Hog

8 AM and anchor chain is raised with the windless.  Sun is shining and to the North of us is some weather.  We are hoping to avoid it.  The beautiful gift today was a huge rainbow on our port side.  Sails are up.  Main sail lacks about 6” from the top of the mast.  I suggested WD40, good for all kinds of stuff” and Fred said probably.  I need to remember where I stowed it.  Next time the sails come down, it’s WD:40 time.  The water is mesmerizing.  I could just stare down to see so many things and the thought crossed my mind “wow, if the water table lowered just 12” all of this would be a desert”.  It was hard to distinguish the sea grass from rocks but it was all beautiful.  Fred suggested I wait until we got to the NW Channel marker to drop the line because it is so deep past that.  Better chance of getting something good to eat like Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish).  By 10:50 we were in the Tongue of the Ocean.  It got it’s name because of the shape of the ocean there, surrounded by little islands here and there.  Within 20 minutes the depth went from 12 feet to 2100 feet, one of the deepest bodies of water in this area.   I was happy to be in the hull of this boat and not out swimming in that abyss.  I am not that brave.  I would rather see what is around checking out my toes than not so the cockpit suits me just fine.  I got to experience another adventure also.  I worked my way up to the bow of the boat and hung onto the unfurled sail which was wrapped tight enough to be just the perfect thing to cling my body onto and see everything ahead of us above and under without any obstructions.  It was like flying, feeling like Wendy in Peter Pan.  Amazing!  I would not do that in rough seas though.  We encountered rough seas once we hit the Tongue of the Ocean and it was there I realized how powerful the seas are.  Relaxing, reading a bit and enjoying the world around me, we did get a bit of rain.  Felt good.  I decided to take a shower in that small tube below.  I should have known better with all the rolling around there was but I was trying to make record time showering this time.  By the time I was all clean again, I could barely make it to the settee.  I was surprised because I had a patch on.  I couldn’t decide whether to stay below or muster up the energy to crawl to the cockpit.   I chose the latter and laid down on the lazerette, closed my eyes and hoped for the best.  Fred made me a sandwich and I did feel a bit better.  Then he broke the news…”Patti, this isn’t even rough seas”  and I felt doomed and overtaken by the strong seas but quickly put my big girl panties on and told myself I can do this.  It’s worth getting seasick over.  We arrived at Frazier's Hog, the same place where the mooring ball broke loose with “Sail Away” attached about 4 am.  Fred decided not to take a mooring ball but to just swing on the hook.  It took a few tries and we finally were set.  I noticed that when I was setting the snubber, the Fortress anchor hanging over the Port side was missing.  I heard a loud splash last night and we either lost the anchor then or while we were in rougher water in the Tongue of the Ocean.  Since I didn’t get anything on my hand line, I decided to make tuna salad for Fred.  He can just pretend it is a fish we caught.  I was anxious to go ashore and explore.  There were a few shabby homes but no real sign of civilization except a hotel, restaurant and fuel dock all in one place but no people.  They looked like business was not to be had there.   Fred and I walked down a narrow primitive limestone road and lined with scrub brush and discovered the other side of the island.  There were Conch shells everywhere.  I found a nice one to plant a basil start that Sami from “Da jevu” had given me in Florida the day we left.  I have the soil, but no flower pot so I decided this would be my gift from the island.  A shell flower pot for my basil.  By the time we came back to the dock where the dinghy was tied to we ran into a group of cruisers Fred knew going over the plans for tomorrow..  There are about 10 sailboats waiting to go to Nassau tomorrow.  We will be joining them.  I was glad to see that “Sail Away” was ok and not much damage at all.  With all the help nearby from other boats, they managed to stop “Sail Away” from getting lodges in the rock wall.  Nice people.  Other boats here are “Rhapsody”, who sailed with us today, “Mutual Fun”, “It’s About Time”, “Kismet” along with others we cannot remember at the moment.  Stasia stayed pretty calm today.  She makes it clear that she does not appreciate the motor running but tolerates it.  Today, she did not get sick.  She will make a great boat cat in time, I have trust in her.  I am learning how do chart a coarse and tell how long it will take to get there.  Now I am beginning to understand why I had to learn some of that math in high school.  For some reason this is a lot more fun than in school.

Tomorrow morning we are headed to Nassau.  Civilization.  I like it better on the islands with few people and I know God will take us where he wants us to be.  He is the only light of the way.