Another day in paradise. I am writing this entry in the cabin due to intermittent rain and heavy winds on deck. Yesterday was phenomenal and made us both realize how awesome sailing is and how lucky we are!
Once we were both up and moving, we got the cabin and deck ready for our sail. It was overcast with light rain but we were still determined to move out of the marina. We were happy that our fridge seemed to be working like a champ! The frost on the element was a very happy sight! The last thing we needed to do before we were ready to head out was to stock up on our ice supply. We have three coolers on board – one with drinking ice, one with waters and one with beers. We also got some block ice to help our fridge stay cool.
Around 10, our Sunsail mate came on board to take us to the gas tank to top off our fuel. Even though our gauge showed a full tank, we knew after 20 or so hours of running that the gauge could not be accurate. I was estimating a half a tank and I think that was the reality. Fabian motored us to the gas tank and then we headed out of the marina on our own from there.
Our destination was Shaw Island which is about 15 or so miles South East of Hamilton Island. The winds were coming from the South/South East so we were in for a close reach sail. It was sure to be interesting with weather in the area and large swells.
Motoring out, we noticed that the swells were indeed large. When we staged to pop the sails, my first thought was of an emergency plan in case Todd went overboard. We were truly riding the waves and he had to hold on to all rigging while unzipping the main sail bag.
Once the sails were up, it didn’t take too long to get a full 5 knot sail going. We had to do some tacking up the ladder but the sail was fantastic! With the way that the wind was shifting, we were able to direct the boat closer and closer to our destination. While we were sailing, we saw very large fish jumping out of the water! It was awesome! At one point they were so close to our boat I thought they may jump in! One jumped out of the water facing right at me! I thought he was probably thinking “oh crap! Wrong way!” These fish were spotted frequently during our sail and was pure entertainment while we were autopiloting to our next tack.
Behind us there were definite darker rain clouds. We kept an eye on them but we weren’t too concerned. The thing that was the most awesome was that we seemed to be the only boat in the water! We saw only a couple of other boats far in the distance but we had the whole ocean (at least the ocean we needed to get to Shaw) to ourselves.
We figure we must have sailed over 20 miles or so by the time it was all said and done. The most exciting part of the sail was when it started raining. We were getting closer to Shaw and decided that we would get back to our GPS line, drop sails and motor in to the anchorage. Because we noticed rain behind us, we had come up with a quick rain plan to get items that weren’t waterproof to the cabin. I also found some rain gear in one of our closets that I brought up. There were neon yellow rain jackets and rain pants. Pretty cool! I just brought the jackets to deck in case we needed them.
Sure enough, light rain came down. Light rain turned to medium rain about the time that Todd had to start putting the sails down. Our head sail is on a drum that furls it up from the cockpit. However, the main sail has to be guided down accordion style so that it fits nicely in the bag and doesn’t catch wind. With the rain the deck was slick and, again, I was immediately going through the emergency plan in case my sweetie slipped and took a drink. It was pretty extreme but a lot of fun and, when Todd made his first step back into the cockpit, I think we were both relieved and very proud of ourselves.
As we followed the GPS line into our anchorage, we couldn’t believe that we were actually going to be the ONLY boat in the area! And, WOW, what a beautiful area!! White sandy deserted beaches all around, beautiful vegetation, and purple distant islands behind us. We couldn’t believe that this would be our “room” for the night. All ours – no one around. It was amazing!
We have certainly mastered anchoring. We are finding certain processes that work for us. I counted down the depth while Todd stood at the bow watching for Eddies and standing by on the anchor. At 9 meters we dropped anchor. I hit reverse to seal the deal and it looked as if we were not moving. Mission accomplished!
We sat on deck just admiring the beauty. We decided to start dinner which was rosemary and garlic potatoes, hamburgers and salad with feta cheese. We also had to cook the rest of the red meat since it had thawed during our fridge drama. So Todd cooked four hamburgers and two steaks on the grill while I grounded up two of the hamburger patties with some taco seasoning on the stove.
Dinner turned out great along side of my Jamaican Rum and DC and Todd with his Estancia wine that he was saving for a special occasion. It was a perfect dinner, a perfect evening with a perfect mate! It doesn’t get much better than that. Todd kept saying that there really isn’t an equal to our experience right now. He’s right. There is no way that either of us could describe this journey in words. It is just mind blowing and amazing.
After dinner we both took our evening showers. I didn’t feel as icky as usual because it was a bit chilly during our sail due to the overcast conditions. I was actually wearing a sweater at some points because of the slight chill. It was nice, however, to get a small break from the sun. My back was getting a touch red and I don’t want to get burned – I want to be bronze! Speaking of bronze, Todd definitely has a nice tan on his face. He has the perfect vacation face – tan and a bit gruffy. I love it!
The rest of the evening was filled with rum and bailey’s coffee. Without our cool coffee pot at home that grinds the beans and makes awesome Starbucks coffee, Todd had to resort to hot water in our tea pot mixed with one heaping and one level teaspoon of instant coffee – but it is Nescafe GOLD! Ooh la la!
We basically looked at the stars, chatted, listened to music and finally hit the sack. It was probably the latest we stayed up yet on our trip. But it was amazing!
The winds picked up overnight and the sound (irritating sound) of the halyard slapping the mast got increasingly louder and louder. Todd tried to get it to cease but there really isn’t much either of us can do. So get used to it I suppose. We headed back to bed to try and get a couple more hours to sleep. Around 6 AM or so we were awoken by the sound of the anchor alarm. Basically, our GPS system can be set so that it will sound an alarm if you move location during an anchorage. It lets off a high pitched screech if it detects that the anchor is dragging. And that is exactly what we heard. We both jumped out of bed – Todd headed to the GPS and I headed to the cockpit to see how far we were off course. It looked like the heavy winds simply drug us a bit causing the alarm to sound. But it doesn’t look as though we went too far and, more importantly, it pushed us towards the deeper area versus shallow.
Our plan for today is to explore these incredible beaches. There is also a resort on the island a bit north of us (Lindeman Island) that allows for mooring at a price of $50/24 hour period. We may or may not look into that. We’ve never moored so it would be a first! First things first. I have my tea and just finished my bagel and cream cheese. We will need to get changed and make sure that the boat is anchored securely. From there we will wing the rest of the schedule.
The exciting adventure continues…
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