Starboard side cockpit seat, leaning forward (backwards for me, but toward the bow- we’ll THAT’S confusing!) against the companionway, if you’re ever wondering where I spend most of my sitting time. EsPECially in the mornings (the ‘shelf’ just outboard is where my coffee cup hangs out), and often in the evenings as well. Out of the wind, out of any weather, and the view is ever-changing as we swing on the anchor. Nested bliss.
We left the yard on Tuesday and anchored off of the settlement (New Plymouth) on Green Turtle for the night to be able to get out of Black Sound on a high tide and in the daylight, as it’s a tight squeeze winding one’s way out. That way we were able to weigh anchor early to cross the whale, which was quick and easy and with only gentle swells. By 11am we were here in Treasure Cay, and by 1p Andy was ashore running around the joint chasing down a part he had ordered. (There’s a great transport company in Ft. Lauderdale that we can have things shipped to, and then they fly it in and can get things to us on various islands. This time they overshot and sent it to Green Turtle on the ferry, so it was a matter of waiting for the various ferry captains to communicate to see who had it and who was up for bringing it back. Island life fun! Makes me realize how mental I’d become if I were trying to build/rebuild a house here, waiting for various materials and parts to arrive.)
We had some rain showers while Andy was gone, so as soon as the patented Chickadee rain water collection system was set up, the girls did their schooling and I did some work work, all while Mother Nature worked on filling our tanks. We had a new cockpit awning made this year, and we discovered that its new side flaps are helpful for channeling the water on each side. This year is a ‘set the bowl and forget it’ kind of collection, rather than the less dignified ‘milking’ of the awning that had to happen before. (We also plug the scuppers and open the tank caps, so after an initial rinse, we let it flow right into the tanks themselves.)
Once reunited with both Andy and the sun, we all went ashore for a walk/splash on the beach, where we also introduced our new drone to the Bahamas. We bought one for the family this Christmas, and while Andy thought for a brief moment that we should leave it at home, he realized pretty quickly that he’d kick himself a thousand times over if we didn’t take the opportunity to get shots of these beautiful spaces from above. Being pretty anti-drone myself, and having to tamp the knee-jerk reaction of finding a nearby rifle and learning how to use it before shooting them down each time I see one, you can imagine my own conflict. Seeing them buzz in or near my space makes me want to scream, but wow, the technology is so incredible, as are the photos. So.. internal conflicts aside, and with the intention to not pester anyone, the drone is here, and I haven’t begun target practice. (Yet.)
A few more minutes of reading time remain before I must unfurl myself from Position A and rouse the troops. Despite Treasure Cay still looking like a bombed out shell of its former life a year later, Miss Lorraine of the ‘Most Amazing Cinnamon Buns in the World’ is back in business, and we will make it our duty to be that business, at least this morning.
