A few hours later, we are approached by a 24 foot, open cockpit boat with twin 150 outboard motors. Rangers to the rescue! We hope! Now it’s raining and the winds are picking up. This is not helping the situation, but all are enthusiastic, if a bit daunted. Can 300 horsepower dislodge 85,000 pounds of sand encrusted trawler? Captain Bill throws a line to the rangers which they cleat to their stern. The line goes taut -- they rev, we rev, the line snaps loose. So much for the first try! And the second, and the third. Each time, as the park boat guns their engines, they lurch at crazy angles -- and we do nothing. Finally, after about 10 attempts, they agree to give it one more go, against their better judgment, I think. It works (yeah!) and at last, after 3 hours, we are freed from the sand. Lesson Learned: Go Slow!
There have been lighter moments, too. Before the park adventures, we over-nighted in several beautiful spots -- Highbourne Cay, for example. From there it’s an easy ride in Love Me Tender to Allen’s Cay, home of the endangered Exuma iguana. These scaly creatures hang out on a tiny bit of beach, alert and aligned in rows, waiting for the next tourist to stop by. You’re not supposed to feed them but you can tell by their aggressive posturing that the rules are often broken. I picked up a small bit of white trash on the beach and, thinking I had something for them to eat, several rushed forward towards me. Yikes! Quickly back into the dinghy --- let’s move on.
Also at Highbourne, we discovered that a small school of sharks (remorrah, we think) lived under our shadow. Bill threw out an apple core, and they swarmed after it, twisting and fighting to be first in line, only to discover that they weren’t into fruit. This is tempting……what would they prefer? Hmmm….I ‘m not much of a cook, but with the help of my new, spiffy bread maker, I had made scones a few days before. Actually, they turned out to be small boulders that tasted exactly like flour and water. Oh, well. I broke one in half and threw it overboard to see if the sharks would chase it and, guess what? They loved it! Not only did the boys fight over the pastry, they devoured it. Six sharks fighting over my home cooking -- maybe they should go to culinary school!
Our next learning experience came the following morning as we began raising the anchor. I’m at my usual station in the pilothouse, Bill’s at the bow, when Crunch! Sounds of metal on metal and then nothing. We’re going nowhere today. Bill gets down and dirty in the anchor locker where he discovers that the motor for the windlass has come unbolted and fallen, taking out the electrical connection along the way. Oh boy, this is just great. What do we know about this? After assessing the situation and collecting a large amount of grease, oil and mud on himself and his clothes, Bill calls James Knight in Florida. James is the Nordhavn mechanical guru and he is able to talk Bill through the needed repairs. Thirteen phone calls and 24 hours later, we are up and running. Lesson Learned: Pre-paid cell phone is a must. (We were fortunate that this happened while we were in a covered area.)
Other adventures, of a more benign nature, include snorkeling at the Sea Aquarium off O’Brien’s Cay. Captain Bill donned his wetsuit, fins et al and jumped right into a veritable battalion of Sgt. Major fish. He reported that there were thousands of them, all curious and all trying for a closer look. Turning in any direction he found hundreds staring back at him from only a few inches away. That would have freaked me out! Today we are anchored off an island with the curious name of Big Major’s Spot. Its claim to fame is the beach where a pair of pigs (yes, pigs) will swim out to your dinghy for snacks. We’re headed into lunch at the Staniel Cay Club first, hoping to send this blog, before checking out the pigs. Too bad I ran out of scones!
Until next time……
Let’s Dance -- Carol & Bill
