Even living in earthly paradise requires household chores and Wednesday was a perfect domestic day as the harbor was glass-like without a ripple of wind on its surface.
It’s these type of days that make for the driest and fastest dinghy rides into town, so we took full advantage of it.
The day started off a little rough as Christie took a tumble out of the companionway and smacked her check on the winch. She recovered quickly but will suffer a bruise below the eye and lost a little skin from her leg. But she toughed it out and bounced up to head out for beach yoga taught by Erin. We’re so enjoying her company and yoga expertise.
Matt took the time to do another round of water with the jerry jugs (have we mentioned that were really excited for the watermaker). After yoga, we both headed into town to have the propane tanks filled, get gas for our outboard motor and grocery shop before the winds picked up and the forecast storm settled over us.
Getting propane George Town-style was a new experience as about 35 cruisers and locals all gathered in a dirt parking lot a half hour before 11:00 to wait for the propane truck to arrive that comes every Wednesday. Nearly on time, it lumbered into the lot ready to distribute its payload to our awaiting bottles. Another hour later, our tanks were topped up and we were off to the Exuma Market for some fresh produce.
Leaving the market, the sky foretold of a torrential rain blowing towards us. So we hedged our bets, tossed the groceries in the dink and gunned it toward Kaleo on the other side of the harbor. It’s a good 20 minute ride with the dink loaded down and we could see the rain line marching toward us. A quick prayer got us back to the boat just before the rain started and upon arrival, we discovered that all of our ports and hatches had been closed up tight by a helpful elf. Later we learned that Deana had been sweet enough to come over and close the boat up, knowing that we were still in town. The Navy certainly has a wonderful way of watching out for one another.
Just as we handed the groceries into the companionway, the rain reached us and began to rinse the boat of salt and sand. Matt took a break in the rain to scurry over to Anchor Management to lend a hand with a malfunctioning wi-fi extender. While out, the next round of rain found Matt mid-way through the trip and quickly washed him of all the day’s salt and sand as well.
The rain and wind continued as Chris Parker voiced an updated forecast over the VHF, “the rain would eventually subside but the wind would increase.” It’s nice having the weather guru as a neighbor in the harbor. The weather blowing in earlier than forecast was disappointing as the Regatta Kick-Off Beach Bash was planned to start at 5:00. A few brave dinghy pilots headed in for the start of the party but most of us stayed aboard to hear if it was still a go. The rum punches and Sand’s were flowing on time but dinner had been delayed so we could hear the volume increase from the early party-goers but held out in hopes of dinner to accompany the libations. In the end, dinner wasn’t cancelled but Matt took one for the Kaleo team and headed in for a short while to pick up our dinners before bashing back through the 25 knot winds to enjoy dinner together in a warm, dry home.
It will be early to rise for the Coconut Challenge tomorrow so we’ll tuck in early for a windy night’s rest.
