Morning came on Friday as scheduled and we pulled up our anchor from Castle Beach and pointed the bow toward Little Farmers Cay.
Moments out of the anchorage we had the sails hoisted and with the brisk 20 knot wind Kaleo was running up to 7 knots under jib and main alone. The wind picked up a little so we doused the jib and ran about 6.5 knots down to the turn into Farmers Cay entrance. We motored slowly knowing it was a tricky entrance and on our first pass in, went south of the channel to stick our keel in the sand. Thankfully we easily motored off the sand bar and into much deeper water.
We dropped the hook near “SYL” and “Guiding Light” just as dark rain clouds developed on the horizon. It didn’t take long for them to break open and drench anything on deck but we were tucked securely below. An hour later, the tide went out and our keel was slightly bumping the sand below and with an even lower tide coming at 3:00 a.m. we had to move the boat. Shane on “GL” and Ted from “Morning Glory” came over to help Matt re-anchor the boat in a deeper spot near the yacht club, which allowed me to stay out of the rain – thanks guys!
Though we had plans to go to Oven Rock Cave, the rain convinced us that tomorrow may be a better day to check it out. So for pretty much the rest of the day, we took full advantage of the free Internet on the boat to Skype, email, and blog.
Saturday, all of the Navy awoke early to listen to Chris Parker and decided about making the run to George Town. The conditions would allow for a spirited move today or we’d have to wait until Tuesday when things are forecast to settle down. In the end “SYL”, “GL” and “MG” decided to make the run but we elected not to as the conditions, while sailable, would have been quite rolly for us. Though we’ll see everyone again in a few days, it was hard to see them go. Everyone brings a wonderfully unique personality to the Navy and it will be different without them for a while.
It was sunny but windy as we dinghyied into Farmers Cay to walk around. A small but quaint community, the little island offers most the things a cruiser needs except fuel and propane. After watching a local named Hall shell conch near the town dock, we stopped into the Lil Harbour Convenience Store and talked with the owner, Tasha. She was in the middle of eating her papaya breakfast and graciously shared some with all of us. She later recruited Matt and Troy to help her fetch a few more ripe papaya from the tree out back. We also tried another fruit she sliced up on the spot that’s a bit like a mild pomegranate though less sweet. She insisted that I try the blood-red fruit from her fingers as it was said to be good for infertility and protects against cancer. Thanks Tasha ;o).
She even hand wrote a few local recipes that she said we should try aboard our boats. After our fill of fruit and shopping at her store, the group walked up to the Ocean Cabin Restaurant and Bar. A Little Farmers Cay landmark, it’s been progressively added on to over the past 20 years with the help of passing cruisers. The interior rafters dripped boat signs and burgees from all those who lent a hand. Matt helped the proprietor with his website for a bit while we learned more about the history of the island.
Later in the afternoon Matt and the crew dinghyied up to Oven Rock Cave to go exploring while I took the opportunity to Skype with friends and family. Upon his return, Matt was convinced the the cave was once a pirate’s treasure lair. The entrance was an unassuming but large horizontal crack in a rock wall behind a thicket of mangroves. But upon stepping into the cave, it immediately dropped steeply into the Earth’s belly. At the deepest point was a large pool of water that everyone went swimming in and within the pool were four or five underwater channels that are explorable only with scuba gear.
Matt returned to the boat on Steve’s dinghy with ours in tow. Turns out that Matt had just forgot to add oil to the gasoline which would have cause the motor damage had he continued to run it. Thanks Steve for saving us from a potentially ruining our dinghy motor. Have we mentioned that we love cruising with trusted and generous friends?!
With town already covered and sunset nearing, we elected to stay onboard for the evening despite a tempting invite to dinghy up to “Crow’s Nest” for a visit. It was a bit too far for our petite dinghy to travel without getting soaked so we made plans to anchor near them tomorrow.
N 23° 57.79 / W 76° 19.20
