Monday, January 23, 2017

Snorkeling, touring and windy but oh, so safe!!



(ed note: due to the current weather conditions and the "fair" signal strength for internet - no photos can be uploaded at this time. I promise a FULL photo gallery when the system is fully functional.)

A lot of activity since my last post so let’s get started…snorkeling on Friday (1/20/17) was fabulous!  The water was clear, cool (72°) and smooth.  I haven’t seen the brilliant, flashy fish colors I’ve seen in movies but that could have something to do with the incoming “dicey” weather front we keep hearing about.

Saturday, we were fortunate to share a ride into “town” with Ric & Prudi (Rascal’s Retreat), Rick & Monica (Moni Jean).  Remember, we are in the Bahamas…steering wheel on the left side of van (American) but driving on the left side of the road…”keep yo’ left shoulder on de left shoulder, Mon. It will be no problem.”  Other words of wisdom from the car rental man, “don’t worry about de lights on de dash…it’s all good.”  And yes, the dash looked like a Christmas tree…multi colored lights just blinking everywhere.  And “no problem, Mon” we were gone all day!

If you remember in early October, 2016 a storm named Hurricane Matthew paid a visit to Grand Bahama Island.  They are still in the recovery process and it shows.  Everything related to tourism and retail seems to be “functional”. We chose a marina w/o power on the docks or laundry facilities yet but it is the tourism dollars that help with the cost of repairs.

As we left the resort property it was immediately apparent where the recovery money stopped.  We drove through West End, through Freeport and to Port Lucaya.  I didn’t take pictures of the sad, destruction because it was too reminiscent of our Mississippi Gulf Coast several years ago…recovery takes time…and “island time” is a unique mindset.

Saturday evening & Sunday was spent preparing for the approaching weather front.  Securing the boat was simple…put out every line we had then zip, snap & fasten all the Isinglass, anything on the bow was either moved to the aft deck or otherwise secured.  It felt like hurricane preparation but when you’re on a boat…35-50 mph winds can get a little intimidating…not to mention the 3:00 AM thunderstorms!  However, the good Lord had his hand on us as always.  We were up several times checking our lines but once the rain started we turned on the generator (read: A/C) dehumidified the boat and slept like babies until 7:00.

As I write this the winds are still howling with a sustained speed of 37 mph (for the last 12-14 hours) and gusts of 50+ according to our dock neighbor on Traveling Soul with a very nice weather station on his upper helm.

We are in protected waters and have lots of company and feel very secure.  We also recognized that many of our family and friends are weather weary as well.  We are thankful for the safe check ins we saw on Facebook and we continue to pray for your safety.  Remember, dicey weather makes us appreciate the clear sunny days.  

Stay safe and God Bless!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment