March 8-14 Back in the Berrys- Hoffmans Cay, Ambergris Cay and Devil's Cay
Despite the mishap with our mainsail we made it safely to the Berry's well before sundown. We're back at Hoffmans Cay, Lois's favorite, a place we have enjoyed so much time and never tired of it.
The mainsail will have to go to the sailmaker when we get home (or sooner if we can find quick service). Luckily we are able to sail with the reduced sail area of reef #1, and from experience we know that typically only slows us down by 1/2 kt.
We are both ready to go home to Virginia after a wonderful time in the Bahamas. The delight at finding a new beautiful deserted beach to explore is dimished, and we aren't stopping to savor magnificent sunsets as often. Conversations are more about things we want to do when we get back, or, very often, what we want from a well stocked American grocery store.
We are by no means running out of provisions. The Eleuthera purchase of fresh broccoli, carrots and plantains was very welcome, but we are still cooking well from our original supplies. We're even strategizing on how to use up ingredients so we don't have to haul freight back up the hill to the house when we get home. We are near the bottom of our last jar of jalepenos, but I think we'll manage past that. We're eating well.
We took the dinghy to explore some coves north of our usual anchoring spot, starting with the keyhole lagoon that is a nursery for fish, turtles, rays and sharks.
We had a night visitor. He was impressively large. Look at those glowing eyes!
We will stay here to wait out some strong winds over the next few days. One night the wind brought a very sudden downpour of rain. It was short lived, but we had the hatch at the head of our bunk open and everything got drenched as rain washed down the salty deck and in through the window. So it's laundry day tomorrow. Again.
The expected direction of the next wind means we should move to a place with protection from the north. So we're off to the next island over, Ambergris Cay, one that few boats visit because of the winding shallow approach. It turns out to be very lovely: mile long stretches of beaches to walk and an intriguing area of shoal at the north end.
As we are dropping anchor a large osprey appears circling quite low around us giving warning cries. He would rather we move elsewhere. We can see his nest, so we'll respectfully avoid that part of the beach.
Next two manta rays come by to check us out by making a few slow circuits around the boat. We can see them clearly, their white mandibles flashing in the sunlight.
The sand on the beach is very fine and not well compacted. Walking is a bit hard because every step sinks ankle deep in the sand. Above the tide line the shore is layered boulders and whole uprooted trees that have obviously seen their share of big storms. I keep trying to imagine this tranquil place as it must have looked in last year's hurricanes.
We found a few fun items- a sea biscuit
And a chunk of coal. Where did it come from?
A dinghy trip around to the other side of the island reveals sand flats- miles and miles of ankle deep water dotted with the occasional cluster of mangroves.
After dinner we sat and watched an impressive lightning storm off in the distance that lasted for hours. It was like watching fireworks at 4th of July. When we got tired of that we watched the stars in the very clear sky above us.
The next night's wind is forecast to clock around 180⁰ , making Ambergris no longer a good choice. For something different we passed by Hoffmans and anchored off the south end of Devil's Cay. (Brent really wanted to try out Cockroach Cay, but Lois nixed that idea. Ew.) Devil's Cay was not spectacular, the wind protection wasn't as good as we had hoped, but it did what we needed from it. They can't all be winners!
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