Kittiwake

Tried a new twist on baked beans we found in a sailing cookbook. Add 3/4 cup raisins, a sauteed onion and a couple of tablespoons of sugar to a can of baked beans. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Then let sit for 2 hours to let the raisins plump. It was delicious. Also called for some curry, but we didn't have any.

Normans Cay offered good protection from the north, but the winds were clocking east and the anchorage was fairly rolly last night with winds around 28 kts. We keep the VHF radio on all night long in case anyone calls for help. At first light, calls came in to Kittiwake offering assistance. From our stern we could see a sailboat up on the beach. Their anchor dragged about 0400 and they were laying on their side near the old dock. Everyone in the area drove over in their dinghies to offer assistance and (sometimes conflicting) advice. High tide was about 1400, so they weren't going anywhere soon. One crew sent over a coffee cake to raise Kittiwake's spirits. By 0830 a Royal Bahamas Defence Force helicopter circled the anchorage and landed on the beach to offer assistance and assess the situation. They called for a RBDF boat to come in and assist and the boat arrived around 1100. The crew of Kittiwake, a Pearson 35, had set several kedge anchors with the assistance of other crews !

 and the boat was starting to float off and turn by 1045. The RBDF boat (about the size of a PT boat) then took one of the anchor lines aboard and pulled them off into deeper water. Everyone was safe and there was no damage to the boat other than the loss of some bottom paint. This is all we know, we will send more info if we learn it. I'm curious about what kind of anchor, rode and scope they were using. It is good to see how helpful the cruising community and local armed forces can be.

We decided to head to a more protected anchorage once Kittiwake was okay. Several boats left when we did and headed to the lee side of the islands. We chose to go south to Shroud Cay, the first anchorage in the Exumas Land & Sea park, a protected area where no fishing, lobstering or shelling is allowed. It was only a six mile cruise, but the wind made if more interesting to get the anchor up and get out the cut. It was good to have our GPS track in, but we could see the deeper water, even with the waves. We are anchored just off the shore in 9 ft of water with 120 ft of chain, so we should be able to sleep well tonight. If we drag, there are miles of banks behind us.  Dropping the dinghy into the water, we drove over the anchor and checked it through the look down window to make sure it was set securely in the sand. We then explored a bit and went ashore at a pristine little beach and walked up a trail to find an old well. The island is low coral rock and the well is a twenty foot diameter hole. The water looks a little green and has fish in it, but is reputed to be safe and some of the best well water in the Exumas. You need to bring your own bucket and rope and we didn't have any, so we left the water there for the next visitors. We were invited to a cruiser's party at another beach, but were too wet and tired to go out again. Showered off in the cockpit and Noah had his hair cut so it won't interfere with his mask anymore. We split off from Contented Turtle for a few days as they like to hunt too much to spend time in the park. Haven't decided if we'll stay here for another day or move on again tomorrow. All depends on if the wind allows exploring here.