Tortuga Tour Day 38: Back to Boca Grande
5/27/21
Destination today is Boca Grande to anchor for the night. It will be another windy, wavy start but the forecast is for diminishing winds and smaller wave heights. Despite using water to wash the dinghy, take cockpit showers and just everyday general use, we still have enough to get to Boca Grande where the Captain, if need be, can add water from the seven-gallon cans we have stowed in the lazarette. We also have plenty of food to last for several days.
We did our final checks and were under way by 7:30am. It was bouncier to start but we managed and throughout the day our comfort level went up as the wind and waves eased. We, the Admiral and Adriane, occupied our time with conversation, reading, and playing Scrabble. By lunch time, the Captain needed a break. This is when the Admiral must step in and watch (the luxury of auto pilot). As part of his break, he wanted Adriane to learn a few things about navigation and take a turn watching. The Admiral was relieved to prepare lunch.
We were anchored before 4:00pm. There were fewer boats this time around. It was a great time just to relax, mostly on the flybridge, and feast our eyes on this beautiful key with its one lone palm tree amongst the mangroves. It also has a beautiful beach which we were very happy to appreciate from a distance.
After dinner we went up to the flybridge to enjoy our dessert and absorb the quietness of the evening. We watched the sun descend slowly and seemingly right into the water – breathtaking! We continued to sit and talk until it was dark. Unfortunately, the little dishwashing elves never showed up and we had to clean up the days’ worth of dishes.
The Captain who always checks the anchor one more time before turning in stepped out to do so and noticed the stars. The moon rise was going to be later, so the stars were brilliant! There was no interference from artificial light – again breathtaking!
Captain’s Comments
Scrabble—in a seaway?! Well, the admiral asked for smoother… In the Rebecca Shoal Channel, the seas were about 4’. With the wind and waves against us, our speed was slightly slower, we had the occasional spray on deck, but still, none on the windshield. We celebrated the successful crossing with the last of our tonic (and some rum and lime).
Our second stop at Boca Grande was more peaceful than the last. We ended up as one of 4 boats at the entire island for the evening. This island is the prettiest we’ve stopped at (with its sand beach, mangroves, and lone palm tree).
A price had to be paid, though. The water flow for the generator was again restricted (delaying cooking of dinner) by accumulated seaweed in the intake line such that just cleaning the strainer didn’t address the problem. So out came the hose and connections to perform a backflush. Additionally, even though we had enough water (~1/4 ) in the tank to make it to port on Saturday, it was going to leave no room for margin, so I elected to try transferring 3 of the seven-gallon water jugs to the main tank. After attaching a funnel and tygon tubing with duct tape to the saloon bulkhead, and fishing the 3 jugs out of the lazarette, I poured them into the tank. It took longer than anticipated sweating in the sun, in the cockpit, holding 50 pounds of water as it poured through a ½” hose. When finished, we could see a measurable increase in tank level, demonstrating proof of concept.
It was a beautiful evening. The Admiral served one of her chicken boat-recipes, and chocolate pudding on the flybridge for dessert. We finally saw stars in a dark sky before moonrise. The ebb current was strong, though, and apparently made the sailboat west of us nervous; the sailboat captain picked up his anchor and moved to the east of us, dropping his anchor too close to us (1/16 mile is my comfort zone) and didn’t, in my opinion, put out enough scope, making me nervous. I set two anchor drag alarms. I still woke several times to check (everything was fine) and got to see the moonrise as a bonus. The sailboat was gone by sunrise.
Fks