Well, another month has passed since my last post, and I must report that our trying times have continued to haunt us. Not sure if we should call it bad karma, hexed juju, or negative mojo, but the energy in our universe is in total disarray! Weather systems have battered me during my past month of solo boating, and Keith’s health has been a roller coaster from feeling better (and purchasing tickets to return) to being admitted to the hospital with all hope of returning (this year) dashed.☹️
March 20…My plan to chill with my tribe, for a few days, was quickly cut short when warnings of a severe weather system approaching, were released. The problem with this system was that winds were expected to be exceptionally high (30-40 mph) for an extended period of time, and would be clocking from all directions. There are no safe anchorages, in the Berry Islands, that provide protection from all directions, and moving to new locations as the winds shift is really not an option single handed in 40 mph winds.
At that time, I was anchored about midway down the Berry Island chain. The wind speed forecast was concerning enough, but the duration of 36+ hours was too much for me to contemplate battling alone. For several days I looked at all options, and tried to get into either of the two marinas in the Berry Islands, but both were full. My only option seemed to be running 70 miles to Bight of Old Robinson in Abaco. I prepared the boat for the passage and moved the boat out of the anchorage, at high tide, to be staged for an early departure the next morning.
After dinner, I went online to check one last time to see if any slips had come available at Chubb Cay Marina. Alas, one 70’ slip (my boat is only 50’ long) was available for the shocking price of $600/night😳😳😳. Realistically, I would need to arrive the night before the event started, stay the two nights of the actual system, and stay one additional night to let the ocean lay down a little. WOW…was I really considering spending $2400 for four nights in a marina? Yes…yes I was, and after having a quick conversation with Keith, I booked the slip.
It took a lot of work to get the boat tied up for storm conditions, but after 10 lines and 4 large fenders, I declared her ready to weather the storm! Floating docks make this setup sooo much easier!
After all of the stress and preparations regarding this storm, I took the afternoon off to recharge.
I felt confident this marina would provide excellent protection.
And protection is what I got…look at the palm trees in the background. The wind is clearly screaming, but the water here is calm…no crashing waves!
Also, I decided to take advantage of the convenience of the Customs and Immigration Office at Chubb Cay to request an extension for my cruising permit and visa. Keith and I checked into the Bahamas on January 1, and were given a 90 day cruising permit and 90 day visa…both (in my mind) set to expire on March 28.
While filling out all of the paperwork, the immigrations officer took my passport, to make a photocopy for the application. He happened to notice that I arrived in the Bahamas on February 2. I actually had briefly forgotten, that I left the country for one day to escort my granddaughters home. When I returned, I had to present the cruising permit and explain that my husband and I would be traveling south on our boat, and would be checking out of the Bahamas and into Dominican Republic no later than March 28. He welcomed me, said have a nice trip and handed back all of my paperwork. At that time, it never occurred to me to look at my passport. Apparently he only gave me 30 days to be in the country, and now the immigrations officer explained to me that I have been in the country illegally for almost a month.😳 Protocol was for him to arrest me immediately.🥹🥹🥹
I’m not ashamed to admit that this was my breaking point! Now, fighting back tears, I tried to explain the circumstances of the past few weeks. The immigrations officer was very kind and assured me that he would do everything in his power to avoid arresting me, but he had to go to his superiors for direction. After the first call, I was told that I wouldn’t be arrested, but would have to appear in court in Nassau, and would most likely receive a large fine.
Thankfully, he didn’t stop with that answer, and after several more phone calls, he got permission to pre-date my extension in my passport, which now shows that I have been in the country legally the entire time. He did stress to me that the only reason I was not arrested was because I had come into the office with the intention of extending…if this situation had been noticed during a ‘spot check’, he 100% guarantees I would have been arrested!
During all of this, Keith had been looking for tickets to fly into Great Harbour to rejoin me, as he was feeling much better…BUT, on the same day as my near arrest, he received a call that he might have been exposed to Covid, the day before…ugh! He moved out of my Dad’s house and into a hotel, just in case.
On March 26, in less than ideal conditions, I made my way back to Comfort Cay with the hope of being able to enjoy relative protection from northeast and east winds, for the next few days. If Kieth continues to improve and does not test positive for Covid after 7 days, he planned to purchase tickets to rejoin me on Saturday April 6.
In the meantime, I did have a few nice days to explore Little Harbour Cay…
And only two days later, the next front moved through. This time the forecast was for a faster moving system with slightly lighter winds, so I decided to stay put.
This shows my anchor status through this event. The dots inside the circle tell the whole story. The wind started strong out of the southeast. As it started to clock around, I let out more anchor chain in preparation for stronger winds from the westerly directions. The wind blew strong out of the southwest for several hours. At around 8:00 pm all wind suddenly died…within 15 minutes a huge 50 mph front out of the northwest hit the boat and spun me around. The boat continued around the anchor arch for about 60 feet before the anchor broke loose and the boat started dragging.
The dots moving straight out toward the circle show the time during which the boat was dragging. I was standing at the helm, and preparing to start the engines when the anchor reset itself, and started holding a new arch pattern. By 8:30, I was confident the anchor had reset itself, but the adrenaline was already pumping. There was little sleep that night, as the wind continued to scream out of the northwest for the next 12 hours! Waves got pretty big, and conditions were rough, but the anchor held tight!
The next few days were actually quite nice…
I saw an amazing Space X launch
It seemed like every time I considered jumping in for a swim, this large bull shark showed up to dissuade me. With my luck recently, probably best to stay in the boat!
Enjoyed a lovely Easter potluck at Flo’s Conch Bar. Chester, the owner, invited all anchored cruising boats to participate.
With several negative Covid tests, Keith purchased tickets to fly to Great Harbour on April 6. I reserved a slip at the marina (this is not the $600/night marina) to make it easy to pick him up. However, on April 3, Keith called to tell me he had a fever, and back ache…UGH!!! Does he have Covid after all?? By the next morning, he was driving himself to the hospital, where he would end up spending several days admitted with a blood clot in his right lung.
I took the boat to the marina, and extended my reservation for two weeks. I flew back to Maryland to see Keith, after being apart for a full month. My plan is to return to the boat in a few days, and prepare the boat to cross back to the U.S. My son, Matthew, will be joining me to do an overnight passage on April 19th.
My view while flying over the Bahamas.
My view while flying over the entire east coast of the U.S.!
I am happy to report that Keith has been released from the hospital, and is starting to feel better!
