A very impressive thunderstorm woke us up at 5:00 this morning. It had everything -- thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and gusty winds -- and lasted for half an hour. The wind clocked around 180 degrees and we were peering out our ports to make sure all the boats were spinning evenly. We have utmost confidence in the holding power of our anchor, but our little anchorage off of Tahiti Beach was full of chartered catamarans and we were unsure of others' anchoring abilities. Convinced all was OK, we did manage to doze back off while listening to the soothing sound of rain falling on the deck.
The clouds moved out and the morning sun cast an interesting light on the anchorage. Blues and greens flowed together like a watercolor painting. Low tide was at 9:50 and we had to wait for a rising tide to move north. We did a few boat chores and watched the water level fall. The large rock/small island seemed to be hovering over the water as the sea level dropped beneath its eroded ledges. Finally at 11:00 we pulled up anchor and moved two miles to an anchorage just south of the entrance to Hope Town. As luck would have it, the wind was gusting 25-30 knots and stirring up a brisk chop when we arrived.
We elected to not pull the dinghy down and just take it easy for the afternoon. We turned on the generator and concurrently made water and did a load of laundry. I took my chair to Fiberglass Beach and read for a few hours while enjoying the spectacular view of the Hope Town Lighthouse. Texts and phone calls were mixed in to keep things interesting. Congratulations to Aunt B, who upgraded to her very first smart phone today. It was great fun to be part of her initial FaceTime chat. I look forward to many more.
By the time the sun set, the wind had calmed down and clocked around to the east. We should have good weather to go into Hope Town tomorrow for our initial exploration. Many places, including the lighthouse, are closed on Sunday, so we'll go back in on Monday morning as well to make sure we see as much as possible before moving along.
The clouds moved out and the morning sun cast an interesting light on the anchorage. Blues and greens flowed together like a watercolor painting. Low tide was at 9:50 and we had to wait for a rising tide to move north. We did a few boat chores and watched the water level fall. The large rock/small island seemed to be hovering over the water as the sea level dropped beneath its eroded ledges. Finally at 11:00 we pulled up anchor and moved two miles to an anchorage just south of the entrance to Hope Town. As luck would have it, the wind was gusting 25-30 knots and stirring up a brisk chop when we arrived.
We elected to not pull the dinghy down and just take it easy for the afternoon. We turned on the generator and concurrently made water and did a load of laundry. I took my chair to Fiberglass Beach and read for a few hours while enjoying the spectacular view of the Hope Town Lighthouse. Texts and phone calls were mixed in to keep things interesting. Congratulations to Aunt B, who upgraded to her very first smart phone today. It was great fun to be part of her initial FaceTime chat. I look forward to many more.
By the time the sun set, the wind had calmed down and clocked around to the east. We should have good weather to go into Hope Town tomorrow for our initial exploration. Many places, including the lighthouse, are closed on Sunday, so we'll go back in on Monday morning as well to make sure we see as much as possible before moving along.
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