A Day That Ended Beautifully

Big Majors  

Yesterday's swirling winds had settled by this morning. Before we lowered the dinghy, we first needed to unwrap our Bahamian courtesy flag from around itself. Our ride into the Staniel Cay Yacht Club (SCYC) was pretty comfortable. We were traveling with the waves and stayed flat and dry. First order of business was to dispose of our trash. SCYC charges $7 a bag to use their dump service. We had a chance to watch the nurse sharks at the dock while waiting for lunch service to begin at noon. We grabbed a spot on the deck and enjoyed conversation with a couple from Miami and a gentleman from Germany while waiting for our food. Then we all heard it -- the indescribable sound of fiberglass rubbing on fiberglass (worse than fingernails on a chalkboard). We, and everyone else on the docks, look up to see a large white motor yacht sideswiping a slightly smaller gray motor yacht, with a towed dinghy caught in between. The offending boat seemed to get away with only a large scratch. The worst damage seen on the offended boat was a bent fluke on their stainless steel anchor. One things for sure, your day can change from calm to chaos in a split second. I'm sure insurance companies will be busy on Monday.

Our lunch was great, but the sky was turning grayer by the minute. The lighting was not good for taking photos of the water, but it was perfect for capturing the colors on land. Most of the flowers are seen regularly on our walks. The blooming cactus was a new sight today. The roosters were spotted assembling in a grassy field. Maybe they were going to choir practice in preparation for tomorrow morning's wakeup call. We visited the three local grocery stores and managed to check off the few items on our list. 

On the way back to the dinghy landing at SCYC, it began to rain. One last quick photo and we were heading back over to Big Majors. Intermittent afternoon showers kept us inside. I read in the pilothouse as boats continued to file into the anchorage. One glance up revealed a familiar vessel. Untethered, a 57-Selene out of Urbanna, had anchored in front of us. Barry hopped in the dinghy to welcome Richard and Kelly to the neighborhood. We all met on Cruiser's Beach for sundowners. The evening was beautiful and even a bit chilly with light and variable winds. We sat in the sand and watched the sun lower to the horizon. 

Then we watched the sun disappear and dusk turn into dark. It was great fun to catch up and share stories of cruising highs and lows. Under a clear sky full of bright stars, we all said goodnight and made our way back to the motherships. We will meet up once more tomorrow with Kelly and Richard and also check out a few more things in this area before we move on.