The Front Rolls In

Russell Island   

The weather gurus predicted the conditions would begin to deteriorate by noon. We used the morning to take care of a few boat chores. I washed the salt spray from all the windows and Barry worked on our port side navigation light that was burning dimmer than it was supposed to. He exchanged the base with a spare we had onboard and it seemed to be glowing at full strength. We'll need those lights when we do the overnight passage back to the United States. Ominous clouds formed as I moved to polishing the stainless steel surfaces. The saltwater and salty air are unkind to the metal and produces rust. A little elbow grease and the latest miracle polish brings back the luster. Rain soaked Meeks Patch, but we remained dry. Barry moved all the needed supplies in place to change the oil in the main engine and transmission.

Several more boats arrived in the anchorage this afternoon. The number of vessels makes this area south of Russell Island appear more like Elizabeth Harbour. The Spanish Wells area is a staging area for transits to Nassau, The Berries, and Abacos -- all popular routes for cruisers working their way north as their three-month cruising permit runs short on days. The passenger ferry Bo Henghy III departed Spanish Wells and passed behind us. The ocean tug Joan Ann came in close to low tide and left a milky trail of stirred up sand in its wake.

For most of the day we were in the hole as all the storms passed around us. Barry continued below the floor and changed the oil in the generator. I gave the dinghy a good cleaning while it was still strapped to the upper deck. Around 5:00 we heard thunder, the wind picked up, and a light rain began to fall. We could tell it was getting serious by the number of locals streaming into the harbor with their fishing boats in tow. I soon saw on Facebook where the road over the Glass Window Bridge had been closed because of dangerous swell and wind.

A few shots borrowed from Facebook show an entirely different scene from when we visited the spot two days ago. The wind has picked up and is supposed to stay in the 30-35 knot range overnight. Our anchor chain has stretched out, but we're holding tight. The forecast does not look promising as this poor weather system is going to hang around for a while. That means we will be hanging around as well, waiting for favorable conditions to pick up fuel and move into Spanish Wells Yacht Haven.