Big Majors
The change to Daylight Savings Time had us both out of sorts this morning. We finally got our act together and departed the Big Majors anchorage around noon for the 15 minute ride into Staniel Cay. We were surprised to find the dinghy parking lot almost empty. Maybe we were all confused. Our first mission of the day was to get in a good walk. Since it was low tide, the sea wall was a good place to start. "Welcome to Staniel Cay" is brightly painted on the wall and serves as a colorful greeting for those arriving by water. Another section of the wall is an homage to the world famous resident swimming pigs.
Our next destination was the dump to both get in more steps and to avoid another $8 disposal charge. The dirt road passed beside the inland tidal flats. Chicken Little should have been more concerned with the tide falling than the sky falling. With our mission accomplished and a nice sweat worked up, we returned to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for a late lunch. Today we were seated in the air conditioned dining room and were thankful for the upgrade. After lunch we hung around the docks for a while watching the "friendly" sharks swim around and visitors of all sizes attempting to pet them. A common response was that the sharks felt like sandpaper.
Boats of all sizes look great in the crystal-clear water. We headed back towards Crossroads, but went a little further and cruised around a spot that is special to Barry and me. Fowl Cay Resort has been on our radar since 2001 when I had the pleasure of working with fellow Richmonder Libby Brown on some pre-publicity for a resort she and her husband had developed on a 50-acre island of rock. She later chronicled the process, as well as their previous endeavor -- the founding of This End Up Furniture -- in the book Making Waves. In reading her book, we first learned that the motor yacht they lived on while overseeing construction of Fowl Cay was named Crossroads. We liked the name and what it stood for and kept in the back of our minds for 16 years until we purchased our Selene. The Browns no longer own the resort, but we always think of them when we ride around the property and through the narrow cut.
We have come to the Staniel Cay area for a mini Selene gathering. As of tonight we have seven Selenes gathered in the area and a few representatives from Selene Yachts Americas flew in today. Tonight's gathering was a sunset dinghy cruise. We took our dinghy out for another long 25-minute run around the island to gather onboard Kallisto. Fifteen of us were comfortable mingling on the upper deck for appys and photos before setting off on a tour around all the boats. Kallisto's green hull looked amazing in the low sun of late afternoon. Anchored a short distance away was Blue Phoenix.
The dinghy parade wandered through the anchorage full of monohulls, catamarans, and smaller trawlers. All the other dinghies were much larger with consoles and huge outboards, but we manage to keep up with our small inflatable and 9.8 horsepower outboard. A drone followed our trek from above. Untethered and 401(Play) were anchored a bit further down, nearer to Fowl Cay. The sun was getting lower and the lighting was even more golden.
On the west side of Big Majors we circled Southern Abode and Siren's Song. All Selenes share similar design characteristics, but every one is unique. We ended our tour at home and tied up for the evening.
Crossroads is the smallest Selene in this gathering, but perfectly sized for the two of us. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of another Selene on Wednesday. It will be so nice to see Paradigm Shift arrive and be able to reunite with Glenda, Greg, Jaxon, and Cooper after three months of being in different ports. After tonight's sunset, I only have two more until that happens.
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