March 28, 2015

March 28, 2015

Saturday:  Norman's Cay

After a sleepless night worried about the storm and our anchor holding, the sun rose to reveal cloudy skies and water that was not inviting.  The storms had stirred up the waters and our clear blue water had turned murky and turbulent.  I decided as did most of the other boaters that this would be a good day to stay aboard and do some cleaning or take a nap and read a book.  We were listening to the VHF like we do every morning to learn the local weather.   A sailboat was on the rocks in Allen's Cay talking to Yamacraw and Red Pepper who were both relaying messages and trying to diagnose the best way to offer assistance.  We also heard a general announcement that a supply barge was coming to the service dock at Norman's Cay.  We were anchored right off of the service dock leaving plenty of room for a boat to tie up to the dock--or so we thought.  

While still not fully functional--my coffee had not kicked in--I heard a call to all boats in Norman Cay that East Wind was coming thru the cut and requested any vessels in the channel near the cut l to move please to give enough room to get to the dock.  Steve was being patient this morning and decided we didn't really need to move that there was plenty of room.  As East Wind got closer it became obvious that we needed to move and when he blew his horn, I jumped ready for action to pull up the anchor and get out of dodge.  Fortunately we pulled up the anchor with no problems, moved back a few hundred yards and re-set the anchor without a hitch.  It is nerve wracking for me because it its usually at just these times when speed is of the essence that something does not go smoothly.  We were told later that this service boat sometimes arrives in the middle of the night disturbing all boats anchored close by.

This barge type ship contained 6 or 7 dump trucks, and other assorted vehicles.  While it was a little unnerving  at first, I settled down to enjoy the show.  It was interesting to watch the equipment unloaded run about on the island and return with loads of dirt.  The captain assured is he would be gone by 9:30--but they didn't leave until almost noon.  

Pics 2717, 2712

Joy