Since it was a short ride from Lubbers Quarters we pulled out the sails and sailed in the light breeze. We sailed up past Elbow Cay and the very scenic lighthouse located at Hopetown Harbor and then around some
shallows and right up to the entrance to MOW Cay. The entrance channel to MOWis probably no more than 20 meters wide through a cut in the rock with mean low water readings under 5' and it was just an hour after low tide.
We got in no sweat and motored over to where the mooring field is but it was packed. Boats were on moorings and anchors so close we almost couldn't get through. People came in early and nobody was leaving. So we motored through the main channel to the other mooring field and anchorage and it was the same story. Boats were so close I can't believe they had enough swing room given the impending bad weather.
So we called the MOW marina and they had a slip available and we took it. Later in the afternoon when a squall came through it was really good we were in a slip. During the squall the winds clocked an entire 360 degrees while it was blowing in the 20'sand 30's with gusts in the 40's. I would have like to watch the boats in the mooring field but i was raining so hard I didn't get off the boat.
When we checked into the marina we found they had free wifi and television! So for the first time in months we got to have cable.
This island has changed greatly since we were here in 2007 on a charter. One of our boats anchored down in the first mooring field with only a couple other boats, we anchored across the channel from the marina and one of our boats actually stayed in this marina. When we were here before there were 2 places to eat. One was a fast food snack bar right by the marina and the other was in someone's house. Now there are 3 regular-type restaurants and an ice cream shop. The boat works that were here before are all still here and busy and there is a hardware store that seems very well-stocked. I bought a small section of chain to hoist the dinghy to replace the wire lift support that broke on the way from Spanish Wells.
But the real story here is the weather. We knew we were in for 3 days of bad weather but the story changed constantly. It originally seemed like we could ride over the first night here, go to Marsh Harbour and ride out the next 2 days and do errands while the weather blew itself out. Well this morning as we were getting organized another squall blew through as we thought it would but the forecast changed that today was to be the worst day. Tomorrow will be bad but not as bad as originally predicted. Forecast Monday was for 30+ kts of wind Thursday. Well we needed to raise the dinghy before going to Marsh Harbor. We had been towing it on te short trips around the islands. By the time we got the dinghy secured another squall blew up. I saw winds of 40+ as the rain came down in sheets. Fortunately, we had already changed our plans to stay here and push back our 2 night in Marsh Harbor.
There was another weather development last night. We've been trying to plan our staging for crossing back over to the US. Our plan was to leave here early next week. Work our way up to some very northern islands and then jump off for an overnight sail to St Augustine. Looking at the forecasts for the next week the swells in the Gulf Stream will be out of the north from now through the end of the current forecast range which does not make for a good crossing. Then when I looked at the charts for next Wednesday the wind patterns indicated a cyclone wit a clearly defined eye and almost storm force winds extending out to the east, north and west. The pressure charts showed the circular isobars that confirmed the wind pattern. Wave height estimates in the Gulf Stream were for 4-5 meters. Probably an uncomfortable ride.
Looking for expert help I emailed our weather and gulf stream routers Dane and Jennifer Clark to give them a heads-up that we would be looking for route assistance. Dane wrote back that the forecasting models were showing the probable formation of a preseason tropical depression just north of the Bahamas. So today I spoke to the marina here to see if we could get a slip after visiting Marsh Harbour and possibly Guana Cay before returning to get secured for the high winds that will start by Tuesday. Looking at the charts this morning the current fronts are moving faster than originally predicted and the tropical low may be forming further north and less well defined but travel will still not be good. But, we may be able to begin heading north Tuesday or Wednesday and jump off Thursday or Friday but we'll see. So we may be getting well acquainted with this little island. It is a friendly place and one that is well tended so it is not a bad place to be.
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