Saturday, February 27, 2010

Some things don't change...

...when we're talking about the wind. However, while it was a busy day for Ron, it was a quiet day for Karyn. Ron started his search for more Yahama fuel/water separator filters today, so that if Tingum's engines have any more fuel issues in the future, we'll have extra spares on hand. Usually when we have spares of something, we never need them, but not in this case! (Seeing how we can't even track down a decent hose, it's always good to have that needed spare part on hand, if you can find it!) Ron made a few inquiries without success on-island, so decided that we'd have to go over to the Marine Store in Spanish Wells, since that is where the nearest best chandlery is located. 


But, after his fruitless day yesterday in the "saga of the green hoses", Ron opted to go diving instead! Ron took Greg out in Tingum to dive down at a site called "The Plateau", while I stayed back aboard Equinox. (I just didn't have it in me to go out on the reef, pounding our way in the tender, especially if it was going to be rough; my head wasn't up to it, to be honest.) It was reassuring to know there's a good mooring at the site, so there were no worries about anchoring. The guys headed out late morning, and I spent the time aboard Equinox doing odd boat projects: responding to an e-mail request for a short sidebar to  our Yachting Magazine interview/article on cruising, installing a new door latch in Ally's shower, adding an extra line on the piling to our northwest, and doing a lot more dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning, among other things. It was nice to putter around, remembering to take things slow for a change, since the moments of dizziness occur when I'm going full-blast and moving too fast. Who knew a skull fracture could be such a pain? :)

The guys heading out to dive aboard Tingum

In going through our e-mail correspondence, we got some news that our friends aboard the Miles Aweigh are en-route to the Abacos, aiming to spend a week or thereabouts in Marsh Harbor. (We were trying to coordinate our various float plans so that we all could be together, but due to my recuperation, we're not making any passages for the moment, unfortunately. Boo!) So, we're just waiting to hear how their passage went; with this nasty cold front coming through, we want to be sure they make landfall safely.

It's been a crazy winter, with the incessant, relentless cold fronts moving through -- I'm really tired of hearing "Gale conditions expected" every time I check the National Weather Service forecast!! In spite of the increasing cloudiness and winds, Ron and Greg did a bit of fishing on the way back after diving, then headed over to Spanish Wells before the winds picked up too much. They did fine running the Devil's Backbone, and managed to track down some of the fuel/water separator filters too! No saga there, thankfully!

Now, after dinner, we're battened down as best we can; the wind is currently only 20 knots, but already whistling in the rigging of the sailboats here at the marina. (And guess what?? Now that we've moved slips to better handle winds from the northwest, the wind is now out of the southwest, so we're again more broadside to the wind and waves! Mother Nature is chuckling, indeed.) Unfortunately, every time I check the radar, it's looking pretty nasty to our west with the front is bearing down on Eleuthera. Sure hope it's milder than forecast for us...we're at 25°30'N 076°39'W...but, not looking too optimistic! This from NOAA:


AMZ080-280330-
 SW N ATLANTIC S OF 31N W OF 65W INCLUDING BAHAMAS
 430 PM EST SAT FEB 27 2010
 
 GALE WARNING N OF 25N E OF FRONT N OF 28N W OF FRONT
 GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED N OF 27N W OF 70W TUE AND WED

 TONIGHT
 N OF 23N E OF FRONT SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT INCREASE TO
 35 KT LATE. SEAS 7 FT BUILD TO 12 FT LATE. N OF 27N W OF FRONT
 NW WINDS 25 TO 35 KT. SEAS TO 10 FT. ELSEWHERE S TO SW WINDS 20
 TO 25 KT. SEAS 7 FT. SCATTERED TSTMS ALONG FRONT.

 SUN
 N OF 27N E OF FRONT S TO SW WINDS 30 TO 40 KT DIMINISH TO
 20 KT LATE. W OF FRONT NW WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 12 FT EXCEPT
 TO 7 FT W OF BAHAMAS. S OF 27N E OF FRONT S TO SW WINDS 20 TO 25
 KT. SEAS 9 FT. SCATTERED TSTMS ALONG FRONT.
We'll get through it, not to worry. We're happy to be snug in our slip...just hoping the Miles Aweigh has made it to port and safe!

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