This past Saturday we pulled up anchor at Water Cay immediately after hearing the weather forecast for high winds and storms. At the helm I could see the sky's change from their usual beautiful blue to overcast gray and the seas from flat to sloppy. We chose Marsh Harbor as our destination because we could restock while waiting for better weather. Once anchored we completed our usual checks then decided to run a couple of errands in town before the big blow. There were white caps in the harbor so we bounced in giggles(our dinghy) to the dingy dock and drip dried while we completed our errands. As we entered the harbor a voice from the past called us on the radio. Nauti Nel, our sister ship( another 42 ft Jefferson) was here. We were excited to see them. We met Mike and Nel in Carrebelle, spent a week docked next to them waiting for a weather window then crossed to Florida with them. We had not seen them again except for a passing in Venice Florida. They were docked at Harbor View so we walked down and had a great visit! Our trip back to the boat included another soaking and change of clothes when we arrived at the boat. The winds were uncomfortably strong the entire night. I spent most of the night climbing up and down the steps of the fly bridge checking our position. The anchorage was full and I did not want to drag anchor on someone around us. The winds kept up on Sunday with an occasional gust of 30-32 knots. About mid morning a boater announced on the radio that a squall would arrive in about 10 minutes. We double checked everything, closed windows and waited. We could see it come straight in from the entrance to the harbor. As it neared the boats disappeared in the fog like wave of torrential rain. We bounced, twisted, and turned from one direction to another. The wind gusts were strong, clocked by a few boats at 42-47 knots!. I found myself talking to our anchor, please hold, please hold. I think I said this before but will say it again; " I HATE storms". During the storm one of our bow cushions blew off. Tom called to all the boaters to keep an eye out for it and keep us posted at its whereabouts. When it settled down a bit Tom took off to retrieve the cushion. When he returned we brought the remaining cushions inside. Just about then I looked out toward the harbor entrance and announced "Hear we go again"! Another wave of rain came through but shorter and less intense than the first. We collected 20 gallons of rainwater in our buckets during the storm. The wind continued to blow Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday. Not as bad but enough to add a few new bruises to my body as I moved about the boat. We spent Monday visiting a special needs school and finishing up our errands. We also had another nice visit with Nauti Nel. On Tuesday we headed for Treasure Cay in hopes that it would be a calmer anchorage and to hear Stone play again.
The rainbow at the end of the storm
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