Thursday, 13 March 2014

Stella Maris - Star of the Sea


OK, sailor friends … picture this:

We’re under full sail on a perfect beam reach, making 7 knots, with a 16-18 knot wind. The sky above us is powder blue, with puffy little cumulus clouds along the horizon, and the sea, which is almost flat, ranges from royal blue to clear turquoise in the more shallow stretches. Sailing doesn’t get much better!

That was two hours of a four-hour trip to Long Island yesterday – about 30 miles south of the Exumas (the rest was motoring). We scraped our way in at low tide, with an inch of water under the keel (yikes!), and landed in Stella Maris Marina (“Star of the Sea”) – named after our granddaughter J. It’s a cozy little harbor with a great bar/restaurant, good showers, a laundry right across the street, and a grocery store a hitch-hike away. The owner, Ian, even offered to climb our mast this morning to see if he could reach the light that needs to be changed (though unsuccessfully). This place has everything a boater needs for a few nights – fortunately, because a cold front has come in, and the winds are heavy from the wrong direction – so we may not be moving for a day or two. Not a bad place to be stranded.

So it’s been a day of provisioning, boat washing, laundry, etc., and watching the palm trees blow in the heavy winds – could be worse – we could be shoveling snow in Toronto. Hope you’re all surviving this on-going  $#*%*# Winter!




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