We weren’t able to meet up with our friends this morning but we were able to get a contact number for them on the island. We’ll call when we next get a signal. The mornings sail was in light winds 5-10 knot. From the East of course as it practically always is around here. We made very slow progress towards Salt Island where we planned to stop for lunch. When the winds died down to 5 knots we gave up sailing and turned on the twin motors and took the short cut. The guide book said the snorkeling off Salt Island was excellent but I’d only consider it fair. We had a look around the beach to find it somewhat abandoned and run down. There was one chap looking after things. There was a graveyard round the back of some tin huts. We tried for a while to get some coconuts but they were persistent so we left them alone.
In the afternoon we had better sailing with winds in the 15-20 knot range. A small rain storm approached and with the risk that the winds might pick up further I took the crew through reefing the sails. At this point we realized how little attention had been paid the previous day. After much yelling we got the sails reefed only to have the wind die down again. We covered ground pretty quickly so we decided to insert a stopover at Marina Cay. We had a quick look around the island which was quite nice and picked up some Pain Killer mix to go with our rum.
The evening had us anchoring in Cam Bay off Grand Camonoe. We were on our own for a while which was nice. There was a great reef for snorkeling where we saw some interesting wildlife. At one point we saw 12 squid lined up in formation looking like they were protecting something. We also saw a sandy coloured eel which I’ve not seen before. We spent ages trying to get the cooker to work. The gas didn’t come on and we couldn’t find the cylinders. The mobile phone didn’t work so I had to use the dingy to motor around the corner so I could call CatCo. They didn’t have any one in the office who could help. Another hunt and we found the gas canisters. The one attached was empty. Although there was a spare, the copper fitting appeared to have welded itself to the canister so we couldn’t replace it. We’ll need to find a replacement soon. Fortunately we had a BBQ and plenty of charcoal so we had grilled chicken and burgers. Very popular. The evening saw us quaff a few more beers as the sun set. Ready for tomorrow.
Today we hired a captain, Mark, who took us out so we could get to know Gato Chateau. We sailed over to Peter Island and stopped in Great Harbour where we snorkeled and had sandwiches for lunch. In the harbour we practiced boat handling (turning the cat on a spot, reversing onto floating objects), anchoring and mooring. I?m glad we did this. Although we went through the exercises with little problem, this did a lot for our confidence. Coming to Peter Island we practiced tacking Gato Chateau. On the way back we practiced jibing and then putting a reef in the mainsail. Final drill was for me to bring the boat into dock. I had to concentrate on the task but was able to reverse her into her slip. Evening meal was back in Peg Legs.