Day 5 of our adventure aboard Adonis in early June . . .
Day 5: Thar She Blows!
Sunrise at Saba Rock met us with more wind, drizzly rain, and a visibility limited to one or two miles. I took a few photos and my first-mate, Kim, made the crew a dazzling breakfast: scrambled cheese-eggs, bacon, toast, yogurt, and a couple batches of coffee. The smell of comfort foods does a person well onboard a boat. We all ate indoors this morning because of the wind and rain.
As we finished breakfast and Captain Bart set the trip agenda, we decided to pull into the dock and top-off our water. We were third in line. As we waited the 30-45 minutes for our turn, the winds picked up and we decided to grab the closest mooring ball to the dock to hold us until we could motor in to the dock. It was a chore fighting the wind in this big cat. When it was finally our turn, the winds were near 25-knots and directly perpendicular to us. Not a good scenario for trying to get this kitty to the dock, but Captain Bart gave it his best.
Our first attempt to get to the dock got us no where; the wind simply blew us away. Same was true for our second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth tries. Damn wind was playing with us and it was down-right aggravating. Captain Bart did a much better job of keeping his cool than I could have! Finally, another Sunsail skipper who was nearby jumped aboard and tried his hand at helping us wrestle Adonis into the dock through these strong winds. He worked Adonis HARD and after several attempts and just as many minutes, he got us tied up to the dock. Damn, that wind was blowing hard! The skipper offered his condolences about the wind; we were just glad to be at the dock. Thanks for the help! We topped-off the water, grabbed a few bags of ice, and cast-off for Marina Cay beneath an overcast and dreary sky.
We tried to sail Adonis down to Marina Cay but discovered that big kitties like this DO NOT like wind at these speeds. We were hitting winds just shy of 30-knots and this cat did not like it; maybe someone should have reminded the vessel that it was a SAIL boat. Captain Bart did everything he knew to try and win over the winds but just couldn’t do it in this cat. Dropping our sails, we settled for a motor cruise into Marina Cay, arriving just shy of noon. Plenty of mooring balls around so we selected one near the shore to support our snorkeling habit. Picked up the ball in 25-knot winds.
My first-mate prepped some super-delicious chicken-Caesar salad pitas for lunch and we all devoured them as if we were piranhas in an under-water butcher shop. Tasty! A few cold, malted beverages were dutifully sacrificed in an effort to top-off our joyous lunch. The weather began to clear a bit, the winds began to diminish a little, and the skies were lightening-up. Like we heard in the BVI’s, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes; it’ll change!”
We lay moored at Marina Cay for only a short time before Matt’s first-mate, Ashley, shouted, “Oh my God! A turtle!” Sure enough, off our stern maybe 25-yards away, was a large green sea turtle. It popped up, hung out a bit, looked around, and slowly dived again. It repeated this many times. This was probably the closest any of us had ever been to a wild sea turtle and it was an awesome and unique experience. A sea turtle was one of the many things Ashley and the crew had hoped to see on this trip. Mission accomplished. Little did we know that turtle would repeat its antics many times; bet we saw it 50 more times and we all enjoyed it just as much each time.
Marina Cay is a small island with lots of palm trees across from Trellis Bay dropped between Beef Island, Great Camanoe, and Scrub Islands. It has beautiful water in the coral reef surrounding its southern end; probably somewhere near four or five acres in size with a small fuel dock, a Pusser’s Company Store, a bar and restaurant, and a couple of rental villas overlooking the water. Quaint. I could see a couple getting a place for a romantic get-a-way here; both Trellis and Scrub close by—an easy ding.
The winds blew strongly but we all decided to ding over to the island for a ‘look-see’, locate the bar, and check out the store since we were running low on Red Stripe aboard Adonis and we needed a re-fill. As Matt and I rounded the corner from Pusser’s, we saw the beautiful waters on the beach-side of Marina Cay. We both kind of looked at each other, turned, hustled to the dinghy, shot back to Adonis, grabbed our trunks and snorkel gear, and jumped back into the dinghy for our return to Marina Cay. We were gone maybe 10 minutes before we re-docked the dinghy and rejoined our crew. Man, if only this were an Olympic sport! Picture for a moment, a 40-ish something guy on the stern of a boat hopping on one leg trying to get his swim trunks on while moving toward the dinghy with snorkel gear in his hands. Riiiiiiiiight. Not pretty . . . all while being ogled by a sea turtle . . . I felt so dirty and violated.
We eased into the beautiful waters off Marina Cay to snorkel while the ladies tasted a few painkillers before meeting up with Captain Bart and the admiral who did their own “walk-about” on Marina Cay. Matt and I found the waters turbulent from all the wind with a good bit of current. No problem, we just pushed our way upstream and floated back down toward the bar. Across from the bar is an old concrete dock that is falling into the water. Had we known most the sea life was going to be found here, we may have saved ourselves a little swimming. Lots of fish and sea urchins around this tiny structure.
After we snorkeled for about an hour, a strange feeling began to overtake my senses and I had to heed the song: A painkiller was calling. Matt and I retired to the steps of the Rum Island Bar and the ladies were kind enough to bring us a soothing beverage. Ah, how nice, painkillers after a snorkel! Since we were both wet as a catfish in a hurricane, we sat on the wooden steps of the bar sipping our painkillers as we relaxed and dried-off. Damn! This is the life! We gotta do this more often!
The captain and crew decided the Rum Island Bar was where we wanted to dine this evening. We finished our drinks, grabbed a few things from Pusser’s (namely Red Stripe and the obligatory tee-shirts), and dinged back to Adonis. Before departing for dinner, we played a few hands of “Kings in a Corner;” a card game designed for players to orderly dispose of their cards in descending, every-other-color fashion, until someone runs out of cards. Its fun, habit forming, and can be played while downing excessive batches of painkillers and Red Stripe. We saw our friend the sea turtle again; this time closer to the boat and not as concerned with our presence. Cool. The entire crew was happy to see the turtle had returned for yet another visit. The wind remained at about 15+ knots and the skies were overcast and gloomy. Soon, the captain and crew soon set off for Marina Cay and the Rum Island Bar once more!
Once comfortably in the open-air Rum Island Bar, Fat Daddy K dined on a trio of ribs, chicken, and shrimp while my first-mate feasted upon the lamb; I’m a BIG lamb fan and received only a tiny morsel of the ‘muttonous goodness’ (recall Fat Daddy K’s dictionary of Seemingly Appropriate Terms). Everyone ate well and had a good time. After a few more drinks, we found ourselves in need of dessert. Instead of a menu, our waitress provided us with a View Master (that kid-toy-picture-viewing-device made by Fisher-Price you operate by pushing down a lever to see pictures). This simple viewing device houses a round card with stereographic images that are viewed bi-focally, “in stereo.” Geez, I hadn’t seen one of these since 1975! On the photo images were the Rum Island Bar’s desserts. Mmmmm! Sundaes, Key lime pie, ice cream, oh, so many desserts! We all broke down and got one. Me? You bet! The first-mate and I crushed an ice cream sundae!
Finished up the evening by walking back to the dinghy to see a school of 2-3 foot tarpon cruising beneath the dock lights for baitfish. DANG! Another opportunity to wrestle tarpon slips through my fingers! Where’s my Speedo when I REALLY need it?! We dinged back to Adonis through a chop with the wind at our backs and the skies growing evil. We unwind aboard the boat awaiting the impending ‘light show’ from Thor. Another storm, 30+ knot winds, more rain, and lots of swinging on the mooring. What’s this? Our old friend, the turtle, popping up behind the boat again . . . I wonder if he’d split a Red Stripe with me?
