Tucked in at Compass Cay Marina for a Few Days

Thursday, March 11:
Yesterday, we ordered a loaf of raisin bread from Lorraine’s Café. Her mom makes it to order. It was delicious! We had it warm out of the oven last night and toasted two slices each for breakfast with coffee this morning.

Since water is free in Black Point and we could replenish our water, we took showers this morning. Then Chuck dumped 10 gallons of water from the jerry jugs into the water tank and took the jerry jugs to shore to get water. The faucet is up the street, so he had to take them up one at a time, fill them and lug them back to the dinghy. What a workout that early in the morning! Our cart was so rusty that we tossed it out about a month ago. He also took up our trash and made a donation.

We ran the generator to make coffee. After he got back from the town dock, we took the motor off, took down the riding sail and readied the boat to leave.

A few minutes after 9 a.m. I took the helm and Chuck pulled the anchor. I stayed at the wheel for about 15 minutes while he tied the kellett and secured a few other things. Winds were 10-13 knots. Seas were 2-3 ft. SOG was 4.1. We were sailing wing on wing with no motor. The winds were behind us.

We ran the macerator while underway. It’s hard to reach. We have to empty nearly half the lazerette to get to it. Guess they don't want you to use it on a whim!

At 11:30 a.m., we arrived at Big Majors Spot and dropped anchor. John and Mary are here from Marylee. We met them at Dowry Creek and were with them in Marathon. They have a Chihuahua named Goliath.

We put the motor on the dinghy and went over to feed the wild pigs. As soon as they hear the boat motors, they jump into the water and swim to you. But they don't like to be in too deep, so to keep them at bay, you don't get too close to shore.

I had asked Miss Adderley for old produce before we left Black Point and she gave me some spoiled produce to feed the pigs. I split it into two bags and gave some to Wayne and Patti.

One of the pigs was so anxious to get the food, he started to climb into our dinghy! He had both of his front hooves in the boat and was trying to reach the bag. I threw some cabbage leaves far from the boat and he swam to get them. Then we made sure to keep throwing it far so they wouldn't do that again!

After a few minutes, five little piglets came running onto the beach. They were so darn cute! I took a slew of photos. Patti took pictures of us, but her camera doesn't have a viewfinder, only a digital screen, and in the bright sun she couldn't see what she was getting. Needless to say, she didn't get much.

When we were done with the pigs, Chuck and I took the dinghy around to explore.

Later on, Madeleine and John on S/V Chanceau stopped by in their dinghy to invite us to a sunset party on the beach at 5 p.m. Chuck met them this morning while filling the jerry jugs. These get-togethers are very popular with cruisers and are a great way to meet those you see on the water or hear on the radio. Everyone takes snacks and boat cards to share and their own drinks. I took sopressata with mustard, crackers, bruschetta and rum punch.

Patti made dinner for 8 p.m. Steak rollups with stuffing and gravy, green beans and cheddar and sour cream mashed potatoes. Delicious.

Friday, March 12:
The weather report was not good, another front coming, so we pulled the anchor at 9:30 a.m. and headed for Compass Cay Marina. It’s known as a great hurricane hole, so we'll certainly be nice and comfy here.

The seas were 2-3 ft. and rough and coming over our port side beam. We had half the main sail out and were rocking and rolling. That helped level it out a bit.

We saw the dredging of a sandbar. I took this photo.

At 11:45 a.m., we pulled into the marina. We are docked sideways along the face of a dock, sandwiched between the bows of two megayachts. Bum's Rest is on the opposite side of the dock between two megayachts. They had to squeeze in between a sandbar and a megayacht at low tide. Very interesting dockage, but we are just happy to be in a marina tucked out of the winds!

Jazzy and I took a walk to the beach. It is beautiful and truly paradise. This is a private island and Tucker, its owner, built a marina and a lodge and shares his island with visitors.

Then we left Jazzy on the boat and Chuck and I walked down to the beach.

There is a low platform dock where about 20 nurse sharks of various sizes live. They all have names. You walk down onto the platform at high tide and pet the sharks. They come right onto the dock and wait for you to pet them. I was cooking dinner and Chuck was taking a nap a little after 6 p.m. and Wayne came and got me to pet the sharks and took my picture. It was pretty cool. You can swim with the sharks and buy a T-shirt with a graphic that reads: I swam with the sharks at Compass Cay. I may have to do that tomorrow so that I can buy a T-shirt! Wayne may too, but Patti won't have any parts of it.

I called Ryan and spoke to him for a while. It was great to hear his voice.

I made chicken with rice and mushrooms in wine and chicken broth with a side of peas. Yum. We had potato bread from the freezer for dessert and Patti and Wayne sampled the raisin bread we bought at Black Point.

Tomorrow, I hope to swim at that beautiful beach! We'll see what the weather holds.