Embracing
The Wind Gods: March 2 2017
The
Wind Gods – every culture has their own mythology with varying representations:
Zephyrus, Boreas and many more for the Greeks; Cardea and Venti for the Romans;
Njord for the Norse; Niltsi for the Navajos and on and on. They are goddesses, giants, gods, spirits,
twins, demons and everything in between.
There is no need to fight the wind no matter what you call it. We simply plan our days based on their moods
because strong winds mean waves and rough seas (even in an anchorage) which
make it hard to cook or sleep…and make dinghy rides wet and pounding.
The
weather forecasting models for the Exumas continued to disagree in detail;
however, what was clear was that strong winds clocking around were on the
way. We liked our snug spot at Red
Shanks. The mail boat just unloaded so
we made a run to town – scoring three zucchinis and a couple of odds and
ends…as well as disposing of a bag of trash for $2 (2/21). Sunset was a stunning display of red…will
this negate the weather forecast?! You
know…red skies at night, sailors delight…and all that. Chris headed to $5 poker at St Francis and
was the big winner!! Well done!! Gulp.
But the dinghy ride home was non-trivial in the dark, moonless night
around 10pm; one hand on the handheld GPS to follow the track home, one hand on
the engine and one hand for the flashlight.
Wait – that’s three hands. It was
a rotation and a bit crazy…oh, avoid the sunken boats and coral mounts, too.
Despite
our well protected spot – we got an invitation we could not refuse. It’s a cold front party and we’re
invited. Melanie and Paul invited us and
another boat (m/v Twin Sisters) to tie up at their lagoon dock until the cold
front passed. All tied up in the
afternoon and dinner was a marvelous potluck affair (2/22). We contributed a hot artichoke cheese dip and
a side of roasted potatoes with lemon, garlic and oregano (recipes below). Twin Sisters brought homemade focaccia and a
ramen salad. Yum – the focaccia was soft
and flavorful…and Chris has added the recipe to his repertoire. Melanie and Paul grilled pork tenderloin and
wrapped everything up with brownies and vanilla ice cream. With full bellies and a lull in laughter we
retired to our respective vessels and agreed to reconvene after breakfast for a
walk of the island.
The
winds howled and the rain pelted throughout the night. However, the sun came up bright and clear
with only the strong winds remaining (2/23).
We walked the island and sat in the gazebo…marveling at our good luck to
be visiting with friends while weather conditions were unfriendly. Beachcombing provided lovely sea fans and
several pieces of sea glass. How will I
keep the sea fans in one piece all the way back to Boston?! Dinner was another joint effort…pasta
puttanesca. Paul made homemade pasta and
we all contributed larder items for the sauce plus some additional
nibbles. Sausage, Cheese and Chile Dip
Casserole with tortilla chips was our contribution (recipe below). An after dinner adventure followed as we
headed to the trails with flashlights-in-hand to search out ghost crabs. No luck but we continued to the gazebo for
star gazing. Amazing!
As
forecast, the winds died down the next day after lunch and we were off to an
anchorage across the harbor on the western side near Crab Cay (2/24). Thanks for the generous hospitality, Melanie
and Paul (and new recipes, Russ and Lori).
Anchorage conditions remained good until the wind died which allowed the
ocean roll to dominate and, boy, was it wobbly.
Up came the anchor and we moved across the harbor back to Sand Dollar
Beach before breakfast (2/25). Much
better for eating – smooth and mellow.
The
wind remained quiet which meant it was a perfect day to travel or explore
(2/25). We are staying in Georgetown so
exploring we went. Sand spits across the
way at Man of War Cay beckoned at low tide.
We only found a single sand dollar but the views were unbeatable - swirls
of creamy sand and blue water as far as the eye could see. Returning back to Sand Dollar we stopped for
a snorkel on a reef. Dinghy buoys made
it easy to stop and reduce damage to the reef.
There was hard and soft coral, colorful fish and even a few shells
walking along the ocean floor (no – I left them there).
Current
boat count is 307 boats in Elizabeth Harbor.
It looks like a small city. Being
holed up due to previous day’s winds meant everyone was buzzing around like us
in the calm conditions. It was a lazy
afternoon so we headed to Chat N Chill (http://chatnchill.com/). This laid back place on Stocking Island has
soft sand underfoot and shade from whispy pine trees overhead. The bar is a must visit spot with many folks
leaving behind reminders of their boat.
The small bar shack is filled cheek to jowl with boat shirts hanging
from the rafters and boat cards papering the walls. We grabbed goombay smashes (with floaters)
and headed to the shaded wooden benches.
We
bumped into friends Dave and Lisa enjoying the beach with family visiting from
New Hampshire. Crazy to be snow plowing
last week and slathering sunscreen this week.
We visited and played in the sand.
Dark sting rays patrolled the shallow water which were mostly ignored by
the toddler grandkids.
Winds
remained light which kept us exploring (2/26).
We took a Sunday drive through the anchorage saying hello here and there
as well as walking across Sand Dollar Beach to the Sound side looking for beach
treasures. I love to find pretty shells
and coral but I am never quite sure what to do with them. New friend, Lori, wore some beach combing pieces
on twine as bracelets. They look great
so I focused on finding items with ready-made holes for stringing. Ha – but there does not seem to be any twine
ashore in town. Oh well, I’ll keep
collecting and simply assemble back home…unless I dig some string out from the
boat cupboards or lazarettes.
A
few boat projects have snuck in like splicing a replacement anchor chain
painter and securing the anchor to the chain with seizing wire. And, hey, is that water in the bilge?! No!
Chris has a very nearly bone dry bilge but spotted some water. Oh, it is leaking from the plastic jug of
distilled water meant for the anti-freeze – that is easy to fix – toss the
plastic jug. That’s it – keep projects
to a minimum.
The
anchorage remains chock-a-block with boats and every single one is unique and
fun in their own way. One of our
neighbors, m/v Barbara, has a beautiful figurehead on the bow and a parrot as a
pet. The parrot yelps and squawks from
time to time which adds a festive twist to the anchorage. So many boats concentrated in one place leads
to lots of fun and games – especially because it is Cruiser’s Regatta. We generally stay to the fringe of the
activities but we could not keep away from the two stage Coconut Challenge (Feb
27). It was a hoot! Stage 1: Teams of four assembled in dinghies
(with motor removed). At the sound of the
start whistle all teams propelled themselves into the bay with a single flipper
fin per person to gather as many coconuts as possible. Stage 2: Team collected coconuts are taken to
the beach where a coconut thrower stands backwards and throws a coconut over
their head while the remaining team members try to catch the thrown coconut in
garbage bags. Holy cow – catchers don
helmets (not their first rodeo) and scamper wildly trying to get as many
coconuts in the bag as possible.
Everyone had fun with endless laughs and giggles.
You
know cruising...sorting out mechanical issues and having fun. Today it
was 1) getting the generator back up and running and 2) painting paradise in a
coconut (3/1). I was holding my breath for the generator but the painting
was loads of fun. Happily, both turned out well....1) we have done a load
of laundry and made water and 2) I painted paradise in a coconut.
The
generator has had a minor issue for awhile but it has not yet been tracked down. Cruisers routinely stop by whenever we run the generator
commenting on the white smoke. Yes, we
know about it...then suggestions for a fix are laid out and debated. Thanks
to the solar panels the generator is only run to make water, do laundry
and heat water (if we have not moved the boat). However, we still
consider it an integral system of the boat that we do not want to be
without. Chris has been making fixes over time such as replacing
the exhaust elbow and water pump but the smoke
remains. One more idea has crept in so Chris figured he would
give it a try with a bit of hot water
and vinegar to flush out the heat exchanger.
Some black gunk and metal pieces from the zinc came out so maybe that was it.
Balderdash! Turning the generator
back on to check the impact of the flushing and $#%*@ water shot from the end cap like a
firehose spraying the engine room with salt water. Gggrrr – the cap is cracked
and the generator cannot be run. A
friend arriving on Friday will bring a replacement part but we hope that is all
that is needed. We put out a call on the
morning cruiser’s net and found that someone has a cap and a seal that we can use (it
is used parts kept as a spare).
Yippee! We will give Brian on s/v
Ambergris new parts when they arrive and in the meantime we gave him a six pack
of Sierra Nevada beer for “rent.” Thank
you, thank you. This generator fire drill has been an odyssey
but all is sorted.
Now onto the fun. There were about 20 of
us seated at the wooden tables in the shade in front of Chat N Chill (yes, sand
between our toes). A cruiser walked us through the painting process one
step at a time and provided all the materials. It was loads of fun!
All of our results looked great but, also, they were all very different.
I am happy with my efforts and might be able to try it on my own again in the
future. Plus, I drove myself to and from the event in the dinghy so that
was a bit of confidence building thrown in for good measure, too (beach landing
solo and windy conditions kept it interesting).
Winds are expected to pipe up again in a couple of days but not as dramatically as last time. Plus, the direction should be better but we’ll keep an eye on it. For now we'll stay anchored at Sand Dollar.
Artichoke
Cheese Dip
(oldie but a goodie)
9oz
jar/can artichoke hearts in water; drained and chopped
1
cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
¾
cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
8
oz cream cheese, softened
Mix
together all ingredients until well blended.
Scrape into 9” pie dish. Bake at
350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serves with crackers, bread, dippers.
Roasted
Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon and Oregano (Aglaia Kremezi) serves 4-6
3lbs
potatoes; peeled, and cut into 1 ½” cubes
½
cup olive oil
4
garlic cloves, minced
1
½ teaspoons dried oregano
½
cup beef or chicken stock
1/3
cup lemon juice
1
teaspoon salt
Ground
black pepper
2-3
Tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1)
Preheat
oven to 400 degrees F.
2)
Place
potatoes in a single layer in a 13x9 baking dish. Pour oil over them. Add garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to
taste. Toss well to coat.
3)
Bake
15 minutes. Add stock and toss. Bake 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and toss. Bake 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
4)
If
you like – broil a few minutes until golden brown.
5) Sprinkle with fresh oregano and serve at once.
Sausage,
Cheese and Chile Casserole Dip by James Villas; Crazy for Casseroles
cookbook
3/4lb bulk pork sausage (or cubed steak or ground beef)
8oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
7oz can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
1/4lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
cilantro, chopped for garnish after removed from the oven
1) Fry sausage over medium heat, breaking up with a fork until well
cooked. Drain as needed.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 11/2 qt casserole.
3) Combine sausage, cream cheese and Rotel. Mix until well blended.
4) Scrape into casserole. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top. Bake until
bubbly (approx 15 minutes). Rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with
cilantro. Serve hot with corn chips.
Russ’
Focaccia Bread
(makes two 1lb loaves)
1
3/8 cups lukewarm water
2
¼ teaspoons granulated yeast
2
teaspoons salt
1
½ teaspoons sugar
2
Tablespoons olive oil
3
¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½
teaspoon dried thyme
¼
teaspoon dried rosemary
1)
Mix
the yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with the water in a bowl.
2)
Mix
in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, food processor or stand mixer
with dough hook. If not using a machine,
you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
3)
Cover
(not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and
collapses (or flattens on top), approx. 2 hours.
4)
The
dough can be used immediately after first rise or stored in the fridge (not air
tight container) for 12 days.
5)
Flatten
into ½ - ¾ inch thick onto 9x13 cookie sheet.
Dimple surface with fingers.
6)
To
own taste smear some olive oil, garlic paste, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper on
top.
7)
Let
rest 20 minutes. Bake 20 – 25 minutes at
425 degrees F.