What a Difference a Day Makes

2/12 -2/13 - We’d know for the past few days that a front with 20-30 knot winds was going to pass through beginning early Saturday evening around 5:00 – or so the weather forecasters predicted. We had already decided where we wanted to be (Cambridge Cay) and had positioned ourselves close by. It was only a short 3-mile run from Chicken Cay so we figured we could motor over late morning/early afternoon and settle ourselves in before the front arrived. That was the plan ---- but --- as you know, plans sometimes change.

To set the stage, let me describe where we were anchored. Chicken Cay is shaped something like a “U”. The open end of the “U” faces directly northeast out to the Sound. There is even a notation on the chart that warns the anchorage is not safe in a northeast wind. Yesterday, we had no breeze at all. Just warm, humid and dead calm. The anchorage was delightful. This morning we were enjoying breakfast (some empanadas from our friends, Jim and Karen in Maryland, that we had been hoarding). All of a sudden, Gerry noticed the breeze picking up out of the northeast …. Hum, we thought, quite a bit earlier than forecast, but we didn’t expect it to amount to much for awhile. However, during the next few minutes it continued building and it was unbelievable the amount of wave action we had within just a few minutes. We hollered over to Second Star, who was also checking out the conditions. We both decided to get out – NOW.

We motored across Conch Cut and up the west side of Cambridge Cay into the mooring field. We grabbed a mooring ball and settled in for the day. We are now back in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.

We ended up staying 2 nights. It was quite windy and the mooring field was a bit rocky, but we were protected from the strong NE wind and felt this was the best place to be given the weather conditions. On Sunday we dinghied the short distance to the beach and took the trail to the east side of the Island. The ocean appeared quite “angry” as we followed the trail up to the cliffs on the ocean side and watched the waves hitting Bell Rock and the shoreline. In the evening we had dinner aboard Second Star. Jana prepared a wonderful meal and after wining and dining we watched a Comedy Central DVD and laughed until our sides hurt. After that it was back to the boat and to bed. A fun day despite the windy weather.