April 27-30, 2023 Snorkeling, Current Cut to Alabaster Bay

 4-27 Thursday We spent the day playing in the water.  We took the dinghy to the southwest side of current cut and snorkeled along the shoreline.  Since the current was flowing towards the cut, we took the dinghy away from the cut.  Then we let it drift as we swim along with it holding it by ropes over the side.  There weren’t a lot of fish for eating.  Dave took a few stabs at a couple groupers, but they like to hide.  He did get two grunts, which we had for supper.  There were lots of feather duster worms, fan worms, Christmas tree worms, sea fans with a flamingo tongue, flamingo tongues on coral, blue head fish, purple finger coral, schools of small fish, sea anemone.  And Dave saw an octopus!  Fun day!

stock picture of a grunt

4-28 Friday We decided to move the boat further south, to Alabaster Bay.  We had to plan going through the Current Cut.  So I had time to make banana bread before leaving.  
Low tide in Nassau was at 9:30 and here around 11:00-11:30.  We left our anchorage at 12:00 and entered the cut at 12:30pm.  Now we were moving with the current.  We picked up about 3 knots as we went through, but were able to handle the boat.  We had the main sail up.  Good to have in case you have engine trouble.  
It took us about 4 hours to get to Alabaster Bay.  Nice day on the water.  I swam around the boat and checked the anchor.  The bottom is pretty boring here, not much sea life.  But the bay is beautiful.  And we plan to snorkel the rocks and walk the beach.
We decided we had better make plans with Pete for going to our reunion in June.  If we wait until we’re back in the states, it will be more expensive or impossible to get flights.  After talking to Pete, and checking a few options, we got him booked for the Tuesday through Saturday over our reunion, round trip from Brunswick to Rapid City!!  
4-29 Saturday. We had a lazy day.  Dave’s had some stomach issues for a few days, so no snorkeling today.  We made water, which we try to do every 3-4 days to keep the membranes clean.  Over time, creatures in the sea water will die and create a sulfur smell to the water.  Don’t need that.  
I sat on the back deck and cleaned my shells.  I want to put these away before they get washed out to sea.  The 2 big conch shells where the most work.  They have “sea stuff” growing on them.  And there are pieces on conch inside that will stink and attract flies if it’s not all removed.  There weren’t bad.  We had trouble with that last year,  I had sea biscuits from the Abacos that needed to be cleaned, along with some small milk conch we found on the beach here.  After cleaning them, I tucked them up for safe keeping. 

 
Since we were making water, we decided to start a couple small buckets of laundry.  Dave made an awesome chili using the last of a pork roast in the freezer.  I guess he wanted to chase that bug out of his stomach with something spicy.  I didn’t complain. 

4-30 Sunday It was too windy today to be out on the deck of the boat hanging laundry, so we decided to let them soak another day.  The wind was from the southwest, we were protected by land at the end of the bay.  But the waves were coming around the point and hitting us broadside.  That makes our boat rock back and forth, very uncomfortable.  

Dave decided to use a line from the snubber on the anchor to a winch in the cockpit on the port side.  When he shortened the line, it pulled the stern to port and our bow to starboard.  That took the bow into the waves and slowed down the rocking from side to side.  

We had looked at the weather and knew the winds were going to blow a little harder for a day or two.  We had handled winds like that before, so decided to stay here.  But we didn’t take into account the wave action.
Dave tried to make bread.  He uses a digital scale to measure his flour.  The scale wouldn’t work because there was too much motion.  That happens on my digital scale for weighing myself.  It fluctuates about 5 pounds up and down and finally says error.  Even if he had gone back to measuring by volume, it was still kind of crazy to do with the motion of the boat.  
I needed to do something, so I cleaned the stove top of our oven.  Now that’s really boredom.