It is 10:40pm and everyone on board the boat is snoring...including Zander- the perfect time to write a blog post. When I started the blog, I had hoped to be able to somehow update every day. The realities of data roaming on a cell phone and ability to connect to wifi have set in, however, so I will try to update as often as I can. Honestly, I wish I could update more often because I tend to write more about observations and less simple rehashing of our travels....
Much has happened since the last post!
We sailed around Little Stirrup and Great Stirrup Cays- where the large cruise ships pull in early in the morning and their guests explore an "island paradise." Ironically, the beaches on these Cays have been bulldozed to create a fake Bahamian paradise. We anchored on the other side of the Cays from the cruise ships, hoping to spend a couple of days swimming and relaxing before sailing north to Sandy Point....
We were wrong.
As we were sitting on a small (real) beach watching the sun set, Tyler said, "I think our boat has hit the ground- Just look at the water line (painted on the boat)." I told him he was being paranoid, but after a few more minutes, I noticed the boat was rocking much more than it should be on the waves...
Mirage had run aground.
We ran the dinghy back to the boat just as the sun slipped away at 5:30 and the bad news was that low tide was not to come for another 2 hours. Tyler sprang into action trying to get Mirage to heel (tip to one side) so the keel did not bare the load of the boat each time it slammed into the ground. We put out the sails and took turns leaning off the port side of the boat to tip it as far as possible. And then, we just waited. At about 9:30pm, Mirage started to drift loose bit by bit and as the tide came back in, she was released and we were able to pull up the anchor and find deeper water. To make matters worse, somehow our dinghy came loose during the commotion of anchoring and started to drift away. Tyler had to make a mad dash for it using the kayak. I offered to go after it, but he wouldn't let me- saying something about this is how people get lost at sea and killed...which I know was meant to protect me, but left me thinking...EXACTLY!! Where are you going??
After a very rolly night, we decided to head back to Bullocks Harbor and rethink our travel plans- which led us to Chub Cay and then Nassau...but more about that tomorrow- time for me to snore too.
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