Powell Cay to Allen's Pensacola

3/29/10 8:00 am

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We make Pancakes for breakfast. Served with irish butter and raspberry jam or syrup. We used to always get butter from New Zealnd in the islands. Now it’s a choice of Land o Lakes or butter from Ireland. It’s very good butter and cheaper than the LoL. Wind still blowing. We hoist sail and head for Allen’s Pensacola. Still fighting with main sail. Decide to put a reef in the sail as thunderstorms are predicted for afternoon and the wind is picking up again. We dodge around Tranqility for a bit and the get our reef in and head north. We pick a beautiful line and sail through the Crab Cay passage without having to tack. Doing 7.5 knots at one point. This boat likes to sail.

We reach Allen’s Pensacola in good time. This is the only nearby anchorage and not a good one the way the wind is coming around. We creep in around the rocks and find a spot. We drop the hook and it drags. While getting it up we almost blow down on another boat. We get clear and try again. Another drag. Three is a charm and we get a good bite. Wind is blowing up harder and raining. I put up the dodger and sit on anchor watch while ham sandwiches are made. Nice to have dodger for some protection against the blowing wind and rain. Anchor holds through lunch, so I head below for a nap.

My father takes over anchor watch. My brother radios over that there a boat on lee shore aground. Some other people are going over to help. Todd and I get into our rain gear and run over in the dinghy to lead a hand getting Moxie back in deep water. We run anchors out and through a mighty effort of many we winch Moxies off the beach and back into deep water! Shew! Wind is still coming around and picking up. We decide to stay put and I am keeping an eye on the weather. We hear that Tranquility has made German chocolate cake so Todd and I dinghy over for some. We are offered back beans but return to find that out crew has not started dinner yet. Grrr! So Todd and I jump in and I bake the rest of the pork chops with onions and yellow squash and fry potatoes with onions. We have yummy chocolate cake for dessert.

After dinner I am beat. I go on deck and it looks like the weather is clearing so I ask crew to watch for dragging anchor and retire to my cabin. I doze off but am awakened by the wind picking up again. Wind is really howling and bouncing. I hear aboat horn and jump up. We are dragging down on another boat. Crew has engine started and we begin to haul anchor. We swing across anchor line of the boat Dark Petryl and our rudder get caught on his line. Our anchor is not up yet. My father revs the engine to get to anchor and our prop gets wrapped in the anchor line and kills engine. Our anchor comes up but we are tied to Dark Petryl. He lets go his line and we barely miss Tranquility as the wind blows us towards the shore. We pull our second anchor out of a lock and toss it over the side and it drags. Welet our first anchor back out and even with three anchors we drag slowly into shallow water until we stop close to the shore. We attempt to run one of our anchors out in the dinghy as a kedge anchor but the dinghy motor flies off into water. Todd get the motor back into the dinghy. The wind blows dinghy on shore.

Todd ties it off and swims back to boat. Richard comes in Tranquility’s dinghy with spare anchor and we set it up wind but we are too stuck on the outgoing tide to try and kedge off and the wind is howling. We then batten down the boat and go below to wait out storm and plan for morning. No one is hurt and the boat is in sand not coral. We catch our breath and try to sleep a bit. After a while our bimini blows out the stitching around the center pole. We tie back the rest, for the night. My father takes first watch and reports the boat position is steady. Luckily we went aground nearly at low tide. A few hours later at low tide we are not heeled much and our position is steady.

We all try and sleep a bit. At dawn the wind is still blowing hard. At dawn we are close to floating so we call Tranquility to send Richard in the dinghy with a long line. A man from Moxie floats down in dinghy. Todd gets into his wetsuit and goes under the boat. He reports that our rudder almost free of bottom. He cuts the fouled anchor line free from rudder and starts cutting the line off the prop. Richard arrives in dinghy and we set a long kedge anchor then release bow anchor. She begins to swing around. We begin to winch around and into deeper water. We are making headway. Todd goes back to freeing prop while we reset anchors. Soon prop is free!

We winch into deeper water and try motor. It starts. We try forward. Prop is spinning and feels good. Rudder feels good. We add power and winch towards deep water. Soon we are afloat again and we return the borrowed anchor and lines and head to deeper water and redeploy anchor. Richard brings us back out dinghy. We check it out. It looks okay so we remount engine and after a while get it started! It runs okay. The wind is still blowing but not as hard and the sun is coming out.. I sit on anchor watch while the crew makes breakfast. Tranquility comes back into the anchorage and she anchors. We all rest and eat eggs and potatoes. The wind is slowly decreasing so Dave sits anchor watch while the rest of us take a nap. When I wake up the wind has moved back around but is still blowing some.

The sun is out and the water looks beautiful. We decide to take a rest day and not sail up to Moraine. There is not a good anchorage there. We are better off here. We help Moxie get her borrowed anchor back to Dark Petry so he can return a borrowed anchor to the German on a catamaran. He is not very happy and leaves right a way. Then we a take dinghy and drag the dinghy anchor (it’s like a grappling hook) looking for Dark Petryl’s two lost anchors. One lost during rescue of Moxie. The second cut by our prop. We find the small anchor from Moxie but not his main anchor.

Finally the weather is calming and wind moving back south. Dave and Todd head with Tranquility’s crew for a walk across the island. I deploy more anchor chain as we are staying the night. Father and I stay with boat and enjoy some peace and quiet, and I make tomato., salami ,veggy sauce for pasta then have a nice nap. By dark wind has dropped to a light breeze and we watch a beautiful sunset. We have a nice dinner and then crash. I am greatly relieved that no one was hurt during the scramble in the night and that the boat is unharmed. Todd even sewed up the ripped bimini with fishing line. He is a surgeon’s assistant and used his sewing skills. The wind has shifted and dropped to a gentle breeze and finally I get a good night’s sleep!