Long Island to Mayaguana

After what seemed like an eternity in Georgetown, we finally got a good enough window to leave.  The one good thing about being stuck there was that we were able to meet yet ANOTHER younger couple cruising.  Lee and Rachel Cumberland on Satori.  Our time together was brief, and I wish that we were going in the same direction, as we did have a bunch of fun with you guys.  It was so refreshing to find another couple like us, in a similar situation, going through a long refit of the same style of boat as ours (he has a Tayana 37).  Lee's pragmatic sensibility, affinity for traditional style looking boats, as well as general handiness, reminded me much of a younger Frank.  The same but completely different.  Isn't it great when you meet an alternate version of someone you know?  Check out their blog.

So after leaving Georgetown, we spent a couple of days in Calabash Bay on the NW tip of Long Island as we couldn't resist the spearfishing there.  After the last time, we remembered that this island offered some great reefs abundant with numerous culinary delights.  In one day, we speared 12 lobsters, 2 crabs, a big ass snapper, a jack.  I only speared 3 of the lobsters, so it was pretty much all Frank, but still it allowed us to feast with our friends Lindsay and Nico on Sailboat Furminger.  The next couple days were not as insane in terms of the haul, but were still pretty bountiful. We had to stock up our protein as our next couple spots offer scant protection and will serve only as rest stops for a couple of hours of sleep between passages.  I may officially be sick of lobster…

Hand puppet show…..

So here we are now anchored in front of Mayaguana Island. After a stop in Clarencetown, on the southeast side of Long Island, we had a short layover at Landrail Point on Crooked Island, both of which took a pretty hard hit during the recent cat 4 Hurricane Joaquin back in October (the one that took the cargo ship, El Faro, with 33 crew onboard).  The hurricane came within 15 miles of Crooked Island with winds up to 155 mph, and it submerged more than 70% of the island with flood waters up to 5 feet deep.   The islands from what we saw looked absolutely devastated.  Roofs were ripped up, homes were sunken in sand, it felt eerily like a war zone.  Mother Nature strikes again!  It is so sad to think of all the people who lost their homes and their lives. Makes you grateful for what you have, and a great reminder that life is short.