Tuesday & Wednesday April 5th & 6th: NE Front

     The front came through as predicted, bringing at first rain squalls with sheet lightning and lots of thunder.  It was the first time we’ve really been in such a storm.  We got up in the night to secure our electronics.  We’ve read several stories about cruisers being struck by lightning that disabled all their electronics and we wanted to be prepared.  Fortunately our mast isn’t that tall and we are fairly well grounded, but we thought it prudent to tuck our smart phones and other small items into the oven, which acts as a Faraday cage.  Everything else was disconnected and placed where it had less of a chance of being affected should the lightning came that close to us.  

     Dan had rigged the dinghy cover as a water collection device and he made sure it was in place as the rain came down.  It rained off and on all night.  We collected enough rain water to fill all the small jugs set aside for laundry water, and then some.  Tuesday alternated between rain squalls and bright sun and we stayed there in Man of War Bay off Raccoon Cay and made it a leisurely chore day. 

Goats grazing on Raccoon Cay.

     I made good use of the water with several loads of hand laundry.  Dan installed a fishing rod holder he’d fashioned from a piece of bamboo.  

     By supper time the winds and seas had picked up considerably, and the direction was shifting from North to North East, which was leaving us somewhat exposed.  The good news was that the rain squalls were over.  The bad news was that we could expect to spend an uncomfortable night or we could haul anchor and move through the chop to a better anchorage.  Dan hailed Lucky Lani on the radio.  They were still at Buena Vista Cay.  The anchorage there was better protected and they let us know there was still plenty of room if we wanted to come back.  We had about an hour and a half before sunset, and it would take us a good hour to move back to Buena Vista, so we quickly weighed anchor and set off.  It was a bit of a wild ride:  the fresh water rinse the Willie had received was quickly replaced by another layer of salt.  It was an exhilarating cruise but we were glad it was a short one.  There was much less rolling about in this cove, and much better protection from the North and the East.  We dropped anchor about seven-fifteen and had a late supper of chicken and sweet potatoes with a garlic sauce and mashed potatoes on the side.  Comfort food.  The wind howled all night and the temperature was considerably cooler, much nicer sleeping weather.

A break in the clouds on our way from Raccoon to Buena Vista.

     Wednesday the wind continued to blow.  We decided to take another lay day.  It’s good not to have an agenda.  We took care of a few little projects, but the bulk of the day was spent reading, listening to music, playing games and doing crosswords.  Sometimes you just need a quiet day like that.  We also spent the day in the cabin to give our skin a break.  We’ve been careful about using sunscreen and warning each other if we look pink, but sometimes it’s good to just be out of the sun.  

The end of another day in the Jumentos.