Day 251, Friday February 28

Day 251, Friday February 28^th

Well it is the last day of February.  Good-bye to another month.  Our friends and family back home will be counting down the snow storms left in the season.  It has been a doozy of a winter for them and an endless summer for us!

Last night the wind moderated in the evening so the wave action was mild.  Still a bit of movement, but not bad.  Julie is starting to wear earplugs to bed, a good thing to have on board for those thinking of heading out.

The Hermitage from the water

The winds continue to pick up during the morning and the waves join in.  We are tossing and turning and awaiting a squall.  The squall does not come, but the light winds which were forecasted don't come either.  Dawson plans to go for another run on the beach but by the time he takes action it is too rough to head to shore as he was worried about a repeat of yesterday.  Turns out the neighbouring boats were hoping for another show.  We just hang around, somewhat trapped on the boat as it is tricky getting into the dinghy when the back of the boat is rising and falling about 6 feet.  Better to stay put.  The winds start to "clock" at around 1 so we decide to weigh anchor and head north in the bay to seek shelter from the point that is jutting out to the west.  It takes at least an hour as there are head winds but soon enough we are anchoring in New Bight.

As we arrive into the new anchorage Mark from Down Island gives us a call to pass on that the swells  are still rolling in from the west while the wind is out of the north north west.  This combination would give the boat a bad roll if you just hang off a bow anchor.  Mark recommends that we rig up a wave bridle for the boat to allow the boat to face into the swell.  Dawson's response is that it sounds like a good idea but has never done it.  We get some instructions over the radio and Dawson sets out to get the line and tackle set up.  The rig consist of a chain hook on approximately 100' of line.  The key is to set the hook with the normal 7 to 1 scope and then attach the chain hook and separate line, you then play out about 50' of anchor rode while running the extra line back to the stern chock and then on to the jib winch on the opposite side that you want to turn from.  At the bow you hook up the bridle but again only on the side you want to turn from.  You then adjust the hook up so you have an equalateral triangle center end at the midship of the boat.  This rig pulls your stern up into the wind and allows the bow to fall off to face the swell.  Dawson gets it setup and it passes inspection when Mark comes over.  It works great.  It is like an anchored "Heaving to".  A quick look around the anchorage shows that the boats that are swinging only on the bow are taking the swell on the Port side and rolling , while we are just doing a small rise and fall with the swell right on the bow.  It is a good day as we have learned something new.  With the winch you can do small adjustments as the wind shifts.  The added benefit is the dinghy goes to the lee of the boat sitting in nice flat water.

Once we are sure the anchor is set we head to shore for a look around.  We had been to shore before but only for sundowners so we figure we should take a look around.  We land at the beach in front of the goverment building and drop our garbage off.  Turns out we have landed right at the road that heads up to the Hermitage which is the main place to visit in the area.  We had planned on hiking up the next morning but decide there is no time like the present, so off we go. Father Jerome was a catholic father who was an architect for the church back in the 1920s and 30s.  He came to the Bahamas to rebuild a number of church's that had been damaged or destroyed by a major hurricane in 1926.  The church that we had visited in Long Island was his creation.  The hermitage was his retirement home and a tribute to his god.  It is well worth the visit.  Father Jerome chose the highest point of land in the Bahamas at a total of 206 feet above sea level for the location.

The hike takes you along a paved road for about 1 km past a grove of banana trees.  There are a number of bananas ripening on the trees but there is a sign asking that you not pick them as they are being grown for shipment to Haita, good thing the sign was there or there would have been two less bananas for Haita.  At the end of the road we start up a trail through the scrub and soon come to the 12 stations of the cross which Father Jerome had created, all the time climbing up towards the Hermitage.  The Hermitage can be seen quite clearly from the sea and looks quite impressive and as you approach it maintains the look.  Upon arriving you find it is still impressive but almost miniature in scale.  The building features a chapel with single pew for one, a small sitting room, a galley kitchen, a spartan beadroom and a two story bell tower.  In the chapel there is a guest book to sign which Julie fills out for us.  Dawson then flips through looking at earlier visitors comments, one which catches his eye is from two years earlier and conveys the following story.  A visitor states that his mother had met Father Jerome in Cat Island and that he was a very tall man.  The reason for the small size to the hermitage (We had to duck in all the door ways) was to "modify his body to empower his soul".  It is quite an impressive structure when you realize it was built by one man as his final home and as a tribute to his god.

After the hike we head into town to see what it has to offer.  We find a bakery where we purchase some coconut bread and have a conversation with the bakers 4 year old son.  We then head over to the convenience store and back to the mothership to host sundowners.

Wilma and Barrie

Barry and Wilma (she just became a great grandma a couple weeks ago) from Syrena and Dave and Sue from Sans Cles join us and we chat for a couple hours until we go our separate ways for dinner.

We spend a quiet Friday evening with coffee and reading.

Cheers

Julie and Dawson