Talk of the town
Last nights storm was incredible! Rain came in horizontal sheets all night long, cleaning every bit of salt off Tanda Malaika so beautifully. The expected 30 knot winds turned into 50 knot winds and for much of the night until about 6 o clock this morning, the waves were so huge and rains so heavy that we couldn’t see land or lights on land just 150ft away from us. Several times in the night i was woken because it seemed like a strobe light was on in my berth, but in reality it was constant lightening. Thunder boomed and lightening struck so close several times that Emma and I (who were the only ones awake), felt tingly on our skin, and huge waves crashed over the bow and up the sides or the hulls. What an absolutely spectacular show by Mother Nature. We were so grateful that our anchor held and that we didn’t get struck by lightening – being the only boat out at anchorage. Our bridle broke, but the anchor held.
Mycah and I removed all we could of the broken bridle, then radioed our friend from ‘Hi 5’, asking him to help us loosen a couple extremely tight screws. He was sweet enough to dinghy over and got them undone for us, then showed us where to go in town to have the bridle repaired. The line we’ve had on it is a multi stranded braided line, but the storm was intense enough that it just shredded it! A bridle is used to take the strain off the anchor chain. It reduces wear from the chain on the boat by acting as a shock absorber and silences the chain.
A gentleman at the hardware store told us that he would replace all the line on our bridle for us, and that we should return tomorrow to pick it up. I told him that Jude has been trying to learn to splice, and he said that he would teach her. She’s so excited. After the hardware store we stopped by the fuel dock to fill the dinghies gas cans, and were met by 3 men who proceeded to tell us that we are the talk of the town. When I inquired why, a friendly guy by the name of A1 told me that many people in the town could see our anchor light in the storm, and they just new that in 50 knot winds, we were going to end up on the rocks, and were watching to come rescue us when we did. It’s comforting to know that we are watched over by so many. Spanish Wells ended up with one of their big lobster boats on the rocks. A1 noticed that I was not wearing shoes and started flirting, saying he really loves a barefoot gal. What a cute old man.
One of the other men was repairing fishing nets. He is the last of the fishing net repairers in the area, and is always busy because people come from miles around seeking his services. I watched him work and found it fascinating. Each little square has a tiny knot in each corner…
The creatures and I went into town for ice cream this evening, meeting our friends there for the tasty treat.
When we returned, my sweet skipper creatures helped me rig up a temporary bridle in case the wind starts to pick up again tonight. They are such great sailors and are always so eager to help and learn.
Danny texted me a short while ago and had just landed in Finland to refuel, and then took off for another 3 hour flight to Italy. He is doing well, but said Finland was really cold at 60 degrees. We are missing him a ton but are glad he’s having a good time flying.
Adventures of a Tribe 