Delectable

Plenty of birthday surprises today, none of them were unpleasant. Woke up to find the wind had shifted out of the east and we were hanging just off of Pablo. No more Bahamian moor necessary. Our concerns that we would swing into shallow water were unfounded because the tide was up enough that we were in plenty deep water. Well, deep enough…a foot under the keel.

The first birthday surprise was the project. Ellen and Moss have been working hard to stencil a t-shirt for me. See the pictures and you will realize the second surprise: I was demoted to crew. Check out the selfie at the end of the post and you will see that Ellen promoted herself to Captain. The pressure is off me and I can now relax, responsibility-free in my golden years. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

While the Captain pulled in a little of the scope to keep us in the sweet spot until the tide was up enough for us to depart over the shallow flats, Moss and I took Mr. Flowerpot to retrieve Fortunata from her spot to the west. We could see the anchor mostly buried in the sand in about 4’ of water and pulled the anchor, chain, and line into the dinghy. 

(Landlubbers: rode is the chain/rope part of the anchor setup. Pablo is on a 200’ all-chain rode. G4 5/16” chain for the anchor-obsessed. Fortunata is on 35’ of chain and what looks like maybe 150’ of line. If I had thought about it more carefully, I would have doubled the length of the chain for that anchor before we left. I even have the chain, sitting in a bucket in the garage in Maine. Oh well.)

We left the anchorage on the rising tide and never saw less than 5.3’ on our way out. That’s less water than we like, but still more than we need. Bade farewell to Little Harbour Cay and sailed the short 2 1/2 mile course to Alder Cay where we are at anchor in a luxurious 9’ with literally miles of swinging room. The wind is out of the east so we are sheltering, mostly protected, in the lee of the cay. (Say that last bit out loud, it’s a rhyming couplet.) 

The spot is a little rolly, but we didn’t mind too much until I tried out my third surprise, a hammock. Relaxing in it as it hangs between headsail and mast will be a very comfortable activity in an anchorage with less motion. As it was today, the hammock was a little too active for my taste. The instructions say to hang the hammock, climb in, and relax. As you can see from the picture, Moss didn’t read the instructions and instead thought the hammock was a clubhouse. 

The vocabulary word of the day was “delectable” and last night’s dessert was the epitome. Ellen baked the most delectable apple pie she has ever created. The recipe called for taking the drippy sugary juice from the fresh apple filling and then caramelizing it on the stove before adding it back to the filling. The result was heavenly. So don’t panic, that’s not a fly on the crust (see my initials in the pie?) it is caramelized apple-deliciousness.

Tonight we are having shredded BBQ chicken on fresh-baked buns. And Gretchen’s chocolate lava cake for dessert (thanks again for the recipe, Gretchen). The last time Ellen made this cake on board, it was in 2012 for my mother’s birthday and the dessert tasted so good it made my mother hum.

As far as I can recall, this is the first time I’ve ever gone swimming in the ocean on my birthday. Although, to be honest, it was really not that hot of a day, the swimming was still delightful.