Monday, March 10, continued – Daylight savings time began yesterday, so now in this part of the world the sun doesn’t rise until well after 0700. When we’d entered Matthew Town this morning at about 0845, the sun was still low in the sky and the water looked dark blue. When we exited the harbor at around 1030, the sun was higher and the water was stunning. In the shallows near the harbor it was a gorgeous turquoise, with a distinct line of dark blue where the water got deeper.

Sea conditions were the same as last reported: swells were about 2 – 3-feet at 6-seconds with 1 – 2 foot wind chop waves at rapid intervals. The wind was still hovering at 10-knots. On the passage from Jamaica to Matthew Town, we’d been heading northeast directly into the wind and waves. Now we were headed northwest, so the waves were coming from the rear corner of the boat instead of the front. And where the waves hit made all the difference in the world: it was actually a pretty comfortable ride now!

During the day, it was sunny with scattered clouds. Here was the sunset.

After dark, heavy clouds rolled in. However, the moon was so amazingly bright that it could be seen behind the cloud cover.

Little Harbor was on the southeast side of Long Island. Like Great Inagua, it was a low island barely visible from the distance.

We neared the anchorage at about 0830 on Tuesday morning. Coming in was scary as the channel wasn’t very big, and there were underwater reefs within the channel.

We were hoping that the charts were accurate, and were relieved when we’d safely entered the little bay. We dropped anchor at about 0900 and it started to rain at 0945. Talk about perfect timing! We were so excited that all the salt that had accumulated during the passage was being washed off the boat! The wind was screaming and the wind chop was rapid and surprisingly big given the lack of fetch. Eric turned on the wind generator and was pleased with the output.

While it was raining, Ed from Jamaica called and asked if he could borrow a few hundred dollars. When Eric said no, Ed simply disconnected the call without another word. 

The rain only lasted about an hour, then the clouds began to clear. While the wind did calm down significantly after the storm passed, it was still quite windy. Here was the anchorage once the sun came out.

Eric had joined a group called No Foreign Lands, which showed the location of the member boats. It also listed the boat’s crew. Eric saw that one of the sailboats in the anchorage had two kids. He texted them through the app. The dad came over to meet us, and a few hours later, we all went to the beach together. Fortunately for us, they gave us ride to shore. We were grateful to not have to get the dinghy down in the wind.

The family had been there for a few days, and they’d built a homestead on the beach.

After dinner, the family came over and we played cards. It was a fun night. Here was the nearly full moon in the twilight.