The aforementioned Wrecking Tree was not open, so we, hungry trio
that we were, continued on down the skinny streets hoping to pick up the aroma
of a place that served some kind of food.
Just a block away, we found McIntosh Cafe and Bakery. Bread was also on my list of must-haves from
here; Bahamian bread is so good. And I
was about to win a mini jackpot!
We noticed the "Specials" board just outside
and my mouth started drooling when I came upon Chicken Curry. We even were able to get sweet tea! The guys got lobster wraps with mango and were
very happy with their choices. As we were settling the
bill, I asked for the loaf of bread and was told it was coconut bread! Bonus!
We noticed the weather getting iffy, of course, it's
Green Turtle Cay (remember what I mentioned about Gary and his friends getting
stuck here during a bad bit of weather?).
It seemed to follow us after all those intervening years. Elliott high-tailed it to the boat via dinghy
to close hatches and ports and bring in anything that might take flight if the
wind picks up.
I didn't mind the rain, but high winds scare me; we
were spared that drama, thankfully.
We decided that we wanted to go back to Crab Cay
(just 20 minutes away) to get some more of that aromatherapy over night. The weather seemed to be clearing and Gary
called a Crew Cruise, where the crew (Elliott and me) would take care of
everything from here to there. That
meant bringing up the anchor, setting the sail, steering, sail adjustments as
necessary, and then anchoring again in the new spot.
While Gary was down below, Elliott and I just picked
up and got on the move. It was easy. As we were figuring out which direction the wind was coming from, Elliott shared his secret: He just turns his head until both ears feel fuzzy. It worked! I felt comfortable at the helm and Elliott was
gentle in correcting if we needed to adjust our route; he would tell me how
many degrees port or starboard to steer.
The clouds had been hovering mainly away from us
over Great Abaco, but I noticed that it seemed they had turned. We toodled along, figuring we had plenty of
time to get into our snug place before rain started again. But, it was then as I was scanning the
horizon that I noticed a tornado or water spout over the island across the
water. I had never seen one before and I
wish I could explain the feeling my body had at that moment. Ever feel like peeing your pants and losing
your ability to stand at the same time?
That's kind of what it felt like. And my chest hurt like hell. Maybe I had forgotten to breathe.
We couldn't make out whether it was traveling down
the island or coming our way, though Gary thought it could pose a big problem
for us if it did meet us. We quickly
jibed and started a return trip to the Green Turtle area. THEN, Gary was not so sure that was a good
idea, so we turned again (thank goodness Nalani can turn on a dime) and we
headed back the way we'd originally been heading. THEN, we turned again because Gary saw a
small anchorage closer than Green Turtle that we could duck into to wait out
the storm.
The tornado dissipated in due time and never came closer; I still felt like I was going to be sick. We stayed in place for a while and then picked up anchor again and headed to Crab Cay for the night.
Very nervous and shaken by then, just because of the preceding
events, I asked the Captain to take over for the anchoring portion of the
evening's festivities. He looked at me
with grey eyes and announced, "I am not available." It was the Crew Cruise; we started and had to
finish.
Something happened that I can't quite explain, but I
fell apart crying and didn't handle it well, though with Elliott's good instructions,
I did motor us into the anchorage, find a spot, and get us set tight for the
night.
Then I went down below and curled up into a ball for
about 24 hours.
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