A bit of a rough night with wind howling and boat noises. We held tight on our mooring but could hear our lines rubbing our bob stay. The wind had a little bit of a south component which made us bob up and down in the waves coming down the harbor.
We started the day with some boat modifications. We wanted to try and solve the line on bobstay problem. We had already added some chafe guard to our lines in the area but wanted do try bringing a line further forward and see what that would do. We hooked a block to the end of our bowsprit and attached a line down to the mooring pendant and then back up through the bow roller to the cleat. It brought the pendant a little further forward of the bobstay and hopefully will solve the problem. We can also try it with the anchor bridle when we are at anchor.
We had decided to go to Fish Fry which happens every Friday night. There are about 7 bars and restaurants in one area with a big parking lot. We had gone to Porgie’s the other night which is in that area. Last time we took our dinghy but this time Jamal from Go 4 was going to give a ride over and back. We made arrangements to go with him. We were hoping there might be another band at one of the places.
After lunch, David napped and I did boat laundry. We were just about to go walk on the beach when Jeff and Deb showed up in their dinghy. They wanted to go to Peace and Plenty beach for a drink and invited us and even offered us a ride. We had not been to this place which is one beach down. It was a lovely afternoon setting in the shade there. Jeff and Deb recommend the conch salad there but we had already eaten lunch so another day.
We returned to the boat and got ready for Jamal. He picked us up and we picked up people at St. Francis and at Chat ‘N’ Chill beach. There were about 10 of us. It was a little choppy in the harbor still but Jamal had a big boat . We were glad we had gone with him. It was difficult for him to land on the beach however so we waded in. One member of our group fell in the water and got all wet. No one really had a change of clothes.
We ate snapper at Porgies, really good. The whole fish fried of course. I got to visit with Blackie, the dog who hangs out there, a very sweet dog that loves to be petted but does not wag her tail.
We then went to Shirley’s where David had some chocolate cake. The coconut pie looked good too. Shirley’s is a regular restaurant, not just an open air bar and restaurant. They have air conditioning and good desserts. We then went to another place where there was karaoke. Apparently country karaoke is very popular with the local people. Another bar had a rapper. There were no bands unfortunately but good people watching and a mix of locals and tourists. We met a couple from northern Virginia who bought a house here before covid and spend a lot of time here. They travel back to VA every two weeks for work. The plane crash was on everyone’s minds.
We then noticed someone in the harbor just off the beach struggling with a dinghy. They were in the water trying to pull the dinghy ashore and unloading everything off of it. We soon realized that it was full of water and that is why it was so difficult to pull in. The boater had anchored it off the beach and the waves had picked up and were breaking over the stern filling the dinghy and it was sinking. We all rushed to help and were able to bail the dinghy enough to get it to shore. The battery was no good though and the fuel likely had water in it because the vent to the tank was open. There were still waves in the harbor.
Jamal came and told us that it was not safe to get back in his boat from the shore. He brought a car with a plan to shuttle us four at a time to the government dock. He did not want to tow the dinghy back and so we pulled it up on the beach. The boater did not want to leave it there for the night but really had no choice. Once our group was all shuttled over to the dock, we loaded onto the boat. The return was not rough but was a little wet. We arrived safely and Jamal saw us safely to our boat. He then went back to check on the dinghy. It was a very stressful night overall for him. He took very good care of us though and made smart decisions.