Little Harbour, Great Abaco, Abaco Islands, to Egg Island, Bahamas
KORKZcrew during its journey south to Egg Island
Happy New Year!
Conditions looked good for our journey south on the first day of 2023, with favorable seas of one to three feet inviting us to head out into the wild blue yonder. It turned out to be an easy trip — one so relaxing that the captain even caught a few z's, in addition to a few fish. Not necessarily in that order.
Unfortunately I don't have a single earth shattering fish tale to share, as the first mahi mahi (yay!) was too small to keep (boo!), and the second and third catches were barracuda. (boo again - as well as a yikes! added in for good measure. Those aren't fun to get off the hook. At least that's what I've heard since I stay far away from that task, like any good First Mate should. Said no captain ever. 😜 😳)
I've mentioned before that Ron and I are LOUSY fisherpeople, with very little experience, so this is kind of a fake-it-til-ya'-make-it operation. But something about pretending like we know what we're doing is kind of fun. Ron puts out two lines, and when you hear one of them go BBBZZZZZZZZZZ (the scientific term), it's pretty exhilarating, especially if the line goes out extra enthusiastically, and the rod is bent practically in half (we had one of those catches today, but it broke free . . . and whaddya know; there's the fish tale I didn't think I had! Swear to glob it's true. I was a little afraid for what was on the other end of that line!). One thing I'm realizing about myself, in addition to being useless when it comes to getting hooks out of the mouths of fish with gigantic dagger-like teeth, is that I'm all about the excitement of the catch itself, and not so much about that poor creature having to die for the sake of my fish taco. Hypocrites-'R-Us. Pretty sure Steve would be just fine with the whole nine yards.
Unlike his mom, Skeet is a huge help when it comes to being part of the KORKZ "crew". He often takes the helm, and is really comfortable with all of the responsibilities that come with it, including speaking with passing boats on the VHF radio. I was struck by how FEW boats were out on the massive expanse of water today, but one in particular came up behind us during our passage and needed to let us know it would be overtaking us on our port side. Here's Skeet's exchange with that other captain.
As the day went on, Ron and Skeet made a plan to anchor at Egg Island, which is very close to Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, and a good stopover on our way to the Exuma Cays.
From the website:
This protected anchorage seemed like the perfect spot to spend the night, and when we arrived, there were several motorboats already there, enjoying a picnic on the beach. We're guessing they'd taken a day trip from Spanish Wells and came to Egg Island to enjoy the solitude (or at least the solitude they'd had up until our arrival 🤓).
Steve was in his element, combing the beach for stinky things to roll around in, and voluntarily swimming back and forth to the dinghy. It's funny that Steve is suddenly Mr. Swimmer Dog, because for most of his life, he'd only swim if he had no other choice. Lately he seems a lot more comfortable with it — and we can only guess as to why. But it's been fun to watch.
Once we'd had our fill of swimming and disrupting the peace of the other beach goers (just kidding; we were perfect angels of course), we headed back to KORKZcrew, where Steve had to wait outside until he dried off and shed some of that sand baggage that I'm pretty sure was stuck to every fiber of his fur.
I had a quick chance to fly my drone and take a look around, which is always eye-opening. While it's obvious to say, I love that the drone gives you the full picture of where you are in the world. In Wilmington, it's given me a much broader appreciation for the breathtaking natural beauty of our hometown. If you have any interest in flying a drone, it's very intuitive and easy to learn. FWIW, I've got the DJI Mini 2, and I've really enjoyed it, especially because it's very lightweight and compact, yet sturdy.
By the late afternoon, only one other boat was anchored nearby, and the day boaters had headed back to Spanish Wells.
Night night, KORKZcrew!
9 hours underway; 53 nautical miles traveled
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