Stay Over Days in Emerald Bay

—Blogpost written by Bob

Mar 15 thru Mar 17

For some unknown reason, my last blogpost covering March 10 through March 14 was not emailed to my blog followers. Please access it at this link to get caught up.  I'm not sure how or why this didn't happen as it should.

In this blogpost, we continue our stay in Emerald Bay Marina as my back pain improves.  We postponed leaving the marina for a little while longer.  There will be one or two more blogposts posted from Emerald Bay Marina.

Sunday, March 15

Like the previous night, I slept in the v-berth alone and backwards (my head in the narrowest section) because it was easier for me to get in and out of bed due to my sore back. My back is feeling a lot better this morning and I have no doubt that I will be good to leave next Sunday or Monday, whichever day turns out to be the best.  Right now, Monday looks like the best day with projected 9 to 10-knot wind out out the southeast.  We will be traveling in a northwesterly direction.  According to the WINDY forecast, the wave height will be 1.5 feet.  Of course, as the time to leave gets closer the forecast could change significantly.

This is a full screen shot of the WINDY app
showing the forecast for Sunday and
Monday.  The upper green line is
the wind speed while the blue
bars are the wave height.

The sea state is particularly important when we enter the inlet to the Exuma Sound from the ocean at Galliot Cut.  We prefer calm conditions going into the cut.  All of our travel after Monday, will be in the Exuma Sound and we should be protected from easterly winds and ocean swells.

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Of all the crazy medical issues I've had on our winter trips, this morning I had an allergic reaction to the VOLTAREN shot that I got yesterday.  My right ankle was swollen about 25% larger than my left one and the skin was red.  What next?  (At least my back is feeling much better even though I'm still walking very gingerly like it still hurts--I keep thinking that my back is not going to support me at some point.)

Driftwood and rocks occupy the outer
edges of some of the beaches.
(This photo was taken
several days ago.)

My favorite beach photo from the
Tropic of Cancer Beach
on Little Exuma.

Monday, March 16

We have kept up with the latest news from home, particularly on the coronavirus front (with the need for "self distancing" and the thorough and frequent hand washing).  Fortunately, there hasn't been any coronavirus cases in the Bahamas yet but there was a cruise ship stranded nearby (anchored off the coast at Freeport, Grand Bahama) that had five coronavirus cases onboard.  This ship, MS Braemar, was finally accepted to dock at a port in Cuba which is not that far away from us.  There are a few other cruise ships that are in a similar condition but none of the others are close to the Bahamas.

MS Braemar, a relatively small cruise ship, had
five confirmed cases of the coronavirus
out of the 600 passengers onboard.

We have decided to change our itinerary heading north, eliminating a planned stop over in Nassau, as a precaution.  (We will simply anchor overnight in Nassau Harbour on our way to the Berry Islands--we won't get off the boat there.)   We still have a planned stop over in Port Lucaya (near Freeport) on Grand Bahama Island, which is subject to change as well.

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My sore back is nearly healed but I'm still dealing with the rash from my allergic reaction to the shot I got in the Exuma Mini-Hospital.  I spent a lot of time napping today.

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As we keep an eye on the weather, our possible exit days have expanded to Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.  We make a decision as the weekend nears.

Tuesday, March 17

Today was a day of simple onboard activities. I got two propane tanks out and prepared them for fill up tomorrow and put the helm seat back together.  (Our propane tanks are located below the helm seat.)  I still spent a lot of time napping today--the meds I'm taking must be causing it.  We have certainly done our part in terms of "social distancing" today.  We found out that there is one case of the coronavirus in Nassau--so, our plan to avoid Nassau on the way back was probably a wise decision.  

That's all I have from Emerald Bay Marina for now...


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