Abacos Oct 24 - 25 Pensacola/Umbrella/Allan's

Thursday, October 24   Pensacola to Umbrella Cay (5 NM)

We left the Ipad running so we would hear the alarm but all was quiet. For the first time this trip we awoke to a gloomy day and it stayed that way, with a sprinkle of rain in the evening. According to the 2007 Cruising Guide within the past few decades Pensacola and Allan's Cay were separate until a hurricane joined them. I also found this paragraph that might have been helpful yesterday. 

      "There is complete protection in the very small mangrove-lined hurricane hole at the east end of the cay.  Controlling depth in the small creek is about 3' MLW in several places (favour the south side) - there is 6' MLW inside." Research is so very important. We found all the 3' places but had we read that note we might not have gone in and missed all that fun.  MLW = Mean Low Water. 

Lowrance didn't like me calling him names yesterday so refused to work for me this morning, Gerry had to reset him. 

One of the few boats we encountered.

We were really headed back to Allan's Cay but there was a boat there. Gerry didn't want to get dressed so we went to Umbrella Cay. 

Small beaches with rocks in between

Approaching Umbrella Cay

Narrow beaches and a lot of dead baby conch, I wonder why they died? They haven't been eaten and the guts smell absolutely horrible. 

The trees grow right out of the rocks - amazing and there's hundreds of snails. 

Snails

Gerry had another burr incident, got those same nasty burrs all over his shorts (didn't think to take a picture).

Good shot Gerry

Gerry put a snubber on the anchor chain. The snubber is 12 feet of stretchy line that grabs the chain in front of the boat and acts like a shock absorber. 

What the weather mans calls a cold front around here has moved in (high 83, low 70). The wind was howling (15-20 mph) and trying to push us off all night. The anchor alarm was set and even if we dragged we would have been blown off shore, nothing to hit for miles, but it's still disconcerting. Winds are supposed to pick up, we can't go through Spence Rock with high winds, will have to wait.  SPOT 

Friday, October 25   Umbrella to Allan's Cay (2 NM) 

Sitting inside the boat this morning was getting dizzy looking out the companionway at the clouds swinging by so decided to measure the swing. Gerry guessed 30°;  pretty accurate, 30 to 47°.   

Winds 20-25 mph, we're not going far today, just back to Allan's Cay where it's more protected. We met the boat that was there yesterday going out so we had the whole place to ourselves. 

The bench is still there and just as I had Gerry convinced to take it along a leg came loose. Guess there's some rot in there somewhere. 

 He took photos of its construction so he could build one just like it some day, right.

Mix of clouds and sun.  We strolled along the beach, mostly in knee deep water. We stopped to discuss how the mangroves have sent many roots out into the water and when we started walking again a shark (about 4' long) and Gerry startled each other.  I'm disappointed that I didn't see it just the mud it churned up escaping. Later, while sitting on the beach a very skinny foot long fish kept flying out of the water right along the edge of the beach until he ran out of beach. He went so fast there was no way to get a picture. And that's the end of the fish stories.  SPOT