Aground

Today we left Little Harbor in the Abacos and planned to head southwest and round Great Abaco Island at “Hole in the Wall” and then continue west to the first anchorage we could find. We estimated that to be a solid 10 hour trip. We were headed for the Berry Islands, but we felt like the distance would cause us to arrive after dark, which is not acceptable in this part of the world, because of the many reefs and shifting sand bars as you approach a Cay.

Today the weather Gods weren’t paying attention and allowed us to have good sailing for a change. We were averaging around 7 knots as we rounded Hole in the Wall. A quick calculation and we realized that if we could keep the wind and speed, we could easily make Little Harbor (in the Berrys) by 5:00 PM — and we made it — Yahoo!

As we rounded the corner at Little Harbor and reviewed the charts, Michelle said she didn’t think there was enough depth for us to enter the harbor but I didn’t listen and in we went. We dodged sandbars and bumped our way in to the anchorage at middle tide where I assumed the depth would increase, but it didn’t, so we turned around and headed back out — and ran hard aground on an outgoing tide. So, here we sit, waiting for the tide to come back in so that we can get off this bar.

It looks like we’ll have high tide around 6:00 AM, so we’re here for the night! The good news is we don’t have to worry about the anchor dragging tonight.